Secession: The New Racism

Residents in thirty states across the country have filed "secession petitions" to the Obama administration's "We the People" program, which is featured on the White House website. * 

The Civil War, no matter what one calls it ("War Between The States," "The War of Northern Aggression" or whatever), was about slavery.  South Carolina and the other southern states chose to secede from the Union in order to preserve slavery and President Lincoln fought to preserve the Union.

Today, these people saying that they want their state to secede from the Union are so transparent that it is ridiculous. Face it, they are racists who are offended that a black man has been elected, (not once, but twice), to live in the White House and lead our great country.

At one point, even the governor of Texas, Rick Perry, a Tea Party kind-of-guy, was floating the possibility of Texas seceding, but in an attempt to become more mainstream and rational,  has since  changed  his mind.

One would have thought that Americans had put racism behind us, but apparently there are still some among us  who consider the color of one's skin, whether it be white, brown or black, an indication of one's worth and character.

On the other hand,  that racism should rear its ugly head at this point in our history is to be expected. Racism is based on fear, and the demographics of the last election give the old power structure of wealthy, white males something to fear. They are no longer the majority. Their overwhelming support of Mitt Romney was of insufficient  importance.  The people of color (Asiatics, Latinos, and Blacks), the women, and the young carried the day for President Obama. On top of that, Pew Research predicts that the number of Latino voters will double to 40 million in the next twenty years. That is the new reality, and the wealthy, white males are reluctant to admit it. 

As a consequence, the more extreme among them are calling for secession.

It is interesting to imagine what a state like Arizona would be like after it seceded. For one thing, many of these people who want to secede live in states that receive more federal money than they pay in federal taxes. In fact, most of the "Red States" like Arizona get more than they pay.

But what would  Arizona be like after secession? Will they simply defund health care, education, transportation, and infrastructure projects? Will they have a border patrol to keep out undesirables from the other fifty states? Will they require a passport to enter ?  Would people from Colorado have to go through customs to enter Arizona? Will they levy import fees on gas tankers delivering gasoline from out of state? 

The list of questions could go on and on, but the bottom line is that a particular state needs the rest of us more than we need that state. Seceding is the equivalent of committing suicide because the sky is blue.

*(In response to the calls for secession, there is another petition: "Strip the Citizenship from Everyone who Signed a Petition to Secede and Exile them." I guess one extreme always generates another.)

Jon Husted, You're Living in the Wrong Country

Jon Husted, you have made a mockery of the office of Secretary State in the great state of Ohio.

In fact, Mr Husted, you're living in the wrong country. It's obvious you do not  believe in participatory democracy. You disavow the Gettysburg Address, in which President Abraham Lincoln (a Republican) called for "government of the people, by the people, and for the people." There are at least three amendments to the Constitution that reinforce the idea that governments, state or federal, cannot  restrict or abridge a citizen's right to vote. What is your problem, Jon Husted. Why do you not understand democracy?

Jon Husted, you are living in the wrong country. You should be living in Russia or Iran. Those countries practice what you were hoping to do in Ohio. In those countries the party in power rigs the voting system to their own advantage.  Exactly what you and other Koch Brothers officials have tried to do here. Thank God in the USA we have an independent judicial system which put a stop to your continued shenanigans.

And even then you had the audacity to order county election boards to defy a judge's order and not restore early voting hours. You relently only when being faced with the prospect of being hauled into court.

Your last minute directive to election officials on counting provisional ballots was "was a flagrant violation of a state election law" according to  Federal Judge Algenon Marbley.

I find it fortunate that my immigrant grandparents who chose to settle in Ohio did not live to see this day when the Ohio Secretary of State, instead of promoting voter turn-out, is spending the State's resources to squelch the vote.

Apparently we the people cannot remove you from office until your term expires, but we will remember in 2014.  But, although you may lose that election,  I am sure the Koch Brothers will take care of their boy and give you a nice salary as one of their lobbyists. And then, of course, there is Russia or Iran. Since you like their style of elections, Vladimir Putin or Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will be happy to avail themselves of your services.

In closing,  Jon,  I am sorry you find participatory democracy so cumbersome; most of us appreciate it and many of our ancestors and family member have sacrificed their lives to protect it.

Wealthy Old White Men Play the Blame Game

Wealthy Old White Men Playing
"The Blame Game"

The measure of the man is often how he handles defeat. Romney's delayed concession speech was not near that of John McCain's speech four years earlier, but then we could give him the benefit of the doubt since, for some reason in spite of the polls, he did not consider that he would lose. However, the next day after he had had time to consider his defeat, he was anything but gracious in that he blamed everyone but himself.

And, since then Republicans are offering all sorts of explanations (excuses) to explain the defeat, but never admitting that a majority of the voters chose President Obama rather than Governor Romney. Of course, the media and the fact-checker were out to get them. And they blamed the hurricanes, Isaac in Tampa, and Sandy on the East coast. Even more bizarre was Karl Rove who blamed the Obama campaign for using a standard GOP tactic -- suppressing the vote. (Karl, of course,  could not explain this charge in the face of the statistics). And finally a Wisconsin Republican suggested that Obama won because Americans are basically stupid.

Face it, the GOP seems incapable of handling defeat gracefully.

I might humbly suggest to Mitt that the real reason he  lost were the things he and his supporters said and did:

1) Mitt refused to let the American people view most of his federal tax returns.
2) Mitt said he didn't care about 47% of the voters because they were moochers.
3) The GOP Convention featured Clint Eastwood talking to an empty chair. (Has anyone told him there was no one in the chair?)
4) Rush Limbaugh called a co-ed a "slut," and the only thing Mitt disagreed with was the language.
5) Mitt insisted Jeep was going to move American jobs to China although the executives denied it.
6) Mitt supported keeping the Bush tax cuts for himself and the other inordinately wealthy fat cats.
7) In a prime-time speech at the GOP Convention Paul Ryan lied so often he had to spend the rest of the campaign backtracking.
8) Mitt adopted the joke about "self-deportation" as his immigration policy.
9) Mitt and his family stashed money in Switzerland and the Cayman Islands.
10) Mitt and Paul suggested that good wives should be home doing laundry.
11) Mitt continued to support an extremist candidate who spoke of "legitimate rape."
12) Mitt wrote an editorial advising us to allow the Detroit Auto Companies to go bankrupt.
13) Mitt's domestic policy was a rewrite of George W. Bush's. (I guess he thought we would forget that that policy led to the Great Recession.)
14) As for foreign policy, Mitt indicated he agreed with everything President Obama was doing.
15) Mitt changed his mind on at least 30 major issues in order to get the GOP nomination.
16) Mitt wanted to eliminate federal disaster relief and leave that job to the states or private contractors.
17) Mitt had "binders of women," but could not remember even one name.
18) In spite of fact-checkers pointing out their mendacity, Mitt and Paul continued to say Obamacare  "robbed" Medicare of $ 716 million (On the other hand Paul Ryan failed to mention what his proposed budget would do to Medicare.)
19) Wanting to cut student loans, Mitt suggested students borrow money from their parents. (You're right, he lives a totally different universe.)
20) And finally in his infamous "47% Talk," Mitt mentioned that he was hoping for an event such as the Iran Hostage Crisis that he would be able to exploit like Reagan had done years earlier to defeat Jimmy Carter.

That's enough. I choose to stop this list. If after all of these lies, miscues and gaffes, Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, and the "Wealthy Old Men and Their Dependents" who make up the GOP  choose to blame anyone but themselves, it is quite obvious that United States of America dodged a dangerous bullet on November 6, 2012.

Fix This Dysfunctional Voting System

Ballot Boxes

When President Obama in his "The best is yet to come" acceptance speech thanked his many supporters, volunteers  and those who had to stand in line for many hours in order to vote, he threw  in the line,"By the way, we have to fix that."

Our nation which prides itself on participatory democracy definitely needs to fix our dysfunctional system of electing leaders.

It has been twelve years since the fiasco of the  2000 Bush vs. Gore presidential election, and we still lack a system that ensures every citizen the constitutional right to vote. And, in addition to a broken system, we have elected government officials ( Ohio's John Husted and Florida's Rick Scott among others) who try to suppress the vote for their party's political  advantage.

For starters, the notion that a whole nation has to vote on one particular day -- the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November  -- is blatantly undemocratic. According to the U.S. Census Bureau there were 207,643,594 eligible voters in 2006. Ideally a participatory democracy would want all of these people to exercise their right to vote. If all of these people showed up to vote on Election Day, we would need four times more polling stations than there are gas stations. It makes no sense to invest that much in equipment and personnel for one or two election days a year.

Also, in terms of basic fairness, having to vote on a Tuesday during specified hours eliminates many who can't afford to leave their job or their family responsibilities, especially when they face the prospect of standing in line for hours. The man or woman who owns a coal mine is able to vote on a Tuesday afternoon with no financial penalty, but the man or woman in the mine shaft will not have that luxury.

And then there is the problem of the long lines. In Ohio on the Sunday before the election, early voters had to wait in line four or five hours to vote. And this was by design. When the courts forced Ohio Secretary of State, John Husted to allow early voting on the weekend, he limited the hours and the number of voting locations. There was only one voting location in all of Lucas County. In Dayton some early voters were given the wrong ballots.

On day in Florida the polls closed at 7 P.M., but there were so many people in line that some did not get to vote until 1 A.M. In some counties in Tennessee and South Carolina, voters had to wait in line four hours. In Virginia people were still in line after 11 P.M. Nationally 43% of the voters had to wait 15 minutes or more.

It's no surprise either that the delays and long lines are in urban areas where minorities are located in large numbers.

And what's with Florida? Again? It's been 2 days since the election and they still don't know who won.

Florida is indicative of our broken system. We are electing the President of the United States, but we leave the process of running elections in the hands of state, county and city leaders. In the interest of  democracy, fairness, efficiency, and uniformity, it is time for the federal government to set  specific standards for voting across the whole country.

The first standard should deal with early voting. The opportunity to vote early is a necessity, and it should be the same for everyone in all 50 states, providing weekend and evening voting times. Secondly, precincts should be required to have adequate voting machines and poll workers to serve the number of eligible registered voters. The standard should be uniform from city to suburbs, and state to state. Thirdly, poll workers should be trained and tested on their responsibilities and paid as well as comparable skilled workers.

And, very importantly, federal regulations for federal elections should include uniform standards for voter eligibility and identification. It is fundamentally unjust if a voter is rejected in one state, but another voter in the same situation is permitted to vote in the neighboring state. The country as a whole has to determine uniform and just standards for federal elections. The president is the president of the entire country, and the voters of the whole country should have the same opportunity to elect their president.

Let's face it, it's 2012 and it is past time to fix our dysfunctional and inequitable voting system.

We are the United States, Not Fifty States

In a constitutional democracy such as that in the USA,  the role of the federal government is always going to be a topic of debate. Our founders had  difficulty agreeing on the role of the federal government vs. that of state governments.


Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, we have what we have, and we have to continue to work out the  conflict as we go. In the current 2012 election, the issue is: what is the role of the federal government in solving the problems that confront the country?

Rugged individualism and self-reliance are American values and go back to the earliest days of our country's founding; but are they the solutions to  the issues our country has to face? Is allowing every American to own an AK47 and a  drone missile the answer to our national security? Even the so-called "patriots" hiding out in the mountains and not paying their taxes do not believe that.  Our national security depends on all of us pooling our resources to build a federal security force. 

In spite of the current rhetoric, there are some things the federal government can do better than the states or private enterprise. Dwight D. Eisenhower's vision for an Interstate Highway System was only possible on the Federal level. And, although it was mismanaged in the case of Katrina, the best method we have to deal with disaster relief is the federal government (FEMA).

But, in this political campaign  Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan  ( don't forget Paul Ryan, he is even more scary than Mitt) want to eliminate FEMA  Romney says: "We cannot afford to do those things (Federal disaster relief) without jeopardizing the future for our kids. It is simply immoral, in my view, for us to continue to rack up larger and larger debts and pass them on to our kids." His recommendation is that we transfer disaster relief to the states, and preferably to private for-profit contractors. *

Are you kidding me, Mitt? You think your profit-seeking private companies are going to keep people safe, fed, and surviving.?  I suspect they will be as successful as the private contractors George W. Bush and Dick Cheney sent into Iraq.

And at one point, Mitt suggesting eliminating FEMA and giving the money to the states to deal with their own disasters. Please explain how that will work. Can Mitt  predict in which states the disasters are going to occur?  Would he have allocated enough to New Jersey and New York to cover the costs of Sandy?  Would he give the same amount to Utah as Missouri?

Face it; there are some things the Federal government can do better. We are the UNITED STATES, and we provide assistance to our fellow citizens who are in need.  We need unity, not division.

We cannot allow Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan to divide us,

*Of course, as he has done on almost every issue, Romney  after trying to avoid the topic during Hurricane Sandy, is now backtracking.

Ohio Coal Miners Not Duped By GOP

As  a fan of Jim Hightower who writes for Nation of Change I  read  his article, "The Corporate Mad Dogs of Citizens United" published on October 31, 2012. Within that article was the following quotation which I want  to share in light of the attempt by Mitt Romney and Josh Mandel, (the candidate who actually had the nerve to mimic a southern accent)  to appeal to coal miners. Mitt and Josh  obviously think coal miners are too ignorant to recognize the facts. The fact is Ohio's  miners are nobody's fools. They recognize GOP duplicity when they see it and in this election cycle they are seeing "ten ton" of it.

"So, sure, this is America, where we're all equal as citizens — you, me and the Fortune 500. And don't forget that you're perfectly free to defy the guy who can fire you for whatever reason he makes up — or for no reason at all. Good luck with that.

For a rich example of unbridled boss power in today's political process, harken back to August, when Mitt Romney appeared on a stage with a group of Ohio coal miners arrayed behind him. "I tell ya," the clueless candidate cheerfully exclaimed, "you've got a great boss."

That would be Robert Murray, CEO of Murray Energy, who'd previously held a $1.7 million fundraiser for Romney. But if Mitt had just turned around and seen the scowls on the soot-smeared faces of the Murray miners, he would've had a clue that they didn't quite share his enthusiasm for their "great boss."

One reason for their grumpiness is that they hadn't volunteered to be there, but had been directed by Bossman Bob to attend. Also, Bob was docking them a day's pay for "taking the day off" to serve as stage props for Mitt's campaign. In effect, they were compelled to donate to the Republican. That'll make you grouchy.

As uncovered in an investigative report by The New Republic, such involuntary support is routinely demanded from the salaried employees of Murray Energy. They get hit up again and again for donations to Romney and such other designated candidates as Sens. Rand Paul, Scott Brown, Jim DeMint, and David Vitter.

Murray himself sends dunning letters to employees' homes, specifying to each one how much to give and instructing them to send their checks directly to corporate headquarters. Staffers there maintain a list of those who did as told — and those who didn't. "If you don't contribute, your job's at stake," one employee bluntly explained. "There's a lot of coercion," he adds, "They will give you a call if you're not giving."

Indeed, Murray deploys his lieutenants to squeeze the laggards — as the boss put it in one letter to them last year: "Please see that our salaried employees 'step up,' for their own sakes." And, in another letter this March, he pointedly named names: "I do not recall ever seeing the attached list of employees ... at one of our fundraisers."

After Romney's "great boss" statement, he added that Murray "runs a great operation here." Yeah — a political shakedown operation by the 2012, court-sanctioned, corporate version of political bossism. If you needed another reason to support a constitutional amendment overturning Citizens United, there it is."

Copyright Creators.com

Our coal miners provide an important, vital service to the country in life-threatening situations, and they should not be treated as Medieval serfs by the wealthy, the plutocrats,  the corporations, and the GOP. They deserve our respect and support.

"Beastly Things" by Donna Leon

Fans of Donna Leon and her Venetian police detective, Commissario Guido Brunetti, will be pleased to get their hands on her latest,  Beastly Things.

In this case, Guido has little to go on other than the unidentifiable body that was found floating in one of the canals, but with the help of the beautiful and mysterious secretary,  Signorina Elletra , who has an uncanny ability to mine the digital world for all  sorts of information, he and Viannello begin to put the puzzle pieces in place.

In many of the previous novels, Guido in spite of all his best efforts in solving the crime, has to watch helplessly as the Venetian judicial system allows one or more of the "bad guys' to escape any  significant consequences. In this case, Guido manages to control the outcome satisfying his own sense of justice.

At one point in the story, Paola Brunetti recalls that during a financially rocky period, her mother refused to serve anything  but Parmigiano Reggiano, saying "Better nothing than something that isn't good." Although Donna Leon and her character, Guido, have been at this for a long time, the "good" parmigiano she produces just gets better.

The Three Faces of Mitt Romney

Mitt's Etch-a-Sketch
"I shake it and start over."

I had lunch today with my friend Stan, who unlike my other Republican friend, Buck, who has been disillusioned by Mitt Romney, has remained a stalwart GOP supporter. Although we have heated debates about politics, Stan is an old friend and we are able to maintain that friendship in spite of our differences.

Today, when I referred to "The Three Romneys," he didn't seem to know what I was talking about. Therefore, I had to explain to him that the "First Romney" who was running for the governorship of Massachusetts, proposed a liberal agenda to appeal to the voters of a liberal state. His campaign was successful and he implemented a liberal agenda including a health care program very similar to what he calls "Obamacare."

When he ran for the Republican nomination in 2008, he was considered too liberal for a Republican Party co-opted by the Fundamentalists and the Ultraconservatives.

Having learned his lesson, in the 2012 campaign, chameleon Mitt changed his positions to conform to win the support of the extremist right-wing of the party. This was Mitt #2! And viola, he received the nomination. Then he chose Paul Ryan, the disciple of Russian atheist,  Ayn Rand, and was now on the side of dismantling existing social safety networks.

But Mitt #2 could not win the general election with the baggage he had picked up in his quest for the GOP nomination. No problem. As one of his staff in a moment of honesty revealed, we have an Etch-a-Sketch. We shake it, wipe the slate clean and then we reinvent Mitt Romney #3 who can compete in the general  election. This is the Mitt Romney we are seeing now: the Mitt Romney who is protecting most of his tax returns from public scrutiny, agrees with President Obama's foreign policy, tries to deny he wanted the US auto industry to go bankrupt, promotes George W. Bush's domestic policies but doesn't want to be associated with him, and fears to speak out against the crazies in his own party who speak of "legitimate rape."

We know there are three different Mitt Romneys based on the expediency of getting elected. How many more Mitts are there waiting in the wings?

P.S. The problem with my friend, Stan, and perhaps many other voters is that they have conveniently forgotten the earlier Mitt Romneys and have to be reminded how often he has changed his position on major policy issues. I began listing the Romney flip-flops on a napkin, but Stan stopped me at 20 plus.
For some of the major Romney Reversals cf: http://ronstidbits.blogspot.com/2012/08/romney-reversals-cast-long-shadows.html

Whether it is "Romnesia," as President Obama kindly refers to it, or political expediency, the question becomes: Can we trust Mitt Romney?

Politicized Pulpits

A 1954 amendment to the tax code prohibits all tax exempt organizations,  including churches, from "directly or indirectly" endorsing candidates

The Law of the Land is simple: if any  religious organization, "directly or indirectly" endorses political candidates, they have forfeited their tax-exempt status.

If religious leaders, bishops, pastors, ministers rabbis, imams, or any others "directly or indirectly" attempt to influence their followers, they are breaking the law and should lose their tax-exempt status. It's time the IRS enforce the law. Some Catholic bishops and priests, and some Protestant bishops and ministers are blatantly violating the law. It is time for the IRS to begin legal proceedings against these  violators.

Granted, the clergy have the right to free speech as does everyone sitting in the congregation (1st Amendment) , but they do not have the right to use the pulpit for political propaganda. If they insist on using the pulpit as a means of promoting or opposing political candidates, they may do so; but they should be deprived of their tax-exempt status.

It is that very same 1st Amendment which our founding Fathers in their wisdom  chose to separate Church and State. Bottom line: do not mix religious beliefs and politics!

The separation of church and state is uniquely an American concept. Article VI of the Constitution states: "No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States." Teddy Roosevelt, a Republican,  was adamant about this provision of the Constitution when he insisted,  in an era of anti-Catholicism, that a candidate's Catholicism was not an impediment to public office.

Ironically, today we have Catholic bishops and priests trying to breach the wall of separation of church and state.by claiming a "Catholic exemption" to health care rules based on their "belief" that contraception is immoral. Meanwhile some of these same Catholic clerics are breaking the law by using their tax-free pulpits to influence votes for or against a particular candidate.

In their role as citizens, clergy have the right, like the rest of us, to endorse or oppose any candidate, but the law prohibits them from using their tax-exempt religious organization to endorse or oppose. Those who continue to break the law should have their tax-exempt status revoked.

There of course is an alternative, The clergy who want to use their pulpit illegally to support candidates have the opportunity to practice civil disobedience in the tradition of Thoreau, Gandhi, Martin Luther King and the Berrigan brothers. They can break the law, and in their case, instead of going to prison,  return the money resulting from their tax-free status to the U.S. government.  Don't hold your breath waiting for that to happen.

Romney Haunted by George W. Bush

After three weeks (I had been on vacation), Buck and I resumed our weekly breakfast at Nick's Diner. I was sporting a sun tan and Buck was wearing a scowl. His greeting: " I hope you scored a shit-load of birdies down there while I had to play golf in in the wind, rain and cold up here in Toledo."

"Give me a break, Buck. You're confusing me with my brother, Jim, who considers pars normal and a birdie here and there as part of a normal round."

At this point, the hostess seated us at our favorite table, and Sara brought us our coffees. "I thought you guys deserted us for that franchise down the road."

"No way!" Buck interjected. "My friend, and I use that term loosely, decided to go to Hilton Head, and I was left to survive on my own."

"Oh you poor baby!" Sara said with mild sarcasm

"May I remind you, Sara, that I am a paying customer and your blatant ridicule could influence your tip.".

"I regret to say this, Buck, but your tips have not set any Guinness records"

Buck ignored that comment and suggested, " Perhaps you would be so kind as to take our orders?

After Buck ordered an "All American Omelette," and I my favorite "Boston Breakfast," I made the mistake of asking whether he had seen the second Obama-Romney debate. "Yes my man, It was the best presidential debate of all time. Two alpha males strutting around the stage and going at it nose to nose. The only thing missing were the boxing gloves."

"Granted the theatrics were mildly amusing, but what about the ideas?"

"What about Romney's refusal to answer a question? A lady asked Mitt to describe how he is similar to and different from George W. Bush, and he turned his back on her and talked about something else. Of course, he's the same guy who told us that he doesn't care about 47% of the country. Obviously this woman is someone he doesn't care about. Although  he is promoting the same failed policies of George W. Bush, his pollsters must have told him that he doesn't want to be associated with George W.In fact I think he must be afraid to look in the mirror in the morning because he might see George W. looking back.  And who can blame him? That has to be really scary, especially the first thing in the morning."

"Well," I said, " he tells us he can create 12 million new jobs and he has 'a binder of women' to appoint to high level jobs. What's wrong with that?"

"You have to be pulling my leg. This is the man who closed American plants and sent jobs over-seas in order to make money for Bain Capital. He even described in detail to his billionaire contributors the terrible working conditions of young Chinese women working in plants that Bain Capital was invested in. As for creating jobs, his party has almost unanimously voted against every job-creating bill in Congress. As they were wont to say, 'It's not about what is good for the country, it's about defeating President Obama.'"

"That's not what the Founding Fathers had in mind when they asked representatives  to swear to promote  'the General Welfare," I said.

"Probably not;  but they would never have envisioned a Supreme Court decision similar to Citizens United., allowing unlimited,  anonymous spending for a political candidate, even if the money is coming from foreign sources."

"It blows my mind that true conservatives would agree with something like that," I said.

"Expediency, my boy. The Republicans are cashing in  and that's all they care about. Barry Goldwater would be outraged, but this generation of conservative lacks his principles."

When Sara brought our food and asked whether we would like anything else, Buck asked, "Sara, do you believe women and men should be paid the same for doing the same job?"

"Absolutely!"

"Are you familiar with the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act?"

After a brief hesitation, Sara said, "Isn't that the law that allows women the right to file sit against employers who practice gender discrimination?"

"Exactly!  You are on top of things. Would you be surprised to know that Mitt Romney was opposed to that bill?"

"Of course not. He and his Mormon friends think women like me should stay in the house doing laundry and baking cookies."

Buck asked, "You have a problem with that?"

Her eyes riveted on Buck as she stepped closer. "The only reason I am not pouring this hot coffee on your crotch is your senility."