Sunday, May 29, 2011

law-abiding criminals

mean Republicans want to arrest criminals... those GOP bastards... what is the world coming to when a hard-working criminal can't break the law with impunity?... at least, that's what the DNC Chair, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, apparently thinks... in fact, that's exactly what she said:

I think the president was clearly articulating that his position — the Democrats position — is that we need comprehensive immigration reform. We have 12 million undocumented immigrants in this country that are part of the backbone of our economy. And that is not only a reality but a necessity. And that it would be harmful if — the Republican solution that I’ve seen in the last three years is that we should just pack them all up and ship them back to their own countries, and that in fact it should be a crime and we should arrest them all.
DNC Chair Wasserman Schultz

Thursday, May 26, 2011

the donkey and his purchaser

Chris Matthews laughs about murdering someone's "grandma":
And talk about an ad that's over the edge, literally. A liberal group has produced [ad plays onscreen.] Oh, there you see it, not holding back on that one. [Laughs.] Throwing grandma or- that's- I think it is supposed to be Paul Ryan pushing the wheelchair with grandma over the edge. That's in the Sideshow. We will show you the full ad.
Finally, grandma gets thrown off the cliff. A liberal group called The Agenda Project has just released an ad wacking at Paul Ryan's to privatize Medicare. Subtle? This ad is not.
Boy, I love the point of view on that one as she tries to slow down with her feet.
Chris Matthews Called Conservative Political Talk 'Ugly,' But Laughs at Murdering Grandma | NewsBusters.org

talk about "violent rhetoric"... and they're laughing about it... where is the outrage over this?... where are the media pundits calling for boycotts and investigations?

and where is the Huffington Post, which was so outraged with right-wing rhetoric, on this one?... no where.

maybe that's because Erica Payne is a main contributor to HuffPo... and who is she, you ask?... she's the founder of The Agenda Project... so much for reasoned and rational discussion... also, this person has the following bio:
At the Roosevelt Institute, Payne co‐edited Make Markets Be Markets: Restoring the Integrity of the US Financial Markets and produced a major conference by the same name that included George Soros, Elizabeth Warren, Simon Johnson, Lynn Turner and other experts.
Agenda Project, Progressive Group, Unveils 'F*ck Tea' Anti-Tea Party Campaign

you are known by the company you keep.

shut 'em down

Supreme Court Upholds Arizona Immigration Law
High Court Upholds Arizona Law Penalizing Employers Over Illegal Immigrant Workers

Federal Law:
Federal immigration law expressly preempts "any State or local law imposing civil or criminal sanctions (other than through licensing and similar laws) upon those who employ . . . unauthorized aliens." 8 U. S. C. §1324a(h)(2).

Supreme Court ruling:
A recently enacted Arizona statute — the Legal Arizona Workers Act — provides that the licenses of state employers that knowingly or intentionally employ unauthorized aliens may be, and in certain circumstances must be, suspended or revoked. The law also requires that all Arizona employers use a federal electronic verification system to confirm that the workers they employ are legally authorized workers. The question presented is whether federal immigration law preempts those provisions of Arizona law. Because we conclude that the State’s licensing provisions fall squarely within the federal statute's savings clause and that the Arizona regulation does not otherwise conflict with federal law, we hold that the Arizona law is not preempted.
(emphasis mine)

score one for "A government of laws, not of men."

The case is Chamber of Commerce v. Whiting, 09-11

Friday, May 13, 2011

Keith Olbermann Defends Michael Moore, Calls Out Ed Schultz (VIDEO)



so... what you're saying is, it's okay to diagree with the "official" point of view, but it's NOT okay to disagree with those who disagree... this is a very A>B arguement... try A=B, and get back with us.

i dislike Olbermann, Moore, and Schultz... but expression of opinion should have equal weight, no matter the source... liberals questioned every move of Bush... so don't be offended when anyone (liberal or conservative) questions Obama... but on the same token, if you support Obama (or Bush), then you deserve to have your point heard...

if Schultz thinks Moore's comments are "intellectual hand-wringing", so be it... Olbermann calling Schultz out is no less (nor more) than Schultz calling out Moore... nor less than Moore calling out Obama... nor less than me calling out Olbermann...

at some point, just shut up and listen to the other's point of view... you don't have to agree with it... just let them say it.

i think the lot of you are blathering fools, but that's just my opinion.

Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

uh-oh, here comes a flock of waa waas

no, not that Joe Walsh...
Joe Walsh Sends Letter to President Obama in Reaction to Immigration Speech in El Paso

Obama's original (sarcastic) comment about US border control:
They’ll say we need to triple the border patrol. Or quadruple the border patrol. They’ll say we need a higher fence to support reform.
Maybe they’ll say we need a moat. Or alligators in the moat.
- President Obama, May 10, 2011

Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill) has a serious (if snarky) reply:
I actually think a moat might be a very good idea and I’m wondering how many alligators it would take to secure the entire boarder. Again, I don’t know if you were serious, but what I do know is that much of your behavior toward securing the border and enforcing our immigration laws hasn’t been serious thus far.

And if it would take introducing legislation to build a moat with alligators in order to secure our borders to get you to be serious on the topic – I’m game.

Respectfully,
Representative Joe Walsh
Illinois 08

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

give us your poor

all quotes are from President Obama's May 10, 2011, speach in El Paso, Tx... all snarky comments are mine...
Now, about a week ago, I delivered the commencement address at Miami Dade Community College, one of the most diverse schools in the nation.
...
A handful had discovered only in adolescence or adulthood that they were undocumented. But they worked hard and gave it their all, and they earned those diplomas.
how many "undocumented" earned their citizenship?... or did they reap the benefits of our state and federal tax dollars, which built and funded these institutions, without contributing back to the country?

We define ourselves as a nation of immigrants – a nation that welcomes those willing to embrace America’s precepts.
and by embrace, we mean to become legal residents... if you don't agree to that, you haven't embraced a thing... you're just a criminal.

This flow of immigrants has helped make this country stronger and more prosperous. We can point to the genius of Einstein and the designs of I. M. Pei, the stories of Isaac Asimov and whole industries forged by Andrew Carnegie.
all legal immigrants...

It doesn’t matter where you come from; what matters is that you believe in the ideals on which we were founded; that you believe all of us are equal and deserve the freedom to pursue happiness. In embracing America, you can become American. And that enriches all of us.
key phrase, "you can become American"... if illegals don't become legal, they don't become American... and that impoverishes all of us.

At times, there has been fear and resentment directed toward newcomers, particularly in periods of economic hardship.
newcomers are welcome... criminals elicit fear and resentment.

But they’ve broken the rules, and have cut in front of the line. And the truth is, the presence of so many illegal immigrants makes a mockery of all those who are trying to immigrate legally.
but... well... yeah, that about sums it up.

Well, one way to strengthen the middle class is to reform our immigration system, so that there is no longer a massive underground economy that exploits a cheap source of labor while depressing wages for everyone else.
this is what we've been saying for DECADES!

Today, we provide students from around the world with visas to get engineering and computer science degrees at our top universities. But our laws discourage them from using those skills to start a business or power a new industry right here in the United States. So instead of training entrepreneurs to create jobs in America, we train them to create jobs for our competition. That makes no sense.
not necessarily... international schools have been ubiquitous for centuries... it creates competition, but competition is actually good, economically speaking... it raises the wages of impoverished countries, which reduces the glut of people trying to leave home and come here... this, in turn, raises wages at home... it also lowers the cost of products (supply and demand)... it raises the federal income from tarrifs... this isn't all bad.

[Intel, Google, Yahoo and eBay, each were] founded by an immigrant. We don’t want the next Intel or Google to be created in China or India.
you forgot something... "legal immigrant".

Everyone recognizes the system is broken.
funny... you didn't seem to think it was broken before.

The Border Patrol has 20,000 agents – more than twice as many as there were in 2004, a build up that began under President Bush and that we have continued.
did he just say Bush did something right?...

They wanted a fence. Well, that fence is now basically complete.
really?... define "basically".

But even though we’ve answered these concerns, I suspect there will be those who will try to move the goal posts one more time. They’ll say we need to triple the border patrol. Or quadruple the border patrol. They’ll say we need a higher fence to support reform.

Maybe they’ll say we need a moat. Or alligators in the moat.
build the moat, the alligators will come on their own... i say get frickin' sharks with frickin' laser beams on their heads!

Even as we’ve stepped up patrols, apprehensions along the border have been cut by nearly 40 percent from two years ago – that means far fewer people are attempting to cross the border illegally.
no... that means that ICE has been told not to detain (or outright release) illegal immigrants who haven't commited a capital crime... so, if they aren't covered in the blood of babies, they get released... and you don't count them if you don't keep them.

But I want to emphasize: we are not doing this haphazardly; we are focusing our limited resources on violent offenders and people convicted of crimes; not families, not folks who are just looking to scrape together an income.
remember, if you don't keep them, you can't prosecute them... or convict them... or deport them... and they may be a family, but each person has already broken the law... that makes them criminals, by definition.

I know some here wish that I could just bypass Congress and change the law myself. But that’s not how a democracy works.
never stopped you before.

And I’d point out, the most significant step we can take now to secure the borders is to fix the system as a whole – so that fewer people have incentive to enter illegally in search of work in the first place.
i have an idea... how about you make it illegal to be here without documentation... and then, enforce the law!

There are Democrats and Republicans, including former-Republican Senator Mel Martinez and former-Bush administration Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff; leaders like Mayor Michael Bloomberg; evangelical ministers like Leith Anderson and Bill Hybels; police chiefs from across the nation; educators and advocates; labor unions and chambers of commerce; small business owners and Fortune 500 CEOs.
how about inviting the Governor of Arizona?... or Sherrif Joe Arpaio?

Now we need to come together around reform that reflects our values as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants; that demands everyone take responsibility.
everyone?... like the illegal immigrants?

[T]hose who are here illegally have a responsibility as well. They have to admit that they broke the law, pay their taxes, pay a fine, and learn English. And they have to undergo background checks and a lengthy process before they can get in line for legalization.
you mean, they have to follow the law (which they already don't)?... and if they don't (which they aren't), what are you going to do about it?

We need to provide farms a legal way to hire the workers they rely on, and a path for those workers to earn legal status.
maybe like hiring legal workers?... or something temporary, like a work visa?... damn, you're smart.

And we should stop punishing innocent young people for the actions of their parents – by denying them the chance to earn an education or serve in the military.
right... parents should be able to come to America, bring their children, and let their children inherit citizenship... then, you'd let their parents stay so we don't separate families... it's called a backdoor... we see it being unlocked.

but hey... he's admitted that there is a problem... and isn't that the first step to recovery?


NationalJournal.com - TEXT: Obama's Speech on Immigration From El Paso, Texas - Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Monday, May 9, 2011

where is the OUTRAGE?

The Associated Press: Ugandan lawmakers hold hearings on anti-gay bill

Bahati's original bill carried harsh provisions. The original bill would mandate a death sentence for active homosexuals living with HIV or in cases of same-sex rape. "Serial offenders" also would face capital punishment. Anyone convicted of a homosexual act would face life imprisonment.

Anyone who "aids, abets, counsels or procures another to engage of acts of homosexuality" would face seven years in prison. Landlords who rent rooms or homes to homosexuals also could get seven years.

while i don't support "casual homosexuals" (people who decide to be gay, as opposed to those who are genetically gay), the above story should be front page news worldwide!

i shouldn't be suprised, since every other story coming out of Africa is whitewashed and sanitized... we don't hear about the muslims who are murdering christians... we don't hear about tribal genocides... we don't hear about ritualized rape... we don't hear about pirates (unless they pirate a rich American's yacht)... we don't hear about the starvation and suffering of millions... so why should i be suprised that we don't hear about homosexual genocide?

this sickens me.

this enrages me.

i feel so helpless to do anything about it.

when we need liberal outrage, where are the voices from the left?... where are the Democrats?... where is Obama?... we launched missles into Libya to protect violent protesters... where are the missles to protect the unarmed and the helpless in Uganda?

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Cornell Hood's Fourth Marijuana Conviction Results In Life Sentence


(rephrased­)

It is time we stop this insanity. We should stop the war on drugs, legalize and tax marijuana, release all the nonviolent drug offenders. We are spending billions that we have to borrow on jailing people who don't belong to jail. The jailing of this guy alone will cost a couple of million dollars and ruin his life, all because of a failed policy.

Or maybe, drug dealers need to STOP DEALING DRUGS! Maybe, just maybe, once you know that something is illegal, you should avoid doing it. Instead of making something legal just because it is popular, perhaps we should make it clear to the general populace that the REST OF US don't want to compromise OUR PRINCIPLES just because a segment of the population wants to get high and escape reality. Maybe there should be some way of deciding this, like a popular vote. And once the majority make their opinion known, perhaps the MINORITY should SHUT UP and STOP BREAKING THE LAW. We have HAD THIS VOTE. The concensus was "NO". Now, STOP ASKING TO CHANGE THE RULES and STOP BREAKING THE LAW. And if you refuse to live in a Democracy and continue to break the law, YOU GO TO JAIL. And if you do this too many times, WE STOP GIVING SECOND CHANCES!
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Friday, May 6, 2011

what's so difficult to understand?

Thomas Sowell, a Rose and Milton Friedman senior fellow on public policy at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and author of “Economic Facts and Fallacies,”

on taxing the rich:
The rich themselves are seldom hurt by that and often when you bring down the tax rate — the start of 1920s, also under Kennedy and Reagan, and then later, George W. Bush — as we bring down the tax rate, they take their money out of the tax shelters, they bring their money home, back home from abroad and you create more jobs.

on government health care:
What they call bringing down the cost of health care is refusing to pay the price of health care. You know, you can always bring down the cost of anything by not paying it, but of course, there are repercussions for that and you see this in countries where the government has taken over health care, you see deterioration.

on taxing oil/energy companies:
When you put huge taxes on electric utility companies... [consumers will pay] higher prices that they pay for everything from food to electricity to gasoline and so forth.

Monday, May 2, 2011

how can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?

School's food is the only option for some kids - chicagotribune.com
Little Village Academy on Chicago's West Side, students are not allowed to pack lunches from home. Unless they have a medical excuse, they must eat the food served in the cafeteria.
Any school that bans homemade lunches also puts more money in the pockets of the district's food provider, Chartwells-Thompson. The federal government pays the district for each free or reduced-price lunch taken, and the caterer receives a set fee from the district per lunch.
During a recent visit to the school, dozens of students took the lunch but threw most of it in the garbage uneaten.
how many rights are you willing to give up?