Let 'Em Die
Just prior to last night's Republican Tea Party Debate, comedian Andy Borowitz tweated a "hypothetical" debate question to the eight participants:
"How does your plan for dismantling the US government differ from al-Qaeda's?"
It was clear from the reaction of the Tea Party audience in attendance that many in the GOP want nothing less than the dismantling of government.
Take their reaction to Rick Perry.
They applauded loudly when he repeated his attacks on Social Security. They booed him loudly for a Texas law permitting high school graduates to pay in-state college tuition if they lived in the state for three years. They booed him even more loudly for his Executive Order mandating that every girl in Texas be vaccinated for HPV to avoid cervical cancer.
Paul was asked about a hypothetical healthy 30 year old who refuses to purchase health insurance, but is then hospitalized with a serious illness. Paul said the person was on his own. He made a choice in a "free" society. Paul was applauded loudly. He was then asked whether society should just "let him die." A crowd reaction is at about 0.58 in the following clip:
The takeaway from the Tea Party Debate is pretty clear. Social security, health care, tuition assistance, vaccinations are simply not the business of government for a large segment of the GOP's primary voters. You will be booed and heckled if you say anything good about government. You will be applauded for trashing government.
Hey, its a free society. If you can't make it on your own, well then maybe you just can't make it all.
Rick Perry, 17th Century Man
I never knew that the 17th Century controversy over acceptance of the Copernican theory that the Earth revolved around the sun was ignited, at least in part, by concern that it might lead to job losses.
But, a spokesman for the Perry campaign said today that the Governor's invocation of Galileo at last night's Republican Candidates Debate in support of his position on climate change referred to "vetting policies before implementing ideas that will result in job losses.”
Numerous internet searches have yet to turn up commentary by Galileo or his opponents as to whether acceptance of the Copernican would, or would not, lead to job losses. Transcripts of Galileo's trial in 1633 are not readily available. It thus is not known, for example, whether economists testified that acceptance of the theory would have had a stimulative impact on the Roman economy of the day.
But, with Rick Perry around, I guess you learn something new every day. He wouldn't say it if it wasn't true.
Rick Perry's Shape-Shifting
"In its broadest sense, shapeshifting occurs when a being (usually human) either (1) has the ability to change its shape into that of another person, creature, or other entity or (2) finds its shape involuntarily changed by someone else." (Wikipedia)
Mitt Romney is a well-known shape-shifter. He was "for" a whole host of things before he was "against" them. Health-care reform? Check. Gay rights? Check. Abortion rights? Check. Seeking solutions for climate change? Check. It seems that Mitt believes in, well, nothing at all.
Rick Perry, though, might be making a run for shape-shifter-in-chief in the GOP. We already know that Perry was once a Democrat and endorsed Al Gore for President in 1988. That was, of course, before Gore became "Mr. Global Warming." Supposedly. Gore actually convened congressional hearings on climate change back in 1976.
Another good one is now surfacing nationally. Perry is known to be a vocal and bitter foe of the President Obama's relatively modest health care reform initiative, and of "Romneycare" in Massachusetts. He is stumping all over the country saying that his goal as President would be to make the Federal government as "unobtrusive" in everyday life as possible.
It seems, though, that Perry had very good things to say about possible Federal solutions to the health care crisis back in the ancient days of the Clinton Administration. He wrote an official letter to Hilary Clinton in April 1993, telling her that her "efforts in trying to reform the nation's health care system are most commendable." He also branded those efforts as being quite "worthy." The Task Force that Clinton chaired later called for "universal health care" and a Federal mandate that employers provide health insurance to their employees. Obama's much more modest health care reform act did neither of those things.
The Perry campaign is defending Perry's letter by claiming he was simply looking out for rural Texans in his capacity as the state's Commissioner of Agriculture, and that he could not possibly have foreseen the "horrible monstrosity" that Clinton and Obama later "cooked up" on health care. The outlines of the so-called "Hilarycare" were well-known before Perry wrote his letter, and included a proposal to guarantee under Federal law that basic benefits would be available to everyone. MSNBC also notes that several objectives of the then-nascent plan are "now objectionable to conservatives like Perry, who has said he wants to use an executive order to dismantle 'Obamacare.'"
Nevertheless, the Perry campaign says we should "read the letter."
OK. Here it is. See whether Commissioner Perry was advocating supposedly "free-market solutions" to the health care crisis in rural Texas, or whether he was looking to the "obtrusive" Federal government for assistance:
The Dog Whistling Continues
There is just no satisfying some of the people any of the time.
You would think that everyone could now agree that the President is a natural born America who truly loves his country. He commanded the single greatest national security triumph in decades just days after squelching birthermania with the production of his long-form birth certificate. You would think. You would, of course, be wrong.
The Washington Times published an editorial the evening of May 3 that it titled "America's Muslim precedent." By itself, the use of the word "precedent" after the words "America's Muslim" might not have intended to convey a subconscious meaning that the editorial actually concerned "America's Muslim President." The rest of the editorial -- subtitled "Obama bungled Osama killing with too much respect for Islam" -- made clear what the Washington Times actually intended. The editorial is one long "dog whistle" to those that continue to believe that the President is un-American, and a secret Muslim. Here are a few choice tidbits:
- "The Obama administration goes to great lengths to say on the right side of Shariah." The "right side" of Shariah? Meaning what? Respect for Shariah? Adherence to Shariah? Devoted following of Shariah? It does not matter. All that matters to the segment of America the Times is trying to reach is to mention the word "Shariah" in the same sentence as "The Obama administration."
- "The abrupt timing of the terror leader's disposal is related to the Obama administration's desire to make certain that all U.S. actions in the war on terror pass Muslim muster." Given that the administration supposedly wants to stay perpetually "on the right side of Shariah," this statement implies that the administration is conducting the "war on terror" in accordance with Shariah, and not according to military and intelligence strategy.
- White House counterterrorism chief John O. Brennan employs a "reverential tone . . . when discussing matters Muslim."
- The President has a "well-known solicitude to Islam."
What kind of a person would have "reverence" for Islam? What kind of a person would display "solicitude" to Islam? Only a Muslim, of course.
The GOP is not happy that this black, left-wing Democrat kept his campaign promise to take out bin Laden when Pakistan showed itself to be unwilling and unable to do so:
Even worse, the black, left-wing Democrat took out bin Laden long after the Bush Administration showed itself to be unwilling and unable to do so:
The GOP does not have "national security" with which to kick Obama around in 2012. Obama can't be painted as being soft on terror. Those arguments died along with bin Laden. The economy also is in vastly better shape than when Obama took office in 2009.
The 2012 campaign will be all about gays, guns, abortion and "America's Muslim President."
The Big Fat Blue Binder
This wasn't supposed to happen.
Apparently sitting in Hawaii's vital records office is a Big Fat Blue Binder. It lists in alphabetical order the name of every child born in the state between 1960 and 1964. On page 1,218 is a listing for one Barack Hussein Obama II. To dispel controversy as to the existence of the Big Fat Blue Binder, the Associated Press included this nifty photograph of the tome with the story it ran over the weekend:
Here is an "up close" picture of the relevant page:
Although the Big Fat Blue Binder is an entirely public document and can be examined by anyone who signs a piece of paper showing they looked at the tome, a grand total of 25 people have apparently bothered to look at the document since March 2010. Why let the facts get in the way of a good conspiracy theory? Just yesterday, after news of the Big Fat Blue Binder circulated, Franklin Graham, the son of Billy Graham, went on ABC's This Week to throw his hat in to the Birther ring.
For The Birthers, the Big Fat Blue Binder must simply be the latest round in an elaborate campaign of fakery set in motion almost 50 years ago by Obama's hippie mother and his Kenyan Muslim father when their anointed child was born. It is, of course, a well-known fact that hippie chicks and Kenyan Muslims have given birth to the vast majority of U.S. Presidents. It therefore was only natural for Obama's parents to do whatever they could to get the Anointed One from Kenya to Honolulu as fast as possible so that documentation could be created out of whole cloth attesting to his supposed natural born citizenry.
Let's take a look at some of the other supposed fake documentation in this longstanding hoax. Here is the infamous "Certification of Live Birth," which is not as real or true as a "Birth Certificate":
According to Donald Trump, anyone can have one of those doo-dads typed up and embossed with a real-looking, but fake, state seal. In any event, we all know that identity theft is running rampant in this country.
Here is the supposedly phony baloney birth announcement strategically inserted by Obama's grandparents in a Honolulu newspaper shortly after the Anointed One was born:
And, we also have supposed picture of Obama's kindergarten class? As everyone knows, it is a pure photoshopped fraud:
Yes, Birthers, Obama-as-natural-born-citizen is the greatest hoax perpetrated on the American public since the government faked the Apollo moon landing. Keep digging.
America, Show Us Your Birth Certificates
Now that Donald Trump has hitched a wave of birthery bluster to the top row of the GOP's 2012 Big Top, its time to declare May 1 to be declared "Show Us Your Birth Certficate Day." This should settle it once and for all.
Every American should be encouraged, indeed required, to produce a Long-Form Birth Certificate on May 1 to prove indisputably that he or she holds undevoted allegiance to the US of A. "Certificates of Live Birth" will not do. The document should be a blue-ink original (black-ink is too easily forged), with an raised and embossed official state seal attesting to its unvarnished authenticity. Notariztion will be required in doubtful cases. Two notary attestations will be required in really doubtful cases.
A national birth certificate day certainly will help clear up some questions that I have with some of the potential GOP candidates in 2012:
Sarah Palin: Palin claims to have been born Sandpoint, Idaho. Her family supposedly moved to Skagway, Alaska when she was a few months old, then to some place called Eagle River and, finally, to Wasilla when she was about eight. Like Donald, I went to good schools. I'm a bright guy. I got good marks. People remember me. Heck, I still have my kindergarten class picture. Has Palin produced her kindergarten class picture? Isn't it strange that nobody has stepped forward to talk about what she was like in kindergarten? Isn't it strange that nobody has talked about finger-painting with her, or about playing Candy Land with her?
I want to see her birth certificate.
Mitt Romney: Obama's father was born in Kenya. Romney's father was born in Mexico. Romney needs to prove he is not Mexican.
I want to see his birth certificate.
Mike Huckabee: Huckabee claims that he was born in Hope, Arkansas. Yeah, right. No serious presidential candidate can claim to have been born in Hope, Arkansas.
I want to see his birth certificate.
Michele Bachmann: Bachmann claims to have been born in Iowa, yet she also claims to be "100% Norwegian." She needs to prove she was not born in Oslo.
I want to see her birth certificate.
* * * * * * * * * *
The importance of producing a Long-Form Birth Certificate cannot be overstated. Trump says he has seen a lot of fraud. He says those guys on Wall Street can conjure up pure unbridled fakery. Trump probably thinks this picture of Obama's kindergarten class is a figment of somebody's Photo Shop imagination:
Newt Gingrich: A Regular Elmer Gantry
I was really struck by an article that appeared over the weekend: "Newt talks faith at Texas church." Gingrich took to the pulpit at an evangelical congregation and "lashed out" at usual suspects -- college professors, the mainstream media, and the courts -- for leading America inescapably from the Christian values that supposedly guided the Founding Fathers.
Politico described the scene at the Cornerstone Church as a mix of an old fashioned Tent Revival and Fourth of July Picnic:
The evening worship was a boisterous celebration of American patriotism. A 100-person choir sang "God Bless America" and "America the Beautiful" between hymns. The church's orchestra struck up the anthem for each of the five military branches and a loud cheer went up for veterans and active duty members who stood up during their song.
One attendee commented: "I was really impressed with [Newt's] sincere faith . . . He didn't brag, but you can tell he's a man of God."
Newt's less-than-stellar adherence to his "sincere faith" in the past is quite well-documented. He claims he turned to God after all of the cheating on his former wives. He claimed famously that the cheating resulted from his love of country and his relentless focus on the People's Business:
Whether Newt is in fact "sincere" about anything is subject to serious debate. He was "for" the establishment of a "no-fly zone" in Libya before he was "against" it. He is "against" it now only because the President is "for" it.
Newt apparently will say anything to gain adherents to whatever he is selling at any given moment. His narcissism is abundant. He has no core values. Its all about Newt all of the time.
Newt's current shilling of his "sincere faith" is a page ripped right out of the novel "Elmer Gantry," although Newt obviously is not engaging in self-parody. The trailer for the 1960 film version with Burt Lancaster and Jean Simmons is a concise summary:
There is another word for Newt: Fraud.
Sex And Drugs And The GOP
Who said the GOP is an organization dominated by moral zealots seeking to stamp out good times? Three of its potential 2012 presidential candidates have been talking quite a lot recently about their "experimentation" with sex and illegal drugs in the past. They are proving to have been quite the partiers back in the day:
Rick Santorum: Rick comes off as the nerdiest guy in American politics. Here he is:
Rick supplied no details of his past toking, but I imagined he and his buds passing a bong around a dorm room blasting Led Zeppelin IV and playing it backwards over-and-over-again to unmask all of its many hidden truths. For today's Rick, though, this would be a very, very "bad thing" to do. He knows so. From experience.
Newt Gingrich: As we all now know, Newt cheated serially on his wives in the 1990s because he was focused so intently on doing the People's Business that he lost sense of the appropriate. I imagined a press conference that went something like this: "I did have sex with that woman. And with that woman. And with that one, too. I did it for my country." Newt certainly inhaled. A lot.
Mitch Daniels: The GOP governor of Indiana recently spoke with the Daily Princetonian about, among other things, the "most pivotal day" of his four years at Princeton. The following description sounds like something out of a Cheech & Chong movie:
Perhaps the most pivotal day of Daniels’ four years at Princeton was May 14, 1970 — the day of the drug arrest that Daniels thought would sully his political future. Officers found enough marijuana in his room to fill two size 12 shoe boxes, reports of the incident say. He and the other inhabitants of the room were also charged with possession of LSD and prescription drugs without a prescription. Daniels and his two roommates in 111 Cuyler Hall, Marc Stuart ’71 and Richard Stockton ’71, were arrested and, after plea bargaining, Daniels eventually escaped with a $350 fine for “maintaining a common nuisance.” The charges against Stockton were eventually dropped.
LSD, boxes of pot, presecription drugs without a prescription? Daniels was a stoner. Period.
Where is this all leading?
Will Michele Bachmann come clean on the reasons behind her zombie-like television appearances, and brain-addled concoctions of historical fiction? There must be more to this than the "snotty" historical fiction of Gore Vidal that supposedly caused her to become a Republican.
Will Sarah Palin come clean on the reasons behind her paranoia and instablity?
Will Mike Huckabee come clean on the reasons behind his breathtaking craziness? Or is he just addicted to the opium of the masses?
So, when the upper echelons of the GOP get their kicks by pandering to moral outrage as they they so love to do, instead of answering the question posed during the last election -- "where are the jobs?" -- we can rest assured that many of them speak from experience. Santorum says that does not make them hypocrites. They are just telling it like it is.
The hotel rooms at the GOP convention next year might prove to be quite lively places. Who da thunk?
Boehner's Defense of DOMA Answers The Pesky Question "Where Are The Jobs?"
Let's hear it for House Speaker John Boehner: He finally has an answer to that pesky question tormenting him for the past few months: "Where are the jobs?"
After the empty symbolic House votes on repealing the health care law, de-funding Planned Parenthood, Michele Bachmann's sound and fury over the readily apparent $105 billion in supposedly hidden health care costs, etc., etc., etc., Boehner along with House Majority Leader, Eric Cantor (R-Va) and House Majority Whip, Kevin McCarthy (R-Ca) took matters decisively into their own hands this week.
As the GOP majority on the House Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group, the three fearless leaders voted to direct the House General Counsel to initiate a legal defense of the Defense of Marriage Act ("DOMA"), which the Obama Administration dropped because it violates the Equal Protection Clause of the constitution. The General Counsel of the House says it lacks sufficient personnel to mount a far-flung defense of DOMA across the country over the next 18 months. Private lawyers therefore will need to be hired. And lots of 'em.
We are not talking about low-wage fast food jobs, here. We are not talking about strenuous jobs in sweaty factories. We are not talking about construction jobs in the elements.
We are talking about high-paying legal jobs in nice air-conditioned offices. Lawyers, paralegals, legal secretaries, technology staff, etc. This is a first-rate stimulus package, and it is not going to the fat cats in investment banks. Who cares if it is in the service of a mean-spirited, unconstitutional statute enacted in a different time when things were not nearly so "civilized" as they are today? Boehner's quick-thinking, decisive action even has an added benefit, too: the government will not need to add to its own bloated payroll by hiring additional legal staff. A win-win-win in all respects. The best of all possible worlds! Bravo, Mr. Speaker.
Maybe the Obama Administration can drop its legal defense of all federal statutes and programs with which the Right is enamored, so that Boehner, Cantor and McCarthy can direct the House General Counsel to hire more and more private lawyers to fight a moral crusade in courts across the land. Just think of the thousands of high-wage, high-skill jobs that will be created, all the while keeping America safe from moral turpitude. Boehner's tears of joy will be flowing freely and often.
Mike Huckabee's Duplicity
Merriam-Webster's online dictionary defines "Duplicity" as:
1. contradictory doubleness of thought, speech, or action; especially: the belying of one's true intentions by deceptive words or action
2. the quality or state of being double or twofold
3. the technically incorrect use of two or more distinct items (as claims, charges, or defenses) in a single legal action
Mike Huckabee says he is not a "birther." Lots of people say they believe him. Dave Wiegel wrote in Slate that Huckabee is, at best, "ill-informed" and ignorant of the personal biography of the President. But, Wiegel says, he did not hear any "birtherism" in Huckabee's radio rant that the President's supposed Kenyan upbringing imparted a view of "the Brits" that apparently is different than that of "the average American."
Let's take a close look at Huckabee's own words on the President's place of birth.
He said on ABC's "Good Morning America":
“If there was any shred of truth to it, Hillary Clinton and her wonderful investigative opposition (research) machine would have found it and would have used it . . . I think is a waste of energy and time.”
He said on the Bryan Fischer show:
"But what I have never done is taken to position that Obama was born in Kenya or Indonesia or anywhere other than Hawaii where he claims to have been born."
Catch Huckabee's drift on this?
Instead of saying "the evidence proves that Obama was born in Hawaii," Huckabee tells Fischer he takes no issue with Obama's "claim" that he was born in Hawaii.
Instead of saying "Obama was in fact born in Hawaii," Huckabee tells "Good Morning America" that Hilary Clinton's "wonderful" opposition research machine could find no evidence of Obama's foreign birth three years ago.
Huckabee actually is saying all sorts of things about Obama's birth. In his radio rant about Kenya, the "Brits" and the "Mau Mau uprising," he also said he "would love to know more. What I know is troubling enough." That undoubtedly referred to the President's place of birth. The non-apology apology issued by a spokeperson for the raido rant, however, said "the governor believes the president was born in Hawaii."
Huckabee has never slammed the door on "birtherism." All he can say is that Hilary Clinton failed to find evidence of Obama's foreign birth a long time ago, and that he believes Obama was born in Hawaii merely because Obama "claims" he was born in Hawaii. Huckabee's "contradictory doubleness" of thought, speech and action is stunning. He is at least duplicitous if he is not a "birther." Yet.
