Idiot of the Week: Rhode Island State Senator charged with Extorting Sex from a Page

Rhode Island Senate Minority Whip Nicholas Kettle  in Superior Court
Cr:  Steve Szydlowski / Providence Journal via AP

This week's idiot is about yet another "Family Values" politician being sexually inappropriate. We
didn't even have to check his political affiliation to know he's a Republican who likely hates gay people and promotes family values (because that's what they stand for). 
Here's the story from the Boston Globe:

Rhode Island state senator charged with extorting sex from a page

Rhode Island Senate Minority Whip Nicholas Kettle, appears in Superior Court in Providence on Monday, Feb. 19, 2018. A grand jury indictment unsealed Monday accuses Kettle of extorting sex from a page in the Rhode Island Senate page program. Kettle, 27, of Coventry, pleaded not guilty and was released on $50,000 personal recognizance.


PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A grand jury indictment unsealed Monday accuses a Republican state senator of extorting sex from a page in the Rhode Island Senate page program.
The indictment was unsealed as Senate Minority Whip Nicholas Kettle was arraigned on two counts of extortion in Providence Superior Court. Kettle, 27, of Coventry, pleaded not guilty and was released on $50,000 personal recognizance.


The news prompted Democratic Senate President Dominick Ruggerio to again call for Kettle to resign immediately. He said he was “horrified and disgusted by these allegations. We in the Senate are deeply shaken.”

If Kettle refuses to step down, the Senate will pursue his expulsion, Ruggerio said. He said he also asked the Senate’s chief legal counsel to conduct an immediate review of the page program.


“We have spoken to most of the pages to ensure that they are aware of their rights in the workplace, as well as procedures for reporting anything inappropriate,” Ruggerio said.

Kettle was indicted last week, but the details of the extortion counts remained sealed over the weekend. State police separately charged him with video voyeurism Friday for allegedly sending pictures of his ex-girlfriend’s “private parts.”

The indictment says Kettle coerced a male page into sex on two occasions in 2011. The indictment names the victim, but The Associated Press does not identify alleged victims of sex crimes. The person’s LinkedIn profile says he served as a page from February 2011 to May 2012.

Kettle did not speak to reporters outside court and did not comment on whether he would resign, but his lawyer described the alleged victim as a political rival of Kettle’s. State elections records show he ran against Kettle as an independent in 2014, three years after the alleged extortion.

House Minority Leader Dennis Algiere has also called on Kettle to resign.
Senate spokesman Greg Pare says the Senate page program includes 67 pages, all hired at the recommendation of senators. He said pages range in age from 15 through college age. Pare said Kettle’s alleged victim did not lodge any complaints while he was a page.

2 Idiots of the Week: Both GOP Politicians in FLORIDA!

Welcome back to Idiot of the Week! Since there are so many of them we had to feature 2 today. One for sexual harassment against several women, and the other for spending a LOT of Florida TAXPAYER money so he can live the high life.
  Be aware of these fools, so you can vote the 2nd one OUT next election. The first one fortunately resigned.

IDIOT #1 -  State Sen. Jack Latvala quits in face of corruption investigation, possible expulsion

State Sen. Jack Latvala quits

Dec. 20- Miami Herald:- Facing a public corruption investigation and possible expulsion from the Florida Senate, Jack Latvala resigned Wednesday, a day after a retired judge concluded that he likely violated state corruption laws by trading legislative favors for physical contact and for sexually harassing and groping multiple women.

Latvala, 66, of Clearwater, a longtime Tampa Bay leader and Republican candidate for governor, sent a letter of resignation to Senate President Joe Negron in an abrupt and dramatic end to a controversial career that spanned three decades. Latvala’s resignation, effective at midnight Jan. 5,  2018 followed a revelation in retired Judge Ronald Swanson’s 33-page report, reportedly documented by explicit text messages from the senator over the past three years, that he agreed to support a lobbyist’s agenda if she would have sex with him or let him touch her in a sexual manner.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article190803584.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article190803584.html#storylink=cpy

IDIOT #2 -  FLORIDA HOUSE SPEAKER RICHARD CORCORAN’S BIG

GOP Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran

SPENDING

GOP Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran lives the high life. He’s raising big money for the state Republican Party and his political committee, and the cash is being spent on junkets to Napa Valley, charter planes and steak dinners. Lots of steak dinners.

A review of the Republican Party of Florida’s finances by Tampa Bay Times reveals how money largely raised from special interests fuels Corcoran’s high-priced political operation. There’s an $8,000 dinner tab at California’s French Laundry restaurant, more than $400,000 for charter planes, more than $26,000 at steakhouses such as Morton’s and Ruth’s Chris — and $1,000 for cufflinks. Corcoran’s primary political operative has been reimbursed more than $1.5 million for party expenses billed to his credit card. Corcoran remains remarkably unrepentant. http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/editorials/article190692764.html#emlnl=Morning_Newsletter#storylink=cpy

SIDE NOTE ABOUT CORCORAN- He's Driving Elected Officials of his own party OUT:

This year, nine Republican members of the Florida House of Representatives eligible for reelection have either left the House or plan to run for another office.

Several have cited conflicts with House Speaker Richard Corcoran, objecting to what they call his dictatorial leadership style. Some say that relationship with Corcoran factored in their decisions to leave.

Several of the departing legislators were among those who voted against top Corcoran priorities in the 2017 legislative session, including a bill to allow liquor sales in grocery stores and another to slash business recruiting and tourism promotions programs.

 

Too Funny: GOP Miami Congressional Candidate Says She Was Abducted By Jesus-Like Aliens

Aliens that looked like Jesus?!?!?!?

No , this is not a headline from the Enquirer newspaper, it's a legitimate headline from the Miami Herald where a Republican candidate for Congress claims she met "Jesus-like Aliens." 

  We're sure that since she said "Jesus-like" that Republicans will vote for this loon. Hahaha! Sad but true. Here's the story.

Florida GOP Congressional Candidate Says She Was Abducted By Jesus-Like Aliens

 http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article178813586.html

A Republican congressional candidate from Florida has made some out-of-this-world claims.

Bettina Rodriguez Aguilera, one of nearly a dozen candidates hoping to win the U.S. House seat currently held by retiring Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, claims she was abducted by aliens who reminded her of Jesus Christ, according to newly resurfaced interviews.

“I went in. There were some round seats that were there, and some quartz rocks that controlled the ship ― not like airplanes,” Rodriguez Aguilera said, according to the interviews cited by the Miami Herald.

A Republican Wacko for Congress in Florida 

In the interviews, Rodriguez Aguilera claims she was taken at the age of 7 by three tall, blond space people who have communicated with her telepathically at times since.

She said the aliens reminded her of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro.

“God is a universal energy, not a person,” the aliens told her, according to The Washington Post. “It’s in everything. God talks to people and they understand it in different ways, but there’s only one religion.”

She called the Herald report an “attack piece,” according to Miami ABC station Local 10. However, she did not mention whether she believed she had been abducted by aliens or if she had been in telepathic contact with them.

Rodriguez Aguilera issued a statement to the Herald that also did not confirm or deny her earlier comments on being abducted but noted that Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan both claimed to have seen UFOs. 

She also cited Stephen Hawking as someone who believes in the possibility of life beyond Earth.

Hawking, the famed theoretical physicist, has indeed said there could be intelligent life elsewhere and has even warned that such an advanced civilization could wipe out the human race. But Hawking is on record as saying he doesn’t believe aliens have visited the Earth.

“I’m discounting claims that UFOs contain aliens,” he said in 2012. “Why would they appear only to cranks and weirdos?”

The Miami New Times notes that Rodriguez Aguilera is one of three Republicans and eight Democrats seeking Ros-Lehtinen’s seat in next year’s midterm election

4 Idiots of the Week!

What makes people do or say stupid things that hurt others?  These people are not only IDIOTS OF THE WEEK, they cause others pain, anguish, or make them feel less deserving than others. Yesterday's news was filled with stories of these stupid or hateful people.

1) Idiot #1:     TRUMP'S'TERRIBLE  STUNT of throwing paper towels into the crowd of people while visiting the hurricane-hit territory and not meeting with local leaders. In his visit Tuesday, Trump downplayed the damage in Puerto Rico, saying it's not "a real catastrophe like Katrina." The death toll has risen to 34 from Hurricane Maria.  Trump also told suffering Puerto Ricans: 'You've thrown our budget a little out of whack' 

(NOTE: As a meteorologist, I'm outraged at the stupidity of the remarks. Hurricane Maria was highly destructive and deadly. Can YOU imagine living 2 weeks already with NO POWER and NO WATER or FOOD?? There are people who are still isolated. The number of homes destroyed is innumerable. SO, Maria is not a "real catastrophe"????  That's truly IDIOTIC. )

2) Outrageous Idiot #2:    THE U.S. REJECTED A U.N. RESOLUTION CONDEMNING THEDEATH PENALTY FOR LGBTQ PEOPLE Saying it's due to larger concerns about voting against capital punishment.

(NOTE: The U.S. joined Saudi Arabia,  Qatar and Iran in refusing to say killing gay people for being gay is wrong. THIS IS THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION. Don't tell me they support gay rights. They don't. It's clear from this action.) 

3) The Idiotic Hypocrite #3:   PRO-LIFE CONGRESSMAN REPORTEDLY URGED MISTRESS TO GET AN ABORTION His staff has churned through about 100 people in the past year. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette] and CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/03/politics/tim-murphy-abortion/index.html

(NOTE:  Another Republican hypocrite. A straight, white, married, "Christian" who impregnates his mistress and demads she get an abortion while campaigning AGAINST abortions.  HYPOCRITE!)

4) Bunch of Idiots #4 who don't Vaccinate kids:  WHEN ADULTS DON'T VACCINATE FOR MEASLES, KIDS PAY THE PRICE. In a new analysis of all measles cases from 2001 to 2015, researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that while the disease is rare in the U.S., measles is most common among babies and toddlers.

(NOTE: More and more children are getting diseases we had almost totally eradicated because of people who refuse to innocolate them. The right-wing spread fake news about vaccines causing autism. They don't. Now, many children are at risk of death from diseases we thought we conquered. JUST STUPID).

Idiots in Politics: U.S. House passed a bill that affects overtime pay (and removes it)

  Do you rely on Overtime to pay your bills or save money in a bank? It may be the end of it.  Did you know? On May 3, 2017:10:44 AM ET the  U.S. House passed a bill that affects overtime pay. Basically, it REMOVES overtime pay and substitutes it with time off at Regular pay.  HOW does this HELP people???

Do you get paid for overtime work? The House of Representatives just passed a bill you may want to know about.

CNN MONEY:  Source: http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/02/news/economy/overtime-pay-bill-passes-house/index.html?sr=twCNN050317overtime-pay-bill-passes-house0306PMVODtopLink&linkId=37149295

 The measure, backed by Republicans, would let employers give workers paid time off instead of time-and-a-half pay the next time they put in extra hours. The vote tally was largely along party lines, with no Democrats voting in favor of the bill. Six Republicans also voted against it.

G.O.P. leadership has touted the legislation, called the Working Families Flexibility Act, as an attempt to codify flexibility for employees.  "I don't think there's anything more powerful than giving them more control over their time so that they can make the best decisions for themselves and their families," Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington said Tuesday morning in a press conference held by Republican leaders in the House. 

The Trump administration also came out in support of the measure on Tuesday, May 2, 2017. The White House said in a news release that the president's advisers would recommend Trump sign the bill into law if it was presented to him in its current form.  

But Democrats stand in strong opposition. Their chief concern is that employers have the final say on when comp time can be used, which means bosses can defer compensating employees for overtime work. 

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts -- a Democrat who has made workers' protections her flagship cause and sits on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions -- called the bill a "disgrace" on Twitter.

Republicans, who hold 52 seats in the upper chamber, will need eight Democrats to vote in favor of the legislation to avoid a filibuster. The House bill is sponsored by Rep. Martha Roby of Alabama. Sen. Mike Lee of Utah has introduced a similar bill in the Senate, but it's still in committee.

Idiots in Politics: Trump Administration's "Blue Star" Cancellation

If you use an appliance, you likely have seen a "Blue Star" label on it. That means that the technology was improved to reduce pollution. It also means your appliance uses less energy and costs you less to operate. People and companies who use the technology benefit.
Except that the Trump Administration thinks saving Energy and reducing pollution is apparently stupid. So they're pulling the $60 million of funding from the program, killing it. How incredibly STUPID.

Here's the article from the Baltimore Sun:


White House targets Blue Star
Planned ax for energy saving push elicits mass shock

By Evan Halper, Baltimore Sun Washington Bureau

BOTTOM LINE: The Trump Administration is now planning to eliminate a voluntary, cost-effective initiative that has saved its customers millions of dollars and had almost no critics.

The Trump administration has decided the immensely popular Energy Star program must go.

The fight centers on the Environmental Protection Agency’s 25-year-old effort to boost efficiency in products and services by encouraging companies to compete for coveted, government-issued labels that certify a product or property meets high standards for saving energy and costs.

Functioning like a government seal of approval, the Energy Star program costs taxpayers a pittance and is widely beloved by the 16,000 companies and organizations that participate. Now it is fast becoming a test case of how committed the Trump administration is to pursuing the agenda of once-fringe groups seeking to slash government programs wherever they can.

“Never in my wildest thoughts have I considered something like this,” said Dave Pogue, who leads the sustainability efforts at Commercial Real Estate Company CBRE. He said the program helped the firm cut energy use at its properties by 16 percent in the last decade.

In the Trump administration Energy Star has come under scrutiny. The plan to jettison the program from the federal government, now embedded in the White House budget blueprint, emerged after Trump placed Myron Ebell, a prominent climate skeptic, in charge of his EPA transition team.


THE SOUNDS OF STUPID- Yes, the new head of the EPA REALLY Said This:
“The EPA is meant to improve environmental quality,” said Ebell. “I’m not sure what that has to do with how much energy consumers use. But a great deal of the work at EPA has been dedicated to that. The president made clear during the campaign he will get rid of as much of that as he possibly can.”

Energy Star has everything to with environmental quality - The nation’s biggest companies compete aggressively to win Energy Star labels for their products, which signal to consumers that everything from the air conditioners they purchase at Best Buy to the buildings where they lease office space engage advanced technologies to use the least possible amount of power. The eagerness to meet consumer demand for that seal of approval has driven firms to invest big in cutting energy use.

Energy Star has been a pillar of the federal government’s effort to fight climate change, with the EPA boasting that it has kept some 2.8 billion tons of greenhouse gas from escaping into the atmosphere — or roughly the equivalent produced from powering 36 million homes with electricity each year. It has enabled consumers and businesses to cut their energy bills more than $30 billion per year.


WHAT DOES IT COST?
At an annual cost of $60 million to taxpayers, it is easily the cheapest and least burdensome initiative the federal government runs to help Americans lower their energy consumption.

EVEN REPUBLICANS THINK ITS STUPID TO ELIMINATE IT
The proposal has been met with shock across party lines. Christie Todd Whitman, who ran the EPA during the administration of George W. Bush said, “not in a million years” would she have targeted Energy Star. “There was no reason to,” she said. “It was a no-brainer. It worked, and it hardly cost any money.”

Idiot purposely Shoots 2 Dogs/ Pets are as Intelligent as Human Children

In Ohio last week a deer hunter decided to brutally murder 2 dogs who got loose from their pet parent just because they approached his "deer stand" in the woods. (I have no issue with hunters).  BUT then, he posted a photo of the 2 dead dogs and boasted on his facebook post that they were "an easy kill."  We are infuriated.
   Fortunately, there's a new law in that county where this bastard can be jailed, fined and convicted as a felon. The story is below.
  TO PEOPLE WHO SAY "DOGS ARE NOT THE SAME AS HUMAN CHILDREN" - WRONG.  Science proves you wrong.   Those people  obviously value some lives less than others. Every life is precious. Every human or dog or cat that we are responsible for in our family should be looked at as family. They look at us as their parents. **It's just that pets don't grow up, marry someone you don't like and move away. -
   I'm not taking anything away from someone who lost a human child. Yes, it's also horrific, and tragic and you NEVER get over it. My dog Buzz was KILLED by a speeding car in Feb 2005 when his leash opened. I have NEVER gotten over it. 

   AS FOR THE IDIOT -The hunter needs to go to jail, lose his house, job and life. He should have his hunting license revoked and be banned from hunting. People lose driver's licenses for killing people while drunk driving and they go to jail. It's the same thing   It's cold blooded murder. 
There is something mentally wrong with people like him who will purposely murder someone's pets. 
   SCIENTIFICALLY, PETS ARE JUST LIKE HUMAN CHILDREN  (proof)-  pets have the same emotions as people do. Read Dr. Gregory Burns (Emory Univ.) study (book- How Dogs Love Us) where he did MRIs on their brain activity (in the caudate of the brain) and proved they have the same emotions as people. Dr. Stanley Coren has also analyzed the intelligence of dogs (in a book of the same name) and has concluded they have the intelligence of a 3-5 year old human child. 
** We've lost 2 dogs to death, so no one can tell me they're not the same as losing a human child. In fact, psychological studies have proven we grieve MORE for our pets than other humans because they rely on us 100%. 

*********************************************************************
 

Hunter accused of killing man’s beloved dogs is charged, loses job

BELMONT COUNTY, Ohio — The hunter accused of shooting and killing a Belmont County man’s two beloved dogs now faces charges, and he’s lost his job.
According to court records, Michael Chedester, of St. Clairsville, faces two counts of cruelty to animals. His arraignment is set for Dec. 8.
The charges are the first of their kind in Belmont County under the newly-passed Goddard’s Law.
Pete Byers, the owner of the dogs named Bella and Emmy, first posted about the situation on Monday — and it quickly spread on social media. 
Byers told WTOV that he was getting ready to head to Pittsburgh with his dogs for a work trip when they disappeared Monday.
A search group assembled and eventually found Chedester, who had a tree stand in the area. Byers said he asked Chedester if he killed the dogs. He said the hunter admitted to shooting them and offered to “buy him two new ones.”
Byers said he found his dogs in a brush pile near the tree stand after spotting Emmy’s paw sticking out from under the logs.
According to WTOV, Chedester told authorities that the dogs had chased a deer past his stand at least three times. The third time, he said, they stopped under his stand.
Chedester then allegedly shot one of the dogs. Belmont County Prosecutor Dan Fry said he believes the bullet that hit that dog also hit the second dog. Then Chedester allegedly shot the second dog.
The charges were filed Wednesday.
WTOV reports that Chedester has also been fired from his forestry supervisor job with American Electric Power.
A statement from AEP to WTOV says: “AEP expects the highest level of conduct from our employees, both on the job and outside of work. We are saddened by the situation that unfolded this week involving an off-duty AEP Ohio employee and the death of the two dogs. This individual is no longer employed by AEP.”

Idiots in the News - You Won't Believe These People Exist

It's amazing how many idiots are around us, and how many make our laws (this is non-partisan, btw). Here's the latest installment of "Idiots in the news." 

1)   DOJ To Charge New Jersey Democratic Senator Robert Menendez With Corruption
2) Missouri state Republican Sen. Ed Emery introduced legislation to make it a crime for any public employee to issue a same-sex marriage license 
3)   Don Young Suggests Wolves Could Help Get Rid Of Homeless People 
4)   A California lawyer proposed a ballot measure that would make sodomy a capital offense - with "a bullet to the head of gay men." 
4) Alabama State Supreme Court Defies U.S. Supreme Court and Halts Same-sex marriage licenses



1)   DOJ To Charge Bob Menendez With Corruption: Report
WASHINGTON, March 6 (Reuters) - U.S. federal authorities are set to bring criminal charges against New Jersey Democratic Senator Robert Menendez, CNN reported on Friday.  Menendez allegedly used his Senate office to push the business interests of a Democratic donor and friend in exchange for gifts, CNN said.

The Face of hateful man: Sen. Ed Emery

STORY: http://www.huffingtonpost.com

2) WOW- THIS IS JUST HATEFUL!!!
Missouri state Sen. Ed Emery, a Republican, introduced legislation last week that would make it a crime for any public employee to issue a marriage license to same-sex couples. "SB 555 is a shameful and desperate attempt to halt the undeniable momentum behind marriage equality in Missouri. No Missourian should face the threat of being fired for supporting same-sex marriage," said Pamela Merritt of Progress Missouri. The bill has not yet been assigned to a committee. SOURCE: http://themissouritimes.com/1

3)   Don Young Suggests Wolves Could Help Get Rid Of Homeless People
Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) suggested Thursday that the solution to homelessness is wolves.
Young made the comment during a House Natural Resources Committee hearing during an exchange with Interior Secretary Sally Jewell. He was arguing that gray wolves should be taken off the endangered species list, criticizing the National Park Service and his congressional colleagues who seek to protect the animals. “We've got 79 congressmen sending you a letter, they haven’t got a damn wolf in their whole district,” Young added. “I’d like to introduce them in your district. If I introduced them in your district, you wouldn’t have a homeless problem anymore.”

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com  

4)   A California lawyer proposed a ballot measure that would make sodomy a capital offense - with a Bullet to the head of gay men.
 This idiot lawyer in California proposed this ballot measure that  would make homosexuality a capital crime PUNISHABLE BY A "BULLET TO THE HEAD OF A GAY PERSON." . (although not all gay people do this, btw).  Here's the info on that ridiculous ballot measure:

On 24 February 2015, attorney Matthew McLaughlin filed a proposed ballot measure titled "The Sodomite Suppression Act" with the California Attorney General's office. The initiative would make any homosexual sex a crime punishable by death:  The People of California wisely command, in the fear of God, that any person who willingly touches another person of the same gender for purposes of sexual gratification be put to death by bullets to the head or by any other convenient method.   

ARTICLE: http://www.calnewsroom.com/2015/03/03/california-ballot-initiative-proposes-bullets-to-the-head-for-gays-lesbians/

 5) The Alabama Supreme Court on March 4 ordered probate judges across the state to halt the distribution of marriage licenses to same-sex couples, defying federal court rulings in January overturning the state's marriage equality ban. "The Alabama Supreme Court has done a disservice to itself, not to mention a massive injustice to the people of Alabama, in allowing itself to be used to temporarily obstruct the freedom to marry," said Evan Wolfson, president of the LGBT group Freedom to Marry. The Washington Post (tiered subscription model) (3/4), Washington Blade (Washington, D.C.) (3/3), BuzzFeed (3/4), Metro Weekly (Washington, D.C.) (3/3

Idiots in the News! Be aware of these stupid people!

Here's another blog about idiots in the news. You need to know about them to protect yourself from them, and vote them into a padded cell. There are some really SICK and TOTALLY STUPID people out there.

Add caption

1)  Nevada Lawmaker Says Cancer Is A Fungus, Recommends Simply Washing It Out

by Josh Israel Posted on February 24, 2015 at 2:54 pm

 Nevada Assemblywoman Michele Fiore (R) wants to reform the rules of end-of-life medical care so that more cancer patients can simply flush out their disease using baking soda.
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2015/02/24/3626567/nevada-assemblywoman-cancer-fungus/

2) Idaho lawmaker asks if woman can swallow camera for gynecological exam before medical abortion

Courtesy Idaho State Legislature website

    Article by: KIMBERLEE KRUESI , Associated Press     Updated: February 24

BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho lawmaker received a brief lesson on female anatomy after asking if a woman can swallow a small camera for doctors to conduct a remote gynecological exam.

  The question Monday from Republican state Rep. Vito Barbieri came as the House State Affairs Committee heard nearly three hours of testimony on a bill that would ban doctors from prescribing abortion-inducing medication through telemedicine.

http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/293718211.html

3)  Kansas GOP Senator Mary Pilcher-Cook Wants To Criminalize “Harmful” Books

February 25, 2015 By Erin Nanasi  **SOUNDS LIKE NAZI GERMANY TO US**

  Republican senator in Kansas, Mary Pilcher-Cook, has introduced a bill to the state house to amend the current public morals standard. Senate Bill 56 would, according to The Courthouse News Service, “… amend Kansas’ public morals statute by deleting an exemption that protects K-12 public, private and parochial schoolteachers from being prosecuted for presenting material deemed harmful to minors.” In other words, any book could result in the arrest, prosecution, and possibly jailing of teachers and librarians, if “deemed harmful to minors.”  Read more at: http://www.courthousenews.com/2015/02/09/kansas-lawmaker-wants-to-throw-teachers-in-jail-for-teaching-harmful-material.htm

A Republican senator in Kansas, Mary Pilcher-Cook, has introduced a bill to the state house to amend the current public morals standard. Senate Bill 56 would, according to The Courthouse News Service, “… amend Kansas’ public morals statute by deleting an exemption that protects K-12 public, private and parochial schoolteachers from being prosecuted for presenting material deemed harmful to minors.” In other words, any book could result in the arrest, prosecution, and possibly jailing of teachers and librarians, if “deemed harmful to minors.”

Read more at: http://www.forwardprogressives.com/kansas-gop-senator-mary-pilcher-cook-wants-criminalize-harmful-books/

Kansas GOP Senator Mary Pilcher-Cook Wants To Criminalize “Harmful” Books

Read more at: http://www.forwardprogressives.com/kansas-gop-senator-mary-pilcher-cook-wants-criminalize-harmful-books/

Kansas GOP Senator Mary Pilcher-Cook Wants To Criminalize “Harmful” Books

Read more at: http://www.forwardprogressives.com/kansas-gop-senator-mary-pilcher-cook-wants-criminalize-harmful-books/

Kansas GOP Senator Mary Pilcher-Cook Wants To Criminalize “Harmful” Books

Read more at: http://www.forwardprogressives.com/kansas-gop-senator-mary-pilcher-cook-wants-criminalize-harmful-books/

Kansas GOP Senator Mary Pilcher-Cook Wants To Criminalize “Harmful” Books

Read more at: http://www.forwardprogressives.com/kansas-gop-senator-mary-pilcher-cook-wants-criminalize-harmful-books/

Kansas GOP Senator Mary Pilcher-Cook Wants To Criminalize “Harmful” Books

Read more at: http://www.forwardprogressives.com/kansas-gop-senator-mary-pilcher-cook-wants-criminalize-harmful-books/

4) Texas conservatives hold controversial cake-cutting over gay marriage ban
Dylan Baddour | February 25, 2015\   FROM THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE- Feb. 26, 2015

 Republican leaders in Austin joined members of the conservative coalition Texas Values to slice a ceremonaial cake on the 10th anniversary of the passage of the so-called Texas Marriage Amendment, which defined marriage as "one man and one woman" in Texas.  (source: Texas Values Facebook page)) ARTICLE:http://www.chron.com/news/politics/texas/article/State-leaders-celebrate-ten-years-without-6101014.php

Look at how sickly gleeful these bigots appear. These are the faces of bigotry, intolerance and hatred. These people and people like them disgust us.

5) In State Legislatures, Anti-LGBT Onslaught Continues

Filed By John M. Becker | February 25, 2015 12:00 PM | 5 

As marriage equality advances across the country and polls show that an overwhelming majority of young people reject anti-LGBT bigotry, opponents of LGBT human rights are growing increasingly panicked.  But instead of recognizing that they're on the wrong side of history and moving their prejudicial views out of the Stone Age, they're hysterically trying to cause as much damage to LGBT people as they possibly can, while they still have the power to do so.  Nowhere is this more evident than in the states, where conservative lawmakers are rushing to create special "rights" to discriminate against LGBT people under the guise of protecting "religious liberty" and banning cities and counties from adopting LGBT-inclusive non-discrimination laws. We've covered the onslaught of anti-LGBT attacks in the states READ HERE FOR THE sampling of the latest anti-LGBT attacks 

 Read more at http://www.bilerico.com/2015/02/anti-lgbt_onslaught_continues_in_the_states.php#oG0Fj63HSPwPtzTJ.99

Part 2: Stupid Things People Say or Do in Public

Last week, we published a collection of three really stupid things that people said either on social media or in public. Since there are so many fools out there, it's important to know who they are, so we can put them back under the rocks they've crawled out of. Here are a couple of new examples!

1)  "Childbirth resulting from rape is "beautiful."
  A state lawmaker in West Virginia said on Thursday that while rape is horrible, it’s “beautiful” that a child could be produced in the attack.
    According to Huffington Post, Charleston Gazette reporter David Gutman was on the scene when Delegate Brian Kurcaba (R) said, “Obviously rape is awful,” but “What is beautiful is the child that could come from this.”
Kurcaba made the remarks during a House of Delegates discussion of a law outlawing all abortions in the state after 20 weeks’ gestation. At 20 weeks, anti-choice activists and lawmakers allege, a fetus can feel pain and is therefore too viable to abort.   Here's the story from the Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/05/brian-kurcaba-rape_n_6626794.html

2) With an Apology, News Anchor Brian Williams Digs Himself Deeper in Copter Tale (Why would he say this?)
In his apology, Mr. Williams said that he had been on a different helicopter, behind the one that had sustained fire, and that he had inadvertently “conflated” the two.  STORY: http://tinyurl.com/ptjfbb8

3)  Indiana Senate Says Yes To Faith-Based Hiring By State Contractors (Legislating discrimination against all other faiths and non-faiths)
On Tuesday, the Indiana state Senate voted 39-11 in favor of a bill to explicitly permit religious discrimination in hiring by some organizations that contract with the state. Under the legislation, which would amend non-discrimination rules for state contractors, such organizations could "give a preference in employment" to people of a particular faith. They could also require all employees to "conform to the religious tenets of the organization."  The bill appears to be confined to state contractors with strong religious ties, such as certain schools and hospitals. State Sen. Travis Holdman (R), who wrote the measure, pointed in particular to Indiana Wesleyan University, an evangelical Christian institution, according to The Indianapolis Star.