Monday, April 30, 2012

The Republicans ARE The Problem


Let’s just say it: The Republicans are the problem.
We have been studying Washington politics and Congress for more than 40 years, and never have we seen them this dysfunctional. In our past writings, we have criticized both parties when we believed it was warranted. Today, however, we have no choice but to acknowledge that the core of the problem lies with the Republican Party.
The GOP has become an insurgent outlier in American politics. It is ideologically extreme; scornful of compromise; unmoved by conventional understanding of facts, evidence and science; and dismissive of the legitimacy of its political opposition.
When one party moves this far from the mainstream, it makes it nearly impossible for the political system to deal constructively with the country’s challenges.
Read the rest of the article in the Washington Post here

 The republicans in office today ignore the needs of 99.8 of America's population.  Millionaire, billionaires and CEO's are the republicans sole constituency.  Healthcare, unemployment, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, Public education, these programs that serve  millions of Americans, republicans do not support and would destroy given the opportunity.  Clean air, clean water and protecting the environment are not republican goals as necessary elements of supporting a healthy population, rather republicans view clean air and water as impediments to corporate profits.  Unions; teacher, police, firefighter, autoworkers, postal workers, federal and state are not considered bulwarks of the middle class and a crucial element of democracy itself, republicans consider unions and their workers obstacles to corporate profits and a destabilizing influence.  A majority of Americans supported  President Obama's (63% support) jobs bill and the millionaires tax to pay for it (65% support) but the republicans filibustered both rules requiring not a majority but a super majority (60 votes) to pass it.  Since President Obama took office almost every bill and nomination has been filibustered by the republicans for the sole reason of making the president fail.  The republicans admitted as much, when the leading republican in the senate Mitch McConnell stated;
“The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.”
Official photo cropped of United States Senato...
Official photo cropped of United States Senator and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
  •  Mitch McConnell and the republicans goal isn't to make America number one in education, reduce unemployment, make college more affordable, help lower healthcare costs or improve America's infrastructure--the republicans number one goal is for our President to fail.  On the same day that President Obama was inaugurated as President, a secret republican meeting, attended by senior republican figures (Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan, Tom Coburn) was held where they decided to oppose everything President Obama tried to accomplish. That month America lost 800,000 jobs and these republicans were angry because they lost the election.  Republicans think their party is more important than our country, why would anyone vote for these narcissistic and unpatriotic sycophants of the .2%.
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The Daily Bread

,recipe and directions here
When flipping this loaf into the pan, the heavily dusted poppy seed top, ended up mostly on the bottom.  Still tasted marvelous though. 

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Speaker Boehner: Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening=Slush Fund




Speaker Boehner:
"And now, now we are going to have a fight over women's health. Give me a break. You know, this is the latest plank in the so-called war on women. Entirely created, entirely created by my colleagues across the aisle for political gain."
The Republican war on women is "entirely created by Boehner's political opponents for political gain"?  This is the speaker and all of his "ugah ugah" colleagues that bought into George Bush's tenuous fabrications about WMD's in Iraq, but they ignore mountains of legislation targeting women's reproductive freedom and hundreds of republican votes against equal pay.  Before you can fix a problem, you first have to see the problem. Speaker Boehner and his fellow republicans don't see any republican war on women.   Calling a fund for preventative health care; breast cancer and cervical cancer screening, a slush fund is not apt to reinforce one's argument that the republican war on women is a fiction.   Yes, the republicans gutted a fund from the Affordable Care Act that provided preventative cervical and breast cancer screening, in addition to childhood immunizations to pay for the student loan fix.  Seriously!
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The Daily Bread

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Move-On Protest Bellevue 4/26

Pat Martin from the Issaquah MoveOn Group sent me these great photo's of yesterday's event.  These progressives had the best looking signs, I've seen in the last year.  Apparently, they had a house party to construct these signs, which are impervious to the weather and  featured sanded wooden handles.  These were warm and pleasant people and it was a delightful afternoon waving at motorists. 
Image Credit: Pat Martin

Image Credit: Pat Martin 

Image Credit: Pat Martin
Image Credit: Pat Martin
Image Credit: Pat Martin
Here I am, holding my "Stand Up for Choice" Planned Parenthood sign and  a sign from a member who had to leave early. 

Obama Versus Romney; War and Peace





Mitt Romney on Bin Laden: (2007)
"it's not worth moving heaven and earth spending billions of dollars just trying to catch one person.

 January 2008 GOP debate
 Question:  "Was the war in Iraq a good idea worth the cost in blood and treasure we have spent?"
Mitt Romney 
 "It was the right decision to go into Iraq. I supported it at the time; I support it now."
 Then Senator Barack Obama 2002 on Iraq war: (full speech transcript, NPR)
What I am opposed to is a dumb war. What I am opposed to is a rash war. What I am opposed to is the cynical attempt by Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz and other armchair, weekend warriors in this administration to shove their own ideological agendas down our throats, irrespective of the costs in lives lost and in hardships borne.

Happy Friday

Image Credits: X-ray: NASA/CXC/PSU/L.Townsley et al.; Optical: NASA/STScI; Infrared: NASA/JPL/PSU/L.Townsley et al.
NASA:

A New View of the Tarantula Nebula

To celebrate its 22nd anniversary in orbit, the Hubble Space Telescope released a dramatic new image of the star-forming region 30 Doradus, also known as the Tarantula Nebula because its glowing filaments resemble spider legs. A new image from all three of NASA's Great Observatories--Chandra, Hubble, and Spitzer--has also been created to mark the event.

The nebula is located in the neighboring galaxy called the Large Magellanic Cloud, and is one of the largest star-forming regions located close to the Milky Way. At the center of 30 Doradus, thousands of massive stars are blowing off material and producing intense radiation along with powerful winds. The Chandra X-ray Observatory detects gas that has been heated to millions of degrees by these stellar winds and also by supernova explosions. These X-rays, colored blue in this composite image, come from shock fronts--similar to sonic booms--formed by this high-energy stellar activity.

The Hubble data in the composite image, colored green, reveals the light from these massive stars along with different stages of star birth, including embryonic stars a few thousand years old still wrapped in cocoons of dark gas. Infrared emission data from Spitzer, seen in red, shows cooler gas and dust that have giant bubbles carved into them. These bubbles are sculpted by the same searing radiation and strong winds that comes from the massive stars at the center of 30 Doradus.


Friday, April 27, 2012

The Daily Bread

Rob McKenna, Rovian Artist




*Mr. Mckenna*
- Rob McKenna: "Yes"
- *What's your stance on the Reproductive Parity Act?*
- Rob McKenna: "My Stance is I'm an lawyer for the State"
"You can turn that recorder off if you'd like"
"Instead of trying to bushwhack me, its not really very polite is it"
"Do you think you're honest?"
- *I'm just wondering*
- Rob McKenna: "Do you think you're being honest?"
"Huh?"
"Are you being honest? Or are you just not going to answer my question?"
- *I'm a youth worker who's wondering*
- Rob McKenna: "You're not being honest"
"Forget it"
- *OK*
- Rob McKenna: "You're just trying to gain a political advantage, sorry."
"Why don't you go get a job"
Rob McKenna is Washington State's current Attorney General and he is also running for governor of Washington State as the Republican candidate.  The Reproductive Parity Act ( HB 2330 ), a bill that would require all insurance policies that covered maternity care to also cover abortions, was passed by the house, but didn't make it in the senate.   There will be another push to pass  HB 2330 so this is a perfectly legitimate question for Kendra Obom to ask.  Would the possible future governor of Washington state endorsed by Karl Rove, sign this bill?

Karl Rove was in Bellevue Washington last year doing a fund raiser for Rob McKenna.  One of Karl's tricks is to take your candidates weaknesses or problems and accuse your opponent of those same defects.  Apparently, Rob picked up those lessons very well from Mr. Rove.   Can we learn anything about Rob McKenna in his brief interaction with Kendra Obom?
Rob McKenna accuses Kendra Obom of being dishonest, trying to bushwack him, being rude, not answering his question and finally of being unemployed.  Wow, 5 charges in 13 seconds.  Lets see how Rob McKenna used Karl Roves tricks to take his own weaknesses and accuse his opponent ( Kendra Obom) of those faults. 
1. "You're not being honest"
Rob is obviously not being honest, he doesn't even want to admit that he's running for governor claiming; "I'm a lawyer for the State".  Rob also has a clear opinion about his feelings on the Reproductive Parity Act but he doesn't want to state it to this young lady.  Rob does the Rove switcheroo very well here.
2."Or are you just not going to answer my question"
Brilliant, Mr. McKenna doesn't want to answer the lady's question so he accuses HER of stonewalling.
3. "You're just trying to gain a political advantage, sorry."
Another Rovian ploy expertly executed by McKenna, Rob accuses the young lady of trying to take political advantage of him, when Rob is clearly trying to gain a political advantage by  running as a moderate in moderate Washington State when he is not himself a moderate.
4."Instead of trying to bushwhack me, its not really very polite is it"
Rob, he is rude, condescending, Rovian and certainly impolite, to Kendra Obom so he accuses the young lady of being impolite!
5.   "Why don't you go get a job"
Rob himself is wondering what he is going to do in January of 2013 when he is unemployed.  
 I'll bet Karl Rove will hire his A+ student.

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Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Pharmacists Have No Right To Deny BirthControl




 Join our campaign and sign our petition to tell your leaders: My Health is NOT Up for Debate™!

Imagine taking your prescription to a pharmacy and the pharmacist announces he's not filling your prescription because it violates his conscious.  I'd be humiliated, embarrassed and angry.  Imagine how a teenager or young adult might feel in those circumstances.  Yet, increasingly that is what is happening in at least 24 states (AZ, CA, DC, GA, IL, LA, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NH, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, RI, TN, TX, VA, WA, WV, WI.).

From the National Women's Law Center
 These refusals to dispense prescription contraceptives or provide EC are based on personal beliefs, not on legitimate medical or professional concerns.  The same pharmacists who refuse to dispense contraceptives because of their personal beliefs often refuse to transfer a woman’s prescription to another pharmacist or to refer her to another pharmacy.  These refusals can have devastating consequences for women’s health.

It's bad enough we have to listen to republican presidential candidates lecturing Americans about the evil of contraceptives, but now we have to listen to our pharmacist too?  If Pharmacists don't want to dispense medications they need to find another profession.   Please sign the petition.

Join our campaign and sign our petition to tell your leaders: My Health is NOT Up for Debate™!
    Notupfordebate.org My Health is Not Up for Debate: Protect Reproductive Health Care
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Romney Versus Obama on Student Loans


July 1, 2012, seven and half million Americans will have their education loan rate doubled from 3.4% to 6.8%. With a struggling economy many of these students will have a hard time making payments on their loans. Many families will simply not be able to send their children to college or universities if we double the interest rate.  Raising student loan rates will also hurt our struggling economy, by removing what little optional spending money these Americans have.
Large banks like Wells Fargo and Bank of America receive money from the federal reserve at practically 0% interest rates, we give the oil industries 40 billion dollars in tax subsidies a year and we let large corporations like GE get by without paying any federal income taxes.  Republicans love and insist on those policies for banks, oil companies and welfare corporations like GE, but they complain about giving our young people loans at 3.4%?  Virginia Foxx (R-NC) who chairs the House subcommitte on higher education said:
"I went through school, I worked my way through, it took me seven years, I never borrowed a dime of money. He borrowed a little bit because we both were totally on our own when we went to college, totally. [...] I have very little tolerance for people who tell me that they graduate with $200,000 of debt or even $80,000 of debt because there’s no reason for that. We live in an opportunity society and people are forgetting that."
 I also never took out a student loan for college,  I rented a room at the close to the UW for $35 dollars a month, tuition was a fraction of what it is now and during the summer worked as a UNION meter reader which paid excellently.  The republican chair of the House subcommittee on higher education is 40 years out of touch, and Americans have very little tolerance for uninformed representatives demagoguing and belittling our youth. 
Something is terribly wrong when republicans give yearly tax subsidies to the most profitable companies on the planet (oil companies), but families who make under 40,000 dollars a year receiving a loan for their children's college education at 3.4%, we can't afford that?

President Obama's Speech at CU 4/23 Full transcript here
We paid more for our student loans than we paid for our mortgage each month when we first bought our small condo in Chicago.  And we were lucky to land good jobs with a steady income, but we only finished paying off our student loans about eight years ago.  Think about that.  I'm the President of the United States and -- (laughter and applause) -- so here I am, and we were writing those checks every month.  And that wasn't easy, especially when we had Malia and Sasha, because at that point, we're supposed to be saving for their college educations, and we're still paying off on our college educations.  So I've been in your shoes.  I know what I am talking about here.  This is not something that I just read about.  

So we've got to make college more affordable for you.  (Applause.)  We cannot price the middle class out of a college education.  When most new jobs in America require more than a high school diploma, higher education -- whether at a four-year college, at a two-year program -- it can't be a luxury. It's an economic imperative for every family in America.  And every family in America should be able to afford it.  

As long as those young people are willing to put in the work, as long as you're willing to study hard and take advantage of this opportunity, then we've got to make sure it's there for you...
Credo Petition Urge Senator Reid to fight to keep college education affordable and not let the interest rate double on federal student loans.

Video: President Obama on student loans

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Apple Pie

Obama vs Romney on Energy

For complete details on each item above, please click here.

Image Credit: The Pew Environmental Group
BP Gulf Oil Spill, Image Credit: The Telegraph UK

We have a clear choice, move to green clean energy, or stay with polluting oil.  Romney has chosen to stay with the oil producers, and Obama is committed to putting us on a path to green energy.  President Obama wants to take away the oil company's tax subsidies and invest those dollars in clean energy.  Mitt Romney wants to continue oil subsidies and cut green energy subsidies.  What do you want to see in our environment?
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Senator Orrin Hatch, "Vicious and Awful"

Senator Hatch was unable to garner 60% of the vote in his home state of Utah this weekend.   So the incumbent senator will face a primary this June to win his parties nomination for Senate.  Freedom works and other tea party groups have been assailing Senator Hatch with negative advertising.  After the vote the Senator gave these comments.

Senator Orrin Hatch: 4/21/12 comments quoted at 2:49 in video
I've got to tell you, we've got outside groups coming in here that are vicious and awful,  and they don't tell the truth and um that's been really hard for me to take


Senator Orrin Hatch: 2/14/2012
 Look, we all know that Planned Parenthood does 400,000 abortions a year or more, and yet that's supported by the federal government. They claim that money isn't, uh, they don't use federal funds, well, about 95 percent of all they do, from what I understand, is abortion.
Abortion is only 3% of what Planned Parenthood does and its really hard for us to take, when the senator does not tell the truth. 
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Monday, April 23, 2012

Oven Baked Potato Wedges

garlicky oven baked potato wedges

  • 6 golden Yukon potatoes, scrubbed and rinsed
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary,
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
In my continuous search for great oven baked potato wedges, this was my last and pretty darn good try.
I mixed the garlic, herbs and olive oil in the ceramic baking dish, mashing the garlic, herbs and salt with a large spoon.   After washing the potatoes, slice them into wedges, add to the baking dish and thoroughly toss.  Roast for 50 minutes at 425. 
Adapted from a recipe by John Mitzewich

ALEC's Non-profit Status, Challenged

Today was another wonderfully bad day for ALEC.  Proctor and Gamble announced it was ending its association with and support of ALEC. Common Cause filed a lawsuit with the IRS against ALEC, challenging its non-profit status.  In their lawsuit Common Cause submitted over 4000 pages of documentation outlining ALEC's lobbying efforts.  Alec is non-profit?  It's certainly not profitable for 99% of Americans.


Bob Edgar president of Common cause:
 "ALEC is a corporate lobby front group masquerading as a public charity,"
Today, Common Cause is announcing a whistleblower complaint against ALEC filed with the Internal Revenue Service. We are submitting several thousand pages of ALEC’s internal records that we believe demonstrate beyond debate that ALEC for years has evaded federal taxes by masquerading as a charity and that it has lied to the IRS and the American public about its activities.
We’re asking the IRS to end this charade, cancel ALEC’s tax exemption, collect years of unpaid taxes and “impose necessary penalties.”
One final point — ALEC’s leaders have accused Common Cause and other ALEC critics of attacking free speech; they say we want to deny business a seat at the table where public policy is made.
Nonsense. Our entire effort has been and will remain focused on bringing ALEC into the open, so that EVERYONE can see and hear and evaluate its agenda, so that it will no longer be able to sweet talk our elected officials behind closed doors to work its will. The companies leaving ALEC have done so not because their speech was muzzled but because it was amplified.

Sign the Common Cause petition, Corporations Withdraw from ALEC
 Common Cause Homepage
 ALEC Exposed
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Albino Killer Whale

Image Credit: Ruassianorca. org
Yes, its an albino killer whale!  First one I've ever seen and its gorgeous.  More photos here.

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Help Rebuild the American Dream, 4/26 Eastside

ACTION FOR THE AMERICAN DREAM

THURSDAY, APRIL 26  ORGANIZED ACTION NEAR MICROSOFT CAMPUS  BELLEVUE 3:30-5:00
  ONE HUNDRED and TWELVE OF US  did it last November when we Occupied Sammamish at 128th.  
WE CAN DO IT AGAIN WITH YOUR HELP AND BRING A FRIEND! 
The Sammamish/Issaquah MoveOn.Org House Group invites citizens of the Eastside to JOIN US Thursday, April 26 from 3:30 to 5:00  at the corner of 148th  Ave. and NE 40 St. in Bellevue. Our signs will show the ten most critical steps to get our economy back on track and restore the American Dream.... Invest in Infrastructure, Create Energy Jobs, Invest in Education, Medicare for All, Make Work Pay, Secure Social Security, Fairer Tax Rates, End War-Invest at Home, Tax Wall Street, and Strengthen Democracy.  Bring YOUR signs to help us capture the attention of the traffic leaving the Microsoft campus at this time. Sign ideas:  support for Planned Parenthood, Women's Health, Marriage Equality, Get out and vote for This American Dream, Immigration policies……
 Americans who are willing to work hard and play by the rules should be able to find a decent job, get a good home, retire with dignity and give their kids a better life.  Everyone of us has the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  That is our contract with one another.  It can be fulfilled-but only if we work together. Too many at the top are grabbing the gains. The super-rich who got tax breaks should now pay full fare and help  create jobs here, not overseas. Together we must rebuild our country; reinvest in our people and jump-start the industries of the future. (from MoveOn American Dream)
Google Map Link for 148th Ave and NE 40th St.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

The Daily Bread

Happy Earth Day

Image Credit: NASA
We live on a beautiful planet, that is mostly covered with water.  For a moment imagine that instead of 98% of all climate scientists warning of the dangers of rapidly rising CO2 levels, only half of the climate scientists felt that global warming was a threat.   With only a 50/50 chance of a problem from rising CO2 levels, would you endorse any government action to lower those levels?  Are corporate profits more important than even a 50/50 chance of drastic change to our home planet? 
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Washington State Senators With ALEC Ties


 



 Washington State senators with ALEC Ties


If your not sure who your state legislators are click here .  Simply by typing in your address you'll find out who is representing you in Olympia.  If your representatives or Senator are members of ALEC you can call or Email them and tell them how much you value their association with ALEC.  

Fuse Petition to the 21 Washington State Legislators who are members of ALEC; Resign From Alec

names provided by Sourcewatch

       Email Contact Page  Olympia Phone (360) 786-7632
      Email Contact Page  Olympia Phone  (360) 786-7676
       Email Contact Page   Olympia Phone   (360) 786-7622
       District Office (509) 663-9702
      Email Contact Page   Olympia Phone   (360) 786-7634
       Email Contact Page   Olympia Phone   (360) 786-7654
       Email Contact Page   Olympia Phone   (360) 786-7660
       Email Contact Page   Olympia Phone   (360) 786-7682
      Email Contact Page   Olympia Phone  (360) 786-7624
      District Office  (509) 766-6585
      Email Contact Page   Olympia Phone  (360) 786-7636
      Email Contact Page   Olympia Phone   (360) 786-7602
       Email Contact Page   Olympia Phone  360 786-7630
        District Office  (509) 545-2014
  • Sen. Jerome Delvin(R-8)
         Email Contact Page   Olympia Phone  (360) 786-7614


Washington State Representatives With Ties To ALEC

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Saturday, April 21, 2012

The Daily Bread


How Republican ALEC Members Deal With Public Scrutiny

Across the country individuals and groups are examining the ties between ALEC and their legislators.  One such report is The Progress|Va.   The Progress|VA, Alec in Virginia report is meticulously researched and extremely detailed.  The report notes for each Virginia delegate and senator; Alec meetings attended, dues paid, ALEC expenses, contributions and ALEC bills introduced and co-sponsored.  The report also details the individual ALEC bills these Virginia politicians  passed in the state.  Speaker Howell had complained that the Washington Post article describing Progress VA's report on ALEC in Virginia was “full of half-truths or un-truths.”  Anna Scholl, the executive director of Progress VA asked Speaker Howell to point out the inaccuracies in her report.   Watch the video to see the speaker's response. 

Progress|VA "ALEC in Virginia" Summary
 Progress|VA "ALEC in Virginia" Full Report PDF
Corporate interests fuel group’s desire to shape Va. legislation, critics say (Washington Post)

Virginia State Speaker Howell (R)

"I guess I’m not speaking in little enough words for you to understand."

Anna Scholl appeared on The Ed Show, to talk about  ALEC's influence in Virginia.

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Grilled Dinner

Frequently, my wife is out of town on business trips.  On those occasions, spicy Indian, spicy Thai curry, or spicy stir-fry are our favorite meals.    The shared theme in all of those dinners is Spicy. 

This meal consisted of 5 zucchini sliced in half and grilled, 3 large yellow onions, sliced and grilled, 1 bunch of green onions grilled, 5 Serrano's grilled, 6 sliced jalapenos grilled, served with a couple of small grilled steaks (not shown) and the daily bread.  We were going to grill the microwaved potatoes, but thought that might be overdoing it.  This is the grill top we use.
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Friday, April 20, 2012

The Daily Bread

sesame and poppy seed top

Turkey Dinner With The Kids

A few weeks ago, we cooked a turkey and invited our 2 sons,  their friends and one of my nieces over for a "turkey and no leftovers dinner".   Kevin, offered to carve the turkey and of course we said:" yes, please".      We were amazed, in no time this young man expertly carved up the huge bird and neatly stacked all the pieces on a platter.  Most outstanding display of turkey carving we've ever seen.  I'm a terrible carver, carcass mangler is a more appropriate description of my abilities.  Everyone was very grateful that Kevin carved the turkey.  Thank you, Kevin. 
Turkey carving by Kevin
Kevin, turkey carver extraordinaire

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Happy Friday

Image Credit: NASA
Moscow at night and a solar panel from the International Space Station

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Washington State Representatives With Ties To ALEC

Washington Legislators with ALEC Ties

If your not sure who your state legislators are click here .  Simply by typing in your address you'll find out who is representing you in Olympia.  If your representatives or Senator are members of ALEC you can call or Email them and tell them how much you value their association with ALEC.  

 

Fuse Petition to the 21 Washington State Legislators who are members of ALEC;

Resign From Alec

Legislator names provided by Sourcewatch


House of Representatives

          Rep. Angel Email contact page  Olympia Office Phone (360) 786-7964
          Dis. Office (360) 443-2409
        Email contact page    Olympia Office Phone (360) 786-7984
         District Office (509) 921-2353
             Email contact page  Olympia Office Phone (360) 786-7990
         Email contact page Olympia Phone (360) 786-7890
          District Office (253) 534-3216
               Email contact page  Olympia Phone (360) 786-7856
               Email contact page  Olympia Phone  (360) 786-7914
              Email contact page  Olympia Phone  (360) 786-7844
          Email contact page  Olympia Phone  (360) 786-7916
           District Office  (360) 582-9830
          Email contact page  Olympia Phone  (360) 786-7922
          District Office  (509) 455-7225
             Email contact page  Olympia Phone  (360) 786-7832
  • Rep. Bill Hinkle (R-13)[18]
                Email contact page    Olympia Phone (360) 786-7808


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Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Johnson and Johnson Supports ALEC

ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council, where corporations exchange money for votes lobbying in our legislatures.  They have been in the news lately, for the "defend your ground laws" and the rush to dis-enfranchise millions of American voters.
Right Wing Watch:
 ALEC's agenda includes rolling back civil rights, challenging government restrictions on polluters, infringing on workers’ rights, limiting government regulations of commerce, privatizing public services, and representing the interests of the corporations that make up its supporters.

Some corporations like Coke, Pepsi, the Gates Foundation, Blue Cross/ Blue shield and 7 other corporations have quit ALEC in the last week.  But Johnson and Johnson is a member of Alec and so far they are staying put. ALEC is really a sweetheart deal for Johnson and Johnson.  ALEC creates problems that Johnson and Johnson also offers solutions for. 

Is pollution in your water causing your hair to fall out?  Try Rogaine!
Emissions from a local factory giving you a headache?  Try Tylenol
Do "Stand your ground laws" leave a bad taste in your mouth? Try Listerine
Can't see how your going to pay all your bills on minimum wage salary?  Try Visine
Sick to your stomach because you have to spend money to get a voter's ID card to vote?  Try Rolaids
After an ALEC session in your local legislature everyone in your community will need; KY Jelly

We would all live a Carefree life if Johnson and Johnson left ALEC and it would be great if Johnson and Johnson Stayfree 'd of ALEC.  Perhaps we could boycott Johnson and Johnsons Splenda, err splendid products. 

http://alecexposed.org/wiki/ALEC_Exposed
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The 1790 Individual Mandate


Einer Elhauge, Image from Harvard Law School

The New Republic:
In making the legal case against Obamacare’s individual mandate, challengers have argued that the framers of our Constitution would certainly have found such a measure to be unconstitutional. Nevermind that nothing in the text or history of the Constitution’s Commerce Clause indicates that Congress cannot mandate commercial purchases. The framers, challengers have claimed, thought a constitutional ban on purchase mandates was too “obvious” to mention. Their core basis for this claim is that purchase mandates are unprecedented, which they say would not be the case if it was understood this power existed.
But there’s a major problem with this line of argument: It just isn’t true. The founding fathers, it turns out, passed several mandates of their own. In 1790, the very first Congress—which incidentally included 20 framers—passed a law that included a mandate: namely, a requirement that ship owners buy medical insurance for their seamen. This law was then signed by another framer: President George Washington. That’s right, the father of our country had no difficulty imposing a health insurance mandate.
That’s not all. In 1792, a Congress with 17 framers passed another statute that required all able-bodied men to buy firearms. Yes, we used to have not only a right to bear arms, but a federal duty to buy them. Four framers voted against this bill, but the others did not, and it was also signed by Washington. Some tried to repeal this gun purchase mandate on the grounds it was too onerous, but only one framer voted to repeal it.
Six years later, in 1798, Congress addressed the problem that the employer mandate to buy medical insurance for seamen covered drugs and physician services but not hospital stays. And you know what this Congress, with five framers serving in it, did? It enacted a federal law requiring the seamen to buy hospital insurance for themselves. That’s right, Congress enacted an individual mandate requiring the purchase of health insurance. And this act was signed by another founder, President John Adams.
Read the rest of the New Republic article by Einer Elhauge

These examples from America's founding fathers are amazing and timely.  They also display just how inane were Scalia's broccoli comments.  Of course, the Court could still rule against  The Affordable Care Act, using the Bush V Gore precedent;   "Because we said so, 5-4". 

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