SquareState - Birthers

Peter Boyles throttles Producer, leaves "Birther" marks?

Zappatero — Sat, 25 May 2013 01:21:26 GMT

Gee, I'm so shocked to hear that the Great Thinker, and Non-Stop Birther that is Peter Boyles took the time out of his day to try to strangle his producer:

Peter Boyles, a well-known and ~~sometimes~~ purposefully-controversial radio host in Denver for 630 KHOW, will be off the air Friday after a heated physical exchange with one of his producers, multiple sources connected to the station confirm to 9NEWS.
Employees observed red marks on producer Greg Hollenback's neck within the minutes of the argument, which happened during Thursday morning's broadcast of the Peter Boyles Show.
The sources wished to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to speak on the matter.
(Too bad Peter was involved, cuz who else has the grit and determination and grip to find out if Peter Boyles gave birther marks to his producer? -z)
"Everyone here is disappointed and devastated," one employee told 9NEWS.

That's about all that's been said publicly about yesterday's incident. We don't know what Boyles and his producer were arguing about, or how it apparently escalated to Boyles attacking the man-described by other sources as a "throttling."
What we do know is these two men have worked together for some 20 years, and that the incident happened just after Tancredo's gubernatorial campaign announcement yesterday. 9NEWS was reportedly still at the station to cover that announcement when this happened.

Peter Boyles throttles producer. We're giong to need more than just a piece of paper to believe that.

UPDATE (x3): Republican nominee Romney goes Birther. Will Coffman react? 7 Birthers at R Convention

Zappatero — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 17:44:03 GMT

Peter Boyles should be so proud.

Now if he can get Mitt to ask for the President's Occidental College transcripts we'd be able to find out if Barack was a Mosslomen Foreigner, or was anything less than a Straight-A student.

UPDATE: Here's the President's response to this racist dog-whistle:

"Throughout this campaign, Governor Romney has embraced the most strident voices in his party instead of standing up to them. It's one thing to give the stage in Tampa to Donald Trump (Birther), Sheriff Joe Arpaio (Birther), and Kris Kobach (I don't know who this Asshole is, in any case we've got Boyles.)
But Governor Romney's decision to directly enlist himself in the birther movement should give pause to any rational voter across merica."

Hey, at least Romney enlisted in something. Neither he nor his 5 Strapping Sons ever saw fit to enlisted in our armed forces. And Mike Coffman, our wonderful, patriotic, veteran congressman, might, or might not, approve....I don't know. Someone should ask him:

UPDATE II: There are 7 Birthers speaking at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, FL.

UPDATE III: Loser Romney on the defensive. Instead of running for president he should go back to something he's good at: pillaging American companies and outsourcing American jobs.

Mike Rosen's irrational hatred of our Democratically-elected, African-American President

Zappatero — Thu, 31 May 2012 20:11:00 GMT

Poor Mike Rosen just can't help himself. And he can't help but inflame his high-motivation, low-information voter/listeners. Rosen says today that Mike Coffman was correct in his slander and lies about Barack Obama. Since these guys are going after so many aspects of Obama's presidency, and COPols has proven Rosen is by definition a "birther", let's just look at another Obama criticism: the hyperbolic and completely irrational charge that Barack Obama (and all his constituents and supporters - that's you and me, folks) are European Socialists with a hidden Hatred of America.

Of course, no amount of evidence, no rational discussions, no comparisons of policies across the world will convince Rosen and his listeners otherwise. Nothing will stop the irrational hatred of a man who is implementing many fairly conservative (note: dictionary definition) policies, many of which were supported by Republicans in their own form or as policies before Obama also endorsed them.

Socialism: a political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.

Don't confuse this definition with the definition of "government" or "society" in general. If we have no rules, no common reference for acceptable behavior, we have anarchy -- which no one here advocates.

No socialism there. No socialism anywhere that Rosen can find or prove.
No one is trying to take away anyone's wealth. No one is proposing we tax the Forbes 400 List into poverty (though many among Rosen's listeners will make the accusation). Certainly no one with any power has proposed we take over the thieving banks or polluting energy companies or monopolistic media companies.

But none of these facts will change anything in this debate. Nothing. Never. No-how....will change the mind of Mike Rosen or anyone who claims Obama is Socialist.

And for our Democratic elected leaders please note: these are the people with whom you are negotiating to implement effective policies and with whom you eternally desire to be bipartisan.

Mike Coffman losing in early voting!

Zappatero — Mon, 28 May 2012 21:20:59 GMT

At least in votes cast by Denver Post readers to their front page poll asking about Coffman's Major League Goof:

Go vote if you haven't already! Like Peter Boyles - the Pope of Colorado Birthers says, these people will not stop peddling this stuff just cuz one was too embarrassed to stick to his charge:

Mr. Coffman's views were an example of that very (Pat Buchanan-type) racism. America should be outraged at this, but we laugh it off as minor.
Mr. Coffman is not a nut, he is far more dangerous than that: He's an intelligent bigot with political power and reach who should be feared and respected.
Remember the audience, educated and well heeled, clapped at his remarks. Democrats and progressives need to wake up and realize what the Republicans have been dong since the Tea Party took over (actually, much earlier than that - Z) and what their goal is: The annihilation of Progressives and Democrats regardless of their gender, color, faith, sexuality, union affiliation or any cultural modifier.

True dat......fight back, Progs!

Bill Maher on Mike Coffman: "Republican from Douchebagville"

Zappatero — Sun, 27 May 2012 17:26:51 GMT

Hey, don't shoot the messenger......though I do like the "wifer" stuff.

Maybe Peter Boyles can talk Mitt if he ever gets bored from the almost daily attacks on Barack Obama's birth certificate, Social Security number, publisher's pamphlet, and all the other inane garbage he spoon feeds his audience.

It's a very cool moment: Birther convicted of gun, terrorism charges

Zappatero — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 21:36:35 GMT

Peter Boyles going full birther:

"It's a very cool moment," Boyles said on the air. "It'll rock 'n' roll when this happens. ... Maybe other radio talk-show hosts will do the same and see what their audiences do."

Well, too many radio haters to count have gone on the birther kick. They do it to tweak the racists in their audience and to pretend they are independent of the views and desires of their corporate bosses. Here's what a one member of Boyles' key demographic did with his birther feelings:

Huff was stopped by Tennessee officers in April 2010 and told them he was bringing guns into the state from Dallas, Ga., to support efforts to arrest Monroe County officials who refused to indict Obama.
Huff was a part of a Georgia militia and the `birther' movement that disputes Obama's U.S. citizenship.
Officers testified Huff was carrying a loaded Colt .45 in a holster on his hip plus an assault rifle and 200 or 300 rounds of ammunition in a tool box in his truck. They said he also had a document he claimed was a "citizens' arrest warrant" for officials, saying they were domestic enemies and had been charged with treason.

Peter Boyles doesn't give a shit about our democracy. He would profess to loving the Constitution. But abuse of the First Amendment doesn't constitute love; it constitutes a desire to inflame ratings by any means necessary to enhance Clear Channel profits - a good amount of which go to Boyles. His abuse of our airwaves and the first amendment comes at our expense and his profit.

But that's all cool in Peter's book.

USAToday Compares Climate Change Deniers To Birthers

Bill Egnor AKA Something The Dog Said — Tue, 24 May 2011 13:40:44 GMT

Is there a pent up wave of sanity ready to overtop the Republican/Teahadist/Fox dam of reality denial? If you are a glass-half-full person like myself, then you might think so. We have seen the utter collapse of the Birther movement since the president released his long form birth certificate. We are seeing a vast majority of the nation rejecting the idea that we need to lower taxes on the wealthy, especially if it means messing with Medicare and Medicaid.

The reality that gay citizens are really no different from any other citizen and should not be singled out for different treatment is gaining strength both in the courts and the public. Recent decisions in courts have demolished, as a finding of fact, most of the arguments against adoption and marriage for gay citizens. In the world of public opinion the issue of marriage equality is polling above 50% for the first time and shows no sign of going the other way.

Today we see another sign that things may be on the change. USAToday has published and editorial that is comparing climate change deniers to Birthers. This is a big step because the denial of climate change has been going into high gear among Republicans and while it is to be expected in that many of the positions of the modern Republican party are flatly contrary to reality, the numbers of them have an affect on public sentiment that allows these kinds of things a legitimacy they do not deserve
.

From the USAToday editorial:

Late last week, the nation's pre-eminent scientific advisory group, the National Research Council arm of the National Academy of Sciences, issued a report called "America's Climate Choices." As scientific reports go, its key findings were straightforward and unequivocal: "Climate change is occurring, is very likely caused primarily by human activities, and poses significant risks to humans and the environment." Among those risks in the USA: more intense and frequent heat waves, threats to coastal communities from rising sea levels, and greater drying of the arid Southwest.
Coincidentally, USA TODAY's Dan Vergano reported Monday, a statistics journal retracted a federally funded study that had become a touchstone among climate-change deniers. The retraction followed complaints of plagiarism and use of unreliable sources, such as Wikipedia.
Taken together, these developments ought to leave the deniers in the same position as the "birthers," who continue to challenge President Obama's American citizenship - a vocal minority that refuses to accept overwhelming evidence.

That is exactly right. And it is not as though Republicans, prior to this administration, were so vehemently opposed to the ideas that would help to alleviate this problem. Cap and Trade is a Republican idea. It was used very effectively and efficiently to end acid rain, and it could be used now to reduce greenhouse gasses.

Even folks like John Huntsman who is probably going to run for president from the Republican party has said

"All I know is 90 percent of the scientists say climate change is occurring. If 90 percent of the oncological community said something was causing cancer we'd listen to them."

The fact that there are prominent Republicans like the deranged Sen. Inhofe who insist that it is a hoax makes it a hoax no more than when Rep. Louie Gohmert insists that there are terror anchor babies being born in the U.S.

Our nation and our world face real problems and they are only exacerbated by denying the reality of them for political purposes or campaign donations. A aide in the criminal Bush Administration once quipped:

The aide said that guys like me were "in what we call the reality-based community," which he defined as people who "believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality." ... "That's not the way the world really works anymore," he continued. "We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality-judiciously, as you will-we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors...and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.

That was a time of incredible hubris where the assumption was that American Exceptionalism allows the US to do things that don't match the reality of the world. It has fired Republican know-nothingism and brought us to where we are today.

Still I see reason for hope. With things like the USAToday editorial and the widening shame of being compared to Birthers in the context of beliefs that are not supported by data we might see an awakening in the public to understand that just because there is a small group who get a lot of air time on their TV machines, that does not make what they say true.

Hopefully this awakening will continue and grow. The fact is there are a lot of issues that everyone should be paying attention to and having fights over what is and what is not a fact does nothing to fix them.

For today, I am going to indulge in a little hope. It is probably doomed to be squashed by a giant foot like Bambi in Bambi v. Godzilla, but until that scaly, horny foot comes down, I see a bright spot.

The floor is yours.

Peter Boyles is probably too cheap

Zappatero — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 15:02:42 GMT

It would really rock if Peter Boyles put up the $100 to get the Official Hawaiian Birth Certificate of President of the United States:

Some Hawaii lawmakers see a way out of the state budget hole by capitalizing on doubts about President Obama's birth certificate. Meanwhile, efforts to convince the so-called "birthers" that Obama's Hawaii birth is authentically documented have ended up backfiring in some recent cases.
Yet to this day, birthers still want to see for themselves whether Obama is a natural born citizen, a constitutional standard of eligibility for the office. Questions still flood the governors office and the Health Department, and lawmakers say it's time to make some money off of that while, they say, proving his Hawaii birth to each and every inquiry.
"If the people are so concerned about Barack Obama and if he was actually born in Hawaii, born in the United States, let them pay a fee of 100 bucks," said Rep. John Mizuno, one of the Democratic co-sponsors of the measure. "We can certainly use the money, and we don't need to hear their complaining anymore."

I hope they pass this bill. Then Peter Boyles can either put up or shut up about something someone of his intelligence, and his less intelligent listeners, should have accepted years ago.

Humility

Steve Harvey — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 13:42:39 GMT

I'm increasingly convinced that there are few virtues more vital to a well-functioning democracy, and few virtues in shorter supply in this democracy of ours.
Yes, of course, other personal qualities are also vital: engagement being chief among them. But it is humility that helps determine the quality of that engagement, whether it is the kind that is a part of the problem, or the kind that is a part of the solution.

It is humility that drives an on-going deepening of an understanding of the issues, and of the dynamics that affect them, because it is humility that drives what should be an ever-present sense of just not knowing or understanding quite enough yet.

It is humility that fosters unity and cooperation, by removing the hubris that permits the easy dismissal of those who disagree as inferior beings, either stupid or evil or both.

It is humility that is the foundation of personal growth, and it is personal growth that is the foundation of social and political development.

I have long identified the opponent of progressivism to be "Organized Ignorance," those movements that are passionately committed to positions based on a lack of knowledge or insight, engaging in counterproductive mania's like the "birthers" and anti-evolutionists.

But, organized or not, I am constantly amazed and dismayed by how strong a presence this opponent has in the Democratic Party, or "on the left." There are those here who reject the Democratic Party, and our dichotomous conceptualization of American Politics in general. I agree in this way: The two camps that define the real struggle between progress and regress are not defined by the two parties, or by the two poles of the "left-right" spectrum. They are defined by those humble enough to keep learing, and to recognize the fallability of their own hopefully tentative conclusions, and those arrogant enough to adhere to some blind and stagnant ideology or another, which is by definition the bane of progress.

Racist Anti-Obama Billboard at Used Car Lot Replaced By Dan Maes Ad

Fong — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 00:02:57 GMT

OMG remember this?

I don't have a picture of the new billboard but Maes is what trumps white, used car salesmen rage?
Now it's a Dan Maes billboard.

Who else automagically doubts anything or anyone espoused by a Republican simply because it comes from a Republican pie hole (or billboard pie in the sky)?

The Final Nail For Birtherism? If Only

Bill Egnor AKA Something The Dog Said — Tue, 18 May 2010 13:21:14 GMT

When a person becomes convinced of a conspiracy, it is often impossible, short of total confirmation of the theory, to get them to give up on it. This is due to the nature of conspiracy theories. They are often based on the idea that all the facts are actually facts and are know able. Any trial lawyer will tell you that the facts are not always knowable, that even the most sober of people will edit their memories in the way that is favorable to their point of view. Sadly reality is not as neat and tight as we would like to pretend.

The fact that Hawaii is invoking the Act 100 clause of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) combined with the Republican Governor of that state saying that she has viewed the presidents birth certificate would be enough to kill the beast that is Birtherism. Sadly Birtherism is a hydra, when you cut off one head, two more grow back.
While the door is slammed shut on FOIA requests, that is not going to stop the law suits by people like the crazed Orly Taitz and Lt. Col. Terry Lakin, who is in the process of being court marshaled for his refusal to follow a deployment order to Afghanistan, based on the premise that President Obama is not actually president.

They will be basing their insistence on the original document being produced on the rules of discovery. I am unclear as to whether a judge will grant this kind of discovery, since the president has been sworn in, after the Supreme Court had a chance to consider if it would hear a challenge to his legitimacy to serve as president. To grant the discovery would be tantamount to challenging the Supreme Courts finding that there was no basis for this challenge.

This will not stop the Birthers though. They will continue to argue that other items point to the president's lack of legitimacy. The big one, after the birth certificate, is the fact that his Social Security number has the prefix for Connecticut not Hawaii. Like all of this insanity, it is easy to explain. The prefix on the SS number represents the state where you were living when it was issued. Being just a little younger than the President, I can tell you that most people my age or older did not get a Social Security card when we were born. I did not get mine until I was 17. For many people this means they have the prefix for the same state they were born in, but given the peripatetic nature of the Presidents life, it is hardly surprising that his was not issued until later in his life.

However this is all beside the point. Even if the president was in fact born in Kenya or some other country, the law provides for his qualification to serve. Like many things in the conservative world view, the Constitution is not the end of the matter, there is also the law. The Constitution itself in Article One, Section 8, Clause 4 grants the Congress the right to develop laws which govern all naturalization, which includes citizenship.

The controlling law, Title 8, Section 1401, defines the following people as "citizens of the United Stats at birth" :

• Anyone born inside the United States (except children of diplomats)
• Any Indian or Eskimo born in the United States, provided being a citizen of the U.S. does not impair the person's status as a citizen of the tribe
• Any one born outside the United States, both of whose parents are citizens of the U.S., as long as one parent has lived in the U.S.
• Any one born outside the United States, if one parent is a citizen and lived in the U.S. for at least one year and the other parent is a U.S. national
• Any one born in a U.S. possession, if one parent is a citizen and lived in the U.S. for at least one year
• Any one found in the U.S. under the age of five, whose parentage cannot be determined, as long as proof of non-citizenship is not provided by age 21
• Any one born outside the United States, if one parent is an alien and as long as the other parent is a citizen of the U.S. who lived in the U.S. for at least five years (with military and diplomatic service included in this time)
• A final, historical condition: a person born before 5/24/1934 of an alien father and a U.S. citizen mother who has lived in the U.S.

As you can see from the bolded section, President Obama qualified as a "natural born citizen" under the law no matter where he was born. His mother was a citizen who had lived in the United States more than five years. That should be the end of the story.

The Birther conspiracy theory is not really about where our president was born. It is about bigotry and racism. The fact that he has a middle name which is common in the Arab world and the color of his skin are driving this insanity. We can often lose sight of that in the freak show that is Birtherism.

Sen. John McCain was actually born outside the United States. He was born in the Panama Canal Zone, on a military base. Yet not a single person has questioned his ability to serve as the president. He falls under the same set of laws that provide for President Obama to be qualified, if he were not born in this country, which, of course he was.

It is time to stop enjoying the freak show and start calling it what it is, racism. It is hardly surprising to see the Republican Party as the home of this kind of talk. It has become more and more comfortable, at an institutional level, with overt racism. Their embrace of tokenism in the form of RNC Chair Michael Steele and other African American Republicans is not a move towards diversity but a cynical ploy to ward off critics pointing out the obvious, that the Republican Party is, at best, a tacitly racist organization.

To keep enjoying the Birther spectacle and ignore the implicitly racist motivation of it is to give a level of approval that no person who cares about equality should condone. So instead of debating the facts, which the Birthers will not listen to in any case, let's start debating the motivation. It is still uncomfortable for people to own racism in polite society in this country. Let's do our best to make the Birthers own their racist motivations.

The floor is yours.

Sen. Leahy: Obama could nominate Moses, GOP would demand his birth certificate

MinistryOfTruth — Mon, 10 May 2010 20:10:04 GMT

I think Al Franken is writing jokes for his fellow Democratic Senators, and I like it.

Witness teh funny

"We have some Republicans who would automatically oppose anybody who was nominated," Leahy said. "The President could nominate Moses the Law Giver. In fact I told the President, I said you realize if you'd nominated Moses the Law Giver, somebody would raise, 'but he doesn't have a birth certificate! Where's his birth certificate!'"
talkingpointsmemo.com

The bigger news is Senate Judiciary chairman Leahy's statement that Kagan should get confirmation vote before August .

But for more of teh funny and the reality deprived GOP's reaction, just go below the fold . . .

"It would be hard to find people in this country who would stand out as a greater legal scholar than she does," Leahy insisted. "She will be confirmed."

talkingpointsmemo.com

But that wont stop the hateful, corporatist Republican party and their band of looney henchmen. Just observe the following posts from ThinkProgress.org today.

Barrasso Pledges To Make The Constitutionality Of Health Care A Major Issue In Kagan's Confirmation Hearings

Yup, not warrantless wiretapping, not Miranda rights or anything substantial, Wyoming Senator Barrasso would rather shout at clouds.

Far-Right Group AFA Demands To Know Kagan's Sexuality, Since 'No Lesbian Is Qualified' To Sit On SCOTUS

We cannot afford to have another sexually abnormal individual in a position of important civic responsibility

Yo, AFA, you should check out Senator David Vitter and Senator John Ensign's private lives, or just google rentboy.com

After Calling Her 'Very Respectable' And 'Impressive,' Kristol Bashes Kagan As 'Hostile To The Military'

As always, Wile. E. Bill Kristol, super genius

Back on the reality based planet known as earth, there is a strong progressive case for the nomination and confirmation of Elana Kagan, and ThinkProgress.org has put together a very strong case for Elena Kagan based on her progressive stances that I advise everyone to read. For me, this is the best reason why Progressives should support Elena Kagan's nomination.

Kagan spoke out in the clearest possible terms against an amendment offered by Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC) which would have stripped detainees of any meaningful access to judicial process:
"To put this most pointedly," the letter said, "were the Graham amendment to become law, a person suspected of being a member of al-Qaeda could be arrested, transferred to Guantanamo, detained indefinitely ... subjected to inhumane treatment, tried before a military commission and sentenced to death without any express authorization from Congress and without review by any independent federal court. The American form of government was established precisely to prevent this kind of unreviewable exercise of power over the lives of individuals. "
"When dictatorships have passed" similar laws, said the deans, "our government has rightly challenged such acts as fundamentally lawless. The same standard should apply to our own government."

But as for Republican opposition to Moses the law giver's nomination to the Supreme Court, I would figure that is an obvious one. At the very least they would object to the 9th COMMANDMENT Exodus 20:16 "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour."

Because without fabricating facts (i.e. LYING), what would Conservatives have to talk about all day?

I leave you with this final thought from
talkingpointsmemo.com

In fairness to Republicans, they'd also likely characterize Moses as a judicial activist who foisted Ten Commandments on the people.

Peace

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Crossposted at The Progressive Electorate.com

Knowing Your Birthers - The American Grand Jury

Bill Egnor AKA Something The Dog Said — Thu, 06 May 2010 18:30:00 GMT

The flat out wackiness of wingnut's knows no boundaries. The just as there was an underground conspiracy theory that insisted that the Clintons were somehow involved in drug smuggling along with Bush 41, there is the animating conspiracy of the Obama years, namely that he is not a natural born citizen of the United States.

We have all watched with reasonable schadenfreude as the queen of the Birthers Orly Taitz has been slapped down like an over-active cocker spaniel by federal court rulings. Still the fact that she has been fined $20,000 (a huge amount for a fine) by a District Court Judge has not prevented her from carrying on like the energizer bunny.

The thing is that she is not the only person totally unhinged by this bit of race-baiting conspiracy theory. There is a group called the American Grand Jury. They are the real deal when it comes to wingnuts (accept no substitutes!).

Lest you think that I am exaggerating the wackiness of this group let me just give you the title of one of the posts on their home page:

US Orders Blackout Over North Korean Torpedoing Of Gulf Of Mexico Oil Rig

To be fair they didn't write the article, they just scooped it up from a website called the European Unions Times. However that did not stop the folks at AGJ from starting their commentary with:

Some people are saying this story is a hoax. We have no way of really knowing as the media has done absolutely NO investigative reporting on the explosion itself.. all they talk about is the spill.. Obama and Homeland Security are hiding something.. why won't the administration be more transparent on this?

The basis of this group of prize-wining knuckle-heads is that they believe that the 1946 codification of federal criminal procedure usurped the power of the people to form their own Grand Juries and then indict or pass down presentments against anyone they think broke the law. The guy who wrote this bit of really spurious legal reasoning is Leo Denofrio, a retired attorney.

He makes the usual "orignalist" style argument about the intent of the Constitution, and as is par for the course for folks who make these arguments, ignoring the case law that has come about in the last 234 years.

These folks are wicky-in-the-wacky-woo to say the least. What is so troubling is that they are not just confining their lunacy to the internet. Over at Talking Points Memo Zack Roth has a great run down of how one of the AGJ nuts went to his local grand jury, tried to get them to indict the President for treason and sedition. When the GJ foreman basically ignored this request he returned to try to affect a citizens arrest.

Mr. Walter Fitzpatrick was arrested and jailed. That might have been the end of it, but these groups are not stand alone. Many of the Birthers are associated with other fringe groups like the Oath Keepers. If you aren't up on them, take a look at this post I did a couple of months ago.

One of the members of the Oath Keepers, Darren Huff, was so exorcized by this that he hopped into his truck, armed with an AK-47 assault rifle and a .45 caliber pistol to go to try to in his words "peacefully resolve the situation". Though one has to wonder why you need to be armed to resolve a situation peacefully.

From the TMP story:

Huff said he told the troopers: "I can probably think of five different ways to Sunday that you guys have violated [your] oath," by stopping him and trying to temporarily confiscate his weapons. "So the reality is I could place you under citizen's arrest for doing this. But we're trying to play nice here."
Huff's self-congratulatory broadcast was posted on the Crook and Liars website -- along with Swensson's call for volunteers to come to Fitzpatrick's aid.
But the FBI soon listened to Huff's broadcast, determined that he had the means and the intent to cause violence, and arrested him. He's currently under house arrest.

You see the FBI is not taking this insanity lightly. They have been watching folks like Huff precisely because the confluence of Birtherism and anti-government extremism is a volatile one.

The issue here is how well accepted the whole Birther meme is by many mainstream Republicans. It is conspiracy theory at its very best, no amount of common sense or logic seems to penetrate that the President was actually born in Hawaii. I won't get into motive though I think there is one there, but the fact that this idea can be accepted or at least not roundly denounced by Republicans elected to high office is really dangerous.

George W. Bush managed to steal the 2000 election. He did it with the help of the law and a some really bad reading of the law by the Supreme Court. The thing is once he was president that was it. It was wrong and we suffered because of it, but there was no long term attempt by the Left to delegitimize his office (he managed to do just fine on his own). There were no serving military officers who questioned the validity of his orders nor organized groups tying to use the orginalist arguments to empower their own Grand Juries.

For all the false equivalence in the traditional media between those on the far Left and those on the far Right, there really is not comparison. As this Birther idea stays alive in the Republican Party it gains more and more acceptance as plausible. Republicans don't seem to see the danger of stoking the fear of nuts and the incipient racism that animates them. The guy who narrated the GIECO commercials was fired when for asking what the Tea Party Express folks were going to do when one of their members killed an elected offfical. Can the time be very far away when we have people like Derren Huff driving from Georgia to Tennessee with guns to resolve a situation?

The floor is yours.

Arizona passes Birther Law, takes early lead in "Dumbest State of the Year" competition

MinistryOfTruth — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 02:14:58 GMT

Our neighbors to the south west sure have their priorities in order, huh?

I wonder when the Arizona State legislature will change the state nickname from "The Grand Canyon State" to "The Orly Taitz State"?

The Arizona House on Monday voted for a provision that would require President Barack Obama to show his birth certificate if he hopes to be on the state's ballot when he runs for reelection. The House voted 31-22 to add the provision to a separate bill. The measure still faces a formal vote.
It would require U.S. presidential candidates who want to appear on the ballot in Arizona to submit documents proving they meet the constitutional requirements to be president. Phoenix Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema said the bill is one of several measures that are making Arizona "the laughing stock of the nation." Mesa Republican Rep. Cecil Ash said he has no reason to doubt Obama's citizenship but supports the measure because it could help end doubt.
thinkprogress.org

Seriously, how can America survive when the majority of entire State Legislatures are this stupid?

More FAIL below the fold

For even more mavericky Arizona FAIL check out Kossack alpolitics' diary McCain Hopes New Law Doesn't Lead to Racial Profiling - on this same subject, which Rachel Maddow tonight described as the most "retro-gressive, mean spirited" law in a looong time.

Did the Arizona State bird just become the Orly Owl or what?

Arizona legislature demands immigrants and President of the United States verify their status.
Just a few days after Arizona lawmakers passed an immigration law that will essentially require anyone who is or looks like an immigrant to carry their proof of residency at all times, the Arizona House voted for a provision that would require President Barack Obama to show his birth certificate and prove his own citizenship status.
thinkprogress.org

Yes, looking like an immigrant is about to become a potentially criminal act in Arizona, a state that ironically prides itself on it's libertarian streak that defends civil liberties, or something. I guess that only counts if you don't look wrong.

As upcoming Immigration reform reaches Congress we may have just been given a sneak peek at the GOP's stance on the issue, which sounds like "Deport everyone AND Obama"

And yes, the state that wishes to privatize its' prisons, where there is a profit motive to send people to jail, just found a new reason to do so. The sad thing is that the same idiots who are holding up Obama=Hitler signs just enacted a law similar to the kind Nazi Germany had, one where people must produce documentation on demand or face jail time.

Advocates are urging Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R-AZ) to veto the measure. On the Rachel Maddow Show last night, current Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary and former governor of Arizona, Janet Napolitano, provided insight into why she choose veto at least two similar bills during her term as governor:
MADDOW: Your home state of Arizona this week has passed a very very strong anti-immigration bill. I think of it as the papers please bill. It compels police officers to demand papers from anyone they reasonably suspect of being an illegal immigrant. It's now a misdemeanor to not carry your immigration paperwork with you at all times in Arizona. Didn't you veto something like that when you were governor there?
NAPOLITANO: I think I vetoed things like that at least twice. And I did because first of all, immigration is primarily federal - not exclusively, but primarily federal. But, secondly, it doesn't allow law enforcement to focus on where law enforcement needs to focus and to prioritize the way law enforcement needs the ability to prioritize for the protection of the public safety. There were other reasons as well. But it was no surprise to me when I was governor of Arizona that by and large, law enforcement - the men and women who are in charge of protecting public safety - oppose legislation like that.

wonkroom.thinkprogress.org

Not only is this a stupid, discriminatory bill, it is very likely unconstitutional because it conflicts with law enforcement duties assigned to the Federal Government. You would think that at least one or two people in the entire Arizona state GOP would know basic stuff about the US Constitution, wouldn't you? But no, basic facts mean jack squat to these people, because facts do not count when you are a Republican. As Ronald Reagan once said, "Facts are stupid things", and we all know you don't become a Republican saint without being a blithering idiot. (Example. 1/2 term Gov. Sarah Palin)

Maybe we can come to a bipartisan deal where Obama shows his long form birth certificate, but in exchange every GOP politician in America has to take a high school civics test and show us their scores?

So congratulations, Arizona! You are now in the early running for the "Dumbest State of the Year" award! And considering your competition in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Alaska, that is quite an accomplishment.

The FAIL is strong in these ones.

If you REALLY want to have fun at Arizona's expense, donate to Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Rodney Glassman with ActBlue and help take down Wingnut Not a Maverick Senator John McCain.

You can follow me on Twitter @JesseLaGreca

Crossposted at ProgressiveElectorate.com