Why Rick Santorum makes me want to throw up

So obviously the republican field this election season is a bit...weak.  No one is garnering more than a quarter of the votes and it seems to me that no one can really front a strong enough campaign to take down Barack Obama.

That being said there is one specific republican cantidate that I would like to talk about....Rick Santorum.  Santorum is one of the most pompus, ridiculous and shitty public representatives that I have ever seen.  This is a guy that things that government and religion should be the same thing.  I am not saying that religion is bad, nor is politics, but they aren't (and shouldn't be) the same thing.  In fact there is a very specific law that says exactly that, the separation of church and state.  Now you have a guy who pretty much wants to institute the laws of the church.

That's not how the US system works dude!  The laws of this country are to be seperate from churches of any kind.

Also how can you be so vehemently against partial birth abortion when your own wife (authorized by the Santorums) had a partial birth abortion?  What it's ok to save your wife, but other people's wives doing it is horrible?

No good man.

Can't have politics without compromise, in fact you can't have much

The US government works mainly on one principle, compromise. Senators and representatives are elected by the people, to represent the people, but that doesn't mean that gridlock needs to happen on every issue.

The problem right now is pansy ass liberal leadership and a conservative group that is so full of Tea Party ass-hats that the country cannot work. First I will address the less evil of the two, the pussy ass liberal leadership.

Why is Barack Obama, the President of the United States of America the one that has been carrying out negotiations with the GOP leadership? Easy because Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and the rest of the liberal leadership are to weak to say anything. The President should be the last line of defense in this, not the go to guy.

The main issue with the Congress right now is the Tea Party. The Tea Party are ridiculous. How do they expect anything to get done if compromise is not part of the story? By continuing with an all or nothing approach they have successfully prevented the government from doing it's job. I understand the thought process behind "representing your constituents", but are you going to tell me that all the people who voted for you are so black and white in their thought process? No they aren't, Tea Partiers you were elected to represent all people in your state, not just those who agree with the way you think. You are effectively throwing the entire country into all these issues because if the rest of congress doesn't play by your rules then you are going to take your ball and go home....fuck yourself.

And this is from someone who doesn't think raising the debt limit all the time is the answer and supports a constitutional amendment requiring the US Government to balance their budget. You need to compromise, not because it's the right thing to do, but because it's your FUCKING JOB

Damn you Patriot Act

I found this map while on the Cato Institute website. The Cato Institute is " a public policy research organization — a think tank — dedicated to the principles of individual liberty, limited government, free markets and peace. Its scholars and analysts conduct independent, nonpartisan research on a wide range of policy issues." In other words a libertarian think tank.

Check out this map right after 2001 and look at the spike in questionable and constitutionally appalling police activity. We have laws for a reason, but the USA PATRIOT ACT makes it seem like the ends justify the means. They don't!

This map really blew my mind!

How did you get to be a state legislator?

MW found this article earlier today and posted it up on Twitter. When I read it my first reaction was simply, how did this guy get to be a legislator?

"During the House's debate, Rep. Pete DeGraaf, a Mulvane Republican who supports the bill, told her: "We do need to plan ahead, don't we, in life?"

Bollier asked him, "And so women need to plan ahead for issues that they have no control over with a pregnancy?"

DeGraaf drew groans of protest from some House members when he responded, "I have spare tire on my car.""

Pete DeGraaf you are a dumbass. Saying that people need to plan ahead for rape is like saying that people should wear a bullet proof vest at all time to prevent themselves from getting shot. How could you possibly be in the state legislature? Your job is to help run the state of Kansas!?

Breaking news!!

Breaking news! Congressional leaders have agreed to a four year extension of the USA PATRIOT ACT

NO GOOD AT ALL! This piece of legislation has ZERO regard for private liberties in the United States!

Please call/write your senators and tell them to repeal this legislation!!!

A rule applies to everyone, not just people that look different.

It seems odd to me that people want procedures put in place to help with security, but then get upset when said procedures are followed. This story ,about a 6 year old receiving a pat down by a TSA scanner, is very hot on the internet at the moment. Why are people upset about this?

So what if she is 6 years old? Terrorists don't care if they a 6 months old or 60 years old. There was an issue with the original body scan (I have read conflicting reports on whether she went through a scan or the parents opted out of the scan) so the next point in the procedure is the pat down. Where is the issue? It is done with the parents present and is over quickly. If you don't this to possibly happen to your child than don't fly. Flying isn't a right people, there are rules. If you do not like the safety rules (which everyone wanted beefed up after 9/11) then don't fly simple as that.

You can't have it both ways people. If you want security on planes these are the rules. You can't have that for all the people named Amir or people that have brown skin and not for sweet little 6 year old kid. The only way to do this is a rule that EVERYONE needs to abide by.

Why don't we just elect a bunch of monkeys....at least we can pay them in Bananas

Government Shutdown....

This is a topic that I have been struggling with for the past couple weeks. I knew I wanted to say something about it, but I wasn't sure exactly how I felt.

Let me outline what will happen if the government shuts down (at least so far as I can figure)

-All non essential workers will be furloughed and sent home until the government restarts.

They will keep their jobs, but will not be paid

-Non essential versus essential will be determined by the individual agencies following some "guidelines" from the feds

-Essential jobs will continue

Essential jobs include Air traffic controllers, airport security, military and defense, mail

-Non essential jobs will include but not be limited to

Trash men in DC (how is sanitation not essential?), administrative jobs, national parks, passport processing, tax return processing etc.

All of these things I can look at and say ok. Not that I agree with them, but in principle i could see those as essential vs non essential (except trash collection) There were two points that I would like to point out that I cannot fathom or accept as the right way to to things

-Congress will continue to get paid

-other essential jobs, including military families, will not get paid

Those two points are unimaginable to me. The people whose job it is to set a budget didn't do their job and got us into this mess in the first place. Those people will continue to get paid, but those who are doing their job correctly will not get paid? I live paycheck to paycheck, as do many Americans, but those would be the people losing their pay?

Well fuck you congress. Fuck you house of Representatives, fuck you White House. The fact that you cannot pull your heads out of your parties asses and put together a budget is pathetic. This is part of your job, your fucking job! Do your job! Anyone who says bring on the shutdown your are a fucking tool. Thats peoples livelihoods! Thats your Armed service going into harms way and not even getting the shitty pay they did before! Thats your neighbors, your friends and your family so grow up you child

Democrats grow a set of balls. The country is trillions of dollars in debt, you will not get everything you want. Spending needs to be cut, which means programs will be cut. To have so much of my paycheck taken away is ridiculous. I make the money if I want to help people I will.

Republicans there is something called separation of church and state, I would appreciate it if you fucking listened to it. Ideological problems should not be holding up anything. Planned Parenthood is a fabulous organization that helps treat thousands of men and woman across the country who cannot afford the current health care system. Pregnancies are legal, get over it. You want to change that? Your allowed to try, but your concern now is putting forth a budget, not regulating a womans body.

Tea Partiers you are the worst group of asshats I have ever seen. Don't try and call yourselves Patriots, Minutemen, especially don't say you are small government. Compromise doesn't equate to weakness. You can have your ideals fine, but this is the United States of America, not the Tea Party express. You represent your constituents, but they are only a portion of the US. It;s your responsibility to put forth a workable budget, not one that caters to your every want. You aren't libertarians so don't call yourself one. You aren't pro Constitution so don't call yourself that. You are bunch of whiny bitches who want to take their ball and go home because someone wants to play different rules at kick ball.

Really South Dakota...really?!

Are you serious?

The above article is about a bill about to go through the South Dakota house that would make it legal for a family member to kill a doctor who performs an abortion. And they are going to include that in the mercy killing law??

I am not arguing the merits of pro life vs. pro choice in this post (that one can be later). This is a matter of a state trying to make something illegal that they do not have a constitutional right to make legal.

I have two major problems with this legislation (and a host of other problems)

First off Abortion is legal. Under federal mandate, and upheld time and again by the US Supreme Court, abortion is legal. I don't give a damn what your opinion on abortion is, at this moment abortion is legal. It's not a new law, its a law that has been in effect for a while now. As a state South Dakota doesn't have the legal right to make abortion a crime. I mean South Dakota isn't a country, its a state that must follow federal law.

Second off you are going to include this in a mercy killing law? You are going to lump murdering innocent doctors that are doing a legal procedure on adult woman in with someone that kills a gunman in a crowd to protect the public? It's not like abortion doctors ride into town and give all the woman abortions. This is a LEGAL procedure that a woman must seek out and elects to do.

Who the hell do you think you are South Dakota? Let me remind you who you are, you are one of the states in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA! I am all for states rights, but this is not a matter of states rights. You are trying to put people in danger by authorizing state run killings of abortion doctors. I'm sorry I thought this was America, not some crazy system where the state thinks they have the rights to kill us citizens that pose no threat to public health or safety. ]

This isn't even addressing all of the other issues that were mentioned in the article, the reading of a pro-life script before anyone is eligible for an abortion, or the fact that planned parenthood has to fly in doctors to one clinic in all of South Dakota. This is just the law point of view.

Washington needs to get off its ass now and slap South Dakota in the head. You don't have the right South Dakota. Your state has twice voted down banning abortion and you are just trying to find a way to discourage abortion. One you are going against the people the voted for you and two you are authorizing hits on law abiding citizens. Instead of worrying about all this foreign shit and Egypt and other countries issues this is what Washington needs to look at. The rights of the US citizen and South Dakota 's police state move to put out hits on US Citizens.

Go fuck yourself South Dakota.

what do you want...a cookie?

Dear facebook/twitter/foursquare/friends-

I feel we must talk. First off I am very happy that we live in a land where you can vote and politicians are not chosen for us by the goverment. Let's get that straight right off. However I am getting a bit sick of being told by people to vote. Whether I (or anyone else) votes is not the concern of the public. Voting is a right, not a requirement. In fact I would be so bold as to say if you don't have an opinion, or if you like none of those running, not voting is a perfectly acceptable thing to do.

I am not sure where this push to have everyone in the country vote came from. I know that my mom and grandmother would always say you need to vote! Here is my question to all, why do I need to vote? Thats part of what makes America amazing, the fact that you do not need to vote to have a part/opinion/bitch about the government.

Now I am also not saying that I don't like to vote. I really and truly love to vote if I am informed on the issues being voted on. Nor am I saying whether or not I voted last night, I don't feel its really anyones business. All I am saying is that it seems to me we should encourage discussion and interest in political issues and activities instead of just saying go vote.

So please stop letting me know you voted on Facebook, I really don't care. And please don't give me shit if I DECIDE not to vote, its my right.

Love

Chris

Ps. I love debate so feel free to leave a comment if you feel that voting is something that everyone should be doing in all elections. I am not saying mine way is the right way, just that it's what I like best.

What is a libertarian part duex

So I was looking at the Libertarian website this morning and decided to post their platform...I think these ideals just make sense.

Libertarian platform

Your running for the Senate and you don't know the first amendment?

Really?

Christine O'Donnell please stop running for the Senate right now. If you cannot be bothered to even pretend to know the Constitution please just stop running for congress. The first amendment is the following:

"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."

You don't see why/how that is a separation of church and state??

I had to add a whole new label for this....fucking stupid

Since when is the Pentagon authorized to disagree with the Court?

Alright so usually I am very pro things that the military, as a whole, does. But where the hell does the Defense Department get off telling soldiers to remain quiet until pending appeals go through? This is America and the United States Court system has ruled that Don't Ask Don't Tell is unconstitutional. Fuck you DOD. You don't have the right to punish anyone who is following the law. Thats not how the United States of America operates. The law is ridiculous and unconstitutional in the first place, but you making a move to disagree with the court and not assure that the courts decision can be followed is unacceptable. Fuck you and the horse you rode in on D.O.D

Ps. A gay person can protect and serve just as well as a straight person. This is America home of the free, not America home of the free unless you are gay in which case you need to pretend you are straight or you may hurt your fellow soldiersfeelings. Your fellow soldiers don't like it then they should take a dishonorable discharge. They sign up to protect and serve the people and constitution of the United States, including people they dont agree with. If they don't want to carry out that charge then get the fuck out of the military you stupid cowards.

All the MMA kids will cringe at seeing this but it's the truth in this case.
" Mine is not to question why, mine is but to do or die" Do your jobs, I'm sorry your big macho-ness is offended by a gay person, just do your damn job

Conscientious Objectors

For the longest time I had a real issue with conscientious objectors. I didn't understand (beyond getting drafted) why you would join the army if you didn't want to fight. After some news reading today I came across this article and it changed my views dramatically on what bravery and a conscientious objector really is.

To me this is the true measure of honor and duty. Here is a guy who was a conscientious objector, finding fighting to be against his religion. Instead of saying o hey I don't want to fight I am out of here, he took a fantastic approach. He became a medic. It seems to me this is the perfect thought for what a CO should be. This is saying that he wants to help people, he doesn't want them to be hurt. He is going out of his way to help his countrymen (and any others for that matter) by healing them. The fact that he won the Congressional Medal of Honor is not relevant (although I think its fantastic) Here is a guy who didn't abandon his post nor his duty and still followed his beliefs. I think more people should do this

Want to go for a drive? Careful they are watching!

A recent news story caught my attention as an amazing affront to the US Constitution and freedom in general.

In 9 western states now law enforcement can place a gps tracking system on your car without a warrant or any type of court order. Say what? This is America, we have the clever thing called freedom. If I want to drive around in the desert where drugs are being grown (example from the news story) that is allowed! Driving past them, looking at the drugs, is not a crime. So why does the US Government have the right to track my car? Its not their business where I go. Nor is it there right to know.

Now I know the popular thing to say to things like this "Well if you haven't done anything wrong than you don't have to worry" That's not the way it works. I am a free citizen to go and do what I choose,so long as I am within the law. However if I just happen to have a friend who is a drug dealer or something that means that a GPS tracker could implicate me in drugs or something? No its up to the state to prove I am guilty, not up to me to prove I am innocent.

This, to me, seems like one of the worst decisions in legal history. Whats next? Tracking devices on phones, shoes, in our heads? Yes its a big jump from GPS in the car to GPS in our heads, but its not out of the realm of possibility. Are we going to have to carry around a little national ID card with a GPS chip in it "for our own protection"?

You know what give me my right to bear arms, my right to go where I want, and I will take care of myself. I don't need your help government, thanks for asking.

Scott Brown/Sarah Palin/Current Events

I am not a huge Scott Brown supporter (neither am I against him on everything though) I am not even a fan of Massachusetts, I think this state sucks. But Sarah Palin shut the fuck up. Don't talk about Massachusetts, your from Alaska, talk about that. Don't tell me what the people of Massachusetts want, obviously the majority wanted Scott Brown. Thats how democracy works. You failed to win vice president then decided that the end of your run in Alaska wasn't worth it so just shut the fuck up.

That being said I wanted to do a shout out of topics in the news recently that I have read about which fascinate me.

First up Jimmy Carter in North Korea to free a US citizen from the DPRK. Now I have always been of the mindset that, if a country holds a US citizen hostage then we take action, but not if we break another countries law. This guy broke the law of North Korea, guy deserves to be in a N. Korea jail. Do I think his sentence was fair, no I don't, but that DPRK law. So why are we sending in people to negotiate for his release, a guy breaks our laws in our country and I hope we don't let him out.

The UN peace keeping forces and how much they suck. So how do 400 people get raped when a UN peace keeping force is down the road? They use the excuse well we didn't know. What do you mean you didn't know? You were warned of a large force in that area, you know that these types of forces have a history of rape. Put 1 and 1 together people. I am not a huge fan of the UN (love the idea, meh with the reality) but if you are there to do a job then do the job right.

Mothers/Fathers killing their babies. So when did it become a mental health issue to be annoyed with your baby. Like the fact that you don't want to have a baby, or that you are annoyed with it doesn't give you the right to kill it. There is the person in Europe (I think Britain but im not sure.) who killed 8 of her babies because she didnt want to have them or ask for contraception. I'm sorry to any mental health person who thinks this is a mental health issue, but these people are shit. I think they should be taken out back and shot like the dogs they are. You don't kill a baby, that's just off limits. Even many murders think child killers are scum.

Thats all for now. On a more personal note the wedding is in less than a month. It has been a very up and down ride to get to this point (with planning and all that fun stuff) but we are almost there. So hope to see you all at the wedding on the 25th!

Seriously? You are the President!

Are you serious?
Alright this is just plain crazy. President Obama has led the presidential race in times appearing on prime time cable shows; Jay Leno, David Lettermen, ESPN (for the dumb college basketball bracket)and now The View. Dude you are the President, not some kind of ridiculous TV celeb. You are supposed to be controlling the most powerful military in the world. You could be helping with the crippling economic issues so many people are having right now, or maybe trying to help out with the current job market since college grads are coming out with no job and 100 k in debt. But no you decide to go on The View.
I understand the thought behind it. Touching base with a group who you haven't touched base with. As one of the comments on the bottom of the stories says the group that watches the view doesn't necessarily watch CSPAN. That being said thats what you have a press group for. The presidents job is to get things going, not go on TV. So far he has gotten nothing done on some of the most important issues, but goes on TV. Stop going on TV and do work. Try spending the time you would be on the View balancing the budget or some other activity that I deem a bit more important than what Whoopi and Barbara have to say.

Hi America remember me....the citizen?

Ok so I found this article on CNN earlier today

Why are we doing joint military drills with S.Korea. What happens between North and South Korea isn't our problem. So now we are saying to the N. Koreans that we are activly preparing for war. Dude we need to worry about us...the United States. Forget Korea, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran etc. We need to pull in and protect our own borders. We have people illegally entering the country and a lack of man power to preven this, but we have two wars going and are doing drills in the faces of another country that hates us? Dude come on. We need to worry about us. If people believe in the UN and all this stuff then they should be handling the S/N korea issue...not the United States alone.

But lets go a step further back from this. How much does a war cost? How much money are we spending in Iraq and Afghanistan right now that could be used to help American jobs or to help American infrastructure? And you are going to waste more money to send out troops to another place to fight in another war that the people involved dont want us in? Well fuck them, let them fix their problems and we can worry about our problems.

What is a libertarian?

What is a Libertarian? more to follow....

This is a great definition of the way I view Libertarians
"Are Libertarians liberal or conservative?--Libertarians are neither. Unlike liberals or conservatives, Libertarians advocate a high degree of both personal and economic liberty. For example, Libertarians advocate freedom in economic matters, so we're in favor of lowering taxes, slashing bureaucratic regulation of business, and charitable -- rather than government -- welfare. But Libertarians are also socially tolerant. We won't demand laws or restrictions on other people who we may not agree because of personal actions or lifestyles."

illegal is illegal no mater your merits

I just read this news story about a Harvard student who was illegally in the country, but will nto be deported until his case is heard. How can that be allowed? You are here illegally, he knew he was here illegally because he was using a Mexican passport to board planes. You being someone who goes to school in Harvard doesn't give you the right to violate the laws of the United States of America. This is not a stand saying I think immigration is wrong, but if you break the law coming in then how can you be trusted not to break it again. You have already broken the law of the US pal, you are here illegally...key word illegal. Call it undocumented if you want, but if I have to follow the US laws then you do too.

This isn't about open borders either (although I personally think open borders is ridiculous) this is about violating law. The law is one the books and he violated that. He should have to pay the price just the same as any one else.

Gun control

I love this opinion piece
This is what I have thought so many times. Why is it that only guns fall under the category of if someone dies with it its the guns fault? What about knives? Or baseball bats? Or golf clubs? There is a comment at the bottom of the page that says that the reason guns are in this category are that they are made to kill things. Well how about knives? They were invented to kill people and animals, so why are they different. Anyone who wants to regulate the device itself is stupid. Its an object, it can't shoot by itself. Besides that criminals don't care about breaking laws like this. Its only the legit gun owners that are being punished. Imagine what would happen if they started limiting everything that could kill someone????