Pro life redux

Ok, Pro life is not pro life we probably already know that. Pro lifers regularly are found in favor of the death penalty. (You know who you are Mr. Perry and friends) but let us just be completely honest about pro life. It is an untenable, and completely impossible standard. All life ultimately ends and all living animals need the food produced by living organisms to survive, so unless you are ready to stop eating . . . oh that's right without food we die . . .

Pro life sounds good. Moral high ground and all of that, but at its heart it is a lie and without completely abandoning reason cannot be taken seriously. Of course abandoning reason is nothing new to the the pundits of Right. They have already taken as gospel that less taxes equal more revenue when they really mean "Don't tax us. Instead tax the poor and let them pay for their poverty twice."

All we ask is a little integrity and honesty in the political process, but that is probably as unrealistic as pro life itself.

If it feels good, stop and consider the consequences

Yeah, that is going to happen. And that is the major flaw in abstinence education. Teenagers (and let's be honest, those who are no longer teenagers) know that sexual conduct feels good. It is supposed to feel good: it is the way we are wired. Never the less I read today

ABSTINENCE EDUCATION: "While the state Legislature has turned its back on millions in health care grants from the federal Affordable Care Act, it appears there's an exception to the rule: Programs aimed at teaching kids to say no to sex. Appropriations authorized by the federal law give Florida $2.6 million per year from fiscal year 2010 through 2014 to fund the state's Abstinence Education Program. And the state will match those funds with nearly $2 million more." Read more at The Orlando Sentinel

So we are turning back money for health care and accepting money to teach a program that is like every other teen pregnancy program 100% effective, only when it is 100% followed. Given the strong stimulus of hormonal rush and the rather poor risk analysis of the average teenager it seems like an ill conceived proposition. True, condoms only work when used, but "no" only works when it is followed with "let's get you home then". Until teens are able to say, "You know, you are right, despite the fact that I am incredibly turned on right now, I believe that it is in the best interests of society and our future growth and development to delay this rash act," abstinence education seems to be a fairly poor investment.

A prudent approach would be to make sure that the unwanted consequence does not happen (use birth control) and to then educate about that "unwanted" yet oh so desirable activity.

Fact Check Mr. Mica

John Mica Republican Congressman from Florida and chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has posted a fact sheet listing 17 Facts outlining why the House of Representatives bears no responsibility for the FAA shutdown. Mr. Mica leads us to believe that he has no clue as to why the US Senate will not agree to his positions. His Fact states

FACT: Senate Democrats are also arguing that the House-passed extension is about a labor provision, but the fact is there is no labor provision in the extension

So why Mr. Mica does the BBC report today that it is the House that is holding up the deal? What does Mr. Mica know that he is skating around in his talking points and spin control. Could it be that the "no labor provision" is really an anti labor provision?

Or then again it might be that the House version cuts funding to airports that the Senate doesn't want cut. Read the Fact sheet and it looks like everyone is in agreement, and yet, they aren't and Mr. Mica knows it. He knows it but doesn't seem to want to come out and say it.

So what is it Mr. Mica? In clear unambiguous terms, what are you hiding?

(In subsequent news stories it seems that Mr. Mica is aware that his bill is objectionable and that the subsidy issue in Ely Nevada is the stickiest point. so the bottom line is Mr. Mica is willing to cost the American government 200 million dollars a week in revenue in order to pick a fight about subsidies totaling 16 million per year! Way to protect our pocket book, sir!)

Open Letter to the Hon. John Boehner

There are 60 members of the Tea party holding up America right now. 60 Mr. Boehner. There are what 193 Democrats. Let's cut a deal Mr Speaker. Now. Forget your crying brats, they won't support you anyhow. It is time step up and put America first.. Thank you.

Truth Justice and the American Way

I suppose that I should start by acknowledging that I am way out of date and have been living in some sort of surreal denial world for quite some time, but as I read yet another facebook post with AMERICA in capital letters extolling the virtue of Osama bin Laden's death I must admit that I was torn between rejoicing in the knowledge that there would be no prolonged trial - could there ever be an impartial jury for this case? and the sad fact that the man was unarmed yet shot in the head not even a debilitating wound to subdue him from his "resistance." So much for "Truth Justice and the American Way."

I asked myself what would Superman, that icon of everything American, and good, think? but oops news flash, Superman was an undocumented alien, sent here by parents who risked everything to provide him with a better life - life that they would not enjoy because of death and destruction in their homeland. Yes, Superman, it turns out, was no different than the Nicarauguan/Haitian/fillintheblankian guy that gets day work from contractors down at the local Home Depot.

But back to Bin Laden. Didn't he deserve what he got? Probably, and I would be hard pressed to find justice for the man. Never the less in his death he has brought us another step closer to his goal and miles away from our ideals. Even in death he taunts us, he points out our inconsistencies, our false self image and pulls us further down the well into his world of lies, deceit and vigilante justice.

It would be too much to ask that we as a country take a stand for what we fought for so long ago: that we remember the immigrant, that we support the rule of law and the promises made in our Bill or Rights. All I ask is a simple thing, that we acknowledge that our flag waving is merely a way to cover our shame. That we realize why no medal should be struck for the otherwise brave man who fired that fatal shot.

Delta Dawn and the Tea Party Vision for America

And did I hear you say,
he was meeting you here today
to take you to his mansion in the sky

It has been said repeatedly that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly expecting a different result. So it was for Delta Dawn who waited for a mysterious stranger to come and take her away. She had been doing this for years and no longer questions that her man is coming. The reality that he hasn’t will not and cannot sway her core belief-The stranger has been delayed, his arrival is not in question. How could she see it any different. How easy for us to see and yet all of us have some issue of faith that is as blind. The axiom of conservative politics is lower taxes and raise productivity hence making greater return on lower rates. So why not scrap taxes entirely-the economy will boom and we will all prosper-or not.

There is a point of diminished returns that is reached long before taxes are at a point that will satisfy the ardant anti-tax crowd. The only solution for them for budget balancing is to cut services. Why not cut education spending? Teachers are leeches.

Jails? Again non-productive and inmates don’t need all of those creature comforts, after all it is supposed to be punishment, so let’s just cut the budget and make the process more efficient. Better yet let’s privatize the whole effort and those who want the services can pay. Very efficient allows for the reduction of government and helps to balance the budget. What could possibly be wrong with a system like that?

Unless you believe that the US Constitution is a social contract between government and the people in which the government specifically agreed to take care of essential functions “to promote the general welfare” so to speak. Public education is vital for industry as it provides trained and capable workers for a work force the increasingly requires more and more skills. To treat this like an industry and go into cost cutting mode to increase profits is to ignore what those profits are supposed to look like. The profits of education are not seen in lowered cost of education, but in the flexibility and readiness of the future workforce. This takes money and training for teachers and respect for the same. Punishing teachers for poor performance without looking to further remedies short circuits the process and leads to false economies. Fewer teachers working harder for less money does not create brilliant students . How can it?

Prison? Prisons already brutalize. Admittedly there are some prisoners who cannot be rehabilitated, but if we value human life and if we value each citizen there must be a way to work to integrate wrongdoers into a productive and satisfying relationship with society. Our current system and any system encouraged by cuts in funding will only serve to sustain prison as a place to teach the strong to survive by preying on the weak, as a place for training for further criminal behavior rather than as a place to model correct behaviors and reward socially acceptable behavior.

Medicine? Let us not even start down that one today. Just don’t get sick or injured and all will be fine. Suffice it to say that the cost of prevention is much less than the cost of treatment in an emergency room and God help us if government stops funding that solution without funding prevention.

Meanwhile Delta Dawn is waiting for that dark haired stranger, the people in the pews are waiting for Jesus and a 1000 Muslim Martyrs are awaiting their 70,000 virgins.

Newt set to break more Contracts with America

Newt Gingrich most famously launched the Contract with America that set a conservative agenda before Congress, now he is back ready to show how to break real contracts with America by promulgating bankruptcy proceedings for states. Under this provision states could be free like corporations to rewrite pension plans and basically take the little guy to the cleaners.

How about this one Newt. We take 100% of all salary and bonuses over 2 million a year and apply it to the federal deficit. Only the filthiest rich need quiver and America gets to work its way out of the red. If this is not acceptable how about we just sue every CEO who makes more than 2 million a year in a publicly held corporation for dilution of earnings and breach of fiduciary duty. We are getting tired of not getting dividends when CEO's get bonuses.

It is not the working American that is causing the problems of this economy, it is the greedy few who like to fund people like Newt and his ideas at the expense of the rest of us. I for one am tired of seeing all these good ways to stick it to the little guy in the name of the Capitalist Dream. I say dream on 800 thread count sheets for a while.

the poor 30 round clip

Heard on talk radio today - the defense of the 30 round clip for pistols. The argument was basically that it is silly to outlaw such clips as it will not deter criminals from their use. Ok, a variation on the tautology "when guns are criminalized only criminals will have guns." Never the less the eradication of legal access to such things as extended clips is a step toward sanity. If we can't stop a behavior at least we can take steps to make such behavior difficult. Allowing easy access to things is different that stopping access. We as members of a society have an obligation one to another to provide safety for each other. Any action that we take to improve our mutal safety and security while maintaining respect for the individual is one that I applaud.

Question- Does the right to keep and bear arms mean I can mount a mini gun on my Subaru?

Second Amendment Remedies:They can't see the connection?

During his campaign effort to unseat Giffords in November, Republican challenger Jesse Kelly held fundraisers where he urged supporters to help remove Giffords from office by joining him to shoot a fully loaded M-16 rifle. Kelly is a former Marine who served in Iraq and was pictured on his website in military gear holding his automatic weapon and promoting the event.

"I don't see the connection," between the fundraisers featuring weapons and Saturday's shooting, said John Ellinwood, Kelly's spokesman. "I don't know this person, we cannot find any records that he was associated with the campaign in any way. I just don't see the connection.

"Arizona is a state where people are firearms owners — this was just a deranged individual."

* * * *

We equate gun ownership, possession and use with our political expression and we don't see the connection when an individual picks up a gun and starts to use it against politicians? This is the most disingenuous statement that I have heard in a long time. Granted the individual shooter may not have attended a single rally for Jesse Kelly, but Kelly is the one who was equating gun use with political action when he posed with guns and encouraged their use as a part of his campaign. It is sort of like alcohol producers disavowing connection with drunk driving. We all know that not all use is abusive or wrong, but we must recognize when our behavior may influence others.

Of course Mr. Kelly is not guilty of this shooting, neither is the architect of the "second amendment remedy" Ms. Sharon Angle of Nevada. No doubt she was just looking for some good press by giving that outrageous sound bite to the media. Likewise Sarah Palin's website with cross hairs on Arizona's 8th District which Ms. Gifford represents was not "wrong", but neither was it right. Our words have consequences, our thoughts influence others, our example is a model. When we advocate violence we cannot deny the effects of that violence.

Go ahead, wear your sidearm to Starbucks. Stand up for your rights. After all you are a mature and trained individual who would never use a gun except in self defense, but can you be so sure of your neighbor whose right to bear arms may lead to disaster? Is your idea of self defense consistent with a free and healthy debate in the marketplace of ideas? Or is you side arm a chilling limiter of discussion and a source of fear for those around you?

I have carried weapons openly in the field while hunting as young man, in Vietnam while serving in the US Army. I do not do so now, neither do I hunt, there is no reason for it in my world.

My best wishes to Rep. Gifford her family, the families of other victims, the people of Arizona 8th and the people of my country. May we learn to live with our differences and as a result, live in peace.