North Carolina Republicans Can’t Stop Hating On The LGBT Community, and They Have a Plan
As it turns out, Republicans in North Carolina just can’t stop trying to fuck themselves. (And by extension, the state, their constituents, the rest of us, etc.). Which seems odd, because that also seems like something they’d probably be against. After the public outcry, as well as the business and financial impact over their last big hit, HB2 (The Bathroom Bill), they’re back at it again. But this time, I think they have a plan.
On April 11, 2017, North Carolina Representatives Larry Pittman, Michael Speciale and Carl Ford were the primary sponsors of HOUSE BILL DRH10214-MM-60, “AN ACT TO AFFIRM THAT SECTION 6 OF ARTICLE XIV OF THE NORTH CAROLINA CONSTITUTION IS THE LAW OF THE STATE.” Or, the Uphold Historical Marriage Act.
Let’s peruse the Bill:
“Whereas, the People of the State of North Carolina approved the Marriage Amendment of 2012, which is now included as Section 6 of Article XIV of the North Carolina Constitution, with a 61% affirmative vote…”
We’re super not down with the Gays.
“…the United States Supreme Court overstepped its constitutional bounds when it struck down Section 6 of Article XIV of the North Carolina Constitution in its Obergefell v. Hodges decision of 2015.”
The Supreme Court was not meant to rule on decisions of lower courts, we guess. Or, at least, not if we don’t like their decision.
“Whereas, the ruling of the United States Supreme Court not only exceeds the authority of the Court relative to the State of North Carolina and a vote of the People of the State on an issue pertaining solely to the State of North Carolina and the People of North Carolina but also exceeds the authority of the Court relative to the decree of Almighty God that ‘a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh’ (Genesis 2:24, ESV) and abrogates the clear meaning and understanding of marriage in all societies throughout prior history;”
You know who else didn’t get down with the Gays? Almighty God, that’s who, motherfucker!
“SECTION 1. G.S. 51-1.2 reads as rewritten:
Ҥ 51-1.2. Marriages between persons of the same gender not valid.
(a) The General Assembly of the State of North Carolina declares that the Obergefell v. Hodges decision of the United States Supreme Court of 2015 is null and void in the State of North Carolina, and that the State of North Carolina shall henceforth uphold and enforce Section 6 of Article XIV of the North Carolina Constitution, the opinion and objection of the United States Supreme Court notwithstanding.”
Whatever – we do what we want.
“(b) Marriages, whether created by common law, contracted, or performed outside of North Carolina, between individuals of the same gender are not valid in North Carolina.”
Full faith and credit is for pussies.
Who are the upright citizen’s that sponsored this bill, you ask?
Larry Pittman is a Pastor. His campaign website states that he is Pro-Family Values and, hand to God, Anti-Monkey Business.
From his campaign website:
“As a minister of the Gospel, I am committed to protecting the freedom of religious expression. Everyone must be free to express their beliefs, or no one is free. Christianity is not a religion; it is a relationship with the risen and living Lord Jesus. It must be entered into voluntarily to be genuine. Therefore, everyone must be free to choose either to accept Christ or to reject him. They must be free to be a Christian or to choose some other belief or no belief at all. So I am in favor of people who choose not to be Christians having the freedom to express their beliefs; but at the same time, Christians also have the same right to express our beliefs. I will oppose any attempt to take that freedom away from anyone, Christian or not.”
This seems tolerant and level-headed. Until you get to the part where he insinuates that you don’t have to serve pizza to the LGBT community.
On Family Values:
“The most basic unit of human society is the family. Family is based on marriage between one man and one woman, as God ordained it to be. Marriage is nothing other than that. That is why I support the Marriage Amendment. Parents should be recognized as the first authority, with the first responsibility over their children’s education and discipline. To regain the former greatness of our society, we must do all we can to encourage and strengthen the institution of the traditional family, BECAUSE THE PEOPLE MATTER.”
So, I guess there are no surprises on his stance here. Also, I think he forgot to add “straight” before “people” in that last sentence.
Before running for office, our friend Carl worked as an Assistant Manager at Skateland USA. He also spent time as Mr. Manager at Fryes Roller Rink in Concord, NC! (Presumably this was before the roller-skating industry got so gay). In 1982, he found his calling in Radio at WRKB in Kannapolis (where he went from part time to full time in just two weeks, you guys!). Just two short years later he became a manager at WRNA, and eventually bought both radio stations.
Carl is also a member of the Rowan Tea Party Patriots, and still LOVES roller skating in his spare time! (Ok, the last part of that sentence is just speculation on my part.)
Mr. Ford was endorsed by the American Family Association. You may remember the AFA for their calls to boycott Target, due to their icky bathroom policies. They also spend their time being very concerned about the LGBT community’s “cultural appropriation” of God’s Rainbow.
So, we’re on solid ideological ground here. Also, totally balanced.
Michael Speciale is a special little riddle wrapped in an enigma. What are the issues that he’s passionate about? He has some feelings about the economy (Remove regulations! Lower corporate tax rate! Reduce spending!), but, otherwise, his website doesn’t list any. No worries, though – just give him a call and ask! Putting stuff in writing is for squares! “If you would like to know where I stand on other issues, please feel free to call or email me.”
Michael is also almost definitely the author of this bill, based solely on his love of the word “abrogation.” Here is a line from his All About Me/What Makes Me So Speciale page:
“I am loyal to the Constitution, and any abrogation of this document is an affront on our liberties. I will continue to oppose any legislation that I believe contradicts the State and US Constitutions.”
Nobody uses that word. But he seems to love it.
Michael also has some feelings about the Bathroom Bill, which you’re all obviously too stupid to understand:
“Fact 9: H2 ensures that women and children will not be discriminated against by putting them in danger by allowing men into their private spaces.
Fact 10: There is nothing in this bill that discriminates against anyone.”
So there!
Michael Speciale is where we take a turn for the dangerous, though. As a lover of the Constitution, there’s something that he is undoubtedly aware of: a Supreme Court decision can be overturned by a Constitutional Convention called for by two-thirds of the State Legislatures within the country. That’s 34 states. Let’s take a peek at state Governors for a sec:
Democrats – 16
Republicans – 33
Independents – 1
Holy shit.
Ok…what about control of State Legislatures?
Democrats – 12
Republicans – 32
Split – 6
Holy shit.
There are also currently 25 states with a Republican controlled Legislature and Governorship.
This is mildly terrifying. If enough State Legislatures begin introducing bills like this, they could potentially call for a Constitutional Convention to overturn Marriage Equality by Amending the US Constitution to recognize only marriages between a man and a woman. North Carolina appears to have the numbers to overturn the veto of the Democratic Governor. Other states do, as well.
If the GOP can pick up a couple of additional governorships in the 2018 elections, they would also have enough to not only call for a Constitutional Convention, but to also ratify an Amendment to the US Constitution. They have 33. 34 are needed to ratify at a Convention.
At this point, the only question that I have is whether they’re first strike will be against Marriage Equality or Roe v Wade. Since removing rights from people seems to be significantly more important than actually doing anything productive (Hey, Trump Care!), this seems to be the way we’re headed.
So, what can we do?
We need to take action. Get out and Vote in every election. Get Out the Vote in every election. Volunteer. Make phone calls. Consult your handy Indivisible Guide daily. Be vocal about your support.
If we’re complacent for a second or get caught up with in-group squabbles, we are fucking lost.
Also, in the meantime, please feel free to contact these fine gentlemen from North Carolina directly. Michael requested it personally, and I’m sure the other two won’t mind. Their contact information is included below. There are also links to a couple of items that I in no way endorse sending to them embedded in this sentence.
Keep resisting. Don’t sleep on this. This is how it starts.
Contact:
Representative Carl Ford
N.C. House of Representatives
300 N. Salisbury Street, Room 608
Raleigh, NC 27603-5925
919-733-5881
Representative Larry G. Pittman
N.C. House of Representatives
16 W. Jones Street, Room 1010
Raleigh, NC 27601-1096
919-715-2009
704-782-3528
Representative Michael Speciale
N.C. House of Representatives
16 W. Jones Street, Room 1008
Raleigh, NC 27601-1096
919-733-5853
252-635-5326
Episode 05 – Conspiracy!
New episode! Episode 05 – Conspiracy! This week, we open up our microwave to record some crystal clear audio and talk about our Commander in Chief’s love of conspiracy theories. Mr. Spartan recently became aware of the Flat Earth conspiracy, so we discuss the “science” behind that. (Spoiler – “that’s stupid!”) It’s all out there, people – you just have to start making random connections between disparate topics and gigantic leaps in logic, and pretty soon you’ll be pulling on the thread that unravels your reality. Stay woke, y’all!
Download on Stitcher, iTunes and Spreaker!
Alt-Earth
This was our first audio story in Feb 2017. Here is the draft script presented for the first time.
Alt-Earth
Fake news!
Dishonest media!
The Press has been demonized continuously in the last few weeks by the current Administration. The 45th President of the United States has called them an Enemy of the American People, and the Opposition Party.
The Press seem to be on a veritable warpath against the Administration, going so far as to label their statements as outright lies.
On January 22, 2017, Kellyanne Conway, a Counselor to President Trump, first mentioned the phrase “Alternative Facts,” in an interview on Meet the Press. This was meant to explain that the point of view and observation of reality may vary within the Administration, and was being provided as they interpreted events, in contrast to the way that others perhaps saw them. This began a cycle of mockery and endless memes, as well as fairly vicious and vociferous reportage of every statement that seems odious, dubious, or not easily proven by historical evidence and data. On the surface, this reaction from the Mainstream Liberal Media seems fair.
But perhaps, this rather knee-jerk reaction is only skimming the surface in order to easily score points, and ignoring the potential truth that lies beneath.
After conducting an in-depth analysis of these so-called Alternative Facts, I’d like to propose a solution that may explain some of these apparent discrepancies. Some may find this to be ludicrous. Some may say I’m being facetious. Some may say I’m just crazy. To those people, I say, “yeah, but still…” However, if you take off your skeptical, non-prescription, hashtag-woke hipster glasses for just a second, put on a tin-foil hat and join me, you may just see the inherent, and, potentially, indisputable logic of what I’m about to propose.
First, some background.
The Many-Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics, according to an entry published by Lev Vaidman in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “holds that there are many worlds which exist in parallel at the same space and time as our own.” “The fundamental idea of the Many-Worlds Interpretation…is that there are myriads of worlds in the Universe in addition to the world we are aware of.”
In October of 1995, Rainer Plaga proposed an experimental test of the Many-Worlds Interpretation, describing an “interworld” exchange of information energy. The further extrapolation of Plaga’s work could allow for inter-world communication or energy exchange. Or more.
Further extrapolation of this idea can be broken down more simply as this: we do not live in a universe; we exist in a multiverse. There are an infinite number of worlds branched off from an infinite number of decisions that occupy the same space we do now. These worlds exist at a slightly different vibrational frequency than we do, and so we are free to live our lives without being aware of our other-selves operating on other worlds.
You may see where I’m going with this.
It’s becoming more and more apparent that the possibility, some would say extreme likelihood, exists that key members in and around the Trump administration are, in fact, refugees from an alternate world, and may have been here for quite some time. This explains several slips that they have made, and really casts the term “alternative facts” in a completely different light.
Based on their statements, as well as a basic, partially remembered and understood knowledge of our own past, I will now try to reconstruct some probable moments in history of their Alt-Earth.
It seems as though much of their history is likely very similar to ours, with a few minor, but key, differences.
The Administration’s seemingly close ties to Russia
It seems likely that one key change occurred in and around 1944. On Alt-Earth, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, with his health failing, nonetheless remained steadfast in his support of friend and Vice-President Henry Wallace, securing the party nomination and winning a fourth term in office. Upon Roosevelt’s death, it was Wallace, rather than Harry Truman, who succeeded him as President of the United States. While he was unsuccessful in wresting control of the nuclear weapons program from the hands of the military, he was ultimately successful in ending the war with Japan without the atomic destruction of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. This would also go to explain statements made by President Trump that seem to paint nuclear war in terms of a theoretical bogey-man, rather than an experienced terror. The lack of historical and institutional memory of these devastating events may allow for nuclear holocaust to be used as mere saber rattling, as its actual deployment remains unthinkable as an event that could, or did, actually occur.
A strong believer in honoring our agreements, and of vast global partnership being key to worldwide success, President Wallace and the United States continued to be an ally of the Soviet Union. He followed through on promises to help the Soviet Union rebuild after the conclusion of the second World War, leading to continued close ties to the country over the following decades.
The Biggest inauguration ever. Period.
At his first White House press conference, Press Secretary and Communications Director, Sean Spicer, said that “this was the first time in our nation’s history that floor coverings have been used to protect the grass on the Mall.” He went on to imply that these coverings created an optical illusion, visually reducing the ability to see the vast numbers of people that were on-site.
It seems obvious that on Alt-Earth, the National Parks Service operates as a wing of the military, and, as such, has developed ground coverings with stealth capabilities. These are often used on their military bases, on both foreign and domestic soil, to help conceal the true number of troops and vehicles in the area that are ready for deployment. It is particularly successful in obfuscation of troops from aerial drone and satellite camera, as well as lenses owned by members of the Associated Press.
Terrorist attacks that seemingly never happened
(“#rememberBowlingGreen” – Alt-Twitter, probably.)
On January 29, 2017, Ms. Conway mentioned The Bowling Green Massacre in interviews with both Cosmopolitan and TMZ. On February 2, 2017, she again mentioned it on the cable news program Hardball with Chris Matthew. No records of a Bowling Green Massacre can be found on this Earth. (Although, if I had to just wildly speculate, I’m sure we did something terrible to Native Americans there at some point. But that would have been more “Manifest Destiny” than “Jihad”.)
During the same time period, Mr. Spicer stated that Muslims perpetrated a successful terrorist attack in Atlanta, Georgia. No record of such an attack exists on this Earth.
On February 18, 2017, at an event held in a “massive…massive hangar” (“For the big planes.”) in Melbourne, Florida, President Trump seemed to allude to an attack that took place in Sweden the previous day. “You look at what’s happening. We’ve got to keep our country safe. You look at what’s happening in Germany, you look at what’s happening last night in Sweden. Sweden, who would believe this? Sweden.” He then listed several other locations in Europe that have experienced terrorist attacks within the last few years, tying Sweden to that type of occurrence. An exhaustive search, including just asking the @sweden Twitter account, resulted in nothing to corroborate this statement. On this Earth.
Responses from the people making these statements have varied: claims that they “misspoke;” “didn’t say that;” “shut up;” “yeah, but still…”; or just stony, angry silent stares.
I would propose that “misspoke” is probably closest to the truth. “Unintentionally mentioned a historical fact from a different Earth” is probably more accurate.
The mention of something happening in Sweden so recently seems to also indicate that they are still in contact with operatives on Alt-Earth, and keeping up with current events.
It seems clear that each of these attacks actually occurred on Alt-Earth. This could, in fact, be the smoking gun that validates this entire theory. Could it be that certain individuals in and around the Trump administration have travelled to our Earth in order to prevent such attacks from occurring here? Is it possible that they somehow saw us heading down a similar path that led to catastrophic events and “carnage” on their own world? Or is it possible that they are attempting to create some kind of cataclysmic event here, in order to bring over additional (non-Muslim) refugees from Alt-America?
Walking between the raindrops
When speaking about his Inauguration, Mr. Trump has stated that he had been “hit by a couple of [rain] drops” as he stepped up to deliver his address, but the skies then cleared, as though by the hand of God. “And the truth is, it stopped immediately, and then became sunny…And I walked off, and it poured after I left. It poured.”
Many viewers (a record number), as well as on-hand spectators, would attest that it seemed to begin to rain at the same time the President began the address. It rained for the duration of his speech, and continued after he had concluded.
The clear conclusion to be reached here is that on Alt-Earth, climate, precipitation and weather are measured and perceived differently. It would also be fair to speculate that even the rain on Alt-Earth is a conspiracy perpetrated by the Chinese government, and is not to be trusted.
Secret Muslim/Birtherism
Then-Citizen Donald Trump made several claims over the last eight years that President Obama was not a US citizen, had forged his birth certificate, and was ineligible to serve as President of the United States.
The obvious conclusion is that, on Alt-Earth, Barack Obama, Sr. married Ann Dunham in Kenya after she had renounced her US citizenship. They raised their son as a militant Muslim Jihadist. Alt-Earth Barack Obama grew up to found the Islamic State, leading several attacks around the world.
Citizen Trump, alarmed that someone that had caused so much “carnage” on Alt-Earth had been elected President of the United States on our Earth, began waging an Info War against him, fearing that he may be similar to his Alt-counterpart.
Probable Alt-Agents
While it is unclear whether “our” versions of these individuals have simply switched places with their Alt-versions, or if something more sinister has occurred, it seems likely that there are several Alt-Agents operating on our world.
Kellyanne Conway – Is it possible that the mention of “alternative facts” was actually a sly nod to her co-agents? Is it possible that dressing as a Local Musical Theater Revolutionary War Officer is the height of fashion on Alt-Earth?
Sean Spicer – Come on. If there is anyone in the world that looks as though he has lived through an extreme process to cross the dimensional barrier, is paranoid about being discovered, and not dealing with the stress well, it’s Mr. Spicer. Look at his Wikipedia picture from just a couple of years ago, and look at him now at the White House. Tell me – Is that the same man? Or has he been replaced?
Alex Jones – Noted Radio provocateur and conspiracy theorist. He seems to have been extremely influential to Mr. Trump, both before and after the election. Many people have speculated for years that Alex Jones is a nefarious agent of a shadowy government agency, and is in fact, actually presumed dead comedian Bill Hicks. These people hold the belief that Bill Hicks was also a previous identity of a deep cover agent. Hicks then “died” when that cover was no longer useful to the agency. I would propose that Mr. Jones is, in fact, Alt-Bill Hicks, and was an early arrival from Alt-Earth, seeding the airwaves with “conspiracy theories” that mirrored actual Alt-Earth events.
President Donald J. Trump – While he may or may not be from Alt-Earth, he is certainly deeply aware of what has occurred there and an Alt-Earth sympathizer working to further their agenda. However, even the selection of his Twitter handle, @realdonaldtrump, seems to indicate that he is trying a little too hard to prove his authenticity.
There is certainly a lot of information still to be gathered, and discussion to be had on this topic. There does seem to be quite a bit of merit to this Alt-Earth theory, though – I’ve heard lots of people saying it. Would it involve science far more advanced than we’ve seen on this Earth to breach the barrier between worlds? Well, sure. But that doesn’t mean it’s not possible. Nay, probable.
I’m sure some of you are banging your head against the wall and screaming, “you’re an idiot!”
To you I say, “that’s hurtful.”
Most of you, though, are probably calmly saying, “but, while the Many-Worlds Interpretation is fascinating, and this idea obviously has merit, do you not think we should also consider lex parsimoniae?” To which I would reply, “Latin is a dead language,” and then do a quick search of that term you just used.
The Law of Parsimony, or Occam’s Razor, states, “Among competing hypotheses, the one with the fewest assumptions should be selected.” In lay terms, “the simplest answer is usually correct.” That is a fair point. To apply this principle to the instances which were discussed above, we would have a much simpler conclusion to reach: these people are unrepentant, unscrupulous, virulent liars. Just absolutely fucking terrible liars that do not respect the American populace in the least, and give absolutely no fucks about what they say to us, because they think we’re too ignorant and stupid to understand or care.
But that’s just fucking heartbreaking, isn’t it? Wouldn’t you feel better thinking that maybe they come from a world where walking up and forcibly grabbing someone’s genitalia without their consent is viewed as a sign of compassion and respect? Where Russia is our gruff, but friendly, older brother? Wouldn’t that instill more hope in your heart?
You’re probably right, though.
What a bunch of dickbags.