On January 26th, Senator Rick Santorum made a quiet appearance at an event sponsored by the College Republicans at Florida State University. The event occurred with little to no publication on campus but managed to fill up the State Ballroom, even at 9:00am on a Thursday.
Editor’s Note: Tired of the same old partisan bickering on mainstream TV news? Had enough of the familiar “talking” heads shouting back and forth? TheYetiOnline.com is unveiling its newest column series, Reasonable Grounds, devoted to civil discourse and balanced political commentary. That’s not to say you won’t find strong opinions here, but you won’t find name-calling, low-blow accusations, or unfounded arguments. Every week there will be new topics for discussion, with arguments from a variety of perspectives. We hope that all of you will comment on the articles with your own reactions, for against, whatever you think. When did the major news outlets decide there were only two sides in an argument? We encourage all of you to join in the commentary with us and make your opinions heard. So, without further ado, let the disagreements begin!
Editor’s Note: Tired of the same old partisan bickering on mainstream TV news? Had enough of the familiar “talking” heads shouting back and forth? TheYetiOnline.com is unveiling its newest column series, Reasonable Grounds, devoted to civil discourse and balanced political commentary. That’s not to say you won’t find strong opinions here, but you won’t find name-calling, low-blow accusations, or unfounded arguments. Every week there will be new topics for discussion, with arguments from a variety of perspectives. We hope that all of you will comment on the articles with your own reactions, for against, whatever you think. When did the major news outlets decide there were only two sides in an argument? We encourage all of you to join in the commentary with us and make your opinions heard. So, without further ado, let the disagreements begin!
Apparently, he is state attorney general under Charlie Crist but is running to be governor of Florida too. He is also trying to sue the federal government.
Let’s get this straight. Bill McCollum is standing up for our rights as citizens against health care reform! Three cheers for our one-man squad. Oh wait, he seems to have a team with him. A few other states have agreed to come together for this case, including: Alabama, Colorado, Idaho, Michigan, Nebraska, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Washington. The attorney generals for each state have finally joined forces to stand up for our rights!
They just happen to be mostly Republicans. Definitely a coincidence. Definitely.
According to CNN, “White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the Obama administration expected to win any lawsuits filed against the health care bill.” The big guys don’t seem to really be worried about the little Republican ant army.
Specifically, McCollum stated he had problems with the insurance mandate in the health care bill, that requires everyone to be insured or pay a fine, but low-income people get an exception if the insurance costs are too much. His argument: “This is a tax or a penalty on just living, and that’s unconstitutional. There’s no provision in the Constitution of the United States giving Congress the power to do that.” He wants to personally sue President Obama for surpassing his boundaries as President of the United States.
However, there is power in the people. More specifically, power in a single man to speak for the country as a whole. Oh wait, that’s the president, the one who signed the health care reform bill after the House of Representatives passed it. (You know the House of Representatives, that group of folks we the people decided were qualified to make decisions on our behalf as representatives in an election.)
It seems like this fun little political scandal/press gimmick is a fresh and interesting reminder that most people in this country don’t really understand that we do control the government, hence the title DEMOCRACY. The president was elected, remember that? In 2008, with all the signs with John McCain’s face on them?
McCollum claims this is an infringement on our rights, but let’s take a few steps back. Exactly what will the Health Care Bill do, anyway? What McCollum didn’t say:
So regardless of the insurance mandate that McCollum so avidly hates, the reform bill really isn’t some big bad monster come to eat all of our lives away. If we are looking for inexpensive health care, and I think that deep down inside we all are, it seems Obama had his head on straight when he signed that bill. It appears there are a lot of benefits, that responsible leaders carefully thought out to put into this health care reform bill. Most of them are benefits, but nothing in this world comes free, hence the mandate. Whoever expected to have doctors at their door begging to treat patients who don’t have insurance and can’t afford to pay out of pocket must have been confused–and that is what the mandate is for. So calm down McCollum, Big Mr. President Man knows what he’s doing.
Yahoo! News has its take on the matter with this outstanding headline: “White House, experts: Health care suit will fail.” I think that says it all.
For all those who claim Canada or Costa Rica are better options, or are maybe looking over to Russia from their Alaskan border where the ice is apparently whiter, remember that Canada and Costa Rica have socialist universal health care like most of Europe, and Russia used to be the USSR.
My fellow Americans, here we are again, confronted with seven minutes of the most insane/hilarious political propaganda ever created.
Carly Fiorina’s new campaign ad stars Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) as a horrible demon blimp that floats around our nation, babbling indistinctly and casting an ominous shadow over all of us.
I know what you’re thinking: “Who will save us from the comical zeppelin of terror?” Carly can, my child. Carly can.
Who’s Carly? Judging by this video, she’s another millionaire former CEO convinced (correctly) that you can buy advertising with money.
I love the comparisons we see: Carly smiling with a warm backdrop, smash cut to the Boxer Blimp spewing “partisan hot air” (HAHA GET IT? BCUZ SHE’S A BLIMP???) or a shot of her crying at random monuments in DC.
Not that we should be surprised, really. After all, this is a state whose governor slid his way into office toting a funny accent and a “bad ass” movie resume. It was bound to create these little “Carly-Monsters.”
The small truth anyone can and should extract from this abomination is this: the people responsible for this ad are IDIOTS. Carly is a law school drop-out who should be focusing less on comically losing a Senate bid and more on keeping the voices at bay.
The question remains the same: Who believes this shit? Is there someone out there, anyone, who believes Senator Boxer is more concerned with global warming than with actual terrorism? Actually, now that I think about it, of course there is. Probably a lot of people believe that. Which makes it really hard to not just give up and surrender. At least there will always be people like Carly to give people like me something to laugh about.
God bless America.
image via knightnews.com
Before even stepping foot in any NFL stadium or combine, Tim Tebow is already making a bad first impression on the league. But is he untouchable? He is, after all, still in college.
Ah, Super Sunday. No one loves it more than I do, even if my team is watching from home this year. What could ruin such a special day? Someone trying to preach to you about the gift of life, that’s what. These people refer to themselves as “pro-life,” but I call them “anti-abortion.” The other way makes its opposing party seem to be pro-death, a willful distortion on the part of anti-abortion advocates.
Somewhat-overrated college football star Tim Tebow came on screen Super Sunday with momma ‘Bow to tell the story about how she was advised during her pregnancy to abort the future Heisman-winner because of serious medical concerns. Surprisingly enough, the commercial didn’t even drop the a-bomb, and except for the sight of Timmy’s face, wasn’t too insulting.
Funded by the conservative evangelical group Focus On The Family, the commercial was thirty seconds long and cost a reported three million dollars. CBS has faced criticism for agreeing to show the ad, as it rightly should have.
I’m not saying commercials must or should be crass and involve bikinis and beer, but frankly, the Super Bowl is like polite conversation: no religion or politics. Tebow broke both rules.
At The University of Florida, student-athletes must abide by a set of guidelines as determined by the university, as they must at any other school. According to the UF Student-Athlete agreement:
A student-athlete shall not be eligible for participation in intercollegiate athletics if the individual accepts any renumeration for or permits the use of his or her name or picture to advertise, recommend or promote directly the sale or use of a commercial product or service of any kind.
But Tim Tebow is no longer a participating student-athlete since his pitiful performance at the Senior Bowl (with only fifty passing yards), so does this apply to him? In this writer’s opinion, yes, yes it does. He will probably be attending his alma mater’s Pro Day and (former?) Coach Urban Meyer will surely be spanking his prodigy’s buns as he crosses the white lines for the NFL combine.
Also, let’s consider that Tim Tebow has gotten a lot of screen time over the past three years, and is currently just about the most high-profile representative of his university.
It’s too much to ask for more than a week without hearing about Tebow, and even though he’s a known pushy evangelical, I wonder if he just couldn’t handle the minimal time out of the limelight.
And so, Judgment came sandwiched between beer commercials on Sunday, but it was nice to remember that there’s only one city in the whole country that likes hearing from this particular spokesman, and they live in a self-proclaimed “Swamp.”
Life goes on, but Tebow’s career probably won’t. I for one take some solace in that.
[Ed. Note: We at The Yeti love politics. We also love poetry. Most of all, though, we love combining things we love.]
A HAIKU ON CONSERVATIVE PRINCIPLES:
Time-tested truths, like
“The gov that govs least govs best.”
(Somalia rules!)
A GHAZALVILLANELLE ON NATIONAL SECURITY
[Ed. Note: Originally I wanted the national security poem to be a ghazal, an ancient Arabian poetic form, for irony. But ghazals are super difficult and complicated, so I wrote a villanelle that steals pretty heavily from Dylan Thomas' classic "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" instead.]
Do not be so gentle as to give terrorists rights,
We must oblige our enemies if they want to call it war;
After all, America is always looking for a fight.
The Muslim snuck in ‘cause our security wasn’t tight,
They should have made him strip, drop his pants to the floor;
Do not be so gentle as to give terrorists rights.
And that other country, Yemen, should be in our bombing sights—
If we aren’t killing foreigners, then what’s our freedom for?
After all, America is always looking for a fight.
We aren’t even torturing, that keeps me up at night,
The rule of law prevailing will just make them hate us more.
Do not be so gentle as to give terrorists rights.
But Mr. President, for Iran please do what’s right.
(Psst, I heard the Ayatollah called Michelle a whore.)
After all, America is always looking for a fight.
We must shock and awe the world, must attack with all our might,
Must kill and maim our enemies, must wage an Endless War.
Do not be so gentle as to give terrorists rights.
After all, America is always looking for a fight.
A CINQUAIN ON ECONOMIC POLICY:
Ronald
Common sense con
Did it stimulate you?
We got the cornhusker kickback
Reagan
William Blake? Who dat?
(Images via Yahoo! News)
President Barack Obama at his first State of the Union address.
President Obama gave his first State of the Union address on Wednesday, January 27, and I had my concerns about what was to come. My fears proved well-founded. Dubya’s State of the Union addresses were more than mere political speeches – they were masterpieces of dark, screwball comedy, using blatant absurdity to reveal deep and disturbing truths about our national character. Anyone with a heart and a brain had to laugh, if only to keep from breaking down in tears.
Inevitably, Obama failed to live up to his predecessor. Besides a few quips, the whole affair came off as pretty much sober-minded and reasonable, hardly the laugh riot one would expect from contemporary American politics. However, I’ll do my best examine the speech in a similar manner.
