In wake of Parkland school shooting Oregon Governor signs new gun control legislation into law. Minnesota state representative also introduces legislation, gets death threats.

Kate Brown

Courtesy of HuffPo: 

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) signed new gun safety legislation into law on Monday, making the state the first to tighten its firearm regulations since last month’s mass shooting at a high school in Florida. 

The bill expands an existing law to prevent intimate partners who have a domestic violence or stalking conviction from buying and keeping guns. Until now, the state’s law only applied to married partners, and the new measure closes what was termed the “boyfriend loophole.” 

“I’m proud to sign this bill, making Oregon the first state to take action to prevent senseless gun violence since the tragedy in Parkland, Florida,” Brown said in a statement. “Today marks an important milestone, but we know we have more to do. It’s long past time we hold the White House and Congress accountable. Now’s the time to enact real change and federal gun safety legislation.” 

The bill was introduced in January, but the governor called it “historic” because state legislators decided to advance the measure in response to the Parkland shooting.

Well this is good news, and I am guessing that this is only the beginning.

Especially if those amazing Parkland students have anything to say about it.

"To every spokeswoman with an hourglass who uses free speech to alter and undermine what our flag represents...Your Time is running out. The clock starts now."
-@sarahchad_ #MarchForOurLives pic.twitter.com/k29FB2vHPI

— Sarah Chadwick// #NEVERAGAIN (@sarahchad_) March 6, 2018

However a state representative in Minnesota also wanted to introduce legislation to deal with gun violence, things did not go well.

Courtesy of Fox 9: 

Over the last week, Democrat State Representative Linda Slocum has received thousands of emails since introducing one of the most expansive gun control bills in Minnesota. 

Most have been critical, some have been downright nasty. She's been cussed out, compared to Hitler, called a whale and other sexually lewd comments, but one message stood out from the rest. 

“He threatened to kill me,” said Slocum. 

The Richfield representative was startled when she listened to the man's voicemail and then a follow-up email. She does not want to identify him because of safety concerns, but described part of his message to Fox 9.

“I have my gun and I’m ready to come and get you and it was very threatening,” said Slocum. 

As a former teacher and a long-time politician, Slocum says she's used to being called every name in the book, but this was different. She contacted the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office who is now investigating the threat. 

“I will file charges if I hear from him again,” she said.

So when somebody threatens to take away their little metal penis extenders, the knee jerk reaction is to threaten them with said metal penis extender?

In my opinion that right there is reason enough to lose access to those metal penis extenders.

I'm just saying.

Now for some good news. God told Michele Bachmann NOT to run for the Senate.

Courtesy of Right Wing Watch: 

Over the weekend, Bachmannn told End Times radio host Jan Markell that after much prayer, she has decided that God does not, in fact, want her to make a bid for this seat. 

“I’m not going to run for that office,” she said. “I had a lot of people contacting me, wanting to give me money and be a part of my team to run for a campaign … But what I did is I did what I have done on every other time I thought about running: I took it to the Lord in a very quiet way, I took it before the Lord, I prayed, I tried to have my ears open and hear what God was saying to me.” 

“I considered it for quite a long time,” Bachmann continued. “From the very first day when Al Franken had announced his resignation from the U.S. Senate, I went before the Lord and it became very clear to me that I wasn’t hearing any call from God to do this.” 

“I’ve always prayed and tried to seek out what God’s will for me would be,” she added, “and each time before, I’ve had this inner sense that I’m supposed to do this, I’m supposed to run. It doesn’t mean a guarantee that I’ll win, all it means is that that’s what I sensed in my spirit, that God wanted me to run. I had absolutely no sense from the Lord at all that I was supposed to run this time.” 

“I just had no sense from the Lord that this is something that I should do right now,” Bachmann said, “so I’m not going to do it.”

You know, that's almost enough to make you believe in a higher power. 

Almost.

Michele Bachmann is waiting for the go ahead from God before deciding to run for Al Franken's Senate seat.

Courtesy of Raw Story:  

Bachmann appeared on Christian broadcaster Jim Bakker’s program and said that she has “had people contact me and urge me to run for that Senate seat” that will soon be vacated by outgoing Sen. Al Franken. 

However, she told Bakker that she was wary about wading into the Senate race because she’s worried about paying a price that she described as “bigger than ever” because “the Swamp is so toxic.” 

Bachmann lamented that she wasn’t a “billionaire” who had the funds to properly defend herself against attacks against her reputation, but she said that she would consider getting into the ring if God gave her the okay. 

“I fulfilled the calling that God gave me,” Bachmann said of her unsuccessful 2012 presidential run. “So the question is, am I being called to do this now? I don’t know.”

Oh damn I did not realize that this was something that I wanted until I saw that video.

Bachmann running for that seat in Minnesota to replace the amazing AL Franken, would be a blogger's dream come true. 

And my favorite part is that she is discussing this on Jim Bakker's batshit crazy Christian fleecing program, where he sells things to the gullible like "End of Days" food products, and that she really thinks she did well in her last attempt to win the GOP nomination for President.

Oh yeah, I don't care if God never gets back to her on this, she needs to run.

It would be such an easy seat for the Democrats to keep if she did.

Another woman has come forward to point a finger at Al Franken. Update!

Courtesy of CNN:

According to Menz, she attended the Minnesota State Fair with her husband and father in the summer of 2010, almost two years after Franken was elected to the Senate. Her father's small business was sponsoring a local radio booth, and she spent the day meeting various elected officials, political candidates and celebrities and taking photos with them as they stopped by the booth.

When Franken walked in, Menz and her husband, who also spoke with CNN, said they recognized him right away. Menz said she had a brief and cordial exchange with the senator. 

Then, as her husband held up her phone and got ready to snap a photo of the two of them, Franken "pulled me in really close, like awkward close, and as my husband took the picture, he put his hand full-fledged on my rear," Menz said. "It was wrapped tightly around my butt cheek." 

"It wasn't around my waist. It wasn't around my hip or side. It was definitely on my butt," she said, recalling that the brazen act lasted three or four seconds. "I was like, oh my God, what's happening." 

"He reached around her and kind of pulled her into him," said her husband Jeremy Menz, who didn't see what happened behind his wife. "He pulled her in and pushed his head against her head. It was over pretty quick." 

Lindsay Menz told CNN that she walked away as soon as the photo was taken, without saying anything to the then-first term senator. When she reconnected with her husband moments later, she told him: "He totally grabbed my butt." Jeremy Menz described that conversation the same way to CNN.

Okay, really?

This sounds more like accidental hand placement than it does an actual groping.

Gee, it's kinda like the conservatives are desperate to inflate every perceived transgression, no matter how minor, supposedly committed by a well known liberal so that they can direct faux outrage at them in order to divert attention away from an Alabama Senate candidate who is accused of pedophilia and multiple episodes of sexual harassment and assault.

Yeah, yeah it feels very much like that.

For his part Al Franken has of course apologized, because that is the kind of guy he is:

"I take thousands of photos at the state fair surrounded by hundreds of people, and I certainly don't remember taking this picture," Franken said. "I feel badly that Ms. Menz came away from our interaction feeling disrespected."

I will assume that the next allegation will be a woman claiming sexual assault because Franken's elbow inadvertently brushed her boob while he was signing an autograph. 

Update: The women of SNL have something to add.

JUST IN: Women staff of "Saturday Night Live" sign letter in support of Sen. Al Franken pic.twitter.com/osN6IwMgvB

— NBC News (@NBCNews) November 21, 2017

Minnesota Republican state lawmaker accused of sexually harassing women and of blocking a female lobbyist from leaving his office by saying "I have a raging boner, you can't leave."

Courtesy of Raw Story:

A Minnesota Republican lawmaker is under fire for sending abusive texts to a female colleague and reportedly sexually assaulting a female lobbyist in his office while insisting she help him with his “raging b*ner.” 

According to the City Paper, state Rep. Tony Cornish under attack after he was accused of sending unwanted sexual comments to Rep. Erin Maye Quade (DFL), who provided text messages to a local paper. 

Late Thursday night, Cornish had his chairmanship of the House Public Safety Committee suspended by House Speaker Kurt Daudt (R) while the allegations are being investigated. 

More damning, however, are charges from a female lobbyist, who wished to remain anonymous, who claimed Cornish stalked her and solicited her for sex for over a year, once physically grabbing her in his office while trying to kiss her. 

According to the woman, Cornish once blocked her from leaving his office, repeatedly telling her, “I have a raging boner. You can’t leave.”

What is wrong with men?

And it is not just Republican men, Kevin Spacey, Louis CK, Harvey Weinstein are all guilty as well.

It is like men with any power whatsoever feel that it gives them the right to force women, girls, or even young men, to see, touch, or interact sexually with their penises.

It doesn't. 

And it also seems as if the very worst one is currently representing our country while occupying the people's house.

You know perhaps it is time to clean house, and eject these pussy grabbing douchebags from whatever positions of power they currently inhabit.

Maybe ultimately THIS will be the legacy of the Trump presidency.

For women to finally rise up and say "enough is enough" and to start holding their former abusers accountable and to send a message to any future abusers that they are done being a victim.

Measles outbreak in Minnesota linked to anti-vaccination fake news.

Courtesy of Live Science:  

A recent measles outbreak that has thus far sickened dozens of Somali-Americans in Minnesota — nearly all of them children — can be traced to anti-vaccination campaigns that targeted Somali-Americans and suggested that vaccines are linked to autism, health officials said. 

On Friday (May 12), the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) announced that it had confirmed 54 measles cases, 51 of which were in children age 17 or younger — and the majority of those infected were unvaccinated, according to an MDH report published online.

Just a reminder that misinformation has real world consequences, and can even lead to death.

And just in case you were wondering, yes Donald Trump is also an anti-vaxxer.

Autism rates through the roof--why doesn't the Obama administration do something about doctor-inflicted autism. We lose nothing to try.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 22, 2012

Yet another reminder that we need smart, scientifically literate people running our country.

Minnesota dentist illegally kills beloved lion in Zimbabwe, easily worst decision of his life. Update!

Final photograph of Cecil the lion.

Courtesy of Twin Cities.com: 

A Minnesota dentist and avid big-game hunter said he regrets killing a beloved lion in Zimbabwe and will cooperate with any criminal investigation. 

Walter J. Palmer, an Eden Prairie man with a Bloomington dental practice, came under fire from animal lovers after being identified as the man who shot Cecil, a well-known lion who roamed a Zimbabwe national park. He has become the target of threats and social media backlash against both himself and his business. 

During a nighttime hunt in early July, the hunting team tied a dead animal to a car, luring the lion out of Hwange National Park, said Johnny Rodrigues, chairman of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force. 

Palmer, 55, used a bow and arrow to shoot the lion on private land. Tracking data from the lion's GPS collar show it survived for about 40 hours before it was shot and killed with a rifle, according to according to The Independent, a London newspaper.

After finding and killing Cecil, they then cut off his head and skinned him, leaving his carcass behind to rot.

Since the killing social media outrage has virtually driven Palmer out of business, at least temporarily:

The backlash from animal lovers around the world has been so strong that the dentist’s website has shut down and his office is shuttered.

So manly, don't you think?

Palmer did say this in his defense: 

In a statement, Palmer said “I relied on the expertise of my local professional guides to ensure a legal hunt… I deeply regret that my pursuit of an activity I love and practice responsibly and legally resulted in the taking of this lion”

"An activity that I love?" Interesting way of saying I like to murder creatures with no way of fighting back, just for sport.

However his actions will have even deadlier consequences, as Cecil was the alpha male of his pride meaning that one of the younger male lions will soon take his place and kill all of his cubs in order to establish dominance.

Nature is cruel, but clearly not nearly as cruel as a dentist from Minnesota.

P.S. Here was Jimmy Kimmel's take.  (I you'll notice toward the end Kimmel gets very emotional and chokes up a little.)

Update: Couldn't resist could she?

Sarah Palin gives speech at Safari Club in Minnesota while standing on stage with glassy eyed corpses. At least we think one of them was her.

 Courtesy of Jungle Jane's Facebook page:  

Now that was a great time with hunters and conservationists of the Safari Club International Lake Superior Chapter in Minnesota! As I mentioned tonight, SCI reminds us of these important things: first, hunting and the outdoor lifestyle are all about family, freedom, and our American heritage; second, hunting and conservation are inseparable; and third, it's so important to give back to the community, as SCI does by granting military vets their “dream hunts”! We can never sufficiently repay our men and women in uniform for all their sacrifices, but we can help make their futures a little brighter by making some dreams come true. As I've said in my speeches for years now: if you love your freedom, thank a vet! 

Thank you again, SCI, for the great work you do in promoting our hunting heritage and responsible stewardship of our environment through conservation. Every one of you guys and gals in the crowd tonight inspire me and give me great hope in America! 

- Sarah Palin

Wait hunting is all about "family, freedom, and our American heritage?" 

How does blowing the brains out of a defenseless animal trying to take a shit in the woods make us a better parent, better free person, or better American? Don't some childless, recently paroled, non-Americans also enjoy filling the local wildlife with bullet holes?

Source

As you can see Palin decided that the best attire for the event was that of an aging Las Vegas showgirl.

Accessorized of course with Sheena the She-Devil's tooth and claw necklace.

Well I stand corrected. Here I thought that Palin was really making a mistake by skipping the NRA event and showing up to this podunk orgy of death instead, but now I see that she was really in her element, surrounded by her kind.

And by "her kind" I mean the other taxidermied undead things that shared the stage with her. 

St. Paul Atheists have officially left the closet.

Courtesy of the Political Carnival: 

The Interfaith Conversation Cafe in St. Paul, which gathers people of many religions for a monthly discussion, is now open to nonreligions. The organizers have removed "faith" from the name, explaining that atheists felt excluded by it, and are calling it the "Interbelief Conversation Cafe." 

"We are leaders in the field," said Frank Burton, a member of the Minneapolis branch of Circle of Reason, a group that includes atheists and believers and lobbied for the change. 

Minnesota's atheists are coming out of the closet. 

The St. Paul Saints have had an atheist-themed baseball game in each of the past three seasons. There's an "Atheists Talk" program on KTNF-AM 950 on Sunday mornings. 

Nationally, books on atheism have been best-sellers, and the debut of the channel Atheist TV was announced last week. 

"I think atheists are getting organized," said University of Minnesota professor Penny Edgell, who will be teaching what she said is the state's first class in atheism starting in September. "It's a wave of visibility."

Well what do you know? It looks like the place to be an Atheist is Minnesota.

Who knew?

Personally I love stories of Atheists being accepted around the world, and of their voices being heard instead of having them silenced by those who want to vilify and persecute them for daring to reason.

Ammosexual shoots 17 year old girl after she confronts him about driving his riding lawnmower over her property.

Courtesy of the Times Colonist:  

A northern Minnesota man was charged Wednesday with shooting a 17-year-old girl several times after authorities say she told him not to ride his lawn mower through her yard. 

Chad Pickering, 40, of Bemidji appeared in Beltrami County court on a felony charge of attempted first-degree murder. Bail was set at $300,000. 

Pickering shot the teen three times as she stood on the deck of her home Monday night, the criminal complaint said. The teen was shot in her chest, right thigh and left ankle. She was taken to a Duluth hospital. 

Police found .45 shells by a tree on the young woman's property, and when police searched his home and found a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol hidden in an air vent, Pickering claimed that he had not seen in in a week or so.

The police then pointed out a grass stain on Pickering's knee, and his excuse for that was equally lame.

Finally.....  

When authorities pointed out inconsistencies in his statement, Pickering said he had taken his children for a ride with the mower and that after he returned home a girl came to the front door and confronted him about trespassing, the complaint said. Pickering told investigators he went to her house, knelt by a pine tree and shot her twice after she came out the front door, according to the complaint. 

To be clear this 40 year old man went to the house of a teenaged girl, shot her three times, and lied to the police about what he had done, all becasue she asked him to stop driving his lawnmower through her yard.

And that my friends is how the 2nd Amendment keeps us safe.

Sarah Palin curses another one.

From Granny Grifter's Facebook page:

To Minnesota GOP Delegates meeting today, I urge you to support Julianne Ortman in her bid to unseat Al Franken as the Gopher State’s next senator. Julianne is a true conservative and the only candidate who is battle tested with the leadership and experience necessary to beat Franken in November. As a state senator, she proved her commitment to conservative principles and her determination to make the tough calls to get things done. As the first woman to ever head the Senate Tax Committee, she led the effort to balance a $5 billion deficit without raising taxes by a single dollar. Those are the kind of results we need in Washington! Julianne will serve Minnesota and the nation with distinction and be a fighter for our liberties in the Senate. Please lend her your support.

 - Sarah Palin

Sadly for Palin it looks like her candidate of choice is already flaming out. The delegates HAVE been voting, and as of right now it looks like a battle between Chris Dahlberg and Mike McFaddden for the nomination, with 41% to 28.8%, and Ortman essentially out of the running with an abysmal 18%.

This even though she received backing from the completely still relevant Tea Party Express.

And after she claimed to have raised more money than Senator Al Franken back in April. I mean her campaign would never confirm that, but she SAID it.

You know I wonder if it burns just a little when Sarah Palin endorses you, and if afterward you can feel your political career gasping out its last desperate breaths?

Minnesota minister creates insular community where he is free to rape and sexually abuse young women for years.

Courtesy of the Star Tribune:  

Lindsay Tornambe was just 13 years old when she was chosen to be “sacrificed to God,” she remembers. 

That announcement in July 2000 came from a minister who led an insular faith community that included her family in central Minnesota. As Tornambe sat in the congregation with her parents, she remembers the minister calling out a list of 10 girls for a position of honor. He would later call them “maidens.” 

Soon, her parents dutifully dropped her off at his isolated camp, where what she now calls a nightmare of sexual abuse went on for about nine years. 

Pine County authorities announced Tuesday that the minister, 52-year-old Victor A. Barnard, is now facing 59 counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving his chosen maidens. 

Barnard ruled “like a rock star” over the camp and sexually exploited girls and young women at his whim while they lived apart from their families, according to court papers, which spell out the alleged abuses against two unnamed teens. 

Barnard had not been apprehended Tuesday evening but was believed to be in Washington state, where authorities have begun a manhunt for him. He is the subject of a nationwide warrant.

The 59 counts are based only on the two young women who cooperated with the authorities, there are undoubtedly many, many more young girls and women who were also molested by this guy.

You know besides my issues with religion in general, this is really one of the things about faith that concerns me the most.

Just ask yourself how readily you would accept that a 52 year old man was inviting young girls up to his isolated cabin for reasons that were NOT incredibly suspicious, if he were not using religion to camouflage his actions?

One would think that after the Jonestown massacre people would be incredibly wary of charismatic religious leaders who want to spend time with your wives or daughters, and start camps or communes in isolated areas, but some people are just not that sharp.

If you want to learn more click the link at the top, but I warn you it is a pretty upsetting read.

Running for Congress in order to keep your daughter from having to learn about Evolution. Just Republican things.

Courtesy of Mother Jones:  

Minnesota Republican congressional candidate Aaron Miller's gripe with Washington is personal. Speaking at the district convention on Saturday, Miller, an Iraq War vet who won the nomination to challenge four-term Democratic Rep. Tim Walz, explained that he was running for office in part to ensure that his daughter won't have to learn about evolution at her local public school. Per the Mankato Free Press: 

He also called for more religious freedoms. He repeated his story about his daughter returning home from school because evolution was being taught in her class. He said the teacher admitted to not believing in the scientific theory to his daughter but told her that the government forced him to teach the lesson. 

"We should decide what is taught in our schools, not Washington D.C.," Miller said. 

Miller has declined to provide any more information to verify his story.

If you think this story smells a little fishy, you are not alone.

A local Minnesota blogger, made this observation:

This is curious stuff, since the standards for curriculum in Minnesota are set by the Minnesota Department of Education.

You know I hate to call somebody a liar, but if it looks like his pants are on fire, and walks like his pants are on fire, then chances are that his pants are indeed on fire.

Even if this story were true, it would mean that this individual is running for office in order to suppress the teaching of universally accepted, peer reviewed science in Minnesota public schools.

If ever there were a reason to vote against somebody that should be it.

The last thing this country needs is yet another anti-science Republican helping to shape the laws that impact all of us.

In what can only be described as a precedent that was completely predictable, one of Sarah Palin's newest endorsees turns out to be a big fat liar.

Of course many of you saw the above graphic the other day, from Palin's Facebook page.

When I posted it I did not know a thing about this Julianne Ortman woman.

But thanks to all of your tireless research I now know some things about this Julianne Ortman woman. And they of course demonstrate how unfit she is to challenge the great Al Franken, and how perfectly logical it was that Sarah Palin, a woman who lies like some people breathe, to endorse her.

You see she is a liar as well.

This is from a a post on City Pages from August:

On her website, Ortman, an MNGOP Senator from the southwest suburbs who is seeking the GOP endorsement to challenge Al Franken next year, claims that she, in partnership with her husband Ray, has argued "several very high profile and ground-breaking cases in state and federal court, and in the United States Supreme Court." 

Furthermore, her Facebook page suggests she was directly and personally involved in the U.S. Supreme Court decision on the Obamacare, stating she "was one of many from across the nation who argued in the Supreme Court that the plan violated the limits of the Commerce Clause; ultimately the Court agreed, but upheld the mandates in Obamacare as a constitutional use of Congress's power to tax."

So according to this Senate hopeful, she was instrumental in almost stopping the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.  Gee, if only that were true.

However a local Minnesota Republican activist, decided to check out Ortman's claims.

Guess what?

@mbrodkorb Her sentence as a whole is wrong, because she rep'd no businesses in U.S. Supreme Court. Like the "defamation" in Workman suit.
— AliasNielsBohr (@AliasNielsBohr) August 11, 2013

This AM: Supreme Court official said Ortman hasn't argued a case, nor is there a record of her being admitted to the Supreme Court Bar.
— Michael Brodkorb (@mbrodkorb) August 9, 2013

Also this AM: Supreme Court official said neither she nor her husband had argued cases "in the [US] Supreme Court", as her bio claims.
— Michael Brodkorb (@mbrodkorb) August 9, 2013

Bad day for @JulianneOrtman's campaign. One of the worst examples of resume padding by a candidate in MN. Clumsy response & story continues.
— Michael Brodkorb (@mbrodkorb) August 9, 2013

Ortman claimed she "argued in the Supreme Court" against ObamaCare, yet records show she voted in MN Senate during 3 days SCOTUS heard case
— Michael Brodkorb (@mbrodkorb) August 11, 2013

Yeah Senator Franken should have NO problem swatting this fly.

Even BEFORE the Sarah Palin kiss of death.

Former Romney adviser and GOP Congressman says Republicans getting dumber.

Courtesy of City Pages:  

Vin Weber served as a Republican Congressman from Minnesota from 1981 to 1993. Since retiring from Congress, he was one of Mitt Romney's senior foreign policy advisers during his 2012 presidential run and still works as a D.C.-based GOP strategist. 

Weber was asked to weigh in on those findings. He said he would "resist characterizing this as evidence of a war on science, which I think is BS," and then offered up this nugget: 

"I suspect this is a reflection of a trend we've seen, where the most educated people who used to be Republicans are now Democrats, and people with less educational status are now moving into the Republican Party," Weber says. 

"Added to that is a realignment along religious lines, with the most religious lining up with the GOP," he said.

Pretty hard to argue with that observation.

However it is interesting to note that more and more this opinion is being offered by those who were once were considered firmly in line with Republican ideologies, such as Joe Scarborough, John Huntsman, and Steve Schmidt.

I think that every day we are seeing the signs of a dramatic and very public war erupting within the GOP that will either eventually make the party stronger, or see a third party split off and strip away the more fringe elements of the existing party.

Personally I think the latter is more likely.

Well it looks like it won't be too much longer before the Republicans won't have Obamacare to kick around anymore.

Courtesy of the LA Times:  

Despite the disastrous rollout of the federal government's healthcare website, enrollment is surging in many states as tens of thousands of consumers sign up for insurance plans made available by President Obama's health law. 

A number of states that use their own systems, including California, are on track to hit enrollment targets for 2014 because of a sharp increase in November, according to state officials. 

"What we are seeing is incredible momentum," said Peter Lee, director of Covered California, the nation's largest state insurance marketplace, which accounted for a third of all enrollments nationally in October. California — which enrolled about 31,000 people in health plans last month — nearly doubled that in the first two weeks of this month. 

Several other states, including Connecticut and Kentucky, are outpacing their enrollment estimates, even as states that depend on the federal website lag far behind. In Minnesota, enrollment in the second half of October ran at triple the rate of the first half, officials said. Washington state is also on track to easily exceed its October enrollment figure, officials said. 

You know whenever I see statistics like this I  cannot help but think of all of the millions of Americans who could have been helped to get health care if only those Republican governors had allowed the expansion of Medicaid in their states and had set up state exchanges of their own.

I just hope that the people in their states are paying attention, and are prepared to punish them come election day.

Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, takes a victory lap quite as well as Lawrence O'Donnell. Good-bye Michele Bachmann, and good riddance.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

You know, its easy to forget just how batshit crazy this woman is until you see all of her lunacy strung together in one long video homage to insanity.

That look on Steve Schmidt's face is priceless. but somehow I think it pales in comparison to the smile lighting up the faces of many people living in Minnesota right now.

Are the presses still stopped? Good because Michele Bachmann just threw in the towel, and will NOT seek reelection in Minnesota!

Courtesy of Atlantic Wire:

Be assured, my decision was not in any way influenced by any concerns about my being reelected to Congress. I've always in the past defeated candidates who are capable, qualified, and well-funded. And I have every confidence that if I ran, I would defeat the individual who I defeated last year, who recently announced that he is once again running. And rest assured, this decision was not impacted in any way by the recent inquiries into the activities of my former presidential campaign or my former presidential staff. It was clearly understood that compliance with all rules and regulations was an absolute necessity for my presidential campaign, and I have no reason to believe that that was not the case.

Wow! That video contained a whole LOTTA crazy!

You know the possibility that her decision has nothing to do with concerns about losing MIGHT be true. 

But it is MUCH more likely that the reason is because she is facing an FBI investigation and may be on her way to the clink. After all we DO have a history of Teabagger queens quitting when the FBI starts breathing down their necks.

Well I have to believe that the people of Minnesota are breathing a huge sigh of relief.

After all I remember how happy we Alaskans were when OUR village idiot was removed from office.

If batshit crazy Michelle Bachmann were batshit crazy enough to challenge Al Franken for his Senate seat she would be crushed into actual bat shit. (I'm sorry bat guano.)

Courtesy of Public Policy Polling:  

PPP’s new survey of Minnesota voters finds Al Franken comfortably leading all potential challengers. Franken leads Michele Bachmann 55% to 38%. He leads Jason Lewis by 54% to 37%. Franken bests Republican Mike McFadden 51%-36%. He leads Julianne Ortman 52%-35%. Julie Rosen trails Franken 36%-52%. Rounding out the bunch, Rich Stanek faces a 36%-51% deficit against the Senator. 

Franken himself is popular, with a 51% approval rating to 42% disapproval. Bachmann is deeply unpopular, at 34% favorable, 60% unfavorable and 7% not sure. 

“Al Franken has proven to be a pretty popular Senator,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “Add to that a relatively weak Republican bench in Minnesota and he’s looking like a clear favorite for reelection.”

Okay look here's the plan.

We need to surreptitiously contact some of the Tea Party groups and convince them that this PPP poll was fixed to show that Bachmann has no chance against Franken because the liberals are afraid that if she ran against him she would beat him hands down. 

Then we simply need to send e-mails of support to Bachmann telling her how she is the ONLY Representative in Minnesota worth a damn and that she should really be in the Senate. (Oh and send some to Marcus telling him that the choices for Senate interns are far cuter than the left over ones that end up working for the Congress.)

Then we need to get a HUGE bowl of popcorn and watch the show, because I cannot think of ANYTHING that I would rather see than Al Franken crushing Michele Bachmann like a crazy eyed bug meeting a semi truck windshield at 60 miles per hour.

No seriously, I think it can work! Don't you?

Minnesota becomes 12th state to legalize marriage equality. That's right, freaking Minnesota!

Courtesy of Star Tribune:  

With deafening cheers and overwhelming emotion, the Minnesota Senate voted 37-30 to legalize same-sex marriage. 

“Today, love wins,” said Sen. Tony Lourey, DFL-Kerrick. 

The vote, on the heels of a vote last week in the House, brings to a close a decade of debate over marriage that has echoed through the Capitol, bringing thousands of friends and foes of gay marriage to its marbled dome to express their deeply held feelings. The measure next moves to Gov. Mark Dayton, who will welcome it with his signature in a celebratory ceremony at 5 p.m. Tuesday on the south steps of the Capitol. 

Once it is signed, Minnesota will become the twelfth state to legalize same sex-marriage. "It's historic and I can never be so proud of this body and of Minnesotans," said Sen. Jeff Hayden, DFL-Minneapolis. On the Senate floor, Hayden said that his wife is white and noted that just 50 years ago, his loving relationship would have been barred.

Good for Minnesota right? Well not completely, after all not EVERYBODY was quite so happy to "touch the rainbow."  

Sen. Dan Hall, R-Burnsville, said up until the last he was praying for a miracle and the Senate to reject the bill. 

“Some people have said that they are concerned about being on the right side of history. I am more concerned about being on the right side of eternity,” said Hall.

Yes make sure not to do the right thing in life, for fear of being punished for it after death.

I think that should be the new Christian motto.

I think at least one couple should be ecstatic that this law has now passed.

Now finally THIS deviant marriage will finally be legal in the eyes of Minnesota, and Marcus can stop pretending he does not know what to do with a hot throbbing foot long piece of meat.