Protests nor Upside Down Flags Aren't Illegal

A man in a small Wisconsin town is flying the American flag upside down in protest of the city's refusal to give him a liquor license. An upside down flag is a distress signal. The man says he is in distress because he will soon go bankrupt. See this article on Yahoo.

Prior to July 4th, the city police went onto his property, apparently without a warrant, and removed the flag. The police said that flying the flag is not illegal, but creating a disturbance is. Just what kind of disturbance he was creating was never explained. Some of the town's people were upset over the flag, so I suppose that was the "disturbance."

This is definitely a First Amendment issue and the ACLU is considering a lawsuit on his behalf. Seizing private property without a warrant is illegal. Although the flag was returned the next day, that does not right a wrong. The police would certainly say that if tomorrow I returned money that I stole today.

I hope the ACLU files the suit, and I hope it costs the City of Crivitz a good sum of money in the end. Maybe then the police and the District Attorney, who advised them, will learn the value of respecting the Constitution. There is always a right way and a wrong way to approach a problem. This was the Bush/Cheney way and, of course, the wrong way. It may have been that a simple request to take the flag down or change its orientation during the holiday might have solved the problem. Police-state tactics are not the solution.

We Marry Other Species?

We who, white man? This imbecile, whoever he is, may marry other species, and there are a few others whom I sometimes think may have sprung from such a union, i.e Limbaugh, Hannity, O'Reilly, Rove, etc., but I believe that is illegal. Typical crap from FALSE News. This country has never had a "pure" society by his definition. Watch:



Let me add one more thing. This country did have a "pure" society until 1492, but we Europeans, Asians, Africans, etc. eventually screwed it all up.

Let's Party - Update

This article on Huffington Post chronicles a "fund raiser" in Washington, D.C. for Sen. Johnny Isakson of Georgia. Isakson, the only Republican legislator from Georgia for which I had any respect, is on the Commerce, Science and Transportation and the subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. The people attending this "fund raiser" were connected to telecommunications and the Internet.

When Huffington Post asked Isakson who was attending the party he replied, "It's people interested in America and democracy and peace and the economy," he said. "Thank you for your time." Right, and they just happen to be people from the industries that his committees oversee. These people are financing his next campaign and expecting positive votes from him on their issues.

Isakson happens to be a Republican. However, party membership means little in this sleazy world of lobbying. Democrats and Republicans alike benefit from the huge amounts of money that lobbyists drop into their campaign coffers. They enjoy the golfing trips, resort vacations, overseas junkets and whatever else the lobbyists use to buy their votes.

There is a website that you might be interested in checking out from time to time. It is called "Party Time," and it tracks parties thrown for politicians in Washington. We, as voters, need to keep up with this facet of the Washington underworld. Lobbying is the worst part of the political world. Politicians are bought and sold daily and there is nothing we can do about it, other than to vote the abusers out, regardless of party politics. Unfortunately, I suppose, this is a sleazy process that is universal to politics. whether in a democracy or a dictatorship.

A new LobbyBlog from Huffington Post.

I Don't Get It.. Someone Explain It to Me

As I watched news reports today of the Jackson memorial, and there were way too many of them, I simply could not understand the tears...and the hard earned money spent on someone these people did not know and who would have spent not a penny on them. People actually flew to Los Angeles from England. ENGLAND! Can you imagine it? What is wrong with us?

This man sang and danced. HE SANG AND DANCED! That's it. Little else. He made millions and squandered them. What did he do to deserve the attention...and the tears...and the tax money spent in a state that is on the verge of bankruptcy? There were the charitable contributions, but nothing that would deserve this kind of accolade.

Will the world turn out for Bill Cosby who has given millions to education, or Bill Gates, who has given more than millions to charities around the world? Will tears be shed on street corners for these two guys. Will people spend thousands on tickets to their funerals? There are so many others. Soldiers who have died heroically. Firemen, police officers, rescue people. Valiant people who put their lives on the line for others.

All Michael Jackson did was sing and dance. It is a sad commentary on our society that we worship entertainers. I remember Elvis' death. Friends were visiting us and one had to call her sister immediately upon hearing of his death, so she would hear it from her, not the TV or radio. She was afraid that her sister might have a wreck or collapse. He was a singer and actor, for God's sake. She didn't even know him, nor did he know that she existed.

I feel regret, when a great entertainer passes on. That person's voice is forever silenced or their hands no longer work magic on the keys or the strings. We will no longer experience their live performances. I do not shed tears. I am a fan of many entertainers, but I do not lose sleep or pay exorbitant amounts of money to travel to their funerals. If it is someone particularly prominent enough to have their funeral broadcast on TV, someone such as a president, I may watch, if I have the opportunity. If I were working, I would not call in sick.

I simply do not understand it. Would someone please explain it to me?

One More Republican Heard From

NY Congressman Pete King calls Michael Jackson a "low life" and a "pervert" in a You Tube video. He says that the coverage of Jackson's death is "too politically correct," whatever that means. He is yet another Republican, playing to the base, but too far out of touch to understand Jackson's following.

I think Jackson had personal issues, not unlike so many others of his profession. I also think that the coverage of his death is way out of bounds. But I feel that way about most super celebrity deaths and other major events in their lives. I agree with the Congressman that the real heroes do not get the coverage they deserve, but I do not blame it on Michael Jackson. I blame it on our perverted love affair with celebrities.

Congressman, you are typical of your ilk. You play to the base, but you lose in the big picture. Like your darling from Alaska, you do not get it. Your party is so far out of touch with most of America at this point, that you will take years to catch up. I would not count on winning the Senate seat that you seek. Not unless you clean up your act.

Wow! Yet Another Republican Shows Her Racist Side

Audra Shay, vice chairman of the young Republicans, running for the chairman, has a Facebook page. Bad omen, right? Right. Give a Republican email, Facebook, Youtube, etc. and he/she will cut their own throat rather quickly. In this case Ms Shay was carrying on a political conversation on her page, when one of her friends responded with the following comments quoted on the Daily Beast:

“It’s the government making us commies… can’t even smoke in my damn car… whats next they going to issue toilet paper once a month… tell us how to wipe our asses…”

“Obama Bin Lauden [sic] is the new terrorist… Muslim is on there side [sic]… need to take this country back from all of these mad coons… and illegals.”

Shay's response: “You tell em Eric! lol.”

When there were protests about the comments, Ms. Shay removed those "friends," keeping the offender. She made a feeble attempt at an apology, but came out with a Palinesque response, insinuating that it was all someone else's fault. Later the offending "friend" wrote yet another racist diatribe:

… this is still America… freedom of speech and thought is still allowed… for now any ways… and the last time i checked I was a good ole southern boy… and if yur ass is black don’t let the sun set on it in a southern town…”

Ms Shay has been endorsed by LA Gov., Jindal, a supposed candidate for President. I wonder how long it will take him to distance himself from Ms. Shay.

It just keeps on coming. It has only been a week or so since the last racist tirade. I doubt they will ever learn and the only way they will not continue to be quickly caught is if they give up electronic media altogether.

Colin Powell says the Republican Party still has a problem with racism. Rather an understatement, wouldn't you say?