Election year politics is always a strange time. That’s when the crazies come out in full force to hog the spotlight and get this or that group fired up about this or that issue. Now, one could argue that since the election of Obama in 2008, the Right has run a never-ending campaign against him. Oh hell, why make an argument, it’s the truth!
Our top story…
The influx of children from Central America who are crossing the U.S./Mexico border illegally has really brought out the, ahem, best in quotable quotes. Obama says he needs three billion dollars to deal with this crisis. What does John Boehner say? “We’re not giving the president a blank check.” Blank check? He asked for a specific amount not a blank check, you dolt. In the tug of war between congress and the president, congress is going to cut the amount Obama requested, and change the law so we can dump the kids back in their home country without first hearing their pleas for amnesty. That’ll show ’em! Oh wait, you mean this border crisis is more complex than that? Well, we don’t have time to think about this stuff, okay? Just remember what a Realtor once told me, “Don’t think. Act!”
Meanwhile, back in Stupidville…
You have angry mobs of reactionaries pissed off about the 50,000 Central American kids being “processed” at border control offices. They show up, get their racist groove on, call the kids all sorts of names (good thing many of the kids can’t understand what’s being said, but I’m sure they understand when someone wants to drive you out-of-town on a rail). Now these citizens like to bring up the issue that these kids are not only going to spread diseases, but TAKE OUR JOBS! What that what? The rationale for the “They’re gonna take our jobs” hysteria? Many of these kids will turn 18 next year, and will then be in competition with “our” teenagers for jobs. Hmm, the last time I checked, many newly arrived migrants find jobs in the agricultural biz picking fruits and veggies. I don’t see a lot of high school graduates lining up for those jobs. And as far as diseases go…some of the people making the argument that these kids bring in diseases and mess up the place are made by folks who won’t vaccinate their own kids. That’s our dunderhead mob: putting the hip in hypocrisy.
Now to sports, weather, and dumb lawsuits…
In sports: people play games and other people place bets on who will win.
Weather: drought in the West, polar vortex in parts of the Midwest and East, and the South is hotter than hell.
Ripped from the wire:
(Washington, DC) — House Republicans are moving closer to suing President Obama for executive overreach. Opening a hearing of the House Rules Committee today, Texas Republican Pete Sessions accused the President of violating the separation of powers. The GOP lawsuit would focus on executive actions President Obama has taken involving implementation of the healthcare reform law. New York Democrat Louise Slaughter called the planned lawsuit a preposterous waste of time and taxpayer dollars. She said it is a purely political exercise.
Okay, I covered this in another post, but just to be clear: presidents CAN make laws through executive orders. Did congress sue Harry Truman for Executive Order 9981: Desegregation of the Armed Forces in 1948 ? Not that I’m aware of…
No wonder people tire of politics. It’s a clown car of idiocy that just keeps coming.
