Congress

By Nancy Snyder

Just recently we learned that the staffers of Congress family members are exempt from having to pay back student loans. This will get national attention, if news networks will broadcast it. When you add this to the below, just where will all of it stop? …

… For too long we have been too complacent about the workings of Congress. Many citizens had no idea that members of Congress could retire with the same pay after only one term, that they specifically exempted themselves from many of the laws they have passed (such as being exempt from any fear of prosecution for sexual harassment) while ordinary citizens must live under those laws. The latest is to exempt themselves from the Healthcare Reform … in all of its forms. Somehow, that doesn’t seem logical. We do not have an elite that is above the law. I truly don’t care if they are Democrat, Republican, Independent or whatever. The self-serving must stop. …

Proposed 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution: “Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators and/or Representatives; and, Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators and/or Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States .”

Winds of Change….

*Congressional Reform Act of 2011*_

1. No Tenure / No Pension.

A Congressman/woman collects a salary while in office and receives no
pay when they’re out of office.

2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social
Security.

All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the
Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into
the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the
American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.

3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all
Americans do.

4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise.
Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

5. Congress loses their current health care system and
participates in the same health care system as the American people.

6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the
American people.

7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen/women are void
effective 1/1/12. The American people did not make this
contract with Congressmen/women.

Congressmen/women made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career.

The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work.

THIS IS HOW YOU FIX CONGRESS!

By Gemma Vaughan

Horses haven’t been slaughtered in the United States for the last five years. But Congress recently restored funding for U.S. inspectors to oversee horse slaughter, paving the way for horses to be killed and butchered here in the U.S. once again. While killing horses anywhere is contemptible, the decision does provide an opportunity to reexamine this entire issue.

A ban on killing horses in the U.S. doesn’t help horses—it prolongs their suffering. And they will continue to suffer as long as the industries that breed horses for profit—horseracing, rodeo and the carriage trade—keep exploiting these animals for our “entertainment.”

When horse slaughter was banned in the U.S. in 2006, it didn’t stop horses from being killed. Mercenary ranchers who make their living from horse flesh simply jam horses into undersized trucks and haul them for hundreds—sometimes thousands—of miles to slaughterhouses in Canada and Mexico.

Horses who manage to survive this grueling journey often arrive at the slaughterhouse with gashed foreheads, broken bones, compound fractures, eye infections and other injuries. They meet their end with a bolt gun, an often slow and agonizing death caused by the carelessness of workers who fire poorly aimed bolt after bolt until the animal finally dies. They are then bled out and skinned, usually in full view of other terrified horses.

Anyone who cares about animals should condemn horse slaughter altogether and call for an absolute ban on both the export of live horses and slaughter in the U.S. One doesn’t work without the other.

Horses have been exploited for human purposes and profit since the beginning of time, and we need to take an honest look at the disconnect between society’s horror over eating horses and its tacit approval of exploiting them in so many other ways. Many of the horses who end up in slaughterhouses used to pull carriages, perform in rodeos or cross the finish line but are now too worn-out to continue.

Even though horses tend to be skittish and sensitive, they are still forced to provide carriage rides on busy city streets and, at this time of year, in shopping mall parking lots for seasonal promotions. Fighting crowds, dodging traffic and trying not to slip on icy streets while hauling oversized loads day after day takes a toll. Accidents have occurred in nearly every location where carriage rides are allowed and many horses have died. But as long as people pay to ride, horses will continue to be worked until they can’t take another step.

The horseracing and rodeo industries are equally culpable for sending horses to their deaths. Horses are bred over and over until “winners” are produced. But not every horse makes money, and continual breeding has led to a critical overpopulation of horses: too many horses, not enough good homes. And just like dogs and cats, unwanted horses are often abandoned, neglected, starved and left to die without veterinary care. Thousands are sold to meat buyers and go from grassy fields to blood-soaked killing floors.

If eating horse flesh appalls you, so should the industries that provide the bodies. People can make a real difference by staying away from the racetrack, shunning carriage rides and steering clear of the rodeo.

Gemma Vaughan is a cruelty caseworker with PETA.

By Jason A. Stephany

Tuesday, August 2, marks a critical deadline for the United States economy: for the first time in our nation’s history, the government may default on its debts. And should that happen, the ripple effects will be felt by every American consumer and taxpayer. A downgrade of the United States’ credit rating, higher interest rates on our credit cards, mortgages and car loans, and investor uncertainty that will leave already-fragile markets reeling. Our slow-but-sureeconomic recovery could revert to a full-on recession in a matter of days.

The clock is running out on the debt debate, and responsible lawmakers agree that default is not an option. So why are some in congress – including US Senator Scott Brown – refusing to state a position on key aspects of the debt proposals before them? Click to continue »

editor’s note: Scott Brown needs to be dumped by the voters this fall. Brown is nothing more than a smooth-talking opportunist. He puts his finger in the wind and decides how to vote based on: WILL THIS GET ME RE-ELECTED? No character. No moral code. No beliefs worth fighting for – so unlike our late, great Teddy Kennedy. Brown is just an empty vessel wearing a barn jacket.

- R. Tirella

Dozens of Medicaid recipients, providers and advocates demand answers from the commonwealth’s junior senator as national debt deadline looms!

BOSTON – As politicians continued their high-stakes horse trading over the national debt in Washington, dozens of Massachusetts residents directly affected by the negotiations rallied Thursday to demand answers from their own US Senator, Scott Brown. The broad coalition of local Medicaid recipients, service providers and independent living advocates gathered to ask Brown: “Will you choose Medicaid or Millionaires?”

“Because of my disability, I depend on Medicaid funds to live and work independently,” said David Sandison, a local Medicaid recipient who relies on in-home assistance. “So I have a question for Scott Brown: will you vote to save Medicaid, or will you support tax breaks for oil companies and billionaires?”

Questions from constituents and journalists on debt-related Medicaid cuts have gone unanswered for weeks, as Brown and his staff continue to avoid taking a position on more than $500 billion in proposed cuts to federal health care programs.

Stacy Hart, a consumer advocate with the Boston Center for Independent Living, explained that for many families – including her own – the funding of Medicaid programs is a matter of life and death. “Medicaid saved my husband’s life. He was in a coma for several months until the doctors could address a very serious medical condition,” said Hart. “Without Medicaid, my husband never would have woken up, rejoined his family, or come back to work as a member of the community. We need to know where Scott Brown stands on these cuts.”

Joseph Rotella, a successful business owner from Waltham, called on Brown to do the right thing for the most vulnerable in Massachusetts – even if that means raising taxes.

“I’m a beneficiary of the Bush-era tax cuts. But as someone fortunate enough to be in the top income bracket, I’m fully able and willing to make my contribution to society,” said Rotella. “So I have to ask Scott Brown to take a hard look at where his priorities lie. Will he stand up and protect Medicaid funding for those who need it most? Or will he cut those funds to protect tax breaks that aren’t really necessary?”

Amy Whitcomb Slemmer, Executive Director of Health Care for All, put the decision before Brown in the starkest of terms, calling on the senator to set partisanship aside and take a stand in support of his constituents.

“I know it’s tough for Senator Brown to balance serving his party and serving the people of Massachusetts – but there should be no choice between maintaining the health of our state’s elderly and disabled residents and cutting taxes for the most wealthy among us,” said Whitcomb Slemmer. “Hundreds of billions of dollars in health care cuts, and millions of lives, are at stake. We call on Senator Brown to show leadership by supporting health care for our state’s most vulnerable populations.”

As of press time, Brown has offered no additional clarity on his potential support of the $500 billion health care cut – or tax breaks for the wealthiest of Americans – that remain at the center of ongoing debt negotiations.

By Rosalie Tirella

Congressman Anthony Weiner’s weenie has gone viral via Tweets that were sent to at least six women (college kids) with an “@” as opposed to a “D.” The “D” should stand for “Dumb ass” and no more. The liberal Democrat, who was known for his womanizing long before he got married to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s long-time staffer, was caught doing wihat everybody in America seems to be doing: baring their privates to the world, baring their boobs to all of America and the world over the Internet, baring thier butt cracks over their Iphones, showing off shlongs galore.

Congressman Weiner was just doing what everyone else in America is doing – acting like a whore, starring (over the Internet) in their personal porn home movies. OOOOH! How titillating! Weiner should not be pressured to leave office just because he was aping the crassiest of Ameircans. He should not be pressured to seek mental health counseling. He is as sick as 90% of the population. He I want him to stay in office: he is a liberal Democrat who is right on the issues and not afraid to take on the conservatives, who are the real menace to America. Weiner is not afraid to embrace and defend progressive politics. Yeah, he loves to do so on TV, but that’s OK. We Dems need more bull dogs like Weiner. We do not need to muzzle him – or castrate him.

Look around you, people! We are a nation of Anthony Weiners! Spend two seconds around a bunch of teenaged boys – as I did recently – and you see this: 15-year-old boys hovering over a smart phone and looking at photos of girls. “I’m really into lips,” says one kid.

Into lips?

Of course, he’s into lips! The Internet has allowed us to zoom in on body parts, cut and paste them every which way we like. Of course, we don’t see the whole person (head to toe) any more – let alone that person’s personality or soul.

It is a soul-less time we live in!

No time for love! We are more than objectified! We are merely a bunch of body parts – like the chicken pieces at the grocery store. You want only breasts? We got ‘em! All packaged real nice! A leg man? Here’s the package! We won’t mention the parts you won’t see in your grocer’s fridge – just go online for that!

How about this nugget from a totally different group of teenaged guys?: “Wow. Like she was the best looking -and she was only 15!” said one kid to another (he was probably around 19 years of age).

Look outside your window and see the 13 and 14 yearold girls walk by – looking like utter whores. Skin tight shirts, velour tops, pierced belly buttons, boob baring tees, low riding jean with thongs and butt cracks exposed for all to see. (I remember my fellow students at Burncoat High Schoool in the late 1970s. Our “uniforms”? Jeans and tee shirts. Izod shirts and these very demure sweaters. Curdoroy pants. Earth Shoes for cripes sake!!! No one was sexed up. Yet all the girls seemed so pretty … .

But back to whoresville – America 2011. A 61-year-old man I know once had a 15 year old girl sit next to him at the old Foothills Theatre. She had her leg against his leg the entire show! After the curtains closed she turned back to look at him – knowingly. (And don’t you know I vented MY feelings re: this instance of whoresville in Worcester. His fault and hers – mostly his – he was the adult)

Like I said, whoresville. Right in Worcester. Personified in a young, white, middle class Worcester County girl. And the pig old man who didn’t set boundaries.

Our girls sexualized beyond belief … .

It is OK for adults to sext, have virtual sex, etc, if it’s to/with a consenting adult. But more and more, this behavior is coopted by our teens – children really.

Weiner is not sorry for what he has done. He is only sorry that he was caught doing what most of America does. Desperate to keep his Congressional seat, he has told the world he is sick and will go into treatment. For what? Being a sex addict? If that’s the case, what about former President Bill Clinton, a guy who could never ever keep his “boy” in the corral? What about John F. Kennedy, one of my heroes? Jackie O. knew her husband was cheating with just about everybody – while president of the USA – and yet the male reporters kept his whoring hush hush. Maryln Monroe sang “Happy Birthday” to him in her breathy, come-hither voice and the world swooned.

I love Marilyn Monroe – she was a briliant actress and wanted her whole life to be recognized as an intellectual. That’s why she married playwright Miller. That’s why she studied Method Acting under Kazan and read, read, read. Would she Tweet? Would she promote her movies over YouTube and FaceBook?

What would Marilyn think of these slutty times?

Brown changes talking points on GOP plan, but caregivers press for a change in his vote

BOSTON – Massachusetts healthcare workers will launch a radio advertising blitz tomorrow calling on Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown to change course on his plan to vote in favor of a Republican budget plan that would dismantle the Medicare system and implement controversial voucher system. Caregivers say that voucher system would put their senior patients at the mercy of private insurers and drive up costs for Medicare consumers.

The advertisements will air statewide until the vote occurs in an effort to sway the Senator against supporting the GOP plan which he announced his support for on Friday, May 13, at a Greater Newburyport Chamber of Commerce and Industry event.

Senator Brown has since tried to distance himself from his own endorsement of the budget and Medicare package put forward by Congressman Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin), but it was reported yesterday that he still intends to vote in favor of it.

“We’re not asking Scott Brown to change his talking points on this dangerous plan to destroy Medicare,” said Leslie Stafford, a patient access representative at Boston Medical Center, “We’re asking Scott Brown to change his vote on this plan which would end Medicare as we know it, and jeopardize the health of thousands of vulnerable seniors.”

Members of the state’s largest healthcare workers union,1199SEIU – which includes a range of hospital, home care, and nursing home employees – say that Senator Brown’s endorsement of the Medicare overhaul is misguided.

“As frontline caregivers, we know that dismantling Medicare is a threat to our patients,” says the advertisement which will air on radio stations across the state until the vote is called. “We’re asking Scott Brown, please, don’t destroy Medicare. Don’t turn your back on seniors.”

“Even if Senator Brown thinks his party’s attack on Medicare will fail, he should still vote against the bill on principle. His allegiance to the party on this proposal to gut Medicare really calls into question his independence,” said Veronica Turner, executive vice president of 1199SEIU. “Everyone agrees there is a need to address the deficit, but dismantling Medicare while giving even more tax breaks and subsidies to big oil is absolutely the wrong approach.”

TODAY!

Congressman Markey Unites with Coalition Against Cuts To Health Care

Calls on Congress to Defend Against Attack on Medicare and Medicaid for Seniors and Children

Brighton – Congressman Edward Markey will join seniors, working families, and health care providers today at 1 p.m. at the Veronica Smith Senior Center in Brighton to condemn Republican proposals to cut the deficit by sacrificing the quality health care our seniors and children deserve.

Republicans in the House of Representatives are advocating dangerous cuts to Medicare and Medicaid that do nothing to address skyrocketing health care costs or the real causes of federal deficits. Their proposal will cut benefits for seniors, increase premiums and end guaranteed coverage.

Today, Congressman Markey and the Massachusetts Coalition for a Working Economy will let Congress know enough is enough. Cuts to health care, without regard to their deep and harmful impact, won’t solve any deficit issue. Congress will only further burden those who have been through enough.

It is time for Congress to stand up against deep and damaging cuts to Medicare and Medicaid.

WHAT: Press Conference Calling Congress to Stand Up Against Cuts to Medicare and Medicaid

WHEN: Thursday, April 21 at 1:00 p.m.

WHO: Seniors, Working Families, and Health Care Providers

WHERE: Veronica Smith Senior Center

20 Chestnut Hill Avenue, Brighton, MA

By Judy Cahill

I am very concerned about the pending government shutdown, so much so that I have spent several late nights looking into the facts involved in this argument. Here they are as of April 8th in the morning:

Democrats and Republican are embroiled in a budget battle and there is a lot at stake. The Democrats have agreed to $39 billion dollars in cuts. These include significant cuts to fuel assistance, secondary education ( ie: Pell grants which allow low and middle to get money for school with very low or no interest ), housing for seniors and the disabled and drastic cuts in senior meals and feeding programs.

This is more than House leader John Boehner originally proposed as acceptable cuts. However, it is not enough to strike a deal.

In order to strike a deal Republicans (mostly the Tea Party elected members) are requiring that all attached “Riders” be approved. These include riders which require that Planned Parenthood be totally de-funded for the health care screening, basic health care and family planning it currently provides. The Environmental Protection Agency must not be allowed to monitor or limit what are commonly called greenhouse gases, or monitor water or air quality. No oversight of mining or power plants. They must effectively cease and desist any effort to regulate anything which many consider harmful to the environment. Click to continue »

By Jack Hoffman

It didn’t take long, when I went to the local breakfast hangout, to be asked, “So, Jack, what did you think of the President’s State of the Union speech?”

Well, to be honest, I didn’t catch the first few minutes since I got deeply engrossed in one of my favorite action movies of the week, Transporter 3. … Instead of waiting for Bourne Identity to come on the telly, I said. Let me give our leader another shot at trying to make me believe there is still some hope. After all, some of the promises President Obama made to lots of us progressives he just hasn’t lived up to. So I decided to look at the new majority and what they are offering.

Take, for instance, all the cuts in spending. So what do you want to do? How about cutting, or even eliminating, discretionary spending? That’s less than 16% of the budget. This country is $14 trillion in debt – 18 % is for past military, or veterans benefits, plus the 80% interest on debt. The budget was $3 trillion in Fiscal Year 2009. You do the math … .

Neat: The President fell into that trap of cutting discretionary spending in any bill that comes before him. What the hell did we send our reps to Washington for? Bring some of that bacon home! Where are the states going to get the extra money for schools, roads and more? Click to continue »

An open letter to Congressional Democrats from filmmaker Michael Moore

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Dear Congressional Democrats:

Welcome back to our nation’s capital for your one final session of the 111th Congress. Come January, the Republicans will take over the House while the Democrats will retain control of the Senate.

But Dems — here’s something I don’t understand: Why do you look all sullen and depressed? Clearly you’re not aware of one very important fact: YOU ARE STILL COMPLETELY, TOTALLY, LEGALLY IN CHARGE! When (and if, mostly if) you wake up to the reality that you can do whatever you want for the next seven weeks, you will realize that you have two clear options:

1. You can continue your “Sit Quietly and Hope No One Hits Me” strategy and thus lay the groundwork for an even bigger ass-kicking two years from now;

Or…

2. You can actually use the power you hold for the next seven weeks and have the Senate pass the legislation that the House has already passed!

Wake up, Democrats! You are in an awesome position right now. The House of Representatives, in this current session of Congress, has already passed an astounding 420 bills since January of 2009 — 420 bills that are just sitting there on the Senate leader’s desk. The Senate has refused to take up these House bills because they’ve been afraid of a Republican filibuster. Well, Dems, here’s the truth: You can pass all of these bills and turn them into law RIGHT NOW, TODAY, by simply calling for a majority vote of 50 Senators (plus Vice President/President of the Senate Joe Biden). Yes, you will need to change the filibuster rules. So do it. Click to continue »