Tag: TMC Meta

   MAHER: And finally, New Rule, that the only plan we have for immigration reform is a military style surge, that wastes $46 billion for weapons, walls, prison camps and forty thousand armed guards in the desert, it’s not a plan. It’s a war. A war, to replace the wars that are ending overseas.

   Because after our last soldier leaves the wildly successful experiment in democracy known as Afghanistan, we’re going to be dangerously close to not having any wars and down to a mere 660 military bases in 38 countries. Jesus, what are we Switzerland now?

   Sorry Mexicans, but war is what keeps our economy going, so you’re just going to have to step up. The war on terror just got replaced by the war-hay on Jorge. That’ll teach you to take over channels 18-27 on our cable systems.

   Now, don’t get me wrong. I think border security is important and I have no doubt that the Republican plan for turning our southern border into the Hunger Games will put a stop to the number one threat facing America today – illegal cleaning ladies.

   But let’s be clear. This immigration bill has about as much to do with immigration as Sarah Palin has to do with mapping the human genome.

   Mexican immigration to America is now at net zero. That’s the little elephant in the room fact they don’t tell you. They’re not coming any more. Which is not to say there aren’t illegals already here over the last thirty years. 12 million Mexicans did come to America, in three cars.

   But look, if we deport all 12 million people, the continent will tip over. We need to get them in the system, because sooner or later, someone’s going to want to eat some fruit. So, why are we working so hard to make them miserable?

   The immigration bill says that while in America, they have to wait 13 years to become a citizen, learn to speak perfect English, pay taxes, but don’t get to use government services and hope to hell some dumb ass in the neighborhood watch program doesn’t shoot them.

   This bill could say “Mexicans eat paint” and Republican would say “Why not lead paint?”

   Now part of this, of course, is simple prejudice, but the bigger part is that peace and brotherhood is all fine and dandy, but there’s no money in it. Ten years ago, there were 10 thousand border control agents. Now there are 21 thousand. The new bill would up it to 38 thousand.

   Why? Because Republicans hate big government – except for war – which is their version of a stimulus package. Oh, not the bad kind of stimulus that builds schools and fixes bridges. That’s Socialism.

   Building weapon systems no one needs, that’s patriotism. This is about the same folks who frittered away your money on the phoney Iraq war, and the ten years in Afghanistan and the pointless drug war deciding that what this country really needs is yet another phoney war.

h/t Heather at Crooks and Liars

Anthony Kennedy becomes the father of Constitutional gay rights, and Antonin Scalia employs obscure legal jargon.

Republican lawmakers react to the Supreme Court’s gay marriage ruling, and Rand Paul warns of human-animal unions.

It was three years ago that we at The Stars Hollow Gazette welcomed readers to our park, very liberal place, welcoming all views and discussion, a comfortable place for give and take, discussion, agreement and disagreement. Nothing has changed except that we are older. We are still not shy about expressing our liberal views.

We are still a place for creativity and a place to put your “stuff.” TSHG is a place for music, art, history and sports. We want our readers to be informed and amused, a place to converse. we want to hear what you have to say, to understand and consider other perspectives. We won’t always agree but we want to do so with respect. Very little of what we see and hear is black and white, it is mostly shades of grey, effected by many outside factors that make choices unclear and uncertain. Life is a learning experience and we never stop learning from the world around us and each other.

A lot has happened since July 4th 2010. There have been elections were we witnessed congress change, the White House remain the same and state governments swinging from left to right and back.

We’ve witnessed protests, revolutions and natural disasters, the end of one war, the continuation of another and the start of more on yet another continent.

We watched, not silently, the injustice of our own government in its treatment of its citizens and those of foreign nations, the failure to contain Wall Street and the financial industry or prosecute them for breaking the law.

We have seen the income gap grow, poverty increase, good jobs disappear, public schools under attack, public servants maligned and laid off while the wealthy and mega corporations pay less in taxes.

We saw the Bush tax cuts, now the Obama tax cuts made permanent without any concomitant change in the tax code to offset the decreased revenue in a time when the government should be spending not cutting.

We have seen how our representatives have shirked their duty to oversee the excesses of the executive branch while passing laws that are unconstitutional.

We have witnessed the as the Supreme Court overturned key parts of the 1965 Voting Rights Act and weaken our protections under the Constitution.

We have watched with joy the overturning of DOMA, clearing the way for our LGBT brothers and sisters to marry in states where it is allowed and have the same protections and benefits as heterosexual couples.

No we are not going away and we will continue to document the atrocities as our friend Atrios has asked us.

As you see from our blog roll, we have new friends and we encourage you to read their blogs.

Last year on this day, our good friends launched Voices on the Square. We wish them a happy anniversary and many more.

We also lost a dear friend and editor, Translator, aka Dr. David W. Smith. You are missed, David.

So, welcome to our “park” and enjoy. We plan on being here for a long time.

Following the Supreme Court’s DOMA ruling, traditional marriage is as defenseless as a freshman frat pledge about to go through the spanking machine.

Warning the video contains strong language that may not be suitable for young children or the work place

Even from beyond the grave, George Carlin’s message will always be relevant to current events. Take the above clip, for example: Without mentioning him by name, this 1996 clip of Carlin utterly eviscerates Rick Perry and his war on abortion rights by painting a pretty accurate picture of the arguments used by Texas Republicans in their latest reach to massively curb access to women’s clinics in the Lone Star State.

Taken from his HBO special “Back in Town,” Carlin rips apart pro-life conservatives for caring more about life in the womb than after birth:

   “These conservatives are really something, aren’t they? They are all in favor of the unborn, they will do anything for the unborn, but once you’re born, you’re on your own! Pro-life conservatives are obsessed with the fetus from conception to nine months. After that, they don’t want to know about you, they don’t want to hear from you. No neo-natal care, no daycare, no head start, no school lunch, no food stamps, no welfare, no nothing! If you’re pre-born, you’re fine. If you’re pre-school, you’re fucked.”

[..]

“They’re not pro-life. You know what they are? They’re anti-woman. Simple as it gets, anti-woman. They don’t like them. They don’t like women. They believe a woman’s primary role is to function as a broodmare for the state. You don’t see many of these anti-abortion women volunteering to have any black fetuses transplanted into their uteruses, do you? No, you don’t see them adopting a whole lot of crack babies, do you? No, that might be something Christ would do!”

John Hodgman analyzes the financial repercussions of the Supreme Court’s decision on human gene patenting

If Abraham Lincoln stood for anything, it was the capitalist right to profit off the human body.

We are halfway through the year and are ready to celebrate the first harvest amidst climate disruption, natural disasters compounded by man’s foolish idea that he could harness the devil. I spent some time this morning weeding my herb garden, snipping the flower buds from the huge pot of sweet basil so the energy goes to the flavorful leaves and a short walk on the beach. Tomorrow morning I will watch the sun rise for the last few hours of Spring and later watch it set on the first few hours of Summer which ushers in at 1:04 AM EDT as the Earth tilts towards the sun at its Northern maximum, the Tropic of Cancer.

Sunrise on the first day of Summer at Stonehenge in Salsbuty, England

It is a but a moment in time significant for so many cultures, religions and countries. Here in the US there are many cities that will light huge fires in public places to celebrate the longest day of the year, Midsummer. The fires will be lit in the stone fire pit in my yard. We’ll eat some of the newly harvested vegetable that are available at the local markets and eat food cooked with the herbs from my garden.

This year there is another treat for the first weekend of Summer, a Super Moon, on June 22 and 23. This is when the moon is closest to the earth (perigee), about 221,824 miles away, as compared to the 252,581 miles away that it is at its furthest distance from the Earth (apogee). The moon will appear 14% larger and 30% brighter than a typical full moon.

“The supermoon of March 19, 2011 (right) compared to a more average moon of December 20, 2010 (left), as viewed from the Earth”

Image Credit: Supermoon Comparison via Wikimedia Commons

The weather here in the northeast is going to be near perfect for watching the sunrise on the longest day of the year and moonrise the brightest and biggest full moon of the year. Check out the awesome photos from last year’s celebrations from around the world, courtesy of Huffington Post Canada.

I will be on the beach as the sun peaks over the horizon tomorrow and at a cook out with friends on Saturday celebrating the glory of Summer and the moon. Tell us what you will be doing.

Happy Summer

The Nation Security Agency collects millions of phone records from Verizon, and unlike during the Bush administration, this time it’s the Obama administration.