Motley Moose – Archive

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Facing Overwhelming Opposition, Arizona Governor Vetoes Anti-Gay Bill

After a week of national backlash, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) has vetoed SB 1062, which would have allowed religious beliefs to be used to justify discrimination against LGBT people and others. Explaining her veto, Brewer said, “I call them like I see them despite the cheers or boos from the crowd.” She added that the bill does not address a specific concern and that she knows of no examples of how religious liberty has been under attack.

Opposition to the bill came from individuals and companies across the country, including the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee, Apple, and Mitt Romney. Many other states have introduced similar bills, some specifying that businesses could refuse services to marrying same-sex couples, but most have stalled or died, particularly those introduced this week during the backlash against Arizona.

Media Matters: Fox News Has A Nasty Anti-Gay Hangover

What explains Fox’s sudden cold feet now that several states are acting to deal with the manufactured threat to religious liberty that Fox News helped create?

To hear people like Fox’s Kelly and Tantaros explain it, laws like Arizona’s SB 1062 simply went a little too far. These laws would be acceptable if they only affected businesses directly involved in the marriage and wedding industry, but giving all business owners a license to discriminate against gay customers too closely resembles Jim Crow legislation.[…]

The distinction between marriage-related services and general services used by gay couples is convenient, but it doesn’t stand up under closer scrutiny.

For one, Fox News has aggressively promoted the idea that requiring equal treatment of gay people in non-marital contexts also infringes on businesses’ religious liberty. […]

… many of the network’s personalities are waking up to the harsh reality that their words have consequences. They’re in the uncomfortable position of to decide between disowning the right-wing talking points they helped promote or siding with measures that even they admit look a lot like pro-segregation laws.

More …

This is the last part in a series of posts examining how to create super-packed districts of one race. The other posts in this series pack Asians, blacks, Hispanics, and whites.

Packing Native Americans

Alone out of all the ethnicities examined, there are not enough Native Americans in the United States to form a majority Native American congressional district. Indeed, Native Americans compose a mere 0.9% of America’s total population.

More below.

Immediately in the aftermath of the shooting in Arizona, the nation was desperately searching for any information that would make sense of this senseless tragedy. It was in this atmosphere that Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik was thrust into the role of official spokesperson at a news conference about the shootings.

Sheriff Dupnik released some information about the shooting, victims, and the shooter and then introduced the local FBI Special Agent in Charge and also introduced the doctor who spoke for the University of Arizona hospital. After the others had given their report to the press, the sheriff returned to the microphone and made a statement that soon had many on the right outraged at his “politicization” of the tragedy.

Reaction from the right

Not a lot of details yet, but we know that Gabrielle Giffords, the Democratic Representative for Arizona’s 8th congressional district has been shot:

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was among as many as 12 people wounded in a shooting at a Tucson, Ariz., grocery store where she was holding a campaign event.

ABC affiliate KGUN-TV in Tucson reported that as many as 12 people had been shot, including Giffords. A law enforcement source told KGUN that the shooter was in custody.

Giffords, a Democrat, was scheduled to hold a “Congress on Your Corner” event today at a supermarket in northwest Tucson.

Her condition is not currently known. Other sources reporting on this tragic turn of events:

MSNBC:

U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona was shot in the head outside a grocery store in Tucson while holding a public event, U.S. National Public Radio reported Saturday.

At least three of her staff members were also shot by an unidentified gunman who ran up and began shooting indiscriminately, according to media reports.

Politico:

Giffords was taken to University Medical Center in Tucson, according to the report. Her condition was not immediately known.

Twelve people were injured in the shooting shortly after 10 o’clock local time, according to Jason Ogan, a spokesman for the Pima Country Sherrif’s department. The police are sweeping the area for any other possible suspects and currently have one person in custody.

Why on earth would somebody do something like this?

UPDATE:  Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has died.

Screenshot from the (now removed) Mspace page of Jared Lee Loughner, the suspect in custody.

UPDATE:

2:37 PM ET Giffords Alive And In Surgery

A hospital spokeswoman tells MSNBC that Giffords is alive, still in surgery.

This is almost sad, guys.

Well, not really.

But I think this shows us the depth of the hole McCain has dug running this disgraceful campaign. He has never lost an election in Arizona, but now he’s poised to lose the most important race of all. According to a new a Cronkite/Eight Poll, AZ is now a toss-up. Obama has whittled McCain’s lead down to two points, 46 to 44, a statistical tie.