Vote for the party, not the candidate

Brian Fitzpatrick represents a suburban Philadelphia district.  He is 44 years old, a moderate Republican when they are an endangered species, and he is one of the most bipartisan members of the House.  He is a member of the Problem Solvers Caucus, a group of Democratic and Republican members of Congress who work together to pass bipartisan legislation.

He voted against repealing the Affordable Care Act.  He opposed Trump’s Muslim ban.  He supports a carbon tax.  He opposes the bill that would require that states honor concealed carry gun permits from other states.

Vote for his opponent, Democratic candidate Scott Wallace.

If the Republicans have a one vote majority in the House, the next speaker will be a Republican.  Every House committee will have a Republican chair and a Republican majority.  There will be no investigation of Trump’s conflicts of financial interest.  Fitzpatrick voted to roll back regulations on financial institutions.  He voted for the tax cut for the rich.

If Fitzpatrick wants to oppose Trump, he can switch parties.  He can speak out.  He didn’t.  Vote the party.  Vote Democratic.

Nittany Lion refugees

Let’s put this refugee caravan in perspective.  If the whole caravan reached Beaver Stadium, it would not fill the seats on the visiting team’s end zone.  

On the other hand, I understand that some of the members of the caravan may be armed with stuffed toys.  Can’t be too careful.

Sign Wars

Since the redrawing of the Congressional districts last year, I no longer live in Congressman Matt Cartwright’s district.  Cartwright is everything a congressman should be–intelligent, able to work across the aisle, and a decent human being.  Since I live close to the border of his district, and since I had a few old yard signs, I put one up on the right-of-way about three miles east of my house five days ago.

A day later someone pulled it down and left it on the ground.  I stopped and put it back up.  A day later it was on the ground again.  I put it back up.  Today it was wadded up, shoved into some bushes, and the metal sticks were gone. 

I picked up the sign, got new sticks, and filled a bucket with chicken manure.  Tomorrow it goes back up with chicken shit all around it on the ground and the top of the sign thickly coated with Vasoline.  In a way I am hoping that the sign destroyer does it again.  

If someone would like to fund a trail camera of the type people use to take pictures of wildlife, let me know.  I think you can buy them at Cabela’s.  That’s my next step.  After that, it’s land mines.

Grandma speaks

My friend Bill from North Carolina sent me what he called the best post of the day.  I have to share it.  The post:

Thanks to Trump I got to hear my Grandma say “Stupid Mother Fucker.”

Two different politicians

Democratic candidates don’t usually advertise in the Lancaster Farming newspaper.  What’s the point?  Except for me and my friend Tom, all the farmers I know are Republicans.  But here it is–a half page ad for Denny Wolff, Democratic candidate for Congress in the 9th District.  He has an A rating from the NRA, he will vote against Nancy Pelosi for speaker, and he knows farm issues.  He should; he’s a dairy farmer.  I was out with my friend Sandy driving all over Carbon County putting up signs for him today.  (His opponent, Meuser, is the guy from New Jersey who thinks liberal Democrats are more of a threat to the U.S. than ISIS.)

The Environment Defense Fund doesn’t usually have nice things to say about Red State governors, but the latest issue of “Solutions,” the EDF’s newsletter, has a long favorable interview with Republican Governor Matt Mead of Wyoming.  Gov. Mead has worked to cut ozone emissions and has pushed strong pollution regulations on oil and gas wells in western Wyoming.  

Denny Wolff and Matt Mead are the kind of politicians we need.  They don’t name call; they try to find solutions.  That is amazing in today’s climate.

Doyle Heffley's mailer

We received a campaign mailer from candidate Doyle Heffley, who is running for his 5th term as state representative.  The mailer had six main points, which I will now explicate.

Protecting seniors.  Mr. Heffley brags about completing over 5000 property tax and rent rebates for local seniors.  This is what representatives are supposed to do.  (Actually it is the legislative staff who does this.) 

Budget with no tax increases.  Mr. Heffley takes way too much credit for something done by Governor Wolf and the state House and Senate.

Education funding increases school safety.  Unfortunately, teacher salaries remain low and Pennsylvania still depends on local property taxes.  That means poor districts like Panther Valley tax their residents at a higher rate than Parkland but still have fewer dollars per student.

Property taxes.  Every two years Heffley promises to get rid of property taxes.  Ain’t gonna happen.

Fighting the drug epidemic.  How’s that working out?

Job creation.  He reduced “red tape.”  The economic problems Pennsylvania faces are not a result of “red tape.”  We are moving away from manufacturing and not replacing it by new economic activity.  

His tag line is “Always one of us,” changed slightly from last time when it was “He’s one of us.”  I am not sure about that “us,” but it does not include me.

I’m voting for Kara Scott.

Democratic legislative candidates

In November 6050 state legislative seats are up for election.  Democrats are running in 5314 of those races.  Republicans are running in 4783 districts.

In the past I have been critical of Democrats allowing Republicans to run unopposed.  It is so discouraging to walk into a polling place and find that your party doesn’t even have a candidate on the ballot.  I understand it is sometimes not easy to find what is, in effect, a sacrificial lamb to run in a Republican district.  Also, stuff happens.  This year the Democrats had a candidate to run against State Rep. Jerry Knowles from Schuylkill County, but he dropped out when it was too late to recruit anyone else.

Wyoming, a dark red state, illustrates the problem.  75 seats are up in November; the Democrats have candidates for 32 of those seats; the Republicans have candidates for 71.  Even if every Democratic candidate won his or her election, Democrats would still be in the minority in the legislature.

In Pennsylvania 228 seats are up for election.  Democratic candidates are running in 204 of those districts; Republicans in 168.  The Republicans will probably maintain control of the state legislature, but this time they will have to earn it.  

Information for this post is from Ballot Access News, Nov. 1, 2018.  I have touted Ballot Access News before.  It contains amazing data.  If you want to subscribe ($16.00 a year), email me at <hiramc@ptd.net>.

Little Libraries

An example of counter programming is when one station is broadcasting the Superbowl and a competing station runs “Mama Mia.”  

So today, instead of posting something about the bombs or Trump proclaiming he is a “nationalist,” (or was it “fascist”?), I will counter program.  I will write about Todd Bol, the guy who invented those little community libraries you see in many towns. 

 Mr. Bol, who had some extra lumber, built a small monument to his mom, who had been a school teacher.  He made a box that looked like a school, and in it he put some books which his neighbors were welcome to take, replacing them with other books.

This led to an organization called the “Little Free Library.”  Today there are more than 75,000 Little Free Library boxes in all 50 states and in 88 countries.  

Mr. Bol died earlier this week.  He was 62.  What a legacy.  What a wonderful man.

Signs don't vote

That is a cliche among political consultants when people complain that their candidates don’t have enough signs along the roads.  Many consultants downplay the importance of signs.  I disagree.  When a candidate’s supporters only see signs of the opponent, they get discouraged.  What’s wrong with my candidate?  Why don’t I see my candidate’s name out there?  

One of the most discouraging aspects of the Clinton campaign in 2016 was the explosion of Trump signs and the absence of Clinton signs.  Our friend René spent days in our shed in a one-man assembly line turning out home-made “Hillary” signs, but it would have been nice if the campaign had also provided us with some.

Today my friend Sandra and I drove around the lower part of Carbon County putting up Denny Wolff for Congress, Tom Wolf for Governor, and Kara Scott for Representative signs at intersections and along roadways in the lower part of Carbon County.  Supporters will be pleased.

By the way, a note to Republican sign stealers.  Remember that it is relatively easy to retaliate.  Quit stealing our signs.

The Caravan

This is way too convenient for Trump.  I have heard people say that Republican agents are paying the organizers to come north just before the election.  What a campaign bonanza for the Trumpers.  WE’RE BEING INVADED!  DARK-SKINNED PEOPLE ARE ON THEIR WAY!

The people in the caravan are mostly from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala.  Costa Rica, which has an excellent educational system, a thriving democracy, and a fairly robust economy, has itself taken in thousands of asylum seekers.  

Here is a quiz for you.

What country has overturned democratically elected governments in this region?

What country is home to United Fruit Company, which continues to dominate the economy of Central American countries?

What country trained paramilitary forces to provoke civil wars in Central America?

What country provides exports of weaponry to those countries?

What country serves as a major market for dope smugglers from Central America?

Finally, what country is presided over by a leader willing to separate children from their parents, use refugees as political fodder, and exacerbate the problems which his policies are helping to create?

Nebraska. Honestly, it's not for everyone.

That’s the new slogan unveiled by the Nebraska Tourism Commission last week.  Some Nebraskans don’t like it, but it has already gotten nation-wide attention, including, of course, this blog.

If I knew how to do that little heart, I would put here “I heart Nebraska.”  Twice I’ve been to Red Cloud, Willa Cather’s home town.  Linda and I visited the Museum of Nebraska Art (MONA), which was surprisingly good.  I’ve presented a paper on community-owned movie theaters at a Great Plains Conference in Lincoln.  I once used a textbook on Nebraska’s government.  (It’s the only state with a unicameral legislature.)  I have even bought a bottle of Nebraska wine.  

Ok, that last one was a mistake.  Nebraska may have great wine, but not the bottle I bought.

In any case, while Nebraska might not be for everyone, I really like it.

Lehighton Halloween Parade

Today I was the driver for the Carbon County Democrats in the Lehighton Halloween Parade.  A farmer friend of mine provided a truck and trailer and six bales of straw on which to sit and also stick in signs.  We had 10 large bags of candy which our walkers gave to kids who won’t be voting for another 15 years.  We had a good turnout of volunteers, but there is no way of knowing if any of this makes a difference at the polls.

The County Republicans had a large Trump sign, which made me regret that I was driving.  If I hadn’t been I would have walked along behind the spectators and about every 10 yards yelled out “Tax Cheat” or “Where’s Stormy” or “Kavanaugh lied.”  

Probably just as well that I was the driver.

Slate cards

A “slate card” is a small card handed out by volunteers at polling places urging voters to support the candidates listed on the cards.  In 2014, 17,412 people voted in Carbon County in the congressional and gubernatorial election.  Presuming approximately the same number will vote this election, you’d need that many cards provided that every polling place was covered from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m by dedicated volunteers.  That is unlikely.

This number is also assumes that every voter takes a card without walking past you and telling you where you can stick your slate card when he finds out you are a Democrat.  It also presumes that Democrats angry at Trump and Republicans angry at Democrats who are angry at Trump don’t jack up the totals.  

Today we picked up a box of slate cards from the printer, and I have spent the evening dividing them into stacks of 100s to distribute to the volunteers.  The cards list six candidates:  Wolf, Fetterman, Casey, Denny Wolff, John Yudichak, and Kara Scott.  I know one of those will win, and I have high hopes for the other five.  (Yudichak has no opponent.)

If voters were rational and voted for the most intelligent, most reasonable, and most decent candidate in each race, all six would win.  I know four of the Republican opponents, and they are a disgrace to their party and the voters.  (I don’t know Bartos.)

Hillary Clinton

I don’t know why some people hate Hillary Clinton, but they do.  Her approval rating is now lower than when she ran for President.  I worked very hard for her, but I never really liked her very much.  Admired her, yes, but liked her, no.  

Nonetheless, there is a bright line between not liking someone very much and actively despising them.  Whatever the reason and however irrational it is, millions of voters simply loathe her.

Now she and Bill are on the campaign trail, supposedly helping Democrats, but instead acting as a cattle prod to drive the deplorables to the polls.  I just wish she would quietly ride off into the sunset and take Bill with her.

Remember when Republicans...

–cared about the deficit?  No more.  The Treasury Department noted earlier this week that the deficit had reached $779 billion in the 2018 fiscal year, up from $666 billion the previous year.  Before the 2020 presidential election, the deficit is projected to top $1 trillion.

–favored free trade?  Now, like Sen. Toomey, they favor subsidies for industries in their states that are harmed by the Trump tariffs.  Free trade is no longer supported.

–had integrity?  In California, Ohio, and New Jersey the Congressional Leadership Fund, a PAC associated with Speaker Ryan, has accused Democratic candidates of being terrorists.  

–cared about the environment?  It was with Nixon’s help that the Environmental Protection Agency was enacted. 

–favored civil rights?  When Southern Democrats opposed civil rights legislation in the Sixties, Lyndon Johnson turned to Senator Everett Dirksen and fellow Republicans to get the legislation passed.

–had balls?  When Nixon nominated an incompetent (Haynsworth) for the Supreme Court, a dozen Republicans helped to kill the nomination.  When he then put forth an even worse nominee (Carswell), Republicans again helped to kill that nomination.

–played by the rules?  With gerrymandering, voter suppression, and restrictive laws, they are undermining democracy.  Win at all costs is their new attitude, no matter what it takes.

If you are a Republican, it might be time to reconsider your membership in that party.

Lou Barletta exposed

Bob Casey is running an ad explaining that Lou Barletta voted to allow insurers to take away coverage for pre-existing conditions.  The ad features a woman whose daughters were diagnosed with cancer.  Barletta says this ad is inaccurate.  It's not.

He also says the ad is hurtful because his two-year-old grandson has cancer.

It is unfortunate that Barletta's grandson has cancer, but two things should be noted here.  First, Barletta's position, had it succeeded, would cause people to die.  Secondly, Barletta's use of his sick grandson to gain political milage is despicable.

Trump reverses policy

Somebody finally got to Trump.  His aides (Mattis, Pompeo?) must have pointed out that the Chinese were bankrolling projects in Africa, Asian, and Latin America and gaining influence at the expense of the U.S.  Trump thinks of hard power-–guns, planes, Navy Seals.  The Chinese are using soft power–projects, training, foreign aid, and they are doing well.

Although Trump in the 2016 campaign decried foreign aid and vowed to end it, he just reversed policy.  To counter the Chinese, Trump signed a $60 billion bill last week creating a new foreign aid agency.  The agency will provide the money in loans and insurance to companies willing to do business in the developing countries. 

Interestingly, for a president who is always bragging about “winning,” he does not mention the new agency or the foreign aid at any of his rallies.

Letter to Sen. Graham

Sen. Lindsay Graham

290 Russell Senate Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Sen. Graham:

One of the most painful occurrences in life is seeing a person one respects and admires fall from the pedestal.  For years I thought you had integrity, were a patriot, and put our country above partisanship.  I sometimes disagreed with you, but I always respected you.

I am sorry to say that is all gone.  Your statements during the Supreme Court hearing, your toadying up to President Trump, and your seeming lack of concern about where this country is headed have diminished your stature and made you a figure of contempt.

It is such a disappointment.

Sincerely,

     Roy Christman

Frost!

My sister gets nostalgic for that day in the fall when a frost warning was issued.  We hooked a trailer to the tractor and the entire family turned out to gather all the vegetables that were still in the field.  Any squash, pumpkins, tomatoes, gourds, cantaloupes, watermelons, peppers, or anything else still growing was picked to save it from the frost.  

When we were kids this frost warning usually came in about mid-September.  Now it comes in early or mid-October because of global warming, but it does happen.  Tonight we may have a frost, so I went out this afternoon and picked the few tomatoes that were left and all of the peppers. I simply cut off the whole pepper plants and threw them on the back of the truck.  

I have lots of peppers, including scotch bonnets, jalapeños, habeñeros, chiles, Hungarian wax, and cayennes.  Tomorrow or Monday I’lll sit on the tailgate and sort them out.  Most of them I’ll give to friends, but Linda and I will also make a few batches of salsa that would make you cry.

Raising the price of stamps, again

On April 12 Trump signed an order creating a federal task force to propose structural reforms to the United States Postal Service, often considered the most popular federal agency in public opinion polls.  After only ten weeks the task force, comprised of Trump officials, concluded:  “Prepare [USPS] for future conversion from a Government agency into a privately held corporation.”

There are 640,000 postal workers and letter carriers.  They work from 31,585 local post offices, they handle 150 billion pieces of mail a year, and they deliver our mail in a timely and efficient manner.  

Is the Post Office in bad shape?  Yeah, it is, thanks to the Republicans.  in 2006 President Bush and congressional Republicans enacted an “enhancement” provision requiring the USPS to pre-fund the health and pension benefits for all Post Office retirees 75 years in advance.  That means the USPS must pay now for the retirement benefits of future employees, including those not yet born.  This adds $6.9 billion a year to the Post Office budget.  

Having saddled the USPS with this cost, the privatizers point out that the agency is losing money.  Of course it is.  It was planned that way.

If that arbitrary requirement was removed, the U.S.P.S. would be in the black.  I am amazed at the length to which ideologues will go to implement their ideology, no matter how much it hurts our country.

North Carolina farmworkers

In 2017 the North Carolina legislature, controlled by Republicans, passed a bill prohibiting farming operations from collecting union dues from workers and blocked any legal settlements requiring a farm to enter into a collective bargaining agreement.  

A federal judge blocked the law for now, but here is what the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Jimmy Dixon, a long time turkey farmer, said:  “I would do anything to keep us from becoming unionized to the extent that some of the other areas are.  I think it’s counter-productive.”

The bill applied mostly to the Farm Labor Organizing Committee, a union whose members are mostly guest workers from Mexico, traditionally the easiest workers to exploit.

Info for this post came from an article by Martha Waggoner and Gary D. Robertson, “Judge Blocks Law That Stops Farmworker Union Activities,” Lancaster Farming (Sept. 29, 2018), p. A23.

Lay off Melania

Melania Trump, who has been in Africa doing good work in countries like Ghana and Malawi and trying to mitigate the worst effects of her husband’s racism and ignorance about the continent, was criticized for wearing a pith helmet in Kenya.  

Pith helmets are seen as an echo and reminder of British colonialism.  Really?  The subject of my Ph.D. dissertation was the struggle to end colonialism, mainly in Africa.  I own a pith helmet.  I’m fairly sensitive to ethnic slurs (i.e., the Redskins, the Lehighton Indians, the Confederate flag), but I never associated pith helmets with colonialism.  Perhaps now I will, but I had not before yesterday.

I think Melania was doing her best.  If you want to criticize Trump, I can email you my collection of five pages of things the Trump administration has done that are harmful to America.  Melania wearing a pith helmet is not on that list.

Native Americans in North Dakota

If you look at a political map of the U.S., you will notice small areas of blue in a sea of red in North and South Dakota and Montana.  Those are counties with Indian reservations.  Indians vote overwhelmingly Democratic.

North Dakota decided to do something about that.  It passed a law that voters cannot use a P.O. Box when they register but must have a street address.  Thousands of Indians on reservations do not have a street address or lack documentation.  Those Indians will be disenfranchised.  

Since Sen. Heidi Heitkamp won her last election by 3000 votes, that should insure a Republican victory.  The new Republican philosophy is:  If you can’t win fairly, cheat.

The Amish PAC

We live in an age of frauds, fakes, and lies.  Here’s another.  The “Amish PAC” is running an ad in Lancaster Farming taking credit for Trump’s victory in Pennsylvania and Ohio, and urging the Amish to register and vote Republican because Trump is helping to “preserve our religious freedoms!”

Most Amish don’t vote, and it is doubtful that those who do would support a man who was twice divorced, locks kids in cages, and cheats on his taxes. 

Still, the ad is out there and may actually influence some voters.  The ad gives a phone number for a get out the vote drive.  It is 717-690-1620.  Give them a call.  Get them to send you stuff.  Tie up their lines.  Or tell them what you think Jesus would do in this election.

Blackwater in Afghanistan

Eric Prince, founder of the private mercenary army Blackwater, noted for its killing of civilians in Iraq, is now lobbying members of Congress to privatize the war in Afghanistan.  Price would be the CEO.  The private force would include private aircraft.  

We do have historical precedent.  Before the British government stepped in in 1858, Britain basically ran India with the East India Company, a private company which at one time had an army twice the size of the official British armed forces.  Britain finally replaced the Company after it proved to be incompetent.

It would not be a surprise if Congress went along with Prince’s lobbying.  Might be cheaper.  Might allow atrocities that the U.S. army would never permit.  Might bring in more campaign funds.  Might make money on Afghan minerals.  Might make it easier for the Taliban to recruit even more supporters, but let’s not worry about that.

In an Administration that wants to privatize everything from the Post Office to the National Parks to the public schools, this guy fits right in.  Prince is also a brother to Betsy DeVos, which should help his cause.

Factoids on coal

More people work in nail salons, bowling alleys, or Arbys than mine coal.

About 53,000 people work in coal mining.  260,000 people work in the solar power industry.

Coal is the country’s leading source of carbon emissions that contribute to climate change.

The American Lung Association believes that the effects of coal pollution kill about 7,500 American a year.

In 2012 the U.S.had 580 coal-fired power plants producing 45% of the nation’s electricity generation.  Today there are fewer than 350 coal plants responsible for about 30% for the country’s electricity.

Since the Trump presidency, about 1,300 new coal jobs have been created.

My source was “The decline of the coal industry,” an article in The Week, (September 21, 2018), p. 11.

Madam Secretary

Téa Leoni plays Elizabeth McCord, a fictional Secretary of State on a TV show entitled “Madam Secretary.”  The show is beginning its 5th season, and the opening episode features former Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright (a Clinton appointee), Colin Powell (a Bush appointee), and Hillary Clinton (an Obama appointee).  The three former Secretaries are on the show to advise the fictional Secretary how to respond to a crisis.  

In an interview, former Secretary Albright said that she, Powell, and Clinton were good friends.  She said the first person to call her after she had been named Secretary was Henry Kissinger, Nixon’s Secretary of State, and that she often talked to her predecessors for advice.

That was when things were normal; when Democratic and Republican secretaries thought their duty was to the country, not to an ideology or to enabling a President who is bent on destroying this country’s relationship with the rest of the world.

You can read about the interview in an article in today’s Times by Bruce Fretts entitled “Very Authentic Fiction.”

Patriotic Americans

Of the following, who is the most patriotic American: 

A San Francisco 49er who peacefully takes a knee during the national anthem to protest the treatment of black people at the hands of the police?

A president of the United States who wears a flag pin yet cheats the government out of millions of tax dollars that could be used for defense, disaster relief, infrastructure repair, or hundreds of other necessary and worthwhile governmental functions?

Thundershowers in October

One time when I was a kid and we were cutting seed potatoes for planting, we had a thundershower.  Since we never had thundershowers in the fall or winter or early spring, my grandmother was very worried.  I remember she said, “It’s the end of the world.”

Tonight we had an amazing thundershower, with lightning, including lightening that never touched the ground.  And tornados.  In Pennsylvania! 

Nanna was wrong, of course.  The world won’t end.  What is ending is the world as we know it.  Species extinctions.  Desertification.  Monster hurricanes.  Rising sea levels.  Climate refugees.  Giant forest fires.  Crop failures.  Famine.

I’m glad I won’t live to see the worst of it, and it will get worse.  Unfortunately, our grandson Gavin will live to see it if we don’t act and if it is not already too late.

Clean coal and mercury

The Trump administration has proposed a major weakening of the environmental protections covering mercury, a toxic chemical produced by coal-burning power plants.  Andrew Wheeler, a former coal company lobbyist who now is the acting administrator of the E.P.A., will be sending the proposal to the White House for approval.

Mercury is known to damage the nervous systems of children and fetuses.  Excuse me.  Wrong word.  Unborn children.

Maybe the White House will turn down the proposal.