Do We Have A 'Silly Shit Politicians Say' Thread? If Not, Here We Are

[Meresgi]

Posting this here instead of the NSA thread because, well it fits the title pretty well

http://www.theguardian.com/commentis...-cybersecurity

If passed, the administration’s proposal could further criminalize mundane Internet activity – for example, potentially allowing for a ten-year jail sentence for sharing your HBO GO password – all to supposedly target foreign hackers that the law would likely never reach.

[Qalbert]

http://www.lex18.com/story/27919989/...ed-from-arrest

An Eastern Kentucky lawmaker, arrested for drinking and driving in Frankfort, said he never should have been taken to jail. According to court documents Senator Brandon Smith is using the Kentucky Constitution and legislative immunity to defend himself

The case of Senator Brandon Smith of Hazard, was delayed on Thursday at the Franklin County Courthouse. Smith's attorney argued that lawmakers are immune from arrest during the legislative session, and motioned for the case to be dismissed. According to how the Kentucky Constitution is interpreted, that may or may not be true.

[Salodin]

I really really hope his opponent next election cycle makes a lethal weapon reference.

[BaneTheBrawler]

US Senate refuses to accept humanity's role in global climate change, again


From Reddit comments:

James Inhofe received $434,950 dollars from the oil and gas industry from 2009-2014. By contrast, in second place, retired folks donated $240k. So you can see where his priorities lie.

[Mazmaz]

Hey I posted this in the Wolf PAC thread, but while we're talking about money spent on politicians, I think everyone should download this plugin. It highlights the names of Congress people in articles and searches, and displays where their funding comes from. It's a "hover mouse over name" type of plugin:

http://allaregreen.us/

[Tyrath]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/0...?utm_hp_ref=tw

Another GOP Lawmaker Wades Into Rape Debate

A Republican state lawmaker said Thursday that women who become pregnant from sexual assault should not be exempt from an anti-abortion measure, because childbirth resulting from rape is "beautiful."

"Obviously rape is awful," West Virginia Del. Brian Kurcaba (R) said during a committee hearing on a new abortion restriction, according to David Gutman, a Charleston Gazette reporter. "What is beautiful is the child that could come from this."

Kurcaba, a financial adviser, was elected to the House of Delegates in November.

The bill would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. State House Republicans revived the proposal after West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin (D) vetoed it in 2014. The House Health Committee voted down an exception for rape and incest victims on Thursday and approved the bill for a full vote in the House.

Kurcada's comment about rape and abortion is similar to an argument made by U.S. Senate candidate Richard Mourdock of Indiana in October 2012. "I think that even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen," Mourdock said in a debate.

Mourdock lost the election to a Democrat weeks later, and the GOP's big losses in elections that year were largely attributed to controversial rape comments made by Republican candidates.

The most notorious remark that election season came from U.S. Senate candidate Todd Akin of Missouri.

“If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down," Akin said of pregnancy. "But let’s assume that maybe that didn’t work or something: I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be of the rapist, and not attacking the child.”

[Melena]

Montana wants to ban tight fitting clothes.

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/polit...tight-clothing

Moore introduced the bill after a “Bare as you Dare” bicycle event came through downtown Missoula, Montana, on Aug. 17, 2014. Many participants rode their bikes through the city completely naked in what organizers called a celebration of body image and bicyclists’ right to use public roads.
After a hearing on the bill, Moore also opined on other garments that wouldn’t be covered in the legislation. “Yoga pants should be illegal in public anyway,” he said.

[Byrthnoth]

Montana wants to ban tight fitting clothes.

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/polit...tight-clothing

Score one more political figure for the gay community! No yoga pants? Why would you even?

[6souls]

Minnesota Legislator, Steve Drazkowski (Repub), wants to stop raising Taxes on Cigarettes because it's Oppressing Trailer Park Residents

There's a high propensity of people within trailer courts [who are] smokers and I go around and talk to those folks. Not all of them are poor, but the bulk of them are poor. And to see the oppression this tax is placing on them, you hear from those folks, is very, very compelling.

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bil...0&ssn=0&y=2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOIgjF5l2mA

It should also be noted that he is very vocal against raising minimum wage and also attempted to repeal a law requiring local governments to pay women equal money for equal work.

[Xantavia]

Dumb way to phrase it, but as a smoker I am sick of the constant increases. Every time Illinois is looking to make some money, cigarettes are the first thing to be targeted for an increase, with a side of "think of the children" thrown into the mix.

[notorious bum]

I normally try not to dip into the pool of indifference, but this is an exception: "Boo-hoo."

[notorious bum]

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/...an-samoa-tuaua
Obama Administration Using Century-Old Racist Case Law to Block Citizenship
American Samoans are the only people born on US soil but denied birthright citizenship.

This month, five people from American Samoa—the only place in the world where babies born on US soil are denied US citizenship—argued in federal court that the government's refusal to grant them birthright citizenship violates the Constitution. On the other side of the case is the Obama administration, which cited century-old Supreme Court decisions that spoke of "savage," "uncivilized," and "alien races"—and many legal scholars now see as outright racist—to justify continuing to deny citizenship to these US nationals.

[kuronosan]

I'm just waiting for the card to be played so that Republicans who hate Obama accuse him of being intolerant to Americans while simultaneously demonstrating their knack for hypocrisy.

[Tyrath]

Same way the republicans are suddenly champions of the middle class. Nothing new here.

[Tyrath]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/0...n_6738550.html

Anti-Abortion Lawmaker Clearly Doesn't Understand Female Anatomy

During a debate over an anti-abortion bill, a Republican lawmaker in Idaho asked Monday whether women can just swallow a tiny camera in order to conduct a gynecological exam remotely with a doctor.

According to the Associated Press, Idaho Rep. Vito Barbieri (R) posed the bizarre question to Dr. Julie Madsen, who was testifying against a bill that would ban doctors from prescribing medication abortion via webcam unless they have examined the woman in person. Madsen had to explain to Barbieri that swallowed items, like pills, do not land in the vagina.

The Idaho House State Affairs Committee advanced the "Physician Physical Presence and Women Protection Act" by a party-line vote of 13 to 4. Proponents of the bill said making medication abortion more difficult to access would give women more time to change their minds about having an abortion, while opponents said the bill would only interfere with the doctor-patient relationship.

Barbieri wasn't immediately available to clarify how a camera could make the journey he described.

[myreality]

There needs to be a poster with these lawmakers faces.

"Reason # (754336799) why sex education is needed".

[Qalbert]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...-homelessness/

Alaska Republican Rep. Don Young, famous for his salty tongue and brusque demeanor, suggested Thursday that if he let loose wolves in some congressional districts, they “wouldn’t have a homeless problem anymore.”

“How many of you have got wolves in your district?” he asked. “None. None. Not one.”

“They haven’t got a damn wolf in their whole district,” Young continued. “I’d like to introduce them in your district. If I introduced them in your district, you wouldn’t have a homeless problem anymore.”

[Gokku]

Dogs do clean up the leftovers well am I right!

[Byrthnoth]

Do wolves actually kill hobos in Alaska?

... or do hobos just not go to Alaska because it's a godforsaken polar bear garden?

[Yuri-G]

Dumb way to phrase it, but as a smoker I am sick of the constant increases. Every time Illinois is looking to make some money, cigarettes are the first thing to be targeted for an increase, with a side of "think of the children" thrown into the mix.

as a smoker, I'm totally ok with any tax increases. it's a filthy habit and I really should quit lol