MASSSACHUSETTS: State law requires you to pay $50 if you scream "Yankees suck!" at a sporting event

The oddest thing in the previously secret Olympics bid chapters was not the huge deficit or the denigration of opponents, but the reference to a state law that prohibits swearing at athletes and coaches and sporting events.

Because, yes, of course, Massachusetts has a law against that: MGL Chap. 272 Sect. 36A, which states, in its entirety:

Whoever, having arrived at the age of sixteen years, directs any profane, obscene or impure language or slanderous statement at a participant or an official in a sporting event, shall be punished by a fine of not more than fifty dollars.

Chap. 272 is, of course, the collection of laws related to "crimes against chastity, morality, decency and good order," which include laws against such things as child pornography, animal cruelty and upskirt photography, but also laws you'd be amazed are still on the books in the Commonwealth, especially since some have been overturned by court decisions.

These include a law banning the sale of all contraceptives, except to married people, and only then witha doctor's prescription (which was overturned in Eisenstadt v. Baird in 1972); a ban on blasphemy - including "contumeliously reproaching Jesus Christ or the Holy Ghost, or by cursing or contumeliously reproaching or exposing to contempt and ridicule, the holy word of God contained in the holy scriptures" (one year in prison); a prohibition specifically on making loud noises in a library; and a law that defines what it means to be a tramp.

As to why Boston 2024 even brought up the no-Yankees-sucks-chanting law, it was in a section of its bid proposal that dealt with specific Massachusetts laws related to sporting events.

VIA: Universal Hub

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Economist combats 52 progressive myths taught to college students

Jesus was a progressive. The Great Depression was caused by capitalism. Government spending brings jobs and prosperity. The minimum wage helps the poor. You’ve probably heard at least one of these phrases before, perhaps from a professor or a classmate. But according to a group of economic experts, all of these statements are myths.

Lawrence Reed serves as president of the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE), and as a former economics professor, he is aware of the many myths that are told to college students by progressive faculty. Reed recently worked on a book entitled, “Excuse Me, Professor,” a collaboration with FEE and Young America’s Foundation (YAF), which debunks 52 ideological myths that are often presented in the classroom.

Reed says the book is intended to serve as “intellectual ammunition” for students. He presented some of the key points from the book on Friday at YAF’s Road to Freedom seminar held for college students.

While not all college professors are liberal, progressive ideas generally dominate in the academic community.

“Academia is heavily dependent upon government to begin with,” Reed told Red Alert Politics. “While I wouldn’t go so far as to say they are bought and paid for, they certainly tend to have an innate bias in favor of where their bread and butter comes from.”

Reed is particularly troubled by the myth that capitalism caused the Great Depression. It has been taught and repeated so often, it still affects people’s thinking today, he said.

“A lot of people still think that the free market failed during the Depression and FDR had to come in and save us,” Reed explained. “Nothing could be further from the truth. He actually prolonged the Great Depression with his policies.”

Reed also combatted the notion that Americans should strive to achieve income equality, an issue that many politicians use to score points with voters.

“We should be equal before the law, but thereafter, we are not equal in terms of our character, of our talents, of our willingness to work, our willingness to take risks,” Reed said. “There are a million reasons we are different, so you’d have to expect a free society would be an unequal one.”

Reed argues that achieving income equality is not a desirable outcome, or even possible in our society.

“Free people are not equal, and equal people are not free,” he told students.

Via: Red Alert Politics

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Southern Baptists cozy up to GOP after pulling back

When it comes to political partisanship in the 2016 presidential race, it might be said that Southern Baptists have taken one step forward and two steps back.

The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, the political arm of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), announced in a press release that its president Russell Moore would be interviewing Republican candidates Jeb Bush (live) and Marco Rubio (via video) before 13,000 attendees at the denominations’ missions conference on August 4. Leading candidates from each major party were invited, the release states, but only Rubio and Bush accepted.

But in April, denominational leaders disinvited Republican candidate Ben Carson from speaking at their annual pastor’s conference after a group of young leaders and bloggers decried his invitation. They raised theological concerns because Carson is a Seventh Day Adventist, and said having him speak would send a message of partisanship that could compromise the denomination’s prophetic witness to both parties.

It’s difficult to understand how giving Bush and Rubio a voice at this conference is sufficiently different from allowing Carson to speak at the previous one. The Southern Baptist Convention has been a vocal ally of the Republican party in recent years, and this latest move indicates that they are having a difficult time breaking from their past behavior.

Given Southern Baptists’ strong support of Republican candidates in years past, many were surprised by the criticism to Carson’s invitation this past Spring. The denominations’ gatherings throughout the ‘90s and 2000’s often featured appearances or video messages from Republican politicians and even presidents. But times have changed, and some younger voices in the denomination seem to have less tolerance for using the denomination pulpit for politicking.

“Younger Southern Baptists…are less likely to be enthusiastic about a pastors’ conference lineup that may, in some way, communicate unity around a political platform rather than the gospel of Jesus,” Baptist blogger Trevin Wax wrote after Carson was removed from the program.

Wax added that “Younger Southern Baptists fear that a display of partisanship will sacrifice the meeting’s ability to be a prophetic voice in relation to both parties.”

After it was initially announced that Carson would be speaking, a group of young voices on the “Baptist21” blog led the movement opposing the invitation. They did not mince words: “Our suggestion is that we believe it would be prudent for future SBC leaders to stop inviting politicians to our meetings. Period.”

But were they really offering a period or was it more of an asterisk? Those bloggers have remained mum following the latest announcement that Moore, a figure these young Baptists consistently celebrate, would be doing the very thing they claimed would “mute our voice in this culture” and compromise their ability to “keep a prophetic voice with both parties.” (The original post at the “Baptist21” blog is not currently live, but it has been widely cited elsewhere.)

In conversations with multiple denominational employees, all said they felt varying degrees of discomfort with the decision to host Bush and Rubio but cited an unspoken policy against criticizing other denominational agencies and declined to comment publicly.

Via: Religious News

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UAF chancellor restores Mississippi state flag to campus display

FAIRBANKS—The University of Alaska Fairbanks started the week by taking down the Mississippi state flag because of its inclusion of the Confederate battle flag emblem, but the flag went back up on Friday.

UAF Chancellor Brian Rogers explained in a post to his Facebook page that he "reluctantly" decided to replace the flag based on comments he's received since Monday.

"The tone and content of some of the responses I received this week have convinced me that it is in the best interest of UAF to return the Mississippi flag to the Circle of Flags, but I do so reluctantly," he wrote.

When asked about the content of the responses Rogers received, UAF spokeswoman Marmian Grimes pointed to social media, where Rogers' decision has been generally opposed.

"As evidenced by the discussions on social media, there are certainly strong opinions on this issue," she said via email. "He reviewed those, along with other verbal and written responses he received, and decided it was best for UAF to return the flag to the display."

The flag had been displayed along with every other state flag at the Cornerstone Plaza on UAF's lower campus.

The move came among intensifying national debate on the Confederate battle flag after it appeared in pictures of a gunman in a racially motivated massacre at a historically black church in South Carolina. Critics have said it still serves as a powerful symbol of slavery and racism.

Juneau earlier this month removed the Mississippi flag from a display along a prominent road.

On Friday, Rogers explained his original decision, saying he felt "it was inappropriate for a campus that values diversity to display a flag that many see as a symbol of racism."

Rogers said he hopes discussion about the flag continues in hopes that efforts in Mississippi to change the flag will be successful.

"I encourage members of the campus community to continue a reasoned dialogue on symbols and other manifestations of racism in our community and throughout the United States," he wrote. "I hope that similar discussions nationwide will help the Mississippi speaker be successful in his efforts to change their state flag."

Contact staff writer Matt Buxton at 459-7544. Follow him on Twitter: @FDNMpolitics.

Via: Newsminer

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IRS Says It Won't Propose New Spending Rules For Political Groups Until After 2016 Election

IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said the agency does not want to be seen as attempting to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.

By Taylor Tyler | Jul 24, 2015 03:59 PM EDT

The consensus seems to be that for the 2016 election cycle, political expenditures will shatter records, with overall spending by candidates, parties and outside groups and individuals expected to approach $10 billion. (Photo : Twitter Photo Section)

IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said Thursday that big-money political groups will not have to worry about the agency imposing new rules on their campaign spending activities before the 2016 presidential elections, reports The Associated Press.

At least partially due to not wanting the IRS to be seen as trying to influence the outcome of the election, Koskinen said the agency won't adopt new regulations for the political activities of tax-exempt organizations until 2017.

In 2013, the Treasury Department and IRS proposed new rules that would have clarified how the IRS defined political activity and how much money nonprofits are allowed to spend on that political activity, reported The New York Times.

The rules would have affected social welfare groups such as Crossroads GPS, co-founded by GOP strategist Karl Rove, as well as the pro-Obama Priorities USA, but after significant backlash from both conservatives and liberals, the IRS pulled the regulations and started re-working them, reported Reuters.

The consensus seems to be that for the 2016 election cycle, political expenditures will shatter records, with overall spending by candidates, parties and outside groups and individuals expected to approach $10 billion.

Via: HNGN

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Chart: Almost Every Obama Conspiracy Theory Ever (The Way Liberals Think. SCARY!!!!)

Fake birth certificates, ghostwriters, teleprompters, a teenage trip to Mars, and more of the most paranoid and bizarro Obama conspiracy theories out there.

Barack Obama's presidency has been an inspiration to many Americans—especially nutjobs. Ever since the first-black-president-to-be appeared on the national political stage, a cottage industry of conservative conspiracy theorists has churned out bizarro, paranoid, and just plain racist effluvia—some of which has trickled into the political mainstream. Below, we've charted some of the Obama-baiters best (i.e., worst) work. (Scroll down for more detailed descriptions of the conspiracy theories in the diagram.)

THE CONSPIRACY THEORIES

Disclaimer: It should go without saying that none of these are true. Follow links at your own risk.

Obama is a secret Muslim: This one began right after he took the stage at the 2004 Democratic convention, with chain emails alleging his "true" religious affiliation. The rumor soon found its way onto the popular conservative online forum Free Republic, and took on a whole new life in the years to come. Related: Obama secretly speaks Arabic, attended a madrassa as a kid in Indonesia, referred to "my Muslim faith" in an interview, and was sworn in on a Koran. 

Steve Brodner

Obama is bringing 100 million Muslims to America: Avi Lipkin and his PR outfit Special Guests claimed to have evidence of a scheme to bring roughly 100 million Muslims from the Middle East into the United States, converting the country into an Islamic nation by the end of Obama's second term and making it easier to obliterate Israel.

Obama once aided the mujahideen: Harlem pastor and professional race-baiter James David Manning contended that in his younger days, Obama went undercover as a CIA agent to facilitate the transfer of cash and weapons to the Afghan mujahideen in the '80s, thereby aiding what would become the Taliban.

Obama is in the pocket of the Muslim Brotherhood: Billy Graham's son Franklin wants you to know that Obama is allowing the Muslim Brotherhood to take over the federal government.

Obama redecorated the Oval Office in Middle Eastern style: Driven by his fierce sense ofanti-American interior design, Obama got rid of the red, white, and blue decoration scheme in his White House office. 

Obama married a Pakistani guy: World Net Daily correspondent and conspiracymonger extraordinaire Jerome Corsi posted a video in which he claimed to have "strong" evidence that Obama was once married to his college roommate from Pakistan. The smoking gun: Photos of the chums in which the future president is "sitting about on the [Pakistani roommate's] lap." Related: For years Obama wore a gold ring on his left hand. Was it his gay-wedding ring?

Obama's ring has a Koranic verse on it: The very same ring, which Obama now wears as his (straight) wedding band, is allegedly emblazoned with a key phrase in the Islamic declaration of faith: "There is no god except Allah." (It's not.)

Obama was funded by a Saudi prince: Another fairy tale courtesy of Corsi: In late-'70s Chicago, Obama secured political and academic funding from a variety of sketchy Arab sponsors, including a Saudi prince. Which may explain why President Obama bowed to the Saudi king when they met in 2009.

Obama was born in Kenya: In early 2008, fringe theorists began a push to prove Obama was born on foreign soil and was therefore ineligible to live in the White House. The theory gained national attention thanks to the efforts of perennial GOP candidate Alan Keyes, "birther queen" Orly Taitz, and Corsi. Related: Obama's birth certificate is a fake, he killed his grandmother in Hawaii because she knew the truth, sealed access to his birth certificate and other damning documents, and did pretty much everything horrible you could possibly do for the sake of a phony birth certificate.

Obama lost his US citizenship: According to Corsi, Obama became a citizen of Indonesia while he lived there as a child.

Steve Brodner

Michelle's "whitey" tape: During the 2008 campaign, rumors surfaced that a video of Michelle Obama using the word "whitey" would be released to sink her husband's campaign. It's never materialized. Related: The time Glenn Beck called Barack Obama a racist. 

Obama was a Black Panther: Well, only if you're not very good at spottingphotoshopped images.

Obama is the son of Malcolm X: Because, you know, black people. This charmer popped up on Atlas Shrugged, Pamela Geller's anti-Muslim website. (Geller is also known for obsessing over Shariah turkeys she believes are destroying Thanksgiving.)

Obama is the son of Frank Marshall Davis: The conspiracy film Dreams From My Real Father espouses the theory that Davis, a leftist activist, was not only Obama's ideological mentor but his biological father. Related: Obama got a nose jobto make his nose look less like Davis'.

Obama's mom and dad were communists: That would be his real father, Barack Obama, Sr. And you know thatcommunism is an inherited condition.

Obama's ghostwriter was Bill Ayers: Conservative commentators claimed they uncovered evidence that ex-Weatherman Bill Ayers was the true author of Obama's 1995 memoir Dreams from my Father. Beyond their shared radicalism, Obama asked Ayers to help because he had writer's block.

Obama trained to overthrow the government: In 2008, leading Obama conspiracy theorist Andy Martin declared on Fox News' Hannity's America that the then-presidential candidate had trained for "a radical overthrow of the government" during his time as a community organizer in Chicago.

Obama wouldn't say the Pledge of Allegiance: During the '08 campaign, Obama was rumored to have refused to say the pledge during a town hall meeting. A photo of the incident was actually taken while the national anthem was being sung.

Obama removed the flag from Air Force One: …and replaced it with his campaign logo.

Obama ordered soldiers to swear allegiance to him: In April 2009, a clearly satirical report detailing how secretary of defense Robert Gates was growing "extremely frustrated" with the White House's plans to scrub the Constitution from the military oath of loyalty made the rounds on the right-wing blogosphere.

Obama secretly gave away American islands to Russia: Texas House candidate Wes Riddle endorsed this theory and noted the relinquishment as grounds for impeachment. However, the seven Arctic islands were actually given away in 1991 by President George H.W. Bush.

Steve Brodner

Obama caused the recession—in 1995: According to a recent Daily Caller story, Obama's efforts to force banks to lend to African Americans in the mid-'90s led to the subprime mortgage crisis that killed the economy in 2008.

Obama's youth reeducation camps: Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) warned that "young people will be put into mandatory service" at politically correct, billion-dollar camps run by the Democrats.

Obama's coming for your guns: Extreme gun-rights outfits, along with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), alleged that the Obama administration is supporting the (nonexistent) United Nations Small Arms Treaty, which would lead to nationwide gun confiscation. Unfounded fears of gun confiscation have multiplied since the Newtown massacre.

Obama's coming for your gold: This theory was floated by Glenn Beck—and the gold company he shilled for.

Obama is planning FEMA concentration camps: Again with the camps. This theory got a big boost from Glenn Beck (whoclaims he didn't mean anything by it). Related: An executive order titled, "National Defense Resources Preparedness," was issued in the middle of March 2012. Conservative commentators saw it as a martial law power-grab that allowed the president to commandeer farmland, steal everyone's food, and draft any American into slave labor for a war of aggression against Iran. Also, he has a "secret vault" at Interpol's headquarters for imprisoning Americans. (Chuck Norris is on the case.)

Obama wants to confiscate your IRA: Townhall.com sent out an message ad claiming that Obama wants to seize your retirement account by force.

Obama caused the BP oil spill: Conspiracy-minded radio host Alex Jones promoted the theory that the Deepwater Horizon spill was all part of the administration's plans of oil nationalization and global government.

Obama was behind the Aurora massacre: In July, Gun Owners of America blasted out a press release claiming that the mass murder at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, was suspiciously timed. "Someone in Washington" was probably behind it, paving the way for Obama-led firearm confiscation and "government genocide."

Obama personally caused Hurricane Sandy: It wasn’t global warming that made Sandy so intense; it was Barack. Alex Jones' site reported the president engineered the storm using a Pentagon weather modification project. The mayhem caused by the hurricane would afford Obama the opportunity to score points by briskly managing disaster relief a week before the election.

Obama had Andrew Breitbart killed: In March 2012, conservative media impresario Andrew Breitbart died of heart failure. Less than a month prior to his death, he had announced that he had uncovered footage of Obama's formative years as a radical. So obviously, Obama had him offed. (The tapes were later revealed to contain things like a young Obama hugging a black college professor.) Related: People—like a Rod Blagojevich fundraiser and an Obama impersonator—died between 2008 and 2012. Obama was in office between 2008 and 2012…coincidence?!?!

Steve Brodner

Obama spiked the jobs report: "Jobs truthers" (like former GE CEO Jack Welch and Florida tea party congressman Allen West) accused the Obama administration of cooking the September unemployment numbers to manufacture a rosier picture of the economy and boost the president's chances of reelection.

Obama faked bin Laden's death: Since no photographs of Osama bin Laden's corpse were produced, the Al Qaeda leader must still be out there. Fox News' Steve Doocy and Andrew Napolitano entertained the idea that Operation Neptune Spear was merely a ploy to revive Obama's sagging approval ratings. Related: Obama was photoshopped into the iconic killing-OBL White House photo.

Obama's plan to fake an assassination attempt: A false-flag operation would create urban tumult and give Obama the pretext to declare martial law, thus suspending democracy, postponing the 2012 election, and prolonging his stay in office. The theory was flagged by Tenn. State Rep. Kelly Keisling, among others, after circulating online.

Obama's planning a third term: The dust from the 2012 election had barely cleared when this one popped up.

Obama the brainwashing hypnotist: As a master of neurolinguistic programming, Obama convinced Americans to vote for him via subliminal messages. Related: Rush Limbaugh pondered if hypnosis was the reason that so many Jewish voters were in the bag for Obama. In October, Georgia GOP lawmakers held a briefing on the president's secret mind-control plot.

Obama's teleprompter: Obama's eloquence is a myth! The 44th president is incapable of speaking in public with his teleprompter.

Obama had a ghostwriter for everything: Jack Cashill over at WND had a hot scoop on how Obama's love letters to his college girlfriend were ghostwritten.

Obama's anti-Semitic poetry: However, according to the American Thinker, Obama's ghostwriters did not write his youthful poem "Underground," which compares Jews to fig-eating underwater apes and echoes Koranic verse.

Obama's exiled lover: Obama was supposedly fooling around with an attractive young staffer from his 2004 Senate campaign. Michelle Obama had the temptress packed off to the Caribbean before the '08 campaign.

Obama is gay: Which explains why he joined Rev. Jeremiah Wright's church. No, really. (Via Corsi, of course.)

Obama's crack cocaine/gay sex/murder orgy cover-up: In 2008, a small-time conman named Larry Sinclair and his kilt-wearing lawyer held a press conference to tell the world of the future president's murderous, drug-and-sodomy-fueled crimes.

Obama's campaigns were funded by drug money: During an October conference call organized to oppose pot legalization, a writer from Lyndon LaRouche's magazine asked about "reports [that both Obama's] 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns have been financed in part by laundered drug money."

Obama is the Antichrist: Obviously. Related: If you play his 2008 Democratic nomination acceptance speech backwards, you can hear him instruct listeners to do Satan's bidding.

Steve Brodner

Obama is a lizard overlord: According to codes hidden in Biblical verse, Obama is a reptilian humanoid. This idea has found its way on to some right-wing radio shows, and two Daily Caller reporters recently published a (satirical?) e-book on the topic titled, The Lizard King: The Shocking Inside Account of Obama's True Intergalactic Ambitions by an Anonymous White House Staffer.

Obama's adventures on Mars: As a teen, Obama participated in a CIA initiative to teleport to Mars using a top-secret "jump room." Self-described time travelers William Stillings and Andrew Basiago claim to have met the future POTUS at American space bases on the Red Planet. In early 2012, a spokesman for the National Security Council actually acknowledged these claims, and issued a fairly convincing denial.

Via: Mother Jones

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[SPORTS] Pedro Martinez Hall of Fame induction: Comparing Pedro's brilliance to other MLB greats – / 92

Pedro Martinez's 1.74 ERA during the 2000 season puts into context just how much he dominated during his prime.

His ERA was three runs lower than the 2000 major league average ERA (4.76) and almost two runs better than Roger Clemens' 3.70 mark, which ranked second best in the American League behind Martinez's that season. 

Even more stunning about Martinez's 1.74 ERA: 2000 marked the height of the Steroid Era when offensive statistics were at their true peak. The 5,693 home runs hit league-wide that year marked the most ever in one major league season.

The league-wide average .782 OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) and 5.14 runs per game also were the highest they ever were during the Steroid Era.

But all that offense didn't matter when Martinez took the mound. 

The electric righthander recorded 10 or more strikeouts in 15 of his 29 starts. He held opponents to 0 or 1 runs in 17 starts on his way to winning his third Cy Young award in four years. 

He led the American League in ERA, shutouts (4), strikeouts (284), ERA+ (291), WHIP (0.74), fewest hits allowed per nine innings (5.3), fewest homers per nine innings (0.7) and strikeouts per nine innings (11.8).

That's dominance at its best.

The great Martinez will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Cooperstown, N.Y. on Sunday. He is just one of 11 pitchers in the game's history to have been named on 90 percent of the election ballots.

Based on that, the argument could be made he's one of the 11 greatest pitchers of all time. 

But it's not that simple. At the All-Star Game, Hall of Fame starting pitcher Sandy Koufax was named one of the four best living players along with Hank Aaron, Johnny Bench and Willie Mays. 

Koufax received 86.9 percent of the Hall of Fame vote in 1972. Koufax was picked over great pitchers Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, Steve Carlton, Jim Palmer, Martinez and Tom Glavine — all of whom are living and were named on 90 percent or more of the Hall of Fame ballots during their first election years. 

So let's dig deeper into how Martinez statistically compares to the other great starting pitchers in this game's history and how the most dominant stretch of years during his career compares with the other greats in their prime.

Via: MassLive

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[VIDEO] Iran: A BAD DEAL

Via: You Tube

Obama Internet Giveaway May Open Pandora’s Box of Porn

Introducing another social pathology to join all the others low–income homes already suffer from hardly seems like an improvement, but that’s the way government works as it “helps.”

President Obama has a new administration initiative, supported by tax dollars, to close the Internet pornography gap. The divide is caused by ill–gotten gains that give too many Americans fast, broadband access to the booming porn industry; while other Americans are reduced to lurking in seedy newsstands, sneaking peeks between the pages of lurid magazines and hoping the clerk doesn’t notice their free browsing.

ConnectHome “will bring high–speed broadband access to over 275,000 low-income households across the US.”

That’s good news for pornographers. They can always use new customers. Thirty percent of all data transferred on the Internet is porn according to The Huffington Post. While porn sites have more visitors than Netflix, Amazon and Twitter combined.

HuffPost also contends poor people are already online and elevating their heart rate. Mississippi is dead last in per capita income, yet this state leads the nation in average time — almost 12 minutes — spent per porn site.

There are a number of possible explanations. The extra time could be due to initial stupefaction on the part of Mississippi viewers or the Internet connection could be so turgid that viewers don’t want to waste time waiting for a new site to load. It’s even possible there’s a single Internet terminal in the library and viewers have to hot–seat the only chair.

Certainly closing the porn gap is not the official reason for the program, even though it’s likely to be the result.

Once again “it’s the children.” Cnet.com explains, “The effort will initially connect nearly 200,000 children to the Web.” Or as administration flacks put it, “While many middle-class U.S. students go home to Internet access, allowing them to do research, write papers, and communicate digitally with their teachers and other students, too many lower-income children go unplugged every afternoon when school ends.”

Via: Canada Fres Press

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