Category Archives: Women’s Rights

A Nation Of Crises.

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Every day I receive dozens of emails and letters asking me to help save the oceans, save the environment, save children, save wildlife, save food stamps, increase the minimum wage, stop voter suppression, stop global warming, stop the pipeline, stop racism, stop the attacks on women’s rights, stop the attacks on education, stop the attacks on science, demand gun control, end hunger, end poverty, etc., etc., etc…

It’s all very depressing.

Of course, these are all very real and serious issues, and the organizations asking for help are well-run and well-intentioned. They deserve our support. But I finally realized that all of the issues are related. They are all the result of corporate greed and ideological candidates supported by billionaires and big business.

Our oceans are being destroyed by greedy oil companies and by large, commercial fishing operations. Our air and water are being polluted by corporations who would rather dump toxins into the environment than sacrifice a portion of their profits to clean up after themselves. Poverty and hunger are the result of corporations who are more intent on rewarding investors and executives with large bonuses than paying workers a livable wage. Global warming is the result of corporate-backed congressmen who prioritize subsidies for oil companies over subsidies for alternative energy sources.

Many chronic health issues and diseases are the result of corporate farming practices and food processing companies that intentionally poison our food in order to increase profits. The attacks on science, education and voter rights are designed and paid for by large corporations in order to maintain control of our government. The lack of funding for social safety nets such as food stamps, Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare are the result of corporate fraud and abuse, as well as tax loopholes that allow corporations and the wealthy to avoid paying their fair share of taxes.

Almost every one of our problems is the result of large, multinational corporations and the billionaires who run them treating the Earth as a source of commercial resources and people as commodities.

Since I can’t afford to donate to every good cause, I’ve decided to donate to candidates who place people above corporations.

I will vote against candidates who support corporations that pay employees a minimum wage while paying CEOs millions; that damage our environment and our food supply. I will vote against those who accept large donations from such corporations regardless of which party they represent. I will not spend another dime to purchase products and services from corporations that harm our citizens, our nation and our environment.

If corporations only care about money, I will deny them the thing they want most. I hope you will consider doing the same.

Everything You Need To Know About Today’s GOP In One Button.

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In case anyone could confuse Teapublicans for reasonable people, it should be noted that the following button was offered for sale at the California GOP convention: “KFC Hillary Special – 2 Fat Thighs, 2 Small Breasts, Left Wing.”

Wow! Just wow!

This is from the party that claims to respect women all the while they try to invade their bodies, restrict their access to contraceptives and take away their access to health care. Imagine if Democrats put out a button that pondered whether or not Mitch McConnell can look past his gut to see his penis. Or a button that pondered the size of John Boehner’s testicles. Or a button that pondered whether Michele Bachmann’s brain is bigger than her mouth. Oh, wait, I think Michele has already answered that question.

But don’t get the idea that the GOP is merely offensive to women. They seem to delight in nasty attacks on all groups. They have created equally offensive materials against minorities, gays and anyone else who opposes their narrow-minded agenda. For example the same GOP convention that displayed the Hillary button offered buttons that read: “I still hate Commies even after they changed their name to Liberals.”

This is the sort of stuff that makes political compromise virtually impossible. You can’t seriously negotiate with someone who openly disrespects you. And those in today’s GOP have made it abundantly clear that they have absolutely no respect for anyone who opposes them. They compare gay marriage with bestiality and incest. They call the working poor “freeloaders.” They attack minorities who demand equality for “playing the race card.” They dismiss environmentalists as “tree huggers.” They call President Obama a “socialist Kenyan Muslim” and worse. They call scientific evidence a “hoax.” They even call public education “socialism.”

At the same time, they portray themselves  as the “real patriots.” They wrap themselves in the American flag and wave their pocket copies of the Constitution. And they threaten to “use their 2nd Amendment rights” to enforce their narrow-minded point of view.

Now imagine trying to negotiate important issues with these people. Do you really think Democrats and Progressives can have an adult conversation with them over the future of our nation? It would take a far better person than me.

How To Shut Up Teapublicans.

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John Boehner, Ted Cruz, et al are fond of blaming President Obama and Sen. Harry Reid for the government shutdown. In doing so, they claim that the Democrats “refuse to negotiate.”

Negotiate what?

The only thing Teapublicans want to “negotiate” is the Affordable Care Act, a bill that was duly passed by both houses of Congress, signed into law by the President and found to be constitutional by the US Supreme Court. That simply cannot be negotiated. It can be repealed. But that would take an act of both houses of Congress and the signature of the President, and that’s simply not going to happen.

So how about this? What if Obama and Reid offer to delay some aspects of the Affordable Care Act for a year in exchange for Teapublican agreement to pass a strict gun control bill that will ban all semi-automatic weapons and a bill to provide federally-funded abortions for any woman who needs one? I’m sure a majority in the Senate would agree to that, as well as the President.

What’s that you say? That’s unreasonable? Really?

It’s no more unreasonable than what Teapublicans are asking. So tell you what. When Teapublicans finally decide that they want to negotiate the federal budget in good faith, they should pass a temporary funding bill to restart the government. Then they should sit down with Democrats to discuss the budget like adults. That means both sides need to compromise.

Until then, the President and Senator Reid should stand pat.

An Ugly GOP Strategy Gets Even Uglier.

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As long ago as the late sixties and early eighties, Republican leaders developed a unique election strategy. They intentionally made politics so messy; so reprehensibly ugly; so divisive that many moderate voters became disgusted with the whole political process and tuned out. The idea was that by diminishing the votes of moderates, the primaries and elections would be decided by the most rabid conservative base.

At the same time, they attacked the mainstream news outlets in order to create distrust of the media and objective reporting. This allowed partisan talk show hosts and conservative pundits to confuse voters and control the political message.

It worked.

This strategy was at the heart of many GOP victories over the past 40 years. It was never more obvious than in the events leading up to the 2010 mid-term elections. And it would have worked again in 2012 if not for an energized  Democratic majority and a bartender who captured Mitt Romney’s comments about the 47 percent.

Not content with demoralizing and repulsing a large number of moderates, the GOP and its Tea Party parasites have set about passing voter ID laws designed to diminish the participation of other segments of the electorate…including the poor, the elderly and minorities. The fewer of these Democratic-leaning voters who participate, the easier it will be for conservatives to win elections.

Combine these strategies with the financial backing of large corporations and wealthy contributors such as the Koch brothers, and we might see a conservative landslide in 2014.

Given the changing demographics of our nation and the coming minority majority, these cynical GOP strategies can’t work for long and Teapublicans know it. But they can create a lot of mischief in the meantime. You need only look at the ultra-conservative bills that have been pushed through states with a Teapublican majority in the legislature and a Teapublican governor.

Arizona, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Texas and others have acted like States Gone Wild with their anti-woman, anti-abortion, anti-tax, anti-union, anti-minority and pro-gun legislation. Many of their measures are unpopular with a majority of their citizens. But the majority is helpless to do anything to stop the bills or overturn them until there’s a change in state governments. And change is unlikely anytime in the near future because of Teapublican gerrymandering designed to keep them in power for years.

The only chance for change is for moderates to become re-engaged; to tune out the relentless negative campaign ads; to look beyond the headlines; to ignore the sound bites; to approach elections by studying the candidates and their policies with the same attitude as studying for a college final; then vote!

The Government Of Me.

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As the Tea Party wing of the Republican Party continues to express outrage at our federal government, it becomes increasingly clear that the Tea Party simply does not understand the concept of a democratic republic. Its members ignore the fact that the Articles of Confederation were replaced by a Constitution that created a strong, centralized federal government. They ignore the fact that the power of the federal government versus the power of the states was thoroughly debated by our Founding Fathers, and the Federalists won. They quote the Constitution’s Tenth Amendment while ignoring all of its original Articles that gave the federal government sweeping powers to “provide for the general Welfare of the United States.”

Indeed, they even seem to ignore the “United” in United States!

At the heart of the Tea Party anger seems to be a misunderstanding of what constitutes a democracy. By its very nature, a democracy is based on majority rule. That means a minority, sometimes a significant minority, is often unhappy with the direction of our government. And, as the result of a quirk in our Electoral College, following the 2000 presidential election, a significant majority of our citizens were unhappy with the outcome, having voted for another candidate.

The Tea Party members refuse to acknowledge that President Obama was elected and re-elected by significant majorities of voters. They ignore the fact that the 2012 election was, in essence, a referendum on support for the middle class; for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid; for the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare).

They continue to claim that Obama was born in Kenya and should, therefore, be disqualified from holding the office of president. They continue to howl that financial and environmental regulations are “job killers.” They consider his signature accomplishment of making health care affordable to all Americans a socialist government “takeover.” And, instead of accepting majority rule, they seem determined to take away the voting rights of African-Americans, Latinos, students, women, and the poor – anyone who might vote against the Tea Party agenda.

In other words, as they wave the American flag and their pocket copies of the Constitution with only the Second and Tenth Amendments highlighted, they are attempting to cut out the very heart of our democracy…that of majority rule.

The Tea Party refuses to accept that our nation is evolving; that the minorities of brown and black are the majorities of the future. The “I’ve got mine, you can’t have yours” crowd can’t bear the idea of change; of giving power to others. I believe that is what’s behind their animosity toward President Obama.

They can’t accept forward-thinking ideas such as investing in our failing infrastructure while interest rates are at all-time lows. They can’t understand that a tax policy that punishes greed and rewards corporate investment in our nation benefits the vast majority of our citizens. They can’t grasp that jobs paying a living wage are necessary to the health of our nation and benefit us all. They can’t see that an environmental policy that conserves the health of our planet benefits everyone. As long as they have theirs, they refuse to accept the notion that affordable health care and a comfortable retirement are rights, not benefits.

Our Founding Fathers had the wisdom to create a government “of the people, by the people and for the people” – the majority of people.

If you want a government “of the people, by the people and for me” you’re in the wrong place. You should find a remote, uninhabited island where you can become supreme dictator. Otherwise, it’s time you learned to accept majority rule.

Stop & Frisk Old White Men.

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Since dimwits like Bill O’Reilly think the NYC Stop & Frisk program is so great, I propose it be redirected for a year or so. Instead of targeting minorities, let the police target white guys around Wall Street. After all, they have been responsible for far greater crimes than minorities, having stolen trillions of dollars over the past 30 years.

The bad guys are easy to spot. Instead of hoodies, they wear expensive suits and lounge in the back of black limos.

I, for one, would love to see them forced to spread their legs and arms, patted down and asked what they’re doing in the neighborhood and where they’re going. Then, if they object, they could be slammed to the ground, cuffed and taken to jail to be booked for obstructing an officer in his, or her, duties. Let them be held overnight and assigned a public defender (no overpaid Wall Street attorneys allowed).

Just for good measure, the police should also patrol the neighborhood of Fox News. After all, it has been the center of crimes against reality and facts. And don’t forget to include balding, angry white guys in the profile. Then they would be certain to catch O’Reilly in the dragnet.

Seriously, why not?

It would do the nation a lot of good, and it would almost certainly put an end to other senseless, racist measures. And as long as we’re on the subject let’s force cavity searches or similarly invasive procedures on all white male legislators. That might give them pause before voting for more mandatory invasive procedures on pregnant women.

Finally, let’s limit voting centers and voting hours in wealthy white neighborhoods forcing voters to stand in line for six, seven, eight hours or more. Then when they eventually get to the head of the line, they could have their IDs questioned and given a provisional ballot that may or may not be counted.

Still Gutless After All These Years.

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The Democratic Party can claim a number of major accomplishments for the American people. It’s the party that led the US out of the Great Depression. It’s the party that created Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. It stood behind workers in their fight for labor unions. And it passed the Civil Rights Act at the risk of alienating Southern voters.

All of those things took strong leadership.

But in recent years, Democrats in Congress have been content to read the tea leaves (aka public polling) before taking a step.

Following a succession of failed presidential campaigns in the 1970’s and 80’s, the party became hesitant to take strong, principled stands. Certainly, many Democrats have offered support for gay rights and women’s rights. Most have supported labor and jobs initiatives. Democrats have supported education and environmental groups. They have supported government regulation of financial markets, pharmaceuticals, food safety and more.

But Democrats have also allowed Republicans to block presidential appointments and legislation. They have allowed an unelected political operative (Grover Norquist) to dominate economic policy with his no new taxes pledge.They have allowed Republicans and their Tea Party parasites to dominate the political narrative. Worse, like their Republican opponents, too many Democrats have become dependent on large corporations and special interests for campaign donations.

The rare exception to this pattern of weak-kneed governing is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act aka Obamacare.

It’s time for Democrats to show they can do more. They need to show they’re willing to take strong, principled stands regardless of the consequences; to push big initiatives such as rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, creating a modern and efficient electrical grid, and creating a modern rail system. Initiatives that would create tens of thousands of high-paying jobs and push the US back into a leadership position for decades to come.

It’s time for our Attorney General to prosecute and jail those on Wall Street who crashed our economy by engaging in high stakes gambling with depositors’ money. It’s time for Congress to reform our tax codes and eliminate corporate incentives that send jobs and cash offshore. It’s time to punish those who evade taxes by parking money in the world’s tax havens.

Yes, the GOP-controlled House will likely try to block such initiatives. It shouldn’t matter.

If Democrats show a commitment to do what’s right; if they put the needs of our nation above special interests; if they clearly explain the benefits of their initiatives; if they draw a stark contrast between themselves and the opposition; if they show they are serious about exposing and punishing corruption, they will dominate the political landscape for generations.

Governing should not rely on political polls. I trust the American people to recognize honesty and strength. If our representatives do the right thing, they will almost certainly be re-elected. If they don’t, they deserve to lose.

Yes, Virginia, There Is Corruption.

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The now almost daily revelations of deceit and corruption by Virginia’s Governor Bob McDonnell are a smorgasbord of everything wrong with politics. Indeed, it seems everything that could go wrong has gone wrong in Virginia.

McDonnell accepted $145,000 from Jonnie R. Williams, Sr., the owner of a Virginia-based nutritional supplement company. In addition, he and his wife have reportedly accepted favors and gifts amounting to tens of thousands of dollars. In return, McDonnell allegedly offered unparalleled access and support to Williams. For example, McDonnell offered to host a launch party at the governor’s mansion for Williams’ product. And, according to new allegations, McDonnell helped Williams arrange meetings with other state officials.

Clearly, this is an example of government for sale. In any state, at any level of government, such activities meet the definition of influence peddling.

What makes McDonnell’s actions all the more astounding is that, by pushing a law requiring a vaginal ultrasound for any woman considering an abortion in Virginia, McDonnell made himself the center of attention. Could he really be so greedy and arrogant that he thought he could hide his corruption despite such attention?

Obviously, the answer is yes.

McDonnell has become a poster boy for governmental corruption. As such, he should immediately resign. And, if the allegations can be proven in court, he should spend a considerable time in prison where he, too, may learn what it’s like to be forced to accept an unwanted invasive procedure.

Egypt’s Morsi = America’s GOP

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When asked to explain the removal of President Mohamed Morsi, Egyptian leaders said that Morsi had offered no plan; no vision to solve the nation’s problems. Instead, he focused on consolidating the power of the Muslim Brotherhood and instituting Sharia law.

In many ways, his actions paralleled those of the GOP in the US.

Like Egypt, we have millions of unemployed. We have tens of thousands of recent college graduates with no jobs; not even any prospects of jobs. We have millions who, despite working full-time jobs, live in poverty. Our infrastructure is crumbling around us.

So how are Congressional Republicans dealing with these problems?

Like the Muslim Brotherhood, they are focused on consolidating power. In Republican-controlled states, they are gerrymandering Congressional districts to ensure their re-election. They are pushing through laws to limit the voting rights of minorities. And they are instituting their own form of repressive, antiquated laws to control women’s bodies; to control who may marry; to pick economic winners and losers.

The GOP has offered no legislation to address our growing number of problems. No jobs bills. No plan to rebuild infrastructure. No plan to help workers earn a living wage. No plan to break up our growing number of monopolies. No plan to deal with climate change. No plan to control healthcare costs. No plan to take the corruption out of politics.

The GOP’s only vision is to obstruct the plans of President Obama. If anything, that makes them worse than Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood.

Grand Old Party Of Hate.

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After last year’s failure to elect a president, you would think that the GOP would stop trying to be the stupid, anti-minority, anti-woman, anti-poor party.

You’d be wrong.

Confirming that the Tea Party Parasites are firmly in control of the GOP, red states across the country are refusing to expand Medicaid making it difficult for the working poor to get access to healthcare. Many states are also using bullying tactics and tricks to pass legislation that not only takes away a woman’s right to choose. The same legislation is forcing women to pay for ultrasounds they neither want nor need; to eliminate women’s health clinics; to limit women’s access to contraceptives.

Already this year, Speaker John Boehner has stated that he will not bring forward the Senate’s immigration reform bill. GOP legislators are, once again, trying to suppress the voting rights of minorities. And GOP legislators and congressmen are still trying to deny gays and lesbians the right to marry.

What all of these issues have in common is that they are attempts to deny rights to individuals.

Instead of following their oft-stated goal of limited government, GOP leaders are trying to use the government to discriminate against large segments of our population. And they’ll continue their politics of discrimination and hate until voters make them pay. Not just for a single election year, but for three or four election cycles. Long enough to force a permanent change in the party.