After the horrific shooting by Jared Loughner, Ron Barber, who was an aid to Gabrielle Giffords, the Democratic Congresswoman from Arizona, returned to work yesterday. He was shot in the cheek and the thigh. Other people at the scene were not so lucky, with the judge, 9 year old girl, and another Gifford aide named Gabe Zimmerman all died. This is such a sad story because it was extremely preventable.
Stricter gun laws would've made it much more difficult for Jared Loughner to get the gun and shoot the people he did. America has a strange obsession with guns, that even as an American citizen, I don't completely understand. Hunting for sport or something similiar is one thing, but buying a gun that fires multiple rounds very quickly is just a killing machine that really serves no purpose for a regular citizen.
The answer to violence, as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. reminds us, is not more violence. "Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars." The way to stop violence is to stop fueling it. Society needs a fundamental transformation in the way we look at crime, moving away from this mob mentality of punishment, and towards reformation and helping people re-enter society and be as productive as possible.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Shared Sacrifice?
There has been much talk in Washington about the need for "shared sacrifice" with the meaning being that no one group should be disproportionately affected by the decisions made. Recently, Jeff Sessions, a Republican from Alabama, claimed that it's "rather pathetic" that millionaires and billionaires need to sacrifice also. At this point I could just leave this post as a summary and I think it would speak for itself. However, it is quintessential Republican speak and needs to be called out.
Republicans seem to believe that by deficit reduction, that means that cuts to education, infrastructure, green technology, cancer research, and other programs like this are the key to getting it down. People who need help the most are going to get it the least. Why? Because of the religion of no raising taxes. It seems to be better under a Republican perspective to decrease the quality of education and infrastructure in order to help Bill Gates and Warren Buffet stay filthy rich. Roads and bridges are falling apart but that is of no consequence. People are dying of cancer, but that is not a sufficient reason to invest more in the research. And our planet is warming due to human activity, but the Republicans say it's a myth(majority of scientists who actually understand it would disagree).
It seems that what is TRULY pathetic is that Jeff Sessions would protect CEOs and corporate profits at the expensive of society as a whole. Kids educations and future are not the focus, only the greed and profits of unrestrained capitalism. Jeff Sessions should apologize to those kids and cancer victims he so abhorrently seems to see as insignificant.
Republicans seem to believe that by deficit reduction, that means that cuts to education, infrastructure, green technology, cancer research, and other programs like this are the key to getting it down. People who need help the most are going to get it the least. Why? Because of the religion of no raising taxes. It seems to be better under a Republican perspective to decrease the quality of education and infrastructure in order to help Bill Gates and Warren Buffet stay filthy rich. Roads and bridges are falling apart but that is of no consequence. People are dying of cancer, but that is not a sufficient reason to invest more in the research. And our planet is warming due to human activity, but the Republicans say it's a myth(majority of scientists who actually understand it would disagree).
It seems that what is TRULY pathetic is that Jeff Sessions would protect CEOs and corporate profits at the expensive of society as a whole. Kids educations and future are not the focus, only the greed and profits of unrestrained capitalism. Jeff Sessions should apologize to those kids and cancer victims he so abhorrently seems to see as insignificant.
Cutting Education
School districts across the country are cutting summer school and shortening school weeks. Teachers are being laid off and class sizes are increasing. What is to be made of all of this? Some of it is due to the economic recession, others are due to state's having balanced budget amendments (see how smart that idea is), and others are due to Republicans trying to reduce the size of government.
The economic recession is just bad and it wouldn't be right to blame cuts on politicians who enacted them because of this as long as it was done in a balanced way. The balanced budget laws are also not the fault of people who have to abide by them, but they are responsible for the process they use to get the budget balanced.
The most egregious is when Republicans try to reduce the size of government by literally cutting education. Get rid of some teachers, break their ability to unionize, reduce their benefits and the government has shrunk in size.
Teachers are vastly important to a fully functioning society. Kids learn how to read and develop a love for knowledge for knowledge's sake. And there is a strong correlation between poverty and levels of education. The Republicans cut education while in the same breath are giving millionaires and billionaires tax breaks. It's incomprehensible how the current Republican party is considered to be anything but the Guarantors of Poverty for the vast majority of people.
The economic recession is just bad and it wouldn't be right to blame cuts on politicians who enacted them because of this as long as it was done in a balanced way. The balanced budget laws are also not the fault of people who have to abide by them, but they are responsible for the process they use to get the budget balanced.
The most egregious is when Republicans try to reduce the size of government by literally cutting education. Get rid of some teachers, break their ability to unionize, reduce their benefits and the government has shrunk in size.
Teachers are vastly important to a fully functioning society. Kids learn how to read and develop a love for knowledge for knowledge's sake. And there is a strong correlation between poverty and levels of education. The Republicans cut education while in the same breath are giving millionaires and billionaires tax breaks. It's incomprehensible how the current Republican party is considered to be anything but the Guarantors of Poverty for the vast majority of people.
California Gay School Bill
The California Congress has passed a law that would require schools not to denigrate gays and show how they have contributed to society throughout history and today. Tim Donnelly, a Republican member of the assembly, said that the bill was promoting a "homosexual agenda". The Demcratic governor Jerry Brown has not signed the bill as of yet.
I never really understand when members of the far right say that there is some kind of "homosexual agenda." Homosexuals are simply asking for a civil right that is being denied to them based on the uncontrollable sexual orientation they happen to have. They simply want equal rights and to not be discriminated against (such as in Texas it is still legal to fire someone for being gay). Their agenda is not any different than women or African Americans,who want to be treated equally regardless of irrelevant factors.
I never really understand when members of the far right say that there is some kind of "homosexual agenda." Homosexuals are simply asking for a civil right that is being denied to them based on the uncontrollable sexual orientation they happen to have. They simply want equal rights and to not be discriminated against (such as in Texas it is still legal to fire someone for being gay). Their agenda is not any different than women or African Americans,who want to be treated equally regardless of irrelevant factors.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Obama Pushes Congress
Obama pushed Congress today to come to a long-term agreement and not "kick the can down the road". The agreement must also include tax increases. This is a welcome change to me. Obama is pushing back against the corporate led GOP and actually saying he will not budge on tax increases. John McCain said recently that the American people voted in 2010 based on the GOP promise that taxes will not be increased. However, polls show most Americans are willing to raise taxes on the rich.
Obama should keep pushing hard and expose the GOP as the Guarantors of Poverty. They do not fight for the middle class or poor Americans. They always come down on the side of the powerful and rich. They do this by supporting policies such as making it harder to sue for a redress of grievances in businesses, making it harder to sue a doctor that was negligent, reducing workplace safety regulations, getting rid of minimum wage laws, the list goes on. Hopefully the American people can see as the result of these negotiations where the real priorities of the parties lays.
Obama should keep pushing hard and expose the GOP as the Guarantors of Poverty. They do not fight for the middle class or poor Americans. They always come down on the side of the powerful and rich. They do this by supporting policies such as making it harder to sue for a redress of grievances in businesses, making it harder to sue a doctor that was negligent, reducing workplace safety regulations, getting rid of minimum wage laws, the list goes on. Hopefully the American people can see as the result of these negotiations where the real priorities of the parties lays.
What if the Government Defaulted?
Some are now asking this question with the August 2nd deadline approaching. There would be no money to pay veterans, medicare/medicaid, or social security. And interest rates would have to be raised in order to actually attract investors to buy our bonds. Jim Kessler, of the think tank third way, puts it like this, "You can cheat on your spouse and maybe your marriage will survive, but your marriage will never be the same again. And you can default on your debt as a nation and your country will survive. But the way your country is viewed will never be the same again."
This is rather depressing, especially considering the Tea Party Republicans stance that raising taxes is a non-starter on a deal. The whole country could be shaken but raising taxes is still off the table. Reagan lives on!
This is rather depressing, especially considering the Tea Party Republicans stance that raising taxes is a non-starter on a deal. The whole country could be shaken but raising taxes is still off the table. Reagan lives on!
Casey Anthony Trial
I'm going to begin by being completely honest and say I have not followed this story closely. Casey Anthony was only convicted of 4 misdemeanors for misleading the police. However, there was no physical evidence linking Casey to Caylee's death. The jury felt they had "reasonable doubt". Therefore they decided not to charge her with the death penalty. I think that is the right call in this case. In fact, I think it's the right call in every case not to ever sentence someone to death.
There have been many cases in the past where innocent people have been wrongly convicted. It's conceivable these wrongly convicted persons were then executed by the state they lived in. Why the need for blood and vengeance? Justice should be about reforming offenders as much as possible and showing that society does not tolerate certain behaviors. It should not be about state-sanctioned unjustified murder. Murder is only justified in the case of self-defense, directly with something such as a robbery, and indirectly with something like war. The state clearly does not have to murder someone in cold blood to defend itself. Therefore the death penalty needs to go the way of the horse and buggy.
There have been many cases in the past where innocent people have been wrongly convicted. It's conceivable these wrongly convicted persons were then executed by the state they lived in. Why the need for blood and vengeance? Justice should be about reforming offenders as much as possible and showing that society does not tolerate certain behaviors. It should not be about state-sanctioned unjustified murder. Murder is only justified in the case of self-defense, directly with something such as a robbery, and indirectly with something like war. The state clearly does not have to murder someone in cold blood to defend itself. Therefore the death penalty needs to go the way of the horse and buggy.
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