Sibby and Pat Powers: Republican paranoia at it's finest

In what might be two of the funniest things I read this morning, Sibby goes off on a rant titled "Obama's Marxist religion of fascism" and Pat Powers went on an anti-drug logic-free tirade about medicinal marijuana.

I won't get into any more of Sibby's post than the title - because that's about all I could stomach to read (it was rather painful and devoid of coherent, logical understanding of basic philosophy). I'ma break this down real slow:

1. Marxism and fascism are not religions.
2. Marxism and fascism are separate, opposing political ideologies.
3. Marxism holds that class struggle is the primary catalyst for social change.
4. Fascism holds that complete state control is the best course of action.
4.1 I understand how this may be confused with socialism, but in socialism (which is different than Marxism altogether, but is the base philosophy), the workers control the means of production. In a fascist state, the government controls all means of production - not the workers. Thus, fascism is effectively not socialism.
5. Fascists hate Marxists philosophically for exploiting the state.
6. Marxists hate fascists for exploiting the proletariat.

I could go on, but it just goes to show how jingoism and talking points can strip away any sense of logical, rational argumentation and allow ignorant, fact-devoid, fear-based rhetoric to become acceptable. Maybe turn off the Fox News, put Rush on mute, and go pick up a high school philosophy text book before you rant.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the conservative teeter-totter, Pat Powers goes on to lament the potential passage of new medical marijuana legislation and would simply contend that if this passes, well, all Hell will break loose. Pat must have missed the word "medical" the numerous times it was repeated and confuses "addicts" with cancer patients and "drug dealers" with doctors.

He goes on:

Grade school teachers who teach kids during the day could legally be growing and distributing pot by night - now that’s an example to set for the kiddies

Growing marijuana would still be illegal for personal use. The sheer level of paranoia and avoidance of factual argumentation is appalling. Meanwhile, in the comments of the post, Republican State Senator Lee Schoenbeck shows why serious, educated discussions on this subject escape us - one of our senior statesmen and a potential gubernatorial candidate are content to make jokes on par with a Beavis and Butthead episode while a legitimate, medically prescribed solution for cancer patients, people suffering from debilitating arthritis, glaucoma, AIDs, and many other degenerative diseases and disorders is on the table.

It's a shame to see otherwise intelligent people be so ignorant about a topic. I could go on and on about why marijuana shouldn't be classified as a level one narcotic or why the war on drugs has allowed stigmatization of a plant that's as natural as potatoes and could have serious medical implications. I could go on about the hypocrisy of a society that celebrates alcohol and tacitly condones alcoholism while simultaneously shunning a plant that's safer, less habit forming, and ultimately not as dangerous as the Ward Cleavers of our society would have you believe.

I could, but then again, I'm just a left-wing hack who doesn't know anything.

Thune in 2010: Untouchable?

The Argus Leader reported today in their print edition (it doesn't appear on their website), that Senator John Thune has over $4 million cash on hand for his upcoming re-election campaign in 2010.

Does this make him the proverbial 800 pound gorilla? While I think Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin could mount a formidable challenge to the seat, she may not have the political capital left in South Dakota (although her approval rating remains very high, we're all well aware of the malicious smear tactics the Thune camp and their friends are more than willing to use) after the stimulus packages and various bailouts of the Obama administration to take on Thune and be victorious. If she decided to run for governor against Dennis Daugaard or Lee Schoenbeck (one of my favorite DakotaWarCollege commenters), I think she'd have a large hill to climb, but a more likely chance of success.

With that said, who will the Democrats pick to take on Senator Thune in 2010? Is there a dark horse waiting in the wings or will they have to pony up some sacrificial lamb? $4 million is a substantial war chest, and I just have doubts about any Democratic candidate other than Herseth Sandlin being able to raise that kind of cash.

On top of all that, it looks like the Democrats in South Dakota have some serious organizing to do. Todd Epp over at South Dakota Watch reports that this year's state convention, the annual McGovern Days, has been postponed. While it might be a great time to be a Democrat in America - what with Obama in office and a majority in both houses of Congress - in South Dakota, it looks like business as usual.