Boehner Opposes Child Marriage Prevention Act

Eric Cantor and John Boehner

Within a few days, our Republican friends in Congress have been delighted to extend a tax cut to billionaires (adding $ 858 billion to the federal deficit),  but refused to pass  the Child Marriage Prevention Act. The reasons: it would add $67 million to the deficit, and it might somehow result in more abortions. They never explained the abortion claim because all they have to do is mention the word, abortion, and the moral conservatives go into spasms.


CARE a worldwide humanitarian rights organization says: 'More than 60 million girls ages 17 and younger -- many as young as 10 -- are forced into marriage in developing countries. Many of these girls are married to men more than twice their age. Not only does this unacceptable practice thwart a girl's education, it endangers her health and often locks her into a life of poverty."


Perhaps it's time "Boehner and his Bunch" should explain their value system.

The NCAA'S Dilemma: Cecil and Cam Newton

Cecil and Cam Newton

 The 2010 Heisman Trophy winner, Cam Newton, poses a problem for the NCAA, a problem they have not dealt with effectively. Obviously, something is amiss in Newton's choice to play at Auburn instead of Mississippi State. Cam says he did nothing wrong, and the NCAA says that he was unaware of  any  failed pay-for-play scheme. Cam's father, Cecil, is another situation. Apparently, whatever shenanigans Cecil was pulling off, Cam was kept out of the loop, probably intentionally Also, it is interesting that Cam never bothered to ask his father about the charges of a payment scheme.

If the NCAA is going to allow Cam to continue to play even though the father was trying to turn a profit, they will have opened a huge can of worms. If immediate family members can break the rules with no repercussions for the athlete, the NCAA will not be able to enforce its rules.The family will leave the athlete in the dark in case they get caught. If the athlete can compete as though nothing is wrong, abuses will flourish.

Obviously, the father has not explained away his problems. Auburn does not want him hanging around, and his absence at the Heisman ceremony was noteworthy. Whatever the sins of the father, they necessarily taint the son and the NCAA will have to confront that.

General Welfare vs. Partisan Greed

   

U.S. Constitution

 We should not be surprised that these days Republicans never speak of the "common good" or the "general welfare." Those concepts appear to be anathema to them, their followers, and their lobbyist supporters. Although the Christian tradition is imbued with the concept of an individual's obligation to foster the common good, Republican politicians in this country posses a more narcissistic point of view. They have made it clear they are more interested in the welfare of their party and the interests of their lobbyist friends than they are in the welfare of the nation. When a program appears to benefit the general welfare of the country, they bemoan its effect on the deficit; but when a continued tax cut for billionaires is discussed, they maintain that such a cut is necessary for the economy -- the old "trickle-down theory of economics" disowned by its creator, David Stockman.

The examples are plentiful -- going back to the Reagan years of  "greed-is-good." Today, however, it is rampant. Just a few examples. After the Supreme Court justices who favored "states-rights" changed their minds and elected George W. Bush, Cheney and his cohorts had not unpacked their bags before they were holding a secret "energy" meeting to determine the best way to capitalize on Bush's "victory." That was followed by "temporary" tax breaks for the very wealthy, and a pre-emptive assault on Iraq, albeit, the so-called reasons did not exist. However, Haliburton and Blackwater made billions of dollars as private contractors. Skipping ahead, the country watched Sarah Palin resign as governor of Alaska because she saw the opportunity to cash in on McCain's desperate and misguided choice of her as his running mate; and  cash in, she has! Her commitment to the welfare of Alaska was not a factor. Mitch McConnell, the leader of  Republican senators has told us his goal is to see that the President of the United States fails. Apparently he does not care that if the President fails, the country fails.

Not to be too dramatic about it, but most historians agree that the fall of great empires and civilizations of the past began when political leaders became more concerned about their own welfare and power than they did the common good and the general welfare.


But the most telling statements of the oligarchs on the right are the accusations that President Obama is pursuing a program of "socialism." Their condemnation of what they label socialism, is not about socialism, but it is a condemnation of people looking out for the general welfare rather than self-interests.


Our grandfathers and great grandfathers fought two World Wars for the common good, not selfish interests. They knew that the U.S. Constitution was established to "promote the general Welfare."

The Top Ten Reasons John Boehner is Always Crying

John Boehner Crying on TV 

We have all seen John Boehner shedding copious tears on TV recently and wondered why he is bawling like a baby. Well here are the 10 most likely reasons.


10. When asked about John Boehner, Miss Lisabeth Lyons, his alleged mistress, asked "John who?"


9. He was worried billionaires were not going to receive another tax cut.


8. He was informed that Latino babies born in this country were indeed citizens and would be eligible to vote when they turned 18.


7. The oil lobby  gave him only a dozen free tickets to the Sugar Bowl.


6. A pharmaceutical lobbyist refused to write anymore legislative bills for him.


5. His country club buddies insisted that a 21 foot putt was not a "give-me."


4. The TSA would not give him a copy of his full-body scan.


3. His wife sold his tanning bed on eBay.


2. Sarah Palin did not invite him on her hunting trip to kill and slaughter a caribou.


1. Dick Cheney did invite him to go bird hunting.

That Troublesome First Amendment & Wikileaks

   

After the tragedy of 9/11 many Americans, including those in the  Whitehouse and Congress, were extremely frightened and hastily rushed to pass the so-called "Patriot Act" demonstrating once again that fear induces people to irrational actions contrary to their long-held principles. Unfortunately, something very similar may be occurring these days following the release of "secret" documents by Wikileaks. Some senators and others are trying to invoke the Espionage Act of 1917 in order to prosecute those involved even though court decisions since 1917 have found the act to violate basic constitutional rights.


Perhaps many have forgotten the abuses that occurred as a result of this act. President Wilson was successful in having the act passed in an effort to silence  his critics in a run-up to World War One. Thousands of ordinary citizens who were speaking out against the US involvement in the war were arrested. A movie director was sentenced to ten years because he showed a film which revealed British cruelty in the Revolutionary War -- the reason England was now our ally.


The poet E.E. Cummins was imprisoned beacuse he said he did not hate German. In 1918 presidential candidate Eugene Debbs received a 10 year prison sentence for reading the First Amendment in public  Judge Learned Hand maintained that the wording of the Espionage Act was so vague that it would threaten the American tradition of freedom itself.  In the 1990s, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan deplored the "culture of secrecy" made possible by the Act, noting the tendency of bureaucracies to enlarge their powers by increasing the scope of what is held "secret" (cf.Wikipedia).


Unfortunately today the psychology of fear is encouraging some to seek an easy fix by resurrecting the Espionage Act of 1917. Since we seem so eager to sacrifice the freedoms for which our forefathers gave their lives, it is appropriate to recall Ben Franklin's wisdom: "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."


As for the Wikileaks problem, the first question is whether most of these items should have been  classified  as"secret." Why  is our government concealing information pertaining to  large banks, huge corporations, and the Vatican? It maybe that these are stories the mainstream press should have been investigating all along.
The second and more serious concern is whether these leaks endangered some one's life or exposed one of our operatives as in the case of Valerie Plame. If that is the case there is a law to deal with that. Recall Scooter Libby was sent to prison until his bosses at the Whitehouse convinced George Bush to pardon him. As for serious threats to national security, there are laws that deal with that, We do not need to invoke the vague, possibly unconstitutional Espionage Act 0f 1917; it is an open invitation to human rights abuse.

The Toledo Blade Has Gone to the Dogs

The Toledo Blade Newspaper Building

For over a year now, The Toledo Blade has been obsessed with dogs. It is a rare occasion that the newspaper does not feature a dog story on its front page or the first page of the second section. It all began with concerns about the former dog warden and the number of dogs being put down instead of being adopted. Unfortunately, the obsession has continued. Is it that Toledo is so boring our daily newspaper has nothing else to cover? Or is it that photographs of cute dogs sell papers?

"One of America's Great Newspapers" is in danger of becoming "One of America's Great Canine Papers." It's not likely  that dog stories are going to win a Pulitzer.

Kasich's Trainwreck Sends Money and Jobs Out of Ohio

What was I thinking?

John Kasich has not even been sworn in as Ohio's next governor, and he is already costing the state money and jobs.He is the one, you may recall, who campaigned on creating jobs in Ohio, but now that he is elected,  he's not talking so much about jobs. By declaring that he is going to kill Governor Strickland's modern passenger rail plan for Ohio, he has effectively forced the Transportation Department to send the money ($385 million) that was allotted to Ohio to other states and with the money go the jobs.  But this is just the beginning; wait until he is governor and starts laying off state employees as his agenda necessitates.

Prior to the election, Ohio was moving ahead to create a modern, efficient railway system that could eventually become a high-speed system linking Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati, but now Kasich has declared that trains are dead -- something that warms the hearts of Dick Cheney and Big Oil oligarchs who dumped big money into his election.


Senator Sherrod Brown (D, OH) reacted:  "It's a great day for New Yorkers and Californians but a truly disappointing one for Ohioans waiting for jobs and waiting for passenger rail. With so many Ohioans struggling, I don't understand why we would give up on funds that create thousands of jobs and promote millions of dollars worth of economic development."


Outgoing Governor Strickland said: "I fear that history will show that this one uninformed decision will be looked aupon with regret by future generations of Ohioans,"


And the future is what it is all about. Senator Brown observes, "It's not just manufacturing and construction jobs we're losing. It's lost economic development opportunities along the proposed route and surrounding the proposed stations. By turning our backs on this federal investment, we are turning our backs on opportunity to bring rail manufacturing jobs to Ohio."


Personally, I tend to think that Kasich's Wall Street buddies from Lehman Brothers (no sisters there?) were the ones who told him "the train is dead"  --  meaning that a modern, efficient  passenger railway system will not be good for their bottom line.

The Sad But True Story of Bottled Water

source: www.foodandwaterwatch.org

THE STORY OF BOTTLED WATER

Sarah's Greed and Tea Party's Dishonesty

  

On Monday the "Tea Party" president, Judson Phillips and many Tea Party supporters  urged Sarah Palin to take over as the chair of the debt-ridden Republican National Party.

They offered two reasons. One was her pop-star recognition and the second was her fundraising ability -- a major issue for the RNC.

What in the name of Hades were these people thinking? There was no way in hell this woman was going to take a job raising money for anyone but herself. Remember this is the woman who resigned in mid-term as the governor of Alaska to personally cash in on the fact that McCain thought she could be vice president.  And "cash in" she has. What with two books she "wrote," reality show appearances, speaking engagements, dragging her daughter onto "Dancing with the Stars,"  she has accumulated mega bucks, making the abandoned governor's position look like chicken feed.  Again, I ask, why do her Tea Party supporters think she would give up her personal quest of money for the sake of the GOP?


This is  part of Sarah's response: "...the primary role of the RNC chair seems be that of fundraiser-in-chief, and there are others who would probably be much more comfortable asking people for money than I would be, and they would definitely enjoy it more." One cannot quarrel with that, she is much more comfortable and adept at amassing a personal fortune


By way of a footnote: the "Tea Party" insisted throughout the mid-term elections that they were neither Republican or Democrat. So why is it that they are now so concerned about the Republican National Committee? Me thinks the Tea Party was not telling the truth back in September and October.

House GOP's Cynical Approach to Energy Committee

      
 
above: Joe Barton
below: John Shimkus

It appears that the Republicans are considering Joe Barton and John Shimkus to chair the House energy committee next year. What a travesty! Shimkus says we don't need to worry about climate change, and Barton is the congressman who apologized to BP officials for harsh questions from other congressmen about the Gulf oil spill.


If either becomes the chair it will reinforce the public perception that energy policy for House Republicans means keeping the oil companies happy. And who knows, maybe that is the message they want to send. After the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, the oil companies dumped tons of money into the Republican coffers and would be pleased to have someone like Barton or Shimkus heading the energy committee.