Tag Archives: rights

Troubling Issues from Boston…

Posted on April 20, 2013 by Terry| Leave a comment

In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings and subsequent capture of one of the perpetrators, some troubling issues have arisen.  Senators John McCain, Lindsey Graham, and other Republicans (of course) are calling for Dzhokar Tsarnaev to be held as an “enemy combatant”.  Can you claim the bombing was “terrorism”?  Of course. However, this isn’t a foreign national in custody…it’s an American citizen.

The kid is scum…he deserves to punished under the full weight of the law.   I can’t imagine why ANY human being would do the acts he’s accused of. Given the evidence, there currently appears to be little chance of him escaping at least a lifetime in prison.  The issue about how he’s being treated under the law isn’t about Dzhokar Tsarnaev himself, it’s about American ideology. 

The Tsarnaev brothers certainly turned Boston upside down and instilled a lot of fear in folks.   I just hope that fear doesn’t cloud people’s judgement about what America stands for.  This ISN’T Russia.  The Tsarnaev’s left Chechnya to escape an oppressive regime, one where brutality and lack of due process under the law were threats to all who opposed government control.  I don’t know why they turned to such a despicable act, but it would be ironic if their presence and crime in America moved OUR justice system towards a system more like Russia’s. 

Watching the news coverage of the events, I can’t also help but be concerned about the media’s (and public’s) fixation on their religious status.  The younger brother in custody is an American citizen.  I would bet the farm that he WOULD have been read his Miranda rights, that he WOULD have been treated as a normal “criminal”…if he hadn’t come from Chechnya, and ESPECIALLY if he hadn’t had indications of ties with the Muslim faith. 

I understand the concern about further danger, and of course authorities want to know whether there are any other collaborators or any other explosive devices that may be out there.  However, to me, it’s (yet another) act of mass murder committed by an American citizen.  While his background should indeed be relevant to the investigation, it should NOT drive how he is treated under the law.

Read the scum his Miranda rights, charge him in the criminal courts, and let him spend the rest of his miserable life in high-security prison.  Treating an American citizen as an “enemy combatant”, even a scum like Dzhokar Tsarnaev, just means that the Tsarnaev’s have won.

Posted in Culture Wars, Politics

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Senator Johnson Flips on Gay Marriage

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Terry| Leave a comment

Yet another “flip” from a Democratic Senator on the issue of gay marriage, this time from our very own red-state Senator Johnson.  I believe the scorecard now leaves 3 Democratic Senators as not supporting it. 

On the other side of the aisle, I believe the current scorecard still only shows 2 Republican Senators supporting gay marriage.  What I find incredibly hypocritical about Republicans’ stance on the issue is that Republicans love to point to the Constitution when it suits their needs, but at other times, completely ignore the basic principles on which the country was founded.  “Equality” may not be mentioned in the Constitution itself (“All Men are Created Equal” is in the Declaration of Independence), but the fourteenth amendment does state that people must have equal treatment under the law.

It’s baffling to me that any group of Americans could actively promote discrimination under the law in this day and age.

In them meantime…good for you, Senator Johnson.

Posted in Culture Wars, Politics

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Senator Johnson Among Last Dem Holdouts for Gay Marriage

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Terry| 2 Comments

Politics is a strange animal in South Dakota.  Unlike adjacent Minnesota and Iowa on our eastern border, there’s simply very little doubt in the vast majority of elections in the state.  If you’re a Republican and you’re running in South Dakota, you’ve got a hell of good chance to win by a wide margin.  Even as pitiful as Republican presidential candidates have been for, oh, the last 25 years or so, there’s been absolutely no doubt that the Republican would carry South Dakota.

Despite the state being very “red”, we’ve remarkably had at least one Democratic Senator for most of the last 50 years.  George McGovern held a seat for 3 terms, from 1962 to 1980.  Tom Daschle held a seat for 3 terms, from 1986 to 2004.  Tim Johnson served simultaneously with Daschle from 1996 to 2004 and continues to serve today, remarkably giving conservative South Dakota TWO Democratic Senators for a number of years.

Tim Johnson recently announced he is retiring at the end of his third term.  Three terms seems to be a magic number for South Dakota Senators.  South Dakotans in general are a little slow on the draw, and I think it takes them 15 years or so to realize their “mistake” in electing a Senator who isn’t a conservative nutjob.  Hence, South Dakota choosing to boot out Tom Daschle in 2004, despite Daschle giving South Dakota more power than it’s ever had as Senate Majority leader for years.

We’ve had the pleasure of meeting multiple times with both of our current Senators, Tim Johnson as well as Republican John Thune.  Well, let me rephrase.  We’ve had the pleasure of meeting with Tim Johnson.  I wouldn’t call meeting with John Thune a very pleasurable experience.  Our young son was diagnosed with Type-1 diabetes near his first birthday, and we’ve met with both Senators multiple times to discuss health care issues.  Senator Johnson was always very receptive, and very AWARE of the issues.  Senator Thune?  The first time we met with him, we talked about a stem-cell research bill that was up for a vote.  After we talked about it for 15 minutes or so, including the potential long-term benefits for children like our son, it was ABUNDANTLY clear that Senator Thune knew very little about the bill he was about to vote on.  It was ABUNDANTLY clear that Senator Thune knew practically nothing about stem cell research, other than the same old misguided Republican talking points that persist to this day.  What was MOST telling was Thune’s initial response when we were done talking.  He didn’t ask questions about our son.  He didn’t ask questions about the bill or embryonic stem cell research.  Instead, his first comment was, “Well, I can’t be expected to vote for that…I’m a REPUBLICAN!”.

That pretty much sums up Senator Thune, and South Dakota Republicans in general…following the party line no matter what, independent thinking (or even basic KNOWLEDGE of an issue) be damned.  If there’s one thing that drives me absolutely nuts about politics today, it’s the polarization between Dems and Republicans, where there’s simply very little chance that any Republican would support ANYTHING Obama or the Dems support.  Democrats are almost as equally guilty, although it’s damned hard to top the pig-headedness of today’s Republican party.  What happened to independent thinking?  What happened to thinking about what’s best for your constituents or the country as a whole?

Senator Johnson is making headlines recently for being one of the rare independent politicians, bucking the party line.  Unfortunately, it’s not in a good way.  As momentum continues to build for equal rights and gay marriage, what was recently 9 Democratic Senator holdouts for supporting gay marriage is as of today down to 6.   Senator Johnson remains one of the 6 holdouts in the Democratic Senate, refusing to publicly support gay marriage.

I’m disappointed.  Senator Johnson has been a wonderful, understated voice for South Dakotans.  Unfortunately, he’s now letting the conservative views of South Dakota taint his views.  He’s taking the easy way out, avoiding backlash from South Dakotans for supporting something that definitely doesn’t jive with the very conservative culture here.

Senator Johnson, as you serve out the last year and half of your 18-year career, here’s hoping you decide to do what’s RIGHT, decide that it IS important to treat all Americans equally.  You’ll never have to again face the wrath of South Dakota’s conservative electorate.  Here’s hoping you worry less about your legacy within the state of South Dakota, and pay more attention to doing what’s RIGHT.

Posted in Culture Wars, Politics

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“Where all men are created equal”…

Posted on March 22, 2013 by Terry| 1 Comment

As I woke up this morning and starting scanning the morning news, what first came to mind upon seeing a headline on CNN was Thomas Jefferson’s famous line in the Declaration of Independence…”We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal”.  The story on CNN…”No one should be fired for being gay“.  It talks about someone who worked in a sheriff’s office in Mississippi who tried to hide his sexual orientation.  However, when his partner became violent one night and he had to call for help, it was a colleague who responded.  In the following investigation where his sexual orientation became obvious, he was fired.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.  It was many decades after the Declaration of Independence before the Nation as a whole (well, OK, the northern half of the Nation) had the moral courage to apply Jefferson’s line to men OTHER than white men.  It took several more decades before half the populous, women, were given the same voting rights as men.

But for god’s sake, it’s now 2013, and in 29 states it’s STILL it’s perfectly legal to FIRE someone, just because of their sexual orientation?  Perhaps the trends over the last few years are a sign that yet another discriminatory practice in the U.S. is about to fall.  There have been stories this week that acceptance and support for gay marriage is at an all-time high.  Several states are moving to support gay marriage.  Acceptance among the general populace is particularly high among younger Americans, a promising sign for the future.

But despite the gains, today’s CNN story is a sad reminder of just how far we have to go.

“Where all men are created equal“…perhaps someday in America, we’ll actually practice what we preach.

Posted in Culture Wars

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Pope Francis – “Biggest Moment in the World”? Uh…No.

Posted on March 13, 2013 by Terry| 2 Comments

And, there’s a new pope.  Pope Francis.  First Latin American pope, or pope from the western hemisphere.  First Jesuit pope.  What a historic moment, a moment we’ll all remember years from now.  Well, that’s the storyline you’ve seen on the news today.  On CNN, one writer wrote that this is the “biggest moment in the world“. 

In reality?  It’s yet another old white guy with an incredibly outdated view on life, a man whose real impact on the world is minor.  The man who wrote that this was “the biggest moment in the world” was, predictably, another western, old white guy.  As expected, on the first day of a new pope, most of the stories are about “Francis’s” views on humility and helping the poor. Admirable views.  What also has come out are his fight against gay rights, with a vigorous opposition to Argentina’s law regarding gay marriage.

This isn’t one of the “biggest moments in the world”.  Despite the “newness” of a South American pope, despite the newness of having a Jesuit, it’s not a move that will dramatically alter the direction of the Catholic Church.  It’s not a move that will make Catholicism more relevant in a 21st century world.  If the man’s history is any indication, the Catholic Church is likely going to continue to alienate large segments of the world population.

It’s a testament to the Western view of the world that this is viewed as the “biggest moment in the world” by so many.  Yes, there are about 1.2 billion professed Catholics in the world.  That’s less than 20% of the world’s population, and there are one hell of a lot of those 1.2 billion who may be Catholic in name, but likely are alienated by the outdated Catholic Church policies.  As for the other 5.8 billion people in the world?  Do they think this is the “biggest moment in the world”?  What do you think Muslims, Hindus, other Christians, atheists, or other faiths think about the announcement of a new pope?  As one of the “biggest moments in the world”?

The sun continues to set and rise.  Governments continue to do their work, for good and for bad.  Wars continue to be fought.  The world continues to march on, and in reality, whoever is named head of the Catholic Church has very little if any effect on how people live their lives. 

And…if Pope Francis continues down the path the Catholic Church has been following in recent decades, that influence will continue to dwindle as an outdated Church and outdated Pope become increasingly irrelevant in a modern world.

Posted in Culture Wars, Deep Thoughts

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South Dakota Legislature: Crazy People Have Gun Rights Too!!!

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Terry| 5 Comments

You gotta love the South Dakota legislature.  They don’t let little things like “fact” or “science” get in the way, as they’ve repeatedly shown in their ground-breaking attempts to somehow legislate away climate change.  They flaunt their world-respected power, voting on United Nations resolutions as if the United Nations gives a rat’s ass what the South Dakota Legislature thinks.  This week, they’ve continued to flash their “conservative cred”.  Hey, they’ve got competition from the Kansas Legislature and other red-state wackos!  Gotta prove who is the MOST conservative!!

To that end, yesterday a committee killed a bill that would have restricted firearm access to the mentally ill in South Dakota.  The law would have submitted the names of “dangerous” individuals to the federal database used for background checks, ensuring they wouldn’t have access to firearms.  Currently, South Dakota does NOT provide that information, meaning the mentally ill, including those deemed to be dangerous, could sail through a background check and buy firearms. 

Makes sense, right?  Restricting gun access to people who have been deemed to be dangerous?  A no-brainer, right?  HELL NO!!  THIS IS SOUTH DAKOTA!! Remember, we’re trying to compete with the Kansas’s of the world for who can be the most conservative, be it in denying evolution, legislating away climate change, or ensuring that a bunch of hairy old white men in the South Dakota Legislature control what women do with their bodies. 

CRAZY PEOPLE HAVE GUN RIGHTS TOO!!  Even people deemed to be DANGEROUS have gun rights!! YOU’LL TAKE OUR GUNS WHEN YOU PRY THEM FROM OUR COLD, DEAD FINGERS!!!!  Rep. Melissa Magstadt said she was “worried” about taking the right to bear arms away from the mentally ill before they had committed a violent act, even if mental assessment indicated they were dangerous to themselves or others.  BRILLIANT, Ms. Magstadt!! We wait until AFTER they commit a violent act before even considering taking away guns from crazy people!!

Rep. Scott Ecklund said the bill would “add to the struggle of people with mental illness”.  Yes, because NOTHING soothes the mentally ill like having a cache of weapons.  It’s MUCH more important that the dangerous mentally ill have gun access and, evidently, less of a “struggle”, than it is to protect the rest of the population! 

Kudos, South Dakota Legislature!!  Kansas, here we come!  You may (currently) have us beat on wacko evolution legislation, but we DARE you to touch our conservative cred on the issue of guns!!

Posted in Culture Wars

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Perusin’ & Musin’ – The Republican “Morality” Edition

Posted on August 20, 2012 by Terry| Leave a comment

Just some random thoughts from perusing the web.  Seems to be an extra dose of disgusting Repubs in the news lately.  Hasn’t been the first time I’ve scoffed at the supposed moral high ground Republicans seem to TRY to take on most issues.  Walk the walk…

“Legitimate Rape” – I’m not going to beat this one to death, since it’s obviously gotten a lot of coverage over the last 24 hours.  Suffice it to say I totally agree with this great article from Laura Helmuth that Todd Akin’s “misstatement” was nothing of the sort, that it was his underlying sexism and ignorance slipping out.

Republicans calling for Akin to quit - Pardon my cynicism, but the ONLY reason Republicans are calling for him to quit, is because his verbal gaffe has cost him any chance at beating McCaskill for that Missouri Senate seat.  If the press hadn’t jumped all over Akin, IF Akin weren’t affected politically by his comments?  The silence you would hear from Republicans would be deafening.

Skinny-dipping Republican Congressmen - Skinny dipping in the Sea of Galilee while on “business”?  Way to go House Freshmen Repubs…classy stuff.

Repubs keep pushing voter restrictions – What does it say when an entire political party seems hell-bent on STOPPING people from voting?  Unless they happen to be rich, white “Christians”?  Suppressing the votes of minorities and the poor, reliable Democratic voting blocs, seems to be the primary strategy of Republicans for this next election.  Repubs cry “VOTER FRAUD!!” as their excuse, but it’s painfully obvious the real reason is to dissuade minorities from voting, ESPECIALLY when report after report says there IS no meaningful voter fraud in the U.S.   I think the only thing that could be more obvious is if Repubs wore KKK uniforms while they smiled and called for voting regulations.

Four people shot at a Walmart - Four people shot in the parking lot of a Walmart, and it barely makes the news.  And as usual in this election year, it draws not a peep from the cowards too worried about the next election to make any calls for meaningful gun control.

Posted in Culture Wars, Politics

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Hairy Old White Men Strike Again

Posted on June 5, 2012 by Terry| 4 Comments
Hairy Old White Men

Hairy old white men strike again, voting against a bill that would improve women's pay equality in comparison to men.

A picture is worth a thousand words.  In this picture, Senate Republicans are explaining why they refused to vote for a bill aimed to improve pay equality between men and women.

And what is it you note about this picture?  Ah yes, that’s right…THEY’RE ALL HAIRY OLD WHITE MEN!!! (Again…a phrase coined by my wife).  In another example of how COMPLETELY out of touch Republicans are, not only did every single Republican vote against this bill, but the cadre of Senators they chose to come out and speak to the press about it are all HAIRY OLD WHITE MEN. 

The not quite as “old” Hairy White Man in the back is our own beloved Senator John Thune from South Dakota.  Or, as I like to refer to him….”Worthless Piece of Shit Thune“.  This is the same bold, independent thinker who responded with “I can’t vote for that!  I’m a Republican!!” when my wife and I met with him to talk about a stem cell research bill up before the Senate (research that could help my son with Type 1 diabetes).   PERFECT photo of what Thune is ALL about…standing in the background, hanging on every word that his older HAIRY OLD WHITE MAN colleagues are saying, so he can repeat the same exact words later.  I laugh whenever I hear the man mentioned as a possible VP candidate.  My GOD, has America become SO pathetic that a man like him is even MENTIONED for something like that?

Thune may not be “old”, but he definitely qualifies as a HAIRY OLD WHITE MAN nonetheless.  To qualify, you must:

1) Lack any kind of independent thought, always blindly voting the Republican party line.

2) ALWAYS vote against ANY bill that attempts to improve rights or living standards for any one who is NOT 1) white 2) a man, or 3) in the richest 1% of all Americans.

3) Be a rather repugnant human being overall, someone you’d hope to god your daughters wouldn’t ever marry.

In other words…you just have to simply be like seemingly 99% of Republican men nowadays.  I HEAR there are supposedly a few Republican men who aren’t HAIRY OLD WHITE MEN, but I have yet to find one.  As a birder, I’m still hopeful that birds such as the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, Bachmann’s Warbler, or Eskimo Curlew may be hanging on somewhere and aren’t extinct. 

I’m starting to feel the same way about Republicans.  Are there ANY of the supposed “Compassionate Conservatives” (HAH!!!) that Bush talked about? Or have ALL Republicans gone off the deep end?  Have they all gone the way of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker or Eskimo Curlew??

I take heart that given the Republican’s love of rich people and HAIRY OLD WHITE MEN, pretty soon those few Republicans who AREN’T HAIRY OLD WHITE MEN will realize they’re supporting the wrong party.  GET A CLUE, REPUBS!!  There are one HELL of a lot more of us out here than just HAIRY OLD WHITE MEN.  Continue to make the HAIRY OLD WHITE MAN political platform the platform of the Republican Party, and your party is doomed.

Posted in Culture Wars, Equality, Politics

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Scum of the Week – Adam Turner

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Terry| 9 Comments

What is it about gun “enthusiasts”?  How does one ever reach a point in life, where your primary ambition becomes making sure you can carry a gun wherever you want, whenever you want?  Why would you NEED to carry a gun wherever you want, whenever you wants?  Are people SO paranoid, SO insecure about their own pathetic lives, that carrying a gun around somehow gives them comfort?  Makes them feel important?  Makes them feel like a bigger person than they really are?  Are their lives SO pathetic that THIS becomes their most important issue in life?

Sioux Falls is considered changing an executive order that bans firearms from city property.  City lawyers are concerned they’re opening themselves up for a lawsuit by having such an executive order.

Leading the charge to get the executive order changed is Adam Turner, president of the Sioux Falls chapter of “South Dakota Open Carry”.  This jackass says that “gun-free” zones make people less safe.  Yes, Mr. Turner, arming EVERYONE, having a BUNCH of trigger-happy gun freaks like yourself running around will DEFINITELY make the world a safer place.  Given that the majority of the human race appears to be either 1) dumber than a cardboard box, and/or 2) hateful and uncaring about their fellow man, pardon me if I don’t feel “safer” knowing gun freaks with IQ’s lower than my pet cocker spaniel are all running around carrying, even when I’m in such “dangerous” locations such as city parks.  Thank GOD we have nutjobs like Turner around to ensure that I’ll have a host of wackos around with guns, while I’m on city property watching my son play soccer, or enjoying a walk through the park.

Congrats Adam Turner.  You and the ENTIRE “South Dakota Open Carry” group are well-deserved winners of the Scum of the Week award.

Posted in Culture Wars, Scum Of The Week

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Good for you, Sen. Adelstein

Posted on January 28, 2012 by Terry| 1 Comment
South Dakota Senator Stan Adelstein

South Dakota Senator Stan Adelstein - Had the guts to change course and take back his support of a bill he sponsored on public unions.

I was just going to add a response to an earlier post, about the South Dakota legislature and their attempts to limit collective bargaining rights for public employees in the state.  However, when someone reverses course and rights a wrong, I think they deserve recognition.  God knows it can be damned difficult to change your opinions sometimes, whether you’re Republican,Democrat, black,white,purple,Christian,Muslim,Martian, etc.

R-Stan Adelstein, a South Dakota senator from Rapid City, was a sponsor of the bill that attempted to limit the power of public unions.  I ripped him, and the rest of the legislature, for bringing this bill up.  Today, Adelstein reversed his support for the bill, saying “I am not afraid to admit a mistake and attempt to set it right.” 

Way to go Sen. Adelstein…I salute you.  You have more courage to admit a mistake than I do sometimes.

Posted in Politics

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