Atlanta Anti-Abortion Billboards: Black Children Are An "Endangered Species"

By GottaLaff

"It's ingenious"? Really? That's not the word that comes to mind when I look at that billboard:

The reaction from black leaders has been mixed, but the "Too Many Aborted" campaign, which so far is unique to only Georgia, is drawing support from other anti-abortion groups across the country.

"It's ingenious," said the Rev. Johnny Hunter, national director of the Life Education and Resource Network, a North Carolina-based anti-abortion group aimed at African-Americans that operates in 27 states. "This campaign is in your face, and nobody can ignore it."

These zealots are outright discriminatory. You can't get much more blatant than this:

The effort is sponsored by Georgia Right to Life, which also is pushing legislation that aims to ban abortions based on race.

So white abortions pass muster? How about Latina ones? Or Asian? What other things might they ban based on race?

Will they encourage more births based on race, too?

"The language in the billboard is using messages of fear and shame to target women of color," said Leola Reis, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of Georgia. [...]

In 2008, Issues4Life, a California-based group working to end abortion in the black community, lobbied Congress to stop funding Planned Parenthood, calling black abortions "the Darfur of America."

Pro-Life Action League Executive Director Eric Scheidler said a race-based strategy for anti-abortion activists has gotten a fresh zeal, especially in the wake of the historic election of the country's first black president, Barack Obama, who supports abortion rights.

"Fresh zeal". Somehow that sounds especially crass, doesn't it? "Fresh zeal". How nice for them that they're so energized. So... zealous.

The next time some conservative insists that there's nothing race-based in their condemnation of all things Obama, please feel free to share this post with them.

"To use racist arguments to try to bait black people to get them to be anti-abortion is just disgusting," said Guy-Sheftall, who teaches women's history and feminist thought at the historically black women's college.

Maybe we should ban anti-choice groups by race. And age. And height. And weight. And gender. And everything.

H/t: Ellen

U.S. soldier 'waterboarded his own daughter, 4, because she couldn't recite alphabet'

By GottaLaff

Now where would anyone get an idea like this? Think... think... Waterboarding. It's something I'd never heard of until... until... ahhh yes.

Money see, monkey do. And the chimp in chief made it a household word. Some role model, eh Sarah Palin?

A soldier waterboarded his four-year-old daughter because she was unable to recite her alphabet.

Joshua Tabor admitted to police he had used the CIA torture technique because he was so angry.

As his daughter 'squirmed' to get away, Tabor said he submerged her face three or four times until the water was lapping around her forehead and jawline.

This is the example the United States set under BushCo. Be proud, Cheney supporters. Give yourselves a high five, Yoo, Bybee, et al.

[His girlfriend] told [the police] about the alleged torture and the terrified girl was found hiding in a closet, with bruising on her back and scratch marks on her neck and throat.

Asked how she got the bruises, the girl is said to have replied: 'Daddy did it.' [...]

Police have not revealed Tabor's military service, but his base is home to units that have served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Daddy did it."

Why, one could imagine that quote coming from Jenna or Not Jenna, because their daddy did it, too... hundreds and hundreds of times.

H/t: TexBetsy

UPDATED: "You Jewish f***."

By GottaLaff

My wonderful pal Joshua has given me permission to cross-post one of his blog entries in full. It is from his site, The Joshua Blog. Joshua is both gay and Jewish. What a crime, huh?

Got this lovely Pulitzer Prize winning gem today from chriskemp (christopherkemp@live.com):

You jewish fuck. Ever read Leviticua? Its a book in what you call the Torah. That means first five books. Anywhoo, you're penchant for sucking other guy's cocks is reason to have your worthless ass stoned.

I would not throw any stones, because I ain't a Jew. I would leave it for other Jews.

You are an ignoramus. If this nation that has given you and your ilk safe harbor should fall in full-fledged communism (which is what you are longing for in your leftward leanings) be afraid. Be very afraid. The government that you have helped empower may very well come after you.

Have you ever studied 1930's Europe? A little something happened there that you may want to take note of. It happened at the very same ideological hands that you seek to empower here.

Chris Kemp
Blythewood, SC

Show Chris some love guys: christopherkemp@live.com

He tried to post this on President Obama's West Point Speech (in Full), but it was really worthy of it's own post.

LOL.

UPDATE I:

Here he is on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ChristopherLKemp

Thank you, Joshua, for allowing me to share the "love".

Threats like these sure must make eensy weensy tiny gnat-sized Chris feel big and strong and powerful. I guess that's all he's got: Poorly spelled, badly worded, vile little outbursts.

Sadly, calling people like this out and exposing them has become all too common here at TPC. But I find it is one of the few (non-violent) ways to both fight back and gradually rid ourselves of ignorant, pathetic cowards such as Chris.

UPDATE, THE APOLOGY:

I got two e-mails today; both contained apologies from Chris. E-mail #1 is from one of our favorite Commenters and my Twitterpal Joeyess:

Laffy, I sent an email to chris from joshua's blog:

You do know that 1930's Europe was in the grip of fascism, right? Furthermore, you know that communism began in Russia, right? Russia. The continent of Asia? Why do you people so easily confuse fascism and communism? They aren't the same, you know? In fact, they were mortal enemies. Is your confusion ignorance or willful belligerence?

And what makes you think for one moment that this country is in any way leaning towards communism? Do yourself a favor, look up the word socialism in the dictionary, be intellectually honest with yourself and then look in the mirror and at your reflection say three times: "You're an idiot.".

You won't feel any better about yourself, but at least you'll be a little smarter and honest, and gosh darnit! people will like you!!

and here's his response:

From: christopherkemp@live.com

Subject: Re: nice fella.

Date: December 4, 2009 8:23:00 AM CST
To: joeyess

You are so right. I'm never going to be able to apologize enough for that stupid and hateful thing I did on Joshua's blog.

I have got issues that make my current life sound like a really bad country song. Laid off in Feb., divorced and missing my girls, within about 2 weeks of having my car repo'd and probably 60 days from foreclosure.

So my solution was to get torn up on about 9 beers the other night and flame out by projecting my crap onto someone else. I am really sorry for having done that.

I do understand the difference between socialism and fascism. You are right about it.

If its not communism that we are leaning toward, then what is it? Socialism is just communism-lite. The gov't is involved in so many areas that they have no constitutional authority to be in. Nothing gives them the right to take my money and my children's money and their children's money and spend it on bailouts for wall street.

I already beat you to the punch about saying "I am an idiot". I've been kicking myself all night while trying to sleep. I really was raised better. Even at 44, I don't want to endure the tongue-lashing my Mom would give me if she read what I wrote to Joshua.

If you have any connection with him, please pass this along - he has blocked me from posting to his blog. Like, duh, I'd do the same thing too.

Chris

The next e-mail was from Joshua himself. He got this apology:

Joshua,

I am so very sorry for the hateful and horrible things I typed on your Blog Tuesday night. I apologize to you personally and to all of your friends that visit this site. There is no excuse for my behavior. Whether I agree with your views or not is no reason to spew the crap I did.

I'm sitting here flushed with shame and embarrassment for having written such stupid things. I'm my own problem, not you or whomever is in DC. I've set the beer bottle down and stepped away from it.

Thankfully, someone "jane from hell" sent me an email last night to call me out on my hypocrisy - I had forgotten about my "posting". When I looked it up and read it in a sober state I was dumbfounded by my own foolishness.

I was laid off in February, have judgments against me for failing to pay debts, am close to losing my car and going into foreclosure. Six months behind in alimony and have an IRS lien. Obviously, the solution to all of that is to get blindingly drunk and post things on the internet.

I've received some well-deserved criticism by way of Facebook and emails and have responded to all of them with apologies. I surely don't deserve it, but I am asking to be forgiven. I'm not a christian nor do I go to any church or have anything to do with organized religion.

For whatever its worth, I wish you and all of your readers success and all of the best things in life. I won't bother you again.

Chris Kemp
Blythewood, SC

Joshua posted this response at his blog:

He sounds sincere. No, "I'm sorry IF I offended" half-assed sentiment we usually get from politicians and cable news haters.

Your thoughts?

UPDATE III:

Apology accepted, Chris.

After thinking about your apology for a while, I realized that I’ve said some terrible things that I later truly regretted (some of which still haunt me to this day). And, since your apology was sincere – one that came obviously from your heart – it would be awfully childish of me to not accept it.

My thoughts? I'm relieved to see Chris take the time and effort to send what look to be heartfelt apologies. However, I can't stop thinking about the Mel Gibson incident. Chris revealed a side of himself that came out when he got drunk and depressed. Why would anyone even think to say such hateful things if it weren't at least a small part of who he is and what he believes?

It has never so much as entered my mind to hurl racist or bigoted insults at anyone. Ever. Drunk or not. Furious or not. Depressed or not.

But that doesn't mean I wouldn't accept Chris' apology, because he made at least two sincere attempts at making amends and explaining himself. He stated how appalled and ashamed he was at his own behavior, and said so. So good for him for owning up and caring enough to go out of his way to address Joshua and Joeyess directly.

What a shame that it was necessary to begin with.

Laffy Note: I'd like to add that Joshua's generous acceptance of the apology swayed me some. I do have to ask though: Is Chris one of those people who, like an abusive husband, apologizes and then repeats the same behavior? We may never know.

Insurance Company Agrees To Insure 'Underweight' Girl

By GottaLaff

See what a little pressure can do? ::coughpublicoption!cough::

Yesterday, we posted about this, and today? Voila!

The insurance company that initially denied coverage to a 2-year-old girl because she was "underweight" has reversed its stance.

On Wednesday afternoon, UnitedHealthcare's Golden Rule Insurance Company issued a statement that said, "As part of our standard appeals process, we undertook additional review of Aislin Bates' medical records and determined that, in fact, we can offer her health insurance coverage."

Ohhh, after their "standard" appeals process. I see. It had nothing to do with the horrendous publicity they were getting. Speaking of which...

7NEWS asked if negative publicity led to the insurance company's change of heart.

Laden said, "I would like to think not."

I bet she would like to think not. Think again, Ellen.

So how can an insurance company deny coverage? In Colorado, individual health insurance is medically underwritten. Each company has its own guidelines.

The question is are the guidelines fair and are they being used consistently?

"The individual market is a trainwreck in Colorado," said State Sen. Morgan Carroll.

Carroll said insurers can deny anybody for almost any reason.

"They can screen for anything they want and can cherrypick who they want to insure," Carroll said.

When the Commissioner of Insurance was asked about an insurance company refusing to cover underweight or overweight children, she said they could, under their own guidelines, which each company drafts.

And there you have it. "The" argument for a robust public option.

VIDEO- Opposite Day: Underweight 2-Year-Old Girl Denied Insurance Coverage

By GottaLaff

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Welcome to Opposite Day, gang! First, a baby was denied coverage because he weighed too much. Now there's a healthy toddler who got rejected for not weighing enough.

But nah, we don't need to knock Big Insurance down a few pegs via a public option. That would be so socialist!

When Aislin's father, Rob, worked for another company, Aislin was covered under the company’s group health insurance plan.Now that Rob is working on his own, he's had to get new insurance. The company, UnitedHealthcare's Golden Rule, sent the family a letter, which says in part, "We are unable to provide coverage for Aislin because her height and weight do not meet our company standards."

Hey UHC's GR, you don't meet America's standards. How's that feel?

A spokeswoman for UnitedHealthcare's Golden Rule:

"Ours are based on several medical sources, including the Centers for Disease Control, and are well within industry standards," she said.Laden, who said she couldn't talk specifically about the Bates' case, added that, "When evaluating height and weight, we typically utilize other factors as well in making a decision, such as medical records that show evidence of treatment or any underlying medical conditions."

As in... pre-existing conditions? Uh-huh.

The Bates say Aislin is undergoing treatment for an active gag reflex.

So am I, after reading this article.

"It's very minor and she probably will only need therapy for a few more months," Rachel said.

Doesn't matter. Time is of the essence. Business as usual. Doesn't this family understand that Big Insurance needs to make money? How insensitive can they be? Come on, Bateses!

The Bates said Aislin is temporarily covered through COBRA, a federal program that allows people to continue an employer-based health insurance plan for up to 18 months. The parents said it costs as much to cover Aislin under COBRA as it costs to cover the remaining three family members.

I can vouch for that. We're using COBRA and paying $20,000 a year. And that will end soon, so we'll be paying someone new to screw us over very soon. Isn't this fun? See? America has the best health care ever! Just ask the Rushpublics.

"You'd never think that something like size, something that seems so irrelevant to your health, would be a discriminating factor," Rachel said.

No, you'd never think that... unless our Congress members approved it.

H/t: ShustieFan

NOTE FROM PADDY- I swapped out the videos, so there should not be any problems with auto start now.

Survey: Parents Don't Want Kids To Know Prez Is Black

By GottaLaff

From the Dep't. of Some Things Just Can't Be Kept Under Wraps:

A confidential survey by CAP News shows that the majority of parents who are against President Obama's planned "speech to students" are trying to keep their children from finding out the country has a black president.

Psst! Parents? See that rectangle above these words? It's called a photograph. They depict images of people and stuff.

See the man in the photograph? He's Barack Obama. Unless you hide the Tee Vee Machine, computer, and every periodical in the whole wide world, your kids may very well be exposed to a photograph of our president.

Or you can always unlock the house dungeon and resign yourselves to lots of take-out.

"I was furious when my [fourth grade] son came home from school last year and I found out they'd forced him to watch that so-called inauguration," said 'Sally,' a mother of two from Laconia, N.H. "Luckily I was able to convince him that it was just a movie starring a black man, like that funny Daddy Day Care with Eddie Murphy."

That's right folks, Wacky Black Man Goes to Washington is just frothy summer fare starring a Murphy lookalike. It's the highly anticipated sequel to the totally acceptable box office failure, Bush Crime Family Screws America: A Snuff Film.

By the way, what else do you lie to your kids about?

What fine role models these parents are, teaching their young 'uns to respect the highest office in the land and all. What loyal patriots:

"School is for the important things, like the Pledge of Allegiance, and praying," said 'Mary' from Fackler, Ala. "Who cares what the president has to say? Or at least this president."

Pshyeah! The leader of the free world is such an unwanted appendage, isn't he? What could possibly come out of his African American mouth that could influence anyone?

When asked why President Obama should be denied the opportunity to address America's schoolchildren when presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush had both done so, the respondents characterized the current circumstances as different.

"Those two weren't Marxist fascists," noted 'Bob,' a father of four from Wichita, Kansas. "Plus they were more, you know - mainstream."

Gee, I can't imagine what he means by that.

"By that I mean white," he added.

::Smacks forehead:: Of course. That one went right by me. Subtlety is such an art form, and "Bob" has it down.

"Frankly, I thought it was pretty much well-known to everybody at this point, even the children, that I was, you know, black," said Obama in a press conference this morning.

Obama's obviously been watching the wrong movies.

"Apparently that fact is harder for some people to accept than I thought," said the president. "I suggest that parents, you know, get over it, before I send my shadow government agents to their house kidnap their daughters."

Administration officials later clarified that Obama was "absolutely, positively" joking about the "whole shadow government thing," but some studies show that parents' concerns may have some validity.

Next thing you know, there will be all kinds of nefarious co-mingling of... well...

"According to a survey we did in June, since Obama was elected, middle-class white girls have been as much as 60 percent more willing to sleep with black guys," noted Dr. Tyrone Wilkins of the Pew Research Center. "And they were already pretty willing to begin with. I'm just saying."

Okay, that was awkward.

Meanwhile, parents like Fred say they're going to do their best to keep Obama's blackness from their children for as long as possible.

"I figure he's a one-termer, so I only have to keep it up for another three years or so," said Fred. "Even less if we can get this birth certificate thing straightened out."

Yeah, good ol' Fred wants to see proof of Obama's birth in black and white. How ironic is that?

H/t: Gr8RDH and Joan Walsh

UPDATE: Per Clancy, this is indeed, pure snark. Should have tagged it as such.

VIDEO: Idaho elementary school kids chant "assassinate Obama" on school bus

By GottaLaff

This video is from KIDK 2 News, broadcast Nov. 11, 2008.
The full KIDK story can be read here.

Gee, now where in the world did the kiddies pick this little phrase up, hmmm?

Matthew Whoolery told KIKD News he found out about the chanting from his second and third graders, who had no idea what the word "assassinate" meant. [...]

Whoolery, a psychology professor at Brigham Young University in Rexburg, is not an Obama supporter, but he was shocked that any public official would be threatened in that way. "I don't think that the majority of people in Rexburg have extreme ideas like that, but we were just surprised that it would go that far," Whoolery told KIKD.

The Madison County School District has sent out an email saying that students are to be told this sort of behavior is unacceptable. [...]

The population of Madison County is not only heavily Republican but also 97.7% white. One of Rexburg's lone Democrats, a professor at the university, told Salon that "she remembers the time when a group of classmates followed her third-grader home, shouting out 'baby-killer' all along the way. She took it up with the teacher, who didn't seem to mind."

Appalled doesn't even begin to say it. They're what, eight?

Per the article, "In the 2004 presidential election, 93 percent of Madison County's votes went to George W. Bush or minor-party conservative candidates -- arguably the reddest result of any county in the entire country."

"Red" doesn't have to mean "bigoted". How sad that they're becoming synonymous.