Wednesday, April 27, 2011

You Can't Reason with the Irrational

So, by whatever fluke of legislation allowed this to happen, the White House gave the Birthers what they've been screaming for and released his full birth certificate this Wednesday. When I heard this, I knew it was a mistake and I could almost hear the Birthers crying foul. See, the Birthers are conspiracy theorists and are, by their very nature, irrational. Giving them more evidence that undermines their preconceived notions is how you debate with a rational person. For the irrational, you just have to smile, nod, pet them on the head and give them a cookie. No evidence you give a conspiracy theorist will make them stop and say; "You know, I might be wrong about this." Any evidence you give them will, to them, prove their positions correct.

"Of course he's showing it now! It's been three years, it'd take them at least that long to make the best forgery of all!"

So, basically, what's happened is he gave the Birthers what they asked for and now they're more sure than ever that he wasn't born in the USA.

And you know what's fucking hilarious? He could have been born on the moon and could still hold the office of the President. Article 1, Section 8, Clause 4 of the United States Constitution states that Congress shall have the power:

To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;

Obama's mother was a citizen of the United States and that alone makes Obama an American citizen. But don't bother waiting to hear that bit from the Birthers.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Florida and the 19th Amendment

Wow. Florida, thank you for making Oklahoma seem a little less fucked in the head.

According to the Angry Black Lady Chronicles via the Miami Herald, the Florida legislature introduced HB 1355. They claim it's to help strengthen election laws but if you actually care enough to take a little peek at the text of the bill, you'll find a couple of interesting tid-bits, such as:

Any voter who has moved and shows up at a polling site with evidence of the new address would also be forced to use a provisional ballot even though county elections supervisors now have access to a statewide voter database, created back in 2003, that can easily confirm a voter’s change of name or address.

Why would they have that little part in the bill if it wasn't to try and screw potential voters. This part really isn't that new, considering I believe Illinois has tried this at least once before (according to at least one bit of anecdotal evidence, I recall reading something more reliable a while back, but I can't seem to find it). Another part that is rather disturbing is:

Volunteers, who now can help resolve legal issues for individual voters at the polls, would be restricted because the bill lumps “legal advice” into the definition of solicitation and prohibits it within 100 feet of a voting line.

Cast your minds back to Florida's 2000 Elections and tell me this is a good idea. You'll get a cookie if you can do it with a straight face. But the part of this that rubs against the 19th Amendment is this:

A newly married woman wanting to vote on Election Day would no longer be allowed to show elections officials at the polls documentation with her name change to vote on that day. Instead, she would be forced to use a provisional ballot, which likely will mean that vote won’t be counted. In 2008, half the provisional ballots in Florida were thrown out, making it hard to contest.

They have singled out women for a law that restricts their ability to vote based on their gender and martial status. Don't believe me? Read the Nineteenth Amendment for yourself and paw attention to it.

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.


Shall not be denied or abridged. That is exactly what this law does and it is a flagrant violation of the Constitution. But, honestly, from what I have seen of the Republicans in the last two years, I can't really say I'm surprised. Their ability to piss all over the Constitution is unmatched by any other political party.

Trump's (lack of) Charity

According to an article from The Smoking Gun, Donald Trump is the most miserly billionaire. This in itself, does not surprise me, nor does it surprise me that Trump's foundation gave more money to Golf Foundations than it did to the American Cancer Society. What does surprise me is the commentators on the article, all of who see this as something positive.

Some people say that this shows that Trump is someone who will put America first over giving money to Third World countries. What it shows me is that Trump is someone who will put himself over America. It shows me that if he gets the chance, he'll do everything he can to shift the burden of the debt off of the richest of Americans and saddle the poor and the middle class with it.

But what really boggles my mind, is how these people can see the evidence laid out in front of them and still go to the voting booths come election day and vote against their own best interests.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Government Hands on your Medicare

Cast your minds back to not that long ago, back when Healthcare Reform was struggling to be passed; back when as soon as it passed Republicans were chanting "Kill the Bill" and teabaggers were shouting "keep your government hands off my Medicare!"

You do remember that, don't you, teabaggers? "Keep your government hands off my Medicare"? You remember how you took that to the voting booths and elected good Republican/teabagger representatives to office so they'd kill the bill and keep their government hands off your Medicare? Welp, guess what, kids? You've been played like a fiddle. They whipped you up into a scared, angry, blind stupor, sent you to the voting booths, and are now putting their government hands on your Medicare.

Remember when King Shrub II wanted to slash funding for public schools and instead give out vouchers for private schools? Well, it seems Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) wants to do the same thing...only this time, by cutting funding for Medicare and replacing it with government vouchers for private insurance plans. Oh, but don't worry! See, unlike minimum wage, these vouchers will rise with inflation. Uhh...oops. It also seems that the cost of private insurance is rising a lot faster than that, so those vouchers will eventually be next to worthless.

Why are they putting their government hands on your Medicare? Why, do deal with the deficit, of course! What's that? We could have dealt with the deficit to pretty much the same levels if you'd let the Bush-era tax cuts expire? Surely you jest! Why, one day you'll join the ranks of the super wealthy through hard work and boot straps and you don't want to have to pay your taxes like the serfs you once were! Why, it's the American dream!

That's right, grandpa, it's the American Dream, but we live in the American Reality. The gap between the rich and the middle class is wider now than it ever was and you, my dear Teabagger in your Rascal and toting your oxygen tank, are in your twilight years. You've lived your life as a serf, you'll die as a serf. The only question remaining now is; do you want to support people who are going to do everything in their power to make sure the poor stay poor and the rich get richer and who will ensure your grandchildren will live in poverty for the sum of their lives as soon as they get the chance? Are you really going to let your irrational fear of the evil Big Government blind you and leave you easily manipulated by those who value you only as a tool to use for their own agenda?

Thursday, April 14, 2011

New Blog, Same Old Story

I've been reading this and that and seeing all sorts of things going on in the world of the political and, because I am one of those quirky Americans who has balls enough to call himself a Liberal, I thought I would go and post my thoughts and rants and all that fun type of stuff. But, then again, I've also remembered that being Liberal doesn't mean I'm always politically correct.

Now, let us turn to local news here in Oklahoma...please, save the groans until later. You'll need them.

From Tulsa World News comes an article nicely titled Oklahoma House OKs Additional Restrictions on Abortion. Oh yes, let the good times roll. I think what I am going to do is ignore HB 1888 (interesting number, it seems to be the year the Okie Republicans want to drag us back to) and the part of HB 1888 that will pretty much ban abortion after 20 weeks and instead, I shall focus on SB 547.

SB 547 bans "elective abortion" from being covered under the Patient Protections and Affordable Care Act. What is "elective abortion" you may ask? Interestingly, it is defined in SB 547 as "anything other than to prevent the death of the mother."

That's right, folks. See, with SB 547, if a young girl is raped by, oh say, her brother and ends up pregnant, then her parents will have to go out and buy a much more expensive private insurance plan in order for her to abort it, or her parents (or the girl herself) will have to foot the total of the bill. There is no exception for rape or incest under SB 547.

What a bastion of morality, this place known as Oklahoma.