When Political Bureaucratese Becomes Legal Sleaze

MS. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON

Buzz Flash,

Misers

Thief: Don't make a move, this is a stick-up!

Jack Benny: What?

Thief: You heard me.

Benny: Mister . . . Mister, put down that gun.

Thief: Shut up . . . Now, come on . . . your money or your life.

(Long pause) Look bud, I said: Your money or your life.

Benny: I'm thinking . . . "The Jack Benny Show," NBC-Radio, 1948

Divide and conquer. Isn't that what the plantation owners did at sometime during the 1600s when they became worried that the thousands of Indian, white and black slaves might band together and take over the plantations? So, they devised ways to get the slaves to hate or despise one another. Separate the masses? Well, the Republican Party has being doing so since Nixon. Pitting American citizens against their fellow Americans.

People should be responsible for their own behavior and judged accordingly. Not because of the color of their skin. Not because of their sexuality. Not because of where they are from, but because of who they are or their own actions . . . and that leaves us with those who voted against gay marriage in Maine. Those people voted against the happiness and well being of people that they don't even know or could never understand because of their narrow minded approach to people who are different from themselves. 

The large issue here is that everyone who lives within this democracy deserves the same protection, the same rights under the law. And, no one should have the right to deny those rights to anyone in this country because of their own personal prejudices or religious beliefs. Shame on those who go to the trouble to put such laws on the ballots and shame on those who vote against them. As anti-American as the days of the slaves, and just as prejudiced. Those who hold such bigoted thoughts should be the ones held accountable.

Every American has the right to say how they feel with their freedom of speech, but when it is put into law against fellow citizens of these United States, that is a different matter and a sign of poor leadership by those who claim to represent the people. California was a leader among states many years ago. Companies would take their products to California and test them before they were put on the market. A person could move to California and live there six months and get a college education at very low cost. This made California a state of the future. Ahead of us all. What happened? The Republicans happened. The Bushes happened. Along with the weakest Democratic leadership during the Bush GOP's eight year reign of crime. Thirty years of GOP without accountability. That's what has happened. Separation of the masses because the Bush GOP can't govern fairly, all of the people of this nation. Truth? They can't govern at all.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Enforcement of an Oklahoma law that will publicize an unprecedented amount of personal information about women who undergo abortions has been delayed by at least one month, to Dec. 4, as part of a legal challenge.

Women's ENews: Oklahoma Abortion Publicity Law Blocked by Court | RHRealityCheck.org

Oklahoma is another state that wants to take away a woman's right over her own body along with her medical privacy by publicizing issues regarding a woman's right to choose, if any women had to choose to have an abortion. What happens in a State where citizens, men and women, allow a politician such as Senator Inhofe to help to legalize such sleaze? What's next? The state as a guardian of every woman's bedroom? Telling people how many kids they can have? Again, this is a bigoted reaction of power over other people's lives and trying to put it into law. To humiliate fellow citizens because of their own personal prejudices and judgments. Until you bigoted, small minded people walk in other people's shoes, shut the hell up.

Again, in the news today, as reported on Olberman's news hour, a group of supporters or teabaggers, following Representative Bachmann . . . and, we also saw Representative Boehner among this group of people who have no pride, I guess. Representative Boehner was reading from a small book he held up, that has the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence in it, because I have the same book, and he didn't know what he was reading. Here's a guy serving his 10th term in office, quoting from the Declaration of Independence and thinking he was quoting from the Constitution. Shouldn't we expect much more from those who serve the people in Congress? More importantly, the healthcare they are pushing, eliminates people with pre-existing conditions . . . will cost more and serve less people.

Throughout all of the chatter behind the DC Beltway, one thing remains quite clear . . . no one, including the Democrats and their Public Option, has anything that will protect the 45 million or more citizens who are presently without healthcare and cannot afford it. They, these millions, don't even make it into the conversation. Only single payer would take care of all American citizens. Understanding that and the money spent by corporations that are trying to hang onto their big profits . . . would it be fair to say that "greed" is a pre-existing condition to be found in all three branches of government?

These leftover Bush GOP supporters were calling this protest a news conference, and calling for what sounded like the "overthrow" of government, along with the same disrespect shown on their signs towards President Obama, and the same old lies about healthcare reform, referring it to Nazi death camps.

Such disrespect and a total disregard shown towards the millions of people who died in Germany at the hands of Hitler's Nazi regime, in my mind, are not strong enough words to describe how I feel about such arrogance, ignorance, along with willful stupidity used when comparing healthcare reform to those death camps (I might also add that very few people were made accountable for those deaths during Hitler's reign of terror) . . . and, in doing so, also, ignoring those thousands who die every year because of a lack of proper health care in this country, plus, ignoring those who will die because they cannot afford any healthcare, period. These statements coming from members of Congress, who are wealthy and certainly will not suffer from a lack of money, food, or healthcare, are not just thoughtless, brainless, or without feeling . . . and, much more than plain simplemindedness. Words that reflect the kind of leadership that does not belong in Congress. Maybe one might find such statements in a small school debate team, if I'm not insulting such schools. Deliberate lies and using one of the worst wars in U.S. history as a reference by a member of Congress in order to get what they want . . . not shame on them, that's to be expected coming from some politicians, shame on us for allowing it. 

Why do we have to put up with such people who are supposed to protect democracy and serve the American people, but end up serving only themselves and those foolish enough or vapid enough to believe in them . . . those who insist upon hanging on to what they think is still the same ole' conservative Republican Party. 

These people couldn't care less about saving lives. They supported the criminal Bush GOP for eight years of debt, death, and destruction. What does that say about this crowd? Well, anyone who can vote for these people, and listen to such virulent discourse coming from their own representatives in Congress . . . need I say more?

What the Bush Republican Party wants from the American people are those who can't think for themselves. We need single payer healthcare, and it's a shame that we, the people, just this once, can't get what we need, and yet, we are still being led and fed by those in government because of their greed, which should be considered as the cause regarding their inability to function in their job or as a pre-existing disease. Similar to alcoholism. Ailing Democrats and Republicans alike, who reside in DC. Most Americans do not understand that kind of greed, where people see themselves as their money. That's their whole identity. And, there's never enough money to satisfy such greed.

Is there any doubt in anyone's mind that if these people were Democrats, and Bush was still in the White House, that the police in riot gear would have arrested many of them for threatening the government? During Bush's eight years, people were arrested for a whole lot less.

Where were these anti-U.S. government citizens when Bush was invading Iraq, using the weak reason of searching for WMD and driving this nation into the deepest debt, causing the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent people and the destruction of a whole country, a weak country, that had a dictator, Saddam, who the Bush crime family wanted to overthrow and tried to do so, twice. Where were these people then? They were supporting murder . . . debt, death, and destruction. And, they do it with pride.

Also today, we get the horrible news about the murders at Ft. Hood. Thirty wounded and 13 murdered so far. In the days following, I hope we are told how one person could kill and wound so many on a military base before he was put down. They reported that he had two hand guns. What a cowardly thing to do. These people, the types who kill others because of their own problems . . . this person could have turned himself into doctors. It was reported that he didn't want to go to Iraq, but instead he chose to kill innocent young men and women who were either coming home or going to Iraq. What a cowardly act. He'd never seen combat and was supposed to help those who had psychiatric problems after serving in combat.

After a violent government ruled by the Republican Party for over thirty years, isn't it time for accountability. Our prisons are full of people, some probably innocent, and many guilty of crimes . . . but, those who have been in government get to arrogantly walk around, give speeches and never fear having to take responsibility for their own crimes while serving the people of this nation. We need investigations and justice for those who lived for such a short time on this earth and were murdered because of lies and deceits. 

Again, let these people hate, be full of themselves and full of their prejudices, some even calling it religion, but let them fear. The 60s were full of this same kind of hate, and it caused the deaths of our revered leaders. President Kennedy was constantly having to defend his own religion. The Reverend King and Bobby Kennedy, how horrible and these killings were the result of the constant hate and racism run amuck in this country. It has to stop and it will never stop unless people who cause this are made accountable. Speech that kills should not be free.

One refreshing bit of news this week was that the justice of the peace in Louisiana resigned because of his prejudices and how many couples had he refused to marry in the past, we will never know. Congratulations to the couple who stood up for themselves and helped to put an end to such prejudices by a person who was supposed to be serving all of the people, not just those who met with his approval.

Something more to think about . . . and, it's happening here in the U.S. If it weren't so serious, it could sound like some comedy routine.

A divided state Supreme Court has found that there is no "public policy" requiring a police officer to be honest. In a ruling issued Thursday, the court voted 5-3 to overturn a Court of Appeals decision that had upheld the 2001 firing of Kitsap County sheriff's Deputy Brian LaFrance for lying and neglecting his caseload. The high court ordered that LaFrance be reinstated.

The ruling sparked a sharp comment from Justice James Johnson, who wrote that he must "dissent from a majority that fails to discern the strong public policy against employing police officers with serious, documented dishonesty and misconduct."

The nuanced opinion deals particularly with a clause found in many, if not most, Washington state police and sheriff's union contracts that sends disputed disciplinary cases to binding arbitration. LaFrance was fired after an internal investigation determined that he had failed to work cases, including a homicide and child- pornography case, and then repeatedly lied to his supervisor and investigators about it. Investigators found case files scattered in the trunk of his car, and say LaFrance also downloaded pornography onto a police computer in violation of department policy. (snip) The case went to arbitration, and the arbitrator — while upholding the findings that LaFrance committed 29 separate incidents of misconduct — said the department failed to take into account his mental-health issues and determined that termination was too harsh a punishment.

LaFrance was returned to the patrol division.

The Sheriff's Office then fired him again in 2005, this time on the advice of county prosecutors who said LaFrance could no longer be a reliable witness in any criminal case because his history of dishonesty.

In the majority opinion, Justice Susan Owens wrote that the Supreme Court is reluctant to review arbitration decisions. One exception is when the decision violates "an explicit, well-defined and dominant public policy."

And that didn't happen in LaFrance's case, the justices wrote, because there is no clear public policy in Washington requiring police to be honest.

Local News | Court orders reinstatement of fired deputy | Seattle Times Newspaper

Is this what they mean when they say, "The letter of the law?"

Could this be what is wrong in DC? That we have no clear policy requiring members of Congress to be honest? Is that why we have to listen to such lies as the one comparing healthcare to the Holocaust? Just wondering. Again, as the weeks fly by, all we hear out of DC is talk, talk, talk . . . people are still dying due to their lack of money for decent healthcare . . . all the while, Congress is still thinking. Is it worth it? Their deaths or our corporate money . . oh, what should we do! Can multimillionaires truly represent the other 95% of this country? Only time will tell . . . and, many more changes in Congress by the voters of this country. All we Americans asked for was change . . . but, it's going to have to come from we, the people.

Thanks Buzz Flash,

Shirley Smith

MS. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON

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