Inspire Political Discourse

Palin and the Separation of Church and State

The silly twit never seems to get the history. Has she ever even read any American history? Or European? Is she even aware of that thing called The Enlightenment? You know, that period that the Founding Fathers were a part of, and that strongly influenced the founding of this country, as well as the principles contained in our Constitution. We are, in fact, blessed with a "Godless" constitution.

A certain former half-term governor appears to be drifting even further away from the American mainstream. Over the weekend, appearing at an evangelical Christian women's conference in Louisville, Sarah Palin rejected the very idea of separation of church and state, a bedrock principle of American democracy.

She asked for the women -- who greeted her with an enthusiastic standing ovation -- to provide a "prayer

A Hero in the Making: Bob Cesca Takes on Glenn Beck

This past week, liberal blogger, Huffington Post columnist, and book author, Bob Cesca, in his column on The Huffington Post, proclaimed his intent to expose the right wing Fox News Channel maniac, Glenn Beck for what he is: a FRAUD.

Beginning with this post, I intend to expose Glenn Beck as a fraud. A dangerous faker who deliberately manipulates his audience by appealing to their basest instincts. As a man who only embraces conservatism and the tea party movement as a means to furthering his significant personal wealth and career as a successful TV goon.

My theory is as follows. Glenn Beck is engaged in a carefully orchestrated performance that, if taken to its logical end, can only end up in tragedy -- a tragedy, not in the name of some great political or social or religious cause, as too many of his viewers might believe, but rather in the name of pure careerism and greed. A tragedy in the name of Glenn Beck's personal drive for fame and fortune, not to mention the similar motivations of Roger Ailes and Rupert Murdoch.

It only took Glenn Beck 36 hours to respond, and it was a response that was unexpected considering that Beck, who earned $32 million last year, has a much larger following than Cesca, and one would not expect such a response.

The Truth About the Uninsured and Emergency Room Services

The GOP likes to say that

In this country, the uninsured are covered by emergency room services.

This is only slightly truthful, and more false than it is true, with the actual truth being, of course,  far more complicated.

The uninsured are ONLY covered by ER care in so far as STABILIZATION. They do NOT receive one tiny bit more care than is necessary to STABLIZE the condition for which they sought care via the emergency room. The underlying condition is not treated.

REAL LIFE EXAMPLES:

1.  Bob goes to the ER because he is having difficulty breathing. He also has lung cancer which is the underlying issue re his breathing difficulty. Bob is given a breathing treatment, and referred to an oncology specialist.

The oncology specialist will not see him because Bob has no insurance. Bob is relegated to dying of treatable lung cancer without even the ability to obtain the drugs needed to control his pain as he dies.

Bob is also billed an outrageous amount for this minimal care. It is certainly not given freely, and the hospital will SUE Bob or his family if it is not paid.

THIS is what happens to the uninsured.

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In the emergency room, the uninsured are ONLY TREATED FOR STABILIZATION, NOT FOR THE UNDERLYING CONDITION.

2. Mary has an asthma attack, goes to the ER where she is stabilized, and sent home within a couple of hours with 3 prescriptions.
Without prescription coverage, the cost of these 3 common prescriptions is $442 for a one-month supply, and Mary has to make the decision between the drugs and food because she is on a fixed income. .
Mary is subsequently billed by the hospital for $1800, which she also can not afford.

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3.  Tom-- a twenty year old college student who was covered under his step-father's insurance plan until his step-dad divorced Tom's mom. He now has no insurance, and can not currently work because of what turns out to be a herniated disc in his spine.

He lives with constant pain, and does not go to the doctor because of an inability to pay.

One evening, unable to tolerate the worsening pain, he begs his mother to take him to the hospital.
He is examined, and told he must see a specialist, and undergo an MRI. He receives a couple of Vicodin for pain, and a prescription for an anti-inflammatory, as well as Vicodin. .

His mom fills the prescriptions for him, but they can not find a specialist who will work with him because he has no insurance coverage.

Meanwhile, the hospital bills him for the visit at the rate of $4000. He can't pay it, it is sent to a collection agency and his credit is ruined at the age of 20.

THIS is the reality of the uninsured.

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AMERICA is the ONLY COUNTRY IN THE INDUSTRIALIZED WORLD that does NOT TAKE CARE OF ITS CITIZENS.

Sarah Palin: The Ugly American

Will the Republicans Attempt to Impeach President Obama? Yes.

From Bob Cesca, on the Huffington Post:

If the Republicans ever manage to retake Congress, they will absolutely try to impeach President Obama. And it'll be based upon a supremely ridiculous charge such as, say, the president refusing to nourish our crops with a sports drink instead of water.

Okay, so maybe the Idiocracy example is over-the-top, but if we follow the current trajectory of far-right attacks to their logical yet insane conclusion, it makes sense in a very eerie way. Have you seen the television commercials solemnly defending our right to poison our kids with "juice drinks and soda?" There you go.

I've been following the Republican descent into the realms of the bizarre for some time now, and it wasn't until the "czars" thing broke that I became convinced that if they retook Congress the Republicans might try to impeach the president. The grounds for both the impeachment and the language used to sell it will likely be fabricated by either Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh.

I mean, 100 Republican members of Congress have signed onto Rep. Jack Kingston's cartoonish czar bill. 100 House Republicans out of 177 have attached their names to a bill that was essentially invented as a television bit by Glenn Beck without any regard for the fact that "czar" is a nickname invented by the press, and that every president -- all of them! -- has employed policy and political advisers within their administrations. But it functions as an effective Beck attack because he knows his audience isn't bright enough to distinguish "czars" from "communists." By the way, not to be out-crazied by his House colleagues, Senator Ensign introduced an amendment to the Finance Committee health care reform bill called "Transparency in Czars." This might as well be "Transparency in Hobbits" because it's just that ludicrous.

Nevertheless, there's a growing conventional wisdom in the press alleging that both sides of the political spectrum are equally guilty of wackaloon attacks and conspiracy theories.

Granted there might be one or two very fringe exceptions but this is otherwise a false equivalency written by the establishment media as part of their self-conscious effort to seem balanced. The distinction is that any "fringe" attacks from the left during the Bush years weren't mainstreamed and legitimized the way the wingnut attacks are today, even though the fringe attacks from the left turned out to be mostly accurate.

Continue reading http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-cesca/the-impeachment-of-presid_b_297330.html

Get rid of Joe Wilson!

There is a larger issue than health care, and that is the morality of those who govern us. I am tired of the white sheeters, and I won't be silent.

Ignoring the T R A S H  won't make it go away, it just ends up stinking more.

Donate to WIlson's opponent:   http://www.actblue.com/page/kossacks4miller

Contribute to an ad to censure Joe Wilson: https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/targetwilson?refcode=pof_e1#&key=25182547

info on Wilson:  http://www.vote-usa.org/Intro.aspx?Id=SCWilsonJoe

UPDATE – SEPT. 12, 2009

Wilson, once considered one of the safest of the Republican incumbents, is now in a dead heat with his opponent, Rob Miller, according to polls.

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) finds himself electorally vulnerable in the wake of his "You lie!" outburst during President Obama's address to a joint session of Congress, according to the latest numbers from Public Policy Polling.

Rep. Wilson (R-S.C.) trails challenger Rob Miller 44 to 43 percent in the poll. Wilson defeated Miller 54-46 in the 2008 election. […..]

The Republicans Are Freaking Crazy!

I suppose it would be too much to ask that the Republicans behave like normal human beings. You know, valuing things like TRUTH, empathy, intelligence, etc.. Argh…..they are the absolute WORST I have ever seen them. From the MSM down to the Jeebus freaks on the streets, they are lying, ranting, conniving, and while it may not be politically correct to say it, I truly believe that they would rather see this country completely destroyed than see the Democrats in power. And it isn’t like they don’t understand what their party did to this country. Hell, a complete idiot could see it. Talk about the verge of destruction……

Currently, as always, in their inimitable fashion, they are running around like the proverbial chickens with their heads cut off. But, unlike those chickens, they can not stop whining, lying, squawking. This is apparently a manifestation of their inability to accept the political demise of the GOP, as evidenced by their thorough drubbing at the polls during the last two election cycles.

So anyway, the past few days have simply been the same old, same old in

A case in point could be made of Bill O’Reilly, who is now known as the the GOP’s Stalker of Liberal Bloggers.

wingnut land. Media who steps all over and out of the boundaries of intelligent discourse, and dimwitted followers who….what else but follow, of course.

O’Reilly reacted to a single comment posted by Amanda Terkel to the ThinkProgress.org blog. It happened like this.

When O’Reilly announced that he was scheduled to speak at a fundraiser for the Alexa Foundation, a group that supports rape survivors, Terkel posted the following:

TERKEL: In the past, however, O’Reilly has made controversial comments about an 18-year-old woman, Jennifer Moore, who was raped and murdered, implying that it was partially her fault. O’Reilly called her “moronic,” adding:

OREILLY: “Now Moore, Jennifer Moore, 18, on her way to college. She was 5-foot-2, 105 pounds, wearing a miniskirt and a halter top with a bare midriff. Now, again, there you go. So every predator in the world is gonna pick that up at two in the morning. She’s walking by herself on the West Side Highway, and she gets picked up by a thug. All right. Now she’s out of her mind, drunk.” source

Please note that Terkel’s post in no way criticized the Alexa Foundation, as you watch the video of O’Reilly’s producer going after Terkel.

Terkel’s own account of the ambush by O’Reilly Factor producer, and prime hitman, Jesse Watters.

Watch Olbermann’s interview of Terkel below.

And the end result? ThinkProgress.org is now conducting a campaign to end O’Reilly’s show. Whether it will be successful or not is anyone’s guess, but advertisers are reacting. Join the campaign and help to put an end to this kind of harassment by Republicans on liberals.

Meanwhile, I am bloody sick of thinking about Republicans today. Ciao.

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UPDATE NO. 3 – April 1: O’Reilly lies again, claims Think Progress smeared a rape victim, when in fact, HE smeared a rape victim. Video at TP. From ThinkProgress.org:

Yesterday on The Factor, Bill O’Reilly addressed ThinkProgress in his “Reality Check” portion of the show, “a segment set up to defeat deceit.” And of course, O’Reilly proceeded to peddle deceit, claiming that “far left zealots…attacked a rape victim and her family because they asked me to speak at their fundraiser.” Wrong. We never attacked the Alexa Foundation; we simply highlighted quotes from O’Reilly that were unsympathetic towards a rape victim. O’Reilly has never explained why he implied that women who dress in a certain way or consume too much alcohol should perhaps expect to be raped and murdered. Watch last night’s segment.

UPDATE NO. 2 - March 27: Olbermann names O’Reilly “Worst Person” for his stalking of liberal blogger, Amanda Terkel.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

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UPDATE NO. 1 - March 27: UPS announces that it will stop advertising on the O’Reilly show due to his stalking/harassment of liberal blogger, Amanda Terkel. From ThinkProgress.org:

In response to our Stop Supporting The O’Reilly Harassment Machine campaign, UPS told us yesterday that it was investigating whether to continue supporting O’Reilly’s show. “We are sensitive to the type of television programming where our messages and presence are associated and continually review choices to affect future decisions,” spokeswoman Susan Rosenberg told us.

Today UPS announced it will stop advertising on O’Reilly’s show. Here is the statement UPS emailed out just moments ago:

Thank you for sending an e-mail expressing concern about UPS advertising during the Bill O’Reilly show on FOX News. We do consider such comments as we review ad placement decisions which involve a variety of news, entertainment and sports programming. At this time, we have no plans to continue advertising during this show.

Reuters/India image.

How the Republican Party Has Defined Itself, and What We Must Do About It

I hate that I have been unable to report the political news for the past two weeks. In part because I truly enjoy it, but primarily because it has been completely mind-boggling to watch the GOP as they finish themselves off via their refusal to work for their constituents and their country rather than the corporate interests who put them in office, and the party who now claims Rush Limbaugh as it's fearless leader, and Joe-the-not-a-plumber as a valued adviser (and don't even let me get started on Joe-the-freaking-loser-idiot!!).

On the other hand, I believe that it is naive to expect the GOP to work in concert with a Democratic leadership. Good for the country though it would most certainly be, the Republicans have shown complete disdain for Democrats for at least 28 years now, and during the reign of Bush-the-Fascist-King, the intensity of that disdain only grew ever larger. The Republican party with whom we often managed to find consensus in the distant past, is gone. In it's place is a a theo-fascist amalgam which seeks to serve only itself and corporate interests. That amalgam, combined with their unwillingness to live up to their original credo, and go for fiscal restraint, makes them a very out-dated, and dangerous force in this country, and yet still a force with which we must deal, until they go the way of the Whig party. More on the dealing with the Repubs in a later post.

At this point, the GOP has become, through it's own doing, nothing more than a regional fringe party for the wealthy, and the stupid, with common ground in their worship of theocratic values, social absence, and civil inequality. These people are not our partners or friends, in fact, they demonize and disdain everything even approaching liberal thought. We must make sure that they are even further marginalized and made completely irrelevant prior to the 2010 elections. We can not afford not to. 

 

Frank Rich/NYT on Michael Steele:

Steele’s argument against the stimulus package is that “in the history of mankind” no “federal, state or local” government has ever “created one job.” As it happens, among the millions of jobs created by the government are the federal investigators now pursuing Steele for alleged financial improprieties in his failed 2006 Senate campaign.

VIDEO: Tim Kaine Answers Questions About the Economic Recovery Plan

This is the video that was sent to the 3,000+ people who held house parties for Obama. It lays out the plan in a simplified form, and answers questions from people who contacted the Democratic Party.

If you have questions, please don't hesitate to ask. I probably won't know the answers, but I will try my best to get the answers for you.

We need to get behind President Obama and assist him as best we can to clean up the disaster created by the Republicans. It has become very clear that they have little interest in anything other than their next election cycle, and their seeming hope for Obama to fail so that they look better to the American people. We must not allow them to go forward. They have shown us their complete lack of regard for the American people, and we must show them the door. We can do this by working together to repair our country, and by supporting Obama, and by staying on the Republicans even when there is no campaign to be won. That means now.

As Bob Cesca said in an op-ed yesterday, they have zero credibility. Let's make sure it stays that way.

The Partisan Credo of the GOP, and What Obama Should Do About it

As American citizens, most of us realize that once a thing gets to Washington, it is always politicized. For bad or worse, this is acceptable in American politics, but only to a degree. There is a fine line which you cross at your peril, and this week, in their egregious politicization of the stimulus plan, the G.O.P. crossed it, and then crossed it again, and again, and, well, they aren't done yet.

PARTISANSHIP IS IN THE G.O.P. CREDO, FOR THE LOVE OF PURE RANCOR - PRESIDENT OBAMA MUST LIVE IN THE MIDDLE GROUND.

“We are trying to change the tones in the state capitals -- and turn them toward bitter nastiness and partisanship. Bipartisanship is another name for date rape.”

Prominent Republican, Grover Norquist¹, expressed his feelings about partisanship in an interview with the Denver Post in 2003. In his comparison of bipartisanship to date rape, he succinctly laid out the GOP take on bipartisanship. Yes, seriously, date rape. When the interview was published, the conservative tome, The Nation, publicly squealed in delight.
From Cliff Schecter, on finding the middle ground, as the Republicans hug partisanship close:

there is a middle ground between George Bush-style, temper-tantrum-laden Deciderism and reaching out to every atavistic crank and rightwing extremist with a colourful flag lapel pin and contempt for all objective discovery post-Copernicus. It is in this middle ground where the Obama administration must live.

In other words, there is no problem sitting down with the likes of George Will and John Boehner to try and charm the opposition - although I might recommend a full-body condom and inoculations just for safety's sake. But publicly expressing your wish for 80 votes in the Senate in favour of your economic stimulus bill (which means getting the votes of slightly more than half the Republican caucus) and agreeing to more and more tax cuts that only serve as a stimulus for those who have forgotten to take their erectile dysfunction pills in corporate boardrooms and conservative conference halls is too large a price to pay with an economy on the precipice.

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FOOTNOTES: 

¹Grover Norquist - Norquist, along with Bill Kristol, Ralph E. Reed, Jr., Clint Bolick, and David McIntosh, is one of the so-called "Gang of Five" identified in Nina Easton's 2000 book by that name, which gives a history of leaders of the modern (post-Goldwater) conservative movement.Norquist was one of the co-authors of the 1994 Contract with America.
Norquist is also a close friend of Karl Rove, and of Jack Abramoff. Indeed, Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform, sold their clout to Abramoff, and were tied to the Abramoff scandal. Jack Abramoff is currently incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Cumberland, Maryland.

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Take it to the People

Never mind the damn Republican obstructers, and the Blue Dog Democrats. Screw 'em. They wish to play politics when this country is in deeply serious trouble, tell 'em to take their balls and go home, because they aren't working for the people who not only voted them in to office, but pay their freaking salaries!.Take it to the people, Obama!

That really is all you need to do.

UPDATE - Jan. 26 - One of the "eggers-on" of the obstructionists, Bill Kristol, seemingly lost his position as a columnist at the NYT. For further info, read Jason Linkins on the HuffPost, and to view Kristol's last, pathetic lying column, click here. So long, Billy, we will not miss ya. In my collage below, Kristol is Old Neocon No.3.

UPDATE - Jan. 26 - Nobel prize winning economist, Paul Krugman weighs in. Bolding is mine. From the Int. Herald Tribune (NYT global):

As the debate over President Barack Obama's economic stimulus plan gets under way, one thing is certain: Many of the plan's opponents aren't arguing in good faith. Conservatives really, really don't want to see a second New Deal, and they certainly don't want to see government activism vindicated. So they are reaching for any stick they can find with which to beat proposals for increased government spending.

 

Obama and the Neocons Who Dined

Obama's neocon dinner companions turn out to be the proverbial snakes in the grass.
Some of the neocons (except perhaps McCain, was actually honored at a dinner by Obama) that Obama had dinner with last week. They went on to brag about it afterwards, and then apparently, due to shaky self-esteem issues perhaps, proceeded to lambaste Obama's stimulus plan. FYI, neocon snakes, you were wrong on nearly everything throughout the past eight years. Certainly, no one is really going to listen to you now, and dialogue with you is impossible because you refuse to desist from the partisan crap. From Think Progress:

Just one week later, Obama’s right-wing acquaintances have already shown the futility of engaging in a good-faith dialogue with them. While Obama pushes his vision for the economic recovery package — his first real battle against the conservative establishment — the dinner’s attendees are on a no-holds-barred offensive against it:

A Democracy Requires That We All Become Aware and Involved, or We Risk Losing it

My reasons for writing this post are solely to encourage you, and to arm you. I am compelled to do so not only by the events of the past eight years, but by what has been revealed in Keith Olbermann's interview with former National Security Agency analyst, Russell Tice.

My intent is simple: that you and your family, if you have not been focusing your attention on national politics, as indeed, I myself did not until last August, are able to become aware of and absorb the events that occurred in this country under the auspices of the Bush administration.

The events which sent the United States barreling towards becoming a Fascist Republic, and signified the end of our Democratic Republic. Indeed, in the 200+ year history of our nation, such a situation had never been allowed to occur, and yet it did, on our watch. We must guard our freedom well to prevent any possibility of a recurrence, because we love our children and our country. And guarding it requires awareness and action.

But..... it's over, you say. President Bush and Vice President Cheney are no longer in power. In part, certainly. However, in order to safeguard our freedom for future generations, we must all be aware of, and pass on what happened to this country to cause it to conform with the ideals of a fascist republic, and give up our constitutional rights to a group of men who sought power that was not their's under the tenets of our constitution.

This is so important, that this era of our history will forever become a part of all unbiased teachings about our constitution, the history of our republic, and so on. We as a country, came just this close to becoming what the constitution was supposed to have prevented.

It occurred because a group of men, led by President George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Karl Rove, sought an inordinate amount of power in order to personally benefit from the wielding of that power. Their methods included the intent to instill so much fear in the American people that we would willingly accept restrictions upon our liberty, the revocation of the tenets of our constitution, and they were indeed highly successful. They benefited personally on a scale never before seen, and we have been left with the nation's coffers empty, the monies handed over to Halliburton, Blackwater, and others, a resulting economic crisis of a magnitude not yet reached, a global financial crisis that may take years to recover from, two wars, one of them completely unnecessary and immoral, and our reputation in shreds all over the world. 

videos after the jump

Journey to the Inauguration of Barack Obama

Prior to November 4, I had been filled with nerves and trepidation regarding the future of this country. I had, for the most part, ignored politics for years, especially after the 2000 election as I believed and still believe, that the Republican machine intentionally and knowingly, stole it from the Democrats.

Then, I woke up. Sarah Palin was on a stage with John McCain, and she set off every alarm in my being. From the first minute that I saw her and listened to her speak, I understood that she was a phony, a straw man set up by McCain to lure the disappointed Hillary supporters.

That's when I began political blogging, and I turned my support from Hillary to Obama, as with McCain's nomination of Sarah Palin, I finally understood that John McCain was not just a poor second to Hillary, but that he was nothing more than a scared, egotistical little man who would sell out his country for a chance at the power of the presidency, and I knew that we must defeat him for ourselves, our children, and our country.

The Right Wing Stuff That Seriously Annoyed Me This Past Week

The G.O.P. Economic Stimulus Plan

Wrapping themselves in their usual partisan rhetoric, the right-wing bloggers are fiercely deriding any GOP pol who dares to voice support for, or even just remain silent about, Obama's stimulus plan. An example, from Hot Air:

“Like the rest of America’s economic braintrust, he’s not sure it’ll work at all. The furthest he’ll go is to say he’s “confident” it’ll “save or create” three million jobs; if you’re wondering what that means in real terms, just pick the number of jobs that you expect will be lost by 2010 and add three million to that. That’s how many we’ll be told would have been lost if this hadn’t passed. In fact, it’s his own pessimism that explains why he’s been so conciliatory towards the Blue Dogs and the GOP: It’s not about “changing the tone,” it’s about knowing that the ship’s going down and wanting Republicans on deck with him so that they don’t capitalize in the midterms. For reasons that escape me, the GOP’s evidently going to play along even though they’re powerless to stop the stimulus anyway. Maybe McConnell realized that opposing it is now semi-officially unpatriotic.”

And from Michelle Malkin:

The US Must Stand for Israel, and the Media Sucks

It's a sunny, cold Saturday morning, and you are outside getting ready to take your kids to their weekend activities. Your son has a one day camping trip with the boy scouts, and his ride shows up to get him.

A near by, huge, thundering, explosion causes you to jump and shake with fear. You look up and see smoke and fire rising from the street behind you. You tell your son and daughter to get back in the house, and rush in behind them. You hear the sirens and turn on the tv. The news has broken in to programming and is telling you that it's Canada, with whom we have had a peace accord for a year or so, launching rockets at us. They note that a woman died when this rocket struck a house.

Over the next months, you keep your children close. You are even afraid to send them to school, but you do because you must. More rockets fall, all from Canada. Two more casualties. It is a good thing that Canada is not nearly as well-armed as we are.

You wonder why the US does not respond with our own rockets, aircraft, whatever else they need to prevent more Canadian rockets from landing on US soil.

You wonder why Canada elected a terrorist group to run their government. A group called "al Qaeda" which has very vociferously announced it's intention to annihilate the United States. You think about what they have already done to us using airplanes, suicide bombers, and more. You cry, and you pray that the US will stop the rockets from Canada soon. The economic blockade that the US implemented when al Qaeda took over the Canadian government (elected by the citizens of Canada, knowing full well who and what al Qaeda is) has done nothing to solve the problems.

Leaders of the Anti-Civil Rights "Yes on Prop 8" Group "Command" the California Court to Nullify 18,000 Marriages

In a lawsuit filed by the leaders of the anti-civil rights group responsible for Prop 8, and representing the evangelicals, the Mormons, and all those well-meaning demented religious fanatics who think that they must have the ability to regulate the lives of us all, have "commanded", yes, the language used was "COMMANDED" the California courts to "bow" to the will of the people, and nullify 18,000 marriages.

From Dr. Jeffrey Feldman at the Huffington Post:

“The idea that civil rights can be stripped by a simple majority plebescite is not just unethical, but actually violates the principles on which our system of government is based.  First off, it is unconstitutional to pass laws that deprive citizens of rights guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution (e.g., equal protection), a basic point the Prop 8 folks do not seem to get.  Second, the purpose of the judiciary is to uphold the Constitution as form of systemic balance to the other two branches of government--not to bow down to them.

The language of the 'Yes To 8' brief suggests that group see itself in a moral struggle not just to strip gay people of rights, but to mobilize public against the California judiciary.

Time will tell which effort will hold the day.  However, I suspect there are few judges in California (or anywhere else) who respond well when lawyers 'command' them to 'bow' down.  Come to think of it, nobody responds well.  And when you think about it, that really is the point of this whole Prop 8 nonsense, is it not?   Try to strip American citizens of their equal rights, and when that does not work:  raise a bloody stink about the supposed despotic decline of the United States judicial system.”

Meanwhile, California attorney general, and former governor, Jerry Brown, has filed a lawsuit claiming that Prop 8 is in violation of the civil rights of "a classification of people". Hey, we told you that in November! Below, quoting myself from my original article.

“This being the case, Prop 8 is not a matter of legitimate policy. It is a law which revokes the federally guaranteed civil rights of a classification of people, and is thus unconstitutional, and would not hold up to a review by the Supreme Court.”

And Brown, as quoted in the LA Times:

“Proposition 8 must be invalidated because the amendment process cannot be used to extinguish fundamental constitutional rights without compelling justification.”

And indeed, both Brown and I are right. My question is, when he wins his lawsuit, how enraged will these prop 8 purveyors be? Ah, ever helpful, I have some suggestions for the inimitable purveyors of hate. Got any of your own? Tell me in a comment.

Obama's choice of Rick Warren to give the invocation at the inauguration is unacceptable.

As a progressive who strongly supports civil rights for all citizens, including those in the gay community, I was disheartened and angered when I read that President-elect Obama had chosen Pastor Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration.

While I believe that I understand his intent, I disagree with it. And just because he is a democrat does not mean that I will not speak out when I believe that he is wrong.

Obama's "talking points" (fabricated by myself, and only an opinion) and my responses:

• PEBO is modeling "tolerance".

Oh, please. Why should one be tolerant of someone who is intolerant? I have zero interest in being tolerant of a viewpoint which refuses to recognize a woman's right to choose, which does not afford the same civil rights to gays as to any other citizen, and which feeds on divisiveness.

• PEBO is practicing inclusion.

Inclusiveness is all well and good, however, inclusiveness of a man who is himself not inclusive, who does not support the civil rights of the gay community, indeed, who has been active in the "ex-gay" movement, a movement which simply ignores all scientific evidence that sexuality is not a choice, is unconscionable in my eyes.

Just my two cents which I posted in the discussion on change.gov. Be sure to make your voice heard also. The site is having problems with heavy traffic, so check back if you get an error page.

EDIT: They began a new discussion after 5,000+ rick warren comments swamped the service discussion. :)

Facts for the Right-Wingers Still Obsessing About the "Born Conspiracy"

I am quite sorry to disappoint those who believe in the validity of the "born conspiracy". I am however, bloody tired of listening to/reading the truly and deeply pathetic opinions of those who can not bear the thought of a black man occupying the White House (and yes, I think that has much to do with the fringe who are so bent on the idea that they can have this president-elect declared unqualified).

As you should know, the Constitution does not require that both of your parents be US citizens in order to become the president.  

Below you will find the full text of the 14th Amendment. Pay close attention to nos. 1 and 3, as they both discuss matters relevant to the  "born conspiracy".

Further, please note the word "naturalized". The definition of naturalized/naturalization via Wikipedia:

Naturalization is the acquisition of citizenship or nationality by somebody who was not a citizen or national of that country when he or she was born.
In general, basic requirements for naturalization are that the applicant hold a legal status as a full-time resident for a minimum period of time and that the applicant promise to obey and uphold that country's laws, to which an oath or pledge of allegiance is sometimes added. Some countries also require that a naturalized national must renounce any other citizenship that he currently holds, forbidding dual citizenship, but whether this renunciation actually causes loss of the person's original citizenship will again depend on the laws of the countries involved.

And the definition of "natural born" via Wikipedia.

The United States Constitution requires that Presidents (and Vice Presidents) of the United States be natural born citizens of the United States. Therefore, it is undisputed that children of American citizens born in the U.S. are eligible to hold the office of President upon reaching the required age, and that persons naturalized as U.S. citizens after birth are disqualified from holding that office.

For further information on citizenship and related matters, click here.

Finally, if the Supreme Court agrees to hear any of these moronic cases being thrown at it, it will likely do so out of a desire to finally make it perfectly clear, that these cases have no validity whatsoever.

Now, do try to find something else to obsess about because this whole thing has become utterly mind-numbing in it's stupidity, and you really should attend to your mental health before it fails you completely.

Amendment 14 - Citizenship Rights. Ratified 7/9/1868. Note History

1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Op-Ed: Stop Crucifying the Auto Industry

Author Note: I have no ties to the auto industry whatsoever, and no family members or friends who are employed by the auto industry.

I'll just be real up front about this. I am freaking tired of watching Congress lambaste the automakers, and here's why.

The government threw taxpayer dollars at the financial services industry as if they were on fire. $700 freaking billion dollars at an industry which begged and lobbied for deregulation all the while it was rewarding it's managers for poor performance.

Today we learned that Merrill Lynch's CEO has asked for a $10 million bonus. For what you ask? After all, the idiot completely took down his own company. Well, the jackass today said that he deserves a bonus for brokering the merger of ML with Bank of America because the losses would have been greater if he had not. Can he spell CORPORATE F*CKING GREED??