Tag Archives: Heritage Foundation

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Dying Social?

05/14/2013 Nativegrl77

Guns & Alcohol Don’t Mix

If there’s one thing Americans don’t need a coupon for, it’s an outing mixing guns and alcohol. Unfortunately, LivingSocial seems to think otherwise.

A new report out today from CREDO Action and the Gun Truth Project calls out the daily deal and experience company for offering booze and bullet-fueled experiences from coast to coast. The wide variety of deals even sometimes feature AR-15s, the same assault rifle used to kill 20 children and 6 educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Other experiences include AK-47s, semi-automatic pistols, and rifles.

Beyond perhaps being in poor taste, the experiences suggest that guns and alcohol go together. They don’t.

CREDO didn’t mince words when it came to calling out LivingSocial:

“In the wake of Newtown, I’d like to know how the people who own or work for LivingSocial can justify profiting from the packaging of AK-47 shooting sprees with an evening of bourbon shots,” Becky Bond, CREDO’s political director, said in a statement.

The company, she added, “is endangering the public health by suggesting pairing assault weapons with alcohol binges is just good clean fun.”

Data shows just how dangerous guns and alcohol can be when combined:

Mixing guns and alcohol is unfortunately common among those attracted to risky behaviors. As the report notes, 86 percent of homicide offenders were drinking at the time of the homicide. Gun owners also have far higher binge-drinking and chronic alcohol abuse rates than people who don’t own guns. People who carry concealed weapons or have confronted someone with a gun are more than twice as likely to drink heavily than non-owners.

In contrast to LivingSocial, its main competitor, Groupon, cancelled all gun-related deals in North America after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

LivingSocial, which lost $650 MILLION last year and $50 MILLION so far this year, has received more than $30 MILLION in tax credits from the District of Columbia, which, ironically, has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation.

To find out more, check out the entire report HERE. If you think that guns and alcohol shouldn’t mix, you can contact LivingSocial using this form and tell them so.

Evening Brief: Important Stories That You Might’ve Missed

Minnesota passes marriage equality.

GOP congressman claims the president covered up Benghazi by calling it “an act of terror” instead of “terrorist attack.”

Obama mocks charges of Benghazi cover up.

Clothing retailers agree to upgrade safety in Bangladeshi factories.

Seven outlandish things the Heritage Foundation’s remaining employees believe.

Illegal abortion provider convicted of murder.

GOP senator launches hypocritical attack on Health & Human Services Secretary.

The IRS went after the NAACP in 2004.

Why the Department of Justice is going after the Associated Press’ records.

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Top 3: Elizabeth Smart, “Lazy” Millennials,and Benghazi

05/14/2013 Nativegrl77

ELIZABETH SMART SPEAKS OUT AGAINST ABSTINENCE ED

THE BIG BENGHAZI DEBUNK

WHY TIME PUT A WOMAN ON THIS COVER

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

A Clear Path

05/13/2013 Nativegrl77

By ThinkProgress War Room

So Far, So Good on Immigration Bill

Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee began historic work on a bipartisan immigration reform bill. The centerpiece of the bill is a path to earned citizenship for the 11 MILLION undocumented immigrants already present in this country.

As far as today’s proceedings went, it’s so far, so good:

Modest improvements were made to the bill, including a provision mandating that law enforcement determine whether deporting an individual would raise humanitarian concerns with regard to the individual and/or his or her family.
GOP extremists attempted three separate times today to put up roadblocks to a pathway to earned citizenship that would have essentially guaranteed that the 11 MILLION undocumented would remain in the shadows for decades, if not forever. Fortunately, all three of these attempts were roundly defeated by Democrats and pro-reform Republicans.

Nearly three dozen amendments from both Republicans and Democrats were cleared during the largely amicable legislative markup, with 21 approved — and all but one of those on a bipartisan basis. The committee will continue working over the next two weeks until all 300+ amendments filed have been dealt with, though many of these will not actually be brought up by their sponsors or receive vote.

Today’s action only adds further positive momentum to the bill and a pathway to earned citizenship, which is supported by a whopping 83 percent of Americans.

BOTTOM LINE: The Senate immigration bill is a strong bill, but already represents a compromise for both sides. A bipartisan group of senators is making sure to hold the line on the bill and maintain a clear path to earned citizenship, despite the best efforts of some extreme, anti-reform Republicans to throw up roadblock after roadblock.

Evening Brief: Important Stories That You Might’ve Missed

GOP senators vote to spend tens of billions of dollars to militarize the border.

Minnesota House passes marriage equality.

Ex-official: Heritage Foundation has betrayed Reagan.

Heritage Foundation may be forced to hire PR firm to deal with backlash from anti-immigration report.

Racist author of Heritage Foundation’s anti-immigration report also wrote for white nationalist website.

Leader of GOP witch hunt on Benghazi admits he learned nothing new in hours-long hearing.

GOP Senate nominee caught using $281,500 “tax scam.”

GOP senator tries to impose anti-woman agenda on citizens of Washington, D.C.

Unemployment would be a point lower had we not been fixated on the deficit for the past two years

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Don’t Just Take Our Word For It

05/07/2013 Nativegrl77

By ThinkProgress War Room

Conservatives Trash Anti-Immigration Reform Report

In 2007, the Heritage Foundation released an influential — though widely debunked — report claiming that immigration reform would cost the U.S. $2.6 TRILLION. While no one factor alone is responsible for the death of reform that year, the Heritage paper certainly helped kill it.

Well, “here we go again,” as Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) tweeted earlier today. Today, Heritage released an updated report with an even more fantastical claim: immigration reform with a path to earned citizenship (which the report and its authors falsely and repeatedly refer to as “amnesty”) will now cost $6.3 TRILLION over the next 50 years.

This time, however, something is different. It’s conservatives who are lining up to trash the Heritage report. In just the few hours the report has been out, influential conservatives have lined up to discredit Heritage’s way-too-bad-to-be-true claims:

The Cato Institute
Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform
The American Enterprise Institute
Doug Holtz-Eakin, prominent conservative economist and president of the American Action Forum
Haley Barbour, former Republican Nation Committee chairman and Mississippi governor, and current co-chair of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s immigration reform task force
Sen. Jeff Flake
Sen. John McCain
Sen. Marco Rubio
Rep. Paul Ryan

As conservatives also pointed out, Heritage’s current view is even at odds with its own past statements on immigration:

The new report contradicts the think tank’s 2006 position on immigration. Heritage then wrote,“the argument that immigrants harm the American economy should be dismissed out of hand” and urged for a comprehensive bill. “A lopsided, ideological approach that focuses exclusively on border security while ignoring migrant workers (or vice versa) is bound to fail.”

Earlier this year when ultra-conservative former Sen. Jim DeMint was appointed to head Heritage, some worried aloud that this would undermine the organization’s credibility:

The DeMint choice signals a shift toward more conservative activism from one of America’s largest think tanks and is sure to please conservative donors. But it’s not likely to provide donors the political results they want. Instead, it is likely to reduce the relevance of both DeMint and Heritage.

Indeed, the organized opposition to the Gang of 8 immigration bill appears to consist largely of the Heritage Foundation, racist hate groups like FAIR, and right-wing talk radio hosts. While these groups may continue to be influential with some segments of the Republican base, it’s clear that they are increasingly outside of the mainstream of both American society and even the GOP itself. In fact, a poll out just last week found that 83 percent of all Americans and 84 percent of Republicans favor a path to earned citizenship so long as immigrants pay fines, back taxes, and meet other requirements — in other words, exactly what is in the Gang of 8 bill.

Evening Brief: Important Stories That You Might’ve Missed

Air Force officer in charge of preventing sexual assault was himself arrested for sexual assault.

Feds ramp up crackdown on medical marijuana dispensaries.

Elizabeth Smart: Abstinence education teaches rape victims they’re worthless, dirty, and filthy.

Not even Fox and Friends buys the GOP’s claims of Benghazi “cover up.”

Gun protesters plan march on Washington with loaded rifles in order to “put the government on notice.”

There are 2 MILLION extra unemployed Americans because of austerity.

NRA’s gun safety advice: store guns in your kids’ rooms.

Mississippi set to kill a potentially innocent man tomorrow.

Another week, another pointless House GOP vote to repeal Obamacare.

~ my 2cents ...

wicked Wednesday some News &my run in with conservatives

02/08/2012 Nativegrl77

just another rant…

I responded to several nasty rwnj comments about women, PP, contraceptives, and abortion. No, it was not a great idea because while I was casually responding the opposition was quite serious while throwing out their version of the truth their facts and some of those facts were just wrong the comments were just stupid. I had to ask where this information was coming from the Heritage Foundation, Newt or the Koch brothers. The idea that tax dollars are paying for abortions is silly in itself but most of these conservatives just know they are and since they are paying, they expect all abortions to stop asap … oh and being pro-life too. The fact is some women, smart women choose to have the procedure, and to think that birth control, contraceptives or abortion are not a part of women’s overall health care is beyond my understanding. I want folks to know that one does not always lead to the other. Yet, pro-lifers don’t seem to let facts get in the way because they feel women who have sex and get pregnant should either have the baby or give it up for adoption. First, the conservative movement that pushes a family values platform on women is political and is big government in full effect. Second, women should not be the only ones responsible for the prevention of unwanted pregnancies; men need to step up. Third, conservatives use a broad brush on the topic of women and their health care, specifically when the topic includes reproductive services STOP. Last, the new law or change implemented by President Obama‘s Administration is to offer an option of safe and affordable access to women’s health care …this law is already at work in 28 states so it is important to take it to the next level and find out what is working

I don’t know about you but the reasoning and or rationalization used to bash attack organizations like Planned Parenthood by reciting so-called facts from the internet with a list of falsehoods. The list of questionable info includes silly things like PP misuses money, funnels money or that PP only does abortions. I can only say the conspiracy theorists are in full effect. The facts are there; find out by calling that Planned Parenthood does so much more than just abortions, but that pro-life stance on abortion seems to be the conservative focus. Yes, thankfully women who are uninsured, underinsured or who just cannot afford a mainstream doctor get breast exams at Planned Parenthood, which is the first step then if needed referred they get mammograms at an affiliated clinic with a Planned Parenthood doctor but don’t let the truth get in the way. Unfortunately, that thing about Democratic Party wanting to abort black babies … they believe it. FYI, the Democratic Party has stated that it wants to protect a woman’s right to choose and apply all the Federal laws that exist …period. I was surprised at all the misinformation thrown at the viewers by TV hosts and Pundits. I get it you do not like abortion but I suggest that they would be better off calling the source or thorn in the side of your Pro-life stance. I admit it is tough not to want to use a footnote or source as an absolute from the internet but come up short. If you listen to conservative TV and talk radio you realize most just throw out the facts when it comes to birth control, contraceptives, abortion and what they all mean to a woman’s health. I was also amused at the name-calling, telling me to stop ranting being or acting like a victim.

Women’s health care has always been a politically charged topic, and before President Obama women who have children were considered or labeled as a pre-existing condition; an offensive rationalization used by so many in the insurance business to deny health care. Now, because of President Obama that practice by the insurance industry is no longer acceptable. However, though we can regulate how insurance industries treat women better that one area of our lives … our ability to reproduce, makes conservatives rise up to engage in hypocrisy on so many levels. I get the disagreement about abortion but I do ask where is the conflict about women having breast cancer screenings at a Planned Parenthood clinic that also gives access to quality, safe and affordable health care no matter what form it comes in. Yet, an ideology, a family values platform pushed debated and voted into law by Republicans, and their conservative comrades in some states already keep trying to quietly dismantle our rights.

Today, in this 21^st Century life, women still have to demand the right to make personal health care choices without political intervention. Unfortunately, some states have succeeded in pressing the reproductive services issue in a political box with laws that are so archaic you have to wonder what year it is. The cliché of, “do as we say NOT as we do” keeps coming to my mind every time I hear folks like Romney, Gingrich or Santorum speak on issues of women’s reproductive rights. Men’s health care issues unlike women’s seem to be treated different, providing enhancement drugs among other things without questions. Yet, women and in most instances women of colour are being singled out as abortion scarlet’s , abortion abusers, portrayed as something mysterious possibly evil and definitely disrespected by some extreme folks on the right who do not seem to understand that birth control , contraceptives and abortion if needed are all a part of a women’s health care.

I feel like a Freedom Fighter ….

anyway, my run in is below … and yes some issues with grammar

7:27pm –Lemzilla replied to your comment on Crooks And Liars Repeats Lie About Live Action Investigation / Big Journalism:

so I’m part of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy now? And you keep making it sound like I have something personal against you which I don’t because I have no idea who you are. And you keep harping on somebody taking away your right to choose, when I consistently ask you to consider that choices made before having sex are better for everybody (her, him, society) than trying to make a good choice after the fact. You refuse to admit the bad choices some women make to get pregnant are a reality.

You want every woman to get a free pass, so what if it’s a life they’re snuffing out forever. You have the right to sit at your keyboard and rant your little heart out because your mother chose to have you. If she had made a different choice, or aborted a sibling, you might feel differently. Or not at all if Mom decides, “You know what? Having a baby is hard, screw this.” Maybe you’re just feeling guilty about some of your own personal choices and just lashing out at me. Fine. Lash away. None of your ranting makes you right.
My sources are here, http://tiny.cc/phxta
and here. http://tiny.cc/zaoa9

Get a grip, lady. No one is attacking you or women in general. Holding women accountable for their choices, however, I very much insist on. Just like I do men. I make no distinction between the sexes when it comes to accountability. Because THAT would be sexist and wrong.

Go to commentIn reply to your comment:

where did you get all this information ? from newt ? Heritage Foundation or the Koch brothers
now, you are just being offensive … play your game with someone else … Women will not go backwards or accept the spin that takes away the right to choose

6:02pm– LibertyLover replied to your comment on Crooks And Liars Repeats Lie About Live Action Investigation / Big Journalism:

Margaret Sanger and the modern eugenics movement held the common belief that black people, and all “people of color” are genetically inferior and should be bread out of the human race. Adolf Hitler used her writings as partial justification for his concept of the Aryan super race and the “Final Solution” to the “Jewish Problem.”

Go to commentIn reply to your comment:

isn’t the answer to that obvious, that doctors want to get paid? those who work in low income facilities do it because they are compelled and racial eugenics is so 20th century though sterilization happened in the South during the 60’s … not that long ago
as for MSanger …Sanger’s activism was influenced by the conditions of her youth — her mother, a catholic, had 18 pregnancies in 22 years, and died at age 50 of tuberculosis and cervical cancer. And lack of sufficient woman’s health care

I would ask you …do you know how many of the abortions were based on rape, incest complications etc. because you seem to be inferring that we black women are loose … i object to that judgment and mentally – and Margaret Sanger can go

5:26pm – Lemzilla replied to your comment on Crooks And Liars Repeats Lie About Live Action Investigation / Big Journalism:

Obamacare overrides the Hyde Act. It was specifically designed to do so. And those nasty Catholics soon won’t be able to deny any woman an abortion anymore. Because their religion means nothing if a 17 year-old tramp (and don’t even front like you’ve never seen one) wants this yucky baby out of her tummy so she can get back to partying. This happens way, way more often than a rape victim getting pregnant. Feel free to Google the numbers I provided earlier. Those are called facts.

And where did I ever say or suggest you have no right to your opinion? You just seem like a raw nerve waiting for something to be insulted about. I took down your rape and incest argument, you have nothing there. I called out that saying “All women are smart” is dumb, because it really is, here look “All men are smart”, how does that sound? And all you can do is whine I have somehow attacked or impugned your right to free speech. Get over yourself. I have consistently pointed out that a woman’s choice should (should, not federally mandate) start with who she sleeps with, not what to do after she’s “unexpectedly” pregnant. That’s not telling anybody what to do.

You have yet to be honest that most abortions have nothing to do with the health of the mother but her personal choice to erase what she considers a mistake. A mistake that could have grown into who knows what, but we’ll never know. To the tune of millions. Be honest that a woman’s choice has to do as much with her ego more than any health concerns and we have common ground. Continue to play the victim and we don’t.

Go to commentIn reply to your comment:

rich … you can say whatever you want but i have to stop saying what i want … go figure … i have nothing else to say because you are right of center we will never agree … and it’s obvious you don’t the facts get in the way – Mr. Hyde put in his amendment that is recognized and so goes the law that fed funds cannot be used to pay for abortions … i get it you dont believe it … and you never will – Telling what women can or cannot do is bull

4:43pm – Lemzilla replied to your comment on Crooks And Liars Repeats Lie About Live Action Investigation / Big Journalism:

You make huge leaps of logic and are clearly emotional about the subject. I gave specific examples, never a generalization of all women, in my comments. And all women aren’t smart. That’s kind of a dumb thing to say. Because you don’t address the reality that a lot of the 99.93% of abortions were based on bad personal choices instead of any medical need. Medically exigent abortions are another low number to be hanging on to, to justify that Planned Parenthood isn’t really Birth Control After Conception. Make a good choice before sex and maybe there aren’t a million abortions every year.

And stop the persecution complex, I don’t care what goes on in your bedroom until it costs me money. You have no moral right to take my money and spend it on killing a baby you shouldn’t have made in the first place. That Roe vs Wade has made it legal to take it, doesn’t make it any more right. And vacuuming a fetus out of a womb IS a terrible way to begin parenting. It should be called “Unplanned Parenthood: Not If We Can Help It.” That would be more honest.

Go to commentIn reply to your comment:

im sure you needed to type slow…
you said, “If it’s called “Planned Parenthood” why do they even offer the option of Not Being A Parent At All? Vacuuming a fetus out of the womb seems a terrible way to begin parenting.”

Your comments speak to how i feel. stay out my bedroom my private life my uterus … women are smart and just because you chose to feel there are 2 kinds of women’s health care …that our bodies don’t require whole health is sad – Komen could have said we caved we don’t like abortions, we don’t believe women in need, low income uninsured underinsured should have safe or affordable hc and if they choose to have abortions make them go full term and give it up for adoption? some women choose adoption but being forced to go full term let alone be an adoption factory is odd…aside from other reasons women have abortions like rape, incest complications, tubal preg … blood loss Women have the right to choose ..we aren’t going backward to the old days or back alleys but have safe&affordable access

3:28pm – Lemzilla replied to your comment on Crooks And Liars Repeats Lie About Live Action Investigation / Big Journalism:

I’ll type slow…see if you can follow along. Where did I say or imply that anyone’s uterus belonged to me? Nowhere. That’s just histrionic crap on your part. Using 2008 as a sample, in 08 there were 90,479 reported rapes and 1,212,400 abortions. If EVERY ONE of those rapes had resulted in a pregnancy, that’s 0.07% of all the abortions for that year. So stop with the “rape and incest” chant, you just look silly.

Because you’re giving 99.93% of woman an easy out for their own bad decisions. Like having sex with a deadbeat who won’t support you. Or being too stupid to take care of your own birth control. Or being a teenager who thinks being a “Teen Mom” (looking at you MTV) is cool. Or any of the other myriad reasons a woman chooses an abortion over the hard thing, giving birth to and maybe raising (adoption, adoption, adoption) a child. But if you’re on the table because you’ve made crappy choices in your life, that’s not my fault and my tax dollars shouldn’t fund your personal course correction.
Go to comment

In reply to your comment:

so, can all the women you want to have babies give them to you if they are raped, incest have complications or know that a genetic issue is at hand? Why can’t women just have the right to privacy …and since when does any woman’s uterus belong to you … women talk to a dr, get counseling and then if needed pay for the abortions. the Hyde law takes care of legal issues … Why do you feel like a uterus belongs to you

2:41pm –LibertyLover replied to your comment on Crooks And Liars Repeats Lie About Live Action Investigation / Big Journalism:

One track ranter-supporters like you don’t help either.

Go to commentIn reply to your comment:

lying about what PP does or provides is just a bad look …

2:30pm – LibertyLover replied to your comment on Crooks And Liars Repeats Lie About Live Action Investigation / Big Journalism:

What does your moronic rant have to do with the issue at hand? You are a classic example of hot-button idiocy at work.
Go to comment

In reply to your comment:

so, can all the women you want to have babies give them to you if they are raped, incest have complications or know that a genetic issue is at hand? Why can’t women just have the right to privacy …and since when does any woman’s uterus belong to you … women talk to a dr, get counseled an then if needed pay for the abortions. the Hyde law takes care of legal issues … Why do you feel like a uterus belongs to you

2:04pm – kentatwater replied to your comment on Crooks And Liars Repeats Lie About Live Action Investigation / Big Journalism:

Ah yes. The enlightened view of the POSgressive, which advocate equality for all, except when it’s convenient to try and dismiss contrary opinions because of the wrong gonadal arrangement.

Go to commentIn reply to your comment:

i have to say … reading comments from men is slightly annoying because they don’t know how many women in their lives have used PP or think about what women did prior ..together PP and komen had 112yrs service to women’s health women died because of the embarrassment,no funds or support from men now it’s become a witch hunt for any reason possible to stop allowing a woman the right to choose, like we are stupid … i think the alternative to providing safe and affordable health care to women … whatever form it comes in is or would be disturbing and reading that ideology trumps a woman’s health also is disturbing

1:44pm – wohlfguy replied to your comment on Crooks And Liars Repeats Lie About Live Action Investigation / Big Journalism:

As I stated, PP DOES NOT PROVIDE mammograms, they refer them to another clinic, NOT A PP facility. I said nothing about breast exams. Bam, back to school little girl.
Go to comment

In reply to your comment:

i just called PP …they all provide breast exams which is the first step and yes do referrals to Planned Parenthood Doctors who do mammograms !!!! so, without a breast exam …early detection no one would no to have a mammogram … and without the 1st step the referral is not done… bam, you just got educated … don’t forget low income women, uninsured and under insured need these places for a chance an opportunity to stay alive -some don’t because it was too late others have no place to go .

1:24pm – kentatwater replied to your comment on Crooks And Liars Repeats Lie About Live Action Investigation / Big Journalism:

Why, yes we can. “Pro-abortion progressive leftist.” See?
Go to comment

In reply to your comment:

can we say stupid
12:22 – wldbil replied to your comment on Crooks And Liars Repeats Lie About Live Action Investigation / Big Journalism:

LOL!

I dunno….can you say nitwit progressive hypocrite?

BTW

Nice grammar…..Oh the glorious results of the union run state funded madrassas that now pass for ‘publick edukashun’ these days, makes us all feel real good about the future of this country…..
Go to comment

In reply to your comment:

can we say stupid

In other news …