Politics

http://www.ncsl.org/legislatures-elections/elections/voter-id.aspx

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2012/08/17/20120817voter-fraud-rare-united-states.html

Was that Jane Fonda at the end of that? Enough said.

For informational purposes the following is the groups of people not required to present id.(Tennessee)

Voters who vote absentee by mail (view requirements here)
Voters who are residents of a licensed nursing home or assisted living center and who vote at the facility
Voters who are hospitalized
Voters with a religious objection to being photographed
Voters who are indigent and unable to obtain a photo ID without paying a fee
Source: http://www.tn.gov/sos/election/photoID.htm

In regards to the voter id portion of this video I have a couple of things to say:

When I first moved to Tennessee (8 or so years ago) I had to get a TN drivers license. In order to do so I had to present two forms of identification. One was my birth certificate while the other could have been a number of other options including a voter registration card.

This was absolutely absurd for a number of reasons but primarily because I couldn't use a utility bill or any other form of mailings with my name and address on it to get my license. Guess what was required to register to vote? You guessed it, any mailing that had my name and address on it; that and my word that I legally qualified to vote. If that isn't a broke system then I don't know what is. I've already expressed my opinion on the voter id requirements in another rivalry so I won't elaborate into that any further but if I get some time I will dissect this VERY biased video a bit.

I do believe it said the unfortunate senior citizen who had her vote supposedly suppressed was 96. I'd be curious to know if she resides in an assisted living community and hence should have been allowed to vote.

"The Taliban set out to create the world’s most pure Islamic regime by introducing a disturbing and deeply revolutionary form of Muslim culture that came at a tremendous cost to human freedom. Men were ordered to keep their beards to a specific length, and subjected to punishment for defiance. Members of minority groups wore labels to distinguish them as non-Muslims, a measure the Taliban argued was to protect them from religious police enforcing Islamic law. Frivolities such as television, the Internet, music, and photography were outlawed. Punishments including amputation of the hands of thieves and the stoning to death of women convicted of adultery, considered severe by European standards, were common under the Taliban.

It was the Taliban’s anti-woman agenda, however, that caused mounting concern around the world. Under the Taliban women were forbidden to work outside the home, were compelled to wear a head-to-toe covering known as a burka, and could not leave the home without a male guardian. Such issues, along with restrictions on women’s access to health and education, caused resentments among ordinary Afghans and drew the ire of the international community. To the Taliban, however, the restrictions served to preserve the honor and dignity of women who had previously been preyed upon.

Despite their strict beliefs and anti-drug profile, the Taliban could not resist using opium to fund its activities, underlining the movement’s poor understanding and interpretation of Islamic law. Though the Taliban leaders led an austere life in contrast to the ostentatious lifestyle of the mujahideen warlords, their economic policy was left in the hands of chance and fate, culminating in Afghanistan’s slide into economic backwardness."

Source: http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Taliban.aspx

Why did I post this?

Simple, to highlight the wonderful hypocrisy of the left. The left throws a fit anytime someone compares or holds signs portraying Obama as Hitler and I actually agree that it's a bit ridiculous to portray Obama as the former dictator / murderer but why is it okay for the left to do the same to the Tea Party? The Taliban is a viscous sect of Muslims that believe in stoning women to death for committing adultery, cutting the hands off of thieves, etc... This is extreme just as is murdering Jews because they were Jews. I'm sick of the hypocrisy folks. As I have time I will continue to tear this video apart for what it is; Hollywood Liberal propaganda full of misleading slander.

There is absolutely no hypocrisy here Ryan, and you should know better. Where comparisons have been made between Hitler and any U.S. President, whether Bush or Obama is outlandish and ridiculous to say the least. Neither Bush nor Obama have set about a Jewish genocide. Neither of them called for a coalition between super powers to essentially invade and take over most of the world's countries. That being said, there are many comparisons made between the Taliban and the Tea Party which are in fact VERY similar in nature. Both wish to restrict and control the rights of women, whether it is the right to work (equal pay for equal work) or the repression of health services ie. birth control and contraceptives, they clearly believe that the repression of women's rights are religiously based. Whether it is the Holy Bible or the Qur'an it makes no apparent difference. The same can be said of their views on homosexuality ie. same-sex marriage, unions, partnerships, or domestic policies. They both subscribe to using religion as a basis for government ruling whether it is federal or state. Often times many of the Tea Party's representatives, leaders, and politicians have stated that they believe this is a Christian nation. Which it is not. Almost every single founding father refutes these ideologies by stating exactly the opposite. Many of their forefathers having fled to the colonies exactly to escape religious persecution established the American government in order to be free FROM religious zealots. While they believed in freedom of religion, the right to practice it, they also believed in freedom from religion in order to ensure Americans never had to deal with this kind of persecution in the future. Hence, separation of church and state. Scream that aloud at a Tea Party rally and see what happens. I have been to several of their rallys and have witnessed on MANY occassions racial, bigoted, and homophobic slurs that would have made you blush. A West Texas judge, that's right, JUDGE stated that should Obama be elected there would be civil war. I've heard the cry many times at these rallys for Texas to secede. It is preposterous and seditious statements like this that make Tea Party members look so un-American.

Too many Tea Party politicians in Texas and other states are responsible for the recent voter ID laws and county redistricting. All have been struck down in Ohio and Texas for their clearly racial discriminatory methods. Of course those here in Texas were meant to discriminate against Hispanics. Hispanics, which by the way, were LEGAL citizens of the state of Texas and LEGAL citizens of the United States.

When the Tea Party as a whole stops using such radical discriminatory and bigoted ideologies to promote its supposed idea of "freedom" to indoctrinate the minds of its followers then I'll not refer to them as what they really are... ...the American Taliban.

FYI, a fellow liberal started this rivalry.

Also, if you want to start rivalries about topics that relate to progressive topics you ARE more than welcomed to do so. We could even have a Woodrow Wilson Week; in progressives honor. ;) I'm just saying.

Hello lynx55. My name is Rick. I started this rivalry to see and hear comments on both sides of the spectrum because I am by nature a very curious person. I also like to be more informed on other's opinions and ideas. I have read many articles on both parties and even attended several meetings as well, but I started this rivalry to see what individuals thought of their own party's ideologies and framework.

Now, don't have a heart attack, because I am currently without a defribillator. I am a staunch liberal with very progressive ideals. Just read my profile if you wish. You can even friend me if you'd like. I don't mind what party you belong to. It's not a determining factor for me when I like someone.

I just simply like to see every side of an issue, party, problem, etc. in order to be fully informed. Thanks for responding though. It was nice to see I'm not the only one.

I applaud for doing so and am surprised so many people made any mention of race. My experiences have been completely different.

If you really want to know what they're all about Rick and I'm not saying this in a smart allec way; go to a rally. Seriously, go covert or go politics wide open. I went to an event in DC where Tea Party participants were obnoxiously mocked at every block and while it was irritating as all hell no one of the 100 plus thousand people reacted violently. I'm just saying that may be the only way you get a true feel for what the movement is about.

While I consider myself a part of the movement I do not associate myself with any one group and have never looked at any enrollment requirements to do so. If it says anything I don't agree with every single item the groups stand for and even when I've challenged fellow tea partiers I've not been harassed or asked to leave. I go as I am and support what I believe in and I know there are a lot of tea party members that share that view, not all of them obviously but a good number.

While I haven't read the mission statements I will offer my opinion on it. From my perspective, libertarians are pretty straightforward in their beliefs.

They believe in minimal government while acknowledging that some government is a necessity or they would be damn near anarchists. Both the Tea Party and libertarians (generalizing, some small minority might) believe the Government is the source of the problem and not the solution to our problems.

Just by looking at Ron Paul you can see he certainly looks very conservative anytime fiscal policy is discussed but where his true libertarian roots show up is his foreign policy.

(Generalizing) Libertarians and a small minority in the Tea Party believe the Governments primary responsibility is to defend the Borders and not proactively nation build.

That's where I sway away from the conservatives as I'm frankly sick of the wars, the deceased men and women in uniform, and the ridiculous amount of money being spent, printed, and borrowed to fund these never ending wars. It would seem a lot of conservatives want to pretend President Bush did everything right when were blatantly lied to about WMD which I as one of the gullible Americans admit to being wrong at the time.

Is isolationism the answer as Ron Paul would advocate I'm not convinced but I would much rather give a less aggressive approach to foreign policy a try.

(Generalizing) I would believe that libertarians and tea party members would agree on the idea the the federal government has greatly misinterpreted the commerce clause which has been the master key to opening the doors to all of the big governments intrusions.

In regards to the racism within the tea party; as previously mentioned I have been to several rallies and can say there is a very small (probably 1%) of the attendees that are dumb redneck trash that blurt out stupid ass comments that have the majority of those attending shaking their heads in disgust.

I can think of one such redneck twenty something gal that shouted out this is America not Amexico. I remember thinking someone please gag this @%#?#* Again this is a ultra small majority as I can attest that most of the people I have interacted with are very respectful, educated on all of the issues, and are there on their own dime and time.