Oh Lord!

The State of Indiana is pursuing several bills which deal the issue of abortion, unions and education. Indiana now has some of the strictest anti-abortions laws in the country.

ABORTION
Highlights of the Indiana abortion policies that are in effect include:

• Women must be informed that human physical life begins at fertilization.
• Indiana will opt-out of abortion coverage in any state health exchange required under the new federal health law passed by Congress in 2010.
• Pain-capable children beginning at 20-weeks gestational age will enjoy enhanced protections.
• All abortions on girls under the age of 14 must be reported to child protective services within three days of the abortion in order to facilitate prompt investigation into child sexual abuse.
• Women must be informed that abortion may increase the risk of infertility, infection, or hemorrhaging.
• Doctors who do abortions in Indiana must have local hospital admitting privileges, provide medical licensing numbers, and provide emergency contact information to women having abortions.
• Women considering abortion must be informed about Indiana’s safe haven law that allows for mothers who decide to carry their children to term but are unable to care for their children to leave them with safe haven providers such as local police without criminal repercussions.

Ken Falk, an ACLU attorney representing Planned Parenthood, said the new anti-abortion law, which cuts public funding for Planned Parenthood, makes Indiana the first state to deny Medicaid funds for general health services such as breast exams and pap smears.

UNIONS
Indiana has right-to-work legislation which is presently before Indiana's House of Representatives. If it passes the House, where Republicans hold a 60-40 majority, it will go to the Senate, where Senate Republicans outnumber Democrats 37-13.

If the right-to-work proposal is approved, Indiana would be the first state in the industrial heartland of the United States to adopt such a law. It is in force in 22 other states, mostly in the South and West.

Indiana is home to numerous manufacturing plants for the auto industry that produce vehicles or components, including non-union and union-represented facilities.

Under the proposal, employees at unionized private workplaces would not be required to pay union dues. Supporters say the move would attract jobs to Indiana. Critics call it union busting.

EDUCATION

Legislators in Indiana have proposed a bill which would allow the reciting of the Lord's Prayer at the beginning of the school day.

Three Republican state senators in Indiana have a plan to fix public education in the state: Have someone recite the Lord’s Prayer at the beginning of every school day.

Really. It’s Senate Bill No. 25 (PDF):

In order that each student recognize the importance of spiritual development in establishing character and becoming a good citizen, the governing body of a school corporation or the equivalent authority of a charter school may require the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer at the beginning of each school day. The prayer may be recited by a teacher, a student, or the class of students.

In case you’re unfamiliar with what they’re talking about, this is the kind of Christian prayer the senators believe schools need:

Our Father, which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth,
As it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
The power, and the glory,
For ever and ever.
Amen.

That’s Matthew 6:9-13.

The Lord's prayer? Really, who's Lord are we talking about. Is this legislation referring to the Lord of the Christians? What about the Lord of the Jews? Maybe the Lord of the Muslims? Do Buddhists or Hindu's have a Lord? Could it be the Lord of the Flies? Or possibly the Lord of the Rings?

Reaction to Wisconsin & other States

Thoughts on what is happening in Wisconsin:

The Suicide of the Republican Party by Keith Olbermann - FOK News Channel

Governor Walker's Coup D'Etat by Robert Reich - Blog

Wisconsin's Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein - The Rachel Maddow Show

Thoughts on what is happening in Idaho:

Idaho passes Republican bill to curb union rights by Mary Wisniewski - Reuters

Idaho OKs bill limiting bargaining by Jennifer Epstein - Politico.com

Thoughts on what is happening in Michigan:

Amid shouts from protesters, Michigan Senate sets vote on emergency manager bill by Detroit Free Press

Michigan Senates passes manager bill by Daily Tribune

Thoughts on GOP War on Unions:

The dirty secret of public sector union busting by Alyssa Battistoni - Salon War Room

'This is War' Could Michael Moore be on to something? by James Taranto - The Wall Street Journal

Wisconsin is only part of the GOP war against unions by Harold Meyerson - The Washington Post

Wisconsin's Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein

Koch Brothers Power Play

The US Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling in Citizens United v Federal Election Commission (2010) lays the foundation for the corporate takeover of America. This will be accomplished by false advertising, lies and misrepresentations being bought and paid for by big money corporations. Presently, the attempt at union busting being played out in Wisconsin, is merely the tip of the iceberg for corporate interests to gain control. Rodolfo F. Acuna expounds on this scenario in, The Buying of America...GOP's War on American Labor.

A reader responded to my article on the Arizona and Wisconsin connection that "... the Koch brothers are just the tip of the iceberg," - a statement with which I totally agree.

The Phoenix resident predicted that the corporate takeover of the state and federal governments had just begun. What would make this possible was "The Citizens United Supreme Court decision [that] will only make money laundering for public office worse, since there is no accountability measure to provide transparency about who is contributing to Tea Party or other candidates."

The US Supreme Court's 5-4 decision in Citizens United v Federal Election Commission (2010) held that the First Amendment requires that "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech," and that a "prohibition on corporate independent expenditures is an outright ban on speech." According to the Court, "A PAC [political action committee] is a separate association from the corporation." Because speech is fundamental to democracy, the regulation on spending infringes on political speech.

In essence, Citizens United gives corporations and unions the right to spend unlimited amounts of money on campaign ads - no matter how outrageous the ads are. The case struck down campaign reform, and a provision in the law that prohibited all corporations and unions from contributing as much money as they wanted to elections. The outcome is that the rich are protected by the First Amendment and have the right to buy elections.

President Obama criticized the decision, saying that it "Gives the special interests and their lobbyists even more power in Washington while undermining the influence of average Americans who make small contributions to support their preferred candidates."

Even more outrageous, the decision shields rich contributors by giving them anonymity. While corporations or unions may not give money directly to campaigns, they have a license to place an unlimited number of ads, and by forming "501(c) (4)s" nonprofits, the identity of the donors is hidden.

In Arizona, David H. Koch and Charles G. Koch set the template that is being followed in Wisconsin. They funded extremist groups and spread hate through lies and half-truths, allowing them to manipulate elections.

Given these facts, it is hard not to recognize a conspiracy between the Koches and the five Supreme Court Justices that formed the majority in Citizens United.

For example, on January 30-31, 2011, the Koches held a secretive retreat for billionaires in Palm Springs, California. Featured speakers at past billionaire juntas were Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, two of the five majority justices in Citizens United. Thomas' wife is the founder and president of Liberty Central, a conservative political advocacy group with ties to the Tea Party and the infamous Koches.

The corporate assault on democracy began as far back as 1868 with the passage of the "due process clause" in the 14th Amendment. Its intent was to protect the rights of African-Americans by protecting them from the southern states that wanted to keep them in a de facto state of slavery. Instead of enforcing the amendment and giving blacks equal protection, pro-business justices expanded the 14th amendment to shield corporations from state and federal regulation. They raised the legal fiction that corporations were persons and thus a protected class.

Since the 1980s, corporations, dominated by the billionaire class, have become more proactive in politics. Emboldened by William E. Simon's ghost-written "A Time for Truth" (1978), the right wing has founded a bevy of tax-free non-profits to fund right-wing causes.

As of 2007 there were 2.7 millionaires and 371 billionaires in the United States out of a population of 307 million Americans - less than one percent. The Koch brothers had only two votes, but had a combined wealth of $41 billion dollars.

The golden opportunity for the Koch cabal came in Gore v. Bush (2000) that resolved the presidential election in favor of George W. Bush. The Court ruled that the Florida Supreme Court's method for recounting ballots violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The 5-4 decision was a political decision with Thomas and Scalia heading the majority.

Gore v. Bush made the Citizens United case possible, as Bush became president, and he proceeded to stack the Supreme Court as well as the lower federal courts with right-wing ideologues. He nominated John Roberts and Samuel Alito to the Court - both judicial conservatives with deep right-wing ties.

These two justices joined Scalia and Thomas in the passage of Citizens United, which represented an extreme departure from previous case law.

In Arizona the billionaire club used the Tea Party, the Minutemen and the Nazis to spread fear, misinterpretation and gross stereotypes. Like Professor Rudy Rosales has pointed out, "This attack [is] on working class people, Mexicanos and Latinos all over, African-Americans, Native Americans, Asians, women, gays, homosexuals, [and it] is possible because they do it piece by piece - first immigrants, then gays, then women, then African-Americans."

Their goal is to destroy the liberal capitalist state.

Because of Citizens United, in future elections voters will be unable to tell where the money is coming from. The 2006 election cost about $1 billion; the cost of the 2010 election was over $3 billion. It turned blue states red. The cost of the 2012 presidential campaign will dwarf these numbers. Everyone is up for sale.

Eric Drum in Mother Jones (March/April 2011) writes that, "With unions declining, the Democratic Party turned to the only other source of money and influence available in large enough quantities to replace Big Labor: Big Business."

The question is, "Who will control the country?" 371 billionaires, or the other 307 million residents of this nation?

It is important for all Americans who believe in Democracy to stand with the protesters in Wisconsin. This is the beginning!

"Ain't the Time to Close Your Eyes"

Republican talking points, regarding the Wisconsin collective bargaining-union busting issue, has emphasized that the Republican Governor, Scott Walker, was elected on a mandate of the voters. They say that 'he is doing what he was elected to do.' However a recent poll shows the reality of the situation, if the election were held today.

A Public Policy Polling survey released on Monday showed that if the Wisconsin governor’s election were held today, Walker would lose. A New York Times/ CBS News poll, also released on Monday, shows that 60% of Americans nationwide are against Walker’s plan to effectively end the collective bargaining rights of public employees.

That's right, Walker would lose the election. The reason is that the majority of Wisconsin voters , as well as the majority of voters nationwide, Americans don't want government officials to bust unions. They want rights for workers and they want the right of collective bargaining.

The Wisconsin protests are bringing American citizens together to stand up to the inequities of 'Big Government.' Yes, I said Big Government. Usually, the Republicans/Tea Party/Libertarians complain that 'government' is getting too big and is too invasive in our lives. What could be more invasive than the Governor, who represents the government, working to take away collective bargaining rights of workers. The Governor claimed these actions were necessary because of a budget crisis. The unions have agreed to all of the GOP's demands on wages and benefits, in exchange for Republicans dropping the provision that would strip them of the right to negotiate in the future. He won't accept any compromise and is now planning on laying off thousands of worker's to make his point.

As Joshua Holland notes, "Reporters who continue to portray this as a fight over wages and benefits are now committing journalistic malpractice."

Wake up people!

Matt Wisniewski, a 23 year-old college student, filmed the protests as they happened and put together two videos setting the action to the sound. His second video is set to the sound of "The Cave" by Mumford and Sons.

Wisconsin "Budget Repair Bill" Protest Pt 2 from Matt Wisniewski on Vimeo.

Wisniewski's first video shows images of the protest to the sound of Arcade Fire's "Rebellion (Lies)." WATCH here.

The End Game

Recent events in Wisconsin really represent the tip of the iceberg regarding a war on the middle class. Bernie Sanders ( I-VT) says that events in Wisconsin will not only lead to the end of collective bargaining but also to the end social safety nets for the middle class such as social security, medicare and unemployment benefits .

SANDERS: What we have to understand is this is not just Wisconsin. This is part of the concerted attack on the middle class and working families of this country by the very wealthiest people in America, the Koch brothers and many others. And you're also right in suggesting that if you look at the end game, what are you talking about?

You're talking about the end of Social Security, privatization of Social Security, massive cuts and privatization of Medicare, major cuts in Medicaid. You're talking about over a period of time, the end of unemployment compensation, the end of the minimum wage or lowering the minimum wage.

What these guys want is to return us to the 1920's when working people had virtually no rights to organize or to earn a decent living. Bottom line today is the top 1% earn more income than the bottom 50%. The top 1% owns more wealth than the bottom 90%. That gap between the very rich and everybody else is growing wider.

And what the wealthiest people in the country are doing are using their resources to make the attack against the middle class even stronger. They want the destruction of the middle class and almost all wealth in this country to go to the people on top.

WATCH:

Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is!!!!

The idiom, "put your money where your mouth is," implies that one should do something rather than just talk about it. Here's an example:

When it comes to the Wisconsin union fights, right-wing pundits Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh have a couple of things in common. For starters, have all voiced their opposition to the plight of public employee unions in the state.

On Feb. 18, Limbaugh said on his radio program, "We are either on the side of the Wisconsin protesters or we are on the side of our country." Hannity has featured several guests critical of the union and its supporters, including Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, on his Fox News television and radio shows.

On the Feb. 18 edition of "The O'Reilly Factor," O'Reilly stated, "Governments can't afford to operate" because of "union wages and benefits." But it turns out that opposing workers' rights isn't the only thing these blowhards have in common.

What they have in common is their hypocrisy!

As it turns out, all three of them belong to the American Federation Television and Radio Artists union (AFTRA), which is the AFL-CIO affiliate for television and broadcast workers.

Yes, you read that right. While Hannity, O'Reilly and Limbaugh have been railing against union workers in Wisconsin, all three of them belong to an AFL-CIO affiliate union.

Words do matter.

Limbaugh said that if you support the protesters than you don't support the country. Does that mean if he doesn't give up his union membership, he would not be patriotic?

Hannity allowed several critics of the Wisconsin protesters to expound on the need to bust the unions. Does that mean if he doesn't give up his union membership, he is pro-union?

O'Reilly believes that governments can't operate if they have to pay out "union wages and benefits." Does that mean that while staying a union member, O'Reilly is preventing the government to work?

One important fact!

Fox programming tends to leave out factual information that doesn't jive with the message they are promoting. For example, the Fox pundits, while criticizing the Wisconsin protests and collective bargaining issue, never mentioned that "out of every dollar that funds Wisconsin’s pension and health insurance plans for state workers, 100 cents comes from the state workers."

Hypocrites!!!

The word hypocrite has great meaning. That is why Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh really should put their money where their mouth is!