Colorado State Senator Dave Schultheis: Asshole or Imbecile? You Decide!

Democrats were outraged Wednesday morning when Republican state Sen. Dave Schultheis said he planned to vote against a bill to require HIV tests for pregnant women because the disease “stems from sexual promiscuity” and he didn’t think the Legislature should “remove the negative consequences that take place from poor behavior and unacceptable behavior.” The Colorado Springs lawmaker then proceeded to cast the lone vote against SB 179, which passed 32-1 and moves on to the House. The Colorado Independent

Here’s a transcript, prepared by The Colorado Independent, of what Schultheis said:

Thank you, Madam President. You know, this was a difficult bill for me. I voted yes in committee on it because of discussions surrounding the fact that — well, let me just basically say this, it basically modifies the communicable disease laws and it requires the health care providers to test pregnant women for HIV unless they opt out. And that’s basically, that’s the main part of this bill. I voted yes on it. I was a little bit troubled with my vote and was just wondering what was bothering me. I woke up the next morning — Thursday morning — at 5 a.m. and I wrestled with this bill for another hour from 5 to 6 and finally came to the conclusion I’m going to be a no vote on this. I’m trying to think through what the role of government is here. And I am not convinced that part of the role of government should be to protect individuals from the negative consequences of their actions.

Sexual promiscuity, we know, causes a lot of problems in our state, one of which, obviously, is the contraction of HIV. And we have other programs that deal with the negative consequences — we put up part of our high schools where we allow students maybe 13 years old who put their child in a small daycare center there.

We do things continually to remove the negative consequences that take place from poor behavior and unacceptable behavior, quite frankly, and I don’t think that’s the role of this body.

As a result of that I finally came to the conclusion I would have to be a no vote on this because this stems from sexual promiscuity for the most part, and I just can’t vote on this bill and I wanted to explain to this body why I was going to be a no vote on this.

Snooks Eaglin (1937 - 2009)

Snooks Eaglin, the idiosyncratic New Orleans rhythm & blues guitarist known for his fleet-fingered dexterity and boundless repertoire, died Wednesday, Feb 18. He was 72. The digits on Mr. Eaglin's right hand flailed at seemingly impossible angles as he finger-picked and strummed a guitar's strings. A set by the so-called "Human Jukebox" could range from Beethoven's "Fur Elise" to Bad Company's "Ready for Love." Juke Joint Soul

Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA): Mr. No Bailouts!

It's no surprise that Rep. Cantor is against additional bank bailouts now that his wife's bank received $267 Million in bailout funds. Had Rep. Cantor possessed even the most atrophied sense of professional ethics, he would have recused himself from any house debate on bailouts. This smarmy, media whore needs to be taken by the ear into the dark recesses of the House chambers to have his tiny balls slammed between hard-bound copies of the 2009 Stimulus Bill and Plato's Republic.


"The bailout for New York Private Bank and Trust (NYPBT) [2] came earlier this month as part of a Treasury Department program to boost "healthy banks" with extra capital. NYPBT is the holding company for Emigrant Bank [3], a savings bank with 35 branches in and around New York City. Diana Cantor runs the Virginia branch of Emigrant's wealth-management division, called Virginia Private Bank & Trust, which targets an ultra-rich clientele."
Olga Pierce, Pro Publica

Dumb and Dumbest

As our economy continues its unabated slide into the abyss, rising unemployment, especially among the poorly educated, will foster the rise of a uniquely American neo-fascism. Our inability to provide meaningful skills training for the growing number of working-class citizens who now find themselves shut out of the American Dream will provide a rich medium for the growth of intolerance, racism, and xenophobia. Fueled by false patriotism and lead by a political aristocracy fattened on corporate money, these nameless citizens will demonstrate again and again that it's easier to hate than to understand.

Don't think it could happen here? Unemployment hasn't hit double-digits yet, except for Michigan, and you can already see the growing tide of intolerance in the comments posted on a You-Tube clip of Obama's election. When asked by a reporter why Obama's election was so important to her, a black woman replied that she didn't need to worry about her mortgage or her car payment – that Obama would help her. This woman was simply expressing her joy that after 8 years of Bush's indifference to working Americans, President Obama now has the opportunity to restore some of the workplace protections Bush eliminated for his corporate friends. The ignorance expressed in many of the comments speaks for itself.

this is what happens when you let n#gg##rs and stupid emotional women vote you get socialism

I love how all the black people are so hyped up over having a black president, but half of the n#gg#rs don't know jack shit about politics.

Most black people are stupid. That's why so many of them are at the bottom of society.

He's an illegal bastard alien president that the stupid people voted him in. He's your pied piper, leading america to definite depression since the 30's.you blacks are nothing but parasites.

call me racist all you want. This bitch is a n#gg#r and a dumbfuck. Anyone who says stupid shit like this should go back to africa.

Typical n#gg#r. Too lazy to work, and just wants to live off food stamps and welfare checks. Go back to africa.

"Not only is the society still permeated by racism and sexism and the stereotypes they spawn, but we have allowed a debased and profoundly immature culture to emerge in which the coarsest, most socially destructive images and language are an integral part of the everyday discourse."

Bob Herbert, Signs of Infection