The attack on the E.P.A.

WWII caused my father to marry a little later in life. He was 27 when I was born. My parents eventually had four children.  We never had a lot of money but they both worked hard and built a new home in a housing development when I was 8yrs. old. We always took vacations to Lake Erie each year. My family would rent the same cabin in a campground near Cedar Point.  The campground had its own private beach that we loved to use. Each morning we would get up and go swimming with our inner tubes.  Later in the week we would spend the day at Cedar Point.

We took these vacations in the late 50’s through the early 60’s.  I remember on morning when we woke up early and took a walk down the hill to the beach only to see the owners in the process of picking up hundreds of dead fish that washed up on their beach each and every night. That is when we learned that something was wrong with the water in the lake.  This ended our annual vacations to the near dead lake.

In 1969 the main river in Cleveland, the Cuyahoga, caught fire. Although it was not the first time, this fire caught the attention of the national press. There's little doubt of the effect that the last fire in 1969 had. Many credit it as being a catalyst for Congress to finally pass the Clean Water Act in 1972 and for the creation of agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency.

The clean water act lead to the start of the EPA’s best years. This agency was started in 1970 and helped pass legislations to clean up our water, and air. Because of the EPA Lake Erie was not only cleaned up but was returned to a clean body of water again.  The EPA has made the USA the overall cleanest industrialized nation in the world per GDP with the strictest overall environmental laws. This has contributed (among other things) to a large increase in life span. Here is a list of accomplishments the EPA is credited for:

1970 Clean Air Act,

EPA and the Department of Housing and Urban Development are charged with protecting children's health through lead-based paint prevention activities,

EPA bans use of DDT,

 Limit raw sewage flowing into the nation's rivers, lakes and streams,

International Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement,

EPA begins the ban that will phase out all use of lead in gasoline,

 EPA, issues its first permit limiting a factory's discharges of pollution into waterways,

1974 Safe Drinking Water Act,

EPA bans two herbicides containing dioxins,

These are all in the 70’s I could go on and on but the point being the EPA has regulated a safer America for our children to live.

Another example is that in 1995 the EPA accomplishments by the EPA has led to  Two-thirds of the U.S. metropolitan areas with unhealthy air in 1990 have now met air quality standards, making the air safer to breathe for 50 million Americans in major cities such as San Francisco and Detroit.

I broach this subject today because of the story of Cancer and poison water in Camp Lejeune, and the cover up, for the last 50 yrs. This was showed o MSNBC and called Semper Fi. Watch it if you have the chance. I did last night and shed a tear or two.

I also write about the EPA today because it is under attack by the Republican Party today. All of the Presidential candidates want to eliminate this agency because they see it as a hindrance to the growth of Capitalism (MONEY).

They fail to mention that Bush (41) used Cap and Trade to reduce the effects of Acid rain. Ever hear about that today?  No because this program works.

Republicans are more interested in discussing subjects like birth control, religion, citizenship and President Obama, and his so called factorable treatment of Muslims.  Please focus on the facts. This party, and its candidates, are concerned about one thing and one thing only.  That would be deregulation of laws that limit the responsibility of corporations to make money unfettered by regulations that keep citizens safe from harmful practices.

The Republicans decry big government but that is a hoax. Under their leadership Government has grown 60%. Under President Obama is has shrunk. The only big Government the Republicans are interested in are the agencies that regulate safe practices for our citizens. The rest is all crap.  It took years to make our country safe for our children. Do we really want to reverse regulations that keep our air and water safe? 

Wake up and study the facts. If you think your Republican leaders care about you just watch the special on the marines being aired on MSNBC.

Vote for canditates that talk about real issues that will effect your grandchildren and their future. If not then I suggest you spend money on a good water filtration system and breath as little air as possible !

Union YES !!!

I worked for a Burger Chef for two years while I was in high school. The work was hard and fast paced. We had bosses that pushed us very hard. I was paid $.80 an hour and received a raise of $.05 the second year. I often worked 40 hr. weeks.  I would work every night till 11:00 P.M. and sometimes cleaned up until 11:30 or 11:45. There must not have been much oversight by the school because no one seemed to care about any labor laws. My grades did suffer and I considered it an achievement just to graduate.

My reward was four yrs. In the U.S.A.F.  I decided to make use of the G.I. Bill and started school at Kent State.  Sadly the money from the G.I.Bill was not enough to pay all my bills. There were times I went home just to eat a good meal. I decided to drop out for a year to make enough extra money to carry me through the next three years.

I was lucky to get a job at a meat packing plant that used CO2 (dry ice) that was shot into a box of meat usually weighing between 80 to 180 pounds. My job was to stack these boxes on a pallet .To keep the Co2 gas from the rest of the plant our line was in a separate room. The room was monitored with a meter that would ring when the co2 level would reach an unsafe percent of the breathable air.When that happened we would take a break and give the fans and filters a chance to catch up and clean the air. You could usually tell when the level was getting too high because your heart rate would rise and you breathing would become labored.

One busy day the alarm went off. This time, though, the bosses just raised the red line on the meter to a higher level and put us back to lifting these heavy boxes.  After work that day I filed a grievance with my teamsters union.  They sent a union official and a Dr. to the plant the next day to resolve the matter. I felt lucky to have a good paying job and a union that looked after me and my healt.

After graduating with a double major I started to work in a school district and again was lucky to be protected by a good union.  My wife also worked with me but quit, after only one year, to stay at home to raise our two children.

After our children were older, and in school, my wife went to work in a nursing home. At first she was a restorative aide and eventually went from Social Service to an Activity Director. She had no union to protect her and each time her facility was sold (3) she had to start over like a new employee with benefits, wages and seniority. The fourth time, after 20 yrs. Service the new owner decided to get all new workers and replace them with younger people. The accomlished this by  treating everyone so bad that most quit and were not able to receive unemployment. My wife held out for a bit but quit because  she had no recourse.She had no union to protect her rights. 20 years of hard work git her a kick in the teeth. She even lost weeks of vacation time because she felt she was needed and treated her emplouer with respect.

I told these two stories because last week I read an article that stated that 47,000 GM employees would each receive $7,000 profit shearing checks because GM mad a profit of 7 to 9 Billion dollars last year. Many workers I know are envious of them but not me. I did a little math and found out that the total profit shearing total came out to 329 million dollars split 47,000 ways. That equals around 2-3 % of all profits going to the workers. That seems fait to me. I believe all workers in a business shows a profit  should share in the success of their company. When GM lost money all employees were forced to take a pay cut or lost their jobs.

Wal-Mart recently posted profits of over 14 billion dollars last year. Guess what their employees got. Nada, zero, nothing. This is not how Capitalism should work. This is an attempt of business to return to the start of the Industrial Revolution where workers were treated like crap. Did you ever go into a Wal-Mart and look into the eyes of the workers? Many look sad to me and very unhappy. My advice would be to Buy American. Buy GM. Stay away from Wally world or China Mart. Let’s support unions and tell politicians that denigrate or tell lies about them to piss off.

Just a couple of Social Security ideas

Employer tax  6.2%  1.45%  7.65%

Totals  12.4%  2.9%  15.3%

Social Security FICA taxes are restricted to a "taxable maximum" or "wage threshold." Earnings above the threshold are not subject to FICA taxes. In 2010, the threshold was $106,800.

The payroll tax break that President Obama asked Congress to pass will let the worker and employee forgo that tax for the period of another year. This will not hurt Social Security because the money loss will be made up by requiring Congress to repay some of the 2.5 trillion dollars they have borrowed from the trust.

  Congress needs to remove the threshold from  $106,800 to at least $2,000,000. Many rich people can afford to pay a little more to help the elderly that did backbreaking work their whole life.  At the very least Christians should be for this idea. Congress also needs to look at Medicare Part D. This was unfunded and a drain on the trust fund surplus.  Medicine for the elderly should be provided at cost for seniors.

This is not a fix by no means just a couple of ideas from an old retired man. Icurity f I can come up with a few ideas once in a while I find it hard to fathom why our leaders refuse to seek solutions to these problems. Could it be that they don’t want to fix the problems our seniors are going to face?

Shut up hypocrite!

Santorum is always talking about his religion and what a good Catholic he is. I am a Catholic and I believe that old song that says "You can tell I'm a Christian by my love". Christians don't have to keep talking about how good a Christian they are if it is so it will show. Most of us can surely tell that Santorum is a politician by his actions but we only know WHAT HE SAYS about how good a Christian he is. Do good Christians have to keep telling people how good they are and do they have to infer through their rhetoric that they are better Christians than their opponents? Rick is over playing the "I am a good Christian" card to the point of people asking who is he trying to convince the voting public or himself. His political aspirations have been obvious for years and much more apparent in his actions than his Christianity.

Santorum has chosen to go down a very dangerous road....one filled with many pitfalls. As a fellow Catholic, shall I remind him how our Church may differ with his partisan stance?

Did our Church support the invasion of Iraq? No

Does our Church support the death penalty? No.

Does our Church favor taking care of the poor? Yes.

Does our Church provide health insurance to the needy? Yes.

Using our Church, Rick, to advance your election, is a bad idea. We are a country of mixed beliefs, and, your words and your use of religion in policy debates is completely irresponsible.

People that wear their religion on their sleeve make me somewhat skeptical of their honesty and truthfulness.  Politicians that attach the faith of others make me sick of listening to them. Shut up hypocrite!

Ronald Reagan's first three years.

 I remember when President Obama took office. The Banking system was in free fall.  The Auto Industry was on the brink of failure.  The country was involved in two wars. Bush had just passed an unfunded Medicare Part D.  Bush had also added a huge tax cut to our deficit.  Along with all of these inherited problems, the Republicans made it clear that they would not work with the President on any programs that would help reelect him.  He was on his own.  Also he was disrespected and called names by Tea Party Members. Lies were told about him and .as President. He had to eat all this crap with a smile and continue to show up for work each day.  I thought it would be nice to look at one aspect of the Republicans Saint Ronald Reagan.  Reagan had the worst record on Unemployme­nt since 1933, much worse than Obama's

And it was caused by his own policies.

Unemployme­nt was flat for the first year he was in office it only spiked after he cuts taxes.

Unemployme­nt only declined after he raises taxes.

He had the worst unemployme­nt rate since the Great Depression­, 0.7% higher than Obama

01/1981 - Unemployme­nt rate 7.5% …. Reagan sworn in.

02/1981 - 7.4%

03/1981 - 7.4%

04/1981 - 7.2%

05/1981 - 7.5%

06/1981 - 7.5%

07/1981 - 7.2%

08/1981 - 7.4% * Reagan CUTS taxes on top 1%; says unemployme­nt will DROP to 6.9%.

09/1981 - 7.6%

10/1981 - 7.9%

11/1981 - 8.3%

12/1981 - 8.5%

01/1982 - 8.6%

02/1982 - 8.9%

03/1982 - 9.0%

04/1982 - 9.3%

05/1982 - 9.4%

06/1982 - 9.6%

07/1982 - 9.8%

08/1982 - 9.8%

09/1982 - 10.1%

10/1982 - 10.4%

11/1982 - 10.8% * Unemployme­nt HITS a post DEPRESSION RECORD of 10.8%.

12/1982 - 10.8%

* THE FIRST OF REAGAN'S FIVE TAX INCREASES GOES INTO EFFECT. UNEMPLOYME­NT DROPS

01/1983 - 10.4%

02/1983 - 10.4%

03/1983 - 10.3%

04/1983 - 10.2%

05/1983 - 10.1%

06/1983 - 10.1%

07/1983 - 9.4%

08/1983 - 9.5%

09/1983 - 9.2%

10/1983 - 8.8%

11/1983 - 8.5%

12/1983 - 8.3%

01/1984 - 8.0%

02/1984 - 7.8%

Three years after he took office, unemployme­nt is still not back down to the level it was when he took office

Reagan, renowned by Republicans as a tax-cutter, also increased revenue about a dozen times when confronted with surging deficits. The Treasury Department has estimated those measures would be the equivalent of $300 billion annually today -- more than what many Democrats are now seeking as part of a deal to raise the U.S. debt ceiling.

Sometimes things make no sense at all.

There is so much anger, even hatred, out there today from right-wingers.

I hear and see it all the time.

They bitterly complain about having to work hard, while witnessing how easy people on welfare live.

And yet, every time I point out to them that since their lives have become so difficult in subsidizin­g the poor, why not simply abandon their home, quit their job, give their car to a charity, and go on unemployme­nt, start relying on food stamps­, rely only on public transporta­tion, and live in substandar­d housing...­rentals such as trailers.

Remove all that stress from their lives.

Folks, who complain how well the poor live, should at least experience it for themselves­.

I mean, since it is so great, and all.

I only know a handful of Republicans personally­, and most are relatives. Because the relationship is so close I also know something of their personal situation. This is where the confusion for me begins. If I didn't "know" these Republicans I might hear what they say and accept their conservative point of view as the way they live their lives, however, I have found that each of these Republicans say one thing and live another.

I have an older person whose husband has died and she owes her life to his SSI survivor Benefits and Medicare. Without them she would be at the mercy of her children instead of her own life.

I also have two relatives who were state employees that owe their life to their Government check and retirement. Their healthcare is even subsidized, to the tune of 75%, by tax payers, still they complain about Democratic Government programs and spending on the poor. Am I missing something here?

I have another relative that is well off. This person also took advantage of the laws that let him declare bankruptcy and stiff his creditors, He still shown distain at programs that seek to provide health care to the poor and middle class. These people will not even hold a civil discussion on political matters. They just vote Republican all the time. It makes little sense to me. I vote for both parties. I try to vote for the candidate that makes sense. They, on the other hand vote for people who would take their safety net programs away. They seem to think they do not use Government programs.

Sometimes I want to cry but I just keep pushing forward and writing about what I think makes common sense !

The facts are the facts !

I had dinner with a couple of friends a couple of days ago and an incident had a confusing effect on me.  My friends had just retired and were still too young to get Medicare.  Even though their Health Ins. was subsidized by their employee. (75%) they were shocked about their cost, out of pocket, for co-pays and deductibles. I tried to explain to them that this was a fact that they just had to get used to.

Later during the conversation I told them that a CAT scan in England only cost $110.00  My friend responded to me by saying that he heard that there were horror stories from the Socialized medical system.

I asked him how many people In England he knew and If the system was so bad why would the people of these countries continue to support their medical care over ours. I also said that if their Governments tried to take their Health Care away they would riot in the streets.

Later that night I realized he must have gotten his ideas from the talking points off the analyists  of FOX News.  The fact is that we rank 35^th in the world by the World Health Organasation and we are the only industralised country that does not have a single payer system.

I find it hard to believe,or understand, how people could put political ideology above common sense. A single payer system would lower costs and remove employers and employees with the cost and worry of paying for medical costs.  It is in the interests of Major Ins. Companies to continue to lie to us in order to make hugh profits off of the sick and dying.

I ,for one,refuse to be duped and fooled. Our system of competition for the health dollar has gotten way out of control. More and more people are putting off care and procedures because of cost. I k now because I am on of them. With a new year starting I have to pick and choose what I can afford to have taken care of.  Such a shame.

The Truth !

We have a new Presidential Campaign coming up and I wish everyone would stop all the lies about the President before it starts. I will address the Republican candidate once he is chosen and the disinformation starts.  Now I would like to stick or address the lies about the President.

1.      He is not a Muslim but a Christian.

2.      Rev. Wright is a good minister that does not preach hate.  He is an eight year veteran of the Marines and the Navy. He never demonstrated against his country or asked for a deferment to get out of doing his duty.  If anyone would take the time to listen to the whole sermon about America paying for its sins. I believe few would disagree.  He was referring to the 280 yrs. of slavery, the destruction of the Native American Nations, the killing of innocents in Cambodia, Vietnam and Iraq. He was right, if you believe in God someone must be made to answer for these deaths and injustices.

3.       The President will not wage a war against the Catholic Church as Newt Gingrich has stated.

4.      The Affordable Care Act is not Government run but run by Companies making a Hugh profit.  This Bill is the same one proposed by Republicans just a few yrs. ago.

5.      He is not a socialist but a moderate. Just look at his policies.

6.      He has not added much to the debt, as the previous Presidents did. A lot of the new debt is interest on debt already incurred.

7.      He is not a tax and spend Liberal. Taxes are at their lowest rate in years. lievefailures have stopped and the economy has stabilized.

10.   CPAC are just a bunch of crazy lying fools to suggest the things they have, the disrespect has turned personal and that offends me. He is our President and frankly I am proud of the calmness and dignity that he has used to handle all the attacks and lies.

11.    Yes, he was born in the United States.

12.   Yes he is a moderate.

13.   Yes he is willing to negotiate.

14.   Yes he is our President and deserves to be treated like it.

15.   Yes. FOX is not a real news organization.

Oh Boy,here we go again.

Lies are really all that the Repub. Party has left. They make up these lies & tell them to people who want to believe them. In the process they may even pull in a few more, who just don't know any better? It's all in hopes of getting enough votes. Some states have had Re-Call elections after the people realized how badly they were lied to. But the person, who wants to believe even outrageous lies, will still vote for the Liar. Guys like "Mitt' are calling Pres. Obama a ''one-term­er" when in reality "Met' was a ''One termer" and left with terrible ratings. If his one state of Mass, didn't want him---"Wha­t would make him think the Whole USA would.

This is scary because even though they make things up, many people buy into it. The Swift Boat campaign against John Kerry is an example. The story was prepostero­us but they kept repeating it and the MSM covered it like it was a real issue.

Last night, Tony Perkins of the Family Leader Council was on Hardball. He said that the President has prohibited anyone from carrying a Bible into Walter Reed Army Hospital. Chis was flabbergas­ted by this statement and asked him to repeat it. He stood by his story and went into his talking points how the President is anti-faith.

These guys do this on every issue. They make up something and then proceed like it is a fact. They repeat it over and over until it becomes an issue. That's where the MSM media has not done their job. They should be dismissing these lies and refusing to act like they are an issue. We had show after show where the Swift Boat lies were debated like they had some credence. The military records showed that Kerry's boat was shot to hell and could not be repaired. You had a Green Beret that Kerry pulled out of the water saying that bullets flying all around Kerry and the solder was amazed Kerry survived. The Swift Boat lies cost Kerry the Presidency­. Under the present circumstan­ces, the tactic works.

The repeated lie is the biggest gun in the conservati­ve arsenal. They use it very effectivel­y. Democrats, after decades of being attacked by it, still don't know how to fight back or worse refuse to fight back because they think they are "better, more intellectu­al, above that sort of thing". Maybe they are. But they keep losing elections because of that. When will they learn? Never. They don't want to win - they want to stay "principle­d", which, in the end, will doom this country. Set aside the idea of "the high road" and fight back and WIN, then you can show "the high road" with policy decisions

No-one seems to want to publicly call these guys liars. It goes on year after year, eroding the beauty of a free-speec­h country. No-one holds them accountabl­e, but they certainly get MORE air time. Witnessing this is like standing in line at the grocery store...al­l the tabloids and the ridiculous claims and stories, with a smidgeon of truth mixed in for "credibili­ty". The angst over Obama reflects the attitudes toward a HUGE percentage of the American populace, held by the likes of Rush, Hannity, Bill, Glenn, etc. Their destructiv­eness goes on unchecked, with no-one held accountabl­e for their words and "fact-find­ing" expertise.

I will, “LIARS

My Church !

I respect people's right to believe what they wish and behave according to those beliefs. What I don't understand is how a BUSINESS - even one run by a religious group - has the right to impose their beliefs on employees of all different religious background­s. Just as the government can't force a Catholic woman to take contracept­ion - the Catholic Church shouldn't be able to force other women into unwanted pregnancie­s or abstinence only practices. Religious freedom works both ways.

President Obama is right in requiring that all women be treated fairly when it comes to health care and contracept­ion. The Catholic Church has been meddling in public policy for far too long. It's time to pull their tax exempt status and let them pay taxes like the rest of us especially if they want to influence public policy that affects all of us that are not Catholic. I tremble at the thought of living under the thumb of the Church .

It would be discrimina­tion based on religion if all other women in the U.S. could have birth control under a federal health care program except for women who work for certain Catholic or other religiousl­y owned businesses­. Not every nurse at a Catholic hospital is a Catholic (by the way 98%of Catholics in America approve of birth control) but these women would be denied the same rights as other women

The Catholic Church is losing parishioners in droves. Matter-of-­fact, the most defectors of any time in the church's history! The church's stance on this issue just might be one of the reasons. Might behoove them to come on into the 21st Century with the reasonable people!

Please remember it was the Church that was against organ transplants when they first were being introduced. They were against dissection as a method of teaching Physicians. They were even against the first operations. They have always been against medical advancement that might loosen some of their supposed power over their followers. They have been discriminating against women for years.

I must also add that I am a Catholic and see all the good they do around the world but must take a stand when the Bishops make an issue out of this while ignoring all the Catholics that are allowed to get divorced today. (NEWT GINGRICH).  The Church has much more important battles to fight today than deny contraception to followers that use it anyway.  I also take offense at Politicians who are taking advantage of this issue.

My feelings about the powers of the Federal Government.

Birth Control, really!  This is where the discussion on religion and its rights is headed.  What's missing from the discussion on mandating birth control be offered in health insurance is the fact that Catholic women overwhelmi­ng use birth control during some portions of their marriages? All my Catholic friends do, and while I haven't had the opportunity to ask them about this, I do wonder if they would feel that it was government intrusion to offer them a service that they have in fact personally used. I think it more likely that they would appreciate the opportunit­y to have this medical expense covered as their net health care costs continue to rise. The Catholic Church never complains about Government intrusion when they give tax relief and or food stamps to families with a lot of children. In a way the rest of us are subsidizing these large families. We even pay for their education with our taxes.

This is a silly argument about Government intrusion. Thank God the federal Government intruded during the Civil war. Thank God the Federal Government intruded during the 1961 freedom riders bus trip throughout the South. Thank God the Federal Gov. intruded when the Governor of Alabama bared the doors to their university to Blacks. Thank God for the Federal Government when they passed the voting rights act in 1964. Thank God that this same Federal Government had to spend years enforcing the rights of minorities. Could these issues really have been left to the States?

As for the Catholic Church; where were they during this struggle against racism?  Where was the Baptist church when its members were bashing the heads of peace loving marchers trying to gain their freedoms already granted by their Constitution?

Where was the Church when its youngest members were taken advantaged by its own Priests?  Whose side were they on?  It says something about a church when its members have to ignore some of their teachings on subjects like birth control or marriage.

We need the Federal Government to protect the citizens against States and corporations that would force their own morality or rules on us. We need the Federal Government to protect our children from corporations that would use their labor to make profits while at the same time poisoning our natural resources. I am sick and tired of hearing how bad the Federal Government is. Left to only States Rights our country would not be called the United States but New Europe.  We are stronger for the power of our Federal Government, Safer too.

Lie Plus Lie = Double lie.

During a January 16 debate, Mitt Romney said of Obama, "Three years into office, he doesn't have a jobs plan."

We're guessing this will be an oft-repeated talking point as the campaign progresses. It's also a brazen bit of historical revisionism. As the AP notes, “Like them or not, Obama has proposed several plans intended to spur the economy and create jobs.”

 From the stimulus to the payroll tax deal, Obama's offered all sorts of plans that the GOP, eager to go into the election with a sluggish economy, has blocked. The most recent of these, as the AP notes, was offered just a few months ago:

In September, Obama introduced his most recent jobs plan, rolling it out in a speech to the full Congress in which he urged Congress to "pass it right away." It included $450 billion in tax cuts and new spending, including greater cuts to payroll taxes and tax breaks for companies that hire those who've been out of work for six months or more. Almost none of it has been passed i

Romney's got a little problem: many of the evangelicals who have long served as the foot-soldiers in GOP campaigns really, really hate Mormons. So, Mitt's trying desperately to shore up support by showing that he's as dedicated to the culture wars as any good American right-winger.

 Here's what he said on a conference call with Ralph Reed’s Faith and Freedom Coalition on Wednesday:

Then of course there’s the assault on religion….now he’s gone forward and said that religious institutions, universities, hospitals and so forth, religious institutions have to provide free contraceptives to all their employees, even if that religious institution is opposed to the use of contraception, as in the case of the Catholic Church. Even in that regard, fighting to eliminate the conscience clause for healthcare workers who wish not to provide abortion services or contraceptives in their workplace, in their hospital for instance. It’s an assault on religion unlike anything we have seen.

 There’s been an assault on marriage. I think he is very aggressively trying to pave the path to same-sex marriage.

Two problems here. First, much to the frustration of his LGBT supporters, Obama doesn't favor gay marriage. Second, as Igor Volsky (who reported Romney's comments for Think Progress) notes, “Federal regulations contain clear provisions in three separate laws shielding federally funded healthcare providers’ right of conscience.”

For instance, the1976 Church Amendment “prevents the government (as a condition of a federal grant) from requiring healthcare providers or institutions to perform or assist in abortion or sterilization procedures against their moral or religious convictions,” the Coats Amendment of 1996 prohibits the government from “discriminating” against medical residency programs or other entities that lose accreditation because they fail to provide or require training in abortion services” and the Hyde/Weldon Conscience Protection Amendment of 2004 “forbids federal, state and local governments from requiring any individual or institutional provider or payer to perform, provide, refer for, or pay for an abortion.”

These “conscience clauses” are also enshrined in Obama's signature legislation, the Affordable Care Act. So, thankfully, the Christian majority remains just as un-oppressed today as it has been in the past

As for contraception ; Please! My mother always confessed using then in confession but 90 % of Catholics don’t even bother. 

We need a strong Federal Government.

These days, big government gets big press attention — none of it anything but terrible. In the United States, especially in an election year, it’s become fashionable to beat up on the public sector and all things governmental (except the military). The Right does it nonstop. All their talking points disparage the role of an oversized federal government. Anti-tax zealot Grover Norquist famously set the tone for this assault. “I’m not in favor of abolishing the government,” he said. “I just want to shrink it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub.” He has managed to get 235 members of the House of Representatives and 41 members of the Senate to sign his “Taxpayer Protection Pledge” and thereby swear never, under any circumstances, to raise taxes

But don’t expect the present “consensus” to last. Global warming and the freaky, increasingly extreme weather that will accompany it is going to change all that. After all, there is only one institution that actually has the capacity to deal with multibillion-dollar natural disasters on an increasingly routine basis. Private security firms won’t help your flooded or tornado-struck town. Private insurance companies are systematically withdrawing coverage from vulnerable coastal areas. Voluntary community groups, churches — each may prove helpful in limited ways, but for better or worse, only government has the capital and capacity to deal with the catastrophic implications of climate change.

Look back on 2011 and you’ll notice a destructive trail of extreme weather slashing through the year. In Texas, it was the driest year ever recorded. An epic drought there killed half a billion trees, touched off wildfires that burned four million acres, and destroyed or damaged thousands of homes and buildings. The costs to agriculture, particularly the cotton and cattle businesses, are estimated at $5.2 billion — and keep in mind that, in a winter breaking all sorts of records for warmth, the Texas drought is not yet over.

Soon the effects of climate change will affect the food supply. This is a coming problem that our Gov. should be preparing for. They aren’t. Factions are only worried about their particular group or faction that supports them with money. The fact is that no one is watching out for you and your children. Our politicians are turning a blind eye to a coming disaster and so is the American public worried more about issues like birth control than survival. The fall of Rome was nothing like what is about to happen to this once great country. Just watch.  The Public is being led by the nose by corporations that control what they see and learn.  The information we are fed is insignificant and worthless. I don’t think we really are smart enough to see what is before our eyes. Ever try and watch the FIVE in FOX?  Just for the shock value try it one night.

No facts just garbage,

Our economy, in some ways, reminds me of the Soviet Unions.  We have an inflated military budget and are involved in stupid wars that cost way too much money.  Our Government also subsidizes the wealthy and different businesses like farming.  We even offer tax money to huge oil companies to explore for more oil.

I know that we are in the middle of hard times. I also know that hard choices need to be made to balance our budget.  The problem I have is that our leaders want to save money by cutting safety net programs that people already paid for.

Social Security is an example. President Reagan raised the tax on this deduction in order to build up surpluses for future seniors when they retired.  Congress could not bring themselves to curb their spending. For the next 30 years they spent this extra surplus on the military, farmer’s subsidies, corporate welfare, and tax cuts for the wealthy.

When the Civil War started President Lincoln asked workers, above a certain wage, to pay a federal tax of 3% to pay for the war. This was in fact the first progressive federal income tax ever in the country.

Now the economy is so messed up that we will never be out of debt or have a balanced budget.  Even the Clinton –Gingrich budget was balanced using surplus Social Security funds. I listen to a lot of shows on TV. I listen to FOX, MSNBC and CNN.  I listen to a lot of talk radio in my car. All of these programs and networks have one thing I common. They do not deal with facts. In fact they go out of their way to avoid them. Here are two examples.

1.       The Keystone Pipeline is not being built to bring oil into the the United States. We already import 97% of their oil now. This pipeline is being built to get oil out of the U.S.  The only reason it is not being built on Canadian land is the fact that most Canadians consider high pressure lines, designed to transport tar oil, too dangerous. If the US government doesn't approve the pipeline, TransCanada would have to negotiate with each individual landowner, with the state's permission. If the US government approves the pipeline, TransCanada gets the right of eminent domain, the right to force US citizens to sell their property to a foreign, private company at the price the company sets. Even Oklahoma would have to comply, even though it has laws against this. The GOP claims to champion the rights of individuals and of states, but they're pushing this pipeline--wonder why$$$?

2.       The second example has to do with water. There will be a severe water shortage in this country soon leading to a severe food shortage. Texas is in the middle of a severe drought and burning up as we speak.  All of our water storage is near severe depletion. Water is more important to this nation than oil. We are in the middle of helping natural gas companies ruin our last water supplies drilling for natural gas and extracting it from shale.  If you want to learn what the future problems and issues are then stop watching TV or listening to morons that do not know their ass from a hole in the decline.

In short I would like to welcome you to the ruin and fall of this once great country. I see no hope to warn ignorant and uninformes people about these risks and problems we face. Most just don't care or are too lazy to fight for their childrens future. The time of the United States being a powerful force in the world is near an end.

Childhood Sinners

Last night I watched an interview with George Clooney on Entertainment Tonight.  He told a story that brought a smile to my lips.  He related an episode while he was a student at a Catholic grade school.  He said that each week his class was made to go to Confession during the school day. To remind the students that they were sinners the Nuns would list a number of sins in the board; this would help refresh ones memory.  George said that he would choose a few and confess to them every week. One of the sins he confessed to was Adultery.  He said that although he did not know its meaning it sounded like an adult sin and he wanted the priest to think he was acting more like an adult than a little kid.

At our Catholic school we also went to confession once a week or so.  I was in the 5^th. or 6^th. Grade and a good kid. I really never committed many sins in a weeks’ time. I knew that I could not go and say that to a priest so I too committed to a list of sins to confess to. I usually confessed to the same ones.  I used lying, cheating, and hitting my brother and abusing myself at least 10 times a week. I usually whispered for fear that the Priest would recognize my voice.

It was not till the eighth grade, while in a health lecture from a nurse that I learned abusing oneself meant masturbation.

The joys of a Catholic Education!

Ouch !

I promised myself that I would never write about this because I usually do not like people to know my personal business.  I also do not like to listen to the medical problems of others. I can only worry so much and when I worry about a lot of people at the same time it makes me ill.  I decided to write about my medical experience today because it has been four years since it happened and I have taken five Vicodin and two Clonazepam today and my head and neck are killing me. I am sure I will regret it tonight when I am trying to sleep.

Four years ago ,in December, I had a visit with my personal Physician and during a simple checkup he found ,what he thought, sounded like some blockage in my left carotid Artery in my neck. I was shocked because I had kept in shape and road my bike a minimum of 20 miles each and every day often as much as 30 to 40 a day. Often I would ride more on the weekends. I thought I was in great shape. Because my father had a stroke in his 50’s I took the Drs. advice and had a CAT Scan. The scan found a 90% blockage in that one artery only!  Heredity?

Surgery was scheduled with the best surgeon, from St E's. He did the surgery in Salem.  That night was spent in intensive care and I was released the next day with a 4 inch incision that was super glued shut. I tried to tell the Dr. that something seemed wrong but he ignored me.

The next couple of days went by with a lot of pain and swelling. I called the Dr. and he said to relax and rest my neck as much as possible. Two more days passed and I called again because my neck hurt more and started to swell." Relax and try not to move too much " he told me. A day later I called him again I and he said to give it time to heal and not to worry.

Two more days passed and I went to the ER with swelling about as big as an orange on the side of my neck.  The Dr. ordered another CAT scan. While I waited my surgeon came in and yelled at me for coming to the ER. He said having a CAT Scan was like throwing an Atomic Bomb at an ant He did say though that since he was here he would read the scan. He told me he saw a huge hematoma next to my artery. Go home and rest was his advice. It things did not improve come in again in a couple of days.

Two more days of pain and swelling passed and I went to see him in the morning. He said he would have to go back in and clean out some type of infection. I spent all day on my side taking morphine every hour until my surgery at 6:00 pm. 

I woke up feeling a lot worse than the first surgery 14 days previous.  I had to be given massive doses of antibiotics over the next week and visitors had to gown up to visit me until the infection was identified,

It was Strep and it  had to be picked up during surgery because my incision was glued shut. They sent me home with a pick line to my heart and an automatic pump to pump a powerful antibiotic in my system for another couple of weeks. I had nurses come to my home every day and carried my portable pump around. 

My neck never healed. It hurt 24 hrs. A day. A pain specialist told me that they had to scrape all of the infection from my neck nerves and muscles.  He said that because of the damage done my nerves might never heal properly. Cutting them twice within ten tays may have damaged them too much.

To make a long story shorter I was told to give it a year to heal properly. I wasn’t until later that I learned that any Malpractice suit against a Dr. or a hospital, in Ohio,  had to be made in one years’ time. They just strung me along until the year was past. In fact my surgeon told me,to my face, that he could not help me anymore and seek help elsewhere. His surgery was a success and I must have other problems yet unknown.

Here it is four yrs. later and I hurt as much today as I did after surgery. I have gone all over for relief and tried many medications and treatments.

When I hear a politician say that we have the best system in the world I laugh; and then I cry ! You would never believe the money all of this has cost me. You would never come close.