Wingnutties out of control!

[Vrede too]

I'm pretty sure that's not going to stand. But it's way past scary that it got passed in the senate.

Everyone is really testing how far the christofascist SCOTUS will go. Even if it sets some limits, we're screwed for a generation or longer. In our case, that a life sentence.

[O Really]

I'm pretty sure that's not going to stand. But it's way past scary that it got passed in the senate.

Everyone is really testing how far the christofascist SCOTUS will go. Even if it sets some limits, we're screwed for a generation or longer. In our case, that a life sentence.

Most rational people who think it's OK to display the Ten Commandments in places like public schools are thinking primarily of items 5-10, to wit:

Honor your father and your mother.
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet.

Which most would agree are pretty good principles to live by, and are not particularly religious. However - big however, it's really hard to get around the Establishment clause if you put up 1-4:

You shall have no other gods before Me.
You shall not make idols.
You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

I don't see how this lives to see the light of day. If it actually makes it out of the Texas House, It's going to get challenged immediately, injuncted, and stay in court until even the right wing crazies on the Supreme Court can't twist awkwardly enough to approve it. This is not whether some teacher can put up a poster in his/her class, nor whether a principal can have one is the office. This is the government of Texas requiring all students to be subjected daily to Christian dogma. I'm not sure any state has tried anything comparable before.

[Vrede too]

Everyone is really testing how far the christofascist SCOTUS will go. Even if it sets some limits, we're screwed for a generation or longer. In our case, that a life sentence.

Most rational people who think it's OK to display the Ten Commandments in places like public schools are thinking primarily of items 5-10, to wit:

Honor your father and your mother.
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet.

Which most would agree are pretty good principles to live by, and are not particularly religious. However - big however, it's really hard to get around the Establishment clause if you put up 1-4:

You shall have no other gods before Me.
You shall not make idols.
You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

I don't see how this lives to see the light of day. If it actually makes it out of the Texas House, It's going to get challenged immediately, injuncted, and stay in court until even the right wing crazies on the Supreme Court can't twist awkwardly enough to approve it. This is not whether some teacher can put up a poster in his/her class, nor whether a principal can have one is the office. This is the government of Texas requiring all students to be subjected daily to Christian dogma. I'm not sure any state has tried anything comparable before.

I'm not making a prediction, but the right wing crazy argument for a long time is that "activist" courts went too far in their expansive views of the Establishment clause. Remember Roy Moore? I could see the christofascist "originalists" agreeing. They've already shown their utter disdain for decades of precedent. I'm too lazy and pessimistic to check, but I'll bet the game plan on this issue is already laid out by the extremist Federalist Society.

[O Really]

Yeah, but Roy Moore was a loon even by Alabama standards. Sure a lot of right wingers think SC decisions on religion have wandered off the original Constitutional rez, but this is pretty straightforward. I suppose they could (and may) argue that the First Amendment says literally "Congress" can't establish, and doesn't mention states, but if you let that in, you've pretty much gutted the entire First Amendment, which I don't think even the moon-barking droolers want. If you say a state can require Ten Commandment posters, you have to let the state put regulations on all sorts of religious activities - probably including taxing churches, yada. If you allow the "states aren't Congress" argument, it wouldn't apply only to religion, but also to speech, press, assembly and petition. DeSantis would be in Nirvana, but what goes around comes around.

[billy.pilgrim]

Texicans, including immigrants from other states, long for their historic 8 years as an independent (failed) country free of Constitutional constraints.

[O Really]

Texicans, including immigrants from other states, long for their historic 8 years as an independent (failed) country free of Constitutional constraints.

I say let 'em go. And good riddance.

Except... if you look at the big map of Texas, it looks largely red except for the west and southwest edges and most of the big cities. If you take Bexar County, for example ("Bear" San Antonio), you find it voted 58-40 for Biden and elected a couple of Dem Congresscritters. I haven't looked, but it appears the story would be similar in Houston and Dallas/Ft.Worth. El Paso is noted as Blue. The Red parts are huge in land space, but less so in population (like the US as a whole) yet there are still more Red votes than Blue overall. I don't know that it's totally hopeless yet that it couldn't become more purple.

[Vrede too]

Yeah, but Roy Moore was a loon even by Alabama standards. Sure a lot of right wingers think SC decisions on religion have wandered off the original Constitutional rez, but this is pretty straightforward. I suppose they could (and may) argue that the First Amendment says literally "Congress" can't establish, and doesn't mention states, but if you let that in, you've pretty much gutted the entire First Amendment, which I don't think even the moon-barking droolers want. If you say a state can require Ten Commandment posters, you have to let the state put regulations on all sorts of religious activities - probably including taxing churches, yada. If you allow the "states aren't Congress" argument, it wouldn't apply only to religion, but also to speech, press, assembly and petition. DeSantis would be in Nirvana, but what goes around comes around.

I think we've yet to discover just how loony the christofascist SCOTUS will be. Fingers crossed you're correct.

Roy Moore was elected Chief Justice twice and would be a senator if not for his grooming of minors. He IS mainstream "by Alabama standards."

States rights, which I hadn't thought of, aren't the only avenue for attack. SCOTUS could determine that the Ten Commandments are basic to several religions and thus the mandate is not establishing A religion. Or, it could rule that just hanging the Ten Commandments alone does not go far enough to constitute an "establishment of religion". Or, it could rule that they're history as much as religion.

Or,
Roy Moore:
"I wanted to establish the moral foundation of our law."
"Today a cry has gone out across our land for the acknowledgment of that God upon whom this nation and our laws were founded ... May this day mark the restoration of the moral foundation of law to our people and the return to the knowledge of God in our land."
"[The monument] serves to remind the Appellate Courts and judges of the Circuit and District Court of this State and members of the bar who appear before them, as well as the people of Alabama who visit the [Heflin-Torbet Judicial Building], of the truth stated in the Preamble to the Alabama Constitution that in order to establish justice we must invoke 'the favor and guidance of almighty God'."

... On this note, Moore said that the Ten Commandments are the "moral foundation" of U.S. law, stating that in order to restore this foundation, "we must first recognize the source from which all morality springs ... [by] recogniz[ing] the sovereignty of God." He added that the addition of the monument to the state judiciary building marked "the beginning of the restoration of the moral foundation of law to our people" and "a return to the knowledge of God in our land".

Additionally, Moore acknowledged an explicit theistic intent in placing the monument, agreeing that the monument "reflects the sovereignty of God over the affairs of men" and "acknowledge(s) God's overruling power over the affairs of men". However, in Moore's view this did not violate the doctrine of separation of church and state; as the presiding judge later summarized it, Moore argued "the Judeo-Christian God reigned over both the church and the state in this country, and that both owed allegiance to that God," although they must keep their affairs separate.

Who knows what contortions the christofascists may choose?

[billy.pilgrim]

My mom, Democratic Party and professor with early background as a high school professor would argue that removing prayer from schools caused a serious decline in society.
sisters agreed
Dad and I called bullshit.

[GoCubsGo]

This is some weird shit.

[O Really]

I'm thinking the key to this whole thing getting started was the kid implying (saying) he didn't want the piercing and his dad basically assaulted him to do it. Dunno about Arkansas, but there are hundreds of thousands of kids under 16 with ears pierced, including some babies and it doesn't seem to be illegal. Also, in the law stated, does "perform body art" include piercing or is that only tattooing? Poorly written law, bad enforcement, lots of flat feet from jumping to conclusions.

[Vrede too]

I'm thinking the key to this whole thing getting started was the kid implying (saying) he didn't want the piercing and his dad basically assaulted him to do it. Dunno about Arkansas, but there are hundreds of thousands of kids under 16 with ears pierced, including some babies and it doesn't seem to be illegal. Also, in the law stated, does "perform body art" include piercing or is that only tattooing? Poorly written law, bad enforcement, lots of flat feet from jumping to conclusions.

... the juvenile male stated his dad was drunk and put him in a choke hold [sic] and shoved the piercing in his ear.

That seems like an impossible maneuver to pull off, especially on a teen when drunk. Was it all ? Did mom help? Other than babies, who forces piercings on their kids, especially on boys?

[GoCubsGo]

Told you guys it was some weird shit.

[GoCubsGo]

"Family Values"


https://www.mediaite.com/online/fcking- ... s-divorce/

[GoCubsGo]

Why do Republicans know so much that just isn't so.

[Vrede too]

Why do Republicans know so much that just isn't so.

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1652045992030511108

Those are some BFJs!

[GoCubsGo]

Why do Republicans know so much that just isn't so.

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1652045992030511108

Those are some BFJs!

Perfectly normal.

[neoplacebo]

Why do Republicans know so much that just isn't so.

Hell in a bucket! Whoever this clown is, if he spent a weekend with me, he'd have a change of heart and mind. One way or the other.

[GoCubsGo]

Why do Republicans know so much that just isn't so.

Hell in a bucket! Whoever this clown is, if he spent a weekend with me, he'd have a change of heart and mind. One way or the other.

If he survives.

[Vrede too]

Hell in a bucket! Whoever this clown is, if he spent a weekend with me, he'd have a change of heart and mind. One way or the other.

If he survives.

Minnesota Republican's Wild '3 Joints' Claim Gets Twitter Users High Off Laughter
The GOP lawmaker's remarks were made as the Minnesota Senate voted on legalizing recreational cannabis.

... Republicans voted against the state Senate’s efforts to legalize recreational marijuana via bills that would allow residents 21 and older to buy up to 2 ounces of cannabis flower, 8 grams of concentrate or 800 milligrams of edible products and would let adults grow “up to eight cannabis plants at home,” the Star Tribune reported.

The bills, which passed in the state House earlier this week, also passed in the state Senate and will go next to a conference committee, the newspaper noted.

... The amount of marijuana that Limmer claimed would be in a single joint is equivalent to roughly 18.9 grams. The amount is significantly more than what University of Pennsylvania research found to be the average amount of marijuana in a single joint: .32 gram....

Maybe he's drunk.

We need a joint committee to investigate this

*Driving up to the dispensary*

“I’ll take a 1 oz joint please.”

Imagine the munchies.

Those are some huge doobies but I would try it for science.

bro you need to roll smaller joints

This dude parties

Great minds:

No wonder Cheech & Chong are trying to do business in MN.

More tweets at the link. The tweets have tweets (including LOTS of Cheech & Chong posts):

I think that he’s been punked by his staff

Sounds like he knows almost as much about pot as he does about pregnancy and abortion.

old white men are just the best

True.

To be blunt…

The Joint Chiefs of Staff should get right on this.

Yahoos chime in:

People in power are criminally out of step with reality and it's really hurting the average person in sooooooooo very many ways. This is just one small thing that seems innocuous but shows a larger detachment from reality.

It’s gotten much harder to be a “good” Republican. Before, you just had to be a white Protestant who went to church and voted how the minister told you to vote. But now, Jeez… you can’t watch the NFL draft, you can’t ride a Harley, you can’t drink Bud Light, you can’t take your kid to Epcot, you have to explain to them that education, and especially science is a waste of time, that gun violence makes everyone safer, that it’s okay to infect your family with a deadly virus, and that women have no reproductive rights. I’m not sure they’ve worked this through.

[GoCubsGo]