Mitt Romney's Dream

Way to try to get the Latino vote. The emphasis is mine:

OTTUMWA, Iowa -- Mitt Romney said Saturday that he would veto the Dream Act, a bill that would provide legal status to some undocumented immigrants who entered the United States as children.

"The question is, if I were elected and Congress were to pass the Dream Act, would I veto it? And the answer is yes," said the candidate, speaking in Le Mars, Iowa.

But he added that he could support a system that offered legal status to people who served in the U.S. military. One provision of the Dream Act, which failed in the Senate when it last came up for a vote in December 2010, would allow some undocumented immigrants to work toward citizenship by joining the armed services for at least two years.

Undocumented immigrants are currently barred from serving in the military, although some do anyway. Only undocumented immigrants who entered the country under the age of 16, had clean criminal records and either attended college for at least two years or joined the military would be eligible for legal status under the bill.

So we’re good enough to die for the country, but not to get a proper education.

Wake me up when he starts going on about how the Latinos are natural Republicans because of that family-values-thing.

Yawn.

With Reservations

Well, talk about trying to hide behind a slow news day:

HONOLULU -- Two days before the deadline, President Obama signed a defense spending bill into law - while admitting he has "serious reservations with certain provisions" related to how suspected terrorists are held and questioned.

In a written statement, Mr. Obama makes clear he objects to sections in the National Defense Authorization Act that "regulate the detention, interrogation and prosecution of suspected terrorists.

Despite his objections, Mr. Obama says he signed the measure, known by its initials NDAA, because it authorizes needed funding to defend the nation, support the military and renew "vital national security programs."

Among the provisions to which the president objects is a grant of permission for the indefinite military detention of terror suspects by the military.

Mr. Obama said he didn't ask for such authority and doesn't want it.

Here, if you are interested in reading what the ACLU has to say about it.

Drama In Iowa

Poor Michele Bachmann.  First this:

Then this:

More later.

Why I Want To Be Your President: On to Iowa!

The Iowa caucuses are just one long-weekend away, and the winner is anyone’s guess.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry watched a DVD, and changed his position on abortion.

Rick Perry was actually for some abortions before he was against them.

The Texas Governor and presidential candidate told an Osceola, Iowa, town hall gathering Tuesday that he changed his views on abortion after seeing a pro-life documentary hosted by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Perry previously said he opposed abortion except in cases of rape and incest. But after seeing "The Gift of Life," a 2011 film produced by Citizens United, Perry now opposes the procedure altogether.

And then he changed it again. The emphasis is mine:

“So the lone exception now is for the life of the mother?” asked an ABC News reporter.
“That’s correct,” Perry responded as he walked off to his bus.

At a townhall Tuesday evening in Osceola, Perry first revealed he had undergone a “transformation” in his thoughts about abortion, saying he now opposes it even in cases of rape and incest.

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich announced that he would not vote for Texas Rep. Ron Paul, should he get the nomination. Not that he is going to get the nomination.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul is seemingly happy to be endorsed by an Iowa pastor who believes in imposing the death penalty on homosexuals.

Ron Paul's campaign is touting the endorsement of Phillip G. Kayser, an Iowa pastor who believes in imposing the death penalty on homosexuals, reports Talking Points Memo.

"We welcome Rev. Kayser's endorsement and the enlightening statements he makes on how Ron Paul's approach to government is consistent with Christian beliefs," said Paul's Iowa chairman, Drew Ivers, in a recent press release on Paul's campaign website.

"Difficulty in implementing Biblical law does not make non-Biblical penology just," wrote Kayser in a recent pamphlet. "But as we have seen, while many homosexuals would be executed, the threat of capital punishment can be restorative." Kayser added that homosexuals could be prosecuted only after the law was enacted.

Not that I could find the said press release on his website. But no retraction to be found, either.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Maybe front runner. Definitely not exciting the base.  Now that's news.

Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann is not dropping out. Even if she might be splitting the evangelical vote.

WINTERSET, Iowa - Rep. Michele Bachmann said Wednesday that no one has urged her to drop out of the presidential race, even as led two politically active Iowa pastors said an effort has been under way to persuade either her or Rick Santorum or Michele Bachmann to consider doing so.

The two pastors -- the Rev. Cary Gordon of Sioux City and the Rev. Albert Calloway of Indianola, both influential figures among the state's evangelicals -- reportedly said they have asked Santorum to consider quitting, and that they fear the two GOP candidates would split the evangelical vote. But Santorum surged into third place in a new CNN/Time/ORC poll, making the possibility of his departure extremely unlikely.

Businessman Herman Cain, oops I forgot. But a girl can dream can’t she?

And finally, drum roll please! Jumping into third place is… former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum! Rick Santorum, surging! Yes!!!

Looking forward to Tuesday!

All I Wanted For Christmas is the Separation of Church and State

Readying my end-of the-year donation to Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

From the New York Times:

At a school assembly here in South Carolina on Sept. 1, a preacher described how Christ saved him from drugs, telling his rapt audience that “a relationship with Jesus is what you need more than anything else.” A rapper shouted the Lord’s praise to a light show and most of the audience stepped forward to pledge themselves to Christ while a few remained, uncomfortable, in their seats.

Such overt evangelizing would not be unusual at a prayer rally, but this was a daytime celebration in a public school gymnasium, arranged by the principal for sixth, seventh and eighth graders.

When the rapper posted a video on YouTube, announcing that “324 kids at this school have made a decision for Jesus Christ,” he drew unwelcome public and legal scrutiny to the event. It was the kind of religious advocacy that is increasingly coming to light, legal experts say, as school populations become more diverse and as the objection of non-Christians — or, in this case, the rejoicing of evangelists — is broadcast on the Internet.

The article makes an excellent point in stating that no one really knows whether these types of incidents are on the rise, or simply more likely to come to light.

The battle continues.

Merry Christmas!

"Ring them bells so the world will know that God is one..." -- Bob Dylan



Enjoy!

This Week in South Carolina Silliness

Yesterday:

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Justice Department on Friday rejected South Carolina's law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls, saying it makes it harder for minorities to cast ballots. It was the first voter ID law to be refused by the federal agency in nearly 20 years.

The Obama administration said South Carolina's law didn't meet the burden under the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which outlawed discriminatory practices preventing blacks from voting. Tens of thousands of minorities in South Carolina might not be able to cast ballots under South Carolina's law because they don't have the right photo ID, Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez said.

South Carolina's law was passed by a Republican-controlled Legislature and signed by GOP Gov. Nikki Haley. The state's attorney general vowed to fight the federal agency in court.

Coming on the heels of a federal judge temporarily blocking parts of the state’s new law aimed to curb illegal immigration. That pesky violation of federal powers, thing.

The judge said South Carolina could not require police officers to check the immigration status of a person they stop for even a minor traffic violation if they have "reasonable suspicion" that the person is in the country illegally.

This "state-mandated scrutiny is without consideration of federal enforcement priorities and unquestionably vastly expands the persons targeted for immigration enforcement action," Gergel said.

Gergel also barred South Carolina from making it a felony for anyone knowingly to harbor or transport an undocumented person.

The state cannot require immigrants to carry federal alien registration documents because such registration is under the exclusive control of the federal government, the judge said.

Anyone who says it doesn't matter who sits in the White House, is dead wrong.

All-in-all not a good few days for one of the up-and-comers in the Republican party, Gov. Nikki Haley.

One More Surge

Republican-2012-Presidential-nominee-wannabee Texas Rep. Ron Paul has quite a temper:



And it’s about this:

Emerging as a real Republican contender in Iowa, Representative Ron Paul of Texas is receiving new focus for decades-old unbylined columns in his political newsletters that included racist, anti-gay and anti-Israel passages that he has since disavowed.

The latest issue of The Weekly Standard, a leading conservative publication, reprised reports of incendiary language in Mr. Paul’s newsletters that were published about 20 years ago.

A 1992 passage from the Ron Paul Political Report about the Los Angeles riots read, “Order was only restored in L.A. when it came time for the blacks to pick up their welfare checks.” A passage in another newsletter asserted that people with AIDS should not be allowed to eat in restaurants because “AIDS can be transmitted by saliva”; in 1990 one of his publications criticized Ronald Reagan for having gone along with the creation of the federal holiday honoring the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., which it called “Hate Whitey Day.”

Pester. Pester. Pester.

Looks to me like he is just going to continue with the party-line that he doesn’t believe the stuff that was published in his newsletters, and that he didn’t read the articles back then anyway. Oh, and that there’s nothing wrong with the fact that he didn’t vet the articles. Not my job, man.

Even if he were to do a 180 degree turn around and take a modicum of responsibility by at least saying it was wrong to have something published under his name without knowing what the hell the stuff said, he is toast. Not that he was ever going to win the nod, anyway.

However, he still might win Iowa. But if there is time for just one more surge, please, please, please let it be Rick Santorum.  Wouldn't that be fun?

Sounding Quiet Dissent About a Holiday Perennial

Cross-posted on ProgressivePatriotGirl.tumblr.com:

A quite good article about the boycott against The Salvation Army. Why anyone should be surprised by their long history of opposition to homosexuality, is beyond me.

I for one stopped giving to religious charities a long, long time ago.

No Apologies Necessary

Too funny:

A gay man in Minnesota is sarcastically apologizing on behalf of the state’s gay community to a recently resigned, married, GOP state senator who, having vehemently opposed equal marriage rights, was caught philandering with a male member of her staff.

John Medeiros, who heads an LGBT reading series in Minneapolis, issued the public apology to Amy Koch on Thursday.

“On behalf of all gays and lesbians living in Minnesota, I would like to wholeheartedly apologize for our community’s successful efforts to threaten your traditional marriage,” Medeiros sassily wrote.

“We apologize that our selfish requests to marry those we love has cheapened and degraded traditional marriage so much that we caused you to stray from your own holy union for something more cheap and tawdry.”

Koch stepped down from her post as the state’s majority leader last week after fellow GOP-ers confronted her about the affair. She issued her own apology on Wednesday for “engaging in a relationship with a senate staffer.”

I wish I could be that funny.

To The Dogs!

Seemingly, Sarah Palin doesn’t like the Obama family holiday card this year. Too much dog, and not enough faith and freedom.

So much for the holiday spirit. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is once again targeting the Obama administration, leveling a critical glare at the official White House holiday greeting card for not emphasizing Christmas.

The card, seen above, was created for the Obama family by L.A. artist and designer Mark Matuszak. It features an image of Bo, the Obama family dog, in front of a fireplace in the White House library with a poinsettia and other decorations. The card, which makes no direct mention of Christmas and doesn't feature a Christmas tree, states: "From our family to yours, may your holidays shine with the light of the season."

Palin told Fox News that she found it "odd" that the card emphasizes the dog instead of traditions like "family, faith and freedom." She also said that Americans are able to appreciate "American foundational values illustrated and displayed on Christmas cards and on a Christmas tree."

For Rachel’s Maddow’s historical take on first family’s holiday’s card, watch here.  Very funny.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

As Harry Truman once said, “You want a friend in Washington? Get a dog.”

Why I Want To Be Your President: The Frontrunner Edition

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney says he didn’t know the difference between Medicare and Medicaid until he became involved in government. Really? Never, ever had a conversation with a poor or disabled person about their health care coverage throughout his working life? While doing work for his church?

Texas Rep. Ron Paul knows enough about Medicare and Medicaid to call for eliminating both.  With “charity” hospitals and doctors as replacements. Yeah. That should work just great.

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich thinks it’s a good idea to abolish whole courts in order to get rid of particular judges. You know. The “activist judge”

And while I know former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum is not in the frontrunner category, I just couldn’t help myself.  The emphasis is mine:

Pella, Ia. Occupy Wall Street activists have misguided aims, but they are tapping into Americans’ accurate perception that many people are being denied a fair shot at a good life, Rick Santorum said here this morning.

“The reason you see some sympathy among the American public for them is the grave concern – and it’s a legitimate one – that blue-collar workers, lower-income workers, are having a harder and harder time rising,” the former Pennsylvania senator said at a presidential campaign stop. “They talk about income inequality. I’m for income inequality. I think some people should make more than other people, because some people work harder and have better ideas and take more risk, and they should be rewarded for it. I have no problem with income inequality.

Now, on to Iowa!

¡Bastante!

Please tell me there will be hell to pay for this one:

PHOENIX — A man found unresponsive in a jail cell after fighting with deputies over the weekend was on life support Monday, in a case that Latino activists say raises more questions about practices under Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

The family of Ernest Atencio has been speaking with an attorney, the leader of a Hispanic rights group and a Latino lawmaker about what happened to the 44-year-old while he was detailed at the Maricopa County sheriff’s jail in downtown Phoenix. The three leaders told The Associated Press that Atencio’s family is deciding when to take him off life support.

This happened just days after the Department of Justice released the results of an investigation concluding that the Maricopa County Sheriff and his office committed wide-ranging civil rights violations against Latinos, including a pattern of racial profiling and heavy-handed immigration patrols based on racially charged complaints.

It's Called Human Rights

On December 6th the Obama administration issued a memorandum to the heads of executive departments and agencies re: International Initiatives to Advance the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Persons.

In it the President asks, “all agencies engaged abroad to ensure that U.S. diplomacy and foreign assistance promote and protect the human rights of LGBT person.” And why? Because he is "deeply concerned by the violence and discrimination targeting LGBT persons around the world -- whether it is passing laws that criminalize LGBT status, beating citizens simply for joining peaceful LGBT pride celebrations, or killing men, women, and children for their perceived sexual orientation."

See, this is about protecting refugee and asylum seekers who seek refuge from violence and persecution. It’s about keeping people from getting beat up for attending peaceful demonstrations. It’s about people getting killed because of who others think they are.  And are.

Somehow, this all escapes Republican-2012-Presidential-nominee-wannabee Rick Perry. His response was this:

Statement by Gov. Rick Perry on Obama Administration’s Use of Gay Rights to Make Foreign Aid Decisions

Posted on December 6th, 2011

AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry today issued the following statement:

“Just when you thought Barack Obama couldn’t get any more out of touch with America’s values, AP reports his administration wants to make foreign aid decisions based on gay rights.
“This administration’s war on traditional American values must stop.

“I have proposed a foreign aid budget that starts at zero. From that zero baseline, we will consider aid requests based solely on America’s national security interests. Promoting special rights for gays in foreign countries is not in America’s interests and not worth a dime of taxpayers’ money.

“But there is a troubling trend here beyond the national security nonsense inherent in this silly idea. This is just the most recent example of an administration at war with people of faith in this country. Investing tax dollars promoting a lifestyle many Americas of faith find so deeply objectionable is wrong.

“President Obama has again mistaken America’s tolerance for different lifestyles with an endorsement of those lifestyles. I will not make that mistake.”

Note to the good Governor of Texas: This has NOTHING to do with gay rights. This has NOTHING to do with special rights. This has NOTHING to do with lifestyle. It has EVERYTHING to do with American traditional values.

You know, the traditional American values we have always based our foreign policy on. And the last time I looked harassment, violence, suppression of free speech and murder were NOT among them.

It's called human rights.

Ode to Mitt Romney

A campaign song, maybe?



Happy weekend, all!

U.S. Jewish groups furious over campaign to bring expat Israelis back home

Cross-posted on ProgessivePatriotGirl.tumblr.com:

An Immigration and Absorption Ministry campaign in the United States to convince expatriate Israelis to return has raised the ire of American Jewish groups.

The campaign warns Israelis that if they continue to live in the United States, they or their children are likely to become assimilated.

The drive began at the end of September with billboards in cities with large concentrations of Israelis, including New York, Los Angeles and Palo Alto. The messages included “Before Hanukkah turns into Christmas, it’s time to come back to Israel,” and “Before Abba turns into Daddy, it’s time to come back to Israel.”

The article neglected to mention that the video even implies marrying an American Jew could be problematic.

I am reminded of my work days with a social service agency in Berkeley, CA a few years ago, in a neighborhood quickly seeing an influx of immigrants from India and Pakistan.  About equally divided between Hindus and Muslims.  Living and working together.  And they all said the same thing about why they were so happy to be in America — to be able to live happily and peacefully, side-by-side with their neighbors in a way that was impossible in their own countries.

Will You Be My Friend?

Mitt shouldn't take it personally.  He's not alone.

Nobody like any of the 2012-Republican-presidential-nominee-wannabes.

Whaaa...