# Stupid Republican idea of the day **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 26, 2009, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897 "2009-03-26T18:48:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1370
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/27382 "2016-02-16T15:34:16Z")
> [@raventhief](#): > > So guilty until proven innocent? At least for non-GOPers… ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/27383 "2016-02-16T15:40:41Z")
I’m curious what an preponderance of evidence that one did not do something looks like. Adaher, can you provide such evidence that you have not joined ISIS? absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. I need absolute proof that you didn’t do what you are accused of doing. And if you can’t provide it, your citizenship is stripped away. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/27384 "2016-02-16T15:43:42Z")
This discussion is counter revolutionary! ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/27385 "2016-02-16T16:42:54Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > You’re right that it can’t be arbitrary, but what constitutes due process is vague and up to Congress. Current law says the INS decides and their decision can be appealed. > > According to the system, they would appeal and would have to prove by a preponderance of evidence that they did not join a foreign enemy’s force. Which is easy to do if you’re in the US and there’s no evidence that you joined ISIS. But if you’re making propaganda videos for them, good luck. > > From my reading of the Cruz bill, all it does is treat ISIS as a foreign enemy military for the purposes of whether citizens can join it without losing their citizenship. An administration still has discretion as to how to apply the law. All fair points, but I was responding to the comment, which went beyond the Cruz law. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/27386 "2016-02-16T16:43:47Z")
> [@raventhief](#): > > I’m curious what an preponderance of evidence that one did not do something looks like. Adaher, can you provide such evidence that you have not joined ISIS? > > absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. I need absolute proof that you didn’t do what you are accused of doing. And if you can’t provide it, your citizenship is stripped away. Better yet, why not take this hijack(and all of his other fucking hijacks) to another thread? I swear to ghod this thread needs a special marker that indicates “Hijacked By Adaher Yet Again-Don’t Bother Reading” that pops on all the times this happens. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/27387 "2016-02-16T17:47:14Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Will you be around to decide the criteria of revocation for all future presidents? Because I foresee a day when a Republican simply revokes the citizenship of enough Democrats on trumped up disloyalty charges to preserve party dominance. You overstate the risk (_cf._ my decree that there shall never again be a Republican president). ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/27388 "2016-02-16T17:52:24Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Better yet, why not take this hijack(and all of his other fucking hijacks) to another thread? I swear to ghod this thread needs a special marker that indicates “Hijacked By Adaher Yet Again-Don’t Bother Reading” that pops on all the times this happens. Does vBB support such a utility, or are you simply volunteering the mods (or more accurately, **Miller** ) to take on another task? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/27389 "2016-02-16T18:33:40Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > [Cruz, who whines when his interpretation of the Constitution is different from that of other people, wants to pass a blatantly unconstitutional law.](http://www.liberalamerica.org/2015/01/26/ted-cruz-proposes-bill-to-strip-5th-and-6th-amendment-out-of-us-constitution/) I don’t for an instant believe that Scalia’s death was anything other than natural causes, but some of the [circumstances before and shortly after](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/texas-tv-station-scalia-died-of-a-heart-attack/2016/02/14/938e2170-d332-11e5-9823-02b905009f99_story.html) seem positively designed to encourage the tin foil hat brigade. [ul] [li]Marshal service protection wasn’t present while he was at the ranch.[/li][li]Death occurred in a place where a stranger would easily pass unnoticed.[/li][li]Death occurred without witnesses and was discovered much later.[/li][li]Judge declared Scalia dead from natural causes without having seen his body[/li][li]No Autopsy to be performed.[/li][/ul] I predict that this will be the next truther movement. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/27390 "2016-02-16T18:38:08Z")
My admittedly vague understanding was that he was hanging out with some of the “movers and shakers”, big wheels, etc. So, no, a stranger would not go unnoticed. Security arrangements might be discreet, but present. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/27391 "2016-02-16T19:40:00Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > I don’t for an instant believe that Scalia’s death was anything other than natural causes, but some of the [circumstances before and shortly after](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/texas-tv-station-scalia-died-of-a-heart-attack/2016/02/14/938e2170-d332-11e5-9823-02b905009f99_story.html) seem positively designed to encourage the tin foil hat brigade. > [ul] > [li]Marshal service protection wasn’t present while he was at the ranch.[/li][li]Death occurred in a place where a stranger would easily pass unnoticed.[/li][li]Death occurred without witnesses and was discovered much later.[/li][li]Judge declared Scalia dead from natural causes without having seen his body[/li][li]No Autopsy to be performed.[/li][/ul] > > I predict that this will be the next truther movement. You left off that his body will be cremated so that nobody can later dig him up to do an autopsy. And that cremation was against Church policy pre-Vatican II, a council whose results Scalia objected to. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/27392 "2016-02-16T19:48:04Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > You left off that his body will be cremated so that nobody can later dig him up to do an autopsy. And that cremation was against Church policy pre-Vatican II, a council whose results Scalia objected to. haven’t heard any objections from him in the last few days. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/27393 "2016-02-16T20:34:56Z")
[Meet Mary Lou Bruner, who is running for the Texas State School Board.](http://wonkette.com/598811/texas-school-board-candidate-cant-wait-to-teach-kids-about-obamas-gay-whoring-days) Mary Lou believes: President Obama was a gay prostitute who prostituted himself to pay for his drugs. The reason why there are no longer any dinosaurs is because Noah accidentally brought baby dinosaurs on board the ark, and they were unable to reproduce (apparently they never grew up?) JFK was killed by the “Democrat Party” because he was too conservative, and the Socialists and Communists wanted LBJ, who was a Socialist (really?) The climate change “hoax” was created by Karl Marx. Islam is a political ideology and not a religion, and the US should ban it. Refugees are known to be “Radical Islamic Terrorists who plan to kill as many USA citizens as possible.” ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/27394 "2016-02-16T20:37:26Z")
[Ted Cruz promises there will no longer be gluten free products in military MREs.](http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/16/politics/ted-cruz-military-speech-gluten-free/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/27395 "2016-02-16T20:39:18Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > [Meet Mary Lou Bruner, who is running for the Texas State School Board.](http://wonkette.com/598811/texas-school-board-candidate-cant-wait-to-teach-kids-about-obamas-gay-whoring-days) > > Mary Lou believes: > > President Obama was a gay prostitute who prostituted himself to pay for his drugs. > The reason why there are no longer any dinosaurs is because Noah accidentally brought baby dinosaurs on board the ark, and they were unable to reproduce (apparently they never grew up?) > JFK was killed by the “Democrat Party” because he was too conservative, and the Socialists and Communists wanted LBJ, who was a Socialist (really?) > The climate change “hoax” was created by Karl Marx. > Islam is a political ideology and not a religion, and the US should ban it. > Refugees are known to be “Radical Islamic Terrorists who plan to kill as many USA citizens as possible.” Sounds a little too far to the left for Texas. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/27396 "2016-02-16T20:40:38Z")
Yet another Texas communist. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/27397 "2016-02-16T20:48:45Z")
[Glenn Beck: God killed Scalia to make Ted Cruz President.](http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/glenn-beck-god-allowed-scalia-die-order-highlight-importance-electing-ted-cruz) Which he thinks is a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/27398 "2016-02-16T20:52:00Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > [Ted Cruz promises there will no longer be gluten free products in military MREs.](http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/16/politics/ted-cruz-military-speech-gluten-free/index.html) … and any members of the military with Celiac disease can what? Just die of starvation? Jesus ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/27399 "2016-02-16T20:52:21Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Better yet, why not take this hijack(and all of his other fucking hijacks) to another thread? I swear to ghod this thread needs a special marker that indicates “Hijacked By Adaher Yet Again-Don’t Bother Reading” that pops on all the times this happens. But then we wouldn’t be able to see the thread for all the markers. **adaher** is an idiot. Full stop. Until they put a bounty on him, we have to just endure. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/27400 "2016-02-16T20:52:54Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > I predict that this will be the next truther movement. [Michael Savage and The Donald are way ahead of you.](http://mediamatters.org/blog/2016/02/16/trump-joins-radio-ally-to-fuel-scalia-murder-co/208604) > [@](#): > > SAVAGE: Donald I need to come back to the topic we’ve been all screaming about here which is Scalia, was he murdered? I know it’s pretty brutal to say that and I’m not wanting to drag you into this but this is going to get bigger and bigger and bigger. I went on the air and said we need the equivalent of a Warren Commission, we need an immediate autopsy before the body is disposed of. What do you think of that? > > TRUMP: Well I just heard today and that just a little while ago actually – you know I just landed and I’m hearing it’s a big topic – that’s the question. And it’s a horrible topic, but they say they found a pillow on his face, which is a pretty unusual place to find a pillow. I can’t tell you what – I can’t give you an answer. You know usually I like to give you answers but I literally just heard it a little while ago. It’s just starting to come out now, as you know, Michael. > > SAVAGE: Well I’ve been covering it for an hour and a half, there’s a lot more to it than that. There was no medical examiner present, there was no one who declared the death who was there, it was done by telephone from a U.S. marshal, appointed by Obama himself. So let me not try to drag you into something you haven’t studied because I don’t think it would be fair to you and to the audience. I think after you look into these facts, Donald, you yourself will have to come to some different conclusions than you may think. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/27401 "2016-02-16T20:53:55Z")
> [@Airbeck](#): > > … and any members of the military with Celiac disease can what? Just die of starvation? As if any _real American_ would possess such a genetic deformity. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1369) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1371)