In The Land of Stupidity...The Village Idiot is on the Loose

       After all the blogging stories that we have read and posted about the continuum of discrimination against people with disabilities which range from simple invisibility to blatant indifference, I had assumed that we had heard and experienced it all.  Well, that is not until you enter the land of stupidity and evil which can be found festering in the idyllic hills of New Hampshire in the good olde USofA.

Martin Harty, not my grandfather

       A 91 or 92 year old state representative (depending on which paper you read), Republican Martin Harty of Barrington, N.H. told Sharon Omand, a manager of a community mental health program, that "the world is too populated" and that there are "too many defective people."  When asked what he meant, she said Harty clarified, "You know the mentally ill, the retarded, people with physical disabilities and drug addictions --the defective people society would be better off without."
       The old fart went on to say, "The world population has gotten to big and the world is being inherited by too many defective people."  When asked what we should do with them, Harty said, "I believe if we had a Siberia we should send them to this and they would all freeze and die and we would be rid of them."
       While New Hampshire House Speaker William O'Brien stated that he didn't endorse Harty's comments about defective people, he does respect the representative's "longstanding commitment to protect the values we cherish." (Concord Monitor, March 11, front page)
       Harty then said, "I was kidding with her and it kind of got away from me.  It was a girl that wanted more money for crazy people, the people ... a good percentage of the homeless are mentally disturbed.  I said maybe they can rent a spot in Siberia off of Russia."  The Republican State Committee quickly disavowed Harty's comments, but noted that "We respect Mr. Harty's service to our country."
        To simply say this man (and I use the word loosely) is a few cans short of six-pack, or that the the light is on and nobody is  home, would be very mild understatements.  To say that his comments betray the humanity of people would be kind.  Plain and simple, he's an idiot.  Hopefully, the village which lost its idiot will soon come and reclaim him.
        Of course there is a petition started to get the man off the political trail, please sign at: http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/RepHartyMustResign
        Perhaps we should start one one to get him out of the human race?
        Please note that I refrained from making comments on either Republicans or Tea Party folk...I thought that was rather big of me.
        UPDATE:  The Concord (N.H.) Monitor is today (3/14/2011) calling for his resignation. http://www.concordmonitor.com/article/245740/in-over-his-head-lawmaker-should-quit
         UPDATE (Again): This whack-job of a human finally resigns citing "slightly unfavorable publicity" which has made him less effective.  http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110315/GJNEWS_01/703159928/-1/FOSNEWS  Thanks to all who contributed to the slightly unfavorable publicity!
      
          And, he still refuses to apologize!