Perhaps she is going for a dark horse Fucking Idiot of the Year award?

Or maybe this is one of the emotional scars of having attended a school by the name of Battle Ground High School?

It’s Hard to say. But it’s truly idiotic. Washington state Representative Liz Pike (R-18):

…wants to bring up a bill that would let teachers carry concealed guns in the classroom.

Under Pike’s proposal, teachers at schools like Salmon Creek Elementary could volunteer to go through mental evaluations and week-long gun training at their own expense. They would also buy their own guns to bring into their classes and wear on a belt or in a holster – not in a purse or drawer.

A good way to protect students and teachers? Hmmmm.

You may have read, just last week, about an “incident” in a New Jersey police station:

A shootout broke out in a suburban New Jersey police station on Friday when a 39-year-old man who had been taken into custody attacked a police officer, stealing her gun and shooting her and two other officers before he was killed.

I’ve been told numerous similar stories from my father and step mother, who were both Chicago police officers for most of their working lives. Fortunately, the cops usually win these spontaneous altercations without losing control of their guns. But police officers are rigorously and recurrently trained in self defense, weapons handling, and dealing with aggressive persons.

Teachers? Not so much.

Additionally, teachers work, day in and day out, with a much higher proportion of crazy people than do the cops. By, “crazy people”, I mean most adolescent males who need at least a decade to learn how to handle the new phenomena of being constantly hepped up on sex hormones. And I’m just talking naturally produced stuff….

What we definitely don’t need in schools is to provide impulse-control challenged adolescent males new opportunities to exercise their testosterone-induced aggression instincts with the temptation of a loaded gun for victory! Doing so is a recipe for more gun-related deaths in schools—not fewer.

So, yes…Rep. Liz Pike does gets my vote for the 2012 Fucking Idiot of the Year award.

Young Turks: Republican Santa?!?

Rappin’ up 2012

Young Turks: Dick Armey’s armed teabagging coup:

Sam Seder on Social Security hater Alan Simpson.

Fiscalcliff-n-Debtceiling:

• Sam Seder: Fiscal Cliff? US Deficit shrinking at fastest pace since WW II.
• Young Turks: CNBC anchor completely flips out over fiscal cliff
• Obama makes statement on avoiding a middle class tax hike.
• Sam Seder: When Republicans say, “broaden the base,” they mean “screw the middle class.”
• Young Turks: Debt ceiling fear mongering.
• Sam Seder: Why the U.S. doesn’t have a debt crisis.

Thom: The Good, The Bad, and The Very, Very Ugly.

Young Turks: DUI for a dry politician?

Guns, God, Kids, and Schools:

• Ann Telnaes: NRA’s Body Language.
• David Gregory shows high-capacity ammunition magazine on ‘Meet The Press’ (via TalkingPointsMemo).
• Young Turks: Military grade weapons show up at gun buy-back
• Nutjob Sheriff Joe Arpaio wants ‘armed posse’ to protect Arizona schools (via Crooks and Liars).
• Liberal Viewer: Gun control or God control?
• Red State Update: Gun Control.
• Mark Fiore: Bumper Sticker Action.
• Young Turks: Celebrities call for gun control.

White House: West Wing Week.

How Republicans will raise your milk prices (via Crooks and Liars).
Last week’s Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza can be found here.

In 2006, I worked my ass off to get Rodney Tom elected as my state senator. Representative Tom had just switched parties—from Republican to Democratic. His challenge was to beat Senator Luke Esser, a friendly, but solidly Republican, incumbent.

In Tom’s favor, the 48th LD district was increasingly turning blue.

Tom has now, essentially, switched back. And in doing so, he has shit upon the people who elected him.

Yes, I’ve heard Tom try to explain why he will caucus with the Republicans. “It’s bipartisan!,” he exclaims.

Bullshit. When you are elected under the label “Democrat,” it is not bipartisan to caucus with the Republicans and, in doing so, turn over control of the Senate to the Republicans. If the voters of the 48th wanted that, they would have elected a Republican.

“But, but, but, the voters have spoken on the issue of new revenue,” he proclaims.

How odd, then, that when the voters spoke directly by electing a Democratic senator, Rodney Tom forgot to listen! Yet somehow, based on “related” issues, Tom can divine that the voters want Republicans in charge and a zero revenue budget. Bull. Fucking. Shit.

In many states, Tom would be subject to a recall election simply for this betrayal of his constituents. In these states a recall election is a political act.

In Washington state, the Constitution specifies a higher bar and a different purpose for recalling a politician. From Article I Section 33 of the Washington State Constitution (my emphasis):

Every elective public officer of the state of Washington expect [except] judges of courts of record is subject to recall and discharge by the legal voters of the state, or of the political subdivision of the state, from which he was elected whenever a petition demanding his recall, reciting that such officer has committed some act or acts of malfeasance or misfeasance while in office, or who has violated his oath of office, stating the matters complained of, signed by the percentages of the qualified electors thereof, hereinafter provided, the percentage required to be computed from the total number of votes cast for all candidates for his said office to which he was elected at the preceding election, is filed with the officer with whom a petition for nomination, or certificate for nomination, to such office must be filed under the laws of this state, and the same officer shall call a special election as provided by the general election laws of this state, and the result determined as therein provided.

Man…that is one run-on sentence! But what does this mean? Is switching party, throwing control of the Senate to the other party an act of misfeasance or malfeasance? RCW 29A.56.110 defines the terms:

(1) “Misfeasance” or “malfeasance” in office means any wrongful conduct that affects, interrupts, or interferes with the performance of official duty;

(a) Additionally, “misfeasance” in office means the performance of a duty in an improper manner; and
(b) Additionally, “malfeasance” in office means the commission of an unlawful act;

(2) “Violation of the oath of office” means the neglect or knowing failure by an elective public officer to perform faithfully a duty imposed by law.

Additionally, RCW 29A.56.140 specifies that any petition must be reviewed in Superior Court for “(1) whether or not the acts stated in the charge satisfy the criteria for which a recall petition may be filed, and (2) the adequacy of the ballot synopsis” and that “[t]he court shall not consider the truth of the charges, but only their sufficiency.”

In practice, Superior Court judges have been reluctant to allow recall petitions to go forward unless clear violations of the law are involved. Some Wingnuts learned this the hard way in their 2005 attempt to recall Secretary of State Sam Reed. More recently, an attempt to recall Public Lands Commissioner, Peter Goldmark, suffered the same fate.

So, no. Short of some remarkable revelation of legal wrongdoing, Rodney Tom is not going to go through a recall election. But I note that my pessimism isn’t shared—it hasn’t stopped one of my activist neighbors from purchasing the domain RecallRodneyTom.com. I hope she uses it to bring attention to the “Tom issue.”

Tom has another fate. When he comes up for reelection in two years—if he bothers to run—he’ll lose.

The 48th LD is now solidly blue. No matter what party Tom claims to “prefer,” his actions are unambiguous. He’s a Republican now. And the 48th LD is most certainly NOT going to elect a Republican state senator.

Whether you are celebrating Christmas, or Quanza, or Chinese Food Takeout Day, or Festivus, or engaging in The War on Christmas™, may your holidays/warfare be blessed with good cheer, loving family, best friends, good times, lots and lots of loot, plenty of vacation days, as well as sober, competent designated drivers….

Michelle Obama reads ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.

Canada says, “Merry Christmas America”: A Boxing Day Primer.

The War On Christmas™:

Christmas at the White House.

UCB Comedy: A Christmas message for parents.

Ann Telnaes: Happy Holidays from the Obamas.

New Battles in The War on Christmas™:

• Sam Seder: Millionaires declare War on Christmas over “boat docking fee”
• Young Turks: FAUX News asks “Santa” about the war on Christmas

Maddow: Mark Sanford to hike the campaign trail

It’s The End of The World As We Know It (unless you are reading this):

• SlateTV: Apocalypse sex
• Buzz60: Best ways to ring in the Mayan Apocalypse
• The White House Menorah.

White House: West Wing Week.

Thom: The Good, The Bad, and The Very, Very Ugly.

Fiscal Something or the Other:

• Maddow: Who’s in charge of The U S House now that Boehner’s “Plan B” has failed?
• Ed: Boehner fails…Republicans drag us over the fiscal cliff.
• Bashir: Dysfunctional Boehner’s “Plan B” crashes.
• Ed: Boehner lies as his “Plan B” goes down in flames.
• Young Turks: Boehner’s Big Fail.
• Baby Congress tackles the Fiscal Cliff.

Thom with even more Good, Bad and Very, Very, Ugly.

SlateTV: Sarah Palin isn’t influential…says Sarah Palin.

Shooting Children:

• Ann Telnaes: The next mass shooting.
• SlateTV: Biden to lead White House gun control effort.
• Young Turks: 11-year old’s mother sends him to school with a gun….for safety.
• Maddow: NRA takes new ‘serious tone’ in wake of Newtown gun massacre
• Thom: Why are white males committing mass murder?
• Bashir: Right wing nut jobs blame women and Jon Stewart, but not guns for massacre.
• Mark Fiore: Condolencer-in-Chief.
• Sam Seder: Rick Perry wants more guns in schools!
• Obama makes a statement on gun violence prevention:
• Thom: The NRA has more blood on their hands then al Qaeda.
• Bashir: VP Biden will lead task force on gun violence
• Zina Saunders: Stand your ground!
• Lawrence O’Donnell: FAUX News loving conservative Judge rewrites himself on guns
• Ann Telnaes: America’s cowboy mentality.
• SlateTV: Why is the NRA so powerful?

Barney Frank goes after Newt Gingrich over “God” comments.

Thom with more Good, Bad, and Very, Very Ugly.

Last week’s Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza can be found here.

Just over two weeks ago, my cell phone buzzed while I was in the middle of an afternoon work meeting. Usually I would ignore the phone in that circumstance, but I didn’t this time. It was from Kathy, and she doesn’t call all that often.

When I answered, she told me she was hiding in one room of the house after someone tried breaking in. She didn’t know if he was in the house. The Redmond police were on the way.

It was a Monday, and Kathy was working from home that day. The door bell ran. She ignored it, figuring it was UPS dropping off a package. After a long pause, the doorbell rang a few more times, and then a bunch of times.

Kathy walked from her study to near the front door and started to yell, “who is it,” just as the decorative windowpane closest to the door knob was punched in. Kathy yelled something and ran to her hiding spot, grabbing her cell phone on the way. She called 9-11 and then me.

The would-be burglar apparently took off. She could see through the hole that it was a male wearing a dark blue jacket with light lettering, and the police found nobody matching that description hanging around.

The physical damage was minimal. But for Kathy, this episode was emotionally difficult. For the five minutes it took the police to arrive, her home had gone from being a place of safety and comfort to being a terrifying prison.

When the police left, she talked to our friends a couple of houses down. These people have young children, which means they are well connected in the neighborhood and beyond. They sent out word warning other neighbors. Later that night a neighbor down the street send us images of all the cars and pedestrians that had passed his security camera watching over is driveway. After that, we were forwarded an email from a neighbor who was likely a target of the same individuals.

He was on the second floor of his house when a car pulled into the driveway. A clean-cut white male in his late 20s or early 30s, wearing a dark blue shirt with light blue lettering, got out of the passenger side of a silver late model Kia Optima and rang the doorbell. The home owner answered from the second floor window, and the ensuing exchanged established that the visitors had the wrong house number. The police obtained a written statement about this incident, but they have not “solved” the case, as far as I know.

On this particular day, I had promised my students a 6:00-7:30 pm review session for their final exam, so I really had no time to catch a bus home and then make it back to work. When I went to The Ave for a quick dinner, I stopped at Radio Shack and picked up a few blinking LED assemblies. After fixing the hole that evening, I set up the blinking LED assemblies near all ground floor entrances to make them look like part of an alarm system. Out of my electronics junk box, I dug up a small keypad that used to be attached to a radio. I affixed it on a wall near the front door.

Kathy appreciated my faux alarm system, but wanted the real thing. “I don’t care what it costs. I want a real alarm system and some video cameras!”

Okay…I can deal with that. As it happens, good alarm systems are quite affordable and straightforward to install. In the bad old days, an alarm system with sensors on every door and window would be a pain the the ass, if only because one would run wires from each sensor back to the control unit. Modern alarm systems are entirely wireless, and can include door and window sensors, motion sensors, glass breakage sensors, water sensors, smoke detectors, heat detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, natural gas detectors and even remote panic buttons. The control unit can be programmed to call an alarm monitoring service if you chose; or, you can program it to call your own series of numbers. You can add a dedicated cell phone “line” to most alarms. Some can even utilize the internet to email messages.

So four days later, I had an alarm system in hand. An evening later I had installed a bunch of motion sensors and all the door sensors. It took another evening to put in all the window sensors. Piece of cake.

I also picked up a video surveillance system that can continuously monitor and record video from multiple cameras around the property. That was a bit trickier to install because even with wireless transmission of the video, you need to supply 5 volts to power the cameras. An interesting feature is the ability to monitor the cameras via the internet on computers or a cell phone.

So that’s what I’ve been working on for the last two weeks. I enjoy that kind of geeky tech work.

What I’m not quite comfortable with is this new security mentality around our house. It feels like I’ve enclosed our home in virtual barbed wire or something. What’s next, a metal detector at each entrance? I’m sure I’ll get used to it soon enough, but for now it feels a little icky.

What I’ve done, basically, is to make it undesirable for a common thief to burgle my house. The flashing lights, the cameras, the security decals in windows are all notices to a would-be thief that they would have a much easier time going somewhere else.

In other words…I’ve made it my neighbors’ problem.

Please join us tonight our last meeting of the year at the Seattle Chapter of Drinking Liberally. The following two Tuesdays fall on Christmas day and New Year day.

We meet every Tuesday (except certain holidays…) at the Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Avenue E. Starting time is 8:00pm. Some people show up earlier for Dinner.

Can’t make it to Seattle tonight? Check out one of the other DL meetings over the next week. Tonight the Tri-Cities chapter also meets. The Longview chapter and South Seattle chapter meet this Wednesday. The Spokane chapter and Drinking Liberally Tacoma meet this Thursday.

With 230 chapters of Living Liberally, including fourteen in Washington state, four in Oregon, and three more in Idaho, chances are excellent there’s a chapter that meets near you.

Sam Seder: New poll shows people hate Republicans more than ever.

Connecticut School Shooting:

• Obama’s statement on the shooting.
• Thom: Can we talk gun control now?
• Young Turks: Cenk responds to Mike Huckabee’s idiotic statement
• Young Turks: Obama tearfully mourns children killed
• Sam Seder: The NRA is a domestic terrorist group.
• Young Turks: #CTShooting (Part I)
• Young Turks: #CTShooting (Part II)

S.E. Cupp’s: New Rules for her ‘troglodyte’ fellow Republicans.

Sam Seder: The G.O.P.’s asshole problem.

Young Turks: Dick Morris cashed in on bogus election prognostications

News from the G.O.P. War on Voters:

• Maddow: GOP’s political gerrymandering delivers disproportionate representation in states. Part I.
• Maddow: GOP’s political gerrymandering delivers disproportionate representation in states. Part II.
• Ed: Attorney General Eric Holder talks ‘national voting standards’
• Maddow: AG Eric Holder takes first steps toward eliminating GOP ‘election rigging’

Liberal Viewer: FAUX News hates Gangnam Style.

Sarah Silverman: Be bro-choice:

SlateTV: Obama as an extinct lizzard.

Fiscal Cliff Notes:

• Bashir: Today in fiscal cliff.
• Ann Telnaes: A chicken hawk plays chicken.
• Sam Seder: FAUX News asks for your prayers for Speaker Boehner
• Lawrence O’Donnell: Grover Norquist, “Bi-partisanship is another name for ‘date rape'”.
• Bill Press and friends: Republicans are taking America over the fiscal cliff.
• Susie Sampson’s Tea Party Report: Fiscal Cliff at Christmas
• Stephen: “Merry Cliffmas”
• O’Donnell: Rush is right about something!
• Ann Telnaes: Debt ceiling insanity.

White House: West Wing Week.

Young Turks: Mitt Romney finally wins something:

Red State Update: FAUX News fires Karl Rove and Dick Morris.

The G.O.P. War On Workers™:

• Jennifer Granholm: “Dear GOP, Ignore the will of the people and you will fail”
• Sam Seder: Michigan Republicans stage sneak attack on union rights
• Ed: Looking at Snyder’s lies.
• Thom: The history of “Right to Work” (for less).
• Ezra Klein: Republicans attack unions in Michigan.
• Bill Press: You’d think Republicans would be against freeloaders!
• Sam Seder: Worse than Wisconsin.
• Thom and Pap: The union war has just begun against Rick Snyder.

Mark Fiore: High tech Christmas.

Ed: The GOP is running out of white voters.

Jon on Graham and Scalia’s remarks on gay marriage (via Crooks and Liars).

Pap: The MSM fails again in 2012.

Sam Seder: Michele Bachmann is back to Teh Crazy.

News from the Front Lines in the War on Christmas™:

• Jon apologizes for poking fun at FAUX News over War on Christmas™ (via Crooks and Liars).
• Young Turks: Republicans go ape-shit over Bo Obama holiday card.
• Sharpton: Bill-O the Clown still pushing a fictitious War on Christmas™
• Lawrence O’Donnell: Santa is a Democrat.
• Young Turks: War on Christmas? Mom objects to church field trip.

Ann Telnaes: The collateral damage of drones.

NPR Is All Politics.

Last week’s Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza can be found here.

Via the AP:

Twenty-seven people, including 18 children, have been killed in a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in suburban Connecticut…

Via ABC:

One shooter is described as 24-years-old, armed with four weapons and wearing a bullet-proof vest, sources tell ABC News.

Clearly, something isn’t working. Perhaps it’s time we listen to the gun rights activists. To paraphrase Portland gun advocate Kirby Ellis’ words in response to the recent Portland-area mall shooting:

“By allowing kids to carry firearms it actually gives them a chance to protect themselves in ways…if the police are not available, or they could be moments away”

“In light of the recent school shooting in Connecticut, not allowing kids to carry weapons only puts our children more at risk.”

“With the policies in place that don’t allow students to carry firearms in school, the only thing they really could do is try to seek cover and wait for the police to get there.”

So it’s clear, then…it’s absolutely the only conceivable thing that could be done to stop these tragedies….

Please join us tonight for an evening of politics over a pint at the Seattle Chapter of Drinking Liberally.

We’ll begin the evening by giving all of our drinks, food and money the conservatives; and we’ll entrust ’em to share equally with us. It’s because, you know…we’re bipartisan. And handing over control to conservatives is just plain common sense bipartisanship! I mean, they’d do the same for us…right?

We meet every Tuesday at the Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Avenue E. Starting time is 8:00pm. Some people show up earlier for Dinner.

Can’t make it to Seattle tonight? Check out one of the other DL meetings over the next week. Tonight the Tri-Cities and Vancouver, WA chapters meet. On Wednesday, the Bellingham chapter meets. On Thursday Drinking Liberally Bremerton meets. And next Monday, the Yakima chapter meets.

With 230 chapters of Living Liberally, including fourteen in Washington state, four in Oregon, and three more in Idaho, chances are excellent there’s a chapter that meets near you.

Thom: The G.O.P.’s plans for the 2016 election.

SlateTV: Cory Booker starts his food stamp odyssey.

Former Sen. Alan Simpson goes all Gangnam style.

Maddow: FreedomWorks loses it’s Dick Armey.

The War On Xmas™:

• The War on Christmas totally explained:
• Young Turks: Bill-O’s freak-out over the War on Christmas™.
• White House: President Obama lights the National Holiday Christmas Tree

Sam Seder: Stoopid Republicans think the election was stolen by (the non-existent) ACORN.

Thom with The Good, The Bad and the Very Very Supercacaneously Ugly.

SlateTV: Hillary Clinton laughs off Presidential talk.

Red State Update: Romney and Obama have lunch.

Sam Seder: Teabaggers lose their Dick Armey.

Thom: The Good, The Bad, and The Very, Very Ugly.

Fiscal Cliff Notes:

• Ann Telnaes: Boehner talks about “fairness”.
• Mark Fiore: The Twelve Days of Cliffmas.
• Sam Seder: Mitch McConnell filibusters himself
• Mr. Burns with some political “common sense”:
• Ezra Klein: Republicans running out of room in budget debate.
• O’Donnell: Republican Senator Mitch McConnell filibusters his own bill!!
• Young Turks: McConnell self-filibusters.
• Fiscal cliff explained in pictures.
• Ann Telnaes: Republicans sink into a fiscal bog.
• O’Donnell: “Magic beans and fairy dust”

Thom with The Good, The Bad and the Very Very Potomaniacly Ugly.

Washington State Issuing marriage licenses for same-sex couples (via Crooks and Liars).

Jon does Gov. Chris Christie.

Truth in advertising: Exxon hates your children (via Slog).

FAUX News sidelines Rove and Morris:

• Sam Seder: Even FAUX News is freakin’ sick of Karl Rove and Dick Morris.
• Bill Press: Glee over Dick Morris and Karl Rove being sidelined at FAUX.
• Young Turks: FAUX News cuts Dick, Rove.
• Martin Bashir: Armey and Rove benched at FAUX News.

Thom and Pap: Teabaggers are the GOP’s “invasive species”.

Martin Bashir: Romney Surrogates using the same feckless & offensive talking points.

Lunatic Congressman Gohmert casts sole vote against striking “lunatic” from laws.

White House: West Wing Week.

Shitting upon the Disabled:

• Sam Seder: G.O.P. Senators kick Tiny Tim to the curb.
• Bill Press: G.O.P. Senators shake Bob Dole’s hand and then stab him in the back.
• Jon: It’s official—Republicans hate the U.N. more than they like helping people with disabilities (via Crooks and Liars).
• Ed: Republican Senators vote down treaty to protect people with disabilities worldwide.
• Martin Bashir: G.O.P.’s disgraceful circus act over U.N. Disabilities Treaty.
• Thom: One party flew over the cuckoo’s nest.
• Ed: Fiscal cliff and U.N. disability treaty demonstrates that Republicans are far removed from reality.
• Maddow: GOP Freakout…Part 1.
• Maddow: GOP Freakout…Part 2.
• O’Donnell: 38 Senate Republicans disgrace themselves and the U.S.

Ezra Klein: Republicans resume their War on Workers™.

Sharpton: Obama honors ‘living legends’ at the Kennedy Center.

SlateTV: Senator Ashley Judd?

O’Donnell: 51% of voters want Michelle Obama for Senator.

From Teabagger to Moneybagger:

• Young Turks: Teabagger DeMint quits.
• Ezra Klein: DeMint’s move stinks of ‘Party Purity’ enforcement strategy.
• Young Turks: The Heritage Foundation is not a think tank; it’s a money laundering operation.
• Sam Seder: Jim DeMint quits Senate for cha-ching!
• Young Turks: Colbert wants to replace DeMint.
• Stephen Colbert reaches for the Senate #SenatorColbert.

Jon: Republicans haven’t learned a damn thing (via Slog).

Young Turks: Ed Asner’s anti-trickle down video.

Pap: Cut the Tea Party cancer out of USA.

Last week’s Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza can be found here.

Dear Senators,

Congratulation, assholes, for blocking the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities yesterday. You done “real good!”

Let’s see…you further narrowed your alarmingly narrow base:

If you thought the Republican Party only tries to appeal to well-off, married, white suburban and rural Christian men, boy are you wrong. The Republican Party tried to appeal only to well-off, white, suburban and rural able-bodied Christian men.

Nice!

In rejecting the treaty, you spit in the face of both former Sen. Bob Dole and former President George H.W. Bush—you know, the guy who signed the American With Disabilities Act, that serves as model law for signatory states. Oh…and George W. Bush, whose administration negotiated the treaty in the first place, and who first signed the treaty.

Really, nice work!

Instead you cast your lot with the fringe extremists of your party—the American Taliban, if you will. And the American Taliban’s top General is Senator Rick Santorum, who convinced you to reject the treaty because:

…parents and caregivers care most deeply and are best equipped to care for the disabled. Not international bureaucrats.

Except that the treaty does not put “international bureaucrats” in charge of children with disabilities. The very idea completely contradicts the words and spirit of the treaty (try reading it, ya nutjobbers!), which is almost entirely about countries agreeing to pass laws ensuring people with disabilities receive the same opportunities that are enjoyed by persons without disabilities.

Santorum’s overt lie misinformation about the treaty is strikingly similar to, and as absurd as, Sarah Palin’s 2009 lie-of-the-year award winning, repeatedly debunked “Obama’s Death Panels” crazy talk.

Santorum also frets:

Another example of this U.N. overreach is the treaty’s “best interests of the child” standard, which states in full: “In all actions concerning children with disabilities, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.”

But here is what the treaty says:

Article 7 – Children with disabilities

• States Parties shall take all necessary measures to ensure the full enjoyment by children with disabilities of all human rights and fundamental freedoms on an equal basis with other children.
• In all actions concerning children with disabilities, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.

Wow…I can see how considering the best interests of the child in passing laws to ensure equality of “full human rights and fundamental freedoms” might threaten the fuck out of you. The little rugrats might try to vote!

And it isn’t just General Santorum. Some of you bought the bullshit of General Tony Perkins:

“The global community could force America to sanction sterilization or abortion for the disabled–at taxpayer expense,” said Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council.

Actually, what the treaty says is:

Article 23 – Respect for home and the family

1. States Parties shall take effective and appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against persons with disabilities in all matters relating to marriage, family, parenthood and relationships, on an equal basis with others, so as to ensure that:

a. The right of all persons with disabilities who are of marriageable age to marry and to found a family on the basis of free and full consent of the intending spouses is recognized;

b. The rights of persons with disabilities to decide freely and responsibly on the number and spacing of their children and to have access to age-appropriate information, reproductive and family planning education are recognized, and the means necessary to enable them to exercise these rights are provided;

c. Persons with disabilities, including children, retain their fertility on an equal basis with others.

Literally, the treaty encourages countries to provide the same reproductive options to persons with disabilities as are available to persons without disabilities. But Tony Perkins is a well known lying sack of shit uninformed dissembling nutjob. So…”good job” there.

And that’s not all. You:

…bought the bogus argument that to vote for the U.N. treaty would mean that the U.N. committee overseeing the ban on discrimination against the disabled, including children, could violate the rights of American parents who decide to home school their disabled children.

Nuh-huh. What the treaty does do is ensure that children with disabilities have the same rights to schooling, including home schooling that children without disabilities have.

This “home schooling” concern can only be considered the rantings of lunatics who have not read the fucking treaty. That likely includes YOU and up to 37 of your esteemed, lunatic colleagues!

That’s not the craziest thing of all. The stupefyingly crazy thing comes from a whole other collection of wackjobs: The “U.N. sovereignty over the U.S.” conspiracy theorists. Santorum, of course, hinted at this.

Since the treaty is really designed to get countries to pass laws essentially modeled after the American With Disabilities Act, ratification of the treaty by the U.S. would really only subject the U.S. to a quadrennial reporting requirement. So, thank you, Senators, for saving us from the tyranny of writing the Easiest. Report. Ever. every four years.

Now that you have saved us from the autocracy of U.N. bureaucrats performing abortions and forced sterilization on home-schooled babies with disabilities, it’s time to move on the other important things.

You know…like outing high ranking government officials who are members of the New World Order (or the Muslim Brotherhood). Or revealing the truth about aliens and Area 51. And, for Pete’s sake, finally nailing Bill and Hillary Clinton for the death of Vince Foster!

Get to it!

Verily,
Darryl
Horsesass.org

Please join us tonight for an evening of politics over a pint at the Seattle Chapter of Drinking Liberally.

We meet every Tuesday at the Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Avenue E. Starting time is 8:00pm. Some people show up earlier for Dinner.

Can’t make it to Seattle tonight? Check out one of the other DL meetings over the next week. Tonight the Tri-Cities chapter meets. And for Thursday, the Spokane chapter and Drinking Liberally Tacoma meet.

With 230 chapters of Living Liberally, including fourteen in Washington state, four in Oregon, and three more in Idaho, chances are excellent there’s a chapter that meets near you.

Ann Telnaes: The flat earth candidate.

Jon: McCain’s anti-Rice agenda.

Red State Update: Elmo’s fall from grace.

Sam Seder: Bradley Manning speaks out on his abuse.

Liberal Viewer: FAUX News fake war on Christmas.

Maddow: Biden eats snacks at Costco!!!

SlateTV: Hillary Clinton says drug legalization wouldn’t stop violence.

Thom: Former FL GOP leader admits voter suppression.

Ann Telnaes: Mitch McConnell clings to hope, air

Young Turks: Nutjob Congressman says Obama is advised by Muslim Brotherhood.

General Petraeus’ sex tape leaked.

Mark Fiore: Pay attention!

Sam Seder: The teabagger’s insane idea to reverse the election.

Maddow: The War on Women—Mississippi’s lone abortion clinic faces closure.

Bashir: Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R) and other right wing nut-cases.

Thom: The Good, the Bad, and the Very, Very Ugly.

The G.O.P. Good Ol’ Boy Club:

• Boehner’s women problem.
• Maddow: G.O.P. House problem.
• Young Turks: The G.O.P. women leadership problem.
• Ann Telnaes: Speaker Boehner’s good ol’ boy club.
• SlateTV: Republicans go almost all white.
• Bashir: The G.O.P.’s white male problem.

Thom: AZ joins the War on Women.

Glenn Beck’s Obama in Pee.

Maddow: Obama and Romney have a ‘turkey chili’ summit:

Pap: The GOP’s war on voters hasn’t ended.

White House: Bo Inspects the White House Christmas holiday decorations.

Red State Update: A farewell to Twinkies.

Al Gore gets autotuned.

Fiscal Cliff Notes:

• Stephen peers over The Fiscal Cliff.
• Ed: Boehner is cornered on fiscal cliff
• Jon: Cliffpocalypsemageddonacaust!
• O’Donnell: Obama’s cliff leverage.

Maddow: Congress still blocks closing of Gitmo.

White House: West Wing Week.

Young Turks: Mississippi’s only abortion clinic may close.

Thom: The Good, the Bad, and the Very, Very, Ugly.

Stephen takes Boeing to task.

Ann Telnaes: Speaker Boehner’s good ol’ boy club.

Last week’s Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza can be found here.

It’s Tuesday already. So please join us tonight for a pint and discussion at the Seattle Chapter of Drinking Liberally.

We meet every Tuesday at the Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Avenue E. Starting time is 8:00pm. Some people show up earlier for Dinner.

Can’t make it to Seattle’s DL tonight? Check out one of the other DL meetings over the next week. The Tri-Cities chapter also meets tonight. On Wednesday, the Bellingham chapter meets, as does the the Burien chapter. And on Monday, the Yakima, South Bellevue and Olympia chapters meet.

With 230 chapters of Living Liberally, including fourteen in Washington state, four in Oregon, and three more in Idaho, chances are excellent there’s a chapter that meets near you.