Sunday, June 30, 2013

"White House Down"


I suppose I could make a joke here about thinking the movie was about President Obama’s mood given the intransigence of the Republican House and Supreme Court opinions undermining American democracy, but I knew the basic idea of the film before we bought our tickets.  A group of terrorists seize the White House, and a few brave souls, including the President played by Jamie Foxx, thwart their plans.

Just as Morgan Freeman playing a President in “Deep Impact” made the idea of a black president believable and played a role in the acceptance of Obama as a candidate, so Obama makes the idea of an action hero like Jaime Foxx as president acceptable to the audience.  

“Independence Day,” featuring the President as fighter pilot battling outer space aliens was said to give President Clinton a bump up.  This movie might give President Obama a slight nudge in the polls.  We’ll see.

I don’t want to over-analyze the film. Let’s just say its a great popcorn movie with lots of action and excitement.  It’s not “Citizen Kane,” but it’s a lot more fun.

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Dark Times, Still Dark


I received an email from my friend Jeremy telling me that he went back and read some of my early posts.  Here’s what he wrote, slightly edited for space requirements.

My kids are sleeping a little longer and I was tired of watching MSNBC so I started reading your blog from the first original post. If you’re curious, here are my observations. First, I assume you created the blog out of the disappointment in 2010. Which you should have!  Dems were caught off guard, and we all had to work harder. 

Second, I could not believe how dark those times were.  And you did a great job conveying that.  I think I have Political PTSD from 2010. I blocked it out, but your blog brought all of those emotions back. 

Third, I think Obama's second term curse happened in 2010.  Hopefully, the 2014 midterms will be more fruitful for Democrats and productive for America. 

Fourth, Democrats are off their 2010 lows. Immigration can cement a Democratic President for another 12 to 16 years.

Jer

I guess I think times are still dark.  When I said this, Linda pointed out that we are discussing climate change and immigration reform rather than fighting to retain Social Security and Medicare, which we would be doing if Romney had won.  

Nonetheless, with the Republicans in control of the House, the Supreme Court, and a large number of state houses along with an almost unlimited (and tax exempt) supply of money, I’m as discouraged as I was in 2010.  Still, “knocked down four times, rising up five.”  

Friday, June 28, 2013

Chucking American Government texts


Later this summer we plan to have a blow-out yard sale.  I’m talking a horse-drawn cultivator, tools, kitchen antiques, furniture, and, of course, books.  Tonight I was up in the shed getting the books ready for sale, and I realized that most of my old political science texts were no longer valid.

I last taught American Government in the fall of 2008.  Twitter was in its infancy, the Supreme Court had not issued its “Citizen United” decision, the Voting Rights Act was intact, and while the Patriot Act had been passed after the attack on the World Trade Center, no one had any idea that the N.S.A. was amassing “metadata” of our phone calls and emails.  “Roe v. Wade” was still the law of the land.

“Voter Suppression” was not a nation-wide phenomenon, the “Tea Party” had not been formed, and federal judicial appointments were almost always approved.  The Allentown Morning Call was a reasonably good paper.  Fracking was unknown.  

I do remember a black woman in the class telling me how her mother cried when Obama was elected, and when I tried to explain why, I teared up myself.  Five years seems like an eternity.

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Pennsylvania and the Deep South


Have you looked at one of those maps of the states that now recognize gay marriage?  The New England states, New York, Delaware, and Maryland are among those states.  Pennsylvania is not.  What is wrong with us?

On June 23 the New York Times printed a map of the “most prejudiced” states.  Law professors at U.C. Davis and UConn used survey data from 2008.  In the survey, people were asked to rank the intelligence, trustworthiness, and work effort of different groups of people on a scale of 0 to 100.  The two professors estimated how people ranked their own ethnic group with how they rated blacks.

States where more than 75% or more of non-blacks were more prejudiced than the U.S. average included all of the states in the Confederacy except North Carolina and Virginia.  

There was only one other state in the group of most prejudiced.  It was Pennsylvania.  

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Mixed emotions


President Obama’s speech on climate change was just great.  I am thankful we have a president who understands science and behaves accordingly, especially at a time when some members of Congress reject evolution, global climate change, and probably the heliocentric view of the solar system.

I am also pleased that gay marriage was recognized, and that gays in California can marry.  This past weekend our daughter attended the wedding ceremony of her best friend from high school who married another woman.  We have known Amy since she was in 9th grade, she’s a wonderful person, and we wish the best for her and Ashley.  The wedding took place in Massachusetts, one of the enlightened states, and Rachael said it was beautiful.

On the other hand, the move to recognize gay marriages was 5-4.  Four justices are still living in the Fifties, or perhaps in the Middle Ages.  That is discouraging.

I also can’t get past the fact that Texas has already said it would reinstate the voter ID law (stopped under the pre-clearance rule of the Voting Rights Act).  This is just one of the discriminatory actions we will see.  Blacks and Latinos will be packed into a few districts, diluting their voting influence.  You will see all kinds policies like this in the coming years.

The Court actually had the gall to say that Congress could write new standards.  This Congress could not pass a bill approving of motherhood and apple pie.  Well, if the motherhood bill included a provision outlawing abortion, maybe.

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

In the bubble


Some of the Supreme Court justices do not seem connected to the real world.  The decision on the Voting Rights Act was made by men (and they were men) who either haven’t been reading the news about voter suppression laws or have chosen to ignore that news.

The decision on job discrimination claims, making it more difficult to sue employers, says that an employee who claims that he or she was a victim of retaliation must prove this was the sole reason for his or her firing, not one of several reasons.   Since any employer can concoct reasons for firing, the Court has basically eliminated all job discrimination claims.

I hope future historians will note that while President Obama failed to accomplish much in his second term, he had a hostile Supreme Court and a hostile House of Representatives to stymie his every move.  This is one dysfunctional government.

Monday, June 24, 2013

Marx and Snowden


Why did Karl Marx, a German, write Das Kapital in London?  Because he was wanted in his own country.  Why didn’t Britain send him back?  Because he was wanted for what British authorities considered to be a political crime.

Many countries, including the United States, do not extradite people whose crime is considered “political.”  They are, instead, given political asylum, allowed to stay here.  If a person is wanted in Venezuela for murder, we will send him back.  If a person is facing a 20 year sentence for criticizing the President of Venezuela, we will almost certainly not send him back.

Was what Snowden did a regular crime or a political crime?  I would argue that it was a political crime.  I know the head of N.S.A. is claiming that Snowden is a run-of-the-mill criminal, but his main offenses seem to have been telling the American people about a secret monitoring program and embarrassing the government.

Now American authorities are having a hissy fit because Hong Kong allowed Snowden to fly to Russia and Russia took him in.  Russia should stand its ground.  What a turnaround--China and Russia standing up for an individual.

By the way, you can’t have a democratic and accountable government if you don’t even know what the government is doing.  If the dragnet monitoring by the N.S.A. was such a good idea, why weren’t we told about it?  

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Family Reunion


Charles and Esther Greene had 15 children, 13 of whom survived into adulthood.  The original name had been Greenzweig, but it was changed around World War I, when that kind of alteration of German names was common.

The reunions may have started before I was born, but all the aunts and uncles and my cousins made for a large group.  Now all but one of the original children and their spouses are gone, and many of my generation have also died.  The next generation--what would be second cousins--have little connection, and the third generation has almost no knowledge of the family and probably little desire to maintain contact.

Today we held the annual Greene family reunion.  Most of the cousins in my generation were not there.  Many have died, some are in nursing homes, some live too far away to make the trip.  I did see a cousin who is right-wing N.R.A., but I also talked to a bee keeper in the next generation who is obviously aware of the environmental problems we are facing.

One of these years I may win the prize for the oldest family member attending.

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Campaign workshop


This morning I attended a campaign workshop in Summit Hill sponsored by the Carbon County Democratic Party.  We heard presenters discuss targeting, phone calling techniques, the importance of a campaign Facebook page, canvassing tips, and campaign finance reporting requirements.  The event was for local candidates, and although I’m not running for office, I figured I could pick up a few pointers--and I did.    

One candidate noted that some townships have ordinances against any campaign signs  displayed more than 30 days before the election.  The U.S. Supreme Court has already declared such ordinances to be a violation of the First Amendment right of free speech.

The problem is that candidates are trying to win votes, not constitutional law cases.  If you went to court, you’d win, but you’d lose votes (and spend money).  This is what happens when local officials act unconstitutionally.  They often get away with it. 

I also want to add hats off to County Chair Billy O’Gurek for organizing the event, finding the venue, and buying the donuts and coffee.  Good workshop.

Friday, June 21, 2013

Mulberries


Believe it or not, sometimes I get depressed with politics.  Today I went back to my friend George, who had spread tarps beneath his mulberry tree, and I picked up mulberries to make mulberry jelly.  

I pickled half a bucket full, but I do need more.  I’ll go back Sunday for the rest--by that time more will have fallen.  When I was ready to leave, George gave me a bottle of his mulberry wine.  This is prize-winning wine, vintage 2011.  It was a very good year.  I’m not thinking about politics right now.  I’m not depressed.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Fraud on the Farm


The annual farm bill is currently before the House.  According to Ron Nixon, a reporter for the New York Times, one of the issues is fraud in the farm programs.  (See “Fraud Used to Frame Farm Bill Debate,” June 18.)  

The rate of food stamp fraud has been declining and now accounts for about one percent of the $760 billion program.  While that is still quite a bit of money, the rate for fraud in the crop insurance program, which is much more concentrated on a few agribusinesses, is close to five percent.  

Guess which program the Republicans are concerned about?  

The "liberal" Supreme Court


A friend brought to my attention a recent editorial that appeared in the Times News criticizing the U.S. Supreme Court for its decision on the Arizona law requiring voters to show proof of citizenship.  The writer went on about the importance of protecting the election process, failing to note that the Arizona law had prevented thousands of American citizens from casting their ballots.

What caught my attention was the writer’s label of the Supreme Court as “liberal.”  The opinion in the Arizona case was written by Justice Scalia.  We have the most conservative Supreme Court since the early New Deal--pro-business, anti-labor, shaky on civil rights, hostile to environmental issues, terrible on civil liberties.  To call the Court liberal is bizarre.  To think of Scalia as “liberal” is mind-boggling.

I understand that the editorial writer, Ron Gower, has been the managing editor since the retirement of editor Bob Urban.  

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

GED program eliminated in Carbon County


Last year approximately 180 people received their GED from the only program in Carbon County that offered free GED courses.  The program was based at the Carbon County Technical Institute (CCTI) in Jim Thorpe, and it had ties to “Career Link,” which tries to help the unemployed find jobs.  High school dropouts often found that they really did need that diploma, and they enrolled to get their GED.  That program has now been eliminated.

CCTI also provided a very popular welding course.  Students who completed the course were in high demand.  That course has also been eliminated.  No more state funding.

Carbon County also placed students in the Pennsylvania Conservation Corps.  That Corps required participants to have at least an 8th grade education.  The students in that program built the cabins at Mauch Chunk Lake, learning not only important skills, but also self-reliance and self-confidence.  As one staffer put it, “that program was a life saver for those kids.”  The Conservation Corps has also been eliminated.

Republican legislators always say they want to create jobs.  They say that lower taxes will do that. 

What they don’t seem to understand is that businesses need a trained and educated workforce.  It is hard for me to accept that the state government would end programs that gave people hope, that gave them jobs, that benefited the Commonwealth.  It is not only immoral, it is just plain stupid.  

The Carbon County representative is Doyle Heffley.  His address is 110 N. Third Street, Lehighton, PA 18235.  His office phone is 610-377-6363.

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Lunch at Grumpy's


After we dropped off our entries at the Schecksville Fair, we drove over to Grumpy’s, a locally-known rib and barbecue restaurant, for lunch.  The guy at the next table was holding forth on a number of topics--Obamacare, gun control, religion.  He actually said, “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.”  I’m not kidding.

I never know what to do.  Should I have confronted the guy?  Should I have gone over with the little notebook I carry and asked him, “Could you repeat that thing about guns don’t kill people..., I want to write that down?”  Should I have said, “That is more horse shit than produced by the Kentucky Derby?”  Should I have said, “I’m sorry, I’m trying to eat here, and you are making me nauseous?”  

What I did was, I ignored him and worked on the Sunday Times crossword puzzle with Linda.  Still, I’m left with the feeling I should have done more.

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Camover


According to an article in the June 24 issue of The Nation, over 30 million surveillance cameras have been sold in the U.S. since 2001.  This brings us to the game known as “Camover,” begun in Berlin last year.  It’s a video game in which the players go out into the streets and smash or disable CCTV cameras.  To get points, you have to document your action online with a video.  You play in teams, called brigades, and you can steal, smash, or paint over the lens of the cameras.  Most of the participants dress in black with black masks to disguise their identity.

I’m 70 years old and ought to know better, but there is something about the anarchistic spirit of Camover that appeals to me.

Friday, June 14, 2013

Terrorist attacks thwarted?


General Keith Alexander, director of the National Security Agency, testified before a congressional committee that the N.S.A. programs have prevented “dozens” of terrorist attacks.  Unfortunately, he can’t tell us about them.  We’ll just have to trust him.

In another development, Rep. Peter King called for the prosecution of journalists who publish classified information.  This from a man who supported the Irish Republican Army, a noted terrorist organization.  Amazing.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Carbon County Recycling Conference


Earlier this year the Carbon County Commissioners terminated the County’s “Blue Bin” recycling program.  Under the program, county residents were able to recycle paper, cardboard, glass, tin, and plastics #1 and #2 to blue bins at various locations around the county.  

The program was geared to township residents.  Most of the boroughs in the county had their own recycling programs, and some borough residents resented paying for a service they didn’t use.  The economic downturn that began in 2008 reduced the price for recycled goods, so the program faced financial difficulties.  Carbon County also projected a large budget deficit for 2013.  These factors led the Commissioners to eliminate the Blue Bin program.

The townships have tried various ways to continue to recycle.  Financial inducements to reduce the waste stream include a reduction in “tipping fees.”  There are also self-evident environmental reasons to recycle as much waste as possible.

On Tuesday night I spoke to the Lower Towamensing Supervisors, urging them to sponsor a recycling conference where some of the issues could be discussed in a non-threatening, non-judgmental way.  The Supervisors were amenable to sponsoring such a conference, and we already have two possible speakers lined up.  We need to do more work, but I’ll keep you posted on this issue.

The Second and Fourth Amendments


Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have been quick to defend the spying and recording of millions of Americans.  It’s to protect us.  It’s to prevent more 9/11s.

Some of these same members of Congress voted against a bill to record the sales of assault rifles.  

The destruction of the World Trade Center took approximately 3000 lives. Homicides from guns in the U.S. total approximately 10,000 annually.  

The N.R.A. supports the 2nd Amendment only.  I am proud to be a member of the American Civil Liberties Union.  We support the entire Bill of Rights, including the First and Fourth Amendments.

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

The return of the cougar


When I lived in Marin County, I frequently hiked the trails of the Marin Municipal Water District.  The trailheads had signs warning about mountain lions.  Don’t run.  Act “big.”  If attacked, fight back.

I actually saw a mountain lion on Ridge Road.  This very large cat streaked across the road.  I immediately stopped and got out the car, then realized that was really dumb and jumped back in.

I bring all this up because today’s Science section of the New York Times had an article detailing the rebound and spread of cougars, also known as mountain lions and  panthers. In the south where people evidently can’t pronounce “th,” they’re called painters.  

None have been sighted in Pennsylvania, but they have been seen in Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, Missouri, and Louisiana.  They are coming.  And every time I lose vegetables to deer, I hope it’s soon.

Monday, June 10, 2013

Party on the left


Linda recently received a fundraising letter for Ed Markey, candidate for the U.S. Senate to replace John Kerry.  The envelope featured a quote from Elizabeth Warren stating “He’s always there for the middle class.”  

First of all, I must point out that when your party needs every vote you can get in the Senate, it is really short-sighted to appoint one of your Senators to be Secretary of State.  Didn’t we learn anything with the Scott Brown episode?

Be that as it may, what happened to the “lower class?”  If you aren’t comfortable with that terminology (and you should be), how about the “working class.”  Why is all of the dialogue in this country about the one-percent and the middle class?  Do we just sweep the lower third under the rug?

When the revelations about the N.S.A. abuses came out, both Democratic and Republican Senators were quick to jump to the N.S.A.’s defense, attacking the whistle blowers who leaked this violation of the 4th Amendment.  A few senators--Udall and Paul spring to mind--spoke out against this wholesale abuse of privacy, but most of the Senate defended wiretaps and data collection.

What this country needs is a left party.  We have one on the far right, one on the center (or maybe center-right), and none on the left.  We really need one on the left.

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Fundraising suggestions


A few days ago I asked for some fundraising suggestions to keep our office open.  I wasn’t overwhelmed with responses, but I did receive a few suggestions via email.  I especially appreciated the ideas from a reader in Belgium.  I was also gratified that she didn’t tell me to sit in our store window like the women she showed me in the red light district of Brussels.  I well remember some of those women--the one dressed like a teacher with ruler in hand and the one who looked like a Catholic school girl come to mind.

We’ve been scouting various farmers’ markets that have flea market type booths, but we weren’t impressed.  I think what we will do is pool our extraneous possessions and have a giant yard sale, probably in my yard.  I’ll keep you posted.

Saturday, June 8, 2013

The Santa Monica Massacre


You may remember the reproduction of the woodcut of the “massacre” in your high school history book.  In 1770 British troops stationed in Boston fired on a crowd of unruly protestors, killing five.  The troops were being pelted with snowballs, some of which contained rocks.  It was never clear who gave the order to fire; it may have come from someone in the crowd. 

The Boston Massacre is considered to be an important milestone on the road to the American War for Independence.

Yesterday in Santa Monica a gunman with a bullet-proof vest and an AR-15 killed seven people.  He was eventually killed by police in the Santa Monica College Library.  

You won’t find a woodcut of this in your history book.  It didn’t even rate a front page article in the New York Times.  The story was relegated to page 13.  In America today, what’s seven people in a routine assault rifle massacre?

Friday, June 7, 2013

Cutting Obama no slack on this one


Readers know that I think the Republicans are borderline crazy on Benghazi.  I believe the  “scandal” at the I.R.S. is that the agency did not blow the whistle on blatantly partisan groups that receive tax exempt status, not that it examined obviously political Tea Party groups.  I believe that the President did not personally know that his minions were threatening the Fox News reporter and monitoring other reporters who were just doing their jobs.

However, and this is a very big however, the President did know that the F.B.I. and the National Security Agency compelled Verizon to turn over all calls that went through its system.  He knew that N.S.A. has also been monitoring internet communications.  We are told the agencies don’t listen in to the calls, but they know to whom the calls are made and how long they last.  Since they have not been truthful in the past, why should we believe they don’t listen in?

All of this in the name of “national security,” the same excuse the Nixon Administration used during the Watergate impeachment proceedings.  And I don’t care if this activity was a result of the Patriot Act and was started by the Bush administration.  Bush has not been president for the last four and a half years.  The President now in office said in 2007 that the Bush administration “puts forward a false choice between the liberties we cherish and the security we provide.”  That is still a false choice.  

Incidentally, I am assuming that the F.B.I. and the N.S.A. are recording this post as well.  And if you guys are recording it, f***  you. 

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Fundraising


We have this office in downtown Lehighton known as the Democratic Information Center.  Rent is $400 a month plus utilities, which can vary from $300 in the winter to $50 in the summer.  We also pay $35 a month for the front window.  The office is used by Democratic Party volunteers, the Carbon County Labor Chapter, and any Democratic Party club that needs a meeting space.

The D.I.C., as it is informally known, receives no funds from the County party.  It’s run on contributions from supporters who by this point are pretty much tapped out. We have enough funds to last us through September. We are faced with the problem confronting almost all community, volunteer, and local political groups--where do we get more funds?  

We’ve discussed selling candy, holding an art show, throwing a jewelry party, and organizing a yard sale.  We looked at the Hometown Farmers’ Market, which provides booths for flea market-type sales, but it is too huge, you have to be there at 6 a.m., and we really didn’t think we’d make much money. 

We will be looking at the Mahoning Farmers’ Market and the one in downtown Lehighton, and we also discussed just holding a yard sale.  They seem rather popular in this area.  

If you have any ideas, we are open to suggestions.  (I’m one of the members of the D.I.C. steering committee.)

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Bobolinks


On Sunday I spoke with two birders who had stopped at the trailhead near our house.  They told me they had seen bobolinks in the hay field at the top of the hill.  Last night Linda and I walked up the road and into the field.  Sure enough, there they were; a male and a female.  I haven’t seen a bobolink since I was a kid on the farm.  

This morning I saw a feral cat right in front of our house.  Is there a connection?  Of course.  Millions of song birds are killed every year by cats.  They are killed not only by feral cats, but by house cats that are allowed to roam.  If your pet cat killed just one bird last year, multiply that by the millions of cats in the U.S.  You can see the problem.  

I like cats, but I like birds more.  I don’t understand why people value certain species like cats and dogs over other species like birds and small mammals.  All of them are important to our ecosystem.    

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Scalia is correct


There’s a headline you won’t see on many posts on this particular blog.  

Scalia wrote the dissenting opinion on a case involving DNA collection from people who have been charged but not convicted of a crime.  

In the past the Court has allowed “suspicionless searches” only where the justification is strong--for example, drug testing of airline pilots.  

Here’s what Scalia wrote.  “Solving unsolved crimes is a noble objective, but it occupies a lower place in the American pantheon of noble objectives than the protection of our people from suspicionless law enforcement searches.”

Scalia warned that the ruling would lead to a national DNA data bank for everyone arrested for whatever reason. 

Scalia was joined in his dissent by Justices Ginsburg, Sotomayor, and Kagan.  

Force-feeding


First you are shackled to a chair.  If you move your head, it is shackled also.  A tube is forced through your nose down your throat. A liquid supplement is pushed down the tube.  If you vomit after the “treatment,” the process is repeated and you are strapped into the chair until the food is digested.  This is torture, and we are doing it daily to about 35 inmates at Guantanamo.

In an op-ed column on June 1, Joe Nocera quoted Dr. Stephen Miles, professor of medicine and bioethics at the University of Michigan.  “The persistence of the military’s force-feeding policy in the face of international law, and the manner in which it is done, constitutes torture.”

I hope you noticed the “we” in the first paragraph.  We live under a democratically-elected government.  It is “our” government and “our” military doing this in “our” prison, and I don’t have any idea how to stop it.  

Monday, June 3, 2013

Bradley Manning


The reason the U.S. government went after Daniel Ellsberg, the New York Times, and the Washington Post had nothing to do with national security.  It had everything to do with being embarrassed, with being caught in bold-faced lies.

Now the U.S. government--let’s say it, the Obama administration--is going after Bradley Manning.  This has nothing to do with “aiding the enemy.”  The diplomatic cables he leaked embarrassed our allies.  The videos he released showed civilians being killed in airstrikes.  The very fact that he released the material is embarrassing to the government.  Why was he put in solitary confinement for months?  Because they hate this guy.

And Dick Cheney, who lied about the reasons to go to war in Iraq, who is largely responsible for the deaths and maiming of thousands of Americans troops and probably hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, is a respected member of society, appearing on talk shows, not indicted.  

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Worth protesting

At a time when riots are breaking out in Sweden, when Buddhists are killing Muslims in Burma, and when the French stage large anti-gay marriage protests, it is refreshing to read that Istanbul was the site of a huge demonstration protesting development in the city’s only downtown park.  

The Times reported that one banner read:  “Don’t touch our neighborhoods, our squares, our trees, our water, our soil, our homes, our villages, our cities and our parks.” 

We could use that one for our anti-fracking demonstrations.