Wouldn't politics be a lot more pleasant if we focused on issues?

Some years back, I suggested that our country would be better off if there were a fail-safe built into Congress so that anytime someone brought up something that was total bullshit -- like flag burning -- that Congress would automatically adjourn.

[caption id="attachment_1074" align="alignright" width="250" caption="The real deal"]<a href="http://mikerappaport.net/onevoice/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/barack-obama-releases-long-form-birth-certificate-300x200-250x200.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1074" title="barack-obama-releases-long-form-birth-certificate-300x200-250x200" src="http://mikerappaport.net/onevoice/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/barack-obama-releases-long-form-birth-certificate-300x200-250x200.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="200" /></a>[/caption]

Of course, there's no rule like that, and there's no way to deal with it when people bring up things that are totally ridiculous just to interfere with the ability of the other side to govern.

That's what some of the folks who hate President Obama have been doing ever since 2008 with their efforts to convince the gullible among us that the president wasn't born in the United States and hence was not eligible to be president.

Of course it was a joke all along, and it became even more ridiculous when Donald Trump got involved in it. That left the usual cast of idiots -- Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck and all the rest -- all attacking Obama, and apparently the White House decided they would rather have the hubbub than have it settled.

Until today, when the president finally released what is known as his long form birth certificate, which of course settles the issue for everyone it would ever be settled for.

Now we can get back to flag burning.