Another wingnut alert: pyro torches wrong clinic

Two wingnut alerts in one day. Must be a record here at the Crush Liberalism Objective World News Service (CLOWNS). From Iowa:

A Detroit man was sentenced to five years in prison Friday for trying to burn down a women's health clinic that he mistakenly thought performed abortions.

David McMenemy, 46, pleaded guilty in January to arson against a business affecting interstate commerce. He could have been sentenced up to 20 years in prison.

Police said McMenemy drove to Davenport and crashed his car into the Edgerton Women's Health Care Center lobby at 4:30 a.m. on Sept. 11. He then lit a Gatorade bottle filled with gasoline on fire, walked away from his car and surrendered to firefighters.

McMenemy was ordered to pay $263,252 in restitution for damage to the clinic. The judge also ordered McMenemy to follow substance abuse treatment and continue to receive mental health treatment while imprisoned and when he is released.

"It was wrong," McMenemy told U.S. District Court Judge John Jarvey at the sentencing hearing. "Even if it was an abortion clinic, it would still be wrong.

"I'm sorry for the hurt and shame of my family, and I want to distance myself from any pro-life organizations."

The Edgerton clinic provides prenatal care and medical services to low-income and underprivileged women. It does not perform abortions, nor does it make abortion referrals, clinic officials said.

What a dumb#ss! If you're going to be some religious nutbar who thinks he's doing God's work, at least make sure the voices in your head are getting their facts straight.

These fanatics are walking contradictions. If, as the prior post indicates, God wipes out the blights on humanity Himself via natural disasters, then why would He need us to carry out acts of arson on His behalf? Pick a nutbar talking point and stick to it, please!

Wingnut alert: Yet another "God destroys Earth 'cuz of gays" comment

When it's not that deplorable media whore Fred Phelps, it's some other "man of God" who purports to know why God hits the planet with floods, famine, plane crashes, etc. From the UK:

The floods that have devastated swathes of the country are God's judgment on the immorality and greed of modern society, according to senior Church of England bishops.

One diocesan bishop has even claimed that laws that have undermined marriage, including the introduction of pro-gay legislation, have provoked God to act by sending the storms that have left thousands of people homeless.

While those who have been affected by the storms are innocent victims, the bishops argue controversially that the flooding is a result of Western civilisation's decision to ignore biblical teaching.

The Rt Rev Graham Dow, Bishop of Carlisle, argued that the floods are not just a result of a lack of respect for the planet, but also a judgment on society's moral decadence.

"This is a strong and definite judgment because the world has been arrogant in going its own way," he said. "We are reaping the consequences of our moral degradation, as well as the environmental damage that we have caused."

While it's without question that society's moral fabric has been decaying, it is beyond ludicrous to say that innocent people (including children that don't even know the words "gay" or "lesbian", much less practice that lifestyle) are being killed by God because of the Almighty's distaste for queers.

I've said this before and I'll say it again: The Bible is clear on homosexuality, and no amount of spinning changes that. However, to assert that God will snuff out innocent human life simply because he's mad at people not even around or near the innocent (in this case, non-gay and people who oppose gay marriage laws) is sheer lunacy. I mean, one would think that God possesses a much better aim than that, right? "Adam and Steve are biting the pillow, so I think I'll wipe out their entire street. That'll show 'em!" Idiots.

Utah Republican: Satan causes illegal immigration

Un-freakin'-believable. From KUTV:

If you really want to blame someone for trying to destroy the United States, point the finger at… Satan?

The devil, Lucifer… whatever you want to call it, one Utah Republican says it is he who is trying to bring the USA down.

And Satan’s apparent weapon of choice: Allowing illegal immigrants to cross the border.

According to The Salt Lake Tribune, Utah County District 65 Chairman Don Larsen has submitted a formal resolution to oppose the devil’s plan to destroy the country -- to be discussed this weekend at the Utah County Republican Convention.

“In order for Satan to establish his ‘New World Order’ and destroy the freedom of all people as predicted in the scriptures, he must first destroy the U.S.,” Larsen’s resolution states. “[It is] insidious for its stealth and innocuousness.”

Larsen’s proposal to defeat Satan? Close the borders to illegal immigrants to “prevent the destruction of the U.S. by stealth invasion.”

Dude, I'm with you on the illegal immigration and stealth invasion stuff, but you lost me on how that's Satan's fault. The Prince of Darkness isn't going to bring down America by war or pestilence or famine or anything like that. No, Beelzebub's weapon of choice is...illegal immigration.

Seriously...dude...shut up.

"Religious" nutcase media whores getting in on VT shooting

In due time, these sunsabeeches will get theirs. From Moonbattery:

As if Virginia Tech doesn't have enough to deal with, the obnoxious cult calling itself the Westboro Baptist Church is on its way to Blacksburg, in hopes of attracting attention. Moonbats will be pleased to note that they regard George Bush as a "bloody tyrant." From their website, GodHatesAmerica.com:

WBC will preach at the funerals of the Virginia Tech students killed on campus during a shooting rampage April 16, 2007. You describe this as monumental horror, but you know nothing of horror — yet. Your bloody tyrant Bush says he is "horrified" by it all. You know nothing of horror — yet. Your true horror is coming. (WHAT?? A Hillary presidency?? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! - Ed.)

You see, God is going to come and wreak havoc in accordance with the WBC's simple message:

God Hates Fags. God Hates You. (Seems contrary to the New Testament and the message of Christ. One would think that "people of God" might have read that thing. - Ed.) The World is Doomed.

According to WBC, "God sent a crazed madman" to Virginia Tech. More are on the way.

I'm going to use seemingly contrasting labels here: moonbats AND wingnuts. I'm using "wingnuts", since they're a purported "religious" group, though their paltry membership of under 200 indicates that they're shunned by normal religious groups. I'm also using "moonbats", since their leader, Fred Phelps, is a registered Democrat and has campaigned for Democrat politicians over the years (including Al Gore in 2000).

Either label, these are some sick freaks who are in desparate need of an #sskicking. I know, I know, that's not very Christianlike of me. So sue me for being human. This crap angers me to no end.

More government nanny state, but by a "conservative"?

Pardon me if I think this smells like cronyism and corruption, and of the most perverse kind. From Star Parker:

Watching politicians and corporations shoot themselves in the foot, you get to taking seriously theories about drives to self destruction. The trouble is that when these folks do it, they tend to take the rest of us with them.

Such is the case now in the 20 state legislatures considering bills to mandate that pre-teen school girls be vaccinated with Gardasil, a new vaccine against certain strains of human papillomavirus (HPV) that can cause cervical cancer. These initiatives are being shepherded by lobbying campaigns by Merck, the pharmaceutical giant that developed the vaccine.

One dose of the vaccine Gardasil, developed by Merck & Co., is displayed Friday, Feb. 2, 2007, in Austin, Texas. Gov. Rick Perry ordered that schoolgirls in Texas must be immunized with the vaccine to help prevent the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer. It would make Texas the first state to require the shots. (AP Photo/Harry Cabluck) A vaccine that prevents cervical cancer sounds great. But this is a free country. Remember? Unless there is a compelling reason to use government to mandate, Soviet-style, use of a particular product, then medicines, like all products, should be sold on the free market. Consumers can buy them if they want them.

Not only is there no reason to mandate the use of Gardasil, but the reasoning being used to justify its mandated use is perverse. Among the destructive consequences will be that girls who are most at risk, those who are poor, usually minorities, will be hurt more than helped.

Government mandated vaccines for communicable diseases, like measles, where an infected child can put others at risk, are justifiable. But the HPV virus which may lead to cervical cancer is spread through sexual contact. It is, as Dr. Jane Orient, executive director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, aptly put it, a "lifestyle disease."

Where are we going as a country when we start mandating vaccines against diseases resulting from behavior we choose? And where are we when we consider sexual behavior to be private, but its consequences public?
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Merck has to love this picture. They don't just get guaranteed purchases from those whose insurance companies will foot the bill. But they'll also get state and federal governments to pay for the low income kids who, if left alone, would never be their customers.
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This is the most expensive vaccine in history (nine times more expensive than a measles vaccination), the incidence of deaths from cervical cancer are miniscule (.65 percent of the annual deaths from cancer in the U.S.), and the vaccine is only eight months on the market with many legitimate concerns, such as side effects and long-term risks and costs, yet to be clarified.

Organizations such as the Texas Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons and the American Academy of Environmental Medicine oppose mandated use of this vaccine.

How about the particularly strange situation in Texas? Gov. Rick Perry, a conservative Republican governor, was so anxious to mandate Gardasil vaccinations he by-passed his own legislature, much to its consternation, and with practically zero public debate has done this via executive order.

Could the fact that the Governor's ex-chief of staff is Merck's lobbyist in Austin be relevant here? Or maybe that a government mandate would insulate Merck from exposure to future lawsuits from unforeseen problems with the vaccine. Or, possibly the fact that GlaxoSmithKline is close to bringing a competing vaccine to market explains some of the rush.

Merck advertises itself as a company "where patients come first." But if Merck were really placing its patients first it would not be trying to get government to force them to use its product.

It would be obscene to trivialize the 3,700 expected deaths that occur nationwide each year from cervical cancer. But to mandate use of this vaccine would violate rights of parents and children and justify behavior that leads to more death, pain and problems than caused those by cervical cancer.

I mean, why stop at this vaccine? Why not force kids to be immunized against other venereal diseases? The possibilities are endless!

There are thousands of people who believe that vaccines caused their children's autism. Whether true or not is debatable and not the point. The point is that if these parents didn't want certain vaccines for their kids out of legitimate (perceived or real) concerns, just who in the hell does the government think it is to tell these parents they must immunize their kids in a way that (a) may compromise the kids' health due to unknown factors mentioned above, and (b) overrides parental concerns AND responsibilities?

I don't know if "conservative" governor Rick Perry is the first governor to sign onto this lobbyist-inspired anti-parent legislation, but I sure as hell hope he's the last.

Texas Republican to criminalize failure to meet with teachers

What a stupid #ss idea from a stupid #ss legislator! From tha AP via Yahoo News:

Parents beware: Miss a meeting with your child's teacher and it could cost you a $500 fine and a criminal record.

A Republican state lawmaker from Baytown has filed a bill that would charge parents of public school students with a misdemeanor and fine them for playing hooky from a scheduled parent-teacher conference.

Rep. Wayne Smith said Wednesday he wants to get parents involved in their child's education.

"I think it helps the kids for the parents and teachers to communicate. That's all the intent was," Smith said.

Kathy Carlson, a fifth-grade teacher at Furneaux Elementary School in Carrollton, said she's had a handful of parents who skip meetings with teachers, but she winced at the idea of charging them.

"I don't know if we need to call it criminal. I would rather see accountability brought a different way, rather than fines or punishments," Carlson said.

"On the whole, parents want what's best for their kids," she said. "Sometimes I think they think we're out to get them. When you're talking about fining and pressing criminal charges, it kind of reflects that attitude."
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Parents could avoid prosecution if they have a "reasonable excuse" for not showing up. State education officials or local school districts would probably be responsible for defining reasonable.
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Austin parent Mary Christine Reed has children in third and seventh grades and is involved in her parent-teacher association. She said she knows of some problems teachers have had, but as a parent, wonders if a steep fine or criminal charge would make them worse.

"If the idea is to create communication, to send them into the criminal justice system ... is going to do nothing but have a negative impact," Reed said. "It would make parents more scared of the school."

Here are what I consider "reasonable excuses" not to meet with teachers:

1. You don't freakin' feel like it! See that whole "freedom of association" thingy in that annoying First Amendment in the Constitution!

2. Your teacher stinks. Literally. I don't know about you, but I avoid smelly people like Barney Frank avoids a t#tty bar.

3. You still hold on to the quaint notion that YOU, not the school, know what is in your kid's best interest, and in YOUR determination, YOU will handle the situation how YOU see fit.

4. Did I mention "You don't freakin' feel like it"?

Obviously, parents should be involved in their kids' education. No question. However, does any sane individual out there think that criminalizing failing to meet with the teacher is constitutional, much less a great idea?

NH tax evader: "Income tax is illegal, so I won't pay"

From Myway News:

A former militia man convicted of tax evasion prepared for a government siege Friday at his fortress-like home, but U.S. marshals gave no indication they were planning to confront him.

Ed Brown said he was ready for a swarm of federal agents to descend on his property to execute an arrest warrant issued after he failed to appear for the end of his trial. He and his wife contend that they did not have to pay income taxes, and his supporters say a conflict could be violent.

"If Mexico came up on my land and tried to take my land, would I not fight?" Brown said. "The United States is the same exact thing as Mexico in this state."

Brown, 63, and his wife, Elaine, 65, were convicted Thursday of plotting to conceal their income and avoid paying federal income tax. They argued the tax is illegitimate and they are not required to pay it.

This man is throwing away his life for a stupid reason, and that reason is that his knowledge of the law is woefully inadequate. A brief history of the income tax is here, but here is the condensed version:

There was no income tax in the early days of the republic. Congress tried to impose one, but the courts shot it down as unconstitutional. A constitutional amendment was passed that authorized Congress to impose an income tax in a manner it saw fit, and Congress has been (ab)using that power ever since.

Look, I firmly believe that the income tax is a horrible way for the government to collect revenue, and that the national sales tax (as described in the Fair Tax) is the best way to go. That's a different topic for a different day. However, the current income tax system, regardless of what you think of it, is entirely legal and legitimate. The sooner this NH nutbar recognizes that, the sooner he can get on with a normal life. Well, as normal as his life can be, anyway.