The A's Have It: The NRA's Cost to Kill Background Checks

Sadly, but perhaps not surprisingly, the Senate failed to act on gun control with any conviction or conscience.  As collective cowards, they once again allowed the NRA's scores and contributions to decide what should have been a no-brainer for any American interested in doing something to reduce the nation's gun violence. Take a moment and let the scores and contributions listed above sink in.  How many more Sandy Hooks will it take before Congress votes for common sense solutions instead of their next campaign contribution?

(Information above provided by the NY Times through insiderlouisville.com) The article noted that "Campaign contributions are for the 2012 election cycle for members of the House, and the 2008, 2010 and 2012 Senate cycles, and include money from the N.R.A. “given to the candidate and to his/her affiliated leadership committee,” according to the fine print on the graphic. "

insiderlouisville.com/news/2012/12/21/nytimes-maps-nra-political-contributions-including-19000-to-sen-mitch-mcconnell-most-to-any-member-of-congress/

Calling for Common Sense Conversation!

This week has been very eventful on the political front in what is normally a really dull few weeks in August.  Dominating the headlines?  Rep. Todd Akin and his hateful, ignorant comments about rape.  With a few incredulous sentences, he blew a Senate race in Missouri wide-open, and shined a serious spotlight on the issues of abortion and women's rights----right before the Republicans meet for their pep rally in Tampa next week.  Curse? Coincidence? Calamity? Or just another week in Washington's endless campaign season?

With the myriad of problems facing the country---jobs, the deficit, immigration, energy policy, the Middle East, gas prices, education, balancing the budget, cyber security----we have been treated to endless negative ads, a hyper focus on Medicare, a skinny-dipping scandal into the Sea of Galilee, and now, a U.S. Representative, who sits on the House committee on Science- mouthing off about a woman's amazing ability to isolate hostile sperm after a "forcible" rape. It's enough to leave any sane, concerned citizen disgusted and depressed about our ability to fix our nation's problems.

So, if the do-nothing Congress won't act, and the presidential candidates are content to battle it out in the sandbox supported on all sides by their "Super PAC henchmen", I propose that ordinary citizens step in and calmly and civilly start conversing---person to person-- about what needs to be done to solve our nation's problems.  If one by one, we talk politely over our fences, in the carpool lines, in the grocery store, around the kitchen table and on-line, I think we can begin discussing ideas that can move America forward. (Don't miss No Labels ideas on what needs to be done. Visit www.nolabels.org---brilliant!) For me, I will offer just a few suggestions to start:

VOTE HYPER PARTISANS OUT. First and foremost, it's time to vote out the extremists of both parties that think compromise is a dirty word. Nearly every idea or position has some merit-no matter how small- and deserves polite consideration and respect.  These obstructionists need to be shown the door, and leave seats for those willing to actually compromise and enact common sense legislation that serves the majority of the people.

ENACT TERM LIMITS.  Money---and the loyalty it buys--- pollutes the system designed by the Founding Fathers.  While it may be naive to believe that money can ever be removed from the political arena, term limits can help mitigate the effect.  No Senator or Representative should get to serve more than 6 terms. In fact, let's be bold and set all terms---including the President's -to 6-year terms.  One per politician.  The obscene amounts of money spent every 2 or 4 years would go down, as well as the endless time campaigning.  More governing, fewer elections.

FOCUS ON THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUES FACING THE NATION.  Time to get a clue.  It's not gun control, gay marriage, abortion, contraception, voter fraud, illegal immigrant identification, or even strapping your dog to the top of the car in a carrier.  It's jobs, it's unemployment, it's underemployment. It's coming up with a balanced budget that provides for what are the nation's priorities. While the other issues are important---and extremely polarizing---- they should not suck the lion's share of air from the room.  Focus is important, and demanding solutions and work from our elected representatives on what is really critical---is pivotal.

So, to encourage us to move toward practicality and away from the name-calling and defeatist politics of partisanship, I have designed this little poster above.  Perhaps if I will look at it every day, I will curb my own spicy rhetoric and really walk the walk.

We are all one.  Our differences are just details.

Don't Clean the Sock Drawer when the House is on Fire

My mother was a woman of many talents and immense common sense.  She understood that a time of crisis required that we focus on what needed our attention the most. If she were alive today, she would be dismayed at what the GOP has decided to spend their time focusing upon.  There needs to be urgent work to continue the economic recovery, fast-track energy independence, overhaul schools, balance the budget by revamping decades-old entitlements---the list is endless.  So, when I see the legislation that is being discussed or proposed, I scratch my head (when not tearing out my hair) and say....huh?

Take contraception for example. Millions of women use it to for a variety of reasons- by far chief among them, the ability to decide when and if they want to become pregnant. Though still expensive even with a deductible, birth control can be obtained with a prescription and appears to be working fine (even Romney- in unscripted moments- agrees).  In fact, under the new Affordable Care Act, contraception will be available to even more women without a deductible.  Surely, this will cut down on unintended pregnancy and help struggling families in this down economy.  So, if it's not broken, the common sense approach would be.....don't fix it, right?  Focus instead on the litany of urgent problems our nation faces. GOP- what say you?  Though it's nearly 50 years after Griswold v. Conn., it's time to re-examine it.  Let's cloak it in the guise of "religious liberty" and let the Catholic bishops take one more shot at getting the masses- that's you women- back in line.  After all, if you can't decide when you are going to get pregnant, it's a bit harder to climb that corporate ladder, grab that advanced degree, drive one more dent in that glass ceiling.......

Let's move on to sex education.  Though our country still has a very high rate of teen pregnancy compared to other developed countries, teen birth rates are down.  Though sex-ed programs aren't perfect, hopefully some students are getting the straight facts on pregnancy and STD's.  So, let's look at expanding quality programs to every student.  GOP-what say you? Time to push abstinence-only sex education.  Say what?  It's time to push a "head in the sand approach" because it is more in line with party "values".  This despite recent studies that show that students taking "virginity pledges" in abstinence-only sex ed programs were just as likely to have sex as the students in a more comprehensive sex ed class, and also more likely to have unsafe sex and get pregnant. Seems education- and access to contraception- might be a key element in lowering the abortion rate among teens. (But that is far too logical---- let's move on.)

Which brings me around to abortion.  For many years, abortion rates have trended downward until a slight uptick in 2008.  Some experts point to the recession as the cause for the increase, stating that abortion rates decrease with a good economy and rise with a bad one.  Providers estimate that 1.21 million abortions were performed in 2008. Shouldn't our policymakers consider this urgent motivation to increase access to and reduce the cost for contraceptives so that unintended pregnancy can be prevented? Though ideally abortion is rare and safe, incidences are at some of the lowest levels in years.  So, if it's not broken, the common sense approach should be to ..... focus on making contraception available cheaply and easily and on quality sex education. Try to improve the economy to allow millions the financial security to have a child.  GOP- what say you?  Time to effectively outlaw abortion on the state level, criminalize both patient and doctor and stop telling teenagers what causes pregnancy and how to prevent it. Let's work to make access to contraception harder and more expensive to get, especially if we can allow anyone a "moral objection" to deny it.  Let's help the "confused" pregnant woman  be fully informed about her abortion decision by subjecting her to cruelty and violation that no man would ever allow- so that she can understand once and for all that "right to life" applies to everyone but women. 

The GOP objects to the phrase "war on women"?!  When a political party sets out to comprehensively deny a woman the right to control her reproductive destiny and her body---it can be called nothing else.

Please follow me on Twitter at soladyliberty

Is Civility Dead---or Just on Life Support?

“Every action done in company ought to be with some sign of respect to those that are present.” ~ George Washington

“Respecting others’ opinions doesn’t mean being untrue to our own.” ~ P.M. Forni

Growing up, my mom often used Disney movies, and anything else handy, to try to get her point across to me.  Like many kids, I was told that words could hurt as much as a punch and couldn't be taken back once they were said.  One of her favorite teaching moments on civility came from Bambi.  Remember this one?

Thumper: He doesn't walk very good, does he? 
Mrs. Rabbit: Thumper! 
Thumper: Yes, mama? 
Mrs. Rabbit: What did your father tell you this morning? 
Thumper: If you can't say something nice... don't say nothing at all. 


Today's politicians- in fact, any person engaging in political discourse- might do well to listen to Mrs. Rabbit.  We have reached such a level of hyper-partisanship where hate-filled vitriol- spewed in front of a camera- is the order of the day.  Unfortunately, very little gets done, and the crevasse between the parties fills with lies, insults and slights and grows wider each day.  All this at a time when Democrats, Independents and Republicans need to be closely working on the many problems that face our nation.  


What to do?  Perhaps a return to civility- or maybe even a slight move in that direction- is a good place to start. 

I read a great story by Dana Bash on Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland last night.  She has consistently reached out to any woman elected to the Senate and made a point of welcoming her, regardless of party affiliation.  The female senators all try to meet for dinner to get to know each other as people, rather than as opposing partisans, and have built important bridges that have withstood many ideological differences and led to important legislation. It appears they have adopted a policy of mutual respect , rather than vilifying each other because of differing positions. How refreshing! 


Yet there appears to be very little of this happening in the circus that the primaries have become. To watch the presidential candidates today is akin to watching little kids in a sandbox. Snarky soundbites and outright lies have replaced reasoned debate, and are turning off voters in droves. Instead of incessantly attacking their fellow candidates, why not take these same opportunities to highlight their positions and speak of their unique qualifications?  With Super PACS now funding a record level of negative ads, the candidates are becoming even more shrill ---making America dive for the mute button.


So I recommend we listen to Thumper's mom.  If you can't say something nice, just don't say anything at all- or better yet, talk about your own innovative ideas to get America working again.  If the candidates actually followed this suggestion, imagine how much dead air time there would be when the political ads went totally........and blessedly, silent.

Wordsmithing the "War on Women"

It's hard to escape the latest political catch phrase "war on women". From channel to channel, tweet to tweet, discussion of the rash of proposed legislation to limit female reproductive rights heading through various statehouses is hard to miss.  Just this week, Arizona upped the ante with another attempt to hand employers- religiously affiliated or tiny storefronts- with a "moral objection" excuse to cut coverage for contraception and anything else that offends them.  From Rush Limbaugh's misogynist rantings to the Virginia attempt to require women seeking an abortion to have transvaginal ultrasounds, it would be hard for women not to feel under fire.  "Personhood" bills that put mothers' lives secondary, repeated attempts to water down sex education until it's worthless, and endless obstacles to abortion so that "confused" women can be "well informed" would lead most women to feel that we have become the enemy---or perhaps time travelled back 50 years.  If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck---isn't it a duck?

The puzzling question is why now?  Why attack women's reproductive rights, settled almost 50 years ago, when the nation is facing a myriad of difficult problems that demands the attention of both women and men to solve?  Why attack a breakthrough for women- contraception finally universally covered under the Affordable Care Act-when millions of families- that's men and women- will benefit economically from this in a down economy? Why not remember that contraception benefits both sexes in preventing unwanted pregnancy and not just the woman? (Last time I checked, it took two to tango.) And why would politicians greenlight an agenda sure to alienate the very group they need to court for the 2012 elections? Is it insanity, religious zealotry, or just plain insecurity?

Perhaps the answer lies in the changing demographics of America.  The past fifty years have seen huge advances for women.  Dedicated women are more likely than men to earn a college degree and continue to increase that gap, they are earning more than ever before (though still not paid equally), and breaking glass ceilings-in male-dominated areas- every day.  Throughout this economic downturn, women have fared better in the job market, and are successfully starting more small businesses that will create jobs in the future.  In the 2008 election, women cast 53% of the votes, sending President Obama--another trailblazer-into the White House. Yet the percentage of white men, once the ultimate power brokers of our society, keeps aging and shrinking. The Pew Research Center estimates that the Hispanic population of 42 million (2005) will grow to 128 million in 2050, tripling in size.  This leaves whites---for the first time in our history-- projected to become a minority at 47% in 2050. Could it be that the historical powerbrokers feel more than a little threatened and just wish for things to go back to the way they once were?

Ultimately, if the wording "war on women" offends the GOP--- the party that appears to be backing most of the attempts to roll back our reproductive rights- perhaps we ought to offer them the clearer alternative of saying that they are simply attempting a "rollback of women's reproductive rights". Not sure that would help rally the female voters they need in the 2012 election, but they are welcome to try it.

I'd love for you to follow me on Twitter at soladyliberty.