I’m not sure I want to keep blogging about politics, but sometimes I’m dumb that way. Here I go again.

U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann from Minnesota was recently speaking in Monticello and had this to say about immigration:

“We’re losing our country,” she said. “People are not assimilating themselves to America. They’re not speaking English, and you must speak it if you want to succeed here in this country.”

Losing our country? What? Assimilation and speaking English are not requirements of being an American (reminds me of an uproar over a Spanish version of the national anthem). Seems like our basic freedoms cover that one, and practicing our freedoms is about as American as you can get.
Continue reading Michele Bachmann: “We’re Losing Our Country”; Or, Immigrants Steal Country, Hide it Behind Big Fence →

Presidential candidate Barack Obama said if his pastor Jeremiah Wright wasn’t retiring and didn’t acknowledge that his comments were offensive, Obama would have left Trinity United Church of Christ:

“Had the reverend not retired and had he not acknowledged that what he had said had deeply offended people and were inappropriate and mischaracterized what I believe is the greatness of this country, for all its flaws, then I wouldn’t have felt comfortable staying there at the church.”

This announcement comes with the revelation that Wright had published articles in the church bulletin that were potentially anti-American and anti-Israel. At the very least, they were in poor taste and a little nuts. Obama denounced the articles and said they were “outrageously wrong.” Who knows what further damage this will do to Obama, but it really makes me wonder about the church.

Continue reading Barack Obama & Jeremiah Wright: Weirder & Weirder →

My Twitter friend Anjuan Simmons posted an interesting blog entry wondering if more Secret Service protection would be needed should Barack Obama become the first black president. The answer seems like a resounding ‘yes’ to me, which is basically what Simmons concluded. Seems to me the level of security should match the perceived threat, and simply as a candidate there’s already plenty of threats against Obama. Therefore increased security is warranted.

But if you read the comments on Simmons’ YouTube video when he proposed the question for a debate, you’ll see a lot of opinions all over the map (yikes—why is it that YouTube commenters seem to be crazier than any other commenters?). Some of these opinions are clearly off the deep end, but I’m a little confused by the people who seem to think Obama should get the same security as any other president, as if it’s a matter of fairness. As if you determine the size/capabilities of your fighting force based on the last battle, instead of the size/capabilities of your current enemy.

Aside from the psychos, it’s an interesting ‘what if’ question. What would it do to America if the first black president were assassinated?