Romney and torture

When Obama became President, one of his first acts was to limit interrogators to those methods approved in the Army Field Manual.  We no longer torture people.  

Here’s what Romney said in Charleston, South Carolina, last December.  “We’ll use enhanced interrogation techniques which go beyond those that are in the military handbook right now.”  (Romney was quoted in an article by Charles Savage in the New York Times, September 28, p. 12.)

Enhanced interrogation?  This is what the Bush administration approved:  prolonged sleep deprivation, forced stress positions while naked in a cold room, locking people inside a small box, and, of course, waterboarding.  That is not enhanced interrogation.  That is torture.  That my government ever approved those methods makes me ashamed.  That a presidential candidate would even suggest bringing them back is obscene.

Governor Corbett defends "fracking"

I’m sure you have heard the irritating statement that goes like this:  “If they can put a man on the moon, why can’t they

...cure cancer."

...balance the federal budget."

...predict earthquakes."

  ...have the Cubs win the World Series."

Any thinking person knows what is required to put a man on the moon is totally different from what is required to cure cancer or balance the federal budget.  It was with great dismay, therefore, when I read Governor Corbett’s remarks reported in the September 29 issue of Lancaster Farming. 

Corbett said the anti-fracking activists were an “unreasoning opposition” who accept that the nation can land a space vehicle on Mars but don’t believe energy companies can safely harvest gas a mile under the earth’s surface.  

I believe a nation that is able to land a space vehicle on Mars can still elect a governor like Tom Corbett, who rewards his campaign contributors and ignores the needs of his state.  I believe that a nation that produces scientists that can land the Mars Rover can also produce voters who elect idiots to state government.  In fact, I have proof.

Consumer confidence growing

Annie Lowrey, in an article in the New York Times entitled “Economy Still Weak, But More Feel Secure,” points out that despite rather lackluster economic reports, Americans are gaining confidence in the economy.  Consumer confidence is at its highest level since February.  

Perhaps consumers sense that President Obama is on their side.  Perhaps they realize that a Romney administration would not be their friend.  Perhaps they realize that, even though the economy is not robust, it is a heck of lot better than it was during the last few months of the Bush Administration, when we were headed for a total meltdown.

Ms. Lowrey quotes Professor Lynn Vavreck, a political scientist at UCLA. Dr. Vavreck said that the fact that the economy was growing was a plus for Obama.  According to Dr. Vavreck, “Incumbents in growing economies, even slow ones, are hard to beat.”

Support for Voter I.D.

According to an article in the Allentown Morning Call today, a majority of Pennsylvanians support the voter I.D. law.  That doesn’t surprise me.  People who have I.D.s can’t imagine that someone else wouldn’t have one.  It is the same mentality that was surprised when the Hurricane Katrina evacuation was ordered from New Orleans.   Authorities assumed that everyone had a car, even though thousands of people did not.  

Here’s the statistic that depressed me.  More than half of the people in the poll said they would still support the I.D. requirement even if many eligible voters would be prevented from voting because they did not have an I.D.

Do you get that?  Over half the people polled would be willing to deny a fundamental right to vote to people merely because they could not meet a bureaucratic regulation.

We are amazed that Egypt and Libya have problems with the newly emerging democratic systems.  We need to look into the mirror.  In a democracy over 200 years old, a majority of the people in Pennsylvania have no idea what democracy entails.  

Democrats surge

Today Sandra and I registered eight voters at The Villages in Palmerton--two Republicans, one independent, and five Democrats.  Our volunteer Freddie walked across the street from our Lehighton HQ to the Highrise and signed up five residents--all Democrats for absentee ballots.  That’s ten votes in the bag.

And--Pennsylvania changed its rules on the I.D. requirements (obviously worried about Judge Simpson enjoining the entire law), to make it even easier to obtain a photo I.D.

And--get this--Obama has widened his lead in Florida and Ohio, two key states.  

And, at a rally, the crowd was chanting “Ryan Ryan.”  Romney tried to get the crowd to chant “Romney-Ryan,” but it wasn’t receptive.  

Finally, I’m pickling three different kinds of peppers.  This has nothing to do with politics, but I am the Pepper King of Carbon County.

Carbon County videos

Tonight the Carbon County Democrats for Change club previewed the rough cut of three videos.   The videos were the brainchild of Rene Calvo, award-winning filmmaker, who wrote, directed, and is now editing the footage.

The first video, entitled “Did It,” encourages young people to vote.  The second, “Dropped,” has Obamacare as its subject.  The third one, “Denied,” shows what happens to an elderly voter who does not have the proper picture I.D.  

Mr. Calvo produced two earlier videos in 2010 entitled “Tea Party Chickens” and “Have You Been to Hazleton Lately?”  Both are available on Youtube.

Antibiotics on the farm

Today I was asked to be part of a press conference on the farm bill.  I turned down the opportunity.  While it is true that I am the self-proclaimed Carbon County Hot Pepper King, I really can’t call myself a farmer.  Twenty-two chickens, two guinea hens, and a half-acre truckpatch does not a farmer make.

Nonetheless, I do have some opinions on certain farm policies.  I don’t like concentrated feedlot operations, Roundup Ready soybeans, and genetically-modified crops in general.  

I also have an opinion on antibiotics in animal feed.  Approximately 80% of the antibiotics sold in the U.S. are fed to chickens, cows, pigs, and other animals.  Many scientists think these antibiotics are a major reason reasons infections in humans are resistant to treatment.

It is difficult to determine if there is a link because the people who produce the meat we eat are not required to report which animals are fed the antibiotics or what doses are given.  

Producers, of course, argue that public reporting would entail more government regulation.  Of course it would.  It is the kind of regulation we need.