American Madness

Intelligent Criticism in the Service of a Better Nation




Let’s see how many absurd state laws I can pick on this week.

Posted by Jason Ihle on | April 29, 2010 | Click to Comment

“I like you guys who wanna reduce the size of government – make it just small enough so it can fit in our bedrooms.” Josh Lyman, The West Wing.

Okay, this isn’t a ‘bedroom’ law, but it is a law aimed at legislating a very private issue and what people are thinking.

I’ll leave Arizona alone for a moment to focus on Oklahoma, that wonderful land where all women will now be required by law to undergo an ultrasound and hear a description of the fetus before having an abortion. But wait, there’s more:

Though other states have passed similar measures requiring women to have ultrasounds, Oklahoma’s law goes further, mandating that a doctor or technician set up the monitor so the woman can see it and describe the heart, limbs and organs of the fetus. No exceptions are made for rape and incest victims.

Let’s unpack this, shall we? This is quite simply one of the most patronizing laws ever conceived. This establishes a doctor-patient relationship in which the patient must be treated like a child. It’s a form of legalized bullying, a method of guilting women into reconsidering what was most likely a horrendously difficult decision anyway. Read more

Draconian Measures to Solve the Immigration Problem

Posted by Jason Ihle on | April 29, 2010 | Click to Comment

The Atlantic’s Andrew Sullivan highlights this lovely quote from Pat Bertroche, Republican Congressional Candidate in the Iowa 3rd:

I think we should catch ’em, we should document ’em, make sure we know where they are and where they are going,” said Pat Bertroche, an Urbandale physician. “I actually support microchipping them. I can microchip my dog so I can find it. Why can’t I microchip an illegal?

Jesus Christ! Can he not even mask his view of illegal immigrants as sub-human? This is only a small step removed from the loons on the right who believe that allowing same-sex marriage will open the doors to allowing people to marry their pets, their children, their siblings.

You know the Nazis had a really great way of tracking people in custody – numerical tattoos! There are still quite a few Jews alive with those numbers on their arms. The only reason the Nazis didn’t use microchips was because they hadn’t been invented yet. Does this guy not realize what he’s proposing? Read more

Don’t Talk to Aliens (No, this isn’t about Arizona)

Posted by Jason Ihle on | April 29, 2010 | Click to Comment

Stephen Hawking warns that humanity shouldn’t be so keen on making contact with extra-terrestrials. Mathematically speaking, it is highly likely there are other planets in the universe that have life and some of those with intelligent life. His argument is basically that there is a possibility that any intelligent life out there may not have benevolent intentions toward us. And if they have the capability to reach us, they most certainly have the capability to destroy or enslave us.

He points to Columbus’s discovery of the Americas (which is only one such example) as evidence of what happens when an advanced civilization makes contact with a more primitive one – almost complete annihilation of its people, reaping the benefits of the abundant natural resources available. It’s a somewhat reasonable assumption to make, except in thinking about how we would treat a planet of sentient beings after traveling there. It’s hard to imagine humanity getting away with the wholesale slaughter and destruction of an alien civilization on the order of the European destruction of American Indians. Read more

New Arizona Immigration Law a Disgrace to the Constitution (Part II)

Posted by Jason Ihle on | April 29, 2010 | 2 Comments

The commentary on the new Arizona anti-brown people law is starting to come in. The New York Times has an article highlighting the divided opinions on the measures which includes this choice bit, which, incredibly enough, doesn’t come from The Onion:

In a nearby neighborhood, Ron White, 52, said he felt a sense of relief that something was finally being done about “the illegals” — whom he blames for ills like congregating on the streets, breaking into homes in his neighborhood, draining tax dollars and taking jobs from Americans.

“I sure hope it does have an effect,” Mr. White said of the new law as he packed his car with groceries. “I wouldn’t want to show proof of citizenship, but I also don’t feel it is racial profiling. You are going to look different if you are an alien, and cops know.”

Yes, that’s true. If you’re an alien, you might look something like this and the cops will definitely know who you are. Doesn’t the opinion of this Ron White seem to underscore the fact that it’s really not about wanting illegal immigrants out, but basically everyone who came from south of the border? Read more

New Arizona Immigration Law a Disgrace to the Constitution

Posted by Jason Ihle on | April 29, 2010 | 5 Comments

In my zeal for the stories and excitement over my new blog, I forgot that I had intended to continue cross-posting non movie related stories to American Madness. So here’s the first in a series of posts from this week.

This has been expected for some time now, but Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona has just signed into law an immigration bill that, among other things, will make it a legal requirement for all immigrants to carry their documentation and give law enforcement broad power to enforce it.

The crux of the bill relates to employment, trafficking and transportation of illegal immigrants. But the provision (the first section of the bill) that has a lot of people in a tizzy (including President Obama) is the new power bestowed upon the police. Read more

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