Random Thoughts

#1   Republican National Committee Chairman, Reince Priebus says he is tired of hearing that his party is running a war on voting. In a recent interview, he said “For centuries our electoral process is based on one person, one vote, and for anyone to politicize the issue reeks of desperation and represents the worst in modern politics”.

what eye thynk: This is the party that, while calling for smaller government and the need to focus on jobs, has spent the past three years passing laws requiring voters to present IDs, limiting voter registration drives and closing early voter windows. In Ohio, if a registered voter shows up at the wrong voting location, they want to make it illegal for a precinct worker to re-direct the voter to his correct voting location!  Really!  All these new laws are supposed to eliminate voter fraud. When asked about the amount of voter fraud they had uncovered that required the passage of so many voter restrictive laws, they couldn’t give any clear answer. Non-partisan study has said that voter fraud is nearly non-existent in this country. I could go into how most of these laws will hinder  poor and minorities who just happen to usually vote Democrat, but that would make the Republicans look like they are trying to steal the elections. So, lets just say that the war on voting that they say they aren’t running is a solution in search of a problem.
　
#2   Mitt Romney is currently vetting candidates for Vice President. A member of John McCain's failed 2008 presidential campaign was quoted as saying that the vetting of Sarah Palin was lacking in substance. “We assumed that anyone with Governor in front of their name would have a basic working knowledge of history and policies. We won’t make this mistake again.”

what eye thynk: While I agree that a thorough and substantial approach to choosing a running mate is important, part of me was kinda hoping for another Republican debacle. I mean, really, late night television was never funnier than it was in 2008.
　
#3   The Obama administration has recently changed the regulations for fracking on public lands. Originally, the companies using public land had to disclose the chemicals they would use 30 days before they started working. The new regulation still requires that they disclose the chemicals, but now they can wait until after they are done. Lobbyists for companies like Exxon were concerned about the cost of compliance with the original regulations.

what eye thynk: Two things--what, they aren’t making enough money? Reporting what they’re using before actually pumping it into the ground is going to bankrupt them? And--what is the point of reporting it after? Shouldn’t someone have the ability to say “no, that chemical shouldn’t be near a source of ground water” before the well down the road is contaminated? The Obama administration really failed on this one.

#4   Currently, if a heterosexual alien marries a heterosexual American citizen, the alien gets a green card that grants permanent U.S. legal residency. Because Federal law does not recognize same sex marriages, the same protection and courtesy is not granted to same sex couples--even if they were legally married in a state that allows same sex marriage. The U.S. Court of Appeals in Boston will soon hear a case involving a same sex couple where the U.S. is trying to deport one spouse. A conservative legal group appointed by the U.S. House of Representatives will argue against them.

what eye thynk: Why am I not surprised? The Republicans have become the party that believes that the only law that counts is the one they have passed.  And if, by some chance, a law gets passed that they don't like, they will fight it any way they can. Witness the roadblocks that Republican dominated states have put up to stop a woman from getting a FEDERALLY LEGAL abortion. They claim that it is a state’s right to create provisos that limit a woman‘s access to a medical procedure that, under Federal law is perfectly legal; but when a state makes same sex marriage legal for their citizens, all of a sudden they start arguing the other side of that coin.