Vote Tracker for February 4, 2015

Vote Tracker for February 4, 2015

We are starting to get some serious legislation now. Rep. Helene Keeley's Marijuana Decriminalization Bill was introduced last week. As HB 39, the purpose of the bill is to decriminalize the possession or private use of a personal use quantity of marijuana, or more specifically, persons who possess one ounce or less of marijuana shall be assessed a civil penalty that will not become part of a criminal record and must forfeit the marijuana. These persons will also not be subject to incarceration. In other words, you will get something similar to a traffic ticket. Section 2 of the bill treats public use or consumption of an ounce of marijuana or less shall be considered an unclassified misdemeanor punishable by a $200 fine or imprisonment of not more than 5 days, which is in line with the penalty for possession or consumption of an open container of alcohol. Current laws make possessing one ounce or less of marijuana in the First State a misdemeanor punishable by up to three months in jail, a criminal fine of up to $575, or both. Republicans have also introduced their Estate Tax Repeal. Currently, the Delaware Estate Tax only applies to estates worth more than $5.43 million. So let's all be honest and call this bill the Making the Rich Richer Bill.
Wednesday Open Thread [2.4.15]

Wednesday Open Thread [2.4.15]

I am so fucking sick and tired of having the dumbest, most ignorant, most know nothing idiots drive our national conversation. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) said that restaurants should be allowed to opt out of regulations requiring restaurant employees to wash their hands. What. The Actual. Fuck? And what the actual why? Is there now a RELIGIOUS FUCKING FREEDOM PRINCIPLE ABOUT WASHING HANDS???? I remember Jesus Fucking Christ washing the feet of his disciples, so I guess that means you only ever wash your feet, and never your hands! Tillis the Fecal Master's rationale is that washing your hands would be optional for employees so long as the establishment posts a sign warning the customers that their employees' hands are dripping with slimy brown diarrhea which recently escaped their asshole. And, under the Grand Ayn Rand Theory of the Free Market, that establishment would soon lose all business, and those employees would be out of a job, all so that an employee can have the freedom of not washing his hands. This is why Randians and Libertarians are idiots. You do not have the freedom to not wash your hands. It is not in the Constitution. It is not in the Bill of Rights. It is not in the Declaration of Independence. If you want to serve food and be paid for it, you wash your hands after you wipe your ass. Period. End of Discussion. If you don't like it, move to Russia and fellate Putin.
Did You Know That “firing a woman for breastfeeding isn’t sexist because men can lactate, too”

Did You Know That “firing a woman for breastfeeding isn’t sexist because men can lactate, too”

Every new mother is well aware of the benefits of breastfeeding and why they should breastfeed their baby. A pregnant woman and new mother are bombarded with research, flyers, books, advice, advice from strangers, etc. on why the breast is best.  It's everywhere... except, it seems, at Nationwide Insurance. Although I'm sure Nationwide would claim to be pro-breastfeeding in a "We 100% support breastfeeding... in the home" sorta way.
The Supreme Court has declined to overturn a lower court’s ruling that an insurance company was within bounds when it fired a breastfeeding mother. The woman’s suit was dismissed by the Eighth Circuit Court on the grounds that firing a woman for breastfeeding isn’t sexist because men can lactate, too. The ACLU’s Galen Sherwin wrote Monday that former Nationwide Insurance Company employee Angela Ames sued her employer when she returned from maternity leave to find that no allowances had been made to enable her to pump breast milk for her baby during the day. When Ames asked her supervisor for accommodations that would enable her to express milk and store it for her child, the supervisor reportedly responded that Ames should “go home and be with your babies” instead. That supervisor went on to dictate a letter of resignation to Ames that day, effectively forcing her to resign.
Men can lactate, too! They don't, but they can (or some can), so... hand that baby over to dad and get back to work, Ms. Ames! I breastfed both of my children, and while I sincerely enjoyed it I would have loved to hand off those 3am feedings to my husband. If only I had known at the time some men could lactate! I would have bought him his very own pump!
First climate change, now vaccine – what established science will the GOP reject next?

First climate change, now vaccine – what established science will the GOP reject next?

Both Chris Christie and Rand Paul have come down on the side of the lunatics by questioning the science behind vaccinations. What could possibly be the next so-called established scientific fact to be debunked by conservative conventional wisdom? How do fish breath? Does anyone really know? Is the moon really 238,900 miles away, or could we build a tall ladder and catch it in a net? People deserve to have some choice on these issues. This is America after all. If Wyle E Coyote can defy gravity by not looking down, why should anyone look down? Does looking down trigger the effects of gravity? We simply don't know, so the prudent thing to do is to teach the controversy. Anything else would be discrimination against parents who have made the anti-gravity choice for their children.