From the 'It's Not The Heat, It's The Stupidity' File: SC GOP Pushes '2nd Amendment Awareness' Bill For Schoolchildren

I first got wind of this story from my Dad, who lives clear across the country; he sent me an email with a link to the story asking, “Is this true?”

My first thought was, “Not even South Carolina is that stupid,” but then I thought, “Maybe …”

And, it turns out it is true, that down here in South Carolina there are not one, but two bills that have been introduced to promote "gun rights" in our schools, because the gun nuts don’t like the current zero-tolerance policy for guns in South Carolina schools.

One of our state representatives, a Republican, of course, a wingnut, of course, and a goose-stepping member of the NRA and deep in their pockets, of course, is Alan Clemmons, who actually said:

“Zero-tolerance policies have squelched any discussion of the Second Amendment in schools.”

Wait. What. Schoolchildren need to discuss guns? What about grammar — for the love of god, teach South Carolina children a little grammar — or math or science?

One of these Gun Nut Bills would actually create a “Second Amendment Awareness Day” to be held annually on December 15 — one day after the anniversary of the Newtown school shooting that left 20 children and six adults dead … coincidence? I think not — in all state schools.

Schoolchildren would compete in a poster or essay contest on "The Right To Bear Arms: One American Right Protecting All Others" because the gun nuts, and by that I mean the NRA and the GOP, want students to believe that the Second Amendment is the only thing protecting out First Amendment.

In addition to creating fun gun posters, students would also endure three weeks of gun rights education based on a curriculum that will be approved, or recommended, by the NRA; that’s right, the NRA will decide what South Carolina schoolchildren will be taught in schools.

Garry Smith, another Republican gun nut NRA goose-stepping Representative, who co-sponsored the bill, along with Richard Yow, and yet another Republican gun nut NRA goose-stepping Representative, believes the Second Amendment deserves more instructional time than other amendments because it is the "lynchpin for the rest of democracy."

Guns are the lynchpin for democracy and we need to start training and, possibly arming our children now.

That second bill that is working its way through the South Carolina Nuthouse Statehouse, would allow schools to offer a gun safety or gun marksmanship course as an elective, so that children can be taught how to use guns and about gun rights.

Republican Senator, Wing- and Gun nut, Lee Bright isn’t just sponsoring this second bill for the, and I quote, “good of the children,” he’s doing so because he sponsored an open carry bill last year that failed, he thinks, due to lack of education, so he wants the children to be able to choose to study guns, and even, in some cases, shoot guns, in schools.

Instead, I imagine, teaching them about art and music because …

… here in South Carolina it’s not the heat, it’s the stupidity.

via NCRM

SC Taxpayers Billed For Both Sides Of The Same-Sex Marriage Fight

I’ve often claimed that, down here in South Carolina, it’s not the heat, but the stupidity that’ll get you, and, well, my point has been proven yet again.

As has been happening around the good old US of A lately, when a state's same-sex marriage ban is ruled unconstitutional that state’s government officials unleash the hounds, er, lawyers, to defend the ban, to request stays and to file appeals

And those of us who live in those states, like South Carolina, get a little annoyed by that, because since our Attorney General Alan Wilson has refused to admit he’s lost, We The People of South Carolina, through our tax dollars, will pay for those appeals and the stays and the lawsuits. But, what many don’t realize is that it is not just the defense case the taxpayers will fund; we may also be responsible for the legal bills of the gay couples who successfully challenged South Carolina’s marriage ban.

See, federal law requires the losing party in cases involving basic constitutional rights to pay the legal fees of the winning plaintiffs and South Carolina just got its first bill from the seven Charleston attorneys who successfully challenged the state's same-sex marriage ban. Those attorneys have filed a petition in federal court seeking $152,709 in attorneys’ fees, which, if they are successful, will be paid for by, ahem, We The People of South Carolina.

And, since Wilson has vowed to continue defending South Carolina’s same-sex marriage laws in several other cases in both of the state’s federal district courts, those plaintiff's lawyers can ask to be reimbursed for their costs as well. And when Wilson loses those cases, all the way to the Supreme Court if he gets his way, We The People of South Carolina might be on the hook for those costs, too.

Yup, we’re paying to defend the state’s ban on same-sex marriage and we’re paying to have the ban declared unconstitutional; we pay both sides.

But, and this is where I forget about how stupid some in South Carolina can be and a great big grin spreads across my face, any monies these seven attorneys are awarded will not be accepted by them; instead, they have announced plans to donate their fees to the LGBT rights groups that hired them to sue the state, including Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund and the South Carolina Equality Coalition.

So, and this is where I smile, because I imagine this will irk Alan Wilson even more, the harder he fights to keep the ban in place, the more money it costs the people of South Carolina, and the more money gets donated to LGBT groups in the state.

Hmmm, maybe not so stupid after all?

via NCRM

A Tale of Two South Carolina's

Boy, there are days when South Carolina surprises me, and days when South Carolina acts like, well, I think it has always acted, and so now I’ll present to you A Tale of Two South Carolina’s.

In the first one, we have Republican — you read that right — State Senator Larry Martin, the head of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who is pushing new legislation bringing sweeping reform to the state’s domestic violence laws by creating a tiered system of offenses, increasing penalties and barring batterers from possessing guns.

Yes, people, gun control, of a sort, in South Carolina.

The bill, if adopted, would change the state's domestic violence laws for the first time in a decade, and, among other things, it would:

Restructure criminal domestic violence laws into a tiered system of degrees based on the severity of the crime, with escalating penalties ranging from 30 days in jail to 10 years in prison.

Bar those convicted of domestic violence offenses or facing protective orders from possessing firearms or holding a concealed-weapons permit. Batterers would face up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000 if caught with a gun.

Require those charged with criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature to attend intervention programs and bar them from having firearms or ammunition as a condition of bail.

Allow courts to grant permanent no-contact orders to prevent abusers from harassing victims. Police could arrest violators without a warrant and the offender would face a felony carrying up to five years in prison.

This bill is in response to state statistics that show over 300 women have been killed in the last decade from domestic violence — one murder every twelve days. South Carolina currently ranks Number Two in the nation for the rate of women killed by men, and has topped the list three times in the past decade, most recently in 2013.

Now, because it’s South Carolina, the gun provision will likely face the stiffest opposition in our GOP-dominated Legislature, with many Republicans saying the issue is already addressed by federal law and a state measure is an unnecessary duplication that could infringe on gun rights.

Or is it just the rights of men who batter women to carry guns? See, while federal law bans those convicted of domestic violence from buying or possessing guns, South Carolina has no legislation to enforce that prohibition, meaning, yes, batterers can keep their guns, and conceal their guns. And let’s keep in mind that the overwhelming weapon of choice in domestic killings is a gun; guns have been used in 65% of all domestic homicides of women. But let’s worry about infringing on the batterers right to bear arms, and not on the rights of victims of domestic violence not to die.

Still, in South Carolina, of all places, it’s nice to see anyone, much less a Republican, put forth any kind of legislation that might be called gun control, even one that makes sense like this one.

On the flip side of Reasonable Republicans in South Carolina, we have Republican State Senator Lee Bright — the name does not suit him at all — who is on a mission to expand the right of South Carolinians to discriminate against LGBT people.

In keeping up his cred as a bigot and hater and, well, a moron, Bright filed a bill last week that would exempt any employee who works for the State of South Carolina … the State of South Carolina … from having to do their job by issuing a marriage license to a same-sex couple.  If Not-So-Bright’s law passes, those state employees, aka Bigots Who I Pay With My Tax Dollars, merely need to say they have a sincerely-held religious belief against same-sex marriage and they can deny the license.

Now, to be fair, that gay couple can simply walk to another window, or wait for a more enlightened, educated, humane, truly Christian person to issue their license, but the point is that a state employee will be allowed to not do their job because they hate The Gays.

That gets me thinking that maybe I’ll get one of those jobs, then declare myself a Satanist and deny issuing licenses to religious couples because of my deeply held, sincere religious belief. Or, better yet, go in as an Atheist and deny licenses because there is no God y’all. Man, watching those Baptists heads explode might be worth it.

But here’s the deal, plain and simple: you people who work in a state licensing department work for the state, which means me, and so if you wanna deny me the right to legally do what I am entitled to do because, you say, your God don’t like no gay marriages, then step out of your office and head to unemployment and get on line looking for new work.

Same-sex marriage is legal, marriage is not a religious institution, and you cannot inflict your religious perversions on me just because you feel like.

Now sit down and keep quiet.

SC Senators Propose GunBan, Stiffer Domestic Violence Laws

SC Senator's Bill Would Legalize Religious Anti-Gay Discrimination

Random Musings

Since becoming husband-and-husband, I’ve found renewed joy in my life with Carlos because, well, I get to gaslight him all the time now!

Like the day I was home and he called to say he was running late, and I acted as though I couldn’t hear him.

Then, when he got home, and I asked why he was late and hadn’t called, he said he had. I said he didn’t; he said he did. It went on like that for a couple of m minutes before he whipped out his phone and called the house phone because he wanted to check if it was working.

And I laughed, telling him that I was gas-lighting him.

Like the time he said he had to go to Lancaster for work, then to Cassatt, and then back to Camden. He called to tell me he was back in Camden and I asked what he meant by that.

Carlos: I told you I was going to Lancaster.

Bob: No, you didn’t.

Carlos: Yes, I did.

Bob: No, you said you were going to Cassatt and then back home.

Carlos: I did go to Cassatt.

Bob: You went to Cassatt? Why didn’t you tell me?

Gaslight. Not that there’s a huge sum of money I’ll come into when I have Carlos declared mentally unstable; I’m just doing it for fun.

"I, Darren Wilson, hereby resign my commission as a police officer with the City of Ferguson effective immediately. I have been told that my continued employment may put the residents and police officers of the City of Ferguson at risk, which is a circumstance that I cannot allow. For obvious reasons, I wanted to wait until the grand jury made their decision before I officially made my decision to resign. It was my hope to continue in police work, but the safety of other police officers and the community are of paramount importance to me. It is my hope that my resignation will allow the community to heal. I would like to thank all of my supporters and fellow officers throughout this process."

Good.Bye. And I hope we never hear from you again.

Tony Dungy, the former NFL coach-turned-NBC analyst who said he wouldn't have drafted Michael Sam because he wouldn't want to "deal with all of it" — meaning the media attention — said this week that he would welcome wife-beater Ray Rice onto a team.

So, you can beat up a woman and still be an NFL star but you can’t be gay.

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson yesterday petitioned the Fourth Circuit Court, asking that they not rule on his marriage appeal until the Supreme Court issues on a decision on the cases out of Sixth Circuit. Wilson, like his counterparts in several other states, is desperately trying to keep his case alive so that marriage equality can be undone should SCOTUS rule negatively.

Although he’s wasting taxpayer money and doesn’t seem to realize that South Carolina is not bound by decisions of the Sixth Circuit Court.

Seriously, Alan, give up. The Queers have landed legally married in South Carolina!

Back in the olden days — well, late last century — it was always a bit surprising to see interracial couples on scripted TV shows. Not surprising to see them in real life, mind you, but TV always seems to lag behind the real word. I still remember the shock of the Willis’ on The Jefferson’s back in the day.

So, imagine my surprise when two new shows — NBC’s Marry Me and Bravo’s first scripted show The Girlfriend’s Guide to Divorce — each featured an interracial couple.

And a gay one, to boot — clockwise from top left: Dan Bucatinsky and Tim Meadows from Marry Me, and Patrick Heusinger and J. August Richards from GG2D.

A friend posted this thing on Facebook that you should Google your first name and the word ‘meme’ following. Then go to images and post the first image that comes up.

That one, up there, was the first image that came up, but that — down there — was Number Four and, I felt, far funnier and more apropos.

So, let me get this white: in America you can be shot to death for stealing cigarillos from a store in Missouri, and you can be choked to death for selling “loosies” — single cigarettes — on Staten Island?

Oh, only if you’re Black in America.

AT&T U-verse had a Free HBO weekend over Thanksgiving and so I recorded all the episodes of The Leftovers, which is based on a book I’d read last year about a Rapture-like disappearance of 2% of the world’s population.

Good book, but the show features one Justin Theroux, an ISBL hottie, and star of a Would You Hit It post. Justin appears shirtless, pants-less and nude.

Bob is intrigued.

Down in Houston, two teenage carjackers were met with a wee surprise when trying to steal a car: a stick shift.

The two morons held the motorist at gunpoint trying to take his car, and then demanded that he tell them how to drive it. After the driver provided a few instructions, the teens ordered him out of the vehicle, drove off, probably riding the clutch all the way, and the driver called the police.

Both morons were arrested for carjacking and stupidity.

Speaking of Texas, county clerks in Fort Worth and Houston say they won't issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples even if a federal judge lifts his stay of a ruling striking down Texas' marriage bans.

Bob says you should then be fired for not doing your jobs, and then you can whine about how, while not following the law, and denying Gays the legal right to marry, your own rights were trampled on.

Then you can STFU.

I stopped by Blobby’s Blog this week — on World AIDS Day — and he had written a post and then ended it with a Rosanne Cash song, “I Want A Cure” as a way of tribute.

And that little moment triggered the song that’s been playing on a loop in my head for the week. The song, “Tennessee Flat-Top Box” was one from Rosanne’s childhood — she remembered it being sung to her as a lullaby — and she longed to record it. When she did she found out that old lullaby had been written by her late father, Johnny Cash.

Rub-A-Dub-Dub ... Escorts In A Tub

One night, after partying together at a South Carolina gay bar—and yes, there are gay bars in South Carolina … or there is gay bar … I digress—three men went out for a little, um, hot tub fun.

Eighteen-year-old Austin Adams [below right] and 33-year-old Michael Gordon [below center] went together to that Spartanburg nightclub, where they met 21-year-old Douglas Tench [below left], who had come down from Charlotte to go to a gay club in Spartanburg.

After several drinks Tench left  with Adams and Gordon, for a home Boiling Springs—and the hot tub in Boling Springs … you cannot make this stuff up—where Gordon was dog sitting; the three men began to, ahem, “enjoy each other’s company” in said hot tub. But the party ended when the three men started to quarrel … over which one was the higher paid escort.

Oh, but they did. Adams told the arresting deputy that he “lost control” when Tench “stated he got paid more for his escort services than Adams.” Adams admitted to hitting and kicking Tench while they were in the hot tub before Tench jumped out of the hot tub and ran to a house across the street, where he called a friend who, in turn, dialed 911.

After confessing to assaulting Tench, Adams asked the deputy to “just arrest him and get it done with,” and so he was charged with simple assault; Gordon and Tench were also arrested for providing alcohol to a minor escort.

Lesson to be learned: don’t brag about your escort coins in a hot tub with other escorts?

That’s all I got.

source

Random Musings

Carlos is letting his hair grow; or not.

But while deciding whether to trim his locks or let them run rampant, his hairstyles range from a Justin Bieber-ish looking "don't" to a Andrew Jackson pompadour to a Bob's Big Boy swirl.

I can't with it. I can't.

Well well well … look who’s married, legally, in South Carolina!

That’s right, the stay has been lifted after the US Supreme Court denied Attorney General Alan Wilson’s cry for an appeal.

South Carolina. Marriage equality.

Who, besides me, never saw that coming so soon?

Last week was the Colonial Cup, the last event in the National Steeplechase Association season, an annual event here in Smallville, er, Camden. It brings about 60,000 extra folks to our little town, a boost for local businesses and our wee economy.

But this year I met Tony Bentley, the man who calls the races on the steeplechase circuit. Tony lives in New Orleans, but travels around the country to each event, announcing the races.

But that’s not the coolest thing about Tony Bentley. In having a conversation with him, the chat turned to American Horror Story: Freak Show. He asked if I watched; I said, Are you kidding? I’ve been hooked since the first episode!

Then he let me in on a little secret: Tony Bentley played Mr. Hanley, toy store owner, who had his head chopped off by Twisty the Clown!

He showed me all kinds of pictures on his phone; on the set with Twisty — played by John Carroll Lynch — and told fabulous stories about the divine Jessica Lange; apparently she really is divine.

But the last photo was one of Tony, holding his own special effects head in his hands.

Very cool! Who knew in Smallville I would ever meet one of Twisty’s victims!

Bill Cosby.

I don’t know if he raped those women — thirteen at last count — and I don’t know that he didn’t. I do know that he should quit playing this I won’t talk about it game and give an interview to either fully dispute the allegations or come clean.

Sidenote: before anyone says, Well, he paid off one victim, lets’ be clear that just because he settled the suit doesn’t automatically make him guilty.

Still, he needs to stop the dodging and answer some questions.

That said … Don Lemon.

He has now offered an apology to one of Cosby’s accusers, Joan Tarshis, after offering her advice, on air, on air as to how avoid getting sexually abused:

“You — you know, there are ways not to perform oral sex if you didn’t want to do it.”

Way to blame the victim, Don. And, as a man who says he was a victim of sexual abuse as a minor, you really should have known better.

So, One Direction's Harry Styles is adding even more fuel to the bisexual rumor fire when, during an interview, he and bandmate Niall Horan were asked about which celebrities they might hook up with and, after rattling off the Ariana’s and the Rihanna’s the interviewer suggested that perhaps he might choose a man. That prompted Styles to touch Horan’s knee and say, “Hey, don't knock it 'til you try it."

Now Styles has never said he was gay, or bisexual, but he’s playing it like a game, just like Nick Jonas and his crotch-grabbing, gay club going, shirtless antics, in an attempt to pander to the gay community to sell some music.

I find it insulting; neither man/boy is gay and this all reeks of just playing to gay men to make some money.

Don’t use us to sell a record, m’kay.

Oh, and for the record, Nick, Joe is the cuter one.

Lotsa folks upset with People over their Sexiest Man Alive pick, saying it should’a been Chris Pratt.

I disagree. Chris Hemsworth oozes sex, in his eyes, in his accent, in his body, in that magnificent bum — take a peek at Rush to see for yourself.

But, howsabout having an openly gay man as the Sexiest Man alive? Or maybe a man of color? Here are my choices …

Child abuser, Adrian Peterson, running back for the Minnesota Vikings, has been suspended without pay for the remainder of the NFL season after he has “shown no meaningful remorse” over his child abuse charges.

The announcement came from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell:

“You have shown no meaningful remorse for your conduct. When indicted, you acknowledged what you did but said that you would not ‘eliminate whooping my kids’ and defended your conduct in numerous published text messages to the child’s mother. You also said that you felt ‘very confident with my actions because I know my intent.’ These comments raise the serious concern that you do not fully appreciate the seriousness of your conduct, or even worse, that you may feel free to engage in similar conduct in the future.”

Sadly, Peterson makes some 20 million a year so I don’t really think he’ll be hurting much, and nowhere near as much as he hurt his own son.

And, since I Should Be Laughing is the go-to source for all things sports — now that's comedy —l et’s dish a little about the Steelers’ backup halfback LeGarrette Blount, who was apparently so upset that he did not have a carry against in the Steelers win over Tennessee that he walked off the field and sat on the team bus.

Uh huh; like a spoiled child. At least one team-member thought they should leave him in Nashville.

And I agree.

I LOVE this!

According to analysis of the National Organization for Marriage’s 2013 tax filings done by the Human Rights Campaign [HRC], NOM raised $5.1 million in 2013, which amounts to less than half of what they raised the year prior.

And just two … two … 2 donors accounted for more than half of that five million.

Just further proof that NOM is done.

Well, it looks like Kathy Griffin will be taking over for the late great Joan Rivers on Fashion Police. 

I like Kathy; she’ll be good, but she won’t be Joan.

And the show won’t be on every week, but instead will air as special episodes after awards shows and big Hollywood events.

Like I said, Kathy will be good, and fun, but she won’t be Joan.

No one will ever be Joan.