Freedom of the Press vs. Reality

Many of us wonder how the paparazzi can get away with literally chasing down celebrities and printing half-truths or even 1/4 truths. They, of course, all claim "Freedom of the press." This is under the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

No where in this does it say "separation of church and state," nor does it say "go ahead and print whatever you want!"

When the Founding Fathers drew up this "living document," they had come from England. Who controlled England? The Catholic Church. Or the Anglican Church, depending. It was against the law (and punishable by death) to worship any other God than the God of the King or Queen. The colonists wanted to escape this crap and establish a country that did not dictate morality to its people.

At that time, if someone spoke out against the Church or against the ruler, they were jailed and often killed. They were forced to print only "good" news about the leaders. Again, the colonists wanted people to feel they could voice their opinions without threat of, ya know, death. They wanted to make this country a "Democracy within a Republic." They wanted to establish guidelines by which everyone could live and exercise their rights.

With the exercising of those rights comes... RESPONSIBILITY. Go figure.

This brilliant newspaper owner demonstrates this point for me. Go ahead and watch the video. I'll wait.

Keep watching.

Should be done now.

Did you notice what I did?

The "protesters" all seemed to be of the same race. The ones who "didn't think it was a big deal" also seemed to be of the same race. These two races have been in conflict in the US for...oh, a few centuries. Yes! You're brilliant. You can see that our newly-elected President is a black man. Congratulations, you can see.

But you so critically fail since it's evident you are not color-blind. If the Constitution is the "living document" you want me to believe it is, then you better start bendin' the other words to fit what's actual, mate. Don't claim one amendment and disregard another one.

No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty five years, and been fourteen Years a resident within the United States.

Did you catch all that? Re-read it if you have to. The rules for a Presidential candidate are they must be 35, lived in the US for 14 years, and be a natural-born citizen.

There's no gender factor.

There's no race factor.

So you know what, folks? Our President is a black man.

GET THE HECK OVER IT!

When we stop seeing our President as a black man and start seeing him as an individual capable of leading our country, then our country will have grown up. I'm so sick of these states who voted for McCain complaining that a black man's in charge. GROW UP! Y'all are driving me crazy with your crap. Skin color does not dictate intelligence. Circumstances do not dictate intelligence. Oh, yeah. You heard me. Just because you grew up in Harlem doesn't mean you get the right to tell me that I'm racist because I tell you you're stupid and can't form a coherent sentence.

Frederick Douglass is one of my favorite historic people. Know why? Because he educated himself and went on to help get that 13th Amendment signed--and the 14th...and the 15th... Frederick Douglass was a great orator. He ranks right up there with William Jennings Bryan. Don't tell me you didn't have a way to get a better paying job and had to steal and join a gang to get by. That's a choice. That's also a cop-out. Even James Earl Jones will tell you that.

Give it up, people. If I have to spend the next four years telling you all that you're racist idiots...so help me, this blog is going to sky-rocket in views.

>_>

<_<

On second thought...carry on. I could use the page hits.

Oh, No! The VP is Dressing Professionally!

Since I've been pretty hard-core job searching, I have done a good amount of research on just what it means to "dress professionally." The particular link there is to a consulting firm. If you really read that dress code, you will either feel eternally grateful that you are not subject to such policies, or you will think (as I did), "Dang! That's an awesome policy."

So, why should we hold our Nation's leaders and potential leaders to anything less than a database consulting firm?

My point is in this article. Because we have nothing better to do with our time than harass McCain and Palin about things that don't actually pertain to politics, we have to pick on them about housing and clothing.

See, Mrs. Palin said that she was a "regular hockey mom." The Republican party funded a shopping spree at Sacks Fifth Avenue, among other top of the line expensive places. Why? Because she's a hockey mom.

You can't be respected if your clothes don't match your position. What may be good for a governor of a state is not good for the potential second in command of the Nation. You dress for your position--or the position you want. Sarah Palin wants the position of Vice President. That's how she's dressing.

"But, spending that kind of money with our economy?!"

Yeah.

Because you know what? I'm gonna share a little story with you.

In 1929, the stock market crashed. Big time. It plunged the country into the Great Depression. During that time, people couldn't find jobs fast enough, inflation went through the roof, and just trying to get by gave way to interesting foods (like scrapple). During all this, one man made millions--and one community thrived because of it.

The best way to help the economy, he thought, was to give people jobs so they can return the money to the economy. And that's what he did. Milton S. Hershey commissioned the building of the Hotel Hershey, the Community Center, Senior Hall of the Milton S. Hershey School, the Hersheypark Stadium, the Hersheypark Arena, and a windowless, air conditioned office building for the factory.

The economy in Derry Church, PA didn't know there was a "Great Depression."

So, why is it that we should be upset about the Republican party--yay, even Sarah Palin--spending money during the down time for the economy? She's putting money BACK into the pockets of those working. That's how economy works. You pay for goods and services. Those business make money which they use to pay their employees. Those employees are then able to use that money to spend and it's a great cycle.

Besides, would you vote for McCain/Palin if he wore an Armani suit and she wore something from Target? Probably not. The fact of the matter is, a well-tailored suit not only looks impressive, it's also very empowering. It commands respect. Unless of course, you're me.

Apparently, my little cheap-o suit from the Goodwill just doesn't cut it for commanding respect. If I were running for VP or President, you better believe I'd have my butt in a top-of-the-line charcoal or navy suit from Sacks or Macy's. Heck, I'd go to Italy and have them tailor made to my particular, odd proportions.

So, how about we focus on the issues, mkay?

Mkay.

See... I wanna know what the stance is on the death penalty. And abortion. And God in public. And my right to not have to prove that I'm not a terrorist when I fly. The list can go on and on. When are our boys and girls coming home from Iraq where we should have never been in the first place? When are we going to nuke the crap out of bin Laden?

That's what makes the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates. Their stance on the issues. Not the price tag on the clothing or how many houses they happen to own. Let's focus on what really matters.

Making Up

Yeah, yeah, I know... I haven't posted since Saturday.

Sue me.

I've been in pretty intense pain most of this week. Get over it. I have a life outside of ranting about politics and stupid people, ya know. Not much of one, but when I am in pain, I'm not going to try to form coherent sentences and complain about the stupidity of those humans surrounding me.

Especially when I'm on pain killers. I'd read back over the blog and be thinking, "Oh Muh Guh, Whu Tuh Fuh?!" And, really, I'd rather not.

I do that as it is.

So!

VP Debates! Tonight! My prediction: Biden is going to absolutely trounce Palin. He'll be polite for the first, mm, 30 minutes. After that, she'll realize really quickly that her pretty face isn't going to get her very far.

Sure, the focus is on the economy. If you've been living under a rock for the past, oh, few weeks, it's a mess. The Dow-Jones is dropping faster than Bill Clinton's pants and coming up more frequently than...well, you can make your own analogy there. But, if the debates shift away from the concern that is actually more of the current President's problem to the issues on the table (such as putting an end to the useless war), Palin's going to fail.

Hard.

Biden's a bulldog chomping at the bit. He's cute in that really fugly kinda way. Palin's the prim and proper poodle. Bulldogs eat poodles for lunch. Biden's going to rip her apart, in my not so humble opinion. One of my friends and I were discussing the campaigns earlier...

Well, not so much the campaigns as predicting the future. We like to think of ourselves as sort of prophets. I suppose he's the Beast and I could be the False Prophet. Now, if I can just find the Anti-Christ, we can bring on the Apocalypse and be done with the whole thing before November 2!

Anyway.

His prediction was that neither McCain nor Obama would survive their first term. When I asked what he meant, he simply reminded me that McCain is, well, old. If he were a lizard, he'd be a wallet...and a belt...a purse, a couple pairs of shoes... Good points all.

And Obama?

He said Eddie Murphy could explain that one. Or was that Richard Pryor?

Vote Houses in 2008

So, I really hate politics, if you haven't noticed. I think if a politician's talking, he's probably spouting some bull to cover his own butt. So, it came as no surprise to me when I popped over to the Political track of CNN to discover that Obama is concerned with McCain's housing. That's right, kiddies. Obama thinks McCain won't make a good President because he doesn't know how many houses he owns.

Clearly, we must vote for Obama!

I'll say it again: WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT!?! Who in Bixby's Nine Hells CARES?! So, McCain owns a few houses. He's not President yet. He needs some source of income. Maybe he likes to vacation and has houses in his favorite places? My mother-in-law owns four properties. All in California. Amazing. Americans owning property! This, obviously, disqualifies her from the Presidency!

My point is this: McCain has bigger things to worry about at the moment than his properties. In fact, he even said, "I don't know. I'll have to ask my staff." Did it occur to anyone that maybe--just maybe--he has people who invest in this stuff for him?

Let's analyze, shall we, what Obama said:

“Somebody asked John McCain, 'how many houses do you have?' and he said, 'I'm not sure, I’ll have to check with my staff,' True quote! 'I'm not sure, I'll have to check with my staff.' So they asked his staff and he said, 'at least four.' 'At least four.'

“Now think about that — I guess if you think that being rich means you gotta make five million dollars, and if you don't know how many houses you have, then it's not surprising that you might think the economy is fundamentally strong,” he continued. “But if you're like me and you've got one house — or you were like the millions of people who are struggling right now to keep up with their mortgage so that they don't lose their home — you might have a different perspective. …" (quoted from source article)

First of all, McCain was honest. We teach children to say "I don't know" if it's an honest answer. McCain could have very easily said, "None of your doggone business!" and been perfectly honest, but he chose to give an answer that was a bit more tactful. (Note: This is why The Rogue Assassin is not on your list of people. That and I'm not old enough, yet). Continuing further, just... bwuh?! "If you think that being rich means you gotta make five million dollars..." Well. "Rich" in monetary terms is equivalent to "money." Bill Gates is rich. Bill Gates is richer than John McCain. I wonder how many houses Bill Gates has...

Now, the next part of Obama's tirade kills me. "If you're like me and you've got one house..." One house--worth how much? And it's probably a safe bet that if you live in California, you don't have a house. Unless, ya know, you're rich. So. This is a bit of catch-22 for him. "You can't know the American economy if you own four houses!" And here I thought the American economy was all about an exchange of money! Apparently, it's about real estate! Who knew.

When did the American race for Presidency start slinging retarded logic around in an attempt to sully the opponent's name? Seriously. Did James Madison have to put up with this? What about Abraham Lincoln? Or Howard Taft? Or James Garfield? Remember Garfield? He wasn't just a fat, orange and black tiger cat with an unhealthy love of lasagna. He was a President of the United States...for three months. Til some bloke assassinated him.

Anyway.

Turns out McCain owns a total of seven properties totaling a worth of about $13 million. Clearly, he does not own property in California--at least not Southern California where a house that he would own would be at least $5 mil to purchase and worth about $7-10 mil by the time he was done with it.

Do I care how many properties a potential President owns? No. It proves nothing to me other than they're pretty real estate savvy. Do I care how much money my President makes at his day job? Not really. I've long since given up the idea that an average American will be President. I expect the President to be from the upper class of society. I don't expect Joe from the pizza shop down the street to be elected. Since one of the requirements for being President is to somehow have been involved in politics (and by their very nature, politics equates to money), the President is going to be rich. What's-his-name from a few elections ago--Ross Perot!--I betchya he owned a lot of property. No one, at that time, said, "UGH! FOUL! HE IS RICH!" It doesn't matter how much money you have. It matters what your intentions and goals are for the future of America.

You can be butt-sucking rich and be an awesome President. You can be butt-sucking rich and be a Nixon. Or a Clinton. Or a Bush. Pick one. You could also be church-mouse poor and suck worse (if that's possible). Money doesn't make the politician, folks. Morals. Choices. STANDING for something even if it's not popular. AFFECTING CHANGE. Accomplishing the objectives of the people--ya know, the WILL of the PEOPLE...which is why you're even being elected in the first place? Not everything we as Americans want is right or healthy. But, the President needs to be able to have a backbone and be the parent of the Nation and say "Yes, you need this" or "No, you don't," then STICK TO IT!

So much more could be said, but at this point... it's a dead horse...and I'm done beating.

Another Case of Blame

Ah, two things that make people want to tear their hair and do crazy things: Religion & Politics. When the two mix, you can be sure there will be a small War. Or two.

Or a rant.

To start, this has less to do with politics and more to do with general stupidity, but, it's still enough to really get my goose. And my geese don't like to get got! Anyway. This story comes from an August 18, 2008 article on CNN. The headline has to do with a cult that prayed to resurrect a little boy.

Now, on the surface, that seems pretty cool. But, once you start to read the story, you find that it's not quite so cool. In fact, you find yourself wanting to find this cult and put them out of your misery. Especially if you're a Christian--since that's what the cult calls itself.

I'll go back to that part later.

For now. An 18 year old girl gives birth to a child, then leaves the church she's in when her pastor "betrays her trust" by admitting to molesting boys in his congregation (again...this is a rant for another time or three). Now, I'm not a parent. I have no desire to be a parent. I may be wrong in my thinking here, but, most children at the age of one are lucky to be speaking in full sentences. Yet, this young mother somehow thought it was an appropriate punishment to withhold food and water from her son because he didn't say "Amen" at the end of his prayers.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?!

A 1-year old not saying "Amen" after his prayers deserves to not be fed?! And they say Jerry Fallwell put the "mental" in "fundamental." After two days of not having food or water, the little boy died, needless to say. So, the cult members all circled up at the mother's home and started praying that God would resurrect the child.

God's ways are not our ways; His thoughts are not our thoughts, yada yada yada. But, I'm pretty sure that God would agree with me when I say, "...bwuh?"

Yes, God is a God of miracles, but, bwuh?! You've just killed your one-year old child because you've somehow proven the survival of the fittest theory false by your longevity and you're expecting God to fix your problem? So, when He doesn't you can whine and moan there is no God? I'll say it again: WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT!?

I don't care if you're a member of a cult. I don't care if you're an agnostic, an atheist, a deist, a theist, a Free Presbyterian, a LOCKED-UP Presbyterian, or whatever. It's wrong in any religion to not feed a one year old baby.

It's. A BABY.

Now, I could understand, maybe, if the child was, ya know, able to actually talk in a full sentence and actually, ya know, understand what he was supposed to be doing. At one, you hardly have any cognizance about who the woman shoving her boobs in your face is, let alone why you wouldn't be allowed to eat or drink anything for two days!

To top all this off, she and the rest of the cult discovered that God wasn't going to hear their prayers and resurrect the child, so what did they do? They didn't call the authorities and say, "Hey, we may have screwed up here..." and claimed the Religious Indemnification clause--which must be somewhere in the Constitution since every group that isn't Christian claims it--so they didn't have to face too much trouble. NO! Instead! They get the brilliant idea of putting the body in a green suitcase, filling it with mothballs and dryer sheets (I assume to keep the body soft and fluffy) and carry it with them! This brings a whooooooole new meaning to the phrase, "Going Green."

Finally, they just decided to leave it behind a house in Philadelphia and re-locate to New York. A year later, the police discover it. With the body still inside. So, if you're MacGuyver and you're looking for a great way to preserve a corpse, mothballs and dryer sheets. Of course, you'll have to figure out how to make those out of duct tape and a Swiss Army knife, but you'll manage.

So, now the mother faces jail time for first degree murder. Her lawyers, however, are doing the American thing and hanging blame on the cult leaders. It's their fault! They brainwashed her! Uh...am I the only one NOT buying that? She was 20 at the time. The last time I checked, a 20 year old could make their own choices. They can say "no." They can say "I don't think that's right," or "I don't think that's going to work." Even I, reared as a fundamental Baptist, opened my big mouth to challenge every bit of doctrine crammed down my throat. Yeah, it may not be popular, but you come out with a brain.

...and rants like this...

Send the lot of them to jail. While you're at it...don't feed 'em for a couple of days and make up some story about how they didn't say the secret password....

Same Sex Marriages a State Decision? Heck Yeah!

In a recent interview with Rev. Rick Warren, Obama and McCain were both asked about their stances on abortion and same-sex marriages. Both said they were pro-choice and anti-same sex marriages--for relatively the same reasons. But, both also agreed that it wasn't for the Federal Government to decide on the marriage licensing.

What's that? The STATE gets to decide something? AMAZING!

When "our forefathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal," they set up some pretty specific guidelines for creating laws. Like, anything not enumerated in Constitution was given to the authority of the States. In fact, Amendment X of the Bill of Rights states,

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Since when was my choice of whom I married a matter of National importance? It's a matter of State importance. Why? Because I need to have my marriage legally recognized within the state I live in order to receive the benefits entitled to me.

Also, since when is my decision to kill my unborn child a matter of National importance? It's not. It's not really even a State concern. It's my issue. If I want to kill a defenseless fetus, that's my choice. Not yours. It's your choice to judge me and think of me as a bad person. That's your loss.

I'm growing quite weary of the United States government legislating my free will. It's called "Free Will" for a reason. Do I personally think abortion is wrong? Yes. It's murder. But, since we've already "scientifically" established that life does, in fact, not begin at conception, then for those who believe abortion is the best option, feel free to kill willy-nilly.

For the rest of us who believe life does begin at conception, blowing up an abortion clinic is wrong! I mean, think about it. You're killing people who are killing babies. Two wrongs do not make a right. Frankly, if you want to protest an abortion clinic, that's also your choice. But, if you jump in front of my car to get me to notice you, you'll just end up with a Volkswagon tattoo.

There is an amendment that allows the peaceful gathering of people together. Jumping into traffic to prove your point is just plain dumb. I'm not an evolutionist, but I do believe in survival of the fittest. And jumping in front of my car will prove that theory correct. Who knows? You may make a good hood ornament. Then, perhaps, your life will have been worth something...even if just to serve as a warning to others.

Who do we want for a President in 2008? Obama--the second African-American to be nominated for President; Clinton--for her second go-around; or McCain--is he really smarter than Bush? I don't know. I'm not sure who I'm going to vote for. I have silly reasons for not liking Obama. I have solid reasons for not liking Clinton. I have vague reasons for not liking McCain. But, unfortunately, they're our options.

Or...

Vote for me! The Rogue Assassin! I'll take a write-in under the Libertarian party....