Definitive Story for This Blog

If ever there were a story published on the internet that perfectly embodied the name of this blog, this one is a very good candidate.

Republicans in the House and Senate have decided that the best way to combat the federal government's "tyranny" over the economy and other areas is to pass a constitutional amendment giving states the ability to repeal any federal law or regulation they decide is "abhorrent or misguided."

UH, YEAH RIGHT!

Of course, there isn't a single Republican in either house of Congress who seriously believes that a constitutional amendment like this can pass. Remember, to pass an amendment to the Constitution, two-thirds of each House of Congress must pass the amendment, or two-thirds of the state legislatures can apply to Congress for a Constitutional convention, or the Congress can require ratification by special convention (only used once in 1933). Then, three-fourths of the states (38 states) must ratify the amendment. This is so rare an occurrence that there have been only 17 amendments in the past 216 years. The last amendment was 19 years ago, and had to do with limiting congressional pay raises. An amendment like this, which pits the rights of states against the rights of the federal government to enact laws it deems necessary to govern the country, has literally zero chance of passing. It's just another political ploy in an election cycle to fire up the base and rally voters around their candidates. Not a tactic reserved exclusively for the GOP, of course (see Healthcare Reform), but the GOP is certainly the only party brazen/stupid/cynical/nihilistic enough to toss outrageous ideas like this into the ring. It is a sure sign that the party has sunk into the intellctual morass that is the Tea Party.

The definition of "Illiterate Peasant"

Colorado State Representative Douglas Bruce, a Republican, was ordered to leave the podium of the State House Monday for referring to Mexicans as "illiterate peasants."

"I would like to have the opportunity to state at the microphone why I don't think we need 5,000 more illiterate peasants in Colorado."

The Democratic chairwoman told Bruce that he was no longer recognized to speak. The GOP caucus said that they were trying to determine what kind of action to take against Bruce.

Outside the chamber, Bruce defended his remarks:

“I looked up ’illiterate’ in the dictionary and it means somebody who is lacking in formal education or is unable to read and write. I don’t think these people who are planning to come over here and pick potatoes or peaches are likely to have much of a formal education. I looked up the word ’peasant.’ The word ’peasant’ means a person who works in agricultural fields. These people, most of them, don’t speak English. Most of them haven’t had any formal education, that’s why they’re coming over here. I don’t blame them for trying, but I don’t think we should pave the way for more aliens to come here."

Technically he's correct in his definition of "lliterate peasant." But of course, the intent was not simply to refer to them as uneducated farm-workers. Thankfully, his subtext was not lost on the legislative body.

The only legislator I know of who has been more direct about his hate for a group of people is Jesse Helms, who in 1993 on the Senate floor commented that Bill Clinton's nominee for assistant housing secretary was a "damned lesbian."

Bruce has been censured by the Colorado legislature in the past for kicking a news photographer who took his picture during a prayer. I wonder what he was praying for...