The Games

by Ruth A. Sheets

During the past week, I have heard snippets of Republican Congressmen and Senators smugly claiming that the government shutdown is not a game.  But, of course it’s a game, or rather, it’s several games being played simultaneously.

One of the games is “Chicken.”  Who will back down first?  The Republicans/Hypocricans know that in the past, President Obama has blinked first.  He thought he was negotiating with reasonable people who had the good of America at heart.  He was wrong!  He was in a game with children who want their own way.  Mr. Obama responded to their tantrums as parents and other adults are warned not to.  And, just as young children often do after they have gotten their way through their tantrums, Hypocricans believe it will work every time. 

Another of the games is language.  Hypocricans are excellent at manipulating words.  They know that the chronically uninformed in America are easily swayed by simplistic phrases relating to complex issues, e.g., “death panels” and ObamaCare will destroy America and so on.  The more lies the better since Hypocricans know their  people won’t fact check.  Why?  That might challenge some cherished biases.

A third game I had not recognized until my brother-in-law pointed it out to me involves the money folks like the Koch brothers, who have more money than any human being ought to have.  They are thrilled with what their money has done so far.  They have become addicted to the power it has brought.  This makes them very useful to the Hypocricans.

The Koch’s have bought candidates at State and Federal levels.  They have even influenced the Supreme Court to rule in their favor.  The next move, defeat the American people, the 99% at all levels.  They did not win the presidential elections of 2008 and 2012.  Their money was not quite enough to overwhelm the donations and enthusiasm of the “little people.”  It is clear taking over Congress and the Presidency is in their game plan.  Next time, they are determined to win.

Game four is redirection.  Hypocricans have shut the government down deliberately and are elated.  Some of the Hypocricans in the Tea Party know they are not looking good to the public right now, so they have distributed the game rules to their clan along with the talking points.  They all say the same things and with a straight face.  “The Liberal shut down” or “The Democratic shut down.” or “Obama’s Government shut down, or all three at once.”  Don’t take responsibility for your own stupidity and stubbornness.  This game move has worked before too.

So how do we respond to their games?  We stand strong in “Chicken” and force them to back down as businesses scream at them for bringing down the economy.

We find slogans that promote ObamaCare and mock the foolishness and anti-patriotism of the Hypocricans.

We keep our grass roots networks strong and active at all levels.  We may not have as much money as the Koch’s, but we can see that our people get to the polls despite Hypocrican attempts to restrict voting.

We yell “Republicans made the mess!” long and loud and don’t stop.

They Could Be Heroes

by Ruth A. Sheets

After a disaster, reporters interview “ordinary people” who have done something extraordinary.  Nearly always, the person says that he/she is not a hero and just did what had to be done. 

To the rest of us, these folks are genuine heroes.  They go far beyond what one should be expected to do, but they do it anyway.

If ordinary people can perform such heroism, those in power should be natural heroes.  Most of the time, they don’t even have to put their lives on the line.

Egyptians elected a president last year to get their country on the right track to an inclusive political system.  President Morsi was elected and almost immediately began limiting the rights of the people, particularly those not part of the Muslim Brotherhood.  He could have been a hero, but chose to be a divider, an ideologue.  The Egyptian people are now suffering for his anti-heroic actions  

Our state, Pennsylvania, is in need of strong financial support for public education, particularly in the poorest districts.  A hero would find ways to get legislators to find some funds, perhaps add some fees to the frackers in Pennsylvania, but instead, the gas drillers don’t even pay enough to make up for the destruction they cause through their operations.  And, no other money can be spared for our kids.   We need a hero, but our governor is about blaming everyone who is not as wealthy as he and his backers.

Many Americans cannot afford medical insurance and are vulnerable if they or someone in their family becomes ill or injured.  We need some heroes to stand up to the Republican Party and their core constituency, saying something like, “it might not be perfect, but at least it’s a start, that Obamacare.  Instead they tell young people “You don’t have to carry insurance since you are healthy and you should not have to support those old folks who just suck up the money.  Only get insurance when you actually need it.”  How about the notion that Americans take care of each other.  I guess not, right?

Why do our leaders shy away from talking about poverty and its role in keeping our people down, keeping our students performing poorly?  There are no heroes here either.  Democrats ignore the issue and speak only of the middle class, while Republicans pretend that the poor are reaping the results of their own actions. 

Compromise is a 4-letter word, a curse for Republicans.  No heroes will come from that quarter because their fear of losing power keeps them from donning a cape and jumping in for the good of America and its people.

Every challenging situation, especially the big ones like health care, poverty, jobs, climate change,   needs heroes.  People in public office and other positions of authority can make large changes quickly if the will is there.  Just think of Harry Truman integrating the armed forces, Lyndon Johnson moving the Civil Rights and Voting Acts through Congress, John Kennedy spurring America on to the moon.

Alas, maybe we can’t wait for the “chosen” few to accept the role of hero.  Maybe ordinary people like us will have to go far beyond what is expected and will just do what has to be done.   

NEW SCHOOL YEAR

by Ruth A. Sheets

The 2013-14 school year is about to start.  Traditionally, at this point in the summer, there has been a lot of excitement among students and teachers, and relief among parents.  

For the students, parents, and teachers of my district, however, there is mostly anxiety.  August is half over and many of us do not even know which schools will be open and who will be teaching.

My district is not alone in this. As Republicans in office work to limit funding for education and add to the burden of poor school districts with vouchers, charter schools, and other unproven theories, the public schools are forced to cut programs, personnel, and supplies, while charters get what they need.

Many studies lately point to poverty as the variable which puts children at risk for poor performance in school, yet our legislatures and public executives have done little to address it.  In fact, many Republican (Hypocrican) proposals these days would serve to drive more families into poverty and others deeper in (eliminate food stamps, for example).

It makes perfect sense to Hypocricans to make teachers the target of their anger. Teachers are often in unions. Hypocricans hate unions because they demand salaries and wages above minimum wage. 

Hypocricans spread the lie that “anyone can teach.”  Notice that none of them chose teaching.  I guess it was beneath them when they could amass greater fortunes in more prestigious fields. 

Those who teach in charter schools don’t even need to be certified.  The belief is that if you follow the script, you can teach anything.  With their new law, in North Carolina, only 50% of charter school teachers need to be certified.   Without certification, it is possible to pay less.  Hmmm, one wonders if these legislators would want their children to attend the schools with uncertified teachers.  Of course they would, if only they lived in that neighborhood.  Yeah, right!

So the new school year will begin across America and the haves will continue to have more while the have nots will continue to lag behind and be blamed for it.   

The saving grace here is the number of truly dedicated, highly qualified teachers there are, willing  to teach our children who are in most need.  We love our students and want the very best for them.  We will do everything we can, despite Hypocrican  opposition, to build our students’ skills, talents, and hope in the future. 

Have an inspiring school year, students and teachers.  Don’t let the Hypocricans keep you down.

ALEC, A Cancer Growing on Our Democracy

by Ruth A. Sheets

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is celebrating its 40^th anniversary.  I suspect that when it was founded, its goals were not as lofty as to limit voting, destroy women’s freedom of reproductive choice, promote guns for all citizens, eliminate the public schools, reduce taxes for wealthy members of society, deregulate just about everything, cancel employee pensions, break unions, criminalize immigrants, privatize the services the government does well.

From the beginning, ALEC certainly had its political agenda, extremely conservative, somewhat racist and androcentric.   It started small with developing ideas to reduce taxes and provide legislative templates for conservatives all over the country.  Just like cancer, however, its actions metastacised over time and spread to envelope legislators all over the country.  ALEC and its ideas are now out of control.

Now, conservative candidates run for office claiming they will work for job creation, education, and other worthy issues of concern to Americans.  But, when they get into office, they pick up ALEC bills and go after everything else.  

If one state legislature succeeds with a restrictive voter I.D. law, everyone else in the network wants to try it in their state.  If one ALEC bill is passed to profile potential undocumented immigrants, the rest of their gang will introduce a nearly identical bill.  It is popular with ALEC to blame unions and public workers, particularly teachers for all financial woes,  so one state after another passes union-busting laws.

Women are not popular with ALEC, so it has helped to introduce a variety of anti-women bills.  The interesting thing here is that each state that picks these bills up tries to make its own law more restrictive than the last.

There no longer even has to be an honest reason for the laws that are proposed.  Voter fraud is almost non-existent, but millions of dollars and thousands of hours have been wasted pushing through a variety of voter suppression laws.  There is little or no evidence that school vouchers or charter schools have improved education or cost the tax-payers less, but this proposal passed in one state, now all the legislatures in the network keep pushing both.

Some courts have been like chemotherapy, trying to stop the cancer.  It is harder and harder, though,  as the US Senate is not filling openings on the courts.  Money interests are invading the judicial system.   In addition, it doesn’t matter what the American people want.  Protests seem irrelevant.

ALEC is not the only organization engaged in corrupting our democracy, but it is one of the most powerful.  Its leader, Grover Norquist, is not elected, yet our politicians give him and his crew more power than elected officials have. They threaten candidates who don’t sign their ridiculous pledge not to raise taxes.  Why do our Republican legislators give away their ability to govern?

We need to wake up and fight the cancer before it is too invasive to be put into remission. 

Is This the America They Really Want?

by Ruth A. Sheets

For the past thirty years or so, Republicans/Conservatives (Hypocricans) have been working very hard at all levels to shape an American society which closely reflects their stated ideals. 

What are those stated ideals?  Well, they change slightly over time, but essentially, the visible components of their “platform” include, but are not limited to the following.

1.  Cut Government spending at all levels, especially the spending on things not related to the military or security.

2.   Decrease or end regulation on everything, particularly businesses and money-making organizations.  Businessmen care about their businesses, so won‘t do anything to harm their customers.  Minimum wage stifles business growth and development. 

3.   Eliminate labor unions.  They keep businesses from growing and make workers get paid too much.  Low wages are OK for the poor and those who didn’t work hard in school.

4.  End welfare.  Those people are takers and don’t deserve help.

5.  Limit Social Security.  If that is not possible, privatize it.

6.  Privatize everything.  Private companies may not do as well as the government does, but at least it’s private and tax payers don’t have to pay for it.

7.  Get your candidates elected at all costs.  If they are unqualified, just be sure they are people who will rubber stamp anything the agenda calls for.

8.  Limit voting participation of those who are likely not to vote for your candidates:  young, Black, Hispanic, Native American.  This will probably cut down on some of the old people who would vote for you, but they are worth the sacrifice for the greater goal.

 9.  Promote anything that will advance rich white men.

10.   Include a few tokens of the various minority groups in America.  It is possible to find a minority person who holds any position, just as it is among the white majority.  Use those folks.  Make sure they are visible at your events.

11.  Pass the most outrageous laws at all levels of government so that when the things you really want come up, people will accept them saying “at least these ideas aren’t as crazy as what was already proposed.

12.  Support anything the military industrial complex wants.  They will keep you in office and keep patriotism alive by returning coffins and wounded warriors to the society.  Don’t support programs to help them when they get back, though because that won’t bring you any profit.

13.  America is a Christian country, so whatever conservative Christians say they want is OK.  Ignore people of other religious groups as much as possible.

14.  President Obama is BLACK!  He can’t possibly want anything we white guys want, so stand against everything he is for.  Be sure to say over and over that it is not racism.

15.  Women are gaining power and moving into our space.  Pass any laws that will keep women barefoot and pregnant in the home.  Be sure, though that men aren’t held accountable for the children who result.

16.  Our ancestors came to this country legally.  Everyone else should have done that too.

17.  Claim “States’ Rights.”  Even if the people of your state don’t want what you want, pass it anyway and say it’s your right.

18.  It isn’t necessary for everyone to have medical insurance.  If they can’t afford it, dying is an acceptable option, just so WE don’t have to pay for any of it.

These planks of the Hypocrican platform are moved into place one at a time.  Most Americans don’t get the big picture.  Much of what is proposed is based on lies, but of course, the end justifies the means. 

The society that would result from enacting the above would be so far from the Constitution the Hypocricans claim to revere and so far from any of the founders’ vision that it is nearly impossible to contemplate. 

Is this the America they really want?  Do the rest of us have to go along with their selfish, egotistical, racist, classist, power-hungry, greedy vision?  Not on your life.  Let’s fight every plank, every splinter, every day. 

Out of Control

by Ruth A. Sheets

A few years ago, author Malcolm Gladwell wrote a book that I believe is relevant to our current insanity.  The book, THE TIPPING POINT describes situations when actions started by a few individuals or small groups increase to a point where, for awhile at least, they are unstoppable, OUT OF CONTROL.  This point of no return is the tipping point.  I think we have reached it in relation to individual rights in our culture.

After “Roe v. Wade, and the Women’s Liberation Movement, most Americans began to see women in a more positive light, having a lot to contribute to the world outside the home.  Women began to slowly increase their level of education as well as the age at which they chose to have children, if they had any at all. 

Under Ronald Reagan, some of those advances began to reverse.  Public figures who were looking for a “cause” to champion chose anti-abortion because it had emotional appeal to the most conservative among us.  All sorts of righteous language could be flung into the minds of the portion of the population who are certain that God is on their side and that they have a direct line of communication to God. (admittedly it is generally through a series of writings that is more than 2,000 years old, but despite its contradictory nature, the Bible for many is the will of God.) 

This would not be such a problem if these Bible fanatics only wanted to hold their beliefs and practices for themselves.  Unfortunately, their mission is to make everyone else follow their beliefs.  They are fired up to pass laws and even alter the Constitutions of the United States and the various states to insure we all comply.

The Tipping Point came with the 2010 election.  Democrats in particular, forgot how important voting is in the years that end in “0” because of the redistricting due to population shifts.  The Hypocricans took over the House of Representatives in Washington and many state legislatures.  This gave them the go-ahead to step up their crusade.  And, boy did they get going.

Lately, when one state manages to get some restrictive law passed, others follow immediately like a set of dominoes falling. 

It happened with Gay Rights, voting restrictions, increasing the influence of business, limiting support for the poorest among us, and driving undocumented immigrants “back where they came from.” Before a lot of people took notice, many people were on their way to losing their rights.

Our members of Congress are unable to get anything done because they have tipped over into a place where they can’t see that what they are doing or allowing to be done is destructive to the American way of life, our democracy.  Our infrastructure is failing, our planet is suffering from severe climate change, our jobs are either paying obscenely high salaries or impossibly low wages, our banks risk money as if they have an unlimited supply, our Supreme  Court hands down the most outrageous decisions, our government can’t seem to control its appetite for spying on its own citizens and allies, our system of farm subsidies are long out of date.  Our military industrial complex cannot control its appetite.  The gap between the 1% and the 99% is widening every year.   

All of these challenges face us and what are Congress and state legislatures doing to address these real problems?  Not much, especially in the legislative bodies under the control of the Hypocricans with governors who are fully in step with them. 

Instead, they are trying to repeal Obamacare for the 40^th time.  They are writing and sneaking in provisions to limit women’s right to choose.  They are trying to limit or even eliminate food stamps.  They are trying to privatize public services so they won’t have to meet their obligation to pay reasonable salaries or pensions.  They are cutting funding to schools.  They are allowing interest for student loans to double.  They are trying to find ways to lure the richest among us into their jurisdictions with a tax pass while the community pays.  They are encouraging drilling and fracking for fossil fuels on public lands.

The only way to stop this runaway train is to start or join a movement that can ultimately tip thinking and actions in a different direction.  It has started.  The Defense of Marriage Act is dead on the Federal level.  California same sex couples can now marry.  Wendy Davis got national notice in Texas for her filibuster.  Even though none of these events brought about the desired change for everyone, it is a start and has drawn attention.  It’s up to all of us, those who care about human rights, to keep pushing the boulder of inclusion, acceptance, and the belief in the ability to make good decisions that will benefit all, up the hill of ignorance until it tips over into a better place.

Where’s the Courage

by Ruth A. Sheets

The Supreme Court ended its term this week and demonstrated once again that courage is simply not part of their repertoire.

Maybe that is what we want in Supreme Court justices, as little manifest courage as can be managed. 

During this term, the justices decided that corporations are persons with much more value than any other persons.  They awarded victories to nearly every corporation that stood against the “little guy” with the guidance and support of the Chamber of Commerce.  A woman’s health was destroyed by drugs not properly reported as having massive side effects, but the pharmaceutical industry was declared immune to responsibility.  Standing for the weak would have required courage.  We’ll all suffer for this one. 

Now, your boss can sexually or in any other way harass you and it is only really harassment if that person has the power to fire you.  The Court does not have the courage to acknowledge that real sexual harassment still goes on every day, and not always by the higher-ups who actually do the hiring and firing in large corporations. 

It seems that when our courts are bought and paid for by big business, it is hard for them to stand against these businesses even when the plaintiffs really do have a good case. 

Then, the Court’s Hypocrican constituents begged for the Court to put down the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  The timid justices said “Now’s our chance.  We’ll just say that things are better now while we give our buddies in the racist states free reign to stop those people we/they don’t want voting.  Awesome!”

The justices couldn’t even see that the young woman who challenged the University of Texas “affirmative action” practices just didn’t meet the school’s standards and that lots of other people were turned down just as she was.  She was nothing special, well, she was white, after all.  Did the justices acknowledge that UT is really working to make their campus more inclusive?  Of course not.  That would have required the courage they do not have.  They spewed some wishy-washy nonsense about using race only if there is no other way to include more non-white students

To make sure that people didn’t start an American Spring, they threw a little candy to the LGBT community.  There was no courage here even though I hear the word a lot this week.  They didn’t say, as they should have that all restriction against gay marriage in the United States is unconstitutional.  They merely sent the Prop 8 ruling back to the lower courts, not exactly courageous.  They put down DOMA, but that was unconstitutional when it was passed as a political maneuver in 1996 to appease the Republicans.  Where is the courage?

But, there was some political courage displayed this week.  Texas State Senator Wendy Davis, stood 11 hours to filibuster an appalling anti-woman bill in the Texas legislature.  Despite some ridiculous rules and procedures, she stood there alone, no support, faced with Republicans just dying to shut her down.  That is real courage and scares the heck out of all those Hypocricans who have none but pretend they do.  And, of course, they are trying their best to make what she did seem trivial and un-American.  Pathetic!

Voting Discrimination, Allowed By Law

by muon

The Supreme Court made some bad rulings this month. Bad for the citizens they will effect, surely, and as a result, bad for the democracy, but also bad in a legal sense. There was nothing judicious, or even logical, about their decisions.

You've probably all heard about the Voting Rights Act ruling by now. Some of you don't know about the 5th amendment decision that, regardless of the fact that you're read Miranda rights upon arrest, your silence can be used against you as evidence of guilt, eliminating the whole concept of "innocent until proven guilty."

Another bad decision involved on-the-job harassment cases. The SCOTUS ruled that these cases are only valid if the harasser is a supervisor. You can be sexually, racially, or religiously harassed by anyone else at your workplace, and if your employer does nothing, your only recourse now is to quit your job.

But let's take a closer look at the VRA decision. The court overturned Section 4 of the Act, which requires states with a history of racial discrimination to go through the Justice Department for approval any time they want to make a change to their voting laws or procedures. The court claimed that the formula used to determine which states to include was obsolete, that America had changed. They more or less claimed that the US no longer has a problem with voter discrimination based on race.

The illogic? Justice Ginsburg said it eloquently in her dissent: "Throwing out preclearance when it has worked, and is continuing to work to stop discriminatory changes, is like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet." You don't knock down a levee because you haven't had a flood in ten years. You don't take the locks off your doors because you haven't had a robbery.

Still, maybe this is an opportunity to revise Section 4 so it reflects the America of today. Voter discrimination is no longer limited to race. In the last election, you might have experienced voter discrimination if you were African-American, but you could have easily been discriminated against for being Hispanic, Muslim, poor, illiterate, handicapped, female, or a college student. There were incidents of discrimination against anyone registering voters into the Democratic party, for Pete's sake.

We don't need a formula. We need a comprehensive law covering ALL states. If any state wants to change voting laws and procedures, the change should have to be approved by the Justice Department, after a thorough scrutiny to make sure the change wouldn't disenfranchise even one voter. Some states will come back with, "We aren't children. We don't need a babysitter." Maybe if they'd stop acting like hateful, power-hungry brats, this wouldn't be necessary.

Too Many Secrets

by Ruth A. Sheets

Anyone who has been charged with keeping a secret knows that one secret often begets more secrets as well as a plethora of lies.  It is essential to remember who knows and who should never know, is a cover story necessary, what happens if someone becomes suspicious.

My family is really big for keeping secrets.  The excuse most often given is, “I knew what you would say and . . .”  The second most common response, “I didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.”

The secret keepers feel smug that they got the word and had the privilege/honor of keeping information from everyone else.  This implies that somehow, that makes for more trust.   In addition to whatever other roles the family member already has, this gives them the role of official secret keeper.  The person can now gloat when the secret comes out, “ I knew that two years (or whatever time period) ago.  If someone else learns the secret, the secret keeper can become extremely angry, sometimes feigned, sometimes real.  And, it doesn’t matter who might be affected by the secrets, how much pain is inflicted.

Over time, it becomes harder to discern the truth from lies used to maintain the secret.  Once the holding of secrets has worked, it makes more secrecy inevitable.  This process can undermine a family.  

The current happenings related to the NSA (National Security Agency) remind me of this sort of family secret keeping.  Some secrecy makes sense when the family is as large as the United States of America.  We don’t want everything we know out there for everyone to know.  Keep in mind the old cliche “forewarned is forearmed.” 

The problem in the US family, there are too many secrets about too many things.  No longer are our secrets confined to a limited number of people in a limited number of agencies.  It seems that whatever the military does is secret unless special dispensation is given.  That is also true of the State Department, the CIA, the FBI, Homeland Security, and so on and so forth.  These agencies and departments can know anything they deem important about us, the citizens, but we are to know as little as possible about them and their work.

Edward Snowden, self-professed whistle-blower, contracted NSA employee, let out a few secrets, none of which are either earth-shattering or worthy of the outrage of those whose self-esteem is wrapped up in keeping them.  Despite this, Mr. Snowden is being hounded and charged with espionage and other crimes which could lead to his torture or death at the hands of other secret-keepers.  The insidious part is that many among us don’t even recognize these practices as un-American.

Bradley Manning, another American who got sick of the secrets has spent 3 years in custody under conditions no American should suffer. 

The secret-keepers want everyone to believe that everything they hide is of utmost importance and only they have the wherewithall to protect it. 

I may not approve of the self-serving arrogance of Julian Isange of Wikileaks and Edward Snowden formerly of the NSA, but they have performed a service for all Americans.  They have pointed the spotlight at the insanity of our secret-keeping and at least, for awhile, we are talking about it.  The problem is not really with the whistle-blowers.  It is with the large number of government employees charged with keeping so many secrets from the rest of America.  When the government blames the whistle-blowers, it takes our attention from the real problem and allows the grip to be tighten on secrecy.  The media helps by repeating the position of the secret-keepers – “We need this to be secret or we won’t be able to protect Americans from terrorists.” 

We do need some secrecy related to our security, but that must be very limited and conducted within the law and our Constitution.  If information about our phone-calling and emailing are required, ask us and tell us why.  Stop the secret courts, the illegal requests for information from the businesses we have trusted with our data. 

A healthy, happy family has a minimum of secrets.  I want to see our nation happy and healthy, so let’s drop the feigned outrage that we citizens now know a few more things we should have known all along.

Hypocricans in Fine Form

by Ruth A. Sheets

It is not possible to overestimate the fear and loathing projected by the Hypocricans in Congress these days.  This week they have stepped up their efforts to eliminate women’s right to choose.  They also continued their assault on the poorest among us.  Their terror of immigrants, particularly those from Mexico and points south raised its head again.

The Hypocricans in the House of Representatives voted to outlaw abortions at 20 weeks gestation, criminalizing women who choose to terminate pregnancy beyond that point.  Some didn’t even want to make exceptions for rape, incest or health of the mother.  Do these mostly white men really care that much for the offspring of those pregnancies?  Not really.  If they did, these same Hypocricans would not have voted to lower funding for the food stamp program.  One would think they would be increasing all kinds of support to families in poverty.  They would at least double the money for family planning and contraception to keep such unwanted pregnancies at a minimum. 

So what is going on here?  You know!  The war on women progresses.

Hypocricans say they are fiscal conservatives.  That is an interesting claim.  Let’s check it out.

Just so they don’t have to pay for food stamps and other programs to support folks in poverty, they will continue direct payments to farmers, even if they don’t grow anything.  How do these things connect?  Well, the Farm Bill was up for a vote this week.  The Democrats, against their better judgment, compromised to lower payments for food stamps a little.  It wasn’t enough for the Hypocricans, who rejected the whole bill.  This means that the current farm subsidies will remain in place, money not spent wisely.  Hypocricans couldn’t stick it to those lazy poor people, so the whole bill goes down.

Next these “fiscal conservatives” pinned an amendment to the immigration bill demanding a level  of border security impossible to achieve.  This will cost billions of dollars.  Even though few immigrants are coming from Mexico these days, the proposal is to double the number of border guards and build more fences.  Their fear of the Latinos is evident since there is no proposal for fences and walls on our border with Canada.   Hypocricans then tie the “path to citizenship” for undocumented immigrants to the insane border requirements.  The Hypocricans actually believe in their heart of hearts that such blatant racism will win them Latino votes.  Really!

The scary part for me is that a lot of Americans support the Hypocricans.  Fear and loathing are such easy emotions and can be mined at little cost.  It takes little effort to convince people that someone is out to get what they have.  With facility, people can be persuaded that danger is around every corner, that evil lurks behind every door.   Who is presenting these threats:  women who want control over their own bodies, people sneaking over the border, indolent poor who prey on the rich.  And, of course, we all must be protected from them.

Perhaps, instead of the witch hunts they are instituting, Hypocricans should look in the mirror to find the evil they seek.

Hypocricans vs Women

by Ruth A. Sheets

The Hypocricans are now getting more serious about their attacks against women.  Why?  What has changed? 

Women have changed. 

Hypocricans harken back to a time when “men were men,” which, of course, meant, in charge, dominant, forceful, and all those other manly terms.  The men didn’t really have to grow up.  Their wives simply stepped into the place their mothers had held. 

Women bought into this structure for society because the Bible said that was how it was supposed to be. Occasional volunteering kept women’s yearning for something more at bay.

After each of America’s wars, when women were coaxed back to the home, more and more women refused to accept the prescribed roles.  In the wartime jobs, they had functioned at least as well as their male counterparts and learned a thing or two about propaganda.  While the men were marching off to glory, the women were operating the machinery that provided everything from ships to planes to tanks to ammunition. 

When the men came marching home, women were told how patriotic it would be for them to go home and give their jobs back to the men. Those who didn’t leave voluntarily were fired and sent home to take care of their hero husbands.  Women were encouraged to produce as many kids as possible. After WWII, they gave birth to the baby boomers.  Women fell into the oblivion of housewifery.  The problem for the men was that these women kept with them the memories of a life of skilled work, appreciation for their efforts, and independence.  It was hard to go back under a man’s thumb. Through propaganda men tried to damp down the restlessness.

Men, particularly white men, naturally want to go back to those days.  They may not have much power on the job, but by God, they had it in the home. 

Women have come quite a distance from those days, but there is a strong movement among the Hypocricans to bring those days back.  They have created a scism among women, e.g., stay-at-home-moms vs. working moms.  There isn’t that much of a gap between these groups, but the stays have been propagandized to believe that everyone is against them for doing God’s will or for caring more about their children, or some other nonsense.  Most working mothers don’t think much about the stays either way.

Men have jumped on the issue of abortion.  It really has nothing to do with them directly, but they want to outlaw it and the women who choose it.  Why is that?  Abortion represents women having power over their own bodies and their lives and what happens to them.  Men can’t stand that because it represents female independence.

However, men want to keep contraception from women as well.  If women have the means to keep from getting pregnant unless they want a child, it is harder to make them feel dirty, slutty, and shameful.  Bearing children too young or in difficult living situations helps to keep women’s self-esteem low.  When women have control, their self-esteem rises.  That can lead to getting involved in other things, like politics, business, law, medicine, ministry, all formerly bastions of male dominance.

Now, women are being blamed for the “terrible state of our society.”  Accourding to Hypocricans, Our nation is in decline toward mediocrity because so many of our women are working and are not taking proper care of our children.  This has been stated by some prominent SWG’s (Scared White Guys).  They are hoping that guilt will make women pull back and resume bowing and scraping to them.

The Hypocricans have a good share of women who seem to like the “inferior” role in society.  They and their Hypocrican brothers  hate everything about science until they want to use it to prove that the males of all species are dominant over the females.  Their lack of knowledge of science is showing, though.  In many species the female is dominant or at least equal.  In some, the female consumes the male to provide energy for the young. 

Like so much of the Hypocrican propaganda, their view of live is imperfect.  It shows more ignorance than proof of the correctness of their anti-woman position.  But, men’s voices have until now been louder and stronger than those of women. 

What can women do?  We can stop coddling men and stop giving weight to their outdated, misogynistic comments and beliefs.  We can vote the Hypocricans out of office at all levels.  We can stay vigilant and call Hypocrican men and women on  their lies, half-truths, and manufactured science.  When they show up on our television screens, we can change the channel.  The one thing we cannot do is ignore them.  That’s how women’s rights have been nibbled away during these past few years.

Hypocricans

by Ruth A. Sheets

Whenever an election season comes around, folks begin talking about third parties.  I want to get a head start.  I have a modest proposal for a third party, or rather, a second and a half party.  I would call them the “Hypocricans.” 

In order to be a member of this party, one must meet a variety of rather strict criteria.  But these criteria are DOABLE and I suspect that there are a great many people who could join tomorrow.

First, a member must want only to associate with people who believe the same things he does.  This is very important because it can make a person uncomfortable to have any beliefs challenged, and God knows a lot of folks can’t bear to be challenged on anything, especially related on their cherished beliefs. 

Members must not have an original thought.  Original thoughts can alienate those one would like to emulate.  It might make others think a person is too smart to be included in their set, and that would be a tragedy.

Members must be male or hold to the “honored” tradition that white men are superior to everyone else.  We know that a lot of women and a few people of color have this essential value, so, for awhile at least, there will be a strong pool to draw from.

Members must be Christian, and assume that our founding fathers were all Christian (no matter the actual religious faiths of George, Thomas, Benjamin, and the others).  Only Christians truly have God’s ear and know exactly what God wants everyone in America to do.  In their heart of hearts, they must know that God has ordained them to be His army on earth.

Members must hate “Big Government.”  That hatred, however must only extend to programs that help people who are poor, struggling, aging, disabled, unemployed, uninsured, and children.  The role of “Big Government” is to enforce the values of the hypocricans:  Big Military, Big Money, Big Brother in the bedroom, Big Security watching everyone everywhere. If you’re doing the right thing, you won’t care who sees you.

Members must hold forgiveness in high esteem.  That forgiveness, though can only come after tearful, if not too sincere apologies for infidelity, extortion, embezzlement, influence peddling, insider trading . . .  And, this forgiveness wipes out all previous offenses, but only for members and their supporters, the true believers.  

Members must LOVE guns.  Despite all evidence to the contrary, members must KNOW that guns are the only way they can be safe.  Members will adhere to the “keep and bear arms” clause of the second amendment, but carefully forget the “well-regulated” or “militia” parts of the same amendment.  

Members must believe that science is a hoax and that nothing science or scientists have to say can be counted as true unless it directly helps the military, provides drugs to improve members’ lives, or contributes to members’ comfort and convenience.

Members must know how to make mountains out of mole hills when small problems arise within the opposition administration:  Benghazi, IRS targeting a few right-wing organizations to be sure they really are “social welfare” and not political, tapping phones of a few journalists.  They must also know how to make mole hills out of mountains when they are responsible for outing CIA agents, starting wars due to a series of lies (so what if more than 4,000 Americans died--it was for the security of America), not showing up to help minority victims of a natural disaster, remember Katrina.

In short, Hypocricans must value hypocrisy above all virtues.  There are a whole lot of people who would make terrific members.  I nominate Sarah Palin, Mitch McConnell, John Boehner, Michele Bachman, and Marco Rubio as the token minority figure.  I’m guessing that Karl Rove will design their platform for them.  He’s had a lot of experience and anyway,  he is a charter member.

Immigration Reform – It’s Time. It’s Fair.

by Ruth A Sheets

I just watched the new documentary film “Dream Now.”  Four young immigrants who were brought to America by parents when they were children are now hoping to make a place for themselves in their new country.  The problem, of course, their parents came here illegally.

Supposedly, there will be a vote in Congress this week, described as “massive immigration reform” and “a complete overhaul of immigration.”  I suspect that neither is an accurate description.

The folks in power, and many Americans in general, want to be sure that anyone who came here without permission will have to pay, hopefully for the rest of their lives for their criminal invasion of our precious shores.  We can’t have amnesty because that will lead more undesirables to come here.

In the past decade or so, since this has again become such a huge issue, I have heard people complain that illegal immigrants didn’t wait in line to come here as they should have. Those illegals who are here should go back where they came from and get in line like everyone else.

What a bunch of nonsense!  The people “back home” who did get permission were

often folks who knew someone who knew someone who could get them in.  Does that make them more worthy than someone who braves the Arizona desert to make a better life for themselves and their family? 

Marco Rubio, Senator from Florida has set himself up as some kind of champion for immigration.  However, he wants to make it as close to impossible for people who are undocumented to become citizens.  The hypocrisy is that Mr. Rubio is a member of the priviledged class, the anti-Castro element from Cuba who have had a red carpet path right from the island to American citizenship.  Are the Cuban immigrants more worthy than the Chinese immigrant who thought she was coming here for a decent life and found herself illegal when she arrived?

We are obsessed with building and maintaining the fense across our Mexican border.  Why are we so frightened of our neighbors to the south?  The terrorists who perpetrated 911 did not come through Mexico. 

I don’t believe we can be reminded often enough that this is a nation of immigrants.  All of us are immigrants, even the Native Americans who came 20,000 years ago.  Most of our ancestors did not come here “with permission.”  Many were brought here in chains as either slaves or prisoners.  Others snuck in on ships or planes.  Many came through Ellis Island, sometimes the result of an arbitrary decision by a sympathetic official.      

 

What do these folks have in common?  They and their descendants who still live here are Americans  and share some common values and practices.  They work to make better lives for their families.  They want their children to have better opportunities than they have had. 

Guess what? The undocumented immigrants want the same things.  They, too, want to be part of this crazy, wild, sometimes out-of-control experiment that is The United States of America.  Let’s make it possible for them to do so.  Set up a five-your waiting period when the adults can learn about our history and government, pay taxes, commit to this nation.  Their children should be able to become citizens within 2 years so they can help their parents earn the money necessary to pay the fees which Congress will surely require.

Let’s get over the fear that the “illegal immigrants will take all our jobs and leave us unemployed."  It is not the immigrants who will do that.  It is the people who own the businesses that hire as few people as possible, pay as little as they can, and accumulate obscene profits who will do it. but that’s another story.

Overwhelmed

by Ruth A. Sheets

I just checked back and saw that this is near the anniversary of the founding of the leastheardfrom blog.  I also noted that I have not made a contribution to the blog for a few months. That is really pathetic. It is not that I have nothing to say. There is a lot going on that screams for comment.

I realized as I sat down this evening that I am overwhelmed by the avalanche of dislike and disdain that some elements of America have aimed at the vast majority of Americans. 

I had hoped that with the victory of President Obama in November that some civility would seep into the work and rhetoric of Republicans. I  thought they would notice that the country is crying for some degree of unity.  Boy, was I naive!  If anything, the anti-Obama talk and the smear tactics Republicans crafted for 2012 are still in force.  The Republicans are still in “oppose everything” mode.

Sensible gun regulation should be a no-brainer, after the mass killings and the ongoing gun violence.  However, Republicans, along with their NRA handlers are doing their best to see that no changes in gun laws happen.  Well, not exactly, they want more people to own and carry guns, even in our schools.

Immigration reform should have been at the top of the Republican agenda since they received fewer than 30 percent of the Hispanic vote in November.  Nearly four months after being sworn in, this congress still has not even begun to seriously look at the topic. They want more and bigger fences before they do anything for the people involved.

Republicans whine that they are not perpetrating a “war on women.”  They even send their squad of token women out for interviews on shows that claim to present a balanced  view of the issue.  While these women gush that they have everything they need, Republican legislatures are significantly limiting women’s reproductive choice and equal pay. Men in the military are allowed to dismiss cases against convicted rapists, just "because."   

Our Republican “friends” are determined to limit Social Security and Medicare because it supports the folks they refer to as “The Takers” while of course, the Republicans are “The Givers.”  Even President Obama is caving and willing to stop cost of living increases for seniors to placate Republicans who have no intention of allowing the rich to pay their fair share.

The Republican assault on education continues. Vouchers, charter schools, funding cuts all undermine our real public schools. Then, in Atlanta, the teachers who cheated on the state tests so their kids could get more funding and resources were imprisoned with bails that murderers and rapists rarely see.  Isn’t it nice we don’t have to seriously look at the relationship between low scores and poverty?  It’s teachers who are to blame for all that.

Our Supreme Court talks of “racial entitlements” and complains that same-sex marriage is just too new to be ruled on effectively.  They didn’t seem to have any trouble giving the money-soaked corporations opportunities to influence our elections anonymously, calling these corporate players,  “persons.”  What about the real persons who just want their relationships to be recognized?

So, possibly like you, I am overwhelmed.  I am appalled that we taxpayers support Republicans in congress who are not working for us.  They can’t give up cherished biases for the good of the country.  In fact, I suspect that most elected Republicans have no idea what “the common good” is.  The sad part is that I am not sure how much more aware Democrats are.  They too have their handlers for whom they must perform. 

Where does that leave those of us who do know what “the Common Good” means?

 

The Poverty Trap

by Ruth A. Sheets

Poverty is the lack of sufficient resources necessary to meet basic needs for oneself and one’s family.  Estimates of the number of people living in poverty in America vary, but they run from ten to twenty-five percent depending on the definition used.

Americans are very uncomfortable talking about poverty.  The topic was hardly mentioned during the 2012 campaign.  If such a large portion of the population is in a particular group, it would be expected that the subject would come up often as the votes of this group would be courted.

The votes of the poor are not courted as the votes of members of a particular religious group, ethnicity, race, or social group are courted.  The reason, poor folks are not expected to vote.  And, if they do, their vote is assumed.  The white poor are Republican and the minority poor are Democratic.

Lately, bills have been introduced in state legislatures to even further limit sufferage of people in poverty through voter I.D. laws.  This is just one of many ways of keeping poor people from complaining about their situation. 

Republicans and some others would have us believe that people are poor because they want to be.  They are too lazy.  They don’t work hard enough.  They don’t know how to take care of what they have.  They don’t manage money well.  You know all the lines. 

Most people don’t realize that poverty is a trap.  Once caught in it, a person or family can rarely get out without significant help.  Then, if they do get some help, they are called “takers” in a tone of voice that communicates very effectively the esteem in which they are held. 

People in poverty see the material goods everyone is expected to have, so they work impossible hours at spirit-breaking jobs to acquire those things for themselves and their kids.  They are told that education is “the way out,” but their schools are places that no one with money would want to enter on a bet.

Because people living from paycheck to paycheck cannot accumulate much money at a time, they fall victim to appallingly unregulated predators like Rent-a-center,” check cashing companies, sub-prime lenders, and housing rental agencies.  These companies charge extraordinary fees which keep those who are already desparate, in permanent debt, in substandard housing, if they have a home at all. 

Some Americans like to claim that the United States is the best at everything.  Well, I don’t know if we are the best at poverty, but we are pretty good at it.

Home of the Brave?

by Ruth A. Sheets

The last five words of the National Anthem are “the home of the brave.”  I know that the poet was specifically referring to military courage, but I suspect that most Americans, whether or not they have a military bent, would like to see themselves as brave.

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about courage.  It seems to me that it does not take courage to do what everyone else in your group is doing.  You get support of numbers.  If it is a popular action or stance, it’s even easier.  You’ll even be given the words to say.

It doesn’t take courage to be racist in America even if you call it something else.  A knee jerk hatred of President Obama or blaming poor people for their condition and plotting to cut programs which enable them to survive is not brave.

It doesn’t take courage to oppose all tax increases, even small rate raises for the richest among us,  because we Americans don’t seem to mind getting a lot and not paying for it.  We buy the myth that anyone can “pull themselves up by their bootstraps.”  We allow ourselves to be convinced that the wealthy just worked harder and smarter than anyone else, so deserve all they have.

It doesn’t take courage to filibuster these days in our Senate because you don’t even need to show up.  Most of the time, no one knows who even brought the filibuster.  All business can be blocked by Senators who don’t want anyone to know who did the blocking.

It doesn’t take courage to stand up in front of the media claiming that the way to protect our kids in school from gunmen is to have armed teachers and guards in all our schools when you have a powerful lobbying organization behind you.  No one who counts in your world will tell you just how stupid that idea is.

So, where is courage in America these days?  I have been despairing for some time, but I find that when I look around, courage shows up in all kinds of places.  The sad part for me is that those places don’t seem to include government, whether local, state, or federal.  A current fashion seems to be sowing fear wherever possible.  Then, folks in power, usually conservatives, legislate to relieve those invented or exaggerated fears to increase their own power.  Where is the courage in that?

Courage is people who are willing to take risks for folks who at that moment cannot help themselves.  If we are indeed the “home of the brave,” we need to be out there standing with and for those who need us to help them overcome.