Free to worship. Unless you’re Muslim: An Islamic center and mosque plans to move into a vacant building a few blocks from the site of Ground Zero; and it sparked a nationwide controversy. But, even with the support of Mayor Michael Bloomberg many people do not want this center built so close. Not all Muslims should suffer for what a group of extremist did on Sept. 11– tell that to a church in Gainesville, who plans to burn Quaran’s on Sept. 11. The fact is that this has became a controversial issue does not sound like the American people are being in anyway religiously tolerant, but are being a bunch of bullies as America is usually seen by other countries.
Excuse me, could you show me your papers?: Arizona’s Governor Jan Brewer signed a bill that would, “identify, prosecute, and deport illegal immigrants.” In other words, if someone on Arizona’s police force assumed that one was an illegal immigrant, this law gives police the right to apprehend and detain suspected illegal immigrants until that person proves otherwise. News of this legislation barreled further down a slippery slope, as John Boehner (R-Ohio) touted, “granting automatic citizenship to babies born to in the U.S., would be an incentive for illegal immigrants to come here,” he said in an interview with “Meet the Press.” Thank heavens someone in this country has an IQ over 90; U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton blocked the most controversial parts of the bill on Jul. 28.
I now pronounce you…wait…never mind: Good news came to those of the lesbian and gay community on Aug. 4. Chief judge of the federal district court in San Francisco, Vaughn Walker, overturned California’s Proposition 8, which banned same- sex marriage. Reading Walker’s dissent leaves no room for question on this matter. The only reason Proposition 8 came into fruition was because religious zealots think the sky will fall if gays are allowed to wed. Unfortunately, a few days after the gay and lesbian community celebrated the ruling, superstition trumped reason and marriages would not resume in Calif., even though Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger expressed his support for Proposition 8 to be annulled. We can only hope that when this case makes it to the Supreme Court, that people void of rational thought will have packed up and moved to another planet.
Still leaking: On Apr. 20, the British Petroleum’s Deepwater Horizon oil-rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded, killing eleven and spilling tens of thousands of oil into a fragile ecosystem for an unprecedented 87 days. It appears that the explosion could have been prevented if the U.S. government hadn’t been so wrapped in the special interests of the elite. Instead doing illegal drugs and engaging in illicit sex, officials at the U.S. Mineral and Management Service, which is supposed to regulate the oil and gas industries, turned a blind eye to the shady safety practices of BP and other oil and gas companies. This story should be a giant red flag to Americans that the desires of the rich override the needs of average citizens.
Shirley Sherrod: Shirley Sherrod, the USDA’s Georgia director of Rural Development, was forced to resign from her position after a tape surfaced of a speech she gave, which seemingly had some racial innuendos. Not only was her resignation indicatory that racism is still very much alive in America, it also points to another epidemic in America – stupidity. As if Andrew Breitbart’s foolhardy expose’ wasn’t bad enough, the paradox-laden NAACP, an organization which we expected to conduct a thorough investigation on the matter, and then come to Sherrod’s rescue fell flat on their faces on national television; setting their own mission statement back to the year 1909.
Gomes Home: Aijalon Gomes, who was taken prisoner in the reclusive, communist and sadistic state of North Korea, returned to the States on Aug. 27 after former President Jimmy Carter took to the skies to rescue him. When we last left our favorite fun-sized tyrant, Kim Jong Ill in the land of no return, he and his goons had captured two Korean –American journalists for alleged spy practices. In both cases, it seemed that the Ill and his band of android oppressors wouldn’t negotiate with anyone. As it turns out, all they wanted was for two non-threatening white guys to sweet talk them into releasing the prisoners.
NBA…Who cares?: NBA All-Star Lebron James left the Cleveland Cavaliers after his contract expired, after which he decided not to renew. Instead of staying in a city dubbed, ‘ the most boring city in America,’ by TripAdvisors.com, he decided to break away to sunny Miami, to play for the one—championship wonder, the Miami Heat. This move left Cleveland fans livid; and after all who could blame them, outside of the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame, sports is really all they have. But honestly, in a country where teachers and police officers are paid significantly less than athletes, some of whom can’t even read on an eighth grade level, who cares which team James plays for now; we sure don’t.
Celebrity Drama: The tabloids seemed to have gotten more absurd since Michael Jackson died last year. But in case you have a life, Sandra Bullock’s husband cheated on her and replaced him with an adopted black baby… go figure; Gary Coleman is out of his misery; American Idol’s Fantasia and 1997’s Timbaland both vied for the public’s affection via suicide attempts; Mel Gibson still hates Jews, blacks, and women; and Lindsay Lohan can still drink you under the table…moving on.
Death By Tomfoolery: An Iranian woman was sentenced to death by stoning after being accused of infidelity. Though she was eventually spared, according to her lawyers, it’s stories like these that make Lebron James’ move to Miami, or any other preposterous “issues,” Americans call news, totally irrelevant.
Diary of an exploited soldier: When Julian Assange leaked 94,000 Pentagon war documents, the Pro-Afghan and Iraqi War camp went into a tizzy. It’s high time that someone had the guts to truly expose the exploitive American government for what it is; a group of elites who will milk their fellow countrymen for dangerous military service, just to have access to the world’s last fruitful oil reserves. Sure, swift retaliation was in place for the Sept. 11 attacks; however, it doesn’t take a military coinsurer to know that our government has gone about seeking justice the wrong way.