Saturday, April 24, 2010
Arizona: Vigilante Paradise
The new immigration law in Arizona raises a few questions:
What does an illegal alien look like?
Can anyone prove that they are a citizen without carrying around their passport (BTW only 21.7% of Americans had passports as of November 2009) or birth certificate (I sure do not look like the 6Lb 1 oz 21 inch long baby listed on my birth certificate)?
Do Arizonians realize that there are many "Mexicans" living in Arizona who never moved out of Mexico, the borders just moved in 1848?
Do the Republicans think they will ever have the support of the Hispanic Vote?
Will any one vacation in Arizona again?
The Senate Fact Sheet memo for Arizona SB 1070:
http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/49leg/2r/summary/s.1070pshs.doc.htm
And, for Senator McCain his support of this legislation is just a straight line from his support of Arizona's non-recognition of Martin Luther King Jr's birthday as a national holiday (1983), and his statement that endorsing an equal pay bill for women would just cause a flood of lawsuits (http://blog.washingtonpost.com/44/2008/04/24/by_juliet_eilperin_washington.html).
What does an illegal alien look like?
Can anyone prove that they are a citizen without carrying around their passport (BTW only 21.7% of Americans had passports as of November 2009) or birth certificate (I sure do not look like the 6Lb 1 oz 21 inch long baby listed on my birth certificate)?
Do Arizonians realize that there are many "Mexicans" living in Arizona who never moved out of Mexico, the borders just moved in 1848?
Do the Republicans think they will ever have the support of the Hispanic Vote?
Will any one vacation in Arizona again?
The Senate Fact Sheet memo for Arizona SB 1070:
http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/49leg/2r/summary/s.1070pshs.doc.htm
And, for Senator McCain his support of this legislation is just a straight line from his support of Arizona's non-recognition of Martin Luther King Jr's birthday as a national holiday (1983), and his statement that endorsing an equal pay bill for women would just cause a flood of lawsuits (http://blog.washingtonpost.com/44/2008/04/24/by_juliet_eilperin_washington.html).
Labels: Arizona
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Another Mother's Day
So what are you doing for (as oposed to to) or giving to Mother Earth today (and everyday?)
Labels: Earth Day
Saturday, April 17, 2010
A Very Small Tea Party
Only 18% of the American population identies themselves as being members of The Tea Party. But by the coverage in all the media you would think it was over 50%. The Tea Party has grabbed the imagination of the media (not to mention taht if the angry maried republican white men over the age of 45 according to Thursday's NYT article [http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/15/us/politics/15poll.html?scp=2&sq=zernike&st=nyt]).
So why are we paying so much attention to this vocal--though one note "anti-government" except for when it affects them-- group? It might be that having a former vice presidential candidate --and former Governor--who is now a Fox News pundit (Sarah Palin) and Congressional Representative (Michele Bachman)are news worthy in themselves. While this group claims to be protecting the Cionstitution, it seems to be protecting their rights over those of others....
Where were these anti-government protesters during the Bush Adminstration--when the tax relief was only for the very very rich, the debt incurred for entering into at least one war will indebt our great grandchildren, when our infrastructure was failing at a major rate which lead to Katrina tragedy, when the banks and housing mortgage industry failed and we the tax payers bailed them out, so that they could realize a major profit????
So why are we paying so much attention to this vocal--though one note "anti-government" except for when it affects them-- group? It might be that having a former vice presidential candidate --and former Governor--who is now a Fox News pundit (Sarah Palin) and Congressional Representative (Michele Bachman)are news worthy in themselves. While this group claims to be protecting the Cionstitution, it seems to be protecting their rights over those of others....
Where were these anti-government protesters during the Bush Adminstration--when the tax relief was only for the very very rich, the debt incurred for entering into at least one war will indebt our great grandchildren, when our infrastructure was failing at a major rate which lead to Katrina tragedy, when the banks and housing mortgage industry failed and we the tax payers bailed them out, so that they could realize a major profit????
Labels: Tea Party
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Truth or Ideology
I believe that this clip from Jon Stewart's The Daily Show illustrates the prblem with some of today's media repeating lies (if you say them enough, they are still lies, even if more people believe them) and with some public figures being ahistoric--including an history professor (Newt).
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-april-8-2010/the-big-bang-treaty
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-april-8-2010/the-big-bang-treaty
Labels: ahistoric, Foxnews, lies, Newt, Palin, Reagan
Finally!
From my other blog:
Finally, after 60 years we English speakers/readers have the complete unabridged version of Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex.
de Beauvoir set out to anaylze the concept of woman--coming to the conclusion that women are "othered" by society. This study in the making and mintaining of women's inequality was eye opening when it was abridged, the unabridged version (What is a 2 volume paperback version in French is a 700 + page book in English) should only solidify more her argument.
Unfortunately, sixty years after she wrote this foundational book, women are still othered. Our rights are traded away as if they were baseball cards when legislation is written. Women are still earning roughly a quarter of what men earn--and those earnings matter from quality of life to political support to retirement.
Hopefully the republication of this book will spur on this generation of young women as it did thier mothers and grandmothers before them.
Finally, after 60 years we English speakers/readers have the complete unabridged version of Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex.
de Beauvoir set out to anaylze the concept of woman--coming to the conclusion that women are "othered" by society. This study in the making and mintaining of women's inequality was eye opening when it was abridged, the unabridged version (What is a 2 volume paperback version in French is a 700 + page book in English) should only solidify more her argument.
Unfortunately, sixty years after she wrote this foundational book, women are still othered. Our rights are traded away as if they were baseball cards when legislation is written. Women are still earning roughly a quarter of what men earn--and those earnings matter from quality of life to political support to retirement.
Hopefully the republication of this book will spur on this generation of young women as it did thier mothers and grandmothers before them.
Labels: Simone de Beauvoir
