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The Stupidity In Kentucky Is Highlighting The Very Dangerous Motives Of The Conservative Christian Cult

September 4, 2015 by Mark

Kim Davis woke up this morning in jail.  According to the reports I read, the judge in the case did everything he could to NOT put this woman in jail.  He even told her that if she stayed quiet, and did not interfere with her deputies issuing same-sex marriage licenses he would not put her in jail.  She refused and he sentenced her to jail in contempt of court.

Naturally, the Conservative Christian Cult went nuts.  The tweets and the statements from people like Mike Huckabee, Ted Cruz, and others were staggering.  Of course, this all amounts to the government wanting to put all Christians in jail and “outlaw” the Christian Faith.

But, what is really going on is something far more sinister and far more dangerous.  The Christian Cult is gearing up for their own version of a “holy war” against everyone else.  As long as they have martyr’s like Davis to point to, they will continue their terrorism on society.

The really scary part is that they are actually agreeing with, and copying some of the very tactics of those Muslim Terrorists they hate so much.  I have felt for a long time that what they really want is a religious war against Muslims and anyone who isn’t part of their cult.

This year alone, we have seen those heavily edited tapes about Planned Parenthood.  What has been the outcome of the hoopla that resulted?  Not one single “investigation” into Planned Parenthood by states has shown any illegal activity.  But, that hasn’t stopped the wacko Cult.  No, as a matter of fact, death threats against abortion providers has increased dramatically.

To show this point, someone using the name Joseywhales posted on Fox Nation “I’ll pay ten large to whomever kills Dr. Deborah Nucatola.  Anyone. Go for it.” Dr. Nucatola  is the senior director of Planned Parenthood who was filmed in the video.

But, Joseywhales didn’t stop there either.  He also posted: “The CEO of StemExpress should be hung by the neck using piano wire and propped up on the lawn in front of the building with a note attached.”  The CEO of StemExpress is Cate Dyer.  The company obtains fetal tissue for medical research.

The person then posted Dyer’s home address and offered “ten grand to whomever beats me” to her house, warning that Dyer “must die to save the innocents.”   We have seen abortion clinics bombed in the past.  We have seen abortion doctors murdered in the past.  The most famous one was murdered in his own church.

Since the release of those “fake” videos, two Planned Parenthood clinics have reported arsons, anti-abortion protesters are showing up in large numbers at doctors’ homes, and commenters on conservative websites and online forums are calling for the bombings of abortion clinics across the country, according to Vicki Saporta, president of the National Abortion Federation. Saporta is so alarmed by the escalation of threats against providers that she asked the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigations to intervene.

 “In my 20 years at NAF, I have never seen such a volume, intensity and escalation of hate speech, threats and criminal activity, and we would like to prevent a serious violent act from occurring,” she told The Huffington Post in an interview. “We have enlisted law enforcement’s help.”

We also have that insane person who wants to put a referendum on the California Ballot that would “put a bullet in the head” of all gays.  We hear the cult scream all of the time about “religious liberty” all the while they are denying others their rights to “religious liberty” simply because their religious beliefs don’t mesh with the Cult’s.

Earlier in the year we saw a “Christian” in, surprise, Kentucky arrested for threatening to go to a Mosque and town composed mostly of Muslims in New York and kill all of its members.

Where is Ted Cruz, Mike Huckabee, Bobby Jindel, and others saying negative things about these threats and the “religious liberty” of the victims of the threats?  Why is the right-wing conservative media being so quiet about threats made against people?  I guess the only answer is that these “candidates” and their media propaganda machines are in favor of “Christian Terrorism” against anyone who doesn’t follow their beliefs.

Many of you are going to cringe at this, but the most hideous aspect of ISIS is that if you don’t convert to their form of Muslim, you are killed.  From all of the threats and crying by the Cult, how long will it be before their followers take the same course of action right here in America?

By fanning the flames of hate against anyone who is not a Conservative Christian Cult member, these people are endorsing the very actions they claim are terrorism when practiced by someone else.  Which begs the question of how can followers of a religion that is supposed to be one of “peace” get so violent?  Simple, they are not followers of the religion.  They are followers of fascism.  The same as members of ISIS.

I have said over and over, terrorism is terrorism regardless of who is committing it.  And, yes, showing up at doctor’s homes is terrorism.  The only reason to protest in front of someone’s home is to foster terror not only in the person they are protesting but in that person’s family as well.  Making threats to blow up clinics is terrorism.  Starting fires at abortion clinics is terrorism.  Offering to pay for the murder of doctors is terrorism.

The vast number of terrorist cases in this country are not committed by Muslims.  They are being committed by so-called Christians.  Maybe it is time for the Conservative Christian Cult to be placed on the Terrorist Watchlist.  Their actions show they are really domestic terrorists.

Please don’t give me any of that “it’s only a few bad apples” argument either.  The deafening silence from the right-wing about these terrorist activities is the same as giving support for their actions.  That is not a “few bad apples.”  Unless you consider ISIS as “a few bad apples” on the Muslim side of the argument.

Is this what the 2016 elections are supposed to be about?  The sanctioning of terrorists just because they call themselves “Christians.”  Somehow, I don’t think true Christians support to these terrorists or their actions.  If I am wrong on that, our country is in far more danger than I thought and no one is safe.

Posted in Bloggin, Church & State, Conservative Bullshit Debunked, Culture, Fiasco, Flame Bait, Flaming Bag of Poo, Foreign Policy, Gender Issues, General, Health, Legal Issues, Libertarian Problem Solving, Media, News & Current Events, Politics, Religion, Terrorism | 3 Comments »

Without Proper Education More Teens Will Be Charged With Sex Crimes For Nude Selfies

September 3, 2015 by Mark

We live in an era of technology.  That technology is very useful in our jobs and our personal lives.  But, as you will see, technology has some very bad side-effects.  Those side-effects are affecting our children.  It can even leave them facing criminal charges that they may not fully understand.

This is proving out in North Carolina.  It can also happen in other states, so it isn’t just a “southern” thing.  It turns out that a 16-year-old girl took a nude “selfie” and sent it to her then 16-year-old boyfriend.  As far as anyone knows, that picture was not shared with anyone else.

Still the girl was arrested as both the adult perpetrator and the minor victim of two counts of sexual exploitation of minor – second-degree exploitation for making her photo and third-degree exploitation for having her photo in her possession.  If convicted, she could face prison time and be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of her life.

Her boyfriend who was 16 at the time and is now 17 was hit with five sexual exploitation of a minor charges – four for making and possessing two sexually explicit pictures of himself and the last for possessing a copy of the picture that the girl made for him.  He also faces possible prison time and the requirement to register as a sex offender if convicted. The charges have already forced him off the High School football team.  He had been the quarterback.

This is something that needs our attention.  It is something that affects our children.  However, it is also something that has been going on for generations.  Even before cameras, people made nude drawings of themselves to send to their lovers.

As we all know, budding sexuality is something that every teen goes through.  It is something that we all went through.  The odd part of this is that sending nude pictures is illegal, but in North Carolina, the age for consensual sex is 16.  The age of both of these teens.

This is another area where proper sexual education could help. It is something that could be covered in those classes.  Yet, too many states do not want to have sexual education in their schools.  Too many people feel that teaching our kids about sex will only help them have sex.

Too many states want to eliminate sex education from their curriculum.  As a result, we will probably see more teenagers being charged with similar crimes.  This can all be avoided if we were to treat our children, especially our teenage children like the growing adults they are.  We must teach them not only right and wrong, we need to teach them the possible consequences of their actions.

But we have to believe that our children will actually make the type of decisions like this one.  If we continue to put our heads in the sand and pretend that it doesn’t happen, it will continue to ruin lives of young people.  The girl in this case has come to a settlement.

She told the judge she was responsible for the crime of disseminating harmful material to minors. This is a misdemeanor and does not have the life-ruining requirement that she register as a sex offender.   She was put on probation for a year, ordered to pay $200 in court costs, stay in school, take a class on how to make good decisions, refrain from using illegal drugs or alcohol, not possess a cellular phone for the duration of her probation and to do 30 hours of community service.

If she stays out of trouble, the District Attorney’s office next July will drop the misdemeanor charge. She will be able to move on with her life with a clean criminal record.  That is a good thing.  But it also prompts the question of whether or not she should have been arrested in the first place.

Her boyfriend’s case is still pending.  He can also plead to a misdemeanor charge and avoid all the sex crime implications.  The best way to avoid cases like this is to educate our children.  Parents have a voice in that education.  But, as many parents will tell you, their voices are often drowned out by the “peers” who always know better.  That is where proper sex education comes into play.

That third voice of a teacher sometimes makes students think about what they are doing.  We need to protect our children from sex offenders.  Yet, we also need to understand that they will make bad decisions about nude selfies.  Charging them as a sex offender for their actions is not the answer.  It only makes the problem worse.

Posted in Bloggin, Conservative Bullshit Debunked, Culture, Education, Fiasco, Gender Issues, General, Health, Legal Issues, Media, News & Current Events, Politics, School | Leave a Comment »

All Of The BS About “Religious Liberty” Is Being Shown In Kentucky To Be The Lie It Really Is!

September 2, 2015 by Mark

There are a lot of people today who want to use Kim Davis, the Rowan County Clerk in Kentucky who refuses to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples as a hero to the cause.  Others want to show just how hypocritical she is.  As far as I am concerned, she is neither a hero nor a hypocrite.  She is simply a bigoted liar.

Furthermore, in my opinion, the people defending her are nothing more than bigoted liars as well.  This is coming to light more and more every day we are forced to endure this total nonsense.  Yesterday, Davis said her decision is a “heaven or hell” decision.  But, apparently, her “heaven and hell” decision doesn’t include her own behavior.

According to reports, Davis has been married a total of four times.  According to records in her own office, she divorced her first husband in 1994.  Five months later she gave birth to twins.  Only her twins were not fathered by her first husband.  Nor were they fathered by her second husband, who adopted the twins, but rather they were fathered by who would ultimately be her third husband.

She is now on her fourth husband.  That is even more “spouses” than Donald Trump has had.  Yet, we are to believe that she refuses to allow same-sex marriages based on her “true religious convictions.”  Some call that hypocrisy, I call it a bare-faced lie.

You all know that I am not a religious person.  You also know that I did grow up with a religious background.  In all of the catechism classes I attended, divorce and remarriage was considered a sin.  Adultery was considered a sin.  As a matter of fact, just to emphasise how bad a sin they were, they were sure tickets to hell.

But, according to the Liberty Counsel, a religious fanatic group that is providing legal counsel to Davis, the fact that she has had so many marriages and what most religious people consider illegitimate children, doesn’t matter in this case.  After all, she has been forgiven by God, and that makes everything perfectly peachy.

One of the biggest arguments religious people make against same-sex marriage is they want to protect Family Values and Traditional Marriage.  They are always citing parts of the Bible that fit their narrative.  But, what about that part in the Bible that says “what God has joined together, let no man put asunder.”  Isn’t that supposed to mean that divorce isn’t in God’s plan?

I spent 12 years going through religious classes.  At no time in those 12 years did I once hear the teacher quote one single verse of the New Testament, which is the book that Christianity is supposed to be based on, that gave us permission to “hate” our neighbor just because they were different.  I was taught that we were “all children of God.”  If we are all children of God as the religious fanatics claim, then how can it not be a sin to hate our brothers and sisters?

I also remember passages that say that only God can judge the conduct of others.  Only God can determine what is a sin and what isn’t.  Yet, these bigots want to take that power upon themselves.  They want to be able to determine what is a sin and what isn’t.  They want to be able to judge others based on their own prejudices.  That is not part of real Christian Teachings.  Or, at least the Christian Teachings that were fed to me.

No, this whole bullshit about “religious liberty” is nothing more than a lie.  It has nothing to do with the ability to worship your god in the way you choose.  It has nothing to do with believing in god at all.  It has to do with being able to dictate your personal prejudices on everyone else.  It is a lie!

I don’t care how many times this woman was married.  I don’t care how many illegitimate children she gave birth to.  What I care about is that this lie and hatred for people different from her has to stop.  I care that people are allowed to the same right of the pursuit of happiness she claims for herself.  That is how civil rights are supposed to work.

My advise to Davis is if you don’t want to be part of same-sex marriages, fine.  All I can say to that is RESIGN YOUR POST!  By refusing to do your job, you are breaking the law.  Furthermore, you are breaking your oath of office.  When it comes to fulfilling your post, you are supposed to obey the law, and not make up you own based on your private bigotry.

This woman, and any other public official who refuses to do their jobs, deserves to be heavily fined and/or put in prison.  They are lawbreakers.  Lawbreakers, especially according to conservatives, deserve to be put in jail.  I won’t ask why she still has her job, I will rather ask why is this lying law-breaker still free on the streets?

Come on conservatives, we are either a country of law and order as you claim, or we are a country of anarchy.  Just because your followers are the ones breaking the law doesn’t excuse them from being properly punished.  The only reason any conservative would support this woman is because they believe in a third option.  We are a country of law and order based solely on their “made-up laws” and nothing else.

All of this just makes we want to run out and vote Republican.  NOT!

Posted in Bloggin, Church & State, Conservative Bullshit Debunked, Culture, Education, Fiasco, Flame Bait, Flaming Bag of Poo, General, Legal Issues, Libertarian Problem Solving, Marriage Equality, Media, News & Current Events, Politics, Read Your Bible, Religion, Smackdown!, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

September Will Prove If Republicans Have A Plan, Or If They Are Playing Blind Man’s Bluff Our Future

September 1, 2015 by Mark

The latest vacation for Congress will be ending soon.  There are a whole lot of things that will need to be done in the 3 weeks or so before the end of the fiscal year.  For one, there is the problem of a budget.  There is still the problem of funding the National Highway Fund.  There will be lots of talk about the Iran Deal.  And, suddenly, there is a new problem with Ohio Republicans, the renaming of Mt. McKinley back to the original name of Mt. Denali.

Frankly, I am not optimistic that anything is going to get done in the time frame we have.  I do not foresee Congress passing any budget that will keep the government operating beyond October 1.  That is a huge problem.  But, we have been down this road before, and I am certain that we will go down it again.

Democrats have been asking for months to have discussions with Republicans over the budget.  Republicans want to increase defense spending, but refuse to talk about lifting the sequester part form any “domestic” spending.  That is a problem because domestic spending is what makes the economy work.  Republicans have refused to hold any negotiations over the budget.

Then there is the fight over Planned Parenthood.  The lunatic Canadian Senator Ted Cruz is willing to shut down the government just to make sure Planned Parenthood is “defunded.”  Let’s face facts, when you hate something as much as Cruz hates Planned Parenthood, everything is on the table.

Republican leaders are weary of shutting down the government.  However, they don’t have any power over the lunatic fringe of their party.  That has been obvious for six years.  The lunatics are running the asylum and they are making up the rules as they go along.

It doesn’t matter that an independent inspection of those “infamous videos” has debunked the videos as ” heavily edited” including gaps up to 30 minutes of original video missing just to make a point.  This review was done by some of the best experts in the field.

Some will argue that Planned Parenthood paid for the review.  That is correct.  But, they made sure that the people who reviewed the videos did not know who funded the project.  That is about as anonymous as you can get in today’s world.

Additionally, several states have conducted their own investigations into Planned Parenthood’s activities so they could “shut them down.”  Funny thing.  No evidence of any law breaking by Planned Parenthood has been found in any of these cases.

Yet the stupidity continues.  Planned Parenthood is the new “evil” in the world.  They must be evil, they actually help women get medical treatment and testing they can’t afford anywhere else.  That alone makes them evil in the eyes of Conservatives.

The Iran deal is another Republican created mess.  Remember, Iran gained strength in the region after W. invaded Iraq.  The elimination of their natural enemy only strengthened their hand since there was no neighbor to fear.

Everyone has been talking about the dangers of Iran getting a nuclear bomb for years.  So, when an administration tries to negotiate a deal to help delay and/or prevent from happening, the President is being “naïve” and overly trusting of an enemy.

Conservative warmongers say we should get a “better deal.”  But they are pretty mum about what that “better deal” would look like.  They also conveniently forget that this deal isn’t with us alone.  It is with five other countries.  So, even if they manage to kill the deal, we will be standing alone again.  If  there is another war, we will be in it alone, again.

The Republican side is very quick to shout out their displeasure with everything that this administration has tried to do.  They never give the American people any alternative with any  specifics as to what “their” plan will be.  They call this “leadership.”

No, I am already bracing for another government shutdown.  I am dreading another war, this time with Iran.  That is the unfortunate side effect when one party only wants to make headlines by whining about everything and offering nothing in return.

Somewhere the train has left the tracks.  We were on the way to a better future for our children and grandchildren.  Then somehow, the lunatics began running the asylum and things kept getting worse.  How we emerge from September will be an indicator of how good or bad the upcoming election will be.  I hope I am wrong, but I think things are just going to get uglier.

If you are afraid to tell us your plans and/or alternatives, that means you don’t have any.  That is not “leadership” that is blind man’s bluff.  And, that is no way to govern.

Posted in Bloggin, Conservative Bullshit Debunked, Culture, Economics, Fiasco, Flame Bait, Flaming Bag of Poo, Foreign Policy, Gender Issues, General, Health, Iran, Iraq, Legal Issues, Libertarian Problem Solving, Media, News & Current Events, Politics, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

Our Future Under Republicans Sounds Too Much Like The Past To Me

August 31, 2015 by Mark

Tomorrow September begins.  During September, my older brother will celebrate his birthday, my son will celebrate his birthday, and my oldest grandson will also celebrate his birthday.  Should be a nice month for family happiness, and it will be.

However, in today’s world, it also means that the Iowa Caucus’ are just a few months away, and the New Hampshire primary is right behind.  That means while we are attempting to celebrate birthdays, we will be inundated with political advertisements.  It seems that every election cycle begins earlier, and earlier.  This one is no exception.

Unfortunately, this election cycle appears to be heading in a very ugly direction.  Since I am considered “old” that is bad enough.  But for my children and grandchildren, that puts a chill down my spine.  And, if you were to look at what is being said and look at history, you will find frightening parallels as well.

I grew up in the 1950s and 1960s.  World War II was still a fresh memory in our parents minds.  Our father served in the Navy during the war and was recalled during the Korean War.  Additionally, the “red scare” was really ramping up.  There were real fears that there could be another world war.  In 1962, that nearly came to be with the Cuban Missile Crisis.  I remember seeing the fear in my parents faces.  I remember the somber mood of the country.  We were sure that a full-out nuclear exchange was just around the corner.

This was also a time when “white America” still ruled with an iron fist in many parts of the country.  The Jim Crow laws were in full force.  I remember, while vacationing in Florida and other southern states seeing the signs that read “colored restroom” and “colored drinking fountain.”  I really didn’t understand at the time what that was about, but I do recall wondering why they were there.

Women were expected to “stay home” and take care of the kids.  Men were the “bread winners.”  And, it must be said that wages were sufficient that one-income households were actually viable in those days.

Today, we face different circumstances.  Things have gotten better, or so we are expected to believe.  The Civil Rights Law and the Voter’s Rights Law took care of Jim Crow once and for all.  Civil rights were the law of the land.  No more “blaming” others for our problems.

But, have things really gotten better?  Today, the “stay at home” mom is almost non-existent.  One-income families have a much harder time making ends meet because wages are so much lower when compared to spending power back when I was a kid.

More and more states have passed Voter ID laws that mimic the Jim Crow laws of the past.  Meaning their true intention is to prevent people from voting.  At least “certain” people.

Our police have become more militarized.  I actually remember the “beat cop,” though it was being phased out at the time.  Police did not seem as “trigger happy” as they are today.  Even we “white delinquents” could have a “conversation” with the police.  That wasn’t the case in black neighborhoods, though.  I remember seeing blacks being hounded by police in my neighborhood.  Neighborhoods were more segregated then.

One of my friends, who was black, dropped me off at the house and was pulled over by a cop just two blocks away who just “wanted to know what you are doing in this neighborhood.”  Sound familiar?

As I listen to our Republican candidates, I cannot help but remember those days.  I listen to people like Donald Trump talk about “deporting” all of the “illegal” immigrants, along with their children who were born here and thus citizens, and I remember a small lesson in history.  Back in the 1930s when the depression was high, many states, counties, and cities in the Southwest and Midwest, deported millions of Mexican immigrants, even if they were here legally or citizens.

The excuse was to make sure they didn’t take “whites” jobs away from them.  In places like Houston, whole neighborhoods were vacated.  And, I wonder if that is where Donald Trump got his idea.

I listen to both candidates and conservative talking  heads talk about the so-called “war on Christians” and wonder what the hell are they talking about?  Then I remember seeing on TV the KKK rallies of the past talking about how they were of sound “White Christian” stock and better understand the “War on Christian” meme.

I hear Chris Christie talking about “tracking immigrants” like FedEx packages, and I remember watching movies of Nazi German police saying to someone “papers please.”

I hear Ben Carson comparing slaves being brought into the country “in the bottom of slave ships” to other immigrants and saying those slaves had the same immigrant dreams, and I wonder who is he trying to impress with such stupidity.

He then goes on to say there is “no war on women.  There may be a war on what is inside a woman.”  Say What?????  With which part inside of women are we supposed to be at war?

But, the reality of all of this is the same thing.  Talking heads say the Republican Party is becoming more racist.  They are claiming that Trump is a “flash in the pan.”  That is a very dangerous narrative.  It is obvious to see that Trump is setting the Republican Agenda.  That is why everyone else is trying to “out-Trump Trump.”

It also conjures other bad memories.  It brings us back to the Jim Crow days.  It brings up how Mussolini and Hitler rose to power by blaming those lousy “others” for all of Italy’s and Germany’s problems.  It brings back memories of lynchings of black people.  It brings back memories of the Japanese-American internment during World War II in this country.  It brings back the “great repatriation” of Mexicans in the 1930s.

I have been saying for some time that the current Republican Party wants to take us back in time.  At first I thought they wanted to take us back to the “Robber Baron” days.  But, now I am not so sure.  Now, I am beginning to believe their intention is much more sinister than that.

It is possible that Trump represents the last battle of the “old white men” who are afraid “their” country is gone.  Where they had it good, and everyone else were simply “moochers.” Or, it could be the beginning of new era in American Politics.  One that is a rehash of past, similar politics of hate.

In either case, don’t expect the rhetoric to be toned down anytime soon.  It may not tone down at all.  That is why we all better keep close tabs on what is being said.  And, don’t lose sight of history.  Too many things sound all too familiar from a not so friendly past.

Posted in Bloggin, Conservative Bullshit Debunked, Culture, Economics, Fiasco, Flame Bait, Flaming Bag of Poo, Foreign Policy, Gender Issues, General, Health, Legal Issues, Libertarian Problem Solving, Media, News & Current Events, Politics, Privacy, Race, Religion, Taxes | 1 Comment »

If Bigots Want To Decide Who Can Be Married, There Is Only One Answer

August 29, 2015 by Mark

Kim Davis, the County Clerk of Rowan County in Kentucky stopped issuing marriage licenses to everyone.  Since the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage is legal, she has refused to issue any licenses.  She says her “religious beliefs” forbid her from issuing licenses to same-sex couples.  Knowing that is blatant discrimination, she has decided not to issue any licenses.  Two gay and two straight couples have filed suit against her.

They claim they should not have to drive to another county in order to get a marriage license.  They want to get their license in the county where they live, work, and pay taxes.  But, Ms. Davis doesn’t care about her oath to serve the people who elected her.  She only cares about her personal beliefs.

As a result of the law suits, she has been ordered by two different courts to begin issuing marriage licenses to everyone.  She still refuses.  She can’t be fired from her job since it is an elected position.  She refuses to resign even though she is breaking the laws she is sworn to enforce.  Now, she is asking the Supreme Court to delay the previous orders.

The unfortunate side of this mess is that Ms. Davis is not alone.  There are other County Clerks who are following along with her unlawfulness.  As usual, they are trying to use the “religious beliefs” aspect to justify their unlawfulness and bigotry.  This could get very ugly for everyone, especially Ms. Davis if she is found in contempt of court and either heavily fined or jailed.

So, I believe there is only one answer to this mess.  One that is fair for everyone, and could even help the government raise more revenue.  Thus, helping to balance the budget.  The answer is to stop marriages altogether.  That may sound very crazy to many people, but it has some reasoning behind it that makes sense.

First off, if religions desire to “marry” people, let them.  Just don’t give any civil recognition to them.  By not giving any civil recognition to them, I don’t mean their children are illegitimate or anything like that.  I simply mean there will be no civil benefits for being “religiously married.”

Here is how this works.  Whether two people get a “religious marriage” or not, they have the right to cohabitate.  We will call it “domestic partnerships.”  Under this plan, there will be no tax filing status of “married filing jointly,” “married filing separately,” or “married head of household.”  Each person in the partnership will have to file their taxes separately as single people.

Since civil marriage will be eliminated, children of domestic partners will maintain the name of the mother, not the father.  The children can be given the father’s name only if the father formally adopts them, and the mother agrees in writing to forego all tax advantages she may have gotten by declaring them as dependents.

Furthermore, if the domestic partners separate, only the “legal” parent will be entitled to custody of any children.  If that partner does not fulfill those responsibilities they shall be charged with abandonment and punished with a jail sentence.  There will be no child support awarded to the legal parent from the non-legal parent.

When filing tax returns, only the parent who is the legal parent of the children can claim them as dependents.  Further, upon the death of one of the partners, there will be no “estate tax exemption” for the spouse.  Only children who are the legal dependent of the partner will receive those estate tax exemptions.

Spouses of domestic partners will not be eligible for Social Security checks based on their partners income.  If their spouse dies, they will not be entitled to any income from Social Security as the surviving spouse as they are in many cases today.

If children are eligible for those Social Security Payments, a court appointed trustee will manage the money to ensure the surviving partner does not financially benefit from those payments to the children.  The same will be true for any inheritance a child may receive from the legal parent.

If the will of the deceased partner leaves everything to his partner, that partner will be forced to pay the full inheritance tax just like anyone else.

Corporations will no longer be required to provide health insurance to partners of their employees.  They will continue to provide health insurance to employees and any legal dependent children.  Partners will have to get their own insurance unless that corporation decides to continue to offer the plans as they do now.

All of these rules will be enforced upon everyone.  If two people enter into a religious marriage, they will still be considered domestic partners under the law.  No marriage licenses will be issued by any government entity to anyone.  Basically, marriage will disappear as a state sponsored entity.

Under this plan, divorce will be eliminated.  In order to prevent total chaos in these separations, the couple will need to file with a court a separation plan that includes property division and joint loan/mortgage plans.  That is more to protect the lenders than anything else.

We will basically be able to eliminate “divorce court” thus saving the states and cities lots of money.  The federal revenues will grow because there won’t be anymore tax exemptions simply because someone is married.  The estate tax revenue will grow because partners won’t get the tax breaks currently offered.

We won’t hear anymore hypocrisy from multi-married candidates about “family values” because there won’t be anymore families.  We won’t hear anymore about “single mothers” because every legal parent will be technically a “single parent.”  And finally, we won’t have any County Clerks or other government office holders breaking the law by refusing to issue marriage licenses to people they hate.

Let’s face facts.  Aside from any religious beliefs you may have, the only real advantage to getting married is for tax purposes.  Eliminating those tax loopholes makes the civil endorsement of marriage mute.  And, bigots cannot claim “religious beliefs” to practice their bigotry and denying civil rights to those they hate.

Posted in Bloggin, Church & State, Conservative Bullshit Debunked, Culture, Fiasco, Flame Bait, Flaming Bag of Poo, Gender Issues, General, Legal Issues, Libertarian Problem Solving, Marriage Equality, Media, News & Current Events, Politics, Privacy, Religion, Taxes, Things That Suck, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

NLRB Issues Ruling Companies Who Use Franchises Have Been Dreading

August 28, 2015 by Mark

One of  the things that has hurt our economy and wages has been the idea of Franchises and Sub-Contract work.  Some people think they are great for our economy.  But, these two business models were invented to keep the “parent” company from having to follow any labor laws.

For example, companies like McDonalds, Burger King, etc., have used the franchise model for years.  They say they have no responsibility for any complaints about wages or violations of labor laws because their stores are “franchises” owned by private people.

Yet, they charge an un-godly amount of money so the franchise can use the name.  Additionally, they dictate the uniforms, where franchisee’s can purchase their product, and a whole host of other rules.

They maintain that these rules are necessary to “maintain” the quality their brand is known to provide.  Without these rules, franchisee’s could change the uniform and/or purchase from other vendors which would affect the quality of the product.

Yet, even though they dictate all of these rules, they claim they do not own the store, and are not “joint-employers” of the franchise.  This has resulted in parent companies to effectively elude responsibility for labor problems.

That may all change.  There was a little-known case before the National Labor Relations Board that challenged these models.  In the case, the Teamsters Union was in a battle with Browning Ferris Industries over unionizing drivers including sub-contractors.  Browning Ferris Industries is a waste management company that uses sub-contractors.

On Thursday, the National Labor Relations Board ruled that Browning Ferris Industries qualifies as a “joint employer” alongside one of its subcontractors. The decision effectively loosens the standards for who can be considered a worker’s boss under labor law, and its impact will be felt in any industry that relies on franchising or outsourcing work.

This ruling has huge impacts for both the sub-contracting and the franchising industries.  This ruling means that the huge companies can no longer hide from their responsibilities for workers who basically work for them.

The ruling was made along party lines.  The three democrats on the board ruled in favor and the two republicans ruled against it.  The majority members wrote that parent companies shouldn’t be absolved of their obligations to workers at the bottom of the contracting chain.

It is not the goal of joint-employer law to guarantee the freedom of employers to insulate themselves from their legal responsibility to workers, while maintaining control of the workplace.  Such an approach has no basis in the [National Labor Relations] Act or in federal labor policy.

Labor Unions and advocacy groups have been hoping for a decision like this one.  They claim that if a company maintains such control over how a franchise is run, they should be legally liable for the workers even if they technically work for a franchise.

Of course everyone doesn’t agree with the ruling.  The negative reactions from the business community were swift. The National Restaurant Association, a leading lobby for the industry, issued a statement Thursday saying the ruling “is overturning years of established law that has worked to help grow business and feed our economy.” The Competitive Enterprise Institute, a libertarian think tank, said the ruling would have a “devastating economic impact.”

The ruling cold have major impacts on the brand companies who use these models.  It will make it easier for them to be considered as “joint employers” whenever there is a conflict of labor laws.  Something they have been able to avoid for years.

Of course the Franchise Association claims that the franchisees will be the ones hurt the most.  I don’t quite see that claim since they won’t have to face these problems alone anymore.  But time will tell on that point.

In any case, companies like McDonald’s have been dreading this ruling for a long time.  The board’s general counsel, who functions as a kind of prosecutor, has already named McDonald’s as a joint employer alongside some of its franchisees in several cases involving alleged unfair labor practices. Many observers took that move as a sign that the board would soon revise its standards for what makes a company a joint employer.

The thing that we can be sure this ruling will bring, is more attacks against the National Labor Relations Board from business groups and Republicans.  Republicans have already called for closing down the National Labor Relations Board.  This ruling will simply make those calls even louder.

It is way too early to tell what impact this ruling will ultimately have.  But, I think it was the right decision.  Huge companies have been able to hide behind these business models for too long.  If a company actually dictates how a franchise is to operate, they should be classified as a joint employer and share responsibility for how their employees are treated.

 

Posted in Bloggin, Conservative Bullshit Debunked, Culture, Economics, Fiasco, General, Legal Issues, Media, News & Current Events, Politics, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

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