ADAM KINZINGER NO ORDINARY IDIOT

While police were still involved in a shoot-out with man who invaded a Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood office, a Republican lawmaker attacked the organization saying he would expect an apology if the shooter didn't turn out to be an anti-abortion terrorist.

Appearing on CNN, right wing nut job Adam Kinzinger took offense at a statement issued by CEO of Planned Parenthood Rocky Mountains, Vicki Cowart — who said that the clinic might have been targeted by an extremist — and stated that he would be expecting an apology if she was proved wrong.

Before police apprehended Robert Lewis Dear — who killed three and wounded nine at the women’s health clinic in Colorado — Cowart, released a statement saying, in part: “We don’t yet know the full circumstances and motives behind this criminal action, and we don’t yet know if Planned Parenthood was in fact the target of this attack. We share the concerns of many Americans that extremists are creating a poisonous environment that feeds domestic terrorism in this country. We will never back away from providing care in a safe, supportive environment that millions of people rely on and trust.”



Kinzinger found Cowart’s statement unsettling.

“When I heard that statement, I thought that was very premature. We may find out this person was targeting Planned Parenthood, “the conservative lawmaker said. “If we find out he was not targeting Planned Parenthood, I would fully expect an apology from the Planned Parenthood director for saying that.”

He then went on to attack Planned Parenthood over the discredited videos produced by an an anti-abortion group that claimed the health organization was “harvesting” fetal parts for profit.

“Regardless, if somebody is targeting Planned Parenthood, it’s not indicative of what folks that are opposed to what some of the practices Planned Parenthood commits,” Kinzinger said. “We saw these barbaric videos and that is something many of us have a legitimate concern about. That doesn't mean we’re gonna take guns and walk into Planned Parenthood clinics.”

Congratulations Adam Kinzinger you are today's asshat of the day, enjoy numb nuts!

NFTOS
Blogger-In-Chief

Roger West

WHO WOULD WEAR AN IUD AS JEWELRY?

IUD BRACELET?

As the Colorado legislature is locked in a bitter debate about whether to keep funding a family planning program for low-income women — a political fight that hinges on whether intrauterine devices (IUDs) are a form of abortion — some lawmakers are making a strong fashion statement in favor of the birth control method.

In order to drum up support for IUDs, and ultimately help demystify this particular form of long-acting contraception, politicians on both sides of the aisle have started wearing IUD-themed earrings and lapel pins. As the Denver Post reports, “the IUD jewelry is emerging as one of the most visible political symbols this legislative session.”

Lawmakers are currently considering a bill that would appropriate $5 million in state funding for a program, called the Colorado Family Planning Initiative that provides women with IUDs and implants. Since 2009, this particular program has handed out an estimated 30,000 long-acting contraceptives, contributing to a staggering 40 percent drop in teen births over the past five years.

But the program has hit a roadblock among anti-choice lawmakers in the state, who incorrectly claim that IUDs are abortion-inducing devices. The disagreement over the science regarding IUDs could have big consequences: Unless the legislature agrees to designate state funding to keep it going, the Colorado Family Planning Initiative may not have enough money to continue its work in this area.

That’s where the IUD jewelry comes in. Lobbyists for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment trying to leverage support for the state-run family planning program found them on Etsy, where they’re sold by an Ohio-based OB-GYN named Virginia Smith. They bought 15 pairs — the largest order Smith had ever received — and started handing them out to lawmakers.

State Rep. Don Coram is one of the politicians proudly displaying a glittery replica of an IUD. He attached it to his lapel, next to his pin of the American flag.

“A redneck Republican wearing an IUD — it just doesn't make sense does it?” Coram joked in an interview with the Denver Post about his suit’s recent acquisition. “Seriously though, I think this is one of the most important bills we are looking at.”

Although Coram is personally opposed to abortion, he wants his GOP colleagues to support the Colorado Family Planning Initiative as a way to avoid unintended pregnancies and save taxpayer dollars in the long term. He’s also advocating for a separate measure to implement a statewide program aimed at preventing teen pregnancies and high school dropouts.

Smith, meanwhile, told a local ABC affiliate that she’s glad her IUD-themed jewelry is helping raise awareness about family planning in another state. “I think women should have access to options and so if this promotes access to options then I think that is a good thing,” Smith said.

Even outside of Colorado, IUD-themed clothing and jewelry is picking up steam. Smith isn’t the only Etsy seller specializing in wares shaped like the contraceptive. Jessy Hennesy, a sexuality educator with the Unitarian Universalist Association said earlier this year that she bought a pair of IUD earrings from a different Etsy shop in order to spark conversation about birth control at her church.

In general, as the number of U.S. women opting for IUDs has been steadily on the rise, more women are starting to feel comfortable talking about the subject. As the most effective reversible form of birth control — enthusiastically endorsed by pediatricians and gynecologists alike — IUDs have started to gain somewhat of a cult following among the people who use them.

But IUDs also aren’t without controversy among abortion opponents. Last year, the evangelical owners of the craft chain Hobby Lobby went all the way to the Supreme Court to fight for their right to drop coverage for this type of birth control, incorrectly claiming that IUDs are a form of abortion despite all scientific evidence to the contrary. Now that Hobby Lobby has won its case, it’s helped advance leading anti-abortion groups’ broader efforts to rebrand birth control as abortion. Depending on what ends up happening in Colorado, conservative lawmakers there could help further that talking point, too.

Cross posted from thinkprogress

NFTOS

STAFF WRITER

WEAPONS AND JESUS

GOT YOU SOME WEAPONS AND JESUS?

Colorado allows guns everywhere - and an eatery called Shooters Grill is arming their waitresses and welcoming all gun owners to bring them along. What's confounding is - is just how much Jesus plays an important role to them in all of this.




NFTOS

Editor-In-Chief

Roger West

"Good Thing' James Holmes Had 100-Round Magazine

BANGING MY HEAD

A Republican state senator in Colorado stunned the father of one of the victims of the Aurora theater shooting when he claimed that it was "a good thing" that James Holmes had a 100-round magazine.





During a Wednesday hearing about overturning the state's ban on magazines larger than 15 rounds, Democratic state Sen. Irene Aguilar pointed out that Holmes would have never been able to legally buy the arsenal he used to slaughter 12 people and injure 70 others.

“My understanding is that James Holmes bought his 100-round capacity magazine legally,” Aguilar told Republican state Sen. Bernie Herpin. “So in fact, this law would have stopped James Holmes from purchasing a 100-round magazine." 

“I was wondering if you agree with me," she asked. 

“Perhaps, James Holmes would not have been able to purchase a 100-round magazine,” Herpin admitted. 

“As it turned out, that was maybe a good thing that he had a 100-round magazine, because it jammed," he added. "If he had four, five, six 15-round magazines, there’s no telling how much damage he could have done until a good guy with a gun showed up.”

Of the 76 shell casings found by investigators after the shooting, 65 were fired from Holmes' .223 caliber assault-style rifle with the 100 round magazine.

Tom Sullivan's was also at the Capitol on Tuesday to oppose repealing the high capacity magazine ban because his son, Alex, was one of the victims of the theater shooting.

“I’ve had a lot of thoughts since July 20, 2012, but never once did I think anyone was better off because the shooter brought a hundred round drum into that theater,” Sullivan insisted. “Alex never had a chance. He was watching a movie one second and the next he was dead. The fact is, if the shooter had to change his magazine that would have been a chance for Alex to survive.”

“The lack of empathy and compassion is shocking,” Sullivan later told KDVR. “Not just to me and my family, but to all of the families who have lost loved ones to gun violence and to all the people of Colorado."

Sullivan observed that it was almost unthinkable that voters had decided to replace former Senate President John Morse with Herpin in a recall election over the new gun control laws.

But with public support beginning to once again swing back in favor of the gun control measures, Democrats suggested that the issue was backfiring on Republicans.

“Thanks for giving us back your seat,” one Democratic staffer was heard saying at the hearing on Wednesday. Herpin is up for re-election in November.

These gun nuts - The guy with the small magazine is always a well trained Olympic level shooter who can switch magazines in a blink of an eye; The guy with a large capacity drum is a buffoon ready to shoot himself when his gun slips out of his hand; and there is always a John McClane good guy who can persevere regardless of injuries who will always show up if we just make sure we don't screw him up by making him register his gun.

NFTOS

Editor-In-Chief

Roger West

"RESPONSIBLE" GUN HUGGER KILLS OWN KID THINKING SHE WAS AN INTRUDER

GUNS IN HOME? NOT SUCH A GOOD IDEA, JUST ASK A COLORADO DAD

A Colorado Springs father fatally shot his teenage step-daughter Monday, saying he thought she was a burglar. Prior to the incident, police received a call about a burglary in progress. But when they got there, they found the 14-year-old with a gunshot wound. She was taken to the hospital and died soon after, according to CBS Denver.

The incident is the latest tragedy involving the use of deadly force to protect the home. And it is one of several incidents in which a parent has killed their own child after they mistook them for a burglar. Last September a Connecticut teacher shot and killed his 15-year-old son after his neighbor called to say she thought she saw a robber in the front yard. Just a few weeks after that, a retired Chicago police officer shot and killed his 48-year-old son after he came in the back door late one night. And an off-duty police officer killed his son last July while the two were on vacation in upstate New York, after he told police he believed him to be an intruder. In that case, shooter Michael Leach was charged with second-degree manslaughter and is facing prison time.

Police have not said yet if they will file charges against the Colorado Springs father whose name has not been released, but Colorado is one of many states that has a “shoot first” law that authorizes the use of deadly force in defense of one’s home, and shields individuals who do so from any criminal or civil charges. Although Colorado does not have a Stand Your Ground law, it does have its own version of what is known as the Castle Doctrine, which allows homeowners to use deadly force to protect their dwelling without a duty to retreat.

The law was dubbed the “Make My Day,” law after the 1983 Clint Eastwood film ”Sudden Impact,” in which Detective Harry Callahan — “Dirty Harry” — aims a gun at a criminal suspect and says, ”Go ahead, make my day.”

The statute is particularly broad because it authorizes deadly force not just for fear of great bodily harm or death, but anytime a person “has made an unlawful entry into the dwelling, and when the occupant has a reasonable belief that such other person has committed a crime in the dwelling in addition to the uninvited entry, or is committing or intends to commit a crime against a person or property.” Castle doctrine laws that empower civilians with guns to take the law into their own hands have been associated with many tragedies, in cases involving those seeking help after a car accident, an elderly man with Alzheimer’s who wandered onto another’s property, and the fatal shooting of a 20-year-old who walked onto a neighbor’s porch to escape a potential police bust of underage drinking.

The Colorado law gave criminal immunity to a homeowner who shot a teen intruder as he tried to flee through the front door of the home, even though he was no longer threat. Unlike in some other states, however, the deadly force must occur inside the home — not on a porch or yard. Last year, lawmakers unsuccessfully sought to expand the deadly force immunity to those protecting their businesses.

So much for the good guy with a gum saving the day, or the old cliché that guns don't kill people do. I be this family is re-thinking those asinine analogies!

Let's face it readers, having a gun in your home significantly increases your risk of death — and that of your spouse and children. And it doesn't matter how the guns are stored or what type or how many guns you own .If you have a gun, everybody in your home is more likely than your non-gun-owning neighbors and their families to die in a gun-related accident, suicide or homicide.

The health risks of owning a gun are so established and scientifically non-controvertible that the American Academy of Pediatrics issued a policy statement in 2000.

NFTOS

Editor-In-Chief

Roger West