Is Ted Cruz a natural-born American?

When Ted Cruz announced he was running for President this week, the haters turned out en masse, insisting he could not be President because he was born in Canada.

It isn't really even an issue, however. Cruz is absolutely qualified to be President, and he is a natural-born citizen by law. To get a pretty good explanation why, click here to read an article by the Cafe con Leche Republicans.

Blogger drops porn ban after liberal outcry

Last month, Blogger announced they were banning sexually explicit images and video from their site, and deleting blogs that carried such material. The ban on "sexually explicit or graphic nude images or video" was set to take place on March 23, but Blogger has reversed that decision, after a combination of porn enthusiasts, gay rights supporters, and liberal activists protested.

Google (which owns Blogger) had already banned porn in their ads, and the proposed ban on explicit content on Blogger wouldn't actually delete the content. Explicit content would be made private and inaccessible to the public without an invitation from the blog's author. Violet Blue of ZDNet lamented the decision, calling it "sex censorship" and saying the ban of sexually explicit content is prejudicial. "Homophobia, transphobia, and racism are alive and well today, and the backbone of these hideous things is censorship," she said. Blue also said the policy unfairly targeted those whose blogs Blogger labeled as "adult" already, including LGBT and 'outsider sexuality' diaries, erotic writers, transgender activists, sex toy reviewers, art nude photographers, sex news and porn gossip writers, LGBT sex activism, fetish fashion, and feminist porn blogs.

In a statement retracting the proposed policy change, Blogger seemed to acknowledge the outrage from the LGBT community, stating the recognized "the negative impact this could have on individuals who post sexually explicit content to express their identities."

Fearmongering doctor finds fame attacking border kids

Dr. Elizabeth Vliet
Dr. Elizabeth L Vliet isn't an expert on infectious diseases, but she plays one on TV. In fact, she is a board-certified psychiatrist who is using the recent furor over immigration to make a name - and maybe some money - for herself.

Dr Vliet has appeared several times on Fox News warning that the refugee children from Central America, who are fleeing to the United States to escape drug and gang violence at home, are bringing a number of dangerous infectious diseases with them. There isn't any actual proof to any of this, and there has been no outbreak of major diseases among the children detained along our border. Because she is a doctor, however, her statements are taken as fact without verification.

Last June, Vliet penned a column for The McAllen (TX) Monitor in which she claimed border kids were bringing in every disease short of Mad Cow into the country. Again, she cited no proof or examples, but instead provided a rundown of a list of terrible diseases and their effects. Her column, however, led to her TV appearances on both Hannity and Justice with Judge Jeanine, who both took anti-immigrant stances and used Vliet's statements to validate them.

Vliet's misleading statements have also been adopted by anti-immigrant activists and bloggers, who use them to justify their racist rhetoric by blaming immigrants (particularly children) for anything and everything. The website The Federalist Papers actually used Vliet's statements to blame the measles outbreak at Disneyland on illegal immigrants, even though all the evidence points to a Disneyland employee (and U.S. citizen) as the source of the outbreak.

The Gateway Pundit also used Vliet's arguments to blame the measles outbreak on illegal immigrants, stating that 72 cases of measles reported in 2011 were "imported" from other countries. While The Gateway Pundit tried to blame those cases on illegal immigrants, the source they used stated the exact opposite. The source, For The Record, could find no instance in which a case of measles could be attributed to an immigrant, legal or illegal. Of the 72 cases "imported" from other countries, 52 were caused by American citizens who brought the disease back while traveling abroad, while the remaining 20 were brought in by foreign tourists.

Vliet's campaign against immigrants isn't the first time she has ventured outside her expertise to gain a little notoriety. Besides being an expert on demonizing immigrant children, Vliet has parlayed her experience as a psychiatrist into a successful money-making venture - as a hormone health expert. Her website bills her as specializing in "preventive and climacteric medicine for women and men."  She has also written at least five books on the subject, including "It's My Ovaries, Stupid," all promising answers on how to improve your health by addressing hormone imbalance.

Although she often promotes herself as an expert on various issues, some of her former patients take issue with her professionalism. On the Vitals.com website, Vliet earned a 2.5 star rating, with some patients complaining about her bedside manner, and others complaining that they couldn't speak with her on the phone unless they paid an extra fee. One patient even called her "mean and nasty," claiming one phone consultation left her in tears.

For now, however, Dr. Vliet seems content on being an expert on the issue that brings her the most attention: feeding the fear and hatred of immigrant children.

Starbucks CEO defends Obama, slams Giuliani

Starbucks CEO (and outspoken liberal) Howard Schultz has once again jumped on his progressive soapbox, this time, to criticize former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani over his comments that President Barack Obama doesn't love America.

Giuliani, speaking at a private event for Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in New York City on February 18, openly questioned Obama's love for his country. “I do not believe, and I know this is a horrible thing to say, but I do not believe that the president loves America,” he said. "He doesn't love you. And he doesn't love me. He wasn't brought up the way you were brought up and I was brought up through love of this country.” The event was held at the 21 Club in Manhattan and was attended by a number of conservative leaders and media types, according to a report by Politico.

In response, Schultz issued a statement slamming Mayor Giuliani's comments. "As an American, I find Rudy Giuliani's vicious comments about President Obama 'not loving America' to be profoundly offensive to both the President and the Office," he said, citing his comments as "yet another example of the extreme rhetoric that continues to divide our country rather than uniting us in common purpose."

Schultz has used his platform as Starbucks CEO to campaign for a number of liberal causes. His push to legalize gay marriage in Washington state led to his statements to shareholders to sell their stock if they didn't agree with him. A campaign against the coffee chain led by supporters of traditional marriage can be found at DumpStarbucks.com.