Before the insurance/medical stuff yesterday, I was working on a blog post in my head about some news stories I’d been reading in our local paper. The blatant hypocrisy and hate mongering is staggering. The idiocy is, well, idiotic.
This is what we’re spending our money on.
Presidential ‘birther bill’ advances in state House:
The so-called “birther bill” won initial approval from the House of Representatives on Monday, advancing legislation that would require presidential candidates to produce a birth certificate before they can make the ballot in Arizona. The legislation originated from a fringe group that believes President Barack Obama is not a natural-born citizen of the United States and therefore ineligible to be president.
Quackery – pure quackery. On so many levels, I want to scream – but instead, I will point out this: the same group of people who are ‘fighting’ for access to our Presidents birth certificate are the same people who are ‘fighting’ to keep the original birth certificates of adopted adults sealed. I’d also like to point out – since my own birth certificate won’t pass muster with our federal government and allow me to get a Passport – it makes me wonder if bills like this would keep adopted folks from running from office. After all, we can’t produce an unaltered birth certificate…
Sounds like a Civil Rights issue to me…ya know, in addition to the hypocrisy and idiocy. /head>>desk
Arizona to allow concealed weapons without permit:
Starting later this summer, U.S. citizens 21 and older can begin carrying a concealed firearm without a permit in Arizona.
Phew – this really *is* the wild, wild west.
Now before you go all NRA/Charlton Heston on me – I should say, I’m a huge supporter of a persons right to bear arms – I think that if someone wants to have a gun in their home and use it to protect their family and their property – great. I have a healthy respect for weapons – I’m from Texas and not to promote any kind of big hair/big gun stereotype – I’ve been exposed to weapons (and Aqua Net, so you better watch yourself) most of the folks I know who have weapons are well-adjusted adults who have a healthy respect for the danger and risk involved in owning the weapons – but not all of them. It’s the ‘small minority’ I worry about.
I’m still working through my thoughts on this issue – but mostly, I’m scared of what this means for those of us who don’t walk around with a handgun holstered under our jackets. I mean – I still get super uncomfortable almost every day when I commute home with a guy on a crotch rocket in the HOV lane who has his handgun holstered on his right hip (This isn’t a hypothetical – I really see this guy almost every day).
I worry about vigilantism – a shoot first, ask questions later attitude that will now be easier because Susy Soccer Mom is carrying a small Beretta in her Louis Vuitton handbag.
I know, I know – we can’t allow the ‘small minority’ to govern the way we act – or can we? I mean…we do it all the time in relation to other topics…say, for example, immigration issues. Which brings me to our next story.
Ariz. lawmakers pass toughest illegal immigration law in U.S.:
Senate Bill 1070 would, among other things, make it a state crime to be in the country illegally and require local police to enforce federal-immigration laws. If the governor signs it, Arizona would be the first state to criminalize illegal immigrants.
What has this world come to? I mean – they can call it “illegal immigration” all day long – but what they’re really doing is criminalizing being Mexican in America – because, let’s face it – these are the ‘obvious illegals’.
There are concerns that the new law will promote racial profiling – supporters claim it won’t. Honestly, I don’t see how in the hell it can’t – unless, of course, every person pulled over and/or questioned by police on the street are asked for the supporting documents that prove they are either A) a US Citizen or B) in this country legally.
I know a number of folks who either came here illegally or came legally and turned ‘illegal’ when they didn’t leave. Two are Hispanic, one is Russian, one is from the UK, two others, a married couple, are from Canada and a gentleman who lives in my same neighborhood is from Chad.
If you’re counting – that’s four white folks, a black man and two Hispanics.
My four white friends rarely talk about issues related to illegal immigration – last night, when I chatted with all four to ask them about this new law, all four of them responded about the same, ‘this doesn’t apply to us’. I thought for a second and said, “But why, you’re not here legally, you’re exactly who the bill targets – non-US Citizens who are in this country illegally, read the bill” – the Canadian husband laughed and said, “I’ve read it, I’m not concerned, I’m the right color”.
The right color – and of course, they speak the right language without an accent, barring, of course, the insane use of the word “eh” and their manic-like affection for Hockey.
My Russian and British friends we’re a bit more concerned – they worry that their accent will create issues, but both admitted that in their years here in the states (and Arizona) they’ve never been asked to prove their citizenship when pulled over by the police. They worry that this might change – but admit that they might have a ‘leading edge’ because they are both white. My Russian friend also suggested she might be able to play the ‘beautiful woman’ card – one that’s gotten her out of every ticket she’s ever been endanger of getting since her arrival in our wonderful country.
My friend from Chad was most concerned. He’s been here over two decades. He purchased a home when he was ‘legal’ and owns a business that supports his family. He isn’t, however, the right color and by his own admission, he’s also not ‘beautiful’. His accent is there, although over twenty years in America has faded it some. He’s scared…but also says that he’s only scared of what will happen if he is pulled over by police. He’s a well groomed older black man and he’s never broken the law, “I don’t speed” he says, “Even before the cameras, I follow the law”. When I asked him more about the law in question, he said he felt it was more specific to “Mexicans” – when I dug a little deeper, he said, “You know, all the people from the south”,
Ah, yes, the people from the south. The obvious illegals. The people with an accent from speaking Spanish as their first language. The brown folks…
This is what I was talking about above when I suggested we do enforce certain things based on the ‘minority’. The claim is that this law is to address a crazy influx of crime at the hands of illegals…but, ya know what? I watch the crime blotter – I keep up with things related to crime in my area, it’s just something I’ve always done – and of all the crimes I’ve seen reported – the vast majority of them aren’t perpetrated by ‘illegal immigrants’ from Mexico (or other points south) or heck, even ‘legal’ Mexican/South American Nationals – the pictures I see are of white 20-something year old men, with a clear addiction to Meth.
We’ve clearly got bigger fish to fry in our state – and yes, illegal immigration is an important issue – but if anyone thinks that racial profiling isn’t going to happen with this law and that the result of passing the law will be a sudden and drastic reduction in crime – then boy have I got a deal for you!
Question of the day: How many of your ancestors who came to America for a better life, some legal, some not, would qualify for immigration by today’s standards?
My answer: Zero – he was a felon without a family sponsor, no job and no residence in the US.
Let’s focus on important issues, like bringing businesses to Arizona to create jobs and keeping teachers in our classrooms…instead of arming our vigilante army with concealed weapons, deporting brown people and being sore losers because you lost the presidential election.
Warning: Just for fun, I intend on employing any number of foreign accents when I get pulled over by the police – just to see what they’ll do. Oh, and I do get pulled over – I drive a red car and my right foot is made of a cinder block…so this isn’t an empty threat 
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