The GOP Candidate’s Dilemna: A Case Study

Ken AshfordElection 2010, RepublicansLeave a Comment

This Youtube video is a perfect example of how difficult it will be in the next election cycle (or two) for GOP candidates.

The video shows Rep. Mike Castle (R-Del.), a moderate Republican who hasn’t announced whether he’s running for re-election or for the U.S. Senate next year, at a town hall meeting earlier this month.

A woman gets up, holding a baggie containing her birth certificate, and unleashes a rambling, minute-long tirade tirade about how the president is a “citizen of Kenya.” The crowd hoots and cheers when she’s done. Castle responds, diplomatically: “Well I don’t know what comment that invites. If you’re referring to the president, then he is a citizen of the United States.” That elicits roars and boos from the crowd, so Castle presses on. “You can boo, but he is a citizen of the United States.”

How can a reasonable Republican run for office when he is dependent on pleasing crazed constituents — the rabid GOP base – who froth at the mouth over highly insane conspiracy theories?

David Boies: Why I’m Fighting For Gay Marriage

Ken AshfordSex/Morality/Family ValuesLeave a Comment

In the WSJ. Favorite passage:

[B]asic constitutional rights cannot depend on the willingness of the electorate in any given state to end discrimination. If we were prepared to consign minority rights to a majority vote, there would be no need for a constitution.

This is absolutely right, and a much overlooked — albeit rather basic — point.  While it is nice if majorities in states vote for marriage equality, it is rather irrelevant.  As a matter of constitutional principle, we don't submit questions of equal treatment under the law to majority vote.  Those rights are already constitutionally guaranteed to all citizens.

A bit more:

The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that the right to marry the person you love is so fundamental that states cannot abridge it. In 1978 the Court (8 to 1, Zablocki v. Redhail) overturned as unconstitutional a Wisconsin law preventing child-support scofflaws from getting married. The Court emphasized, “decisions of this Court confirm that the right to marry is of fundamental importance for all individuals.” In 1987 the Supreme Court unanimously struck down as unconstitutional a Missouri law preventing imprisoned felons from marrying.

There were legitimate state policies that supported the Wisconsin and Missouri restrictions held unconstitutional. By contrast, there is no legitimate state policy underlying Proposition 8. The occasional suggestion that marriages between people of different sexes may somehow be threatened by marriages of people of the same sex does not withstand discussion…. Moreover, there is no longer any credible contention that depriving gays and lesbians of basic rights will cause them to change their sexual orientation. Even if there was, the attempt would be constitutionally defective. But, in fact, the sexual orientation of gays and lesbians is as much a God-given characteristic as the color of their skin or the sexual orientation of their straight brothers and sisters. It is also a condition that, like race, has historically been subject to abusive and often violent discrimination. It is precisely where a minority’s basic human rights are abridged that our Constitution’s promise of due process and equal protection is most vital.

Not Fooling Anybody

Ken AshfordRandom MusingsLeave a Comment

I figured there must be a website for this (seeing as how there is a website for everything).

That's right — Not Fooling Anybody is a website devoted to businesses which take over the premises of rather obvious businesses.

Example?

Monte_vista_liquors

Monte Vista Liquors takes over a former KFC building (Phoenix, AZ) …. not fooling anybody.

And then there's…

Questautos

Quest Autos in Tampa Florida taking over an IHOP.

Northeasterntitle

Northeastern Loans in New Castle Delaware takes overs a Taco Bell.

Even less subtle is…

Oldtown

Oldtown Pancake House in Florissant, Missouri didn't even try….

Sometimes when a chain franchise goes out of business, an independent buyer swoops in and buys the place and tries to keep (as close as possible) the same name.  For example, a certain Baskin Robbins went under in Atlanta, and this is what appeared as its successor:

Basketrabbit

Not. Fooling. Anybody.

And then of course, you have people who are just plain lazy, like this chiropractor in Broken Arrow, OK, who moved his offices into a former Kentucky Fried Chicken:

Gilstrap

Storm’s A-Brewin’

Ken AshfordLocal InterestLeave a Comment

One of the nice things about working in one of the tallest buildings in a small city is that you can see things like this coming — literally:

Stormupdate   

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RALEIGH HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR… FORSYTH COUNTY IN CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 415 PM EDT

* AT 338 PM EDT… NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER LEWISVILLE… OR 6 MILES WEST OF WINSTON-SALEM… MOVING NORTHEAST AT 10 MPH. PENNY SIZED HAIL AND WINDS IN EXCESS OF 58 MPH ARE LIKELY WITH THIS STORM.

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE… WINSTON-SALEM… PFAFFTOWN…

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAN PRODUCE LARGE DAMAGING HAIL… DAMAGING WINDS OF 58 MPH AND GREATER… DEADLY LIGHTNING… AND VERY HEAVY RAIN. GO INSIDE A STURDY SHELTER. MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

Graphing Youth Sex Habits

Ken AshfordEducation, Health Care, Sex/Morality/Family ValuesLeave a Comment

I pulled some interesting charts from the today-released CDC report on STDs among youth.

Apparently, there was an increase in teen pregnancies and youth STDs during the Bush years.

Here are the charts:

TABLE 22. (Continued) Estimated number of cases and cumulative rates* of persons aged 10–24 years living with acquired immune deficiency syndrome, by age group and area of residence — HIV/AIDS Reporting System, United States, 2006

 

Age group (yrs)

 

10–14

15–19

20–24

Area of residence

No.

Rate

No.

Rate

No.

Rate

Region

 

 

 

 

 

 

Northeast

531

14.6

1,025

26.4

1,473

39.7

Midwest

129

2.8

205

4.3

653

13.9

South

600

8.1

1,057

13.8

2,482

32.6

West

114

2.3

199

4.0

760

15.0

SOURCE: Special tabulations for this report from CDC's HIV/AIDS reporting system.

* Per 100,000 population. Rates exclude data for U.S. territories.

TABLE 23. Number of reported cases and annual rates* of chlamydia among persons aged 10–24 years, by age group and region of residence — Nationally Notifiable Disease Surveillance System, United States, 2006

 

Age group (yrs)

 

10–14

15–17

18–19

20–24

Region

No.

Rate

No.

Rate

No.

Rate

No.

Rate

Northeast

2,229

61.4

25,525

1,099.8

30,197

1,933.2

57,924

1,562.5

Midwest

3,260

71.1

36,389

1,251.1

46,166

2,470.3

85,554

1,814.1

South

5,690

76.5

61,718

1,319.0

80,100

2,697.9

145,157

1,904.8

West

2,418

48.6

30,655

997.9

41,545

2,137.4

89,138

1,759.0

Total

13,597

65.9

154,287

1,188.6

198,008

2,373.2

377,773

1,789.4

SOURCE: Special tabulations from sexually transmitted disease data, Nationally Notifiable Disease Surveillance System.

* Per 100,000 population.

TABLE 24. Number of reported cases and annual rates* of gonorrhea among persons aged 10–24 years, by age group and region of residence — Nationally Notifiable Disease Surveillance System, United States, 2006

 

Age group (yrs)

 

10–14

15–17

18–19

20–24

Region

No.

Rate

No.

Rate

No.

Rate

No.

Rate

Northeast

416

11.5

4,677

201.5

5,438

348.1

11,761

317.3

Midwest

1,136

24.8

11,712

402.7

14,749

789.2

27,997

593.7

South

2,191

29.4

20,608

440.4

27,348

921.1

55,073

722.7

West

499

10.0

4,959

161.4

7,045

362.4

16,103

317.8

Total

4,242

20.6

41,956

323.2

54,580

654.2

110,934

525.5

SOURCE: Special tabulations from sexually transmitted disease data, Nationally Notifiable Disease Surveillance System.

* Per 100,000 population.

I wanted to see if the increase in risky sexual behavior was more prevalent in the South/Bible belt, where abstinence-only and a "faith-based" approach to sexual education is more prevelant.

Using the bottom two charts, and employing this cool web graph-maker thingee, I got this:

Graph

Hmmmm.  Looks like those coastal elite liberal might know a thing or two about how to teach kids about sex.

UPDATE —  The Guardian confirms:

The CDC says that southern states, where there is often the greatest emphasis on abstinence and religion, tend to have the highest rates of teenage pregnancy and STDs.

Yeah, I know.

The article also contains this quote from Kristi Hamrick, a spokeswoman for American Values (a group advocating abstinence-only education).  She dismisses the CDC report, arguing:

"In every other area of public policy – food, drugs, alcohol – we tell children what is the best choice. It seems very bizarre that the sex education establishment rejects the idea that we should talk to kids about what is best for them. We don't take vodka to drivers education because children will drink and drive."

Ms. Hamrick, your driver's ed analogy is flawed.  We teach children (and adults) "don't drink and drive".  We don't teach them "don't drink, period."  Yet that is what you're abstinence-only education does — it tells them the "best choice" ONLY.  Telling them to abstain from sex is fine, but it doesn't give them options or information.  It doesn't educate.  It merely mandates a course of action ("don't have sex until your married") which, while laudable, is completely unrealistic.  And in the long run, creates a health care problem.  The graph itself bears this out.

RIP Uncle Walt

Ken AshfordIn PassingLeave a Comment

Yeah, I know it was last week.  And he was on my “death watch” for a couple months.  Still, it’s a bit of a shock and sad.

I wonder how much a younger generation weened on the 24 hour cable news can appreciate the stature that Walter Cronkite had.  I was less than ten during the 1960’s, and even then, I thought of him as “the honest one”.  Walt was a real anchorman — not the pretty boy/girl type you see today.  He was also a journalist — he went and got the story, rather than just report what various parties said in their respective press releases.  Even after he retired, he managed to pop up now and then (usually from presidential elections), lending his considerable gravitas.

His heyday was in the 1960’s and he narrated the nation through assassinations, war, and technological hurdles.  Since this is the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, it is only fitting to show Walter in a rare moment — being speechless — as the LEM lands on the lunar surface (complete with CBS’s cheesy 1960’s graphics)

Cronkite was very knowledgeable about this subject matter, as he was about everything he reported.  He took the time to learn what he was talking about, so that he could report about it intelligently.  There’s never been another like him since.

He was 92.

UPDATE:  The JFK assassination coverage…steady and sober

The Speech We Didn’t Hear 40 Years Ago

Ken AshfordHistoryLeave a Comment

On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon. The following speech, revealed in 1999, was prepared by Nixon's then speechwriter, William Safire, to be used in the event of a disaster that would maroon the astronauts on the moon:

Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace.

These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that there is no hope for their recovery. But they also know that there is hope for mankind in their sacrifice.

These two men are laying down their lives in mankind's most noble goal: the search for truth and understanding.

They will be mourned by their families and friends; they will be mourned by their nation; they will be mourned by the people of the world; they will be mourned by a Mother Earth that dared send two of her sons into the unknown.

In their exploration, they stirred the people of the world to feel as one; in their sacrifice, they bind more tightly the brotherhood of man.

In ancient days, men looked at stars and saw their heroes in the constellations. In modern times, we do much the same, but our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood.

Others will follow, and surely find their way home. Man's search will not be denied. But these men were the first, and they will remain the foremost in our hearts.

For every human being who looks up at the moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world that is forever mankind.

Thank God it was never read.

New Michael Jackson Recording

Ken AshfordPopular Culture1 Comment

Because Michael Jackson's death was premature, there exist a catalogue of unreleased new MJ songs.  Expect a steady stream of them.

Here's the first "new" song.  I use the word "new" advisedly, because the song — “A Place Without No Name” — is clearly built on the America classic "A Horse With No Name".

So far, only a snippet of "A Place with No Name" has been released.  It's not particularly memorable, unless you remember the America classic.

Plus it's got that rather annoying double negative.

Palin Promises “Less Politically Correct” Tweets

Ken AshfordElection 2012Leave a Comment

Posted at 11:35 PM (Alaska time) on Sarah Palin's Twitter:

Planning inauguration w/LtGov in 10 days, Frbanks. W/same cabinet, same positive pro-AK agenda it’s all good, consistent success bc everyone…elected is replaceable;Ak WILL progress! + side benefit=10 dys til less politically correct twitters fly frm my fingertps outside State site

(Emphasis added)

I know she considers herself a "maverick" who "doesn't play politics as usual", so she probably thinks that providing "less politically correct twitters" is a laudable thing.

Of course, the joke is that Palin suffers from severe foot-in-mouth disease, so Sarah giving herself carte blanche to be, uh, Sarah — well, let's just say it's the mother lode for liberal bloggers.

Pictured below: Palin contemplating her next tweet

Palintwitter

Quote Of The Day

Ken AshfordRace, Right Wing Punditry/IdiocyLeave a Comment

Jeez.  Pat Buchanan isn't even trying to hide his ignorance and bigotry now.  Here he is from last night's Rachel Maddow show, in response to her point that 98% of all U.S. Supreme Court justices have been white men:

"White men were 100% of the people that wrote the Constitution, 100% of the people that signed the Declaration of Independence, 100% of the people who died at Gettysburg and Vicksburg, probably close to 100% of the people who died at Normandy. This has been a country built basically by white folks."

That's an interesting take on history — let's ignore the contributions of blacks to this country because they were slaves and subjects of discrimination.

The Blob That Ate Alaska

Ken AshfordRandom MusingsLeave a Comment

It's 12-15 miles long, and floating in the waters between Wainwright and Barrow, Alaska.  It's "gooey" and looks dark against the bright white ice of the waters.

I know what you're thinking.  But it's not an oil slick.  It's ALIVE!

Read more.