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Weekly Audit: Massive Protest In Wisconsin Shows Walker’s Overreach
By Lindsay Beyerstein, Media Consortium blogger
About 100,000 people gathered in Madison, Wisconsin to protest Gov. Scott Walker’s new anti-collective bargaining law. The state Senate hurriedly past the bill without a quorum last Wednesday. Roger Bybee of Working In These Times reports:
The rally featured 50 farmers on tractors roaring around the Capitol to show their support for public workers and union representatives from across the nation, stressing the importance of the Wisconsin struggle. Protesters were addressed by a lineup of fiery speakers including fillmaker Michael Moore, the Texas populist radio broadcaster Jim Hightower, TV host Laura Flanders, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, and The Progressive editor Matt Rothschild, among others.
The bill is law, but the fight is far from over. The Wisconsin Democratic Party says it already has 45% of the signatures it needs to recall 8 Republican state senators. So far, canvassers have collected 56,000 signatures, up from 14,000 last weekend. The surge in signature gathering is another sign that the Walker government’s abrupt push to pass the bill has energized the opposition.
Polling bolsters the impression that Walker overreached by forcing the bill through with a dubious procedural trick. Simeon Talley of Campus Progress notes that, according to a recent New York Times/CBS News poll, Americans oppose efforts to limit the collective bargaining rights of public employees.
Jamelle Bouie of TAPPED notes that the enthusiasm gap that helped elect Scott Walker last year has disappeared. In June 2o10, 58% of Democrats said they were certain to vote compared to 67% of Republicans. In March 2011, 86% of Democrats and 85% of Republicans surveyed said they would certainly vote.
Firefighters shut down bank
Wisconsin firefighters found a way to get back at one of Scott Walker’s most generous donors, Madison’s M&I Bank, Julianne Escobedo Shepherd reports in AlterNet. Firefighters Local 311 President Joe Conway put a call out to his members who banked with M&I to “Move Your Money.” Firefighters withdrew hundreds of thousands of dollars of savings in cashiers checks. The beleaguered bank closed its doors at 3pm on March 10.
John Nichols of the Nation reports that other unions got in on the act. He quotes a pamphlet distributed by Sheet Metal Workers International Association Local 565:
“M&I execs gave more money than even the Koch Brothers to Governor Walker and the Wisconsin GOP,” the message goes. “M&I got a $1.7 billion bailout while its CEO gets an $18 million golden parachute. Tell M&I Bank: Back Politicians Who Take Away Our Rights (and) We Take Away Your Business.”
Nichols explains that the next big step in the fight to overturn the bill will be the Wisconsin Supreme Court election, set for April 5. Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg is challenging conservative state Supreme Court Justice David Prosser. Legal analysts have raised serious questions about the bill and the process by which it was passed. A court challenge to Walker’s law might stand a better chance if a liberal justice replaces the conservative pro-corporate Prosser.
Guess what? We’re not broke
Steve Benen of the Washington Monthly takes on a GOP talking point, the myth that the United States is broke. It’s a convenient claim for those who wish to make massive cuts to popular programs without having to justify taking them away. If we don’t have the money, we don’t have the money. If it’s a choice between cuts and bankruptcy, cuts suddenly seem not only acceptable, but inevitable.
But the United States has a $15 trillion economy, immense natural resources, a highly educated workforce, and countless other economic advantages. The problem isn’t a lack of resources, it’s extreme inequality of distribution. Over the last 20 years, 56% of income growth has been funneled to the top 1% of the population, with fully one third of that money going to the richest one-tenth of one percent.
Benen notes that the Republicans didn’t think we were broke when they were advocating for a $538 billion tax-cut package, which wasn’t offset by a dime of cuts.
This post features links to the best independent, progressive reporting about the economy by members of The Media Consortium. It is free to reprint. Visit the Audit for a complete list of articles on economic issues, or follow us on Twitter. And for the best progressive reporting on critical economy, environment, health care and immigration issues, check out The Mulch, The Pulse and The Diaspora. This is a project of The Media Consortium, a network of leading independent media outlets.By Lindsay Beyerstein, Media Consortium blogger About 100,000 people gathered in... more-
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Sen. McCarthy... Sorry, I Mean Sen. King... Holds Hearings on Muslim Radicalization
Perhaps we should hold hearings on the radicalization of Republicans instead.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/03/10/radicalization.hearings/index.html?hpt=C2Perhaps we should hold hearings on the radicalization of Republicans instead.... more-
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Obama seeks the center, to the point of invoking Jeb Bush
I wonder if as the presidentail elections get closer Obama won't just move toward the center but skate quietly to the right, just enough to gain some votes in that wing but perhaps not loud enough to wake up his supporters from the dreams and promises of yesteryear?
I understand that Obama has accomplished somethings in spite of the GOP's ideological, almost homicidal opposition, but you have to remember that he followed bush as president, and, well, that's not a tough act to follow: cleaning up the mess he left sure was . But there are major issues on which he (Obama) has not delivered: Guantanamo, wiretapping. . .
And, anyway, was he really, really, ever a little bit to the left, I mean, not when pandering for votes, but on real principle and beliefs?
I have to admit I don't know much about Jeb b..bus....bu.....bush! (my skin crawls just at the sight of that last name and I can hardly pronounce it without feeling dirty!)
I don't know too much about that person, so I would like to know what you think.
My mind is always thirsty for new knowledge and I welcome your opinions and corrections!
Here' s a piece of the article:
"President Obama continued his efforts to move to the political center on his trip to Florida -- to the point of invoking Republican Jeb Bush's name at a Democratic fundraiser, drawing catcalls in the process.
"No, no, no, no, now," Obama said Friday night, drawing laughter from the crowd at the Fontainebleau Resort in Miami. "I know this is not a name you often hear at Florida Democratic fundraisers."
And the rest can be found here:
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2011/03/obama-seeks-the-center-to-the-point-of-invoking-jeb-bush/1I wonder if as the presidentail elections get closer Obama won't just move toward... more-
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Stop The War or Kill The Bill
Stop The War or Kill The Bill (Ohio Senate bill 5), What is issue #1?-
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Save Planned Parenthood Today
To protect the basic human rights of women and LGBTQ individuals, do your part to protect the much-needed establishment of Planned Parenthood. This place has always served as a haven to the marginalised and oppressed, and without it, basic human rights shall be set back a hundred years.
http://www.examiner.com/transgender-transsexual-issues-in-national/save-planned-parenthood-todayTo protect the basic human rights of women and LGBTQ individuals, do your part to... more-
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Weekly Audit: Police Defy Order to Clear Protesters from Wisconsin Capital
By Lindsay Beyerstein, Media Consortium blogger
On Monday afternoon, the Capitol Police in Madison, Wisconsin refused to enforce an order to clear the Capitol building of hundreds of peaceful protesters who have been occupying the site to protest Governor Scott Walker’s plan to eliminate the collective bargaining rights of public employees.
Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! interviews State Rep. Kelda Helen Roys (D), who spent Sunday night in the Capitol building with other protesters. Roys describes what happened at four o’clock on Monday afternoon when the government gave the order to clear the protesters from the building:
And after several hours of the same sorts of scenes that we’ve been seeing all week—singing, chanting, drumming, speechifying—the Capitol police captain, Chief Tubbs, made an announcement, and he said that the protesters that had remained in the building, they were being orderly and responsible and peaceful and there was no reason to eject them from the Capitol.
Police attempted to clear the building of protesters on Sunday night, but they relented when the protesters refused to leave and allowed them to stay another night. On Monday, the police decided not to eject protesters already inside, but no additional activists would be allowed in. The governor plans to deliver his budget address on Tuesday afternoon. Walker is expected to call for spending cuts that could exceed $1 billion dollars.
Gov. Walker has threatened mass public sector layoffs if the Democratic senators do not return from Illinois by March 1. However, the Uptake.com reports that one of the absent legislators, State Sen. Jon Erpenbach, claims Walker is not telling the truth. Erpenbach says the unions have already agreed to come up with the money the governor needs to balance the budget, and therefore, he has no need to lay anyone off to bridge the gap.
Wisconsin 101
Matthew Rothschild of The Progressive describes the epic scale of the Wisconsin protests:
This is the largest sustained rally for the rights of public sector workers that this country has seen in decades — perhaps ever.
The crowds at the state Capitol have swelled from 10,000-65,000 during the first week all the way up to 100,000 on Feb. 26. Hundreds of people occupied the Capitol building with a sit-in and sleep-in for days on end, and total strangers from around the world ordered pizzas for them.
In case you’re still wondering what all of this means, Andy Kroll, Nick Baumann, and Siddhartha Mahanta of Mother Jones have joined forces to bring you this “Wisconsin 101″ primer.
The Republicans in the Wisconsin House passed a bill that would take away collective bargaining rights for public sector unions, restrict their ability to collect dues, and force them to undergo yearly recertification votes. But the bill cannot become law until the state Senate also passes it. Currently, 14 Democratic state senators are hiding out in Illinois to deprive the Republican majority of the quorum they need to vote on the bill. However, as Kroll notes, if only one Democrat breaks faith and returns to Madison, the Republicans will be able to pass the bill.
Nationwide solidarity
Jamilah King of Colorlines.com brings us a photo essay on the solidarity rallies held around the country over the weekend in support of the Wisconsin protesters. From San Francisco to Salt Lake City to Atlanta to New York, people took to the streets in support of the right of workers to organize. Also at Colorlines.com, historian Michael Honey draws parallels between the situation in Wisconsin and Dr. Martin Luther King’s last crusade. Shortly before his assassination, King stood with the sanitation workers of Memphis to demand collective bargaining rights and the power to collect union dues.
George Warner of Campus Progress profiles some young activists who took to the streets of Washington, D.C. to express their solidarity with the Wisconsin protesters. About 1,500 people came out to a rally in support of the protesters on Saturday.
Anonymous strikes again
In a bizarre twist, a loosely organized coalition of anarchic hackers known as “Anonymous” attacked websites linked to Koch Industries on Sunday, Jessica Pieklo reports for Care2.com. The Koch brothers are among Gov. Walker’s most generous benefactors. The hackers launched a distributed denial of service attack on the website of the Koch-funded conservative group Americans for Prosperity.
In addition to generous campaign contributions, the Koch brothers gave $1 million to the Republican Governors Association, which in turn paid for millions of dollars worth of ads against Walker’s opponent in 2010. Walker is evidently very grateful to Koch. Last week, a writer for a Buffalo-based website got Walker on the phone by pretending to be David Koch.
Don’t look now, but…
Meanwhile, in Indiana, the state assembly reconvened on Monday to find most of the 40 Democratic members had decamped for Illinois. The legislators are apparently taking a page from the Wisconsin playbook. Indiana’s Republican governor is trying to pass legislation that would make permanent a ban on collective bargaining by public sector workers and the Democratic legislators are seeking to deny him the 2/3rds quorum required to vote on the bill.
This post features links to the best independent, progressive reporting about the economy by members of The Media Consortium. It is free to reprint. Visit the Audit for a complete list of articles on economic issues, or follow us on Twitter. And for the best progressive reporting on critical economy, environment, health care and immigration issues, check out The Mulch, The Pulse and The Diaspora. This is a project of The Media Consortium, a network of leading independent media outlets.By Lindsay Beyerstein, Media Consortium blogger On Monday afternoon, the Capitol... more-
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Photographing farm scenery could land you in jail under Senate bill
Taking photographs from the roadside of a sunrise over hay bales near the Suwannee River, horses grazing near Ocala or sunset over citrus groves along the Indian River could land you in jail under a Senate bill filed Monday.
SB 1246 by Sen. Jim Norman, R-Tampa, would make it a first-degree felony to photograph a farm without first obtaining written permission from the owner. A farm is defined as any land "cultivated for the purpose of agricultural production, the raising and breeding of domestic animals or the storage of a commodity."
Media law experts say the ban would violate freedoms protected in the U. S. Constitution. But Wilton Simpson, a farmer who lives in Norman's district, said the bill is needed to protect the property rights of farmers and the "intellectual property" involving farm operations.
Simpson, president of Simpson Farms near Dade City, said the law would prevent people from posing as farmworkers so that they can secretly film agricultural operations.
He said he could not name an instance in which that happened. But animal rights groups such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and Animal Freedom display undercover videos on their web sites to make their case that livestock farming and meat consumption are cruel.
Jeff Kerr, general counsel for PETA, said the state should be ashamed that such a bill would be introduced.
"Mr. Norman should be filing bills to throw the doors of animal producers wide open to show the public where their food comes from rather than criminalizing those who would show animal cruelty," he said.
Simpson agreed the bill would make it illegal to photograph a farm from a roadside without written permission. Norman could not be reached for comment.
Judy Dalglish, executive director for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said shooting property from a roadside or from the air is legal. The bill "is just flat-out unconstitutional not to mention stupid," she said.
And she said there are laws already to prosecute trespassing onto property without permission. And if someone poses as a farm employee to shoot undercover video, they can be fired and possibly sued.
"Why pass a law you know will not stand constitutional muster?" Dalglish said.
Simpson said he doesn't think that "innocent" roadside photography would be prosecuted even if the bill is passed as introduced.
"Farmers are a common-sense people," he said. "A tourist who stops and takes a picture of cows -- I would not imagine any farmer in the state of Florida that cares about that at all."
Originally published in the Florida Current - exclusively distributed via Lobbytools - Florida's Premiere Legislative and Media Monitoring Service.
http://fltrib.com/photographing-cows-or-other-farm-scenery-could-land-you-jail-under-senate-billTaking photographs from the roadside of a sunrise over hay bales near the Suwannee... more-
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Wisconsin Assembly Passes Bill Taking Away Union Rights
Early Friday morning the Wisconsin Assembly voted to pass a bill to strip union workers of their rights to collective bargaining. The bill will now pass to the State Senate for a vote. Minority Democrats are still standing firm and holding out in Illinois in a show of support for union workers.
http://on.msnbc.com/g2mkOsEarly Friday morning the Wisconsin Assembly voted to pass a bill to strip union... more-
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John Thune: I Won't Run For President In 2012
Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) has issued a statement declaring that he will not run for president in 2012.
The full statement:
"For months now, my wife Kimberley and I have received encouragement from family, friends, colleagues, and supporters from across South Dakota and the country to run for the presidency of the United States. We have appreciated hearing their concerns about where the country is headed and their hopes for a new direction.
During this time, Kimberley and I and our two daughters have given a great deal of thought to how we might best serve South Dakota and our nation. That process has involved lots of prayer.
Along the way, we have been reminded of the importance of being in the arena, of being in the fight. And make no mistake that during this period of fiscal crisis and economic uncertainty there is a fight for the future direction of America. There is a battle to be waged over what kind of country we are going to leave our children and grandchildren and that battle is happening now in Washington, not two years from now. So at this time, I feel that I am best positioned to fight for America's future here in the trenches of the United States Senate.
I want to thank those who have encouraged us and prayed for us during the past several months. We are forever grateful for all the support.
John and Kimberley"
DNC Executive Director Jennifer O'Malley Dillon told HuffPost's Sam Stein last July that Thune was the prospective GOP candidate who worried her the most. "This is personal but John Thune is somebody that I have nightmares about," she said at the time.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/22/john-thune-president-2012_n_826572.htmlSen. John Thune (R-S.D.) has issued a statement declaring that he will not run for... more-
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Wisconsin Democrats leave state to avoid a vote
MADISON, Wis. -- Faced with a near-certain Republican victory that would end a half-century of collective bargaining for public workers, Wisconsin Democrats retaliated with the only weapon they had left: They fled.
Fourteen Democratic lawmakers disappeared from the Capitol on Thursday, just as the Senate was about to begin debating the measure aimed at easing the state's budget crunch.
By refusing to show up for a vote, the group hoped to pressure Republicans to the negotiating table.
"The plan is to try and slow this down because it's an extreme piece of legislation that's tearing this state apart," Democratic Sen. Jon Erpenbach said in a telephone interview.
Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who took office last month, has made the bill a top priority. He urged the group to return and called the boycott a stunt.
"It's more about theatrics than anything else," Walker said, predicting the group would come back in a day or two, after realizing "they're elected to do a job."
Walker said Democrats could still offer amendments to change the bill, but he pledged not to concede on his plan.
Republicans hold a 19-14 majority in the Senate, but they need at least one Democrat to be present before voting.
Erpenbach said the group had been in Rockford, Ill., but they dispersed by late afternoon.
Sen. Tim Cullen said he was back in Wisconsin by Thursday night, but he did not expect Democrats to return to take up the bill until Saturday. The sergeant-at-arms immediately began looking for the missing lawmakers. If authorized, he can seek police help.
The Senate planned to try again today to convene. The Assembly took no action Thursday but could take up the bill today whether the Senate does or not, said John Jagler, spokesman for Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald.
The drama unfolded in a jam-packed Capitol. Madison police and the State Department of Public Instruction estimated the crowd at 25,000 protesters, the largest number yet.
"We are all willing to come to the table. ... But you can't take A, B, C, D and everything we've worked for in one fell swoop," said teacher Rita Miller.
The proposal marks a dramatic shift for Wisconsin, which passed a comprehensive collective bargaining law in 1959 and was the birthplace of the national union representing all non-federal public employees.MADISON, Wis. -- Faced with a near-certain Republican victory that would end a... more-
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Obama to seek changes in Pell Grants
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama's budget plan would cut $100 billion from Pell Grants and other higher education programs over a decade through belt-tightening and use the savings to keep the maximum college financial aid award at $5,550, an administration official said.
Nearly $90 billion of the projected savings would be achieved through two changes, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of Monday's release of Obama's 2012 budget. The spending plan applies to the budget year that begins Oct. 1.
Congress would have to approve both changes.
Read the full article at: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110213/ap_on_re_us/us_obama_pell_grantsWASHINGTON – President Barack Obama's budget plan would cut $100 billion... more-
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Welfare Drug Testing Bills Introduced in Four States
Critics of welfare drug testing cite unconstitutionality of warrantless drug testing, the cost of drug testing tens or hundreds of thousands of people, counterproductive results and mean-spiritedness in opposing legislation that would require it. But that hasn't stopped legislators from coming back again and again.
With this year's state legislative season barely under way, bills have been introduced in four states -- Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oregon -- to require drug testing for people receiving public assistance. And in a novel twist, a bill in Indiana would require unemployment recipients to declare they are not using illegal drugs and threatens them with up to three years in prison for perjury if they are found to be using them.
But while such bills may be popular with politicians of a certain stripe, they don't find much support among professionals in the field. Groups that have lined up against such bills include the American Public Health Association, the National Association of Social Workers, the National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs, the Center for Addiction and Mental Health, the National Health Law Project, the National Association on Alcohol, Drugs and Disability, National Advocates for Pregnant Women, the National Black Women’s Health Project, the Legal Action Center, the National Welfare Rights Union, the Youth Law Center, the Juvenile Law Center, and the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which successfully litigated against Michigan's welfare drug testing law, has also come down strongly against welfare drug testing. Such laws are "scientifically, fiscally, and constitutionally unsound," in the ACLU's opinion. The group cites studies showing welfare recipients are no more likely to use drugs than the rest of the population and that 70% of illicit drug users are employed. It also cites research showing that drug testing is an expensive, but ineffective way to uncover drug abuse. (Full citations and more information are available at the ACLU link above.)
But the kicker for the ACLU is the unconstitutionality of warrantless drug testing by the state, as determined by the US 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in the Michigan case. Michigan was the only state to actually implement a welfare drug testing program, but the appeals court found that the program violated the Fourth Amendment's provision barring unreasonable searches.
The persistence of such attempts is drawing concern from the drug reform community as well. Given the fiscal pressures facing the states, legislators could be even more susceptible to pseudo-populist demagoguery than usual.
"I am quite concerned that recurring legislative proposals to require drug testing of welfare and/or unemployment applicants and beneficiaries will gain new momentum with the budget crises confronting so many states, and also in Congress," said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA). "The proposals are mean-spirited, counter-productive and will ultimately cost much more than they save by depriving needy Americans of access to benefits. DPA will do all it can to ensure that these proposals do not become law."
"These kinds of laws aren't going to stop someone who is addicted from being addicted," said Richard Wexler, executive director of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform. "They're just going to drive them further away from getting any kind of help. Also, it is often poverty that causes the stress that helps create addiction. If you make someone poorer, you just deepen that despair," he pointed out.
"If you really want to deal with the problem of addiction, provide treatment on demand," Wexler offered. "And if people are worried that not everyone will take advantage of it, let's put that to the test. Make drug treatment immediately available and see if the claim that people will turn it down has any merit."
But nobody is offering treatment on demand. Instead, legislators are offering up a stick with no carrot.
In Kentucky, a bill championed by Rep. Lonnie Napier (R-Lancaster), HB 208, would require all adults applying for public assistance to undergo drug tests, followed by random testing once a year. The measure would apply to all adults receiving or applying to receive food stamps, cash assistance, or Medicaid. Although Napier told the Richmond Register a positive test result would not necessarily result in the loss of benefits, the bill itself says that a positive test will make the individual "ineligible" for public assistance.
"There’s people buying food with food stamps and trading that food for drugs. Children are not getting benefit from it. Children do not need to be in a home where drugs are present," the loquacious Napier told the Register. "Maybe it could get people off drugs. Drugs are breaking the state up. If we could get a few people off drugs, it would be worth it," he said.
But Napier's assertion about trading food stamps for drugs appears to be based on little more than hearsay. "People tell me people are abusing the system," he said. "If you knew you were to be tested, you'd want to be clean."
Still, Napier's bill has some powerful friends. Among its cosponsors are House Speaker Greg Stumbo (D-Prestonburg) and House Minority Leader Danny Ford (R-Mt. Vernon).
In Missouri, Rep. Ellen Brandom (R-Sikeston) is pushing HB 73, which would require a drug test for anyone applying for or receiving public benefits if there is "reasonable cause" to believe they are using drugs. Failure to pass the drug test would result in the suspension of benefits for one year, and the person would then have to apply to be reinstated in the program.
Brandom told Kansas City's KCTV 5 that she was doing it for the taxpayers. "They're very resentful that they're working hard, and have to take a drug test to work," Brandom said. "The people who aren't working can receive their tax dollars, and don't have to be held to the same high standard."
That bill passed the House Rules Committee on an 11-4 vote last week and is set for a House floor vote this week. A similar measure passed the House last year, but died in the Senate.
A welfare drug testing bill has also been introduced in Nebraska. The Chronicle covered it last week; you can read about it here.
In Oregon, there are two separate bills aimed at recipients of public assistance. State Sen. Bruce Starr (R-Hillsboro) has introduced SB 538, which would require all people receiving welfare and food stamps to be take a drug test each six months -- at their own expense. A positive test result would result in the termination of public assistance.
And state Rep. Dennis Richardson (R-Central Point) has introduced HB 2995, which would require those applying for unemployment benefits to first pass a drug test. Those who tested positive would have to enter drug treatment or give up their benefits.
Richardson's bill has not yet been assigned to a committee. Starr's bill was assigned Tuesday to the Senate Health Care, Human Services and Rural Health Committee. No hearing dates have been set.
And then there's Indiana. In the Hoosier State, state Sen. Jean Leising (R-Oldenburg) has introduced SB 86, which would require people seeking unemployment benefits to declare on their applications that they will refrain from any illegal drug use. The bill also says that applicants are subject to "penalty of perjury" if they sign a declaration and then are found to be using drugs. Perjury carries a prison sentence of up to three years in Indiana.
continued at
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2011/jan/20/welfare_drug_testing_bills_introCritics of welfare drug testing cite unconstitutionality of warrantless drug testing,... more-
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The ‘No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act’ and America’s Hidden Moral Consensus
As the nation prepares for the 38th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, a bill has been introduced in Congress that has a chance to really move the nation forward on the issue of abortion, which we are so often told is intractable. Should Congress take up the challenge and pass the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act,” it could be the beginning of real, bipartisan progress based on the moral compass of the vast majority of Americans.
The introduction of this bill coincides with two other anniversaries: the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy’s inauguration (January 20) and the 100th anniversary of President Reagan’s birth (February 6). As they prepare to debate taxpayer funding of abortion, congressmen would do well to heed lessons from each of these men.
Though many politicians today compartmentalize their conscience and their beliefs from the way they legislate, President Kennedy laid out a different approach. In Houston, during his run for the White House, he said: “If the time should ever come — and I do not concede any conflict to be remotely possible — when my office would require me to either violate my conscience or violate the national interest, then I would resign the office; and I hope any conscientious public servant would do likewise.” There are always pragmatic reasons to compartmentalize one’s moral compass; one need look no further than C.S. Lewis’s Screwtape Letters. But Americans are tired of that — they want consistency of conscience from their elected officials. They want people of principle.
This brings us to the other anniversary those in Congress ought to consider, President Reagan’s. That the same man who had the moral courage to label the Soviet Union an Evil Empire and tell Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down this wall” also told us in his 1984 book Abortion and the Conscience of a Nation: “We cannot diminish the value of one category of human life — the unborn — without diminishing the value of all human life.” Ronald Reagan understood that the American people wanted leadership that wouldn’t parse its moral compass based on pragmatic political criteria. As I point out in my latest book, the myth that key social issues evenly divide the American people is preventing us from finding creative solutions that the vast majority of the electorate would agree with.
Full Story: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/257680/no-taxpayer-funding-abortion-act-and-americas-hidden-moral-consensus-carl-andersonAs the nation prepares for the 38th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, a bill has been... more-
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Rep. Ron Paul on a 2012 Senate run: 'It's certainly crossed my mind'
Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) says a new poll that shows him a a top choice among Texas Republicans to run for Senate has him thinking about the race.
"It's certainly crossed my mind," Paul told The Ballot Box of a potential run for Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's (R-Texas) Senate seat next year.
New numbers out Wednesday from Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling found Paul was second only to Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst (R) among Texas Republicans asked who they want to see run for the seat in 2012.
The poll found Dewhurst to be the top choice of Republicans, garnering 23 percent support. But Paul was right behind him as the pick of 20 percent of GOP voters.
The two-time presidential candidate stressed that his potential interest in a Senate seat wasn't anything new, but admitted the poll numbers had peaked his interest.
Paul said "a lot of people" brought the numbers to his attention Wednesday.
Full Article: http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/senate-races/138943-rep-ron-paul-on-12-senate-run-its-crossed-my-mindRep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) says a new poll that shows him a a top choice among Texas... more-
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Latest News Illinois Income Tax Increase
Recently Complete News Updates The Illinois House narrowly approved a major state income tax increase Tuesday night. The state of Illinois is implementing a big income tax increase.Recently Complete News Updates The Illinois House narrowly approved a major state... more-
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Tragedy Raises Questions About Permanent Security For Members Of Congress
ABC World News reported after the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Arizona "come new questions tonight about whether members of Congress should have more security. In most cases they travel with no security at all when they are out in their districts." On Wednesday, lawmakers will convene "to have a resolution to honoring...Giffords and the other victims of the shooting. Also...there will be a security briefing with all members, the FBI, and the Capitol Police to talk about their own security."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2011-01-10-security10_ST_N.htmABC World News reported after the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Arizona... more-
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Weekly Mulch: With D.C. in GOP Hands, Environmentalists Must ‘Fight Harder’
by Sarah Laskow, Media Consortium Blogger
For the environmental community, this coming year offers a chance to regroup, rethink and regrow. Two years ago, it seemed possible that politicians would make progress on climate change issues—that a Democratic Congress would pass a cap-and-trade bill, that a Democratic president would lead the international community toward agreement on emissions standards. And so for two years environmentalists cultivated plans that ultimately came to naught.
What comes next? What comes now? It’s clear that looking to Washington for environmental leadership is futile. But looking elsewhere might lead to more fertile ground.
Our new leaders
On Wednesday, the 112th Congress began, and Republicans took over the House. They are not going to tackle environmental legislation. This past election launched a host of climate deniers into office, and even members of Congress inclined to more reasonable environmental views, like Rep. Fred Upton, now chair of the House Energy and Commerce committee, have tacked towards the right. Whereas once Upton recognized the need for action on climate change and reducing carbon emissions, recently he has been pushing back against the Environmental Protection Agency’s impending carbon regulations and questioning whether carbon emissions are a problem at all.
“It’s worth remembering that Upton was once considered among the most moderate members of the GOP on the issue,” writes Kate Sheppard at Mother Jones. “No longer.”
Good riddance
The climate bill is really, truly, dead, and it’s not coming back. But as Dave Roberts and Thomas Pitilli illustrate in Grist’s graphic account of the bill’s demise recalls, by the time it reached the Senate, the bill was already riddled with compromises.
And so perhaps it’s not such bad news that there’s space now to rethink how progressives should approach environmental and energy issues.
“It’s refreshing to shake the Etch-a-Sketch. You get to draw a new picture. The energy debate needs a new picture,” policy analyst Jason Grumet said last month, as Grist reports.
Already, in The Washington Monthly, Jeffrey Leonard, the CEO of the Global Environmental Fund, is pitching an idea that played no part in the discussions of the past two years. He writes:
If President Obama wants to set us on a path to a sustainable energy future—and a green one, too—he should propose a very simple solution to the current mess: eliminate all energy subsidies. Yes, eliminate them all—for oil, coal, gas, nuclear, ethanol, even for wind and solar. … Because wind, solar, and other green energy sources get only the tiniest sliver of the overall subsidy pie, they’ll have a competitive advantage in the long term if all subsidies, including the huge ones for fossil fuels, are eliminated.
No impact? No sweat
Federal policies aren’t the only part of the picture that can be re-drawn. Even as Congress failed to act on climate change, an ever-increasing number of Americans decided to make changes to decrease their impact on the environment.
Colin Beavan committed more dramatically than most: his No Impact Man project required that he switch to a zero-waste life style. This year, he partnered with Yes! Magazine for No Impact Week, which asks participants to engage in an 8-day “carbon cleanse,” in which they try out low-impact living. Yes! is publishing the chronicles of participants’ ups and downs with the experiment: Deb Seymour found it empowering to give up her right to shop; Grace Porter missed her bus stop and had to walk two miles to school; Aran Seaman found a local site where he could compost food scraps.
The long view
Perhaps, for some of the participants, No Impact Week will continue on after eight days. After Seaman participated last year, he gave up his car in favor of biking and public transportation.
On the surface, giving up a convenience like that can seem like a sacrifice. But it needn’t be. Janisse Ray writes in Orion Magazine about her decision to give up plane travel for environmental reasons. Instead, she now travels long distances by train, and that comes with its own pleasures:
Through the long night the train rocks down the rails, stopping in Charleston, Rocky Mount, Richmond, and other marvelous southern places. People get on and off. Across the aisle a woman is traveling with two children I learn are her son, aged twelve, and her granddaughter, ten months. In South Carolina we pick up a woman come from burying her father. He had wanted to go home, she says. She drinks periodically from a small bottle of wine buried in the pocket of her black overcoat. The train is not crowded, and I have two seats to myself.
Our true leaders
Ultimately, though, sweeping environmental changes will require leadership and societal changes. American politicians may have abdicated that responsibility for now, but others are still fighting. In In These Times, Robert Hirschfield writes of Subhas Dutta, who’s building a green movement in India.
“The environmental issue is the issue of today. The political parties, all of them, have let us down,” Dutta says. “We want to be part of the decision-making process on the state and national levels. The struggle for the environment has to be fought politically.”
One person who understood that was Judy Bonds, the anti-mountaintop removal mining activist, who died this week of cancer. Grist, Change.org, and Mother Jones all have remembrances; at Change.org, Phil Aroneanu shared “a beautiful elegy to Judy from her friend and colleague Vernon Haltom:”
I can’t count the number of times someone told me they got involved because they heard Judy speak, either at their university, at a rally, or in a documentary. Years ago she envisioned a “thousand hillbilly march” in Washington, DC. In 2010, that dream became a reality as thousands marched on the White House for Appalachia Rising….While we grieve, let’s remember what she said, “Fight harder.”
This post features links to the best independent, progressive reporting about the environment by members of The Media Consortium. It is free to reprint. Visit the Mulch for a complete list of articles on environmental issues, or follow us on Twitter. And for the best progressive reporting on critical economy, health care and immigration issues, check out The Audit, The Pulse, and The Diaspora. This is a project of The Media Consortium, a network of leading independent media outlets.by Sarah Laskow, Media Consortium Blogger For the environmental community, this... more-
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Democratic Colleagues In The Senate
Democratic Colleagues In The Senate.Lieberman told me if he does run, it will likely be as an independent, although he said some of his Democratic colleagues in the senate have been encouraging him to run as a Democrat.Democratic Colleagues In The Senate.Lieberman told me if he does run, it will likely... more-
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One Hundred New Republicans In Senate, House
USA Today Share to FacebookShare to Twitter reports, "Most of the 112 freshman legislators who were sworn into Congress on Wednesday were Republicans, and they weren't shy about what they think that means." Rep. Bobby Schilling said, "We come up with kind of a mandate. If [the leadership] doesn't give us a little bit of room and listen to us, I think the people will see that." USA Today says "it was hard to escape the fact" Wednesday "that of the 112 new members of Congress, 100 were Republicans."
ABC World News reported that of the 87 new Republicans in the House, "half of them are from the Tea Party.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2011-01-06-congress06_ST_N.htmUSA Today Share to FacebookShare to Twitter reports, "Most of the 112 freshman... more-
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Filibuster Change - 'Mr. Smith' bill introduced in the Senate
"would require those who want to filibuster a nomination or a bill to appear on the floor and actually speak."
Don't think this will get very far but I absolutely love the idea.
Washington (CNN) -- Senate Democrats on Wednesday introduced legislation that would tighten rules on the use of the filibuster in the legislative chamber.
In a nod to the classic movie "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-New Jersey, reintroduced his "Mr. Smith Bill," which would require those who want to filibuster a nomination or a bill to appear on the floor and actually speak."would require those who want to filibuster a nomination or a bill to appear on... more-
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