Cutting through the blather: Jack White gets it right on the Right

     Jack White's Friday "Other Voices" column in the Carroll County Times is so on point that I may have it framed. He said in one column all that I could ever hope so say about the political climate in this county -- and nationwide. And he said it better.
     My reaction when I read it was, "My work is done."
     The headline they put on it is, "Intolerance pervades the country."  He uses less than 800 words to sum up what is Wrong with the current edition of the American Right, especially the wing-nut factions that are enjoying their excesses for the moment.
     And he does it by avoiding personal attacks or dark accusations to motive -- he sticks to the issues, and turns the words and actions of the local zealots into the ropes that allow them to hang themselves.
     Read it.
     Then see if you can find the Associated Press articles out of Arizona, where the state legislature passed a "birther bill" for Gov. Jan Brewer's signature which would require what the laws on the books already require regarding U.S. citizenship to serve as President.
     Here's a part of the AP story:  "So-called birthers contend since the last presidential election that Obama is ineligible to hold the nation's highest elected office because, they argue, he was actually born in Kenya, his father's homeland.....
     "Hawaii officials have repeatedly confirmed Obama's citizenship, and his Hawaiian birth certificates have been made public. Even though the courts have rebuffed lawsuits challenging Obama's eligibility, the issue hasn't gone away."
     That's because you can cure ignorance with facts, but stupidity is often incurable.
Ignorance is the lack of information; stupidity is the refusal to accept irrefutable facts.
     Ignorance is not so bad; there's the possibility of enlightenment, learning, improvement, progress, even cordial disagreement.
      We all enter life ignorant, and if we learn, we progress. But in the current political environment, if you learn too much, too well, you are viewed by ultra conservatives as progressive, or liberal, even, or socialist.
     Stupidity is exploited by those who gain and hold powers through misinformation, fear, and bias. The fuel is vitriol, venom.
     Look for Arizona to pass the bill. This is the state with the governor whose popularity rests with those who favor immigration laws eerily reminiscent of the Star of David required to be worn by European Jews in the '30s.
     Last week, Gov. Brewer won fans of spending cuts and social reform by proposing that people who are overweight or have diabetes pay more for Medicare and Medicaid, because it is not the taxpayers' fault they need medical care.
     Oh, and if the "birthers bill" passes in Arizona, who will make the final decision on who can be on the ballot? Voters?  No.
     A politician will look out for the public interests.  It would be up to the Arizona secretary of state.
     How's that for keeping government out of your business?