Awareness of issues is a vital part of any Democracy. Area Democrats have a lot to say as evidenced by recent letters to the editor in local papers and other formats being used to educate our neighbors as well as ourselves. Read and enjoy.
Once The Genie Escapes. . .
With Citizens United, the Supreme Court may have let the proverbial genie out of the bottle. In the fable, this could foretell calamity. In reality, the decision seems to have unleashed unlimited money on the political system. Our new universal boogie man is the “superpac”; even Steven Colbert has one.
As in the fable, the genie is not about to re-enter the bottle. And the wiles of big money seem to have captured our elected representatives and senators. (For one example of raw money, concerning the energy industry, see bit.ly/9MiYpr.*)
How powerful is the genie of unlimited money? Can it prevent legislation to restore control of the political system to the people? Can we ever again throttle down the military-industrial complex?
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* Shortcut for http://dirtyenergymoney.com/view.php?type=congress
Letter to the Editor
In response to Bill Boatright’s letter to the editor on Feb. 20 concerning the Republican Party, I would suggest that he reflect less on the Party’s rhetoric and more on the reality. Follow the Congressional votes, especially the AR delegation, and listen to Party Presidential candidates and you will be enlightened on the disconnect between his list as contemporary Republican Party beliefs and their actual policies and their results.
Do sound conservative economic and monetary policies include votes to stop reforms of Wall St. and banking practices that helped create the biggest economic recession since the Depression? Or, continued protection of the upper 1% and large corporations through tax codes and subsidies at the expense of the middle class and less fortunate? The American dream does not include foreclosures, lack of health insurance, the lack of a living wage, or evaporation of pensions.
Did the world military presence include the Bush preemptive war on Iraq that has cost numerous lives and billions of dollars needed at home while our economic competitors use their resources on economic growth and alternative energy development?
Does less government restraint justify profit over health when it comes to more food inspections or the lack of regulation and oversight for natural gas fracking that is creating environmental disaster.
Do strong moral and ethical views explain the attack on women’s rights and the hypocrisy of their view that only God determines life and death yet demand the continuance of the death penalty?
Mr. Boatright’s view that the Republican Party reaches out to all people is distorted. Their voting benefits the wealthy and corporations who fund their campaigns and elections, worsened after the Supreme Court ruling by the majority of justices who were appointed by Republican Presidents.
Rhetoric vs. Reality, indeed!
James Gately
From Linda Farrell
Since it takes two people to make a baby, I was wondering if we could bring more fairness to the debate and perhaps make it an ethical one. Which government agency shall we charge with denying men their rights? Which parts of men’s bodies shall we violate when an unplanned pregnancy takes place? How shall we punish men so it is equal to the punishment of women when draconian laws are put on the books. How shall we shame and intimidate them? And perhaps, to be really fair, where shall we erect the monument to all the men who have died in childbirth? Surely, there are some who have. There may not be nearly the 7.5 per 100,000 American women of child-bearing age a year who die in the process but it’s something to consider.
It is fun to try to imagine Washington, Jefferson, Madison and Payne deciding that regulating personal reproductive issues is the proper business of government.
We have joblessness, hunger, poverty, and economic woes in this age of oligarchy and we worry about what goes on in bedrooms and doctor’s offices. Let us find some loftier goals as we mourn the death of statesmanship together.