Mind your own beeswax
This may be a textbook example of "what's it to you?": Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R-The Inquisition) is upset that the city council of Washington, D.C., has voted to recognize gay marriages performed in states where it's legal.And Chaffetz is looking to have Congress overturn the D.C. Council's 12-1 vote.
Mind you, the D.C. Council's action does not affect a single human being outside of the District of Columbia - and certainly not the good people of Utah who sent Chaffetz to Congress.
But, because of the constitutional vagaries that put the District's laws under the perusal of Congress, yahoos like Chaffetz get to weigh in on the personal lives of nearly 600,000 citizens who never voted for those people - and, in fact, have no voting representative in Congress at all.
Chaffetz would be screaming bloody murder if the Feds told the city of Alpine, Utah (Chaffetz' hometown) what laws it should make. But it's OK for him to meddle in local D.C. affairs, he says, because Washington receives federal tax money.
"People in Salt Lake City are paying for the operation and government in the District of Columbia," Chaffetz told the Tribune's Thomas Burr. (If Chaffetz read the federal budget a bit more carefully, he'd see that every city - including Alpine - receives some federal tax money, directly or indirectly.)
On the other hand, it's a relief to see that every other problem in our nation - the economy, two wars, health care, the environment - has been solved. Why else would Chaffetz have time to stew over what local legislators in D.C. are doing?
Labels: Jason Chaffetz, politics
posted by Sean P. Means @ 9:14 AM |
2 Comments:
1. The US Constitution says that Congress is in control of D.C.
2. Rep. Chaffetz is doing his job. He is on the committee, and the "ranking" GOP on it.
3. Are you afraid that Congress will overturn the D.C. vote? They may or may not, but they should vote.
4. A large part of the population of D.C. belong to "black" Christian churches and are hopping made about the D.C. Council's action.
5. "All hell is going to break loose," warned Barry, the former D.C. mayor, after the council voted 12-to-1 Tuesday to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. "We may have a civil war. The black community is just adamant against this."
>>1. The US Constitution says that Congress is in control of D.C.<<
Just because they have the power doesn't mean that it should be exercised.
>>2. Rep. Chaffetz is doing his job. He is on the committee, and the "ranking" GOP on it.<<
His job is to tell people who they can and can't live with? Wow. I wish I had that kind of power over my kids.
>>3. Are you afraid that Congress will overturn the D.C. vote? They may or may not, but they should vote.<<
Why should they vote? Please explain.
>>4. A large part of the population of D.C. belong to "black" Christian churches and are hopping made about the D.C. Council's action.<<
Which proves their humanity, since their white counterparts in the South of the 50s and 60s had the same feelings about integration.
>>5. "All hell is going to break loose," warned Barry, the former D.C. mayor, after the council voted 12-to-1 Tuesday to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. "We may have a civil war. The black community is just adamant against this."<<
Yeah. There's a voice of credibility on public policy issues.
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