Today's Ridiculous News: Alaska Edition

Gorden Warren Epperly, a man from Juneau, Alaska, has filed a suit to bar President Obama from appearing on the Alaska ballot.  The justification?  He is of the "mulatto race."

Here is an excerpt from the complaint:

Barack Hussein Obama II, Aka Barack Hussein Obama, Aka Barack H. Obama has the race status of being a "Mulatto." Barack Obama's father (Barack Hussein Obama I) was a full blood Negro being born Nyang'oma Kogelo, Nyanza Province, Kenya and raised in the Colony of Kenya. Barack Obama's mother (Stanley Ann Dunham) was a white Caucasian woman being born in Wichita, Kansas on November 29, 1942 and raised in the state of Washington and in the State of Hawaii.

Therefore:

As stated above, for an Individual to be a Candidate for the Office of President of the United States, the Candidate must meet the qualifications set forth in the United States Constitution and one of those qualifications is that the Candidate shall be a "natural born Citizen" of the United States. As Barack Hussein Obama II is of the "Mulatto" race, his status of citizenship is founded upon the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Before the [purported] ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment, the race of "Negro" or "Mulatto" had no standing to be citizens of the United States under the United States Constitution.

Oh, Alaska.  You so crazy.


Source:http://www.enewspf.com/latest-news/latest-national/31089-suit-says-obama-cant-run-in-alaska-because-hes-of-the-mulatto-race.html

And Now In Ridiculous News...

20 year old Colorado student Peter Smith was detained and charged for throwing glitter at Mitt Romney.  This quote was taken from the Chicago Tribune:

"Denver authorities detained Smith for questioning on Tuesday night, and he was cited on misdemeanor charges of creating a disturbance, throwing a missile and an unlawful act on school property, Denver Police spokesman Sonny Jackson said."


Yes, glitter is a missile. Mike Huckabee was quoted in the same article as saying that glitter bombers should be arrested for assault and that "you've got to draw the line."  I'm all for peaceful protest and I love the symbolism of the glitter (generally used by equal rights advocates), but everyone should know that glitter crosses a line.  It's like the herpes of the arts and crafts world!  Once you get that on you, it's never going away.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-glitter-charges-coloradotre8180aj-20120208,0,743807.story

Idiot Wind

Politicians traditionally use popular music to define their campaigns.  It’s hard not to associate Fleetwood Mac’s “Don’t Stop” with the Clinton campaign in 1992 and “Only in America” from Brooks and Dunn will always be linked to Dubya in our minds.   Adding a little bit of Rock n’ Roll (or a little bit of country), adds excitement to rallies that might not be generated from grandstanding politicians.

Another tradition is using music without the permission of the artist.  The concern is not only copyright violation. Politicians represent a viewpoint and using a song for a campaign gives the appearance of the artist’s implicit endorsement of the politician.  Not learning from Bruce Springsteen’s well-documented beef with Reagan for the use of “Born in the USA,” candidates are identifying themselves with music without consulting with the artist.  To speak in (VERY) broad strokes, musicians tend to be liberal (especially if they’re not country artists).  Alice Cooper and Ted Nugent aside, the rock world is a pretty liberal scene.   As such, the recent crop of Republican hopefuls are finding themselves at odds the music world (again).

In the last election cycle, the band Heart made Sarah Palin stop using “Barracuda” and  John Mellencamp made John McCain stop using his songs. Jackson Browne actually sued McCain for using his music without permission. In 2011, Charlie Crist had to apologize to David Byrne from the Talking Heads for using their song without permission (after Byrne filed suit). Tom Petty sent cease and desist letters to Michelle Bachman, something he had to do previously with former President W. Bush.

Not one to learn from his mistakes, Newt Gingrich is now facing the same heat for using the Rocky theme “Eye of the Tiger” during his appearances.  Although Mr. Gingrich doesn’t seem to learn much from his own mistakes (insert token wife joke), you’d think he’d have the wisdom to learn from the mistakes of others.  Or at least to choose a more appropriate song.  I suggest “The Wanderer” by Dion or the theme song to Rolie Polie Olie.

Read more: http://technorati.com/entertainment/celebrity/article/gop-politicians-using-music-without-permission/#ixzz1l4TyvzqM

For Stephen Colbert poking fun at this issue, see his recently issued statement concerning his SuperPAC

http://hereistheplacewhereiloveyou.tumblr.com/post/16837262460

Here's A Thought...

MILLIONS of dollars are spent every four years to fund political campaigns for presidential hopefuls.  Each and every one of them accepts money and encourages widespread fundraising in hopes of securing four years in the oval office, trying to fix the country’s many ills in the way they see fit. I’ve got a crazy thought…what if, rather than spending the money on mudslinging and prosthelytizing, we did something more useful with the money?  We could all receive a booklet that outlines each candidate’s platform and vote based off of that.  Then the money could be spent in one of a zillion ways… funding healthcare for 9/11 first responders, rebuilding after natural disasters, any number of non-partisan type actions.  

I’m sorry, not sure what I’ve been smoking.  Why would the roughly 20 people and corporations that essentially fund national elections have any interest in helping the nation?