Positive Political Developments

#1:  Michelle Bachmann announced that she would not run again for Congress.  She said the fact that she is being investigated for campaign ethics violations has no connection to her decision.  That she almost lost her last election also has nothing to do with the decision.  She may actually be right.  For a time she will rake in the big bucks on the “Crazy Right-Wing Speakers Tour.”  (I think that is what they call it.)

#2:  Lincoln Chafee, former U.S. Senator, and the kind of reasonable moderate Republican once common to New England, switched to Independent to run for Governor of Rhode Island in 2010o.  He switched again, this time to become a Democrat.  Welcome aboard, Gov. Chafee.  

Tax breaks

“Major tax breaks favor rich minority.”  That was an actual headline in the Morning Call today.  Is that really news?  What can we expect tomorrow?  “Rich minority has disproportionate influence on elections.”  “Rich minority gets better health care.”   “Kids of rich minority more likely to attend top colleges.”

But just in case you are interested, the article says that the Congressional Budget Office found that 17% of the tax breaks go to the top 1% of households--those making more than $450,000 a year.  Approximately 70% of the benefits from the lower tax rate on capital gains and dividends is going to the top 1%.  

On the other hand, I believe those people are the “job creators.”  Or so I’ve heard.

Cross-filing

Pennsylvania has some of the most repressive ballot access laws of any of the fifty states.  On-line registration is not permitted.  Early voting is not permitted.  No-excuse absentees are not permitted.  A narrowly-defined picture I.D. requirement may still be imposed depending on a court ruling in July.

One of the state’s oddest ballot policies relates to cross-filing.  School board candidates are permitted to run as Democrats and Republicans, no matter what their registration.  I suppose the thinking is that educational policies aren’t all that partisan, although the battles over “creationism,” sex education, and teachers’ pay are definitely political.  

Other offices, such as local tax collector, which appear to be almost completely administrative, feature partisan battles.   (Why do we even have local tax collectors?)

The exception to strict nomination partisanship occurs with write-ins.  John Wieczorek, write-in candidate for Mahoning Township Supervisor, will be running as both Democrat and Republican in November.  Helen Torok, write-in candidate for Lehighton Borough Council, will also be running in both parties.  Perhaps even stranger, Rodney George, a Republican, is the Democratic write-in candidate for Supervisor in Towamensing Township.  

Who writes these laws?

501(c)(4) groups, aka tax cheaters

The main purpose of a 501 (c)(4) group is supposed to be “public education.”  That’s what the group does so its donors can claim a tax credit.

How about the Ohio Liberty Coalition, which sent out emails to its members about Romney campaign events and distributed Romney’s campaign literature?

How about the Alabama Wetumpka Tea Party, which sponsored training for get-out-the-vote training dedicated to the “defeat of President Obama”?

These are just two of the groups that complain that they were targeted by the I.R.S.  Well, yeah, and they should have been.  This whole “scandal” is an attempt to intimidate the I.R.S. from doing its job.  

(Information on the groups mentioned was taken from an article entitled “Groups Targeted by the I.R.S. Tested Rules on Politics,” New York Times, May 27, 2013, p. 1.  The opinion expressed, however, is mine alone.)

The "clean-up bill"

In the 1980s I was a field rep. for California State Senator Jerry Smith.  Sen. Smith, who represented more constituents than a U.S. Representative, was the author of the legislation which made the California coast public property.  He also authored the legislation on joint custody for children of divorced parents.  I am proud to have worked for him.

Although I had taught CA state government before my work as a field rep., I had never heard of a “clean-up bill.”  I learned that when any major legislation passed the California legislature, the next year would invariably see a clean-up bill.  This was legislation to fix unanticipated consequences that occurred with any major legislative initiative.  It was routine, and both parties understood the need for it.

Problems have arisen with Obamacare.  The Democrats see the need for a clean-up bill.  Unfortunately, given the Republican efforts to kill the whole program (37 votes in the House so far), Democratic legislators are unwilling to open a debate on the bill.

On this Memorial Day I have heard a number of references to the U.S. being the 

Greatest County on Earth.  I’m not buying it.  We can’t even pass a clean-up bill.  

Carbon County Trash

No, I’m not talking about the meth lab operators in Lehighton and Lansford, I’m talking about the trash you put out each week.  

About two months ago the Carbon County Commissioners decided the county could no longer afford its recycling program and eliminated the department that supervised the program.  In the past county residents could drive to the blue bins and deposit paper, cardboard, plastics #1 and #2, tin and aluminum cans, and bottles.  

I might note here that most of the boroughs in Carbon County did have their own programs.  The County program was mainly for the townships, and evidently some borough residents were annoyed that their taxes helped to pay for a program their residents did not use.  

In the past few weeks I and other volunteers called every Carbon County municipality--township and borough--to ascertain whether or not they had a recycling program.  The good news is that almost all of the municipalities either had pre-existing programs or were scrambling to create new programs.  Some townships have gone to single-stream recycling.

We did find major problems, however.  First of all, there were a variety of programs with different parameters.  Secondly, electronic recycling was problematic; some municipalities advise their residents to drive to Walnutport (in Lehigh County) to dispose of their electronic waste.  Some items, like tires, are taken if residents pay a fee.  No municipality takes toxic waste.  

Household toxins are a real problem.  Right now I have at least 75 flashlight batteries in a bin in my basement.  I don’t want to put them in the garbage, but I don’t know where to take them.  What do you do with old insecticide, or old half-full paint cans?

The volunteers proposed that one of the townships, perhaps Penn Forest or Franklin, call a conference on recycling, where various solutions could be discussed and information could be exchanged.  My belief is that most citizens really want to do the right thing, if they only knew what the right thing was.

Tumblr

The young billionaire who developed “Tumblr” keeps bragging that he never got his high school degree.  That isn’t such a great thing to be bragging about.  The dude might be rich, but he can’t even spell.  How do you even pronounce “Tumblr?’  He may be a billionaire, but I’m not all that impressed. 

Anti-government ideology kills school children

I don’t think that’s too strong.  I have read a number of accounts stating that the reason Oklahoma does not require storm cellars in schools is because most of the people who live in Oklahoma oppose government mandates.  

In Texas after the fertilizer factory blew up, relatives of people who were killed in the blast said they did not think the government should be imposing safety regulations.  

This is the kind of thinking that puts loyalty to an abstract ideology ahead of people’s lives.  I don’t understand it, but I don’t live in Oklahoma or Texas.  And I am thankful that I don’t.

President Obama and the War on Terror

Every so often President Obama reminds me why I voted for him.  Yesterday he announced publicly that drone strikes had killed four Americans, and he said that drones  will only be used on foreign enemies subject to rules for American citizens who are defined as “terrorists.”

Lethal force will only be used against targets who are “a continuing, imminent threat to Americans.”  

Today the President gave a speech to the National Defense University (we have a National Defense University?) pledging to renew his efforts to transfer or release prisoners held at Guantanamo.  

It is interesting that the Republicans who complain about the terrible repression under the Obama administration NEVER mention Guantanamo.

All Politics Is Local

That’s a quote from Tip O’Neill, former Speaker of the House of Representatives before that institution became totally dysfunctional.  Tip was talking to a neighbor after he lost one of his first political races, and the neighbor told Tip he hadn’t voted for him.  When Tip inquired why, the neighbor said, “Because you didn’t ask me to.”

Yesterday Helen Torok succeeded in getting more than ten write-in votes in both the Democratic and Republican Lehighton borough council primaries.  That means that in November she will be listed as a nominee of both parties.  

Yesterday I volunteered to pass out instructions on how to do a write-in for Ms. Torok, and I am pleased (ecstatic!) with her victory.  In November five candidates (two Dems, two Reps, and Helen on both tickets) will be running for three seats.  

By the time of the November election, every voter in Lehighton will have been asked to vote for Ms. Torok. We are going to pull this off.

The Helen Torok campaign

Today was election day for local offices in Pennsylvania.  We had noticed that only two people were running for three borough council seats in Lehighton, the largest town in Carbon County.  The law states that to get on the November ballot, you need at least ten write-in votes.  

Helen Torok, local businesswoman, Obama campaign volunteer, 4-H leader, and Carbon County Fair Director, agreed to run for the open seat.  We had volunteers handing out instructions on write-ins at all three polling places in Lehighton, and it looks like she has more than the requisite number of votes on the Democratic side.

 If Helen does make it, she will be the first African-American elected to office in Carbon County.   And maybe the first Jew.  I’ll let you know when the final count is in.  

Benghazi and the Ogallala Aquifer

No, they aren’t really related.  I just wanted to post tonight on two different topics.

Benghazi:  The next time some right-winger starts in on Benghazi, I will say, “You know, I’m really not up on this whole Libya thing.  Could you draw me a quick map and show me where Benghazi is in relation to Tripoli?”

Ogallala aquifer:  Yesterday Thomas Friedman wrote about how he believed the revolt in Syria was connected to an on-going drought in that country.  Men and women from the countryside could no longer make their living farming and moved to cities, where jobs were scarce.  Unemployed young people are a volatile mix.

Today a front-page article in the Times talked about drought in the Midwest.  Farmers are discovering that the wells they have been using to water their crops with their center pivot irrigation systems are bringing up sand.  At places the Ogallala aquifer has been tapped out.  

This is water underlying Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and West Texas that has been there since the Ice Age.  Hydrologists think it takes thousands of years to recharge, and they have been predicting for years that we were taking too much water.  

I don’t think we will see a Syrian-type revolt in Haskell County, Kansas.  What I do think we will see is more and more of these environmental crises.  As a headline in the New Republic put it, the planet isn’t warming, it’s dying.  

How should we respond?  I have it.  Let’s hold more hearings on Benghazi.

Into Darkness

We saw the latest Star Trek film yesterday.  It takes place centuries into the future, of course, but the world envisioned is recognizable.  The scenes set in San Francisco still have cable car running amidst the tall buildings, and the Golden Gate Bridge is visible in a number of shots.

The sea level is about the same and the people look comfortable, so I guess global warming wasn’t the problem we thought it would be.  People on earth look prosperous, but maybe that’s just the Bay Area.  I did notice a lack of street trees and a certain sterility.

The best film set in the future is “Blade Runner.”  A constant rain is depicted falling on a bleak and dirty Los Angeles.  If you rent it on NetFlix, try to order the film shown in theaters, not the director’s cut, which is not as good.

Save your money on the Star Trek film now in theaters.  It is too long and actually boring at times.  Maybe the “Fast and Furious XVII” or whatever we are at now will be better.

Linda in the news

Almost every post I’ve ever done is proofed by Linda, but tonight is an exception.  If she knew I was doing this, she’d veto it.  

She and three other local artists recently did a painting for St. Luke’s Hospital to celebrate the merger of that hospital with Coaldale Miners’ Hospital.  The Times News did a nice article on the artists and the painting.  You can view it at <http://www.tnonline.com/2013/may/18/mural-will-be-chanced-during-black-diamond-event-carbon-art-league-donates-mural-temples>.  Check it out.

37 times and counting

Yesterday the House of Representatives voted for the 37th time to repeal Obamacare, this time by a vote of 229 to 195.  Every House Republican voted for the repeal.  

I do know when the 38th vote is scheduled, but I’m sure it will be before the House does anything substantive.

The National Museum of the American Indian

The building itself is worth the trip, and the cafeteria was fabulous, serving Native American food from different areas of the country.  Linda had a dish featuring goat from  the Southwest counter; I ate a fry bread with buffalo chili from the Great Plains.  

I was disappointed in the displays.  I know a museum can’t cover over 600 North American tribes, but would it kill them to mention the Lenape?  Modern reservation life also received little coverage.  The urban Indians of present day Chicago were the subject of a display, but the Indian casino phenomenon was never explored.

As you might expect, many of the exhibits are depressing. Although Indians have survived and, in some cases, retained language and culture, the history of European-Indian contact is one of almost constant treaty-breaking, violence, and genocide.  I do know what genocide means, and that is not too strong a word.

From teaching American studies I knew about the Trail of Tears, the Navajo removal, the slaughter at Wounded Knee, and other atrocities.  What I did not know is that a band of Chiricahua Apaches, some of whom served the U.S. Army as scouts, were removed to Florida as “prisoners of war” in 1886 and held for 27 years before allowed back to their homeland.  I’m sure today we would have put them in Guantanamo.

On the road, again

We're on our way to see the American Indian museum on the Capitol Mall.  Sandra is feeding the chickens, Helen is watching the house, and I'm hoping the hot pepper seedlings can survive for two days without water.

We stopped in at the Virginia Arboretum.  Varieties of flowers are blooming, and the irises alone were worth the walk.  We also passed through a "rural historic preservation area."  I often think of Virginia as backward, but in many respects it is way ahead of Pennsylvania.

I know I was supposed to post about majority tyranny in Pakistan tonight, but I must make a comment on the I.R.S. targeting the Tea Party groups.  What irritates me more than anything is that the whole disaster diverts attention from real scandal, which is that hundreds of millions of dollars are being deducted from income taxes by rich right-wing Republicans.

If I had been I.R.S. director, I would have targeted groups for review this way.  You start with the ones with the most donations and work down.  O.F.A. would probably be in that mix, but so would Rove's group, the Romney front group, and the Koch Brothers.  These groups are making the whole idea of democracy a delusion, and some idiots from the I.R.S. have now made them look like victims.

Praying at the Western Wall

Last week a group of liberal Jewish women attempted to pray at the Western wall in Jerusalem.  They were met by hundreds of Orthodox men who catcalled, whistled, and threw both water and plastic chairs.  It took 300 police to separate the groups.

The ultra-Orthodox, who depend on Israeli subsidies for their large families and avoid serving in the army, have real issues with gender.  They were the people who spit on an 8-year-old girl for wearing a dress that was considered “immodest.”  

When I taught the “Intro to Political Thought” class, I always included a reading from Theodor Herzl, usually considered the founder of modern Zionism.  Herzl advanced the idea of a homeland for Jews, at one time considering Uganda as a possibility.  The state he envisioned, from my reading, was more secular than religious.  I believe he would have been appalled at people who catcalled women trying to pray.

I’ve often thought how nice it would be if we could put all the “orthodox” believers--be they Jews, Muslims, Christians, Basque nationalists, Serb nationalists, 2nd Amendment wackos, Ayn Rand acolytes, Hindu fundamentalists, militia members, and Ted Cruz--on an island somewhere.  The whole world would be a much nicer place.

Libya

Almost all thoughtful observers agree that once our ambassador to Libya was attacked last year, there was nothing that could have been done to save him and his colleagues.  The elite troops were too far away to make any difference.  What Congress is “investigating” is the lack of preparation before the attack and the Administration’s explanation after the attack. 

Interestingly, the Republicans who are criticizing the Administration are some of the same people who voted to cut funding for embassy security around the world.  

The main purpose behind the Fox News/Republican ranting about Benghazi is to smear the Secretary of State at the time of the attack--Hillary Clinton.  This is not about Libya.  It’s about the 2016 Presidential race.  It’s tiresome.

501(c)(4)

A 501(c)(4) group is one that is supposed to promote “social welfare.”  Contributions to those groups are tax deductible, provided the groups don’t have as their primary purpose the influencing of elections.  All kinds of political PACS, including hundreds of Tea Party groups, blatantly violate the law, not only in spirit but in actuality. 

I don’t understand why the I.R.S. apologized for auditing Tea Party groups applying for tax exempt status.  Keep in mind that when a tax exempt contribution is itemized, that is less money collected by our government.  That means an increase in the deficit.  So we have millions of dollars going into PACs promoting conservative causes (and obviously candidates who support those causes), and the donors, mostly rich, can deduct their propaganda from their tax returns.

Our own 9/12 group here in Carbon County, an anti-abortion, pro-gun, anti-environment, Glenn Beck-inspired group, says on its website that it is a non-partisan group that backs no candidates.  Yeah.  

When I picketed a 9/12 event with a sign asking “Who funds the 9/12 group?” local businessman Fred Reinhard asked me “Who cares where the funding comes from?”  I told him I do.  I like to follow the money.

Mort Sahl revisited

In the Sixties the comedian Mort Sahl used a daily newspaper as his prop.  He’d come on stage, read a headline, and proceed to make witty and cogent comments.  (He’s still alive, by the way.)

I’m not pretending to be Mort Sahl.  Not so witty.  Nonetheless I am borrowing his technique.  Imagine me on stage with today’s New York Times.  I look at various headlines and comment.  One story details the I.R.S. is apologizing to Tea Party groups for examining their tax exempt status.  Another concerns the congressional hearings on Libya.  Page four features an article on women praying at the Western Wall in Israel.  The op-ed page has an opinion piece entitled “Pakistan’s Tyrannical Majority.”  Finally, a front page article is entitled “Heat-Trapping Gas Passes Milestone, Raising Fears.”

Those are my topics for the next five days.  I’ll take them in order.  Tomorrow night I’ll be talking about why the I.R.S. needs to examine the tax exempt status of groups like Carbon County’s 9/12ers.  Stay tuned.

My message to Paul Carpenter

Paul Carpenter is an op-ed columnist for the Allentown Morning Call.  Today he had a column praising Mr. Brinson and attacking the whole idea of labor unions. [See yesterday’s post].  Mr. Carpenter said the idea of mandating  a notice of workers’ rights to form a union was a “repugnant edict.”  

I sent Mr. Carpenter the following message.  (I don’t expect a reply--I’ve sent Mr. Carpenter emails before and never even received an acknowledgement.)

Dear Mr. Carpenter,

“Repugnant edict” seems a little strong for a notice advising workers of their rights.  I don’t see how putting up such a notice restricts Mr. Brinson or any other employer.  They are free to say what they want.

The problem for the average worker is the incredible power differential.  If I am an employee of a man who owns three fitness centers, and he tells me to work overtime with no extra pay, I have three choices.  I can do it, I can quit, or I can be fired.  One nurse has little power against a hospital administration; one clerk has little power against Wal-Mart.  It is only when workers are allowed to form organizations to represent them that they have some real bargaining power.  

And if Brinson thinks we don’t need unions any more “because of laws that now protect workers,” he might try working in a fertilizer plant in Texas, a “right to work” (?) state which has almost no unions.

If Carpenter does reply, I’ll let you know.

A Voting Milestone

The Census Bureau released a report yesterday that said 66.2% of eligible blacks voted in 2012.  For whites the rate was 64.1%.  That was the first election in U.S. history in which the black voting rate surpassed that of the white.  It was even more significant when we consider all the efforts by Republican legislators to suppress the vote with restricted hours, more difficult registration, and voter I.D. laws.

The rate for Asians and Hispanics was below 50%, but that should be moving up in the next few elections.  Finally, women vote at a higher rate than men do.  All of this is bad news for a party which seems to depend mostly on the votes of old white guys.

Capital and Labor

Capital  

The Circuit Court in Washington, D.C., a court dominated by Republicans, ruled that businesses could not be required to post a notice that workers had a right to form a union.  Local businessman John Brinson, who owns a chain of fitness centers in the Lehigh Valley, was a plaintiff.  He was quoted as saying, “I feel very strongly that I do not want unions in my business.  In fact, I don’t want unions in any business.”

Of course he doesn’t.  He can abuse and exploit individual workers.  When they stand together in a union, he can’t do that.  Brinson, by the way, declared bankruptcy a few years ago.  Another phrase for bankruptcy is “a way to stiff one’s creditors.”  That tells you something about Mr. Brinson.

Labor

Volunteers from the Carbon County Labor Chapter, assisted by members of the Lehighton Area Democratic Club along with Franklin Township employees who provided a truck, worked in the rain today to clear away a large tree that had fallen on the historic  Bunker Hill cemetery.  Bunker Hill cemetery is where Col. Jacob Weiss, founder of Weissport, is buried.

Yes, we got soaked.  And yes, we had a good time.  One of the chainsaw-wielding volunteers, Chubby Kintz, mows the cemetery, but had no means of removing the tree.  The other chainsaw guy was Richard from Hamburg, who is a history buff.  The rest of us clipped, shoveled, raked, carried, and loaded.

  

After we quit for the day, we repaired to Mario’s Pizza in Weissport for lunch.  We plan to finish the cleanup on May 18.  

The pro-business Supreme Court

Last month the Minnesota Law Review published a study ranking the 35 justices who served during the last 65 years by the proportion of their pro-business votes.  The study involved about 2000 decisions from 1946 to 2011.

All five of the current Supreme Court conservatives were in the top ten pro-business justices.  Now get this: the two justices since 1946 most likely to decide in favor of business are Roberts and Alito, both appointed by George W. Bush.

We tend to focus on cases like gay marriage or the health care bill.  The pro-business decisions are often under the radar.  The full page article discussing the study that appeared in the May 5th New York Times referenced cases I had never heard of, yet the decisions affected literally millions of people.

Here are just two examples.  In Wal-Mart Stores v. Dukes (2011), the Court ruled 5-4 that the 1.5 million employees of Wal-Mart did not have enough in common to pursue a class action contending sex discrimination. In AT&T v. Concepcion (2011) the Court ruled that companies may avoid class action suits by using standard form arbitration agreements, which everybody signs but nobody reads. 

Remember, there’s no mandatory retirement for Supreme Court justices.  They must either resign or die before they can be replaced. 

Five-year-old shoots and kills sister, no biggie

If you were a parent in Kentucky and didn't put your two-year-old in a proper car seat, and you were in an accident, and the child was killed, you would face punishment.

If you had a five-year-old who had access to loaded weapons, and that five-year-old killed his two-year-old sister, hey, these things happen.  "I think it's nobody else's business but our town's," said a resident of Burkesville, Kentucky, where this actually occurred.

The rifle the five-year-old used is called a Crockett rifle.  It is designed for children.  Let me repeat that. It is designed for children.

A German cameraman who showed up in Burkesville to report the story was punched out.  This is a Kentucky matter, not something that you and I should be concerned with.

"Sporting Arms," which makes "quality firearms for America's youth," must be proud.  The N.R.A. must also be proud.

This information came from the New York Times, "Girl's Death by Gunshot Is Rejected As Symbol,: May 6, 2013, p. A10.

"Ag Gag" bill introduced in Penna. Senate

Why do so many legislators who worry about the Second Amendment seem quite willing to ignore the First?  Pennsylvania Senator Mike Brubaker (R-Lancaster) has introduced a bill that would make “unauthorized” videotaping of animals illegal.  In the past such videotapes have documented the mistreatment of livestock and led to prosecutions.

According to an article by Karen Langley, published in today’s Morning Call (May 4, p. 10), a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau said that trespassers who videotape cruelty or mistreatment could spread disease to farm animals.  So the purpose of the bill, evidently, is to protect farm animals.  Good to know.

It's late

It’s 10:30 p.m., and we just got in from a Democratic party fundraiser in Penn Forest Township.  I’m too tired to think, but I’ve had this quotation in reserve for just such an evening.  Here it is:

“What we are now doing to the world by degrading the land surfaces, by polluting the waters and by adding greenhouse gases to the air at an unprecedented rate--all this is new in the experience of the earth.  It is mankind and his activities which are changing the environment of our planet in damaging and dangerous ways....  The environmental challenge which confronts the whole world demands an equivalent response from the whole world....  Those countries who are industrialized must contribute more to help those who are not.”

Margaret Thatcher said that in an address to the U.N. in 1989.  

Hunger Strike

At his most recent press conference President Obama called for closing down the prison in Guantanamo, pointing out that it harms our foreign policy and is not in keeping with American ideals.  We are holding people in prison indefinitely, evidently until they die.  No trials, no proof of any kind of guilt, no way out.

Gutless Congress has passed laws that the prisoners can’t be transferred to the U.S. or released to other countries.  It offered no solution except to hold these men until they die.

Now we are sticking tubes down the noses of 21 prisoners who are on a hunger strike to force-feed them.  I am 70 years old, and it is very hard for me to even imagine my country acting this way.  This is not the country I grew up in.

When African captives on slave ships refused to eat, the slavers would hold red hot coals to their lips to make them open their mouths.  Too bad they didn’t have tubes to shove down their nostrils.  

A candidate for Lehighton Borough Council

The Times News has been running short articles on candidates for local office in Carbon County.  Today one of the stories was about John Bird, candidate for Lehighton Borough Council  Here are some actual quotations from the article, reprinted exactly as they appeared:

The 55-year-old noted conservative, defends Constitutional rights and practices lower cost, limited government.

Bird remarked he applied for federal jobs in the Maryland-DC areas.  Although well-qualified, he was denied jobs to accommodate Affirmative Action.

He continued, ‘“Inflation caused by disastrous federal policies, has made our jobs more difficult and complex.  The rising cost of energy and health care are straining municipal budgets across the nation.”

I have no further comment.