I predict that the battle to preserve religious liberty for all, in all areas of life, will likely become the civil rights movement of this decade. If it takes a popular movement to reign in overreaching government, then Hobby Lobby’s courageous stand, in the face of enormous pressure and fines, will likely be considered the Birmingham bus boycott, where good citizens finally got fed up with having their rights trampled on, and decided to challenge those who favor conformity over freedom.

Warren is speaking on a lawsuit brought by Hobby Lobby, an arts & crafts chain, to keep them from having to pay for healthcare that provides reproductive care to women. My first response is FUCK YOU, Rick Warren. I have to other point to make though:

1. The idea that a company already restricting women’s rights is at the forefront of any “new” civil rights movement is not infuriating, but extremely laughable. In the eyes of people like Rick Warren & Hobby Lobby’s owner, David Green the only person who’s right’s matter are the owner’s. Women, as usual, in these arguments are irrelevant. Their rights don’t even begin to matter.

2. I’m need people to immediately stop using the Civil Rights Movement (and MLK in particular) as some sort of leaping point for their hatred of the poor, women, & even minorities. That “content of character” quote doesn’t mean what you think it means.

Source.

A Republican lawmaker in New Mexico introduced a bill on Wednesday that would legally require victims of rape to carry their pregnancies to term in order to use the fetus as evidence for a sexual assault trial.

This bill has a less than zero chance of passing, because as the the article states Dems control the NM statehouse, but the fact that Cathrynn Brown would even introduce something as ludicrous is eye opening. Mississippi is down to its last abortion clinic & while we just celebrated 40 years of Roe the march to restrict abortion marches on unimpeded in many states.

I do not believe we will ever see Roe overturned nationally, but the tactics of people like Brown & the anti-choicers who occupy many statehouses must be beat back vigorously.

Police said the former state crime lab chemist admitted that she altered or faked test results of drug cases assigned to her. Prosecutors said she went as far as adding cocaine to samples that were negative.

“There was clearly a short cutting of corners,” State Attorney General Martha Coakley said. “There was just getting this done as quickly as possible and all of that we’re looking at.”

Officials said during her nine years the lab, Dookhan tested more than 60,000 drug samples. About 11,000 people now in jail were put there in part due to her work.

Already more than a dozen have been released because of questions about how she handled evidence.

But for some reason lots of folks in this country don’t understand why so many people, especially those most likely to be targeted by police, don’t trust the justice system. Couple cases like this with all the forensic science issues with have in this country, and all the police brutality & misconduct & you have a system that hardly any objective observer can be confident in.

Leah Bartos for Pro Publica:

One afternoon early last year, I punched in my credit card information, paid $495 to the American College of Forensic Examiners International Inc. and registered for an online course.

After about 90 minutes of video instruction, I took an exam on the institute’s web site, answering 100multiple choice questions, aided by several ACFEI study packets.

As soon as I finished the test, a screen popped up saying that I had passed, earning me an impressive-sounding credential that could help establish my qualifications to be an expert witness in criminal and civil trials.

For another $50, ACFEI mailed me a white lab coat after sending my certificate.

I don’t know about you, but shit like this makes me not want to leave my house, and carry a video recording device that’s on at all times.

Image via Wikipedia

This is a very good documentary on the business practices, and effects of Wal-Mart. If you’re like me, you don’t shop at Wal-Mart & have no intention of ever doing so, but this doc will anger, and sadden you. Wal-Mart is worse than I ever knew.

The High Cost of Low Prices

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• Wal-Mart Demands Even Cheaper Crap [Corporate America] (gawker.com)

Offered without comment:

All of which to say is there’s no need to parse the ethnic origins or political philosophies of Obama’s parents to understand the ideology of Barack Obama. He is a center-left Democrat who supports mainstream Democratic policies. But some conservatives don’t want to talk about policy. They are unable to engage in an argument with liberalism on substantive terms; they know only argument by epithet.  They want to talk about the fact that our blackety black president is blackety black. It has been two years since a black man was elected president of the United States, and for a group of conservatives clinging to their cultural superiority, this was a moment of apocalyptic existential crisis, a moment that refuted all they had come to know and understand about themselves, about black people, and about this country. D’Souza is writing for them, the same kind of audience he has always written for

More here.

Added:

This is a MUST read.

This is William Kristol’s last column.

No sentence with Kristol’s name has ever made me more joyous. I’d link to the piece directly but then I’d be linking to Bill Kristol op-ed. Here’s the Daily Beast piece by Scott Horton on why Kristol has been dropped.

John Cole on his conversion from GOP to Democrat. He gives it to you raw:

What has changed, however, is that I have seen a lot of the arguments that come from the Republicans for what they are- just bullshit. I have watched over the past few years and seen how nonsense bubbles up into the mainstream, and how distorted versions of events designed to distract and queer the debate turn an upside down version of events into the “conventional wisdom.”

This basically what it comes down to me. I have general overall disagreements with the GOP but one of the biggest problems I have with them, and the thing that makes it hard for me to take them seriously, is their seeming complete lack of intellectual honesty.

From T-NC via commenter & fellow blogger SGWHITEINFLA comes a new clearer version from Raw Story:

I disagree with Coates’ conclusion that it’s not murder, but beyond that I’ve said my piece.

A new year, and 2 new police shootings of unarmed Black men:

What is there to say? I guess I’m mildly surprised at these specific instances. If only because they are particularly egregious. The first man, Oscar Grant III, was on his stomach with another officer’s knee on him when he was shot dead. The second, Robbie Tolan, was on the ground in his driveway.

Grant was a 22 y.o. butcher’s apprentice & father. Some are speculating that the officer may have been reaching for his taser & accidentally pulled his gun instead. That idea though seems to be debunked in the same comment. Even if that was the case this officer seems to be guilty of at least manslaughter. Watching that video I see no reason why he would be going for his taser either. As I said Grant was face down on the ground with another officer’s knee in his back. Protests turned into riots after his memorial service yesterday. Another in a long line of stupid, pointless reactions to police violence. Hopefully things will get back to normal quickly for those affected.

Robbie Tolan was just coming back from Jack In The Box with his cousin when cops rolled up on them with guns drawn. They suspected the car they were driving was stolen because Tolan was DWB in a mostly white neighborhood. It wasn’t of course, it belonged to his parents. One of whom is former MLB player Bobby Tolan. Robbie’s parents heard the commotion & came outside. There was some sort of altercation in which Robbie’s mom was thrown against the garage door. Tolan who was on his back on the ground began to sit up & ask what was happening to his mother. That’s when he was shot. Lucky for him he’s still alive. The thing that angers me most about this case (beyond the actual shooting) is Byron Holloway, Assistant Chief of the Bellaire Police Department saying “…any allegation of racial profiling, I don’t think that’s going to float.” OH REALLY ASSHOLE? Then why the fuck are your cops stopping two Black males @ 2 am in a mostly white area? They still haven’t given a reason as to why they thought the car was stolen, so until further notice that’s my reason. It might continue to be even after their “reason” comes out.

The only way this stuff is going to stop is when cops start getting prosecuted for these crimes & going to jail. People routinely get locked immediately after shootings, accidental or not. I have no idea why these two cops aren’t in jail right now, any other citizen would probably be locked up (except maybe Dick Cheney).

Shout out Balloon Juice & Raw Story