My motorcycle trip threw me off my blogging schedule. Hey, I’m looking for something to blame … something other than myself, that is … and the motorcycle trip is handy.
Speaking of motorcycle trips, I amused myself by going on a short (less than 100 miles) ride this morning, heading down to the Triple T Truck Stop for breakfast, then riding west to east from Sahuarita to Vail and back home. As on any beautiful Sunday morning, riders and their bikes were everywhere, and here are two that stood out (click images to enlarge):
I scoff at trikes and the pussies who ride them (unless of course they’re disabled … which, I sadly note, they almost never are), but whoever was man enough to ride into the Triple T parking lot on this particular machine has earned my respect. Obviously home-made, this trike is one of the scariest things I’ve ever seen. Just look a the length of that tiller … the rider probably has to dismount and run alongside whenever he needs to make a sharp turn. The seat is mounted on a plywood base, and there is, of course, no belt. The old BSA thumper in military paint was a real treat. I saw it at a general store near Corona de Tucson where I often see antique bikes on Sunday mornings. Next time I go there I’ll bring a better camera.
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Our dog Schatzi has been keeping an eye on me ever since I got home, probably to make sure I don’t sneak off again. We put her on a grain-free diet and the scabbing on her snout and eyes has almost gone away. Our daughter Polly all along has said that Schatzi’s scabs … which we thought were ringworm … are the result of fool allergies, and it’s starting to look like she was right. Naturally, grain-free dog food is expensive. So what else is new, right?
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We learned today that Donna’s cousin Howard, who lives in Las Vegas, has taken in family members fleeing Japan. One of his daughters is married to a Japanese man and had been living in Tokyo, but she’s back in Las Vegas now. A daughter-in-law and her children were stationed at Misawa Air Base in northern Japan with one of Howard’s sons, who’s in the Air Force.
Last I heard, these evacuations are voluntary … no Americans had to leave Tokyo or our military bases in Japan. American civilians working in Japan have to decide how much they need their jobs, I suppose, and military members stationed there probably have to stay. Spouses and children of military members, as I understand it, were offered the choice of staying or evacuating. Tokyo is about 150 miles south of the Fukushima nuclear power plant; Misawa is about 150 miles north. I’m not questioning anyone’s decision to leave, but if I were still there I’d stay and stick it out with the Japanese. Donna says no way, she’d have been on the first plane out.
In any case, we have only one grown daughter living at home. Howard has two (a second daughter, in the process of a divorce, has moved out of her husband’s house and is also staying at Howard’s, along with her children), plus his son’s wife and kids. Jumpin’ Jehoshaphat! We’d better count our blessings.
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A couple of weeks ago we were subjected to another buttload of birther nonsense, delivered up in a steaming racist teabagger pile by print, radio, and television reporters. This round started with attention-whore Donald Trump, who amusingly produced a birth certificate that looked just like the one Barack Obama produced during the 2008 presidential campaign.
When I saw the photo of Trump’s birth certificate, it hit me that my own birth certificate looks just like his, minus the fact that we were born in different hospitals. So I went to Google and looked up Obama’s birth certificate (which you can see and study to your heart’s content at FactCheck.org), and guess what? Change the names and it’s just like Trump’s. And mine.
The thing is, nearly every media outlet … from the Huffington Post to Fox News to National Public Radio … immediately jumped on this totally false talking point that these birth certificates are not the official “long form” certificates that prove citizenship. Someone even said that you can’t get a passport with the kind of birth certicates Obama and Trump produced, and our media passed it on as fact.
Now wait a god damned minute. The only birth certificate I’ve ever had looks just like Obama’s and Trump’s. It lists my name, my parents’ names, and the date, time, and place of my birth. It’s signed by a hospital official and has a raised seal. Just like Obama’s. Just like Trump’s. Just like yours. It’s the same birth certificate we all have. I’ve had to produce it several times during my life … to get into college, to join the military, and as a matter of fact to get my passport … and no one has ever demanded to see anything else.
Has no one else realized this? Have you looked at your own birth certificate? Why doesn’t the media point out the blindingly obvious fact that Obama’s birth certificate is the same as the ones we all have and is legal proof of US citizenship, and quit falling all over themselves every time some pinhead says it isn’t? God, don’t they have more than enough real news to report?
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And with that, God willing and the creek don’t rise, I’m back on schedule.
Re: Birthers. Utter nonsense, but why let reason and logic get in the way of a deeply held belief? First, the constitution only identifies two types of citizenship, natural born and naturalized. Second, neither the Supreme Court nor any district appeals court has ruled on this specific issue. In short, there is no case law, on point, on this subject. Third, there is nothing in the Federalist Papers on this subject, so we do not know the original intent. Fourth, Congress has passed numerous immigration laws that essentially hold that if one parent is a citizen of the US, the child is a citizen, i.e. natural born. It is not a matter of geography, but of parentage.
Fifth, it was not an issue with John McCain who was born in the Canal Zone, and if nothing else, consistency is basic to our legal system. Finally, both political parties engage in opposition research and thoroughly investigate opposing candidates. I assure you, the Repubs ripped President Obama apart before he was nominated and researched the issue. If they found anything with any validity, they would have used it.
Personally, I think the Dems are using all this to let the Repubs chase their own tails around the Maypole. Now that is good politicking. LoL
Dick,
Deeply held belief? The only deeply held belief here is that a black man can’t be president. Otherwise I agree with every word you say.
I remember the same question coming up about George Romney back in the day. George was born overseas to American parents, and that was the excuse for questioning his eligibility. The unstated reason, of course, was his Mormonism.
I’m not sure Democrats are smart or organized enough to use birtherism against GOP candidates. Everybody is courting the trailer park racist demographic these days.