Steffi Badanes and Audrey Piehl
Reporters
Now has come the time where we take a look at who has shined in the world of politics today, and who has shocked us all. So who has earned a spot on our sanity meter this week?
Check out the Huffington Post’s original psychometer
1 = complete sanity
10 = could use a straight jacket
1 – Gabrielle Giffords: The Arizona congresswoman has already made a miraculous recovery, and this week she seems to have progressed even further. Despite all of this trauma, her personality remains intact, and she has even begun to formulate sentences. Giffords stands as a symbol of hope, a virtue we not only try to promise here in the United States, but one that gets many of us through the day. And for your strength Mrs. Giffords, we thank you. – Audrey
2 – Patty Murray: She said,“I am really stunned…that there are those in the Republican party in the House who are willing to shutdown the government, take people’s paychecks away from them, because they want to deny women access to health care in this country.” Senator Patty Murray was the voice of reason on the House floor. She was amazing as she spoke about the ridiculousness of how far Republicans were willing to go to make it harder to get an abortion. – Steffi
3 – Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden: The First and Second Ladies have launched their “Joining Forces” initiative, a move that gives benefits to families who have loved ones in the military. Since the Bush era, many families were impacted with wars such as Afghanistan and Iraq, and it’s truly wonderful to recognize those who aren’t in uniform, sitting at home as they work hard to maintain happy lives while a husband, wife, or child is fighting on the battlefield. – Steffi
Video by whitehouse4 – Fox News: While I rarely would place the almost absurdly conservative network on the sane side of things, they have recently kicked New Canaanite Glenn Beck off the air. Though many friends inform me of his kindness in person, I’ve always thought his political views a little askew. I mean, he accused Obama of being racist. However Beck’s rants have often brought amusement to viewers, including a should-have-gone-viral snippet featured here. Rumored successors range from Fox native Megyn Kelly to (of course) Charlie Sheen. – Audrey
5 – Egypt’s judicial system (Or lack thereof): While the rebelling Egyptians have been replaced with the rebelling Lybians in the headlines, Hosni Mubarak has yet to face any criminal charges. The most prominent of his crimes is the 700 billion dollars allegedly stashed away around the globe, most of which was supposedly stolen from the Egyptian people. Don’t think that Egypt is out of the woods yet. – Audrey
6 – Jon Kyl: The Senate Minority leader of Arizona received a lot of backlash after he said that abortion was “well over 90 percent of what Planned Parenthood does.” Shortly afterwards, a statement released from the Senator’s office said that his statement about Planned Parenthood was “not intended to be factual.” Well, I would assume that a politician would always be up to date on their facts when giving speeches to the public, and wouldn’t be so naive as to exaggerate so much. And on a side note, we really need to just put away the problem of Planned Parenthood. It’s a topic, not an issue. – Steffi
7 – Mike Pence: He said, “if liberals in the Senate and in this administration want to continue to play political games instead of accepting very modest budget cuts…then I say shut it down.” Congressman Pence of Indiana explained how he wanted to shut down the government if it meant cutting off federal funding of Planned Parenthood. So he’s willing to keep soldiers from getting paid, shut down museums and parks, and prevent women from getting mammograms and other essential needs to take care of their bodies, all to waste more time on ridiculous tactics to make it harder to get an abortion? He honestly needs to wake up and actually listen to his own words of utter stupidity. – Steffi
8 – Sarah Palin (and Donald Trump): While Donald Trump hinted he might run for president in 2012, he has also shared some interesting speculations of his own; that Obama wasn’t born in the United States. Since Obama’s birth certificate is readily available and depicts him being born in Hawaii, many find Mr. Trump a little off his rocker. Well, not Sarah Palin. She has, in fact, partially joined the “birther” band wagon, and stated on Fox News that she sees Trump’s point and wonders why Obama’s long-form certificate is unreleased. I think “exasperating” and/or “are-you-kidding-me” are the sentiments you’re looking for. – Audrey
9 – Donald Trump: “I want to see the birth certificate.” The more Donald Trump continues his ranting about his concerns over Obama’s place of birth, the more unintelligent he sounds, especially since the certificate has been available since Obama took office. As a way to justify his view of the importance of presenting your birth certificate in politics, Trump presented his birth certificate, which actually turned out to be a “certificate of live birth,” a document completely different from a birth certificate. A certificate of live birth is a document that declares that someone reported the birth of a child and can be easily obtained. I would be very concerned with the well being of our country if it were ever to be in the hands of this Tea sipping birther. – Steffi
10 – Moammar Gadhafi: Hallucinogenic drugs, wild house parties featuring Mariah Carey, extreme paranoia and tyranny…need I say more? The notorious dictator has hung on to another week in power, just as Charlie Sheen has hung on to his absurd fame. As expected further violence has ensued, and will probably continue until Gadhafi is forced out of office or he resigns. Sadly the latter does not seem to be in the cards, so I guess it’s up to determined protesters and foreign intervention. – Audrey
