Pot raid leads to triple doggycide in Detroit, Michigan

Hump the German Shepherd mix (top) and Tank the pitbull

There is so much goddamned wrong with this story that I truly don’t know where to begin:

”Please don’t harm my dogs,” [James Woods] begged police, who moments earlier had barged into his east-side home looking for marijuana.

Woods was forced into a corner last week when the first shot rang out – a 12-gauge shotgun. Woods’ young pit bull, Tank, who neighbors and witnesses say was confined to a locked fence outside and unable to harm anyone, lay dead in a puddle of blood, shot in the face.

Fearing police would hurt his two other dogs, who were inside the house, Woods cried out: “Please! They won’t hurt you! Stop chasing them! They’re just scared. ”

Witnesses told a consistent story: Police chased the dogs, Hump and Janey, around the house, shooting Woods’ longtime companions as they fled.

“They came in like they were shooting deer,” Woods said.

Janey, a small, older pit bull, dragged a trail of blood around the house until she finally collapsed.

“They shot her four times as she was trying to get away,” Woods said […]”

Neighbors said the three dogs, which included a German shepherd mix, were tame and friendly.

Bloodthirsty cowards. Woods needs to sue their motherfucking asses off. That is all.

(via @radleybalko)

Northern Irish protestors don’t want no life-saving abortions

Northern Ireland has some of the toughest restrictions on abortion rights around, with women only being allowed to terminate if doctors certify that their pregnancies pose a serious threat to their lives or their physical or mental health. (Rape victims apparently need not apply. And perish the thought of a woman deciding to abort her pregnancy out of some silly ideal about family planning or bodily autonomy or whatnot.)

To provide for the few women who are eligible under Northern Irish law, the Marie Stopes clinic, the first private establishment of its kind in the region, opened its doors just today, offering services limited to non-surgical procedures that can only be performed during the first nine weeks of gestation, long before many women even realize they’re pregnant in the first place. Nonetheless, it’s a much-needed recourse for those desperate women whose pregnancies threaten to leave them permanently injured or even dead.

And that, apparently, is still too much to ask, according to some people:

Up to 40 people are protesting outside the first private clinic to offer abortions to women in Northern Ireland.

[…]

The protesters at the clinic are from a range of religious denominations and are holding up placards with images of aborted foetuses.

An anti-abortion group has called for the clinic to be shut down […]

Just so we’re perfectly clear: There is no “abortion on demand” (as much as I detest that misleading phrasing) going on at this clinic, nor can there be. Its sole purpose for existing is literally to save the lives of women who are medically unable to endure the rest of their pregnancy.

And these protestors want it closed down anyway.

Once again, folks: “Pro-lifers” are absolutely nothing of the sort. They don’t give a damn about the woman’s life, or even the child’s life; doing so would mean being in support of the medical procedure they rail against despite the fact that it demonstrably saves countless lives every year. Their opposition is an entirely emotional reaction driven by mindless dogma and untethered by any concern for the health or well-being of the grown women who actually have to suffer through medically injurious pregnancies. Their chosen moniker is horseshit; they are anti-abortionists and anti-choicers, and nothing more.

(via @BreakingNewsUK)

Yet another court strikes down DOMA

And the dominoes just keep on falling:

A divided federal appeals court in Manhattan struck down the Defense of Marriage Act Thursday as unconstitutional, joining an appeals court in Boston in rejecting the law that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. The Supreme Court is expected to take up the case in the next year.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued its 2-to-1 ruling only weeks after hearing arguments on a lower court judge's findings that the 1996 law was unconstitutional.

The majority opinion written by Judge Dennis Jacobs rejected a section of the law that says "marriage" only means a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife and that the word "spouse" refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife. A federal appeals court in Boston earlier this year also found it unconstitutional.

It won’t be too long before the matter reaches the Supreme Court, who has an increasingly hefty load of case precedent to look to.

Daily Blend: Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Dinesh D’Souza

It’s hilarious infighting time as one misogynistic cesspit attacks another! I’ll get the popcorn.

Daily Caller writer really doesn’t like all we humorless, egomaniacal atheists and our civilization-saving ways.

The Illinois Family Institute is aghast that a local school district wants to help makes things better for “perverse”, “anarchist” trans students.

Today’s “family values” sex scandal: Obama conspiracy-monger Dinesh D’Souza ^[pictured] caught trying to divorce his wife in favor of his much-younger “fiancée”.
(via Dispatches from the Culture Wars)

Anti-gay lunatic Rep. Michele Bachmann’s (R-MN) lesbian sister speaks out.
(via Dispatches from the Culture Wars)

And finally, we at last get the details on the Romney/Ryan tax plan.
(via Joe. My. God.)

If you have any story suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments or send them in.

Tweet of the Day: Ricky Gervais on science vs. religion

This tweet by Ricky Gervais has apparently since been deleted as it’s nowhere to be found in his Twitter feed, which is a damn shame:

Kindly ignore how it ought to read “edge of space” and that it’s an obvious simplification of the conflict between faith, reason and humanity on the grounds that Twitter’s 140-character limit makes incorporating all that into one tweet physically impossible, in addition to how it would ruin the pithiness. It’s the sentiment that counts, and once again, Gervais has nailed it. (Or did, before it was deleted.)

(via Joe. My. God.)

Edit (10/18/12 1:43 AM ET) – Slightly edited for phrasing.

Christine O’Donnell presents more terrible conservative rap

It looks like failed Senate candidate Christine “not a witch” O’Donnell has a brilliant idea for turning young voters against President Obama: More aggressively bad conservative rap!

Lyrics: (click the [+/-] to open/close →)

[−]

[source]

He's the 6 trillion dollar man
Hope and Change, it was a scam
Every baby born, owing 50 Grand
To Uncle Sam
You didn't build that, You didn't build that
That's Obama Style
You didn't build that, You didn't build that
That's Obama Style
6 trillion dollar man
Doesn't have a budget plan
Basic economics, is something he doesn't understand
You didn't build that, You didn't build that
That's Obama style
You didn't build that, You didn't build that
That's Obama Style

Verse 1

You're telling me he's leading, I'll just tell you, you are blind
During his term, he's golfed over a hundred times
Taken sixty one vacations, is he is out of his mind?
And he's bowing to Saudi Kings, he must be outta of his spine
He's demonizing success with pay your fair share
Which is pure hypocrisy, he's a multi millionaire
Don't you dare claim you built a business from scratch
Because as the ole Obama saying goes, you didn't build that
See he's King George and we compose the colonies
When terrorists attack, he issues them apologies
Added trillions to the debt, cause that's Obama policy
Says be your brother's keeper, but won't help his own in poverty
He's putting off the debt on the backs of your children
Can't create a net job, but promised two million
Obamacare raises taxes by 500 billion
We got to vote him out, if we want the country healing

Chorus X2

He's the 6 trillion dollar man
Hope and Change, it was a scam
Every baby born, owing 50 Grand
To Uncle Sam
You didn't build that, You didn't build that
That's Obama Style
You didn't build that, You didn't build that
That's Obama Style
6 trillion dollar man
Doesn't have a budget plan
Basic economics, is something he doesn't understand
You didn't build that, You didn't build that
That's Obama style
You didn't build that, You didn't build that
That's Obama Style

Spreading the wealth, is absolutely not charity
You really want America, with shared propserity?
That means what you earn, you don't get to keep
He's say were going forward, (Off a cliff) yeah leap
But he's a collectivist, so what can you expect
He wants you to sign your check over to the IRS
Biden's countless gaffes are mind numbing to observe
He spelled out JOBS as a three letter word
Obama doesn't like to lead, he'd rather be dancing
40 grand a plate banquets up at Clooney's mansion
See Clint Eastwood made this very evident
Every time you see an empty chair, you see the President
When you're going to get gas, don't you feel you're getting robbed?
Well the keystone pipeline is a shovel ready job
And I'm so tired of this Barack's a hero drama
Seal Team Six got Osama, Not Obama

Chorus X2

He's the 6 trillion dollar man
Hope and Change, it was a scam
Every baby born, owing 50 Grand
To Uncle Sam
You didn't build that, You didn't build that
That's Obama Style
You didn't build that, You didn't build that
That's Obama Style
6 trillion dollar man
Doesn't have a budget plan
Basic economics, is something he doesn't understand
You didn't build that, You didn't build that
That's Obama style
You didn't build that, You didn't build that
That's Obama Style

Verse 3

This is the Obama nation, that we're living in
50,000 dollars of debt, per citizen
23,000 million Americans out of job
The door of opportunity, it needs a new knob
He spent 5.4 trillion, so remember this fall
If we reelect Obama, there's no future at all
Cut the spending now, oh yeah and before I forget
Young Americans have to pay back that national debt

Chorus X4

He's the 6 trillion dollar man
Hope and Change, it was a scam
Every baby born, owing 50 Grand
To Uncle Sam
You didn't build that, You didn't build that
That's Obama Style
You didn't build that, You didn't build that
That's Obama Style
6 trillion dollar man
Doesn't have a budget plan
Basic economics, is something he doesn't understand
You didn't build that, You didn't build that
That's Obama style
You didn't build that, You didn't build that
That's Obama Style

Of course, the lyrics (if you can bear either hearing or reading them) are little more than a smorgasbord of bullshit Right-wing talking points, not that you’d even need to pay them any attention to figure that out. Because barring anything resembling facts or cogent arguments on their side, what else do these people have?

Of course, that’s just an addendum to the larger point, which is that conservatives need to stop rapping. They really, truly and simply can’t do it. It’s crappy enough at the best of times, but these talentless hacks have managed to turn bad music into a form of torture that would make Dick Cheney blush.

(via Joe. My. God.)

Cheery church sign of the day

Someone needs some remedial lessons in dealing with the public:

Make your own jokes about that bottom line.

(via Joe. My. God.)

Ann Coulter thinks disowning LGBT kids is totally hilarious

Today’s knee-slapper from Ann Coulter:

Last Thursday was national "coming out" day.This Monday is national "disown your son" day.

— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) October 16, 2012

Oh, terribly droll. I’m certain the tens of thousands of youths who find themselves homeless after their families learn of their sexuality are laughing, too, assuming they don’t commit suicide first. Which I’m sure is comedy gold as well.

I wonder how long it’ll take before the usual excuses of “it was just a joke!” start popping up. Of course, humorous statements (regardless of whether or not they’re actually funny) shouldn’t be taken seriously; then again, neither should anything Coulter ever says. But it’s nonetheless interesting how being a (terrible) comedian has become the new favored argument for claiming immunity from criticism after acting like a bigoted asshole.

(via Joe. My. God.)

Daily Blend: Monday, October 15, 2012

My new baby

I’m finally the owner of a laptop that isn’t brought to its knees by launching MS Paint. Goodbye, Acer Aspire One – hello, Lenovo ThinkPad T410 ^[pictured]!

The enemy of Romney’s enemy is his friend, until they become his enemy, before they re-become his friend.

How good is your color vision? Take this test to find out. (I got a 7 – relatively sure my monitor screwed me …)
(via @jennifurret)

In which Cracked.com points out that snipers are math prodigies and submarine fights are won by boring the enemy to death (contra what Hollywood would have you believe).

And finally, how could anyone possibly think the far-Right is a refuge for bigoted assholes? Just ask anti-abortion crackpot Randall Terry:

If you have any story suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments or send them in.

TJ Kincaid mocks bullied teen who killed herself [updated]

TJ “The Amazing Atheist” Kincaid

Those of you with the Internet connection to view this blog have also presumably heard about the tragic story of Amanda Todd, the fifteen-year-old Canadian teen who committed suicide shortly after posting a video describing the years of abuse she’d suffered through at the hands of bullies both online and off. Her story has veritably exploded across the media, with virtually everyone everywhere denouncing the dangers of bullying, dangers that so many insist on reducing to something that’s perfectly “normal” for children to go through (usually adding that it simply “toughens them up”). Because if you can’t bother to address a problem, you might as well try to rationalize it away instead.

Sadly, some people seem to have been born without the common decency gene, which frees them to scrape ever deeper. Which brings us to notorious YouTuber TJ Kincaid (who I cannot in good conscience refer to by his moniker, “The Amazing Atheist”), famous in equal parts for his anti-religious rants and his flaming misogynistic and rape-baiting assholery, who recently added this new milestone to his ugly history of ridiculing suicide victims:

In a sense, I suppose his odd claim to having “died today” is understandable as a wish; I agree that it’s preferable to be dead than to live as a walking piece of shit.

He subsequently posted this attempt at explaining himself:

This week in doggycide: October 13, 2012

Eldorado, IL (September 19): Officer investigating a theft ends up on the wrong property, shoots and kills Smoky the German shepherd in his yard. Cop claims Smoky bit him; family dispute his account. Local officials clear shooter of any wrongdoing.
(via Dogs Shot by Police | Facebook)

Los Angeles, CA (September 27): Thunder the Black Lab shot and later dies after being impermissibly playful around an off-duty LAPD officer’s pitbull.
(via Dogs Shot by Police | Facebook)

Pensacola, FL (September 27): Probation officer shoots and kills Labrador “two feet away” from its nine-year-old owner, who refutes the cop’s claim that the dog was aggressive.
(via Dogs Shot by Police | Facebook)

Baton Rouge, LA (October 02): Unilateral police report claims officer shot & killed a “pitbull” that allegedly attacked a man. No further details about witnesses, attempts at non-lethal force, etc.
(via Dogs Shot by Police | Facebook)

Savannah-Chatham, GA (October 03): Unidentified “pitbull” allegedly attacks and slightly injures a police dog before being shot and later euthanized. No further details known, such as about any possible attempts at non-lethal force.
(via Dogs Shot by Police | Facebook)

Aberdeen, SD (October 03): Police shoot and injure loose pitbull after it allegedly attacked and killed a West Highland Terrier that was tied up in its garage. Pitbull ran off and hasn’t been seen since; police presume it died. Let the blaming of the dog’s breed (rather than its evidently incompetent owner) begin!
(via Dogs Shot by Police | Facebook)

Colorado Springs, CO (October 04): Alleged “pitbull” shot and killed after posing an “imminent threat to school children”. Witness in the comments claims the dog and its companion were just strolling around peacefully when trigger-happy animal control officers showed up and opened fire.
(via Dogs Shot by Police | Facebook)

Schenectady, NY (October 09): Police report claims dog was shot and killed (doesn’t give any reason) during a raid while its owner was arrested possessing a “small amount of narcotics”.
(via Dogs Shot by Police | Facebook)

Donohue upset that Biden won’t force Catholic views on others

VP Joe Biden

During last night’s vice-presidential debate, the candidates were asked about their stance on abortion rights and how they reconcile them with their Catholic beliefs. While Republican nominee Paul Ryan gave the predictably authoritarian response that he would ban all abortion except for emergencies, Vice-President Joe Biden broke with tradition and gave an answer that wasn’t only not embarrassing, but even laudable:

With regard to — with regard to abortion, I accept my church’s position on abortion as a — what we call de fide (doctrine ?). Life begins at conception. That’s the church’s judgment. I accept it in my personal life.

But I refuse to impose it on equally devout Christians and Muslims and Jews and — I just refuse to impose that on others, unlike my friend here, the congressman.

I — I do not believe that — that we have a right to tell other people that women, they — they can’t control their body. It’s a decision between them and their doctor, in my view. And the Supreme Court — I’m not going to interfere with that.

Despite the obligatory fluff about “life begin[ning] at conception” (as if biological activity only began during the egg’s fertilization), that’s the only true answer any so-called “pro-lifer” should ever give (and not only because providing access to abortion demonstrably saves lives). It’s also the only acceptable answer for anyone who honestly claims to uphold secularism in government by refusing to legislate their own religious beliefs at the expense of everyone else. You don’t have to agree with abortion to be pro-choice; you just shouldn’t try to force anyone else to abide by your personal moral code, no matter how strongly you feel about it. Both science and the courts have long since ruled that abortion isn’t “murder”, so all that’s left is to respect women’s right to bodily autonomy.

Biden also proceeded to throw some cold water over the claims that the federal contraception mandate supposedly violates the religious freedom of anti-abortion employers:

With regard to the assault on the Catholic Church, let me make it absolutely clear. No religious institution, Catholic or otherwise, including Catholic Social Services, Georgetown Hospital, Mercy — any hospital — none has to either refer contraception. None has to pay for contraception. None has to be a vehicle to get contraception in any insurance policy they provide. That is a fact.