Under The Radar: More Outrageous and Stupid

(10 am. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

The outrageous onslaught against workers, women and our intelligence continues.

I love Blue Texan at FDL but he is demeaning Trolls

• Will the Media Ever Realize that the GOP’s 2012 Candidates are Trolls?
  

  I keep waiting for Village reporters to stop breathlessly covering every random utterance belched up by the Newt, but I suppose it’s never gonna happen.

     “This [action in Libya] is as badly executed, I think, as any policy we’ve seen since WWII, and it will become a case study for how not to engage in this type of activity,” he added.

  Now, you’d think a clown who was for bombing Libya before he was against it, who breathlessly declared World War III started five years ago and who peddles racist wingnut psychobabble would’ve long since earned the right to be ignored – but nah.

  Quick! Gingrich said the Libyan no-fly zone is as bad as our decades-long war in Vietnam which killed 60,000 Americans and over a million Vietnamese! Headline!!!

From Think Progress with a h/t to Jon Walker at FDL

• Buried Provision In House GOP Bill Would Cut Off Food Stamps To Entire Families If One Member Strikes
  

     Much of the bill is based upon verifying that those who receive food stamps benefits are meeting the federal requirements for doing so. However, one section buried deep within the bill adds a startling new requirement. The bill, if passed, would actually cut off all food stamp benefits to any family where one adult member is engaging in a strike against an employer

     snip

  The bill also includes a provision that would exempt households from losing eligibility, “if the household was eligible immediately prior to such strike, however, such family unit shall not receive an increased allotment as the result of a decrease in the income of the striking member or members of the household.”

    Yet removing entire families from eligibility while a single adult family member is striking would have a chilling effect on workers who are considering going on strike for better wages, benefits, or working conditions – something that is especially alarming in light of the fact that unions are one of the fundamental building blocks of the middle class that allow people to earn wages that keep them off food stamps.

The assault on women continues now targeting minorities and immigrants in Arizona and Wisconsin.

h/t to the Wonk Room for the first article.

• Despite His ‘Pro-Life’ Crusade, Scott Walker Goes After Pregnant Immigrant Women
  

  Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) has been criticized for going after students, teachers, seniors, and poor people in his attempt to balance the state budget without raising taxes or fees.

  ThinkProgress recently reported that Walker is also proposing to repeal Wisconsin’s Contraceptive Equity Law that requires insurance companies to cover prescription birth control. It turns out that while Walker wants to deny women the right to plan their future, he also wants to prevent undocumented women who are already pregnant from accessing prenatal care.

• Arizona House approves ban on abortions for race or gender
  
  By David Scwartz

  PHOENIX (Reuters) – The Arizona House of Representatives on Wednesday approved controversial legislation that would make the state the first in the nation to ban abortions conducted due to the race or gender of the fetus.

  The bill approved in the House by a vote of 35-20 now goes to Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, a Republican. Brewer has not said if she will sign it into law.

From Sarah Babbage at The American Prospect

• Another Blow to Midwest Workers
  

  Yesterday, the Republican-controlled Michigan Legislature passed a bill that sets a dangerous precedent for jobless workers and continues Midwest governments’ assault on the vulnerable middle class. While the bill would continue extended unemployment insurance for those already unemployed, it cuts the time new claimants can receive benefits — from 26 weeks to 20. This would make it the first state to go below the national standard of 26 weeks.

Can Maine recall their elected state officials?

If they can, they should. LePage is just too stupid and offensive for words plus he has lousy taste in “decor”. From Think Progress

• Maine Gov. Paul LePage Orders Labor History Mural Removed From State Offices
  

  Maine Tea Party Gov. Paul LePage (R) has ordered the removal of a 36-foot mural depicting Maine’s labor history from the lobby of the state’s Department of Labor offices, claiming they received “some complaints” from business owners. The Governor has also directed that eight conference rooms named after labor leaders – including Cesar Chavez – be renamed “after mountains, counties or something.”

  The directive comes amidst rising tensions between the LePage Administration and organized labor over the governor’s support for a right-to-work bill and efforts to roll back the state’s child labor laws.

  While the state’s AFL-CIO called the removal “mean-spirited”, a spokesman for the governor has said that the removal was not meant to “antagonize” labor, but rather to correct the office’s “one-sided decor.”