Quick Hits - 1/4/15

Here are some quickies before we get back at it tomorrow:

1 - House Majority Whip Steve Scalise from Louisiana is not only a lying, racist pig, but he's a fool that just exposed how warped many people who vote Republican really are.  In another misguided effort to defend his speaking to, and buddying up to, white supremacist groups in the not too distant past, he has tried to rationalize his bleach white speaking tour by comparing the white supremacists, Nazi's, Klan, and other racist groups to the League of Women Voters.  The idiotic argument goes - All that pro white and pro white male organizations do is advocate for white people rights, just like the LWV advocates for women's rights.

Setting aside the fact white men still pretty much dominate most power structures in the USA (this is white guys giving up 5 cents of the dollar, and insisting the conversation needs to revolve around the real victims, the white guys who are persecuted because all they have left is 95 cents), and moving around, not ignoring, the valid point that pro white groups are generally for persecuting anyone who is not white, male and Christian, I found the choice of the League of Women Voters interesting.

The reason the slime ball Scalise picked them is because it was probably one of the few non-racist groups he spoke in front of back then.  He is trying to paint them as some liberal, 'women only vote' organization to offset his embracing the racists.  The League of Women Voters, from their website:

...is dedicated to ensuring that all eligible voters – particularly those from traditionally underrepresented or underserved communities, including first-time voters, non-college youth, new citizens, minorities, the elderly and low-income Americans – have the opportunity and the information to exercise their right to vote. 

The LWV isn't a liberal group, and not a women first group, but a very noble and legitimate pro-information, pro-voting group,  But that didn't stop Scalise from trying to paint them as liberal, anti-man hippies.  Why? Because most people who vote Republican might not be racists (a shocking large percentage of them are), but they view being a Democrat/Liberal as a bigger sin than preaching white power.  That's scary.

2 - It is hilarious to watch Kansas, a state run completely by the modern Conservative political ideology, fall into the 7th circle of hell.  On Tuesday of last week, the jobs report showed job growth in Kansas was almost non-existent, and the promise of jobs running out of Missouri into Kansas has not materialized.  Missouri is hiring at four times the rate of Kansas.  Then, later on Tuesday, a state judicial panel ruled that regardless of Republican, anti-education, self gratification fantasies, the state of Kansas has to fund it's education system for an additional $500 million, money the state gave to the biggest corporations and the wealthiest residents, people who have no intent to give back to the state.  They have great, great, great, great, great grandkids private schooling to pay for!  This is on top of a 1.1 billion dollar hole the state is already in.  And then on Wednesday, they heard they were another $15 million short on tax collections.  And the hits just keep on coming.  Early reports are Kansas Republicans are hiding how truly horrible the tax numbers are, because they would rather watch every public sector in the state crumble than admit throwing tax dollars at wealthy people is not a sane economic policy.

To the Tea Party idiots in the state of Kansas who never even thought of voting for the other candidates on your ballot, even though you knew the Republicans had failed miserably, I'm really enjoying watching you reap what you sowed.  Have fun!

3 - Louis Gohmert is going to challenge John Boehner for Speaker of the House.  I am on my knees praying he wins.

4 - The University of Minnesota Gopher Football team lost in the Citrus Bowl because of multiple reasons.  The defense got run down and tired, unable to wrap up Missouri's running game, our QB is good enough to get to a bowl game, but he's not bowl game winning caliber (yet), and the referees clearly missed enough big drive calls that would have changed a lot of the game's dynamic (face mask, holding, offensive pass interference), and in turn gave Missouri an advantage, but lets not look past the biggest problem.  The coaches for the Gophers mis-managed that game horribly.  They looked like they were the epitome of "just happy to be there."

5 - Minnesota kicks caboose!  I've lived in towns where showing up on one of those "best of" lists was the selling point of their town for the next three years.  Ben Johnson from City Pages has a great story about how many times Minneapolis/St. Paul and Minnesota showed up on these positive lists in 2014.  So far for 2015, we showed as the 9th safest state to live in and the Twin Cities has the best drivers in the nation.  Go Team, GO!

http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2014/12/the_top_10_top_10_lists_minnesota_landed_on_in_2014.php