What does it say about this country that only 34 of our country's 100 Senators have a clue what the purpose of the Constitution is? Bayh's and Feinstein's yay votes are shocking and utterly disappointing. McConnell from Kentucky, Chaffee from Rhode Island, and Bennett from Utah were the only Republicans with the balls to stand up for the Constitution.The United States Constitution has only been amended 17 times (after the Bill of Rights was added) in 217 years. One of those times a petty moral issue was added, later subtracted when people finally realized that the Constitution exists to explain our system of government and to protect citizens' rights, not to dictate virtues and vices. Seventeen times in 217 years - because people have respected what that Constitution stands for, its meaning, and its purpose. Prohibition was an idiotic abuse of the Constitution made possible only because women had just recently been given the right to vote and women's education levels were vastly beneath those of their male counterparts, probably contributing to a lack of full understanding of the Constitution's purpose. Now it seems most of the populace doesn't understand. This is a country where more and more frequently I am finding that people have a total disrespect for facts, where people misspell words and say "That's how I spell it," or people say "Dinosaurs didn't exist" while staring at the skeletal remains of one, or people are actually proud of their ignorance, laughing about not being able to point to Iraq on a map or not knowing what countries fought in WWI. The thing is we have a nation full of half-educated or poorly educated people who can read words but don't understand their meaning. Abstract concepts, nuances, tone, figurative language - none of this can be understood by these people. A literate society is a fundamental part of a developed country, but we keep falling further and further down the literacy scale, and people don't care. Americans don't seem to care much about anything anymore outside their person and property. Why do they hate America?
The fact is the Constitution and its Bill of Rights exist to give us a form of government that protects the rights of its citizens, you know, the life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness stuff that Jefferson outlined in the Declaration of Independence? The Constitution does not exist to ban things we don't like or that offend us, to tell us what we can and cannot do, and it certainly does not exist to prevent people from protesting their government for its wrongdoings - quite the opposite, in fact. Protest is what keeps us from falling into dictatorship and tyranny. Silence is acceptance. You don't love America if you don't support the right of people to protest against the government, for that flag stands for the right to protest, among other things. You are desecrating the flag by supporting this amendment. Why do you hate America?
You know what's worse than burning the flag, I mean as far as the flag goes? Flag pizza boxes. Flag bikinis. Flag underwear. Flag toilet paper. Flag shirts. Flag socks. Flag napkins. Flag plates. These things are all a desecration of the stars and stripes. And think about it - all of that money that the flagwavers spend on flag products could be used to truly make America a better place, perhaps by lowering the national debt, or helping the poor get out of poverty, or cleaning up run down neighborhoods, or helping senior citizens get the prescriptions they need, or researching cures for cancer and other terrible diseases, or improving our pathetic schools. If you truly loved your country, you would be involved in this instead of sitting at home and watching television every night in your flag t-shirt. But no. People have to tell their politicians to ban flag burning, because all of America's problems are solved! There are no poor people, no sick, and the streets are paved with gold! Right. While our nation has some serious and deep-rooted problems, you worry about such petty things as someone burning a flag or gays getting married, neither of which affect your life or the lives of others. (You want to protect marriage? How about doing something to decrease the 50% hetero divorce rate in this country?) Burning a flag does not make a person sick. It does not take badly needed funds away from schools. Why do you hate America, flagwavers? You'll gladly stand up and sing God Bless America (why not God bless the whole world?), put your ribbons and stickers on your SUVs, and wave those tiny flags at parades, but when was the last time you went to a city council meeting, or wrote to your Congressman, or read the Constitution, the document that gives you the America you claim to love?
On the one hand, I am proud that this stupid waste of time and taxpayers' money bill was defeated and that there is still some sense among our nation's politicians. On the other hand, I am ashamed that this bill was only defeated by ONE vote. Surely 3/4 of the states would not have ratified this amendment...I am glad I don't have to find out.
The 34 clued in are in bold, the clueless Democrats are in red:
Akaka (D-HI), Nay
Alexander (R-TN), Yea
Allard (R-CO), Yea
Allen (R-VA), Yea
Baucus (D-MT), Yea
Bayh (D-IN), Yea
Bennett (R-UT), Nay
Biden (D-DE), Nay
Bingaman (D-NM), Nay
Bond (R-MO), Yea
Boxer (D-CA), Nay
Brownback (R-KS), Yea
Bunning (R-KY), Yea
Burns (R-MT), Yea
Burr (R-NC), Yea
Byrd (D-WV), Nay
Cantwell (D-WA), Nay
Carper (D-DE), Nay
Chafee (R-RI), Nay
Chambliss (R-GA), Yea
Clinton (D-NY), Nay
Coburn (R-OK), Yea
Cochran (R-MS), Yea
Coleman (R-MN), Yea
Collins (R-ME), Yea
Conrad (D-ND), Nay
Cornyn (R-TX), Yea
Craig (R-ID), Yea
Crapo (R-ID), Yea
Dayton (D-MN), Yea
DeMint (R-SC), Yea
DeWine (R-OH), Yea
Dodd (D-CT), Nay
Dole (R-NC), Yea
Domenici (R-NM), Yea
Dorgan (D-ND), Nay
Durbin (D-IL), Nay
Ensign (R-NV), Yea
Enzi (R-WY), Yea
Feingold (D-WI), Nay
Feinstein (D-CA), Yea
Frist (R-TN), Yea
Graham (R-SC), Yea
Grassley (R-IA), Yea
Gregg (R-NH), Yea
Hagel (R-NE), Yea
Harkin (D-IA), Nay
Hatch (R-UT), Yea
Hutchison (R-TX), Yea
Inhofe (R-OK), Yea
Inouye (D-HI), Nay
Isakson (R-GA), Yea
Jeffords (I-VT), Nay
Johnson (D-SD), Yea
Kennedy (D-MA), Nay
Kerry (D-MA), Nay
Kohl (D-WI), Nay
Kyl (R-AZ), Yea
Landrieu (D-LA), Yea
Lautenberg (D-NJ), Nay
Leahy (D-VT), Nay
Levin (D-MI), Nay
Lieberman (D-CT), Nay
Lincoln (D-AR), Yea
Lott (R-MS), Yea
Lugar (R-IN), Yea
Martinez (R-FL), Yea
McCain (R-AZ), Yea
McConnell (R-KY), Nay
Menendez (D-NJ), Yea
Mikulski (D-MD), Nay
Murkowski (R-AK), Yea
Murray (D-WA), Nay
Nelson (D-FL), Yea
Nelson (D-NE), Yea
Obama (D-IL), Nay
Pryor (D-AR), Nay
Reed (D-RI), Nay
Reid (D-NV), Yea
Roberts (R-KS), Yea
Rockefeller (D-WV), Yea
Salazar (D-CO), Yea
Santorum (R-PA), Yea
Sarbanes (D-MD), Nay
Schumer (D-NY), Nay
Sessions (R-AL), Yea
Shelby (R-AL), Yea
Smith (R-OR), Yea
Snowe (R-ME), Yea
Specter (R-PA), Yea
Stabenow (D-MI), Yea
Stevens (R-AK), Yea
Sununu (R-NH), Yea
Talent (R-MO), Yea
Thomas (R-WY), Yea
Thune (R-SD), Yea
Vitter (R-LA), Yea
Voinovich (R-OH), Yea
Warner (R-VA), Yea
Wyden (D-OR), Nay
Roll call here. May each and every one of the Yeas lose their next elections. Why do they hate America?
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