Hurricane Katrina -- How Did We Get to Be This Stupid?

A recent poll by Public Policy Polling, a Democratic leaning organization, found some attention getting statistics when they asked people in Louisiana who was most responsible for the government's deplorable response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

28% said President George W. Bush, who was in office at the time, was most responsible.
29% said President Obama, who was a freshman U.S.Senator at the time, was most responsible.
44% said they didn't know who to blame.

Are they really this stupid, or is it simple hatred for President Obama--hatred so pervasive that people will blame him for everything and anything--facts be damned and no matter how impossible.

Quick Fact: How Many Ways Can Republicans Find to Stop People From Getting Health Insurance?

Republicans continue their fight against the ACA.  Georgia, another red state that has refused to set up its own insurance marketplace, has introduced a new brand of venom into the process.  Georgia is now requiring that navigators, (who have been specifically trained by the federal government to assist people in signing up for health insurance in states with federally designed exchanges), must now pass the state insurance agent test before they can begin to help uninsured Georgians negotiate the profusion of insurance plans offered by the federal marketplace.

Georgia joins Missouri where state law now forbids state and local officials from providing "assistance or resources of any kind" to federal navigators and Ohio, where new regulations prohibit navigators from offering comparisons of different insurance plans, a key element in choosing the right plan for yourself or your family.

Republican - just another word for ugly.

Texas and Mississippi National Guard -- Court-martial Material?

After the Supreme Court struck down DOMA earlier this year, the Defense Department announced that it would extend full benefits to all legally married same sex spouses beginning in September.  In August, the Pentagon said that same sex couples would also get full veterans' benefits.  

National Guard offices in two states decided not to comply with the new directives. On Tuesday, the day the new regulations took effect, the Texas National Guard refused to process any requests from same sex couples and Mississippi said it will not issue applications for benefits from offices if they state-owned.  In an attempt to explain their decision to ignore military orders, both cited their state's prohibition against same sex marriage.

Alicia Butler married her same sex partner--an Iraq war veteran--in California in 2009.  The couple now lives in Texas with their 5 month old child.  Ms. Butler went to the Texas Military Forces headquarters in Austin on Tuesday and was turned away.  She was advised to get her military spouse ID card at Fort Hood, a  U.S. Army post 90 miles distant.

Eligible same sex partners can apply for benefits at any federal military office or post.

what eye thynk:   Since when did following orders or regulations become an option in our U.S. military? 

According to the United Code of Military Justice, Article 92, failure to obey an order could result in being court-martialed.

Any person subject to this chapter who--

1. violates or fails to obey any lawful general order or regulation
2. having knowledge of any other lawful order issued by any member of the armed forces, which it is his duty to obey, fails to obey the order, or
3. is derelict in the performance of his duties

shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.

 It will be interesting to see what happens next. 

Quick Fact: Ohio and the ACA -- Another Example of Republican Pettiness

My home state of Ohio has refused to set up a marketplace where Ohio's uninsured can shop for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, opting instead to let the federal government run the ACA marketplace there beginning on October 1.  

Ohio will not be staying out of the ACA business completely however.  The Republican dominated legislature has approved a bill that will give them regulatory authority over the federal workers, (known as navigators), who will be in Ohio to fill in the void left by Republican Governor John Kasich's anti-ACA decision. The navigators are trained to assist people having difficulty understanding the available programs and to help them decide which plan is best for themselves or their family.  Part of Ohio's new law forbids federal navigators from offering comparisons between different insurance plans.

So Ohio has decided it won't help its own citizens and now wants to make sure nobody else helps them either.  It's pettiness on steroids--a Republican specialty.

September 3 - Monday Quote (on Tuesday)

My nephew became a father for the first time a few months ago.  Thinking of baby MacKenna today reminded me of my favorite quote from Peter Pan...

monday quote (on tuesday):    When the first baby laughed for the first time, its laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies. (J.M. Barrie, author, 1860-1937)

Congress Asked, the President Gave and Now They're Really Unhappy

Instead of my usual Monday Quote I want to say...

On Saturday, President Obama announced that he would be seeking "authorization" from Congress before committing to a military strike against Syria.

what eye thynk:   Members of Congress, particularly Republican members who spent much of last week complaining that the President doesn't take Congress seriously enough, are now caught with egg on their faces.  

Recently, a letter was circulated among members of Congress demanding that the President seek Congressional approval before any action on Syria was taken.  It is not clear where the letter originated or who signed it.  But, for the past week or so, members of Congress have voiced a variety of opinions on what the U.S. should do about Syria, yet there seemed to be near universal agreement that, before anything was decided, they wanted the President to give them a voice in the decision. 

Technically, this is supposed to be how our democratic system works.  W. and his guide dog, Cheney never bothered with the niceties of democratic protocol in issues of military force and now that President Obama has demonstrated his willingness to actually work within the confines of government as defined by our constitution, Congress is stunned into stupidness.

Representative Peter King (R-New York), a member of the House Intelligence Committee: "President Obama is abdicating his responsibility as Commander-in-chief and undermining the authority of future presidents."  (I'm assuming he means future Republican presidents.)

John McCain (R-Arizona) who has been advocating that Congress step up and force the issue of using American military force in Syria for months, seems particular conflicted...or confused, take your pick:

On Thursday he was pushing for the President to take action:   "I think it was proven that (Assad) used (chemical weapons) before, so it shouldn't surprise us when it is used again, and he will use it again if he can, if he feels there's not going to be any retaliation."

On Sunday morning, Mr. McCain seemed to distance himself from the majority of Congress and claimed that the President's eleventh hour decision to seek endorsement from Congress shows his weakness to Arab nations and that Congress doesn't have "the information I think they need to make a decision of this magnitude."  So on Thursday he was willing to push for military action based on what he knew about Syria's President Assad using chemical weapons, but now that he is being asked to actually vote yea or nay, he's no longer in possession of enough information? If this about-face happened during a campaign, I'd be raising the flip-flop banner.

Mr. McCain also said that, since the President is now seeking Congressional support, Congress must act as soon as possible.  Of course, Congress is in the midst of a month long vacation, and don't expect them to return to work early to take up what was, until Saturday, seen as a pressing issue.  House Republican leadership has announced they will "consider a measure the week of September 9th".  Senate Democrats say they may act sooner, but there has been no formal announcement.

What we have is a double contretemps of We-demand-to-be-consulted vs. You're-a-wimp-for-consulting-us.  As one political writer pointed out, this situation points to a "larger problem:  for far too many lawmakers, it's so much easier to criticize than govern."

The President has made his argument.  Now its time for the children in Congress to put up, grow up or shut up.

The Republican War on Women -- The Battle in Kansas Continues

This is the thirteenth in a series of articles on the subject of women, abortion rights and the Republican Party. 

Republicans continue to say they don’t have to change their core principles, they only have to change the language they use to get their message out.  One perception they want to alter is the idea that they are running a “war on women”.  Looking at the news over the past few years, I’d say the Republican Party has a long way to go on this subject.

• Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky): “Talk about a manufactured issue.  There is no issue.” 
•  RNC Chairman Reince Priebus:  “It’s a fiction.”

The Kansas Front

the facts and commentary:  Currently, Kansas law bans abortion after the 22nd week, even in cases of rape or incest.  New abortion prohibitions passed earlier this Summer and signed into law by Governor Sam Brownback (R) do not address or specifically attempt to change that marker.  

Parts of the new Kansas anti-abortion bill have been temporarily blocked by County District Judge Rebecca Crotty.  Judge Crotty stated that she was unable to block the entire bill because the suits filed by various parties were specific only to certain provisions.

Blocked:

The provision requiring abortion providers to tell women that Kansas' Health Department's information on abortions is accurate and objective.

• Part of the Health Department's information claims as fact that a fetus can feel pain at 20 weeks, a claim that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says is false based on the fact that the brain is not developed at that stage. 

The provision that women be told of a link between abortion and breast cancer.

• The National Cancer Institute says studies have shown there is no such link.  The Kansas Cancer Center has spent the last seven years working to earn a coveted designation as a national cancer center from the National Cancer Institute, a designation that would bring research dollars to the state.  This false and politically tainted claim has stalled that process by raising the question whether the law would prohibit the center from performing any useful research.

The provision that attempted to redefine a medical emergency and would eliminate mental health as a reason for a woman to obtain an emergency abortion and would enforce a 24 hour waiting period even if the woman's life is in danger.

• Redefine a medical emergency?  Because politicians think they can recognize one better than a licensed physician?  State Representative Lance Kinzer, author of the mental health exception clause, asserts it is needed because otherwise a woman would use her mental health as an excuse to get out of having children.  Apparently Mr. Kinzer wants us all to believe that having children is a requirement, not a choice.  Doctors argued that this provision impacted "their ability to treat (emergency) patients."

A one year exemption was granted on a provision that would have prohibited medical residents at Kansas' only teaching hospital from performing abortions.  The court granted permission for the residents to perform abortions off-site and on their own time. 

• The University of Kansas Medical Center has asked for a permanent exemption pointing out that, if they do not provide medical students with abortion training, they could lose their accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.  The Council issued a statement saying that under its standards, an institution that objects to abortion must make arrangements for training elsewhere...and, in Kansas, there is no "elsewhere".

Allowed to stand:

A provision stating that "life begins at fertilization",  but does not attempt an outright ban on all abortion.  Proponents say it is simply a statement of principle and that any rights suggested by the language are limited by decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court.

• Well, at least there is that.  But what about next year?  How long will it be before some rabid social conservative points to that provision and interprets it as an outright ban on all abortions?

A provision requiring that a second physician be consulted before an abortion be performed if a fetus is found to be "non-viable" or if the life of the mother is in danger.

• Because, in an emergency situation and when the life of the mother is in danger, there is plenty of time to get a second opinion?

A provision that denies taxpayers the right to claim the cost of an abortion as a medical expense deduction on their income tax and a provision that denies abortion providers an exemption from paying sales tax on purchases of supplies.  State Representative John Rubin (R) says these provisions "ensure that no taxpayer funds are used, either directly or indirectly, to fund abortions, abortion providers, or abortion training."

• Mr. Rubin and his fellow conservatives contend that the new abortion law is needed to protect women's health.  I don't see how raising a barricade on the road to abortion training is going to accomplish that goal. 

**********

Mary Kay Culp, executive director of Kansans for Life said of the new law:  "It is very much a law that's pro-women being able to make more of a real choice."

In what universe?

So far, Kansas has spent $769,000 on private attorneys to defend anti-abortion laws enacted since Gov. Brownback took office in January of 2011.  Attorney General Derek Schmidt (R) predicts that defending this new law will cost the state an additional $500,000 over the next two years.

I guess fiscal conservatism doesn't count when the words "women's rights" or "abortion" enter the conversation.

. 

 The Republican War on Women is "fiction"?

WHAT YOU DO SPEAKS SO LOUDLY

THAT I CANNOT HEAR WHAT YOU SAY. 

Read more here: http://midwestdemocracy.com/articles/kansas-house-advances-anti-abortion-measure/#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://midwestdemocracy.com/articles/kansas-house-advances-anti-abortion-measure/#storylink=cpy