Political Heat

In the early 1600’s religious pilgrims came to the New World seeking refuge from what they considered lands that persecuted their faith. They came to America. America was founded, in part, by the idea of religious freedom. Around that same time, a British colony at Jamestown, Virginia, was founded. Those who came there sought the bountiful riches that the New World could provide, sought to create for themselves a life where economic prosperity would depend on their own ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit. 
America was founded, in part, by a drive to succeed. In 1735, John Peter Zenger was found not guilty for having published material that criticized the governor of New York colony, despite the law at the time stating that any material such as that would be considered libelous and criminal. America was founded, in part, by the idea of free speech and free expression. In 1773, American colonists who were fed up with being taxed without having a fair representation in British Parliament...

Yes, it's old news, but it's still hilarious in my book. Scott Walker, Republican candidate for Governor, claims he can bring over 250,000 new jobs to Wisconsin by 2015 if elected governor. That'd be quite the accomplishment -- considering that, if Walker were successful, he'd make the unemployment rate .03 percent in the state! Most economists will tell you that you can expect 4-5 percent unemployment during periods of economic normalcy. So if Walker can bring unemployment to the point where less than half a percent of Wisconsin citizens have a job, that'd be miraculous. Forget the governorship -- this man needs to be president! OF THE WORLD! The problem is, Walker can't even create a job on his own in Milwaukee County. Sure, he points to the jobs created at General Mitchell as evidence of his ability to grow jobs out of nowhere. But those jobs likely came from current Gov. Jim Doyle , who offered state tax incentives to Republic Airways and other businesses ...

A bill passed in the Wisconsin State Assembly this week would allow community members the right to file complaints against school districts that promote discrimination or stereotyping through racially-based school names or mascots. Upon filing a complaint with the state superintendent, the school district in question would have to defend why they believe their name or mascot wasn’t racially discriminatory or detrimental to the learning environment. The state superintendent would then have 45 additional days to make a decision, upon which a fine of up to $1,000 a day could be imposed for every day the school district failed to remedy the matter. READ MORE AT DANE101.COM!

If it seems like I've been away a bit (for all two of you who read this), it's because I have been. Writer's block can be an awful thing to conquer, and lately I've just been more tired at the end of the day than I probably should be. A better diet, perhaps, and earlier (read: more) hours of sleep are well overdue. I will try to write more in the near future. Lord knows that there is plenty to write about. Keep up with the health care debate if you can: it's about to get pretty heated, and Thursday's confrontation between Obama and Republicans is sure to make history, if not that then perhaps drastically alter the debate from that point forward. Good day, and good morrow!

Several conservative commentators and ex-lawmakers are trying to give President Obama some political advice. Their true motivations lie elsewhere: they don't actually want him to take the advice because they like the guy, but rather because it will serve their interests. The advice they are giving him? If he wants to be a "shoe-in" for president come 2012, he better invade Iran. The idea seems absurd to the average thinking person. With two wars already being fought, a military that's already strained, and a global community fed up with our "policing" the world, a strike against Iran wouldn't be the best idea for the Obama administration to take up at this point. Iranian leaders are trying to reach (or have perhaps already reached) nuclear energy capabilities, saying that they intend to use the technology for peaceful purposes. Conservatives are right to fear that Iran may use those technologies for more than that, but they're wrong to make the jump ...

House Republican leaders were recently invited to attend a White House summit on health care reform, in an attempt by President Barack Obama to bridge the gap between GOP proposals and Democratic bills that have passed Congress. The invite by Obama came after Republican leaders repeatedly asked for both more transparency in the reform process as well as more involvement in implementing true bipartisan reform. Obama responded to those criticisms by pointing out that many of the GOP's plans for reform have already been adopted by the administration and by Democrats in Congress. But in a show of goodwill, he issued the invite to Republican leaders to demonstrate he was committed to ending partisanship and opening up transparency. So what was the reaction of House Republican leaders when Obama had invited them to an event that would feature Republicans and Democrats working together in front of the American public? They said, "No thanks!" In fact, they made a list of condit...

It has been suggested by some on the right that all the powers that Congress has as laid out by Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution are not enough to pass health care reform. It's assumed that the powers of Congress are limited by this section; but since our nation's founding that assertion has been challenged. The Supreme Court has dismissed that notion as well. Article 1 Section 8 The first clause reads: The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States (Emphasis added). The term "general welfare" has been argued over since the founding of our country, and there are two views as to what this part of the clause may mean, from two founding fathers' interpretations: Hamilton and Madison. From the Cornell Law website : The grant of power to “provide . ....

Former Alaskan Governor (and potential 2012 presidential contender) Sarah Palin spoke this past weekend at the Tea Party Convention in Tennessee. She spoke of the future of conservatism, and at times mocked the current administration, asking how that "hopey-changey stuff" was working out (nevermind that Palin had once tried to hop on the "change" bandwagon). Palin also sat down with FOX News's Chris Wallace , who talked to the former one-term governor (if you can call half a term that) about another topic that has concerned her as of late. Current Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel recently criticized liberal Democrats for wanting a stronger health reform package by calling them "f---ing retards." Palin, whose youngest son has a cognitive disability, called on Obama to fire Emanuel for his derogative use of the "r" word. In her interview with Wallace, Palin said that she didn't want to be overly "politically correct," but that she fel...

In the House of Representatives this week, a Constitutional amendment was introduced in order to curb new political speech and personhood rights of corporate interests in campaigns and elections. The proposed amendment would read: "The sovereign right of the people to govern being essential to a free democracy, Congress and the States may regulate the expenditure for political speech by any corporation, limited liability company, or other corporate entity. "Nothing contained in this article shall be construed to abridge the freedom of the press." Such a change to the Constitution is much needed. In its recent ruling on campaign finance restrictions for corporate entities, the Supreme Court called any constraints on financing for elections or campaigns unconstitutional, opening the floodgates for future elections to be funded primarily by corporate elites. Proponents of the Supreme Court ruling maintain that corporations have a right to free speech. If they want to donate...

CBS is hosting the Super Bowl this year, and as such is set to receive millions (perhaps billions) of dollars in revenue from advertisements during the game. A lot of advertisements that have to do with controversial issues, however, have been rejected by the network, including an ad for a gay men's dating service. The ad itself is pretty humorous, involving one Packers and one Vikings fan sitting on a couch together, cheering/jeering the game on the television. Why did CBS reject the ad? Because it didn't fit their standards . But another ad did make the cut. It's a pro-life ad about Tim Tebow, a pro football player whose mother chose life while she pregnant in the Philippines. According to the ad, Tebow's mother was told by her doctor there that she should have an abortion. Instead, she chose to keep her baby. He grew up to become a Heisman Trophy winner An inspiring story, one that's sure to move many. Except, it's probably not true . You see, abortion is il...