“Dream Act” immigration bill blocked in Senate

Honestly, if I had a vote I don’t know what I’d do.  I know that may sound strange…”inspiration strikes!  blog time!  no opinion…”  I think I was mostly affected by the comments made by the parties involved:

First from the Commander-in-Chief:

It is disappointing that common sense did not prevail today

Just stop it.  The ‘if you don’t agree with me you’re just being an unreasonable human being or playing politics’ routine is equal parts tragically ironic and tiring.  Knock it off.  This is too important to get wrong.  I like that this plan requires ILLEGAL immigrants to truly invest themselves in something meaningful for two years in order to gain citizenship and I think that the prerequisites are strict but fair.  The requirement that an applicant must ‘display good moral character’ is fluff…but a clean criminal record is probably what they’re talking about here.  Unless of course Joe Biden has time to interview each applicant.

On the other side, from Republican Senator Jeff Sessions:

The American people are pleading with Congress to enforce our laws, but this bill is a law that at its fundamental core is a reward for illegal activity

Yeah I guess…but I’m getting the nagging feeling that eventually this dam is going to break and I think it may be a good idea to relieve some pressure.  This bill is doing everything it can to make sure these kids earn it and are the kind of citizens we want to be admitting.

In the end the requirements are reasonable, the precedent is acceptable, and at some point we’ve got to realize that crossing our arms, closing our eyes, shaking our heads, and repeating ‘No’ is 1) unrealistic and 2) part of the problem.  So much for neutrality…

Also, very quickly: Congress repeals ban against gays in military

Finally.

John McCain reaction:

This debate is not about the broader social issues that are being discussed in our society, but what is in the best interest of our military at a time of war

Knock it off, John.  This debate is about intolerance and stubborn opposition to change.

From the article:

“Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable President Earl Ofari Hutchinson is calling the depiction, politically mean spirited and dangerous.

Hutchinson is challenging the group or individual that put up the poster to have the courage and decency to publicly identify themselves.

‘Depicting the president as demonic and a socialist goes beyond political spoofery,’ says Hutchinson, ‘it is mean-spirited and dangerous.’

‘We have issued a public challenge to the person or group that put up the poster to come forth and publicly tell why they have used this offensive depiction to ridicule President Obama.’”

Oh, so something like this is news now?  Interesting…

Such short memories…

Obama calls white policeman who arrested scholar

The President had this to say:

“I want to make clear that in my choice of words, I think I unfortunately gave an impression that I was maligning the Cambridge police department and Sgt. Crowley specifically. “

Ummmm…you said he “acted stupidly.”  I wasn’t an English major and I don’t have a dictionary handy, but I’m fairly confident that characterizing someone’s actions as ‘stupid’ qualifies as ‘maligning’ them…specifically.

He continues:

“And I could’ve calibrated those words differently.”

You…could have calibrated those words differently!?  How full of shit can one man get?

Three months ago our President went to the Middle East and proclaimed that the United States is not at war with Islam.  Since then he’s also said, “Islam is not part of the problem in combating violent extremism — it is an important part of promoting peace.”

As it is with most ‘positions’ so rank of politically correct cowardice, none of what he says is blatantly incorrect.  Is our objective in this war to eliminate Islam from the globe?  No.  Are a large number of Muslims in the world on the right side of this fight?  Yes.  But Obama is also refusing to acknowledge Islam’s role as an antagonist and is refusing to look extreme Islam in the eye and call it enemy.  This is no less foolish than calling every Muslim a terrorist.

What say you today, Mr. President?  They’re systematically bombing Christian churches.  Abject political correctness never survives the truth.

This gem from IL Senator Dick Durbin:

“I’m not sure how you would do it,” said the Senate’s second-ranking Democrat, Dick Durbin of Illinois. He said he would leave any decision on the need for a fiscal stimulus to “the president’s evaluation.”

Nothing says ‘re-elect me!’ quite like ‘The economy!?…I have no friggin clue.  Ask the President.’

How many US legislators do you think would be in favor of an 80% tax on every dollar an individual made in excess of $200,000?  Hell, how many Americans in general would be in favor of it?  Probably more than you might think.  It’s a disturbing thought.

Obama still smoking - This is not a Presidency and it’s not journalism.  It’s reality TV.

Scientists kill cancer cells with “trojan horse” - Do it.

Doctors warn against ‘swine flu parties’ - More people that should not be allowed to procreate.

Fat tax for ambulance rides - The real story here is by how much rates went up for heavy people.  If you’re over the prescribed weight, your base rate goes from $629 to $1172 and the per mile charge jumps from $11.09 to $16.  I understand why it costs more to haul the heavies, but is it really THAT much more in equipment and trouble?

It’s like someone who makes $50,000/year desperately scouring their budget to find a way to pay for a million dollar house and a Ferrari.

To pay for health-care reform that’s getting less popular daily, Congress is exploring a number of new taxes and tax increases.  Higher taxes on alcohol and soda, a medicare payroll tax increase, a new national sales tax, and of course, tax increases on the most wealthy are all mentioned in the article above.  Even better?  A tax on “employer-provided health insurance benefits above certain levels.”  ‘See? We can afford that house! We’ll just have to sleep on the floor, eat spam and cheese for every meal, charge the kids rent, and steal from the neighbors bank account!‘

If this were happening in a place where it didn’t affect me, I’d be laughing at it.  It’s a comedy of errors starring a bunch of irresponsible buffoons.   They’re nickel-and-diming the tax-payer just so they can do for health care what the public school system has done for education in this country.

“President Barack Obama said Tuesday that a nuclear-armed North Korea poses a “grave threat” to the world and vowed to end a cycle of allowing Pyongyang to create a crisis and then be rewarded with incentives to back down.’This is a pattern they’ve come to expect,’ Obama said. ‘We are going to break that pattern.’

[South Korean President] Lee [Myung-bak] said he and Obama agreed that ‘under no circumstance are we going to allow North Korea to possess nuclear weapons.’”

If I’m going to complain about this guy with any credibility, I guess I’ve got to give credit when it’s due.  These are encouraging words from our Commander-in-Chief and I can only hope that his actions reflect the resolve of his words if this thing escalates.

I joked a few days ago that the American mainstream media is more friendly to Obama than the North Korean state-run media is to Kim Jong Il.  I thought I was joking.  Turns out it’s not nearly far enough from the truth.

On the 24th of this month ABC is going to be airing what will most likely amount to nothing more than a promotion for government health care.  Charlie Gibson will anchor from the Blue Room of the White House and Barack Obama will push his health care reform.  This in and of itself would not bother me.  As ABC Senior Vice President Kerry Smith said, “Like any programs we broadcast, ABC News will have complete editorial control.”  Unfortunately I have zero faith in ABC News to produce a balanced news report with their ‘editorial control.’  There will be no opposition presentation and there will be softball questions offered up under the guise of opposition and the farce of a balanced report.

In a year where we’ve seen the government take over the auto industry and threatening to send our health care system down the same path as our education system?  I can’t believe I’m surprised.