Tag: assholery

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Texas: Attorney General Says State Employees Can Refuse LGBT Citizens

Via the Austin Statesman:

County clerks can refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples based on religious objections to gay marriage, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Sunday. Paxton noted that clerks who refuse to issue licenses can expect to be sued, but added that “numerous lawyers stand ready to assist clerks defending their religious beliefs,” in many cases without charge. The formal opinion did not specify what constitutes a sincerely held religious belief, noting that “the strength of any such claim depends on the particular facts of each case.”

“Friday, the United States Supreme Court again ignored the text and spirit of the Constitution to manufacture a right that simply does not exist. In so doing, the court weakened itself and weakened the rule of law, but did nothing to weaken our resolve to protect religious liberty and return to democratic self-government in the face of judicial activists attempting to tell us how to live,” Paxton said. Paxton’s opinion also noted that judges and justices of the peace can refuse to perform same-sex marriages.

Bolding is mine.

This has been my question: WHAT will constitute a “sincerely held religious belief?” Will folks be able to suddenly claim such beliefs out of thin air?

I believe some folks may have such deep religious tenets, but what if someone is just a hater and decides to use “deeply held religious beliefs” as a shell of a defense?

And by the way – if you are a civil governmental employee like a county clerk or a judge, you should have to do your job. Suddenly state employees can decide what tasks they want to do?

Here’s the full “opinion.”

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Right-Wing Nut Alex Jones Has Melt-Down Thinking About Hillary Presidency

Right wing nut-job Alex Jones had an almost full-on meltdown about Hillary Clinton’s official launch event in NYC.

Describing Hillary as a “cult leader” who is using mind-control techniques to trick and manipulate voters, Jones faked some sobbing and threatened to leave the country.

The problem is – why don’t these folks ever follow through on those threats?

“God, she’s going to be president,” he said. I can’t even look at it.”

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Texas: Volunteer Firefighters Charged With Sexual Assault In “Hazing” Incident

Six volunteer firefighters in Ellis County have been arrested for their role in a hazing incident.

Five men face aggravated sexual assault charges and one female is charged with improper photography or visual recording.

From the Dallas Observer:

According to the Rangers, who were called in by Ellis County to investigate after the trainee came forward on March 31, the men committing the assault initially planned on using a broomstick before deciding a link of chorizo in the fridge was a better choice.

Wisakowsky retrieved the sausage, and the trainee was bent over the couch while Tucker and Stafford held him down and the sausage was inserted into his anus, the Rangers say. Then Wisakowsky cut the sausage out of the package and attempted to reinsert it, but the sausage broke up.

The trainee told the Rangers he was then released and he crawled into the nearby restroom with “smashed up sausage still between his butt cheeks.” He removed the sausage, threw up and took a shower to clean up. While he was showering, he says, someone took his clothes from the restroom. He came out of the restroom in a towel to look for his clothes. When he did, he says, Tucker took his towel. The man covered his genitals with his hands and ran to his truck to get some shorts, he says.

Those arrested on sex assault charges include: Keith Edward Wisakowsky, 26, Casey Joe Stafford, 30, Preston Thomas Peyrot, 19, Alec Chase Miller, 28, Blake Jerold Tucker, 19.

Brittany Leanne Parten, 23, was arrested on a charge of improper photography or visual recording.

A Texas Department of Safety spokesman said the investigation remained ongoing.

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Former GOP adviser James Richardson whines that he doesn’t have equal marriage rights

James Richardson – a former spokesman/adviser for Gov. Haley Barbour, Gov. Jon Huntsman and the Republican National Party – penned a “pity party” op-ed for the Washington Post this week bemoaning the fact that living in Georgia he can’t get married to the person he loves – because he’s gay.

Richardson admits that his resume puts him in an atypical position to complain about his lack of marriage rights. In his essay, Richardson writes “As a former spokesman for the Republican National Committee and adviser to prominent party figures, I’m also a professional political operative who’s helped install in government those who perpetuate marriage bias in America.”

But now he says “I feel forced to out myself.”

Oh my! Forced!

After serving years with the party that would deny him many rights based on his sexual orientation – presumably because he put his desire to make money over his need for equal rights – NOW he feels “less than.”

 NOW he wants to jump on the “right side of history.”

“For my admission here, I will alienate friends whose faiths regard my sexuality as culturally corrosive. I’ll suffer the snickering of those across the aisle whose politics regard my own as personally injurious. And conservative clients may regard me as a liability. After all, the tide is not as unidirectional as people say.”

Isn’t that awful? He may “alienate” friends for being himself.

My advice? Get better friends.

Along the way, Richardson makes sure his coming out doesn’t miss noting his “just like you” factor by making sure to inform the reader that he goes to college football games and church every Sunday.

And yet, he still feels that he may lose friends by coming out.

On one hand, yes – welcome to the daylight James. Welcome to being who you are.

On the other hand, please know LGBT folks aren’t “snickering” at you. We’re just not impressed with your sniveling, late-in-the-game, cowardly whining. There’s a word that describes people like you – “Quisling.”  Go look it up.

Don’t cry about how politicians you helped get elected deny you rights. Start doing something about it.

We’ll see how we feel about you once you balance the tally sheet on marriage equality.

I know everyone comes out on their own schedule.  But, everyone doesn’t empower those who would deny millions rights, then cry when they want to have those rights now denied.

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Florida: Tow truck operator arrested for targeting Gay Days attendees

A tow truck operator has been busted on multiple counts of grand theft for towing the vehicles of Gay Days attendees in Orlando.

Jason P. Combs, 44, owner of ASAP Towing, faces 29 counts of grand theft of a motor vehicle and other charges.

Deputies allege he towed more than 100 vehicles June 5 to 9 from a parking lot at Westwood Town Center off International Drive, which is across the street from the event’s host hotel, Doubletree by Hilton.

Combs didn’t have an up-to-date contract to tow vehicles or have proper signage notifying motorists the lot was a tow-away zone, deputies said.

According to reports, Combs would hire “spotters” to look for people who left the parking lot headed to the Center, so their vehicles so they could be towed. These “spotters” would give him a signal and within minutes the vehicles would be towed.

Another problem in Mr. Combs business plan seems to be the cars were towed further than 10 miles away – this violates Florida state law.  What a surprise.

What an asshole.

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Fox News wing nut Todd Starnes is mad President Obama is Christian

Starnes seriously tweeted the above after President Obama signed the executive order banning workplace discrimination for LGBT federal employees.

Obama, a practicing Christian, is not allowed to say “Amen” when he wants to?

Religious oppression!  Todd Starnes is practicing religious oppression!

(h/t JMG)

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Asshole of the Day: Speaker of the House John Boehner

Speaker of the House John Boehner’s lawsuit against President Obama is for one of the few things the President and he agree about: delaying the employer mandate.

I know.  It makes no sense.

Going to be very embarrassing when this blows up in his and the House Repubs faces…

Read more at AssholeOfTheDay.