Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Moral choices

All married couples have irritants in their relationships, ranging from the small (you never close the cupboard doors) to the major (oh yeah, well you never turn out the lights when you leave the room).  In my marriage, one bone of contention was that I turned every issue into a matter of morality.  Eating veal was immoral, shopping at WalMart was immoral, air conditioning was immoral.  I wasn’t satisfied in simply stating an opinion--I made it into a question of morality, and if the wife didn’t agree with me, she wasn’t just wrong, she was not a moral person.
I’ve eased up on that somewhat.  After all, I’m still married.  Nevertheless, I sometimes can’t help but think in those terms.  
For example, if you are in a party whose leaders would oppose the “Dream Act,” why wouldn’t you quit that party?  If you were a member of a party that wanted to gut the Endangered Species Act, or cut unemployment benefits, or deny poor people health care, or stop women from receiving abortions even if they are pregnant by rape or incest, wouldn’t you quit that party?   A party that denies the existence of global warming, or wants to give tax cuts to the wealthy, or defends torture is not just wrong, it is immoral.  Its members should resign.
Would I resign?  Of course.  I was once a big wheel in the California Democratic Party, chair of the Santa Clara County Democrats, member of the State Executive Board.  When the Party picked a fat-cat developer as its Chair, I resigned and joined the Green Party.  When I moved to Pennsylvania I rejoined the Democrats, but my membership remains provisional.
I don’t suppose many Republicans read this blog, but if you do, I think it is time for you to resign in protest.  If you can’t stomach the Democrats, become a Libertarian, become an Independent, but you really need to take a hard look at what your party is doing to this country.

Monday, May 30, 2011

Rising above principle

Bernie Hennessy, Chair of the Political Science Department at Penn State in the late Sixties, used an expression I’ve come to understand and appreciate.  He said sometimes it was necessary to “rise above principle.”  
Here is an example.  A whole raft of Republican congressmen have taken a pledge designed by a guy named Grover Norquist, a non-elected person who for some reason has great influence among Republicans, never to raise taxes.  This is their principle.  But if the deficit must be addressed, and one way to do it is to raise taxes on the wealthiest five percent of the American people, then those congressmen should “rise above principle” and increase taxes for that group. 
Here is another example of what Hennessy meant.  In 2009 Mitt Romney, often thought to be the most reasonable candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, said the plans to bailout the auto industry were “tragic” and a “very sad circumstance for this country.”  He would have allowed the Big Three to go bankrupt.  
In 2011 Ford, GM, and, if projections are correct, Chrysler all stand to make money.  Hundreds of thousands of men and women are working to build cars and car parts.  The American auto industry is back, and the loans have been repaid.
I am well aware that the Republican Party has as one of its principles an absolute faith in the free market, but here is some advice.  Sometimes you really need to rise above principle.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Divinely inspired? No way

The National Center for Constitutional Studies a group based in Idaho, promotes the idea that the U.S. Constitution was divinely inspired.  Now the Tea Party Patriots is telling its members to remind teachers that September 17 is Constitution Day.  It also wants schools to use teaching material from the Idaho group.
I have great respect for the Founding Fathers who met in Philadelphia in 1787 to hammer out the Constitution.  I think Madison’s Federalist Paper Number 10 and Number 51 defending the Constitution are among the finest documents of political theory ever written.  It is the “divinely inspired” idea I find repulsive.
I’ve read that the first constitution or governing charter containing a provision for amendments was the one William Penn devised for Pennsylvania.  Prior to that, constitution writers thought their documents were perfect and would not need change.
Approximately a hundred years after Penn’s charter, the Founding Fathers put in their own procedure for amendments.  (It’s Article V.)  They sensed that subsequent generations might want to change a few provisions.
The whole Philadelphia summer was spent arguing about all kinds of issues.  Some northern delegates wanted to put an end date on slavery, but when the southern delegates threatened to walk out, that idea was shelved.  The battle over representation between the Virginia plan and the New Jersey plan ended with the Connecticut compromise, a political deal worked out behind closed doors.  (No open meeting laws then.)
The final version lacked a Bill of Rights. It did list a few protections in the text--habeas corpus, no bill of attainder, no ex post facto laws--but it had no actual list of rights.  The Federalists (the pro-constitution side) promised to add a list if the document were approved, and they were true to their word.  That’s the first ten amendments.
The election of 1800 exposed a flaw in the document, when Burr and Jefferson received the same number of electoral votes, and Burr, the vice presidential candidate, argued that he should be president, since neither candidate was specifically labeled.  Whoops.  The oversight was fixed by the 12th Amendment.  
Here is how you should think of our Constitution. It is a product of compromise and debate, improved over time by amendments and occasionally by Supreme Court decisions.  Most of the delegates held a rather negative view of political power, and that viewpoint has been embraced by our political culture.   
The men who wrote it deserve our gratitude and thanks.  To a person, however, if they knew people thought of them as divinely inspired, I can guarantee you they would laugh.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Lou Barletta runs for cover

Congressman Lou Barletta has banned “non-media recording” of his town halls.  John W. forwarded an article from the Times-Tribune by Borys Krawczeniuk from May 25 that detailed how anyone who is not a “news media member” will be forbidden to use video or audio recording devices at a Barletta town hall.  
I have four comments to this; one snarky, one ironic, one legal, and one practical.
Snarky:  Hey Barletta, what part of the First Amendment don’t you understand?
Ironic:  Barletta used a recording of a Kanjorski town hall in one of his campaign ads attacking Congressman Kanjorski.
Legal:  Actually, in Pennsylvania we have a right to record public meetings.  A town hall that is advertised is a public meeting.
Practical:  I post a blog almost every evening.  People read these postings.  Am I not part of the news media?  Today news spreads by email, cell phone texts, tweets, on Facebook, and on other media I’m not even aware of.  Is Barletta suggesting that the only media that matter are television stations and newspapers?  Who made him the judge of the press?
Final comment:  This guy will be our congressman until 2012.  We have got to vote his butt out of there.  He is an embarrassment.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Gov. Christie, presidential candidate

Way back on December 17, 2010, I wrote in praise of a ten-state effort to control greenhouse gasses.  The pact, known as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI, is a cap-and-trade effort to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.  Most of the money raised by the program is used for energy efficiency and renewable energy programs.  The program has been working.

Now Gov. Christie is taking New Jersey out of the program.  He was quoted as saying RGGI has "...no discernible effect on our environment."  Tim Pawlenty, who at one time supported a cap-and-trade initiative, has said he made a mistake and repudiated his past stance.  Republicans are so myopic on global warming and so angry at any attempt to curtail the pollution that is helping to cause it that their presidential candidates must deny there is even a problem.

Gov. Christie has said he is not a presidential candidate.  Maybe not officially, but he is.

Note to my readers:  I try to post every day, but last night we had a wind storm that knocked out power for about eight hours and cable for over twelve hours.  After what happened in Tuscaloosa and Joplin, however, a short time without cable or electricity seems very minor indeed.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

The Fear

I am both amazed and inspired by people around the world who struggle for basic human rights.  Hundreds of ordinary citizens are killed in Syria for demanding the right to free elections, free speech and a free press, and the demonstrations continue.   I keep thinking about the guy I met at the Earth Day event in Jim Thorpe who was so proud that he never voted.
Peter Godwin’s book The Fear details the struggles in Zimbabwe to establish a real democracy.  People opposed to the dictator Robert Mugabe are killed, beaten, raped, and tortured.  In June 2008 in a runoff election, supporters of the opposition candidate Morgan Tsvangirai were attacked without mercy.   Mr. Tsvangirai finally withdrew his candidacy.  He said he could not ask his supporters to vote for him when that would cost them their lives.  
Godwin details some of the horrors the people of Zimbabwe have suffered for opposing Mugabe.  “When those who survive, terribly injured, limp home, or are carried or pushed in wheelbarrows, or on the backs of pickup trucks, they act like human billboards, advertising the appalling consequences of opposition to the tyranny, bearing their gruesome political stigmata.  And in their home communities, their return causes ripples of anxiety to spread.”   The people of Zimbabwe have a word for that--”chidudu,” which translates as “the fear.”
And still brave people in Zimbabwe persist.  They literally give up their lives for democracy.  And our turnout in the primary in Carbon County was about 35%.  

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Special election in N.Y.

As I write this, the people in western New York are projected to have elected a Democratic representative to Congress in what is usually an overwhelming Republican district.  The Paul Ryan plan to eviscerate Medicare was THE issue in the race.  The Republican candidate tried to back away from the Ryan plan, but it was hung around her neck, and rightly so.
Memo to Lou Barletta.  Make a note.  In 2012 you are toast.
By the way, had all of the Tea Party candidate’s votes gone to the Republican candidate, she would have won easily.  Tea Party candidates should be encouraged.  You need to run independent campaigns.  The Republicans will sell you out.  Stay true to your principles.  

By the way, don't you love the word "eviscerate"?

Monday, May 23, 2011

The eternal free rider problem

“Truthout” is an on-line news reporting service that provides readers with a selection of liberal or progressive commentators and articles.  The service seems to be in continuous financial crisis and is always appealing to its readers for contributions.  I have contributed, but not much and not often.  I would receive “Truthout” emails, even if I contributed nothing.  I would then be a “free rider.”  If all the readers were free riders, the service would end.
Last week Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, issued a rule that insurance companies could not raise their rates more than 10% a year.  The president of America’s Health Insurance Plans, an industry lobbying group, protested.  She said that rate increases of more than 10% cold be justified by rising health care costs and (and I will highlight this), the tendency of younger, healthier people to drop coverage, forcing up costs for other policyholders.  
Those people who drop coverage are the free riders.  They probably won’t get sick, but if they do, we pay.  That is why the health care bill requires everyone to purchase insurance.  No free riders allowed.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Outsourcing torture upheld

If you think of the Supreme Court as the guardian of our liberties, forget it.  Its part record is rather poor.  The Dred Scot decision said African Americans could not be citizens.  The Plessey case legalized segregation by race.  And now the Supreme Court has refused to hear the case of five people who were shipped overseas to be tortured.
The Obama administration claimed the case involved state secrecy. What secrecy?  We already know this has been done.  This Administration is following the Bush policy in its argument before the Court, and it should be ashamed.  The Supreme Court went along with the Administration, and it should also be ashamed.  As an American, I can tell you that I am ashamed.
[An editorial about this case appeared in the New York Times today, May 22.  It says the right things.  The editorial will be as influential as this posting.  I despair for our future.]

Note:  I want to thank Mr. White for his comment about Wisconsin's election law.  It is difficult to remember that Wisconsin was once a progressive state.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Liberals and conservatives agree!

One portion of the federal budget is the target of both liberal and conservative budget cutters.  Five billion dollars a year is spent on direct payment to growers (don’t call them farmers), most of which goes to soybean, wheat, and soybean producers.  Corn ethanol subsidies of 45 cents per gallon add up to another $5 billion.  Rep. Paul Ryan opposes this; so does Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois.  I doubt if efforts to end these subsidies will succeed, however.  The corporate growers and wealthy fat-cat operators who collect these subsidies provide large campaign contributions and have immense political clout.r
I can tell you this--none of those subsidies are directed to guys who raise chocolate habañero hot peppers in Carbon County, Pennsylvania.

Friday, May 20, 2011

Immigrant entrepreneurs

I lived in downtown San Jose from 1973 to 1985.  When I moved there the downtown could have been described as a wasteland.  What transformed San Jose into a bustling zone of economic activity was Vietnamese immigrants.
Last Sunday New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on “Meet the Press” proposed that Congress pass a law permitting immigrants to come to the U.S. as long as they agreed to move to Detroit.  Detroit, by the way, has lost about one-fourth of its population since 2000.  
What Mayor Bloomberg was alluding to was that immigrants and economic vitality go together.  At one time you could see this in Hazleton.  A few years ago my wife and I drove up there to eat at a Dominican restaurant.  It was obvious that what economic activity existed in downtown Hazleton was the result of immigrants.  I believe under Mayor Barletta’s tenure, those immigrants were largely driven out.  Is Hazleton better for this?  
See for yourself.  Drive through Hazleton.  Does it look prosperous?  Do you see new businesses, or do you see vacant storefronts?  
Now Barletta has introduced a bill in Congress to punish “sanctuary cities.”  Maybe he wants to bring them down on a level with Hazleton.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Election"reform," Republican style

We voted on Tuesday.  Actually, a few of us voted.  I haven’t seen the figures on turnout, but I’d bet it was under 50% in Carbon County and across the state.  Turnout could be increased, of course.  We could have election day registration.  Other states do.  We could make absentee ballots available to anyone who wants one for whatever reason. Other states do.  We could have voting by mail.  We could have paper ballots with scanners instead of computers that scare people.  We could make it easier for third parties to form.  Other states do.
So what is the Republican-controlled Pennsylvania House of Representatives doing?  Our legislators passed a bill to require all voters to produce official picture ID before they are allowed to vote.  Last year Pennsylvania had four cases--out of millions of voters--of attempted fraud.  On the other hand, I know of at least four people in Towamensing Township who won’t vote because they are afraid of the computerized voting machines.  
But doesn’t every one have picture ID?  Quick answer--no, especially not the elderly and the poor--usually Democrats.  
Even if they do, however, here’s a primer on voter suppression.  It’s 5 p.m.  The voter line is out the door.  I finally reach the desk.  I know the poll workers--Sandy, Ricky, Helen, Wendy--and I say hi and start to sign in.  The Republican poll watcher then says, “He didn’t show his ID.”  I fumble for my wallet and then hunt for my license.  My aunt, in line behind me, doesn’t have her ID with her--she didn’t bring her purse because I drove her to the polls.  She doesn’t want to take the time to get it, even though every poll worker knows her.  Another Democratic voter has been successfully discouraged.
If you think that is not why the Republicans passed this bill, you are probably unaware of Republican efforts across the country to discourage Democratic voting.  These are not nice people.  Fairness is not in their vocabulary.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

The Constitution and the Filibuster

My brother-and sister-in-law are visiting from Houston, so we took them to Philadelphia today to see Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and the Constitution Center.  If you haven’t seen the Constitution Center, I recommend it, especially the show “Freedom Rising.”  The interactive displays are both informative and lots of fun for kids as well as adults, and the room with statues of all the convention delegates is amazing.  I had my picture taken next to my hero James Madison.
All of this brings me to the headline in the New York Times today:  “Senate Refuses to End Tax Breaks for Big Oil.”  The vote was 52-48 to end the tax breaks.  Look at the headline again.  How did we get to the point where 60 votes are needed to pass a bill?  I was given a free copy of the Constitution when I entered the Center.  I spent time at the interactive displays.  Nowhere does the Constitution say that the Senate needs 60 votes to pass a bill.  Nowhere is the filibuster mentioned in the Constitution.  
So now the oil companies get to keep their profits, gouge us at the pump, and watch while the government is forced to cut vital programs that benefit ordinary Americans. I can’t imagine those delegates would be pleased with our current state of affairs.  I know I’m not.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Three Republican candidates

1.  Goodbye Mike Huckabee--now go away
In 2008 Mike Huckabee was something of a breath of fresh air among the Republican candidates.  Unlike another Governor of Arkansas, Bill Clinton, who was willing to permit the execution of a mentally retarded prisoner to show he was tough on crime, Huckabee was humane in his policy toward prisoners.  In fact, one of his parolees later committed murder, which Huckabee’s opponents used against him.
He advocated a humane policy toward exploited foreign workers, and he really seemed to take his Christian beliefs seriously.  He had a skeletal campaign organization and he raised money on the fly.
Then he went to the dark side, hired on as a commentator on Fox “News,” advocating Tea Party-type policies, and becoming indistinguishable from the Republican pack. He may have dropped out of the race because his conscience was bothering him.  It should have.
2.  Donald Trump, the Fragrance.  
I was reading an old issue of Maxim today and came across an ad for “Donald Trump The Fragrance,” a new fragrance for men.  Trump is standing with a very pretty woman in a very low cut dress.  (It’s in the December 2004 issue.)  I wonder what that fragrance smells like.  It certainly isn’t victory.
3.  Rickie Santorum criticizes McCain
Today Rickie Santorum defended waterboarding, claimed it led to the capture of Bin Laden, and went on to say that John McCain, who spent five and a half years in a North Vietnamese prison, knew nothing about torture.  
At this point I would enthusiastically support any Republican candidate over Santorum, including Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachman, or Karl the Frog Boy.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Immigrants

Immigrants
Susan F. Martin, a historian at Georgetown University, has written a book called A Nation of Immigrants, a phrase coined by John F. Kennedy.  Ms. Martin says there are three models of immigration that have existed in the U.S., though with large overlaps.  One is the Virginia model.  It called for the immigration of laborers and got them from Africa.  They were slaves.  This is the model favored by growers in Texas and CA, where we no longer call them slaves, but “guest workers.”  [That last analysis is mine, not Ms. Martin’s.]
The second model is that of New England. Religious believers were welcomed, but people who dissented from the religion were punished or even executed.  Today think of how we treat Muslims in the U.S.   Think of the hearings earlier this year by Congressman Peter King.  [Those last two sentences are my thoughts, not Ms. Martin’s.]
Finally, there is the Pennsylvania model.  Pennsylvania took everyone and made them into citizens, even though there was some grumbling from people like Ben Franklin who thought the Pennsylvania Dutch were too slow to learn English and objected to bilingual street signs.  
The Pennsylvania model can serve us well today.  Unfortunately we have Pennsylvania congressmen who are failing to follow it, and Pennsylvania residents who don’t seem to understand it.  Billy Penn is rolling over in his grave.
For a review of Dr. Martin’s book, go to <http://www.georgetown.edu/story/nationofimmigrants.html>

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Not a single high school teacher on the list

A friend forwarded me an 85-page list of the almost 3,600 Pennsylvania state employees who made more than $100,000 a year.  The list was obtained from state records by the Pittsburgh Tribune Review.  The article can be found in today’s edition.
A number of college professors were around $110,000 level, but I did not see a single high school or elementary school teacher on that list.  Nor did I see any PennDot workers, hospital orderlies, park rangers, museum guides, prison guards, state store clerks, or game wardens.  

A note on the rally
A reader asked what I thought was the actual effect of the labor rally in East Stroudsburg yesterday.  Excellent question.  One of my fellow participants said she doubted whether the management of the Pocono Medical Center would be impressed by thousands of people, many of whom, like our delegation, were brought in by bus from out of town.  I do think the hospital workers themselves will be encouraged to hang in there by the show of support.  The other positive effect may be to encourage the participants to fight for worker rights in our own back yards. 

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Rally Report

We boarded the bus at the Lehighton Park and headed off to East Stroudsburg.  On the way we sang “The Banks are Made of Marble” and “Solidarity Forever” accompanied by Pete Seeger on a CD.  
Joe, our driver, was worried about where to find parking.  No problem.  This was a rally by organized labor.  Big signs for bus parking and volunteers at every corner showed us the way to the parking lot.  We picked up our SEIU tee shirts and walked to the rally on the campus of East Stroudsburg University.  We heard rousing speeches by Danny Glover and other dignitaries, and occasionally we chanted “No justice, no peace” and “union bustin’, that’s disgustin.’ ”
The issue is this.  The Service Employees’s International Union represents hospital workers at the Pocono Medical Center.  The workers have voted twice for a union shop.  The management, which, by the way, had a profit of $22 million last year, refuses to recognize the vote.
Let’s be real clear about this.  States that have “right to work” laws, or, as they always should be called, “right to work for less laws,” have outlawed a union shop.  That means that even if your workplace has a union, you don’t have to join.  If the union negotiates a contract, you benefit from that contract, but you need not pay union dues.  Why not just enjoy the benefits of the union without paying the dues?  People who do that are called “free riders,” and if enough employees adopt that strategy, the union dies.  That is why in “right to work for less” states, the average yearly wage is between $4000 and $5000 less than in states that have union shops.
Governor Corbett has said he will sign a right to work for less law.  Both houses of the Penna. legislature are controlled by Republicans.  There is a good chance that such a law will pass, and that makes the Pocono Medical Center ground zero in this fight.  
After the speeches, all 5000 of us walked about a half a mile to Danbury Park for a picnic lunch.  My friend Marian said the only way we would all get fed is if Jesus were there with the loaves and fishes, but this was a rally put on by organized labor.  I have never seen so many people fed so well and so quickly.  It was amazing.  We also had face painting and clowns for the kids, and there were a lot of kids.  A wonderful day. 
By the way, here is the chorus for “Solidarity Forever,” sung to the tune of the chorus of “Battle Hymn of the Republic.”
     Solidarity forever,
     Solidarity forever,
     Solidarity forever,
     For the Union makes us strong.

Friday, May 13, 2011

A primer for Penna. farmers (and city slickers as well)

Pennsylvania has three programs designed to protect agricultural producers from nuisance lawsuits, to ease their tax burden, or to preserve farmland from future development.  
The Agricultural Security Area
When a farm is enrolled in an Agricultural Security Area, the farmer cannot be sued for normal farming operations.  For example, if the farmer is spreading manure on her field and her neighbor objects to the smell, she is protected.  An Ag Security Area designation also protects the farmer against most condemnation proceedings.

Clean and Green
The Clean and Green program (also known as the Act 319 program) is designed to ease the tax burden on agricultural producers.  A similar program exists for forest land.  To enroll in this program the farmer must pick up an application from the his or her county assessor.  The application will ask what crops are grown and their approximate value.  
If the  application is accepted, the property tax bill is reduced in the following year.  The Clean and Green program does have penalties involving the payment of back taxes if a farmer subdivides the farm.
The Farmland Preservation Program
This is the most complicated of the three programs, but the one with the most potential impact.  Designed to preserve farmland from development, the program pays farmers the difference between the value of their land as farmland and the value of the land if it were used for development.  In return a deed restriction is put on the land, so even if it is sold it cannot be developed by the new owner.
To join this program, a farmer must own at least 50 acres of active farmland unless the land adjoins a farm already in the program, in which case only ten acres is required. Application for the farmland preservation program does not mean a farmer will get the funds--farms are ranked according to a number of criteria and the amount of money in the program varies from year to year.  
I hope you got all that.  There will be a quiz later.
Tomorrow:  A report on the labor demonstration at the Pocono Medical Center in East Stroudsburg.

The long wait ends

That’s right.  The long wait is finally over.  The nation rests easy tonight.  Newt Gingrich has officially announced he is running for President.  Raised a Lutheran, then a convert to the Southern Baptist faith, and now a devout Catholic, Mr. Gingrich notes that many leaders spent time in political exile before returning to lead a grateful nation.  He specifically references Reagan and DeGaulle, omitting Castro and Lenin and Mao from his list.
From what I have seen of possible Republican candidates, that party is in trouble.  A major problem is that the people who control the nomination process are so far to the right that candidates who are even slightly moderate (Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney) must apologize for past votes or adopt new positions that are anathema to the average voter.  
The second problem is that most of the mentioned candidates are either silly or strange, or in the case of Donald Trump, Michelle Bachman, and Sarah Palin, both.  Even the more serious possibilities (Huckabee, Christie, Romney?) make President Obama look like the only adult in the room.
I just realized I forgot Rickie Santorum.  

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Get on the bus

SEIU has arranged a bus to take people to a rally in East Stroudsburg on Saturday to support the hospital workers in their dispute with the Pocono Medical Center.  The bus will leave at 10 a.m. from downtown Lehighton at 139 South Street by the park.  (It’s across the street from the State Store--most of you know where that is.)  Snacks and bottled water will be available on the bus.  You can park your car in the unmetered parking on Second Street.  Bring good walking shoes.  There is a picnic after the rally, but the bus should have you back in Lehighton by 4 p.m. 
This labor dispute is not about wages or working conditions.  It is an attempt on the part of the Pocono Medical Center to bust the union.  The SEIU is trying to make this the biggest labor rally in Pennsylvania history.
If you would like to reserve a seat on the bus or get more information, call Linda at 610-377-0235.
The Third Amendment Rally:   The rally to “Save the 3rd Amendment” in the park in Lehighton was not as successful as I had hoped.  Our posters were directed at the N.R.A., the anti-immigration crowd (“what part of no quartering of troops don’t you understand”), and the Tea Party clowns (“don’t tread on my vestibule”).  A Channel 13 news guy filmed us and interviewed us, but I don’t believe the tape was aired.  You know the rule--if it isn’t on tv, it didn’t happen.  Nevertheless, it was a nice day to spend some time in the park, and I want to thank Chris and George for participating.
When Whippoorwills Call:  A few days ago I submitted an article on birding to Carbon County Magazine, an online publication edited by Al Zagofsky.  In that article I noted that I had not heard a whippoorwill since I was a teenager.  I heard one tonight, and it was wonderful.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

The Palmerton Area School District budget

Brad Landis, the President of the Palmerton Area teachers union, explained the district’s financial situation to the members of the Palmerton Area Democratic Club tonight.  Landis noted that the district is facing a $1.2 million shortfall in a $26 million annual budget.  
The teachers have offered a pay freeze for the next school year, which would save the district $300,000, or one-fourth the amount in question, but so far the school board has not taken them up on that offer.  The board went through the budget line-by-line in a five hour meeting, and after that effort came up with a puny $50,000 in cuts.
Most of what the district spends is mandated by the state.  For example, while the average student costs the district between $6000 and $7000 a year, special ed students cost up to $22,000 a year.  That is a cost that must be paid by state law.
Landis listed some programs that are not mandated and could be cut.  Bus rides for students could be cut.  The district could keep one school nurse for all the schools in the district.  Art and music could end.  Kindergarten could be axed.  Sports could be eliminated.  Dual enrollment, whereby high school students can earn up to a semester’s worth of college credits, could be stopped.  While such cuts are possible, all of those expenses seem reasonable and even necessary.
The problem, of course, goes back to the budget proposed by Governor Corbett.  In a speech yesterday he blamed the teachers’ unions for causing the problem.  His answer is to dump money into vouchers and starve the public school sector.  He won’t hear of a severance tax on natural gas extraction.  He is making the problems of local school districts far worse, and he actually seems proud of it.  This is what passes for leadership in Pennsylvania.
Incidentally, Corbett is proposing increases in prison spending.  Given the cuts in education, I’m sure that increase will be necessary.
Note:  The Palmerton Area school board is meeting on Thursday, May 12, at 6 p.m. at the High School auditorium for further discussions on the budget.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Too Many People

The world’s population had been expected to stabilize a little above 9 billion about the middle of the century, but the United Nations now predicts that the world’s population might rise to 10.1 billion by the year 2100.  In one way this is good news--the increase results in part because of falling infant mortality rates.  
The bad news is that the world cannot support this many people at the level at which they would like to live.  Gandhi said there would be enough resources if people weren’t greedy.  Yeah, and if frogs could fly, they wouldn’t bump their butts.
People don’t want to live on dirt floors in houses without air conditioning.  They want cars, swimming pools, flat screen televisions, bananas from Costa Rica and chocolates from Belgium.  To live at that level will require resources we do not have.  An aggressive policy to curb population growth would be good; a long range plan to reduce it would be better.  And we all owe a debt of gratitude to China for its one child per couple policy.
A note:
My friend George and I were driving up Trachsville Hill Road tonight when we were slowed by a National Guard truck.  I said, “that’s odd--I wonder where they are going?”  George replied, “They’re probably looking for a place to stay tonight.”  (If you don’t get it, read yesterday’s posting.  By the way, the demonstration on behalf of the 3rd Amendment will be from 2 to 2:30 p.m. in the Lehighton Borough Park.  So far, three people have signed up.)

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Coalition to Save the Third Amendment to Hold Rally in Lehighton

This is a copy of the press release sent to the Times News, the Morning Call, the Standard Speaker, and Channel 13.  

“We love our troops, but we don’t want them quartered in our homes,” said spokesman Roy Christman, organizer of the rally to be held in the park in downtown Lehighton on Tuesday, May 10, from 2 to 2:30.  
The National Rifle Association has scheduled a rally in Harrisburg on the morning of the May 10, but that organization stresses only Second Amendment rights.  “Don’t they care about the Third Amendment?” Christman asked.  The N.R.A. has donated funds to hundreds of congressional and state legislative candidates and actually has Pennsylvania state legislators sending out emails promoting its rally in Harrisburg.  The Coalition to Save the Third Amendment does not have that overwhelming influence, but it is determined to make its voice heard nonetheless.
The Coalition to Save the Third Amendment notes that with the emphasis on privatization and government cutbacks, it is becoming more likely that the federal government will consider quartering army, navy, and air force personnel in private homes.  A violation of the Third Amendment is far more likely than any threat to gun rights.  “We aren’t quite as paranoid as the N.R.A.,” Christman noted, “but we are slightly worried."
Christman said he has heard rumors that a new group to defend the 6th Amendment may also be forming in Carbon County.

For more info on the rally call 610-377-0235.

So far three people are scheduled to carry signs.  If you would like to participate, show up at the Col. Weiss statue at 2 p.m.  It is located on 1st Street across from Johnnie's Pizza.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

The Statue of Liberty

I taught American Studies at San Jose State for nine years, lectured on the Civil War, read about the Civil War, and thought I knew about the causes and results.  What I didn’t know until I read it in the New Yorker today is that the Statue of Liberty was inspired by the French abolitionist and Union supporter  Edouard Rene LeFebvre de Laboulaye.  Mr. de Laboulaye wrote in April, 1865, that if France ever overthrew its dictator, Louis Napoleon III, France and the U.S. should build a statue representing freedom.
We supplied the island for the statue; the French constructed it and shipped it over.  At Liberty’s feet, partially hidden by her robe, is the broken chain of a slave shackle.  The poem by Emma Lazarus, which includes the lines “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free” is on a plaque inside the statue.
The statue was dedicated in 1886 after Reconstruction had ended and racial bigotry and Ku Klux Klan terrorism were rampant in the South.  A black newspaper in Cleveland said the torch should not be lit until America was free in reality and protected all of its citizens.

Friday, May 6, 2011

Voter suppression in Florida

One way to win elections is to rig the electoral system.  This doesn’t only happen in Egypt or Zimbabwe, it is happening in Florida right now.  The legislature, with both houses dominated by Republicans, passed a bill that requires third party groups to submit voter registration forms within 48 hours or risk fines. 
Say I am a Green Party member, and I set up a table to register voters on a Saturday morning.  I register one at 9:30 a.m.  I’ll have to have that form to the registrar by 9:30 a.m. on Monday--not an easy task if I am working.  In addition, the bill limits the number of days for early voting to eight days from fourteen and ends early voting three days before elections. 
Furthermore, the bill would disallow on-the-spot address changes for people who move from one county to another.  Before the bill, voters could change their addresses at the polling station.  The result these changes will be to decrease the amount of Democratic votes.
Republican legislators say this is to eliminate fraud.  In the past three years 31 accusations of voter fraud have been referred to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.  
I am amazed at the continuing dishonesty of Republican legislators and governors.  They know they are lying about their real intentions, and they expect we will buy their lies.  I realize there are moral and decent Republicans, but I think it is time you change your registration.  If you can’t bring yourself to register Democrat, then at least become an Independent.
Note:  I obtained info on this bill from an article in the New York Times, May 6, p. A20.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Two agricultural items and another jab at Barletta

1.  Local farm products in school meals
We sometimes forget that it is not just the large policies that change when a president is elected.  Changes also occur way down in the bureaucracy.  Last week the Department of Agriculture undersecretary Kevin Concannon said that the Department’s child nutrition programs are implementing rules that will encourage schools to use locally grown farm products in school meals.  
As quoted in Lancaster Farming (Apr. 30, 2011), Concannon said, “This rule is an important milestone that will help ensure that our children have access to fresh produce and other agricultural products.  It will also give a much-needed boost to local famers and agricultural producers.”
Do you think a Republican administration would have issued a similar rule? 
2.  Hog farm videos
The state legislature in Iowa is considering a bill that would send people to prison for up to five years for filming undercover videos of hog farm practices.  Setting aside the fact that this law violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, what are Iowa pig growers trying to hide?  How bad can conditions be?  
The jab at Barletta
Congressman Barletta has introduced legislation to punish cities that have passed laws providing sanctuary to exploited foreign workers.  I guess he wants to bring the same level of prosperity and economic dynamism that Hazleton has to other cities in America.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Revisiting torture

Dick Cheney and other members of the Bush administration are claiming that the reason that U.S. forces were able to kill Bin Laden was due to leads developed at Guantanamo because of torture (aka “enhanced interrogation”).  The New York Times today has a front page analysis debunking this claim, pointing out that some of the prisoners who were tortured the most continued to give misleading information.  
One question is, if torture worked so well, why wasn’t Bin Laden killed in 2003?
Here is the bottom line.  Even if torture did produce leads, it is morally wrong, it is a crime, it is unAmerican, it is a travesty against everything this country stands for, and it cannot ever be justified.  Just because something works does not justify its use.  What kind of rationale is that?  We do it because it works?  If we knew that torturing someone’s child would get the parent to confess, would we do that?  Maybe Cheney would, but I find that sort or reasoning disgusting.  Cheney should be tried as a war criminal.  I mean that.
Rally
I received an email from Doyle Heffley about a big rally for 2nd Amendment rights on Tuesday, May 10, at the Capitol in Harrisburg.  Sure, a rally for the 2nd Amendment is fine, but what about the 3rd Amendment?  Doesn’t anybody care that the federal government may be planning to quarter troops, not only Marines, but even Navy and Army personnel, in our own homes?  I will be organizing a rally at the Lehighton Park on May 10 in support of the 3rd Amendment.  Details to follow.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

The Canadian election

First of all, the Conservative Party is blue on the map, so you have to get your head around that.  Secondly, Canada is a parliamentary system, so the administration must call a new election whenever it loses a vote of confidence.  That means there are no fixed terms, and this was the fourth election in the last seven years.
It is illegal in Canada to report the results in the Atlantic provinces or eastern Canada until the western provinces have finished voting.  Some people tweeted the results, but they will pay a fine if they can be identified.
And get this--the election takes place six weeks after it is called.  We in the U.S. can only look in wonder.
The Conservative Party won, but the even bigger news is that what had been the number three party, the New Democratic Party, moved decisively into the second spot, going from 37 seats to 102 seats in parliament and becoming the official opposition.   (These results are not final.)  The separatist party in Quebec basically fell apart, winning only four seats.  The Green Party won one seat.  There is no Tea Party.
What a lovely country.  

Monday, May 2, 2011

Priorities

Almost everybody in the U.S. is pleased that Osama Bin Laden was killed yesterday.  That man was responsible for the deaths of thousands of people who were innocent in the full sense of the word.
The only person I heard about who was disappointed in Bin Laden’s death was a guy who entered the Kresgeville Post Office ranting that the killing of Bin Laden would ensure President Obama’s reelection, and what a terrible thing that was.  I guess some people have different priorities.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

School Reform

Many American public schools are in trouble.  Many would-be reformers have suggestions to fix them.  On April 18 the New York Times ran an article listing some of these reformers and the private schools they attended.  Here are a few.
Jeb Bush--when governor of Florida, backed legislation to issue report cards on schools based on their test results. (Phillips Academy, Andover)
Bill Gates--Microsoft founder--gives grants to schools, but requires that they tie teacher tenure decisions to test scores.  (Lakeside School, Seattle)
Davis Guggenheim--director of “Waiting for Superman,” a movie that championed charter schools (Sidwell Friends School, Washington)
Michelle A. Rhee--former Washington D.C. school chancellor and advocate of “accountability”--(Maumee Valley Country Day School, Toledo)
Chester E. Finn Jr.--Hoover Institution Senior Fellow, big name in the privatization of public schools, quoted as saying of the public system, “Blow it up and start over.” (Phillips Exeter, Exeter, N.H.)
President Barack Obama--his administration developed “Race to the Top,” a program that awarded money to schools based almost solely on test scores (Punahou School, Honolulu)
President George W. Bush--signature policy was “No Child Left Behind,” a program that is based on test scores.  (Phillips Academy, Andover)
First of all, I’m suspicious of people who attack as a failure the system that has managed to educate most of the citizens of this country.  Secondly, I am suspicious of any reform that relies exclusively on test scores.  
Here’s something I know.  Two-parent families with money, with books in the house, with good vocabularies, with high expectations for their children and the drive to see that those expectations are met--those families will have kids who will almost always do well, no matter where they go to school.  
On the other hand, children of parents of poverty, of low expectations, of poor health, of no habits of reading or helping with homework or the inability to help with school work--those kids will not do well.  And here’s another thing--even if those kids somehow manage to earn good grades and have a drive to succeed, they won’t be going to the Phillips Academy in Andover.  We will not save American public education by denigrating it and starving it.