GrayMatters

Samuel L. Jackson -- I Voted for Barack Obama Because He's Black

2012-02-13T00:33:00.000-06:00

Samuel L. Jackson -- I Voted for Barack Obama Because He's Black | TMZ.com: In an interview with Ebony magazine, Jackson explained, "I voted for Barack because he was black. 'Cuz that's why other folks vote for other people — because they look like them ... That's American politics, pure and simple. [Obama's] message didn't mean [bleep] to me."

Jackson then went on to drop the N-word several times when discussing Obama, telling the mag, "When it comes down to it, they wouldn't have elected a [bleep]. Because, what's a [bleep]? A [bleep] is scary. Obama ain't scary at all. [Bleeps] don't have beers at the White House. [Bleeps] don't let some white dude, while you in the middle of a speech, call [him] a liar. A [bleep] would have stopped the meeting right there and said, ‘Who the [bleep] said that?' I hope Obama gets scary in the next four years, 'cuz he ain't gotta worry about getting re-elected."

Class and brilliant! Of course, I am being sarcastic. What an a-hole! Yet another perfect example why people should pretty much ignore Hollywood when they talk politics.

Interesting Bits of the U.S. Constitution

2012-02-09T22:09:00.000-06:00

Section 9 - Limits on Congress: "The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.

The privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.

No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.

(No capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken.) (Section in parentheses clarified by the 16th Amendment.)

No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.

No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another: nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another.

No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.

No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince or foreign State."

Here's the interesting bit: "No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States"

So, using the term Czar for certain appointed government officials is actually a violation of The Constitution.

Interesting Bits of the U.S. Constitution

2012-02-09T17:04:00.003-06:00

The 12th Amendment: "The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate;

The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted;

The person having the greatest Number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President.

The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States."

Here's the interesting bit: "they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President".

How can the Electors possibly make distinct ballots each for the President and Vice President when we, the populace, don't get to vote that way? Seems strange that they should be required to cast separate ballots when we cannot.

Cardinal-Designate Timothy Dolan: President Barack Obama Needs To Stop 'Intruding Into Internal Life Of Church'

2012-02-09T17:04:00.000-06:00

Cardinal-Designate Timothy Dolan: President Barack Obama Needs To Stop 'Intruding Into Internal Life Of Church' « CBS New York: “The federal government has drifted dangerously beyond its constitutional boundaries. This attack by the federal government on religious freedom in our country must not stand and will not stand,” Boehner said.

Okay, I have stayed out of this one as long as I can but I've been stuck listening to pundits on both sides banter for days.

I do not believe that this is an intentional attack on religion. That said, I do believe that this is an attack, perhaps unintentional as well, on The Constitution.

Now, I'm not Catholic (my wife is) and I have no moral issue with contraception but I have to side with the Catholic Church on this being a violation of the 1st Amendment. Anyone who cares about our Constitution and the rights contained within should be joining the Catholic Church in this fight. Any less means you are willing to give up the rest of your rights in the name of some sort of wishful Utopia.

Personally, I think that President Obama, in his attempt to promote his agenda, could care less about The Constitution. I think he believes that he is smarter than our founding fathers and thus exempt from Constitutional restrictions. Guess what, Mr. President, you are neither smarter nor exempt.

Abortion safer than giving birth: study

2012-01-24T01:10:00.000-06:00

Abortion safer than giving birth: study | Reuters: Researchers found that women were about 14 times more likely to die during or after giving birth to a live baby than to die from complications of an abortion.

And a baby are, by far, more likely to die during an abortion. Now, I'm becoming more and more libertarian lately and many would believe that being pro-life puts me at odds with that. Well, let me explain. First, libertarian does not mean anarchist. To me, it means that people should be free to do what they want as long as it harms no one else. Abortion kills the baby (someone else) and thus does not pass that test.

New school can’t be Cougars because middle-aged women might be offended

2012-01-19T17:27:00.000-06:00

New school can’t be Cougars because middle-aged women might be offended | Prep Rally - Yahoo! Sports: Still, the Canyons School Board refused to accept the Cougar as a mascot out of fear that it might offend older women. In the current edition of the Webster Dictionary, the second definition for cougar sights a slang terminology that refers to "a middle-aged woman seeking a romantic relationship with a younger man."

Political correctness has indeed "jumped the shark". So, now we can't call a mountain lion a cougar because we might offend some middle-aged woman on the make for a younger man? Utterly ridiculous! And why do we allow that group to co-op the word cougar? A cougar is a large, reclusive, feline apex predator. Does that really describe an older lady looking for a younger man? Doesn't seem like it to me. Of course, depending on the woman, large and predator might fit but then why not call them grizzlies or leopards or something else just as stupid?

I'm going to go a bit off topic here but this stupidity brings up something just as stupid that has annoyed me for a long time. Why do we let groups co-op regular English words and make them their own, forsaking any previous meaning? Gay used to mean happy. Queer used to mean strange. Retarded used to mean delayed. And, God forbid, you actually use any of these words now.

Microsoft App To Guide Users Away From High-Crime Areas Proves Controversial

2012-01-19T00:22:00.001-06:00

Microsoft App To Guide Users Away From High-Crime Areas Proves Controversial « CBS Dallas / Fort Worth: “I’m going to be up in arms about it if it happens,” said Dallas NAACP President Juanita Wallace.

Wallace spent her afternoon at a rally on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and said she felt safe there, but fears the app may project otherwise.

“Can you imagine me not being able to go to MLK Blvd. because my GPS says that’s a dangerous crime area? I can’t even imagine that,” she said.

What a ridiculous made-up controversy. Microsoft has every right to market such an app and personally, I wish my GPS devices had that feature. As with most avoidance features on GPS devices, they can be turned on or off depending on your preference so Ms. Wallace has nothing to fear except for maybe driving through a high crime area because she turned that feature off. And as President of the Dallas NAACP, she might feel safe though I'm pretty sure a criminal won't stop to ask her who she works for first.

Seriously, is this something new? Anyone who lives in or around a major a city knows what areas to avoid and they do, without a GPS device's help. Is that discriminatory? No, its just smart.

The WTF?!?! Files

2012-01-16T22:28:00.001-06:00

Police: woman offered sexual favors in exchange for McNuggets - Burbank Leader: Khadijah Baseer of Los Angeles reportedly opened customers’ car doors in the drive-thru of McDonald’s on the 1700 block of Olive Avenue about 11 p.m. Wednesday, asking for free chicken McNuggets in exchange for sexual favors, Officer Joshua Kendrick said.

WTF?!?! Sexual favors for McNuggets?!?! Seriously?!?! I could understand if she was asking for a Big Mac or a McRib but McNuggets?

Video screen glasses could lay messages or GPS over your field of vision

2012-01-14T13:44:00.000-06:00

Lumus PD-18-2 video screen glasses could lay messages or GPS over your field of vision | Mail Online: They are designed for professionals such as pilots, surgeons and soldiers but there are hopes that it can be adapted for the consumer market so people could watch film or TV on the move, or play video games as they walk around.

Wow! What a wildly bad idea! They make some sense for military and medical use because they could be use to augment reality. Using them to read your email or watch TV while your walking or driving is just plain stupid and ultimately dangerous. And, of course, they'll make you look like a huge dork as well.

Miss representation Trailer

2012-01-14T00:59:00.000-06:00

I find the video below interesting but I think too many people only want to blame the big, bad people in control of the media. But how could the media do what is accused of without women selling themselves into that industry? If women truly want change in the media, they need to refuse to take roles like Barbarella (yes, Jane Fonda, you are a hypocrite) or pose scantily-clad for magazine covers or write songs that encourage bad behavior. The media can "try" to do whatever they want but if they have no women to pose, sing, or act for them., problem solved.

Virginia School Board Defends Having Third-Graders Sing Occupy Indoctrination Song, Claims The Kids Wrote The Lyrics…

2012-01-09T10:31:00.000-06:00

Weasel Zippers » Blog Archive » Virginia School Board Defends Having Third-Graders Sing Occupy Indoctrination Song, Claims The Kids Wrote The Lyrics…: Yes, they’re actually claiming third-grade children wrote these lyrics and chose the topic as well. Because what eight-year-old child isn’t obsessed with class warfare?

Interesting story. Now I happen to agree with the blogger here. Seriously, what 8-9 year old would come up with this topic, let alone the lyrics? Seems more than a little fishy to me.

New state law could clog checkouts

2012-01-05T09:37:00.000-06:00

Northwest Herald | New state law could clog checkouts: State Rep. Jack Franks, D-Marengo, co-sponsored the bill.

“What we had heard was that people were using these substances for very bad purposes, for evil,” he said. “We thought that this law was needed to help protect the public from those who wish to do them harm.”

He said he didn’t want to minimize that the new law creates more work for retailers.

“If they’re making a profit from selling them, they also have to help us protect the citizens,” Franks said. “I don’t like it anymore than they do.”

Another ridiculous law and a ridiculous statement by Franks. Seriously, "what we heard...", is that really justification for another law to burden retailers? How about some real stats on the "evil" being committed with these substances? I don't recall any regular occurrences in the news. Also, its disingenuous for Franks to say that he doesn't like the law anymore than the retailers do. He co-sponsored it.

Okla. Woman Shoots, Kills Intruder: 911 Operators Say It's Okay to Shoot

2012-01-04T18:35:00.000-06:00

Okla. Woman Shoots, Kills Intruder: 911 Operators Say It's Okay to Shoot - Yahoo!: On New Year's Eve Martin returned with another man, Dustin Stewart, and this time was armed with a 12-inch hunting knife. The two soon began trying to break into McKinley's home.

As one of the men was going from door to door outside her home trying to gain entry, McKinley called 911 and grabbed her 12-gauge shotgun.

McKinley told ABC News Oklahoma City affiliate KOCO that she quickly got her 12 gauge, went into her bedroom and got a pistol, put the bottle in the baby's mouth and called 911.

Nice work, Mrs. McKinley!

Planned Parenthood’s Annual Report: Got $487.4M in Tax Money, Did 329,445 Abortions

2012-01-04T18:28:00.000-06:00

Planned Parenthood’s Annual Report: Got $487.4M in Tax Money, Did 329,445 Abortions | CNSnews.com: According to its latest annual report, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) received $487.4 million in tax dollars over a twelve-month period and performed 329,455 abortions.
planned parenthood

In addition, the number of adoption referrals made by the organization continued to decline.

That would be considered genocide by many. Government-funded genocide, no less. Where's the massive outcry?

Do The Right Thing!

2012-01-01T13:39:00.001-06:00

Do the right thing, sports broadcasters, and stop airing commercials with content that is not appropriate for children. Many children watch sports. My kids watch sport with me. I am tired of having to quickly change channels during every commercial break so my kids don't see movie previews that scare them or TV show ads that contain inappropriate content. I imagine there are more parents who feel as I do.

Just do the right thing, sports broadcasters!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T02:10:00.001-06:00

Wishing you and yours a Happy New Year! May 2012 bring you all the happiness you desire!

2011-12-25T00:43:00.000-06:00

Wishing everyone a safe, healthy and overall wonderful Christmas!

Dumbass Criminals

2011-12-23T20:07:00.000-06:00

Facebook Photos Lead Police To Suspects In Burglary « CBS Pittsburgh: Police say they stole thousands of dollars in cash and goods, and then posed with their loot and posted the photos to a popular social media site.

What a bunch of dumbasses!

The WTF?!?! Files

2011-12-20T01:32:00.000-06:00

High school prank has blindfolded students make out with their parents | Mail Online: The winter-sport team captains were blindfolded as their mothers and fathers approached. A video posted on YouTube shows some of the kisses lasting several seconds.

One parent-child pair even moves to the gym floor, rolling around on top of one another.

In another moment of inappropriate passion, a mother moves her son‘s hand south so far he appears to grab her rear.

WTF?!?! Oh my dear Good! What kind of sick, f*cking parents think this is appropriate or funny? I am embarrassed for the poor kids involved. And, exactly how much therapy are these kids going to need after that? Its wrong. Just plain wrong.

Opinion: 3 cheers for the '1-percenters'

2011-12-14T22:45:00.000-06:00

Opinion: 3 cheers for the '1-percenters' - Rep. Allen West - POLITICO.com: Liberals conveniently overlook that while it takes great wealth to purchase a mega-yacht, the wealth is transferred to those who build and service it. Far better for that wealth to be distributed among businesses and workers here in South Florida than poured down the drain in Washington.

Let’s reduce regulations and bureaucratic red tape on our small businesses in the marine industry so they can thrive and better serve their customers. Let’s reform the corporate tax structure to help U.S. yacht-builders remain competitive with foreign companies. Above all, let us set the conditions for economic success to create more superwealthy individuals — so they can purchase more and more yachts. That is the American entrepreneurial dream.

Well put, Mr. West, well put.

New Haven Asks State to Allow Non-Citizens to Vote

2011-12-14T20:32:00.000-06:00

New Haven Asks State to Allow Non-Citizens to Vote | NBC Connecticut: New Haven Mayor John DeStefano plans to ask the state Legislature to allow illegal immigrants who live in the city to be able vote in municipal elections.

Ridiculous! I can only wonder if the mayor is concerned that he (or other democratic official in the city) won't get re-elected unless they are able to drum up more votes.

Texas Town Braces For Battle With Atheists Over Nativity Scene

2011-12-14T20:25:00.000-06:00

Texas Town Braces For Battle With Atheists Over Nativity Scene | Fox News: If you thought the nativity was controversial, wait until you see the banner. It reads: “At this season of the Winter Solstice, let reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth & superstition that hardens hearts & enslaves minds.”

There’s no word on when the banner might go up. If Hall has his way, it will be never.

In the meantime, one or two women standing stand each day in front of the nativity scene with a petition urging others to sign in support of keeping the nativity where it is. A group of pastors is also planning a rally this weekend. A pastor who’s planning it says he expects a couple thousand people to pack the square.

What happens next? Gaylor said the Freedom From Religion Foundation will wait and see what county government does, but the group’s next move could include legal action.

Hall has said if it comes to that, the county has already received offers of legal help. He also says the nativity scene will come down “after Christmas, or when hell freezes over.”

I love the county commissioner's reply. Stick to your guns (it is Texas), commissioner!

And to the Freedom From Religion Foundation, just for reference, Christianity, if adhered to correctly, actually softens hearts and frees minds but I wouldn't expect you to know that.

Dumbass Criminals

2011-12-13T11:24:00.000-06:00

Pa. man asks officer: 'Can I have my weed back?' : But the prosecutor told the judge: "I don't know what else `Can I have my weed back?' can mean, other than it's his."

What a dumbass! Anyone with half a brain, even when its half-baked, know that you never ask a cop for your weed back.

Hungry This Thanksgiving? Eat a Turkey, Not Your Dog

2011-11-27T11:36:00.000-06:00

Great video by Zo. He doesn't cover it but I have a real problem with any ad like this that specifically targets kids.

Jimmy Fallon apologizes to Michele Bachmann for offensive song

2011-11-25T14:56:00.000-06:00

Jimmy Fallon apologizes to Michele Bachmann for offensive song | The Ticket - Yahoo! News: "This wouldn't be tolerated if it were Michelle Obama, and it shouldn't be tolerated for a conservative woman," Bachmann said, calling the song choice an "outrage."

But she's not the only one complaining. The song choice has come under fire from all sides of the political spectrum. New York Rep. Nita Lowey, a Democrat, trashed the show for its song choice in a statement to Politico and called on NBC, Fallon and the band to apologize.

"The choice of song to introduce Michele Bachmann on 'Late Night With Jimmy Fallon' last night was insulting and inappropriate," Lowey told Politico Tuesday. "I do not share Michele Bachmann's politics, but she deserves to be treated with respect. No female politician—and no woman—should be subjected to sexist and offensive innuendo like she was last night."

I watched the clip and while I couldn't hear anything inappropriate, I imagine that anyone who knows the song would recognize it. Its inappropriate. While Michelle Bachmann is not the candidate that I am currently leaning towards, this is just plain wrong. This is the same type of sexism that Sarah Palin was (and still is) subjected to. When will the liberals get some class?

I am not talking about all liberals. Some, like Rep. Nita Lowey, obviously get it but far too many, especially in the media, think that they can use prejudice and sexism all they want as long as the target is conservative.