There are lots of options once we start pretending that human beings who are different from us are somehow less worthy of respect: perhaps an old-fashioned brand burned into their skin, or a number tattooed on their arms. It seems that running in a Republican primary requires candidates to appeal to the worst attributes of likely voters.
Pat Bertroche, a Republican primary candidate for Congress in Iowa, has illustrated perfectly why you don't refer to human beings as "illegals": it's dehumanizing. And once you've lost sight of someone's humanity, you feel comfortable saying and doing pretty much whatever you want to them.
At a Republican forum, where candidates vied to outdo one another with disturbing anti-immigrant rhetoric, Bertroche rose to a new high — or low — and beat his competition hands down. The Congressional hopeful said, referring to undocumented immigrants who are detained and deported, "I actually support microchipping them. I can microchip my dog so I can find it. Why can't I microchip an illegal?"...
...potential Senate hopeful Stormy Daniels says she's found her inner Republican.
Politico reports if the former porn star decides to run for the Senate from Louisiana, she will switch to the GOP after last week's revelation the Republican National Committee spent almost $2,000 at Voyeur, a bondage-themed nightclub in Los Angeles:
"Over time — my libertarian values regarding both money and sex— and the legal use of one for the other [are] now best espoused by the Republican party."
AP This undated photo provided by the San Mateo Sheriff's department shows Gregory Lee Giusti.
I'm beginning to wonder if tea partiers (or tea baggers) have any respect for American government. Apparently democracy is only acceptable to them if they get what they want. They want to flush it and create anarchy the minute their faction loses control of the apparatus of government. There seems to be no concept of a loyal opposition among many so-called Americans. It's sad that there is so little loyalty or allegiance to our government among those who oppose health care reform. It's a serious threat to our American way of life.
The San Francisco man arrested Wednesday for allegedly threatening House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over her support for health care reform spent five years harassing a local church - until its custodian helped break the case involving Pelosi, the church's lawyer said.
Gregory Lee Giusti, 48, made at least four dozen harassing and threatening phone calls to Pelosi's homes in St. Helena and Washington as well as her husband's San Francisco office, authorities said.
The torrent of calls, they said, occurred from Feb. 6 to March 25, with Giusti telling Pelosi that if she wanted to see her home again she would vote against the pending health care reform bill.
Giusti, who was arrested at noon at his Tenderloin apartment, is scheduled to appear this morning to answer charges at the U.S. District Court in San Francisco. The complaint against him is sealed, said FBI spokesman Joseph Schadler.
Giusti has a history of making threats. In 2004, he was convicted of threatening to kill a conductor after being booted off a train car in San Mateo County, prosecutors said.
He was linked to the Pelosi case with the help of members of the Hamilton Square Baptist Church on Geary Boulevard...
WASHINGTON – The FBI arrested a northern California man Wednesday for allegedly making threatening phone calls to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over health care reform, law enforcement officials told The Associated Press.
Charges against the man have yet to be disclosed, but they are expected to be filed in federal court in California.
Several federal officials said the man made dozens of calls to Pelosi's homes in California and Washington, as well as to her husband's business office. They said he recited her home address and said if she wanted to see it again, she would not support the health care overhaul bill that since has been enacted.
One official said the man is believed to have spoken directly with Pelosi at least once...
Sen. Orrin Hatch said he is "ashamed" of a Republican National Committee presentation that called for demonizing Democrats and President Barack Obama to help raise money.
"There is no excuse for that kind of stuff," said Hatch, R-Utah, during an appearance on Meet the Press on Sunday. "It shouldn't have happened. I'm ashamed of that." ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Highway money and jobless funds were set to flow again after the Senate ended a standoff on Tuesday that disrupted benefits for hundreds of thousands of unemployed Americans.
The Senate voted 78-19 to end a logjam that had worsened the plight of the jobless and thrown thousands out of work as lawmakers bickered over the cost of programs designed to help millions of Americans weather the worst economic downturn in 70 years.
President Barack Obama was expected to sign the measure quickly into law.
The programs expired on Sunday after Republican Senator Jim Bunning prevented the Senate from renewing them on the grounds they would add to the country's $12.4 trillion debt.
As a result, 400,000 jobless people faced the imminent loss of weekly checks that help them pay the bills while they look for work, as well as subsidies that help them pay for health insurance.
Construction projects across the country shut down after 2,000 federal workers were furloughed, while doctors faced a 21 percent pay cut for patients they see under the Medicare health insurance program for the elderly.
"During these difficult economic times, supporting American workers, their families and our small businesses must be everyone's focus," Obama said in a statement released by the White House. "... I'm grateful to the members of the Senate on both sides of the aisle who worked to end this roadblock to relief for America's working families."
In news conferences and floor statements, Democrats said Bunning and his fellow Republicans had taken their opposition to Democratic initiatives to a new extreme.
"Today we have a clear-cut example to show the American people what's wrong with Washington," said Democratic Senator Patty Murray...
