[Link: www.rawstory.com...]

At this point, Nagamine turned the tables on Bennett's office, demanding verification that they were qualified to seek verification of the president's birth. "My client, the Department of Health, has forwarded your request for verification of President Obama's birth record to me," she wrote, "We need more information to substantiate that you are eligible to receive verification."

Bennett huffily replied, "As the chief elections officer for the State of Arizona and pursuant to Arizona Revised Statutes, sections 16-212, 16-301, 16-502, 16-507 and others, my office is tasked with quadrennially compiling a list of candidates for the Office of the President of the United States." He asserted that his office is the one that is being overtaxed by requests for proof of the president's citizenship, and that Nagamine's refusal to follow his instructions, "will dramatically exacerbate an already untenable situation."

Nagamine's response on Saturday, May 19 was to again request verification of Bennett's legitimacy to receive the information, and to point out that the statues of Arizona law he directed her to in his email were not in fact germane to the discussion, but rather pertain to "election of presidential electors, nomination of candidates for printing on official ballot of general or special election, form and contents of ballot, and presentation of presidential candidates on ballot."

She concluded that "none, as far as I can tell, establish the authority of the Secretary of State to maintain and update official lists of persons in the ordinary course of his activities. If I have missed something, please let me know. My client stands willing to provide you with the verification you seek as soon as you are able to show that you are entitled to it."

It's a scary to think there are THAT many birthers out there to whom this kind of crap is appealing. Don't Sheriff Joe's tax payers have a problem footing the bill for deputies to be sent to Hawaii?

Morons.

[Link: mediamatters.org...]

From James O'Keefe's latest video on "Voter Fraud in America," we learn:

If James O'Keefe says someone isn't a citizen, you should ask to see their passport.

If James O'Keefe says someone is deceased, you should ask to see their death certificate.

If you show up at someone's house with a video camera or call them on the phone, refuse to identify yourself, and demand answers about someone's citizenship, you're probably not going to get a response. (Ambush interview subject to O'Keefe associate: "You haven't told me who you are. You're an 'independent agency'? That's cool.  Who are you with?" O'Keefe associate replies "Thank you, sir," and drives off.)

Fuck you assholes! My homie O'Keefe the magical pimp would never lie, deceive, cheat or in any way tarnish the Statue of Liberty and the good 'ole USA!

[Link: www.rawstory.com...]

Former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele is accusing Planned Parenthood of providing abortions as part of a plot to "eliminate and limit" the African-American population.

"Planned Parenthood was founded by Margaret Sanger, who sought to control the population of the undesirables and black and brown Americans were in her crosshairs," conservative radio host Laura Ingraham told Steele on Monday. "And somehow we got into a situation -- I think a lot of this is the fault of Republicans -- where African-Americans are voting in lockstep with a party that supports..."

"Their elimination," Steele agreed.

These fucktards will say ANYTHING to advance their bullshit agenda. I'm sure tomorrow he'll be claiming that Planned Parenthood is poisoning the water supply in our country in order to eliminate all of their opponents.

[Link: www.washingtonpost.com...]

We have been studying Washington politics and Congress for more than 40 years, and never have we seen them this dysfunctional. In our past writings, we have criticized both parties when we believed it was warranted. Today, however, we have no choice but to acknowledge that the core of the problem lies with the Republican Party.

The GOP has become an insurgent outlier in American politics. It is ideologically extreme; scornful of compromise; unmoved by conventional understanding of facts, evidence and science; and dismissive of the legitimacy of its political opposition.

When one party moves this far from the mainstream, it makes it nearly impossible for the political system to deal constructively with the country's challenges.

"Both sides do it" or "There is plenty of blame to go around" are the traditional refuges for an American news media intent on proving its lack of bias, while political scientists prefer generality and neutrality when discussing partisan polarization. Many self-styled bipartisan groups, in their search for common ground, propose solutions that move both sides to the center, a strategy that is simply untenable when one side is so far out of reach.

I have no problem saying that today's GOP would rather sink the ship than allow anyone left of Rush Limbaugh to move it forward a single inch.

[Link: www.rawstory.com...]

According to B'Tselem, which uploaded the footage to YouTube, a large group of settlers, some masked and armed, approached the village from the nearby settlement of Yitzhar and began throwing rocks and starting fires. After a group of Palestinians gathered and threw rocks in return at the settlers, Israeli police and soldiers arrived on the scene.

One of the settlers is seen crouching while aiming and then firing his pistol at the group of Palestinians. Another settler is seen firing an assault rifle.

"The video footage raises grave suspicions that the soldiers present did not act to prevent the settlers from throwing stones and firing live ammunition at the Palestinians," said B'Tselem. "The soldiers did not try to remove the settlers and in fact are seen standing by settlers while they are shooting and stone throwing."

In a statement, the Israeli defence forces said it was investigating the shooting. Security forces arrived at the scene following stone-throwing by both sides in an effort to separate them. "There was a shooting during the incident and the matter is being investigated' but on the surface, the video that was released does not seem to represent the whole incident."

[Link: us.cnn.com...]

Vermont's governor has signed a bill making it the first U.S. state to ban fracking, the controversial practice to extract natural gas from the ground.

"This is a big deal," Gov. Peter Shumlin said Wednesday. "This bill will ensure that we do not inject chemicals into groundwater in a desperate pursuit for energy."

Shumlin said fracking contaminates groundwater and the science behind it is "uncertain at best." He said he hopes other states will follow Vermont's lead in banning it.

I hope other states will also see that the almighty dollar isn't the be all, end all to every issue.

[Link: www.rawstory.com...]

"I don't know whether Barack Obama was born in the United States of America," the congressman said. "I don't know that. But I do know this, that in his heart, he's not an American. He's just not an American."

Elbert County Republican Chairman Scott Wills told Colorado's 9News that there was "deafening silence" before the crowd reacted with tentative applause.

Coffman supporter Brooks Imperial, who first posted audio of the speech, said he wished more Republicans would reveal they were birthers.

"I'm glad the congressman said it," Imperial remarked. "Not enough have. More should."

In a written statement on Wednesday, Coffman insisted that he had misspoke.

"I misspoke and I apologize," the statement said. "I have confidence in President Obama's citizenship and legitimacy as President of the United States."

"I don't believe the president shares my belief in American Exceptionalism. His policies reflect a philosophy that America is but one nation among many equals," the statement continued. "As a Marine, I believe America is unique and based on a core set of principles that make it superior to other nations."

The most disgusting thing about this entire incident is that this clown implies that he speaks for all Marines who agree with everything coming out of his mouth.

Fuck....you.

[Link: thinkprogress.org...]

In conservative filmmaker James O'Keefe's latest video, he features two "non-citizens" who have supposedly committed voter fraud in North Carolina. As ThinkProgress reported yesterday, one of the men, Zbigniew Gorzkowski, has actually been an American citizens for decades.

Now, it turns out that the second "non-citizen," William Romero, is actually a citizen as well, according to his family.

O'Keefe's picture should be in the dictionary next to the word "tool".

[Link: www.rawstory.com...]

Although 42 states define marriage as being between one man and one woman, six states and Washington, D.C. have approved of same sex marriages, yet somehow people in those regions are still free to practice religion, govern their children and enjoy the freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

But Garlow didn't stop there.

"Pastors are silenced -- we will lose our liberties -- we'll be coerced and forced out of existence as the Church of Jesus Christ was forced underground," he warned. "It's not about tolerance, it's about coercion and crushing and taking away our liberties and freedoms. As people speak out on this issue, we don't need to apologize for truth, but it may cost us dearly. We're coming into an era where it could cost us everything, including our lives."

This guy isn't any different than the rest of the right other than being a bit more direct. We're all gonna dieeeeeee! It's gay marriage nuclear meltdown! The planet is doooooomed! So vote for/support/listen to/follow me because I can save you from destruction!