In a rambling speech Nikki Haley the first Republican to challenge Donald Trump told voters at an Exeter, New Hampshire town hall Thursday saying that saying the Florida GOP governor’s Ron DeSantis’ “Don’t Say Gay” law doesn’t go far enough.
Via AlterNet
“You look at the fact that here they’re trying to talk about gender in schools. You know, there was all this talk about the Florida bill, the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill. Basically what it said was you shouldn’t be able to talk about gender before third grade,” Haley claimed. [This is false] I’m sorry, I don’t think that goes far enough. “When I was in school, you didn’t have sex-ed until seventh grade,” [Not the same issue]. “And even then your parents had to sign whether you could take the class “
Haley then went on to falsely claim that schools are teaching Critical Race Theory (CRT), and falsely described the college-level analytical framework designed to examine systemic racism.
Watch Haley’s remarks below. Her CRT and “Don’t Say Gay” remarks begin after the 18:00 minute mark.
Rep. Matt Gaetz is trying to convince his fellow Republicans to demand new work requirements for Medicaid as part of a deal to raise the debt ceiling. He tells Semafor that he’s now “socializing” the concept among colleagues, including Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Aside from being a sure nonstarter with Democrats, targeting Medicaid carries political risks. It’s a colossal program currently covering roughly 84 million Americans, many of them elderly and children in lower-income households. In Arkansas, where new work rules went into effect for almost a year before being blocked in federal court, about 18,000 people lost their coverage, including many who should have still been eligible but simply appeared to get tripped up by the new paperwork. Many enrollees didn’t even know about the new rules. A study in Health Affairs later found that, for those affected, “work requirements did not increase employment” after 18 months.
Gaetz, a trust fund baby who never worked or had a poor day in his life “claims” his proposed change would only apply to “able-bodied adults.”
Of the 120,000 traditional (fee-for-service) Medicare beneficiaries estimated to be HIV positive, nearly eight in 10 (79%) are under age 65 and qualify for Medicare because they are disabled and receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) payments, which entitle them to Medicare after a two-year waiting .
Also this week House Republicans have been working out the details of their deeplyunpopular plan to cut Social Security and Medicare in order to deepen poverty and shackle people to the labor force further into old age. The proposal to raise the retirement age for Social Security to 70, per The Washington Post, which means that workers and retirees would have to work an additional 3 to 4 years to receive full benefit.
An anonymous Twitter user has accused New Jersey Senator, Cory Booker. of an alleged gay #MeToo sexual assault that took place in a bathroom years ago and his “story” is beginning to make the rounds of the extreme right-wing-nut websites.
The alleged “gay man” who wants to remain anonymous of course describes himself as a “liberal Democrat” and accuses Booker of sexually assaulting him in 2014.
The supposed “victim” penned a lengthy open letter that was posted on Twitter. (On a newly created account for this accusation named @TheeDeepThroat) in which he describes the assault that occurred in a bathroom following a meeting at his workplace, in Washington, DC where the two met.
I stopped to use one of the building’s single-occupancy restrooms. Upon washing my hands prior to leaving, I hear knocking on the door. When it comes to these restrooms, it is customary to knock first in case someone is using it, even though there is an inner lock. When I opened the door, Mr. Booker was there. He smiled and very gregariously said, “Hey!” We engaged in some brief idle chitchat in the entryway and then he asked me to speak in private. What happened next, happened so fast that it was hard for me to comprehend what was going on. It was one of those surreal moments where what was happening was such a deviation and such a perversion of one’s natural daily routine that I hardly knew how to react. He pulled me into the bathroom, albeit not too forcefully, and slowly pushed me against the restroom wall. He said that “Being a hero was a serious turn-on.” He continued, “The Senate appreciates fine citizens like you. Especially this senator.” He then put his left hand on my groin, over my jeans, and began to rub. I seem to remember saying something like “What is happening?” It was a bit like having vertigo. He then used his other hand to grab my left hand with his right and pulled it over to touch him. At the same time, he disengaged from rubbing me and used his left hand to push me to my knees from my shoulder for what was clearly a move to have me perform oral sex on him. At that point, I pulled away quite violently and told him I had to go. I did not see him again before he left.
The victim then claims he hired a lawyer by the name of Harmeet Dhillon of the Dhillon Law Group, who of course is also a member of the Republican National Committee.
The man also claims that had reached out to Rowan Farrow on Oct. 7 but did not hear back from the reporter for four days. He said he responded to Farrow with availability between Oct. 12 – 15 for an interview but did not hear back from the reporter Oct. 20, the day he published his his accusation on Twitter.
Co-incidentally this happens at a time when Booker is considered a leading contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) today announced the appointment of Family Research Council (FRC) President Tony Perkins to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) as its newest commissioner, for a two-year term. Mr. Perkins will remain FRC president during his time with USCIRF.
Majority Leader McConnell appointed Perkins to the independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission which is tasked with reviewing “the facts and circumstances of religious freedom violations and makes policy recommendations to the president, the secretary of state, and Congress.” USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the president and the congressional leadership of both political parties.
In recent years Mr. Perkins has taken a direct and active role in advocating for religious minorities helping to bring national and international attention to their plight. He has testified before Congress on the topic of international religious freedom on multiple occasions. FRC President Tony Perkins released the following statement:
“I am grateful to Majority Leader McConnell for appointing me to this prestigious position. From my post at USCIRF, I look forward to doing all that I can to ensure that our government is the single biggest defender of religious freedom internationally. One immediate step our government can take in this regard is to make sure that the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act is fully and properly implemented.
“As a commissioner, I also look forward to working with willing partners among those nations on USCIRF’s list of ‘Countries of Particular Concern’ to substantively address religious freedom concerns, including at the grassroots level, and assist them in being removed from the list. It is my hope that through the work of USCIRF, the world will become one step closer to recognizing the vital role religious freedom and the defense of religious minorities play in peace, security and human flourishing.” – Family Research Council press release.
Just when you thought you couldn’t possibly hate Mitch McConnell any more than you do……
After the GOP controlled House approved a bill that would cut the food stamp program by $39B over the next ten years last week, the anti-gay conservative hate group The Family Research Council has sent out one of its only black employees “senior fellow” Ken Blackwell (no strategy there) to make the media rounds to back up the SNAP cuts and defend the fact that the elderly, poor and children will be going hungry because it’s the “Christian” thing to do.
“I think through empowering others and creating self-sufficiency…there within lies the path to sense of worthiness,” Blackwell told CP. “When I was growing up, there was fundamental belief, that there were times in people’s life when they needed a hand up…there were temporariness to hose programs, where they were structured so that they didn’t breed so that they didn’t breed dependency.” Blackwell also suggested that there was “nothing more Christian” than “not locking people into a permanent dependency on government handouts, but making sure they are participants in their own upliftment and empowerment so that they in fact through the dignity of work and can break from the plantation of big government.”
To the GOP and the FRC obviously here’s nothing more Christian than starving the elderly, disabled, and children to death.
