“Just Asking” — Will President Obama “Leave” the Presidency in 2017?

It’s been awhile since I wrote about this, but World Net Daily’s Joseph Farah’s argument with RightWingWatch prompted me to revisit it, even though we’re still two years away from the Obamapocalypse.

First, there was on Thursday a column published by Joseph Farah, “Will Obama Leave Office in 2017?” It got 715 comments (so far). This was followed up on Friday by a published e-mail from a Frances Haase: “How Obama Could Stay in Office in 2017.” Just speculating about civil unrest and martial law and suspension of elections. It got one comment.

Then, in response later that day, Miranda Blue published on RightWingWatch: “Joseph Farah Is ‘Just Asking’: Will Obama Actually Leave Office in January 2017?” RWW noted this:

“[W]hy do we assume Obama will step aside willingly from the presidency following an election in 2016?” Farah asks in a column today. “I’m not saying he won’t. I’m just asking why.”

It’s a pathetic phrase that is often used by people who want to say something they know will be controversial and, for some reason or another (since Farah has said far more controversial things and been forthright about it), they don’t want it coming back on them, or they want an excuse to say, “Hey! I didn’t actually say that, I was just asking the question!”

Richard Hoagland does this a lot when claiming that every asteroid and comet is a space ship.

Despite RWW and WND going head-to-head for years, apparently it rubbed Joseph Farah the wrong way. He actually responded in a column on Sunday: “Who Would Oppose Obama 3rd Term?” Who indeed? He starts out his column as such:

In this space on Thursday, I raised a question that Americans had only been whispering about among trusted friends: Will Barack Obama leave office in 2017?”

People for the American Way’s “Right Wing Watch” didn’t like it.

I trust that means the group will use all of its influence and legal firepower to oppose any attempt by Obama to subvert the law – though there was no hint of that in its response.

Rush Limbaugh responded to the question Friday when a caller raised the possibility Obama might ignore the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution as he has ignored so many other laws since taking office.

[…] Limbaugh speculated that Obama might actually consider the possibility of a third term given the Democratic Party’s weak field of potential presidential candidates for 2016. He imagined Obama going on television and making a case to the American people that he is in the best position to stop a Republican from capturing the White House – “not after eight courageous years of transforming America!”

So, “Not only am I ‘just askin’,’ but so is Papa Rush!”

RightWingWatch responded today with a post by Peter Montgomery: “Birther Joseph Farah Wants PFAW Help To Block Third Obama Term. Let’s Make A Deal.” Here’s his proposal:

Farah was apparently bothered that Miranda’s RWW post did not include a pledge that People For the American Way would “use all of its influence and legal firepower” to stop Obama from chucking the Constitution in a White House power-grab. Of course we don’t take the possibility seriously, but since Farah seems to, let’s offer him a proposition: If President Obama refuses to allow a constitutional transfer of power to his successor, we will join you at the barricades. If the American republic miraculously survives, you will stop polluting the public discourse with toxic nonsense. Deal?

I think that’s fair.

Boycott Everyone!

This news made me smile because I knew that World Net Daily commenters were going to have a hissy fit: 379 different corporations that do business within America filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) stating that the bans on marriage equality should be voided as unconstitutional. WND reported it in a 3-paragraph snippet from Huffington Post entitled, “379 Companies Urge Supremes to Support ‘Gay Marriage.'” I can guarantee you that the “Gay Marriage” in scary quotes was not in the original. Actually, they reworded the original title, which was “Here Are The 379 Companies Urging The Supreme Court To Support Same-Sex Marriage.”

Just for fun, let’s list them:

• A.L. Nella & Company, LLP, CPAs
• A.T. Kearney
• Aardema Whitelaw, PLLC
• Acacia Home LLC
• Accenture
• Aetna Inc.
• Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
• AJ Leo Electric and Solar
• Akamai Technologies, Inc.
• Alaska Airlines
• Alcoa Inc.
• Amazon Services Inc.
• Amazon.com, Inc.
• American Airlines Group Inc.
• American Apparel
• American Express Company
• American International Group, Inc.
• Aparicio-Mercado Law, L.C.
• Apple Inc.
• AppNexus Inc.
• Aramark
• Arbor Brewing Company, LLC
• Arnold & Porter LLP
• Aspen Skiing Company
• Assemble Sound LLC
• AT&T Inc.
• Atlas Cut Stone
• Atticus Circle
• The Austin Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce
• Avanade Inc.
• Bain & Company, Inc.
• Bakehouse Art Complex
• Baker & McKenzie LLP
• Bank of America
• The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation
• Barclays
• Barnes & Noble, Inc.
• bebe stores, inc.
• Becton, Dickinson and Company
• Belcampo Inc.
• Ben & Jerry’s
• Big Duck Studio, Inc.
• Bigelow Villa LLC
• Billy’s Farm
• BlackRock, Inc.
• Bloomberg L.P.
• Blue Apron, Inc.
• Blue Heron Ventures
• Blue Moon Hotel / Winter Haven Hotel
• Blume, Faulkner & Skeen, PLLC
• Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
• Boston Community Capital, Inc.
• Boston Consulting Group
• The Boston Foundation
• Boston Medical Center Corporation
• Boston Scientific Corporation
• Brady Mills LLC
• BrandQuery LLC
• Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
• Broadcom Corporation
• Brocade
• Cablevision Systems Corporation
• Capital One Financial Corporation
• Captain Wendell’s Marine Services LLC
• Cardinal Health, Inc.
• Care Resource
• CBS Corporation
• CEB
• Central Physical Therapy and Fitness, PSC
• CGI
• Charlotte Business Guild
• The Chubb Corporation
• CIGNA Corporation
• Cisco Systems, Inc.
• Citigroup Inc.
• City Catering Company
• City Lites Neon, Inc.
• The City of Ann Arbor, Michigan
• Civitas Public Affairs Group
• Clean Yield Asset Management
• CloudFlare, Inc.
• CMIT Solutions of Seattle Downtown
• The Coca-Cola Company
• Cohen & Associates
• Colgate-Palmolive Company
• Columbia FunMap, Inc.
• Comcast Corporation
• The Computer Butler
• ConAgra Foods, Inc.
• The Corcoran Group
• Corner Brewery, LLC
• Corning Incorporated
• Cox Enterprises, Inc.
• Crazy Misfits Pet Services
• Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC
• Cummins Inc.
• Cupcake Royale
• CVS Health Corporation
• Dallas Voice
• Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Inc.
• Danaher Corporation
• David J. Jarrett, P.C.
• David Kosar Insurance Agency
• David Mack Henderson Income Tax Preparation
• DCI Group AZ, L.L.C.
• Deloitte LLP
• Delta Air Lines, Inc.
• Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation
• The Desert Business Association
• Deutsche Bank AG
• Diageo North America, Inc.
• DIRECTV
• DocuSign
• Domini Social Investments LLC
• The Dow Chemical Company
• Dreamcatcher Arts and Publishing Ltd.
• Dropbox, Inc.
• DuPont
• eBay Inc.
• Edelman
• Eldercare Consulting
• Electronic Arts Inc.
• EnduringHydro, LLC
• Ernst & Young LLP
• The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.
• Event Rents
• Everything Real Estate LLC
• Express Movers Inc.
• Facebook, Inc.
• Farella Braun + Martel, LLP
• Fastsigns
• Fenwick & West LLP
• First Data Corporation
• 1st Security Bank
• 1stdibs.Com, Inc.
• FIT Technologies
• Flanery CPA
• Full Court Press Communications
• G.A.W., Inc.
• The Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce Nevada
• General Electric Company
• General Mills, Inc.
• Gensler
• Gilt Groupe Holdings, Inc.
• GlaxoSmithKline LLC
• Gleason & Associates Claims Services
• Go Factory, Inc.
• Goethel Engelhardt, PLLC
• The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.
• Google Inc.
• Goulston & Storrs, P.C.
• Great Officiants LLC
• The Greater Connecticut Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce
• Greater San Diego Business Association
• Greater Seattle Business Association
• Greensulate
• Grossman Marketing Group
• Group Health Cooperative
• Groupon
• Growing Hope
• Harrell Remodeling
• The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.
• Healthline
• Hewlett-Packard Company
• Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc.
• Holdredge Wines
• Homeward Pet Adoption Center
• Horizon Air Industries, Inc.
• House Packard LLC
• HSBC
• Ikard Wynne LLP
• The Independence Business Alliance
• The Inland Northwest Business Alliance
• Insala, Ltd
• Inspirato, LLC
• Integrated Archive Systems, Inc.
• Integrity Law Group
• Intel Corporation
• Intuit Inc.
• INUS Group, LLC
• Jackson Hole Group LLC
• Jagod Designs
• Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
• Jenn T. Grace International LLC
• Jennifer Brown Consulting
• JetBlue Airways Corporation
• The Jim Henson Company
• Johnson & Johnson
• Johnston, Kinney and Zulaica LLP
• Jonathan L. Bowman, Attorney at Law, PS
• JPMorgan Chase & Co.
• Julian Chang Consulting, Inc.
• kapchur.us photography
• The Kathy A. Janssen Foundation
• Kazan, McClain, Satterley, & Greenwood, PLC
• Keir Jones Agency – State Farm
• Keker & Van Nest LLP
• KEO Marketing Inc.
• Kimberly-Clark Corp.
• Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group, LLC
• Kollmar Sheet Metal Works, Inc.
• Kotzan Chiropractic
• KPMG LLP
• Lambda Business Association
• Laparoscopic Institute for Gynecologic Oncology
• Larson Marketing & Communications LLC
• Laughton Properties
• Law Offices of Joel L. Sogol
• Law Office of Lisa E. Schuchman
• Law Office of Lorie L. Burch, PC
• Law Offices of Robin L. Bodiford, P.A.
• The Law Office of Susan K. Fuller, PLLC
• Levi Strauss & Co.
• Liberty Burger
• Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP
• Life & Love Celebrations
• Link in the Chain Foundation, Inc.
• Littler Mendelson, P.C.
• LNT, Inc.
• The Long Beach Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce
• Lori Karbal et al
• Loring, Wolcott & Coolidge Trust, LLC
• The Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce
• Main Street Hair Shoppe Ltd.
• Marriott International, Inc.
• Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc.
• Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company
• McGraw Hill Financial, Inc.
• McKesson Corporation
• McKinsey & Company, Inc.
• Merca Property Management
• The Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce
• Microsoft Corporation
• The Mid-America Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce
• Miller & Olson, LLP
• Miller Shelton Group, LLC
• MillerCoors LLC
• Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.
• Mona Smith PLLC
• Moody’s Corporation
• Morgan Miller Plumbing
• Morgan Stanley
• MWW Public Relations
• NAMI Dallas, Inc.
• The Nashville LGBT Chamber of Commerce
• The National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce
• Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company
• Neumann Capital Management, LLC
• The New England Patriots
• New Leaf Columbus
• New York Life Insurance Company
• Nifty Hoops, LLC
• NIKE, Inc.
• Nixon Peabody LLP
• North Texas GLBT Chamber of Commerce
• Northrop Grumman Corporation
• OBOX Solutions
• Office Depot, Inc.
• The Ogilvy Group, Inc.
• Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.
• ONE Community Media, LLC
• 1 Source Consulting Solutions
• Oracle America, Inc.
• Orbitz Worldwide, Inc.
• Out & Equal Workplace Advocates
• Outerwall Inc.
• Pakmode Publications, LLC
• d/b/a Pakmode Media + Marketing
• Pandora Media, Inc.
• PATH
• Peabody & Arnold LLP
• Pepper Hamilton LLP
• PepsiCo
• Pfizer Inc.
• Pixelligent Technologies LLC
• Plexus Education Foundation
• Plexus LGBT and Allied Chamber of Commerce
• Portland Area Business Association
• PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
• PrideFest
• The PrintingWorks
• Pro-Tec Data, Inc.
• Procter & Gamble
• ProTrials Research, Inc.
• Prudential Financial, Inc.
• Puma Spring Vineyards
• Qualcomm Incorporated
• Quorum
• RAFI Architecture and Design
• Rainbow Chamber of Commerce Silicon Valley
• Ralph’s Regal Weddings
• Ray Holley Communications
• RBC Capital Markets, LLC
• Replacements, Ltd.
• Restaurant Management Concepts
• Reverberate! Marketing Communications, Inc.
• Rising Tide Brewing Company
• RJR Photography
• Robert H Stutz Jr CPA
• Rockwell Automation, Inc.
• Rotella & Hernandez, LLC
• The Sacramento Rainbow Chamber of Commerce
• Sadek Bonahoom PLC
• The San Francisco Chamber of Commerce
• The San Francisco Giants
• The Seattle Lesbian, LLC
• Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce
• Sempra Energy
• Seyfarth Shaw LLP
• Shingles Roofing LLC
• Sidetrack, Inc.
• Simon, Schindler & Sandberg LLP
• Skellenger Bender, P.S.
• Skyworks Solutions, Inc.
• Sleeves Up Productions, LLC
• Sōw
• Spectra Law PS
• Spry Vision, Inc.
• St. Jude Medical, Inc.
• Staples, Inc.
• Starbucks Corporation
• Starrtek LLC
• State Street Corporation
• Steven Graves Insurance Agency
• Stonewall Behavioral Health
• Stonewall Columbus
• Stuffed Cakes, LLC
• Sun Life Financial (U.S.) Services Company, Inc.
• SunDaily
• Support.com, Inc.
• Sweet Dixie Kitchen
• Symantec Corporation
• Taber Food Services, Inc.
• dba Hobee’s California Restaurants
• The Tampa Bay Rays
• Target Corporation
• TD Bank, N.A.
• TD Securities (USA) LLC
• Tech Data Corporation
• TestTracks
• Thinking Cap Communications & Design
• Third Point LLC
• Thomson Reuters
• Tiwary Entertainment Group LLC
• TNT Promotions, LLC
• TOCA Events, LLC
• TravelOut, Inc.
• Tutta Bella Neapolitan Pizzeria
• Twitter, Inc.
• 206 Inc.
• UBS AG
• The Ultimate Software Group, Inc.
• United Air Lines, Inc.
• United Therapeutics Corporation
• Uptown Physicians Group
• VCB Consulting & Accounting Services
• Verizon Communications Inc.
• Viacom Inc.
• Visa Inc.
• VitaPerk
• VMware, Inc.
• W. M. Martin Advertising
• W.W. Grainger, Inc.
• W/S Development Associates LLC
• Walsh Wellness Center
• The Walt Disney Company
• Wasserman Media Group
• Wells Fargo & Company
• Whey Natural! USA LLC
• Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce
• Witeck Communications, Inc.
• The Workplace Equality Index
• Wyndham Worldwide Corporation
• Xerox Corporation
• Xfund
• YES DESIGN GROUP
• Ypsilanti Downtown Development Authority
• Zausmer, Kaufman, August & Caldwell, P.C.
• Zingerman’s Community of Businesses
• ZoomSystems
• Zynga Inc.

It’s a lot. And the story has garnered 255 comments. The top-rated comments are all about how they now have a list of 379 companies they will be boycotting, such as “Just Me” who wrote quite literally that: “I have a list of 379 companies I will be boycotting.” Others are perhaps more peripheral, just generally ranting about The Gays getting married.

But what’s funny about this is that you cannot possibly live in modern society and boycott all these companies.

Do you own a computer? Well, you cannot run Windows or Mac operating systems or even Chrome. I guess you’re stuck with Linux or Unix. And that’s ignoring the hardware. Obviously Apple is still out, but so is Intel (which makes most CPUs) and Hewlett-Packard. (Make sure your printer isn’t an HP!) Social networking is also out, for both Facebook and Twitter are on the list.

What about a smart phone? If it’s an iPhone, throw it away, you’re stuck with something like Samsung, but make sure it doesn’t have an Intel CPU.

Does your job use any sort of computer security? Chances are it’s Cicsco-based, so you have to stop working because Cisco is on the list. They also make much of the equipment that runs the internet.

Television? The biggest television providers are on the list, including Comcast and Direct TV.

What about air travel? Delta, United, American, Alaska Air, JetBlue … they’re on the list.

What about a credit card? Visa and American Express are both on the list, so you’re stuck with MasterCard, Discover, or some less recognized company, but be careful about the bank it’s through because Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley are both on the list, as is even the Deutsche Bank.

If you’ve managed to convince yourself you can still use a computer and the internet, well, you won’t be able to use the largest internet stores: Amazon and eBay are both on the list.

Office supplies needed? Well, Office Depot, Staples, and Target are on the list.

You may even be forced to throw out some of your clothes, for companies like American Apparel and Levi are on the list.

So, that’s what you’re faced with if you want to be a bigot today and boycott all the companies that support allowing gays to be married. And I just barely touched the list, but I tried to think of things that most people do. In general, though, you’re screwed.

Again, I Agree with World Net Daily Commenters

I’m in a good mood because 57 abstracts were submitted by the deadline yesterday to a conference I’m convening in May. So let’s do a quickie for a WND post that comes via the AP: “Man Burned by Fajitas While Praying Can’t Sue Eatery.”

Here are the gigantic two paragraphs that WND posted:

(Associated Press) A New Jersey appellate court says a man cannot seek damages for burns he suffered while bowing his head in prayer over a sizzling steak fajita skillet at a restaurant.

The ruling made public Wednesday upheld a lower court ruling that dismissed his lawsuit. The man claimed a waitress didn’t warn him the dish was hot, but the lower court found the food posed an “open and obvious” danger.

Yeah … so, 10% of me thought that maybe the knee-jerk WND commenter reaction would be complaining that some sort of Christian privilege was being trampled on, in some way. 90% of me thought that even WND commenters would think that the attempted lawsuit was ridiculous. Which they did.

At the moment, there are 15 comments. Top-rated is by “bob” who wrote: “He must be one dumb gringo. Every time I have ever ordered Fajitas they come out on a hot sizzling iron frying pan and I don’t need to be told not to stick my face in it.”

Or there’s third-place, “knowitall27” who wrote: “It is dishonest loons like this that ruin it for everyone else.”

But there’s also “Soundbyte,” who I’m hoping wrote this with sarcasm: “I am getting very tired of the anti Christian foods being served in restaurants. When will it stop………………when will it stop.”

The Hillary Clinton E-Mail Scandal

I’m an equal-opportunity pointer-outer-of-stupid-stuff here at WND Watch. And Cheryl Chumley is making a lot of posts … her “About” paragraph says she is a full-time reporter for WND, but I’m guessing she was hired very recently because until this week, I have never seen her posts, and I’m too tired to go back and search. (Okay, fine: She had a few WND posts starting in July 2014, but only around a dozen. Suddenly on March 2, she’s writing around 9 per day.)

Anyway, back to the story: It has emerged over the last few days that when Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State, she used a private e-mail address. WND has reported this as: “Hillary-Gate? Email Server Traced to Clinton Home.” (FYI, I’m really sick of people attaching “Gate” to every scandal or pseudo-scandal.)

The news is really that basic headline. The problem is two-fold: (1) The law (Federal Records Act) requires that official e-mails of government workers take place from government accounts such that they are subject to open-records requests (in other words, what Hillary did was probably illegal, in my very un-legal opinion); and (2) security reasons, for government servers tend to be more hardened against hacking attempts as well as being better backed up.

Because of that first reason, I remember early in President Obama’s presidency, headlines were made about him being the first “Email President” because both George W. Bush and Bill Clinton eschewed e-mail because of those open-records laws. Obama was at a point where he was unwilling to give it up.

There is a lot to still be said for this developing story, and I don’t know how it will turn out. Did Mrs. Clinton violate the law? I don’t know, but it would seem like it. Is this a massive scandal? I don’t think so, but “scandals” tend to be scaled by one’s own personal politics.

Will this affect her possible White House run? I doubt it because the people who won’t vote for her because of this weren’t going to vote for her anyway, and those who would vote for her aren’t going to let this get in the way. For the most part.

But, if she actually did break the law here, I think she should be held accountable. That said, it remains to be seen whether the report is accurate and what the specifics were if it was accurate.

Another Update on The Gay in Alabama: State Supreme Court “Overrules” Federal District Court

Sigh. To me, this is neither a conservative, nor a liberal issue at this point. (Though maybe it is? State supremacy = conservative cause?) Here’s the latest from Alabama, just in Sunday night (so less than 12 hrs old): “Alabama Judges Ordered to Halt ‘Halt’ Weddings.” It’s by Cheryl Chumley, who I haven’t seen before on WND.

And let’s be very clear: It’s not the weddings at issue, it’s the issuance of marriage licenses.

Anyway, the decision was 7 to 1 with Roy Moore recusing himself (probably the only thing he’s done right in this, in my opinion). The dissenting judge effectively told his co-justicies: “WTF, are you high?” He actually that he didn’t think the case was properly filed, the court had any jurisdiction, and that public interest groups could sue in Alabama’s name, since it was outside groups and not the Governor, Legislature, nor Attorney General who sued.

The issue for me is that second one: Jurisdiction. Article 6, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution clearly says:

This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding.

Most people I know interpret this to mean that federal laws and courts have supremacy over state. In other words, the Federal District Court Judge’s ruling has supremacy over a state Supreme Court.

This is besides the fact that I think this is a ruling meant to uphold a hugely discriminatory law. Or, as God put it today:

God Tweets on Alabama Supreme Court