Crazy Things Politicians Say

...aka, "I'm reposting something I saw on Facebook as a bill in my legislature."

It seems Ralph Shortey, an Oklahoma state legislator, has introduced a bill banning aborted human fetuses in food.

OK, so I saw a story someone linked on Facebook referring to this fetuses-in-Pepsi story. The genesis of what is little more than an urban legend comes from some additive company that uses a stem cell line established in the early 1970s to test the sweetness of some of its additives. This guy saw the same story and wrote a bill about what he translated it to mean.

Word is that his next bills will ban hypodermic needles in McDonald's ball pits and people peeing on your steak when you send it back to be cooked more.

What separation?

There is little doubt that as long as this country exists, we'll be fighting over the blurry line that is the separation between church and state, a line that has certainly moved more towards the proper center position as the country (and its law) has matured.

But with the wave of Republicans who have swept into legislatures across the country, you can bet the pushback is going to be strong. Take, for example, South Dakota, where they just passed, with little opposition, a non-binding resolution encouraging schools to teach Bible study courses in school.

This particular bit of legislation is typical of the right in that it's toothless, likely because they know it would never stand up constitutionally (even if they say it's because of that other Great Conservative Truth, the desire that no larger governmental body should ever tell any smaller governmental body what to do). They wanted it only to be a "legislative green light." And what this silliness will no doubt end up in is expensive lawsuits for local school boards who have no business wasting taxpayers' money tilting at windmills.

The whole matter of the right's indignation over supposed removal of religion Christianity from schools has always fascinated me, because it really does come down to a matter of freedom of my religion -- it's not forcing your religion on someone else if you are right. As is typical of the right on a gamut of issues, neutrality is not enough; as Faux News has proven, if you're not with us actively promoting our agenda, you're against us.

As evidence of this, here is a quote from Republician State Rep. Steve Hickey (who also happens to be a "pastor"), who sponsored the South Dakota bill:

 “I would tell those who fear this, now you know how Christians feel when they send their kids off to a public school that is overtly hostile and propagates secular humanism,” Hickey said. “The pressure from that perspective to teach secular humanism in high school and college is far, far greater than proselytizing in a Bible course.”

The problem? Secular humanism isn't a religion -- hence the "secular." The humanism part is more of a philosophy, while the secular part is simply a statement that the humanism isn't bound to religion (there also is such a thing as "religious humanism"). What secular humanism promotes is no religion, not Islam, Judaism, Baha'i, snake-handling, etc.

The separation of church and state doctrine really comes from the goal of "no establishment of religion," so secular humanism would seem to toe the line. But that's not what some people want -- again, freedom of religion means "freedom of my religion." So, if you're not promoting my religion, you are being "overtly hostile" to me.

Crazy Things Politicians Say

In today's episode of "Crazy Things Politician Say":

Asked this week by WPIX reporter Mario Diaz what he would do for the Latino community, East Haven, Connecticut Mayor Joseph Maturo said he “might have tacos when I go home.”

Awesome.

The biggest weapon in the arsenal...

...is this.

Romney's past as a private equity manager will haunt him in the general election, guaranteed. Frankly, several other things, both fair (his past moderate-by-most-Republican-standards views) and unfair (he's a Mormon) will come into play.

However, the election will probably still come down to how the economy is doing on the second Tuesday in November.

The Oracle of Omaha

A quote from Warren Buffett, via Time magazine.


"We need a tax system that takes very good care of people who just really aren't as well adapted to the market system, and to capitalism, but are nevertheless just as good citizens, and are doing things that are of use in society."

Even for Tennessee, this is pathetic

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120110/NEWS02/301100076/1969/NEWS

Republicans are ramming through dramatic changes in redistricting in Tennessee. Put them in power, and they behave like third-world dictators. Because that's what they want to be.

It's not bullying if they're lesser than me...

Ah, Tennessee. I can always count on you for stuff like this. The gist: a GOP legislator trying to allow exceptions in bullying laws for religious beliefs.

My favorite part of this story?

“The purpose is to stop bullying, not create special classes of people who are more important than others,” Fowler told the Times Free Press.

Actually, I think the purpose is exactly that.

How can any sane person think this is right? Answer: they can't.

Celebrity "news"?

OK, I'm not big on so-called "news" about celebrities, since their world is a largely manufactured one that barely fits the definition of newsworthy, but what struck me about this story in the UK's Mirror was its obvious bias toward its own homegrown Russell Brand after the announcement of his impending divorce with the very American Katy Perry.