And if the last two years have taught us anything, it just gives racists an angle. You didn't see anyone challenging John McCain's status as a natural born citizen, despite being born in Panama.
I was just thinking, what does natural-born do to help one's country managing skills?
I think it has something to do with wanting all people in office to be loyal to this country and no other.
That's covered by "citizen". You don't need the "natural-born" part.
Generally yeah, but conspiracy nuts would say that someone could be a citizen while actually being a sleeper agent. They could then hand the country over... (Good luck with that by the way.) That said, I agree that the requirement is pretty unnecessary. I also think the age limit is a bit unnecessary as well. If a person is mature enough and has the proper skills to hold office then who cares what age he/she is? The "unworthy" would ( or rather should; I know I'm making quite an assumption here) be weeded out of the running. I think too much of our political system has become a popularity contest and not a debate of who can run the country better.
And if the last two years have taught us anything, it just gives racists an angle. You didn't see anyone challenging John McCain's status as a natural born citizen, despite being born in Panama.
Actually there were a few, but they weren't as loud or numerous as those arguing against Obama.
So because the Churches would abuse these mechanisms we shouldn't allow them access to them.
You kinda already do, by giving them Tax exempt status, which they don't want to lose.
Yes. They also now have to pay taxes just like any other organization, and no longer receive special consideration or protection as they do now. They might be too big to get away with not reporting: recall that Google went public partly because it was going to be forced to report regardless.
I didn't know about that, but I'm sure there are ways around it - and on top of that, the church has to currently Publicly disclose their finances IIRC, whereas Google would have only had to report to the Securities and Exchange commission.
I think it would be a net gain for society. The Catholic church's base is increasingly poor Hispanic and African communities rather than the rich old white people they're used to milking. As an organization, they're already a lame duck in the West.
They were simply a single example. It wouldn't just be the Catholics - it would be EVERY major denomination of christian who could and likely would do it. And you live, don't forget, in a majority christian nation - it would be an outright theocracy with the bill of rights and constitution turned into useless relics in very short order. Religion has thousands of years of practice in with politics - they would be a nigh on unstoppable force.
Oh, and here's a delightful collection of lies, revisionism, and demagoguery from the recent Iowa caucuses courtesy of some of the biggest crazies the right wing has to offer. linkage.
Trolling with the truth is the best kind of trolling -
(American and Proud republican I have on facebook) "Universal Healthcare is not a solution! It's been shown over and over again by the republican party that the evidence shows that it does not work anywhere, on any scale! It's just a bandaid to cover the wound, not heal it!"
"So, what about Australian Medicare?"
"What? Some failed system in another country doesn't matter here."
"Actually, it's been going for 35 years, works extremely well - to the point where under half of the country even bother getting private insurance - it only raises the tax from between 1.5 to 2.5 percent, less for low income earners, and by all indications, is in no danger of collapsing anytime soon."
"BUT THE SYSTEM DOESN'T WORK, IT'S IMPOSSIBLE!"
"It does work, and it's working right now, and it's been working for two years longer than you've been alive, in fact. Just the other week, I used this (link to picture of my medicare card with numbers blurred out) to go to the GP, for free, and then went and got some subsidized medication, and now I'm feeling much better. Having quality medical care is quite nice, you should join us."
Reminds me of one of my favorite counter arguments against the anti-universal healthcare folks. If universal healthcare is so bad, then how come Cuba (yes, Cuba!), which has universal healthcare, has a longer average life expectancy and a lower infant mortality rate than the US? I mean, if even the Cubans, with all their issues, can do it...
I don't understand the "ban sharia" thing. If a custom isn't conflicting with our existing laws, why bother? It's no different than Jews not eating pork and Christians taking a day of prayer on Sunday, a bunch of religious practices. If an an action does conflict with the law, it is already banned, and if practiced as a part of Sharia law, should be punished just like any other instance of the crime. It goes without saying, of course, that honor killings are right out.
Reminds me of one of my favorite counter arguments against the anti-universal healthcare folks. If universal healthcare is so bad, then how come Cuba (yes, Cuba!), which has universal healthcare, has a longer average life expectancy and a lower infant mortality rate than the US? I mean, if even the Cubans, with all their issues, can do it...
Ruh-Roh, I smell a Mikey Moore argument. Before we continue, please, please, please tell me that bullshit propaganda artist isn't where you're getting that picture of Cuba being a universal healthcare paradise?
For example, I quote from a Wikileaks cable on the very same topic of Cuban healthcare "When the FSHP showed Sicko to a group of [Redacted, but assumed to be either doctors or average citizens], some became so disturbed at the blatant misrepresentation of healthcare in Cuba that they left the room". Said cable also states a few choice facts, such as the fact that the hospital Moore portrays as a good representation of cuban healthcare is not only the best hospital in the nation, but it isn't as good as he portrays in the film(for example, he only shows you the top two floors, which are the best and newest part of the hospital, which are reserved for medical tourists and foreign diplomats who pay in hard currency and isn't available to ordinary Cubans.
Particularly of interest, also, is the section which discusses the horrible, dilapidated state of the country's best hospital that ordinary cubans have access to - about which the cable notes "Built in the late 1800’s, this dilapidated 400-bed hospital was the first teaching hospital in Cuba and is only for Cubans. FSHP believes that if MICHAEL MOORE really wanted the “same care as local Cubans,†this is where he should have gone."
I don't understand the "ban sharia" thing. If a custom isn't conflicting with our existing laws, why bother? It's no different than Jews not eating pork and Christians taking a day of prayer on Sunday, a bunch of religious practices. If an an action does conflict with the law, it is already banned, and if practiced as a part of Sharia law, should be punished just like any other instance of the crime. It goes without saying, of course, that honor killings are right out.
It plays on the fears of 'god fearing Amrkins' that there is a secret shadowy alternate Islamic government subverting everything.
Reminds me of one of my favorite counter arguments against the anti-universal healthcare folks. If universal healthcare is so bad, then how come Cuba (yes, Cuba!), which has universal healthcare, has a longer average life expectancy and a lower infant mortality rate than the US? I mean, if even the Cubans, with all their issues, can do it...
Ruh-Roh, I smell a Mikey Moore argument. Before we continue, please, please, please tell me that bullshit propaganda artist isn't where you're getting that picture of Cuba being a universal healthcare paradise?
For example, I quote from a Wikileaks cable on the very same topic of Cuban healthcare "When the FSHP showed Sicko to a group of [Redacted, but assumed to be either doctors or average citizens], some became so disturbed at the blatant misrepresentation of healthcare in Cuba that they left the room". Said cable also states a few choice facts, such as the fact that the hospital Moore portrays as a good representation of cuban healthcare is not only the best hospital in the nation, but it isn't as good as he portrays, and isn't available to ordinary Cubans.
Never said that Cuba was a paradise. I'm sure it has tons of issues, and it's only slightly better than the US with respect to average life span and infant mortality. However, I got my numbers from the 2009 CIA World Fact Book.
Never said that Cuba was a paradise. I'm sure it has tons of issues, and it's only slightly better than the US with respect to average life span and infant mortality. However, I got my numbers from the 2009 CIA World Fact Book.
That's alright, then. Also, You do have to pay attention to how the numbers are skewed - EVERY infant death in the US is reported. How many do you think are reported with the deplorable state of the Cuban healthcare system?
Also, Your Average life expectancy is almost exactly the same - it only differs by months, but remember, the US has much better reporting and recording of these things. You can bet damned near every death in the US is reported, how many go unreported in Cuba?
And really, not a paradise is an understatement - It's an utter fucking shambles.
Never said that Cuba was a paradise. I'm sure it has tons of issues, and it's only slightly better than the US with respect to average life span and infant mortality. However, I got my numbers from the 2009 CIA World Fact Book.
That's alright, then. Also, You do have to pay attention to how the numbers are skewed - EVERY infant death in the US is reported. How many do you think are reported with the deplorable state of the Cuban healthcare system?
Also, Your Average life expectancy is almost exactly the same - it only differs by months, but remember, the US has much better reporting and recording of these things. You can bet damned near every death in the US is reported, how many go unreported in Cuba?
And really, not a paradise is an understatement - It's an utter fucking shambles.
Yeah, Cuba is horrible, I admit. I mostly pick it because it's like the ultimate "OMG! How can we be that bad!" sort of thing. However, even ignoring Cuba, the US still comes in at 36th place (though Puerto Rico is 31st -- it's counted as a separate country on this list) on the life expectancy list. Australia, FYI, comes in at 5th behind Japan, Hong Kong, Iceland, and Switzerland. Oh, and the numbers I quoted were from the UN, not the CIA. The page had both listed and I got them mixed up. The US is 34th on the CIA list, where it does beat Cuba, but still falls behind such "paradises" as Bosnia-Herzegovina (29th). With respect to infant mortality, the US is 33rd (still behind Cuba, at 28) on the UN list and 46th (vs. 44th for Cuba) on the CIA list. I know my parents were shocked when I told them that Portugal (where they emigrated from) beat the US on all the aforementioned lists except for the UN life expectancy list, given how they had always assumed that medicine in Portugal was in significantly worse shape than the US (and to be fair, it probably was when they moved here in the 60s and 70s). Granted, while Portugal may not have as much in the bleeding edge department at the US, what they do have certainly appears to be much more available to the general public.
Yeah, Cuba is horrible, I admit. I mostly pick it because it's like the ultimate "OMG! How can we be that bad!" sort of thing. However, even ignoring Cuba, the US still comes in at 36th place (though Puerto Rico is 31st -- it's counted as a separate country on this list) on the life expectancy list. Australia, FYI, comes in at 5th behind Japan, Hong Kong, Iceland, and Switzerland. Oh, and the numbers I quoted were from the UN, not the CIA. The page had both listed and I got them mixed up. The US is 34th on the CIA list, where it does beat Cuba, but still falls behind such "paradises" as Bosnia-Herzegovina (29th). With respect to infant mortality, the US is 33rd (still behind Cuba, at 28) on the UN list and 46th (vs. 44th for Cuba) on the CIA list. I know my parents were shocked when I told them that Portugal (where they emigrated from) beat the US on all the aforementioned lists except for the UN life expectancy list, given how they had always assumed that medicine in Portugal was in significantly worse shape than the US (and to be fair, it probably was when they moved here in the 60s and 70s). Granted, while Portugal may not have as much in the bleeding edge department at the US, what they do have certainly appears to be much more available to the general public.
A better comparison to the US - as unsolicited advice - Is Australia. Both First world western nations and good economic powers - and we whup you by those metrics even worse than Cuba. It's all well and good to say "This country you think is a shithole is a bit better than us", but I feel it more convincing to say "This comparable nation absolutely thrashes us, and their system both works and shows it's achievable for us."
He's tired of Arizona being The Laughingstock State.
Now if only they'd get rid of that immigration reform bill that basically could result in me (natural-born citizen, but with "Spanish sounding" name) or most of my family (all naturalized citizens, but some who speak with noticable accents and some who speak almost no English) locked up for who knows how long until they verify our status unless we carry our "papers" with us at all times.
Needless to say, I won't be visiting Arizona anytime soon.
Comments
That said, I agree that the requirement is pretty unnecessary. I also think the age limit is a bit unnecessary as well. If a person is mature enough and has the proper skills to hold office then who cares what age he/she is? The "unworthy" would ( or rather should; I know I'm making quite an assumption here) be weeded out of the running. I think too much of our political system has become a popularity contest and not a debate of who can run the country better.
Oh, and here's a delightful collection of lies, revisionism, and demagoguery from the recent Iowa caucuses courtesy of some of the biggest crazies the right wing has to offer.
linkage.
(American and Proud republican I have on facebook)
"Universal Healthcare is not a solution! It's been shown over and over again by the republican party that the evidence shows that it does not work anywhere, on any scale! It's just a bandaid to cover the wound, not heal it!"
"So, what about Australian Medicare?"
"What? Some failed system in another country doesn't matter here."
"Actually, it's been going for 35 years, works extremely well - to the point where under half of the country even bother getting private insurance - it only raises the tax from between 1.5 to 2.5 percent, less for low income earners, and by all indications, is in no danger of collapsing anytime soon."
"BUT THE SYSTEM DOESN'T WORK, IT'S IMPOSSIBLE!"
"It does work, and it's working right now, and it's been working for two years longer than you've been alive, in fact. Just the other week, I used this (link to picture of my medicare card with numbers blurred out) to go to the GP, for free, and then went and got some subsidized medication, and now I'm feeling much better. Having quality medical care is quite nice, you should join us."
For example, I quote from a Wikileaks cable on the very same topic of Cuban healthcare "When the FSHP showed Sicko to a group of [Redacted, but assumed to be either doctors or average citizens], some became so disturbed at the blatant misrepresentation of healthcare in Cuba that they left the room". Said cable also states a few choice facts, such as the fact that the hospital Moore portrays as a good representation of cuban healthcare is not only the best hospital in the nation, but it isn't as good as he portrays in the film(for example, he only shows you the top two floors, which are the best and newest part of the hospital, which are reserved for medical tourists and foreign diplomats who pay in hard currency and isn't available to ordinary Cubans.
Particularly of interest, also, is the section which discusses the horrible, dilapidated state of the country's best hospital that ordinary cubans have access to - about which the cable notes "Built in the late 1800’s, this dilapidated 400-bed hospital was the first teaching hospital in Cuba and is only for Cubans. FSHP believes that if MICHAEL MOORE really wanted the “same care as local Cubans,†this is where he should have gone."
Also, Your Average life expectancy is almost exactly the same - it only differs by months, but remember, the US has much better reporting and recording of these things. You can bet damned near every death in the US is reported, how many go unreported in Cuba?
And really, not a paradise is an understatement - It's an utter fucking shambles.
Needless to say, I won't be visiting Arizona anytime soon.