We Miss You, Matt
Post Published: 13 May 2011Dear Friends:
I know that many of you have already heard the sad news that our dear friend, Matt H. Smith passed away on Sat. May 7th at 89 years young. His memorial service will be at 11 a.m. today (Sat. May 13th) at the First United Methodist Church.
In the last letter I was able to access online, written ironically on my birthday this year, Matt wrote (oh well I will just let him say it):
This will turn your crank. Our president who is in charge of the world’s largest economy, the richest nation in the world and by far the largest and most effective military gets paid less than $500.000 a year.
He does not get to set his own pay like the executives of corporations. They have the power to legally steal exorbitant salaries and bonuses. They steal from the stockholders, research and development and employees compensation even while doing an inferior job. Remember when Wal-Mart got caught showing its employees how to get welfare from the government. The fat cats keep putting out propaganda that we are broke while they suck up every penny and scream for more.
We the people are losing our battles to the fat cats. The appointment of a president by the Supreme Court. Absolutely unconstitutional. Making corporations living breathing human beings with the right to donate unlimited amounts of money for political purposes totally phony. Now the projected cash requirement to run for president, $1 billion. You know how crooked you have to be to get that much money. We need a new way to finance elections. All this carping about socialism when it is a part of any decent democracy. We have socialism when we finance public schools, police, legal departments, military, laws to protect the public, welfare for the indigent, collect taxes and emergency help. Especially a great tool when President Obama baled out GM, Chrysler and the financial industry saving thousands of jobs and avoided a deep depression.
The fat cats should remember the words of God when he said, “from those that much has been given, much is expected.”
MATT SMITH
Twin Falls
You can access his great letters by going to the Times News website and searching for Matt Smith on little doohickey on the tool bar that says search. I think that Matt would be pleased to think of everyone reading his letters…finally.
Now you can narrow the search by date. If you know what I mean, do and if you don’t and don’t worry about it ‘cause it won’t matter. Don’t just try Google, ‘cause there a lot of Matt Smiths out there, but only one like ours. I know there was a really recent letter that I couldn’t access.
So, I got thinking about how much I was going to miss opening the paper and reading a letter from Matt Smith or commissariating about politics or just seeing him around. If you are reading this and you didn’t know Matt Smith, well I am sorry for you. You missed out. If you know Matt, you will probably both laugh and cry at little bit. And if you don’t like all the Democrat stuff…well, just go sit with the fat cats.
Go with God, dear friend. I know that you are in a better place where there is no darkness at all and no pain, but we miss you so!
To God, you got a good one and I bet he’ll make you laugh too,
God Bless all,
Dixie Siegel
Thoughts and Prayers for Japan
Post Published: 15 March 2011I am writing this post tonight in honor of all those in northern Japan; the families who have lost family or searching and those who are suffering and in living in fear. With all the disasters of late (Haiti, Katrina, and flooding around the county), it seems somehow even worse that the nation that honors calm and saving face so much should have its worse nightmares played out on the news channels around the world for all to see. The images on the television are heart-breaking and words fail me.
Special thoughts about them and especially the 50 Fukushima workers who tried to stop further radiation leaks:
These are the words from the BBC at the Daily Kos:
“These are very brave people.”
So prayers for the resourceful, brave, cold, frightened, homeless, hungry, and thirsty in northern Japan recovering from the quake and tsunami.
Prayers for all those living in Japan and suffering from uncertainty.
And prayers for the Fukushima 50.
I hope that everyone including President Obama will stop and rethink nuclear energy as being “on the table” in our energy options. As Marvin Resnikoff, senior associate with a radioactive waste company, writes at Huffington Post, there is no way to just pull the plug on what is happening in Japan. “Nuclear reactors are not the same as coal/oil/gas electricity plants. Unlike conventional plants, they cannot be turned off.“ The reactors cannot be unplugged and while an earthquake of 9.0 once seemed unthinkable, it happened. The devastation of the earthquake and the tidal wave are now compounded by a nuclear disaster equal to Chernobyl. It seems that, besides sending aid, the best thing we can do is to reconsider using something that we obviously cannot control or predict as a source of energy.
I, in no way, think that Japan or any country that suffers disasters has some how earned this or that my God or any god has sent tragedy down on their heads. I don’t even subscribe to the idea that God doesn’t give us more than we can handle. Obviously this doomsday scenario in northern Japan is more than the best experts can handle or stop. When I heard that the Japanese government was asking the US for helicopters to shoot water down on the reactor last night, I thought this is going to make Chernobyl look mild!
I am ironically reading a book called Refuge by Terry Tempest Williams. It is one daughter’s account of the rising of the Great Salt Lake and the loss of bird habitat as she faces her mother’s struggle against cancer. Breast and ovarian cancer has devastated her family who had lived down wind from underground nuclear testing conducted in the 1950s. As victims fought for justice, it was not until “1990 that President George Bush approved the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act in 1990 under which the government apologized to the victims for the irresponsible behavior of managers at the Nevada Test Site and established a trust fund to pay for some of the injuries.” It was certainly too little and too late.
So I hope and pray that we will learn from the tragedy in Japan before it is too late. I agree that it is not productive to ratchet up fear or sensationalize the events unfolding before our eyes; I do think that we are fools to think that it cannot happen here. And I do believe that God gives us wisdom to learn and grow from our mistakes and arrogance about our ability to control events and nature. Let this be a wake up call to how puny we are and how much we have to learn.
Being Thankful in Tough Times
Post Published: 25 November 2010It is hard times for many in our Country today, but we should stop and be thankful. In many households family members are missing this year. They may be serving their country in Iraq or Afghanistan. They may be working out of town or even estranged from their loved ones as hard economic times and war takes a toll on many families. We may sit down to dinner today and lift up prayers and remembrances of loved ones who have passed on or remember better times, but for most of us…we have a warm home and full tummies to be thankful for.
We are not among the homeless who are huddled outdoors in make shift shelters or crowded into missions and churches. We are not living in poverty and despair in a third world country. We are not living in tent cities in Haiti where disease is raging and death is a constant companion. Even those of us who have reduced wages, higher health care costs, and less under that Christmas tree this year have more than the majority of the people on this earth.
We have better cars, larger homes, and more variety of food to eat than most. We can communicate to our families by email, phone, and even snail mail. And while we may groan about postal rates and reduced services, we have the most reliable mail system in our hemisphere. We can visit our family and friends by car, air, or rail and rail is getting better and cheaper everyday. Even though much to do about nothing was made of the TSA pat downs…the majority of us flying this week made it safely and on time.
Yes, this is not the Thanksgiving of the past. Last Thanksgiving, we were still numb over the financial crash and the glow for many of us who voted and supported President Obama was still with us. Two holidays ago, I was ecstatic about the election and planning a trip to DC for the swearing in of our new president.
Yes, things have not worked out as we had all hoped, but we don’t have 25% unemployment that might have occurred under McCain/Palin. We didn’t lose the car industry, troops are coming home from Iraq and we are trying to make a better health care system. It is not the single payer that I and many others wanted, but it is the first time we have a chance to reform the system and Democrats haved tried for decades to make changes.
We have an intelligent, nonorable man in the White House who has accomplished a lot more than we give him credit for and hard-working senators and representatives on the left and moderates on the right that need our support more than ever in this divisive climate. We need to support the non profits and causes that we care about now more than ever.
So I say to you (as much to myself), buck up and be thankful and help those less fortunate than yourself. If you don’t have the cash to help out your favorite charity, volunteer a few hours next week or make calls or help serve a meal in a soup kitchen or shelter.
Even though this Thanksgiving is not all I hoped for in the coming together of my church and personal family , I cannot forget the weathered face of a man in a local dinner I saw last Sunday.
I knew him immediately. I met him a couple of years ago when our church opened it doors briefly in the bitter cold for the homeless. His friend brought him in hopes that he would stay in the church that night. He lived in a bus at that time. It was not a running bus with heat and enclosed. Even the windows were broken out. I know that since I saw him last, he has had health concerns and suffered frostbit. He has been victim of beatings and abused by others who wander the streets.
A good Samaritan was arranging for a hotel room for him for the month this day. I know that there not enough Samaritans to help everyone in even our small town to give shelter to all who are without a home, but this stranger was trying. This homeless man once had a good job, family, and everything most of us have. We may be disappointed by the political climate, career changes, or family estrangements. We may not know what the future holds for us because of illness, divorce or unemployment, but at this time we are warm and dry and reading a blog at our leisure on our computer. Life, circumstances and personal choices took this one man down a path that many of us have no understanding of, but today please let your heart be warmed by all that you do have and think of “him” as you sit down to eat and be thankful.
“We get the government we deserve”
Post Published: 22 October 2010Ben Franklin was said to answer – when asked what kind of government he had just helped to create
“A Republic, if you can keep it.”
This quote has become popular in many various political circles in recent times. Everyone from the conservative American Thinker to Jon Stewart has referenced Ben Franklin’s words. Thursday night Keith Allred, Democratic candidate for governor, closed with the remark as he spoke in Twin Falls to a diverse group of supporters at the Turf Club. Candidate Allred was challenging each and everyone, in his soft-spoken statesman like way, to rally and be accountable. I woke up this morning way too early thinking about the implications of Franklin’s warning and the coming midterm elections.
The possibility of this ultra conservative legislation coupled with Butch Otter at the helm is too much for this progressive to envision. As an educator with ties to social action and the Hispanic community, I am appalled at the ideas coming out of the right wing legislators: state’s sovereignty, adoption of Arizona racist policy of stopping undocumented people, loyalty oaths and repealing amendments. We already have unneeded voter ID and hate filled rhetoric in the statehouse. And they are vowing to make things even worse.
Stephen Hartgen warned of additional cuts to education and poo poos problems with Medicaid billing by Molina at a local chamber meeting. The mishandling of insurance billing and understaffing of the State Tax Commission, in my opinion, are grounds for investigation. The favoritism to special interests revealed in audits of the tax commission is scandalous. Under the Otter’s watch we have dropped from 6th to 12th in being a desirable place to live while our neighbor Utah climbed to number one, Idaho is now 50th out of 51 states in spending per pupil in the nation, and the budget was balanced by gutting education and stopping Medicaid payments. Instead of looking to the future, Otter recently focuses on mining, farming, and forestry without considering new technology and the new for a better educated work force.
Keith Allred made the point that looking only resource based economy might have worked 30 years ago, but the states around us like Utah are growing and getting new businesses by reducing sales taxes and promoting education and courting new industries. Otter is more worried about having a throw down with the Feds over wolves. He shoots from the hip and makes decisions like the recent stoppage of Medicaid payments to dentists without even consulting with the caregivers.
So I was honored to be among the crowd at this fund raiser for Keith Allred and at the Stan Olson event put on by the CSI Democrats last night. These candidates are well-educated and well-versed in management and business skills. Keith Allred worked for years as an advisor for corporations like Simplot and HP about conflict management. Olson ran the largest school district in Idaho, managing personnel and students, transportation, and taking care of everything from building maintenance to curriculum. The young student who introduced Dr. Olson thanked him and all adults who work to make education better for young people.
Olson put it all in perspective when he complimented the CSI students in attendance for their interest and support. As an educator, he knows that the young students that care enough to get involved are the true future and the agents of change down the road. At the Turf Club, I had the shocking, in a good way, realization that I was one of the older ones in a room full of Allred supporters.
So as I pick up a morning paper filled with doom and gloom for Democratic candidates nationwide and a ridiculous endorsement of someone who led our educational system down the wrong path, I am buoyed up by the young faces of college students that go out an organize events, make phone calls, and tilt at windmills here in Idaho. I see the young spokeswoman for the China Mountain Wind Farm and I say “Yeah, you go girl!” My daughter Jenn’s face recently appeared on the front page of the Statesman in an article about shared living space and living collectively and smartly in this difficult economy. I see the beautiful, hopeful young faces of CSI Democrats that take risks and stay positive and believe that they can change elections and the community and the world and I say “Keep on Trucking (that is “keep going” in baby boomer speak)!”
So I am stealing Stan Olson and Marilyn Howard’s idea. I am asking everyone out there reading this blog to get your Christmas card list out and think of all your family and friends in your circle of influence. Then contact them and ask them to vote for Keith Allred for governor, Stan Olson for State Superintendent of Schools, and Gary Eller for County Commissioner on Nov. 2nd. Best to call them because everyone gets too many emails, but if they are younger than 35 you should get on their Facebook page or MySpace, or if you are really up on it, go to Linkin or Twitter and make a case for these outstanding candidates.
There are yard signs for Allred and Educators for Olson signs and more at the local Democratic office located at 161 6th Street South. It is across from Pandora’s and Red’s. Office hours are 4-7 pm Tuesday through Friday, Saturday from 1:00-4:00.
Remember that this election is really about the future. We have a chance to elect dedicated and intelligent candidates that can effect positive change in Twin Falls, in the state of education in Idaho, and in the Statehouse. This is not the election to stay home. This is the election to fight for the “republic” that you want to keep
Right Here in Twin Falls!
Post Published: 17 June 2010I noted with sadness the Times News choose to give free advertisement to the John Birch Society on the front page of their paper yesterday. It is also notable that a recently elected Republican precinct captain is the assistant organizer for the JBS event, Liz Niccum. She was part of a dust-up in the local Republican Party and signed a complaint along with central committeeman George Nemitz over their perceived irregularities about appointing committee vacancies. It seems that many of the new precinct captains around here have some interesting friends, or in McManus’ speak, comrades.
Every member of the community that cares about civil rights, hates racism, and remembers the witch hunting, anti-communism of Joe McCarthy should be up in arms over this event. (For those under 30, the John Birch Society is the same group that brought your parents “Get out of the UN” and “Impeach Earl Warren!”) I am offended by the coverage that was given to this event. I ask you to take the time to write a letter to the paper and KMVT in protest.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization that tracks racism and hate groups across the country, listed Bircher President John F. McManus on its “Meet the Patriots” list as a resurgent. Their site describes these so-called patriots as “people who generally believe that the federal government is an evil entity that is engaged in a secret conspiracy to impose martial law, herd those who resist into concentration camps, and force the United States into a socialistic “New World Order.”” Here is an excerpt of his profile at SPLC:
McManus, who joined the society’s staff in 1966, has continued to promote its founding principles. The central thesis is that a sinister cabal of politicians, bankers, globalists and other elites throughout history – including the Illuminati, every U.S. president since Woodrow Wilson and the Council on Foreign Relations – have worked to peel away the rights of individuals and put the U.S. on a path toward atotalitarian one-world government…An ultraconservative Roman Catholic, McManus has been accused of anti-Semitism, a charge he has denied. In 2005, according to The New York Times, Birch staffers who were ousted amid internal turmoil leaked recordings of McManus saying that Judaism was a dead religion and that militant Jews have influenced the Freemasons, who were “Satan’s agents” and part of the Illuminati conspiracy to cause world upheaval.
Tax evaders, militia members, right-wing bloggers, and radical radio personalities round out the rest of the Southern Poverty’s 2010 Meet the Patriots list. http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2010/summer/meet-the-patriots?page=0,1 McManus and the once shrinking JBS are riding the tide of racism and anti-amnesty fever. KMVT gave McManus a free sound bite last night. He spouted out the myth that Mexican-Americans plan to create a new country by adding Arizona, Texas, and California to Mexico. This falsehood has been floated by Bill O’Reilly and others and is very dangerous because it paints immigrants as traitors. All evidence available on immigration contradicts this. http://www.alternet.org/story/17653/ But facts never stop people and groups like this.
Supposedly over 100 planned to attend the meeting to listen to this racism veiled as concern about “treating people fairly as individuals.” http://www.magicvalley.com/news/local/article_d6bf87a3-9cc8-59b5-a107-b37168c47bb5.html I challenge readers and viewers to let the editos and station managers and the community know that Southern Idaho is too great to hate and that we have no need of McManus and his kind.
District throws a Firecracker at the Teachers and Hartgen Leaves Early
Post Published: 04 June 2010In a town where fireworks on the 5th are causing controversy, little mention has been made of the firecracker in the face the Twin Falls School District gave their certified staff Monday night. It appears that the same community that cares greatly about patriotism was also willing to show its support for teachers forced to meet on Memorial Day. Encouragingly the new Canyon Ridge auditorium was overflowing with teachers, administrators, friends and family. The 350 plus chose to support Twin Falls Teachers’ Associations instead of decorating graves, picnicking, or spending their time camping. Unfortunately the public was not allowed to address the board or TF School District representatives.
I attended the Due Process Hearing as an interested former teacher and community member. A district is required to meet before their school board in order to make changes in certified staff contacts. Our district was proposing 14 furlough days, freezing salary movement, and cutting pay for extra duties. This translates into roughly $200 to $400 monthly pay cut for teachers, depending on their pay grade. There were similar, but not equal, cuts for administrators.
Superintendent Dr Willey Dobbs began the meeting with a lengthy power point presentation of their proposal. It has been trotted out for months at various service clubs and emailed to certified staff. The representatives of the teachers’ association pointed out that the district violated the good faith of the negotiations when it issued press releases to the Times-News about details of the proposal. Dr. Dobbs talked to the press several times,
There were many other troubling irregularities. Administrative staff’s salary was set ahead of the certified staff, which is unusual. There was disagreement on dates and charges of “fuzzy math” on both sides, but it was obvious that the superintendent was uncomfortable being the bearer of such drastic cuts. Unfortunately the lawyer for the District, a Mr. Julian, was as rude and arrogant, as Dr. Dobbs was contrite and uncomfortable.
The main source of contention for the Twin Falls Education Association was lack of a specific offer as detailed by collective bargaining. Dr. Dobbs also mentioned his own frustration with the drawn out process. One teacher stated that the Association and the District have always worked together successfully in the past. She cited the presence of the district lawyer as the cause of their difficulties.
Stacy Behrens presented the Association’s proposal. Comparisons to higher salaries in surrounding districts and testimony on the negative consequences of the District’s plan for students, teachers and the economy were passionately given. I listened to a tearful teacher and veteran. She was furious over the choice of picking Memorial Day for the meeting. Efforts were made by the teachers association to change the date. It was perceived as a move to limit participation. It was a unpatriotic choice, regardless of the reason.
I agree with Dr. Dodds when he said that this was a painful process that “no one wanted,” but the date of the meeting and demeanor of the district’s lawyer were counterproductive. I hope that the school board will make some concessions and find a middle ground between the 14 furlough days proposed by the District and the 8 furlough days proposed by the Association. Teachers will meet at the end of the week to hear the decision of the board. Additional comments must be submitted in writing to the school board by this Thursday.
Judging from the demeanor of the board and the lack of questions, I am not optimistic. It appeared that some members of the board were more worried about breaks and couldn’t wait to leave. I left knowing one thing for sure. Representative Steven Hartgen (R) from District 23 didn’t stick around long enough. Hartgen, who sits on the State Education Committee, came in just before the hearing started. He shook hands with Dobbs and took a seat in the front row. How ironic that one of the architects of the educational cut backs didn’t have the guts to stick around to hear all the teachers testify.
The guy who once said “I think we need to support education but I also think we need to scrutinize it,” was there to hear the axe fall, but didn’t stay around long enough to hear how the reductions would impact his constituents. In a 2008 interview with the Boise Weekly Hartgen “lamented his old paper’s (the Times-News) softening stance on public schools.” Hartgen went on to say that “in his days at the Times-News the paper was more conservative on education, oriented to accountability and merit pay,” he didn’t hear from the teacher who was losing his National Teacher’s Certification from the state to a tune of $3000 thanks to decisions from the legislation. He didn’t hear the single dad that only had $17 after bills before the pay cut. This Canyon Ridge teacher wondered how he would continue coaching or even spend time with his own family. One teacher talked about how they are told time and time again to give more and more and get less and less. I spent over 70 hours a week with lesson planning, teaching and grading papers when I taught a few years ago in Jerome.
Hartgen crowed at a local service club not long ago, “All you need to know about the past legislative session is that we balanced the budget and there’s no new taxes.” He didn’t even have the decency to hear all the teachers’ testimony. Hundreds of teachers will have their income reduced from $200 to $400 a month and pay 15% more to insure their family next year. Teachers will take on second and third jobs, some will leave the District and others will just change professions. Clubs, sports, and humanities will suffer or disappear. Students will have less time on task with the same or even stricter curriculum and outcome demands. Each dollar that gets spent with local businesses turns through our economy six to eight times, so the $700,000 plus salary reduction will have a significant impact on Twin Falls.
It doesn’t have to be that way. Several counties have already passed emergency levies to help their school districts even though raising property taxes as much as 30%. Does the Twin Falls community have the courage to really do something to help their teachers… and thus their children… or is it just easier to watch the Hartgens of the world throw us under the school bus…
How should you vote in the primary?
Post Published: 24 May 2010Someone I greatly respect recently made me think about what it means to be a Democrat in this mostly red state. His response to my support of moderate Republicans in my recent blog made think about the best way to build the Democratic Party. Do we close our primaries and only support candidates that have a big D besides them and fight for issues that adhere only to our platform? Are we hurting our brand if we cross over and vote for a moderate Republican candidate?
Ironically I remember my grandfather and my mother having arguments about the same things over 40 years ago, only they were talking about the Republican primaries. My grandfather, a crusty old Irishman, felt that you never crossed party lines and that was what kept the two party system alive. My mother, who was at one time a Republican precinct captain, took the opposing view. I don’t recall the outcome of the argument or the particular election, but it was heated. It may have been over a judicial seat where my mom wanted to vote for the Democratic candidate.
My mom was as complicated and emotional as I am, but I have always had the heart of a liberal. Whether it was protesting Kent State or recoiling at Reagan’s busting of the unions, I never thought of myself as anything but liberal. From that first JFK button at 10 to now, if you cut me, I bleed blue.
I do however also have a passion for what is right. I do not want some far right wing PAC like Idaho Chooses Life pouring money into this community and sabotaging good people. I was outraged at MoveOn’s “Betray Us Petreaus” ads and I am outraged at mailers and web-sites calling my friend “a baby-killer!” These mailers are examples of the worse kind of politics. I just early voted on the Democratic ballot for county commissioner, governor, and judicial seats. One of my friends told me that she is so excited about seeing her name on the ballot for precinct captain that she cannot wait to vote. I think that the open primary is the best way to go. I normally always vote a straight ticket, but I would not hesitate to tell someone who is voting on the Republican side to vote for the moderates.
I am proud of the long list of candidates for precinct captains (one of the biggest ever) and the candidates that are running for office on the blue ticket. I do acknowledge that the support of blue dogs and the unwillingness of Idaho’s Democratic candidates to support a true Democratic platform can hurt our effectiveness in some ways. Some liberals may stay home over a candidate’s positions on nuclear energy or health care, but I would urge then to still vote Democratic. Vote for the best candidates and support your party, but there are times when local issues and fairness supersede party lines.
When big moneyed PACs target a state and races, it does not reflect the voters or the state. I didn’t like the robo calls (automatically programmed recordings) for and against Obama. I don’t think the majority of voters in Twin Falls want outside interests calling the shots. In the last legislative session, I got online and I saw how all my legislators voted. I emailed them and called with my displeasure and my support. Most got back to me. I didn’t need a score card from some PAC to inform me about the votes. And I am furious about the misinformation and out right lies about Planned Parenthood.
I have supported and volunteered for Planned Parenthood here and in Boise. I invite everyone to research the organization. They offer valuable services especially to the poor, including wellness care, prenatal care, and critical information about STDS. Magic Valley has some of the highest rates of STDs in the state and too many cases of rape and incest.
What is the answer for a girl who is raped by her father when the law requires parental consent for an abortion? Are those righteous folks, who stood outside Twin’s Planned Parenthood during Lent, going to raise all the babies that are neglected and battered? Where are all the foster parents clamoring for children to raise once they are born? I saw babies being passed around from kid to kid like dirty laundry so their mothers could go out and party at Boot Scooters. The new girl in school was always hit up to baby sit, sometimes they left the baby with her for days.
I had a student who had a mental breakdown after she delivered her rapist’s baby. Who protected this girl? Where is the outrage and protest for these women? These are questions the protestors outside our Planned Parenthood couldn’t or wouldn’t answer. And I asked them! No abortions are ever performed in Twin Falls, but clients had to walk by hateful signs and judgment just to get a pap smear or a wellness check up.
Everyone loves to protest, but where are the solutions and problem solvers? The rabble is trying to call the shots in Idaho and in the nation. The mainstream and even local media is enamored by them, but I feel that Twin Falls is better than that.
Idaho doesn’t look like the national Democratic party and our candidates don’t look like John Kerry or Howard Dean. Idaho is a complicated state with strange alliances and histories. We have had Democratic governors with Republican legislators and great statesmen like Frank Church, but never before anything like the log jam that is in the legislation with the take over of the GOP by extremists. I would encourage all Democrats to vote Democrat. I don’t want closed primaries because Idahoans do have an independent streak and we should have choices. We call Strong Democrats, Leaning Democrats and Independents and encourage them to get out and vote.
Being a Democrat in Idaho can be messy. I certainly don’t agree with many of Minnick’s positions, but if I was in the 1st district I would vote for him. I have sent letters and emails to him when he disappointed me and praise when he did something I agreed on. I am dedicated to having a viable Democratic party in Twin Falls and in the State. I will support my party, but I will also speak out when I see unfair slander against anyone or any organization. I am saddened by the current state of politics locally and nationally, but excited about the new strategies and ideas that we plan to implement in the future to grow our party in Twin Falls. I urge voters to make their decision based on the facts and what is the most important issue for you. If my actions or words make any one anxious, I apologize. It is completely diametrically opposed to my desires.
What to Wear?
Post Published: 20 April 2010
I am declaring war on all cute clothing for women over the age of twelve; especially for teachers. This is the scariest trend in education today (beyond textbooks out of Texas); those perky little sweaters and denim dresses with ABC’s or school books appliquéd on the pockets. I wake up in a cold sweat imagining that Shrek is stitched on my best Levi jacket. I have panic attacks thinking about greeting a class of savvy high school students sporting tiny little composition books and dancing pencils on my pant suit. I want to stop the crazy and demeaning trend of dressing adult women, especially teachers, like toddlers.
I expect that one day I will walk into a J C Penny store and see Bart Simpson or Sponge Bob dancing up and down on wool sweaters holding out those horrid red apples. I fantasize about picketing women’s shops with CJ and Banks in their names, carrying signs that say: “Teachers are Not Toddlers! Ban Bird House Blouses! No Cute Zone!” What can be comforting about meeting your child’s teacher for the first time when he or she is clothed in crocheted kittens? This can be especially upsetting if your child is in senior high or college. I personally didn’t go to college for four years and get an upper level degree in Advanced 20th Century American Literature to be dressed in nursery school characters.
Here is the ugly truth. Years ago I developed a phobia against sweet appliquéd figures when I was trying to supplement my meager income by taking in ironing. One tiny lady, size one I am sure, dropped off a load of barely wrinkled, expensive shirts for me to iron. There, in this mess of little linen sleeves and pointed-starched collars, was an exquisitely embroidered white cotton shirt with half a dozen cats expertly stitched on it. Now I must admit that at that time I could stomach some adorableness, especially if it pertained to cats, but I couldn’t even fit my baby toe into that blouse. But you guessed it; the blouse disappeared somewhere between my house and her house. She then accused me of stealing that darn cat shirt. Hence forth…I hate cute little anythings on clothing and I am on a campaign to stop this trend in its tiny paw tracks.
I certainly don’t want everyone to be Sarah Palin clones dressed in expensive Chanel power suits, Italian leather jackets, and thousand-dollar designer glasses (maybe the GOP could pony up some cash?), but there is something to be said for style and absence of logos and embellishments. There is enough Tommy Hilfiger and Juicy Couture, and Gucci stuff on the students.
Looking back at all the uproar over flag pins on Obama’s lapel, maybe teachers should wear something that reflects their philosophy of education. The liberals and progressives could wear those Darwin walking fish symbols you see on car bumpers, or union pins. Christians and conservatives could have crosses, and fish eating the Darwin symbols, and the agnostics could just have question marks. Students would walk into a class room and immediately know that their teacher would love a twenty-five page essay on “How Obamacare Destroyed America” by the Don’t Tread on Me Flag on the desk.
There is not much room for cuteness and chuckles, if you are an educator in Idaho today. With all the holdbacks, clothing is taking a backseat to just putting food on the table. With the recent cut-backs in education funding in Idaho, teachers may soon be sporting more Salvation Army chic or resale rack outfits. Torn jeans could become cutting edge and not just for students. Maybe the “Otter” could donate some of his old unused cowboy boots or the drapes from the Simplot mansion since he reported a net worth of between $8.9 and $31.7 million in 2006. There must be some castoff clothing in the closets of all those ultraconservative legislators that lobbied to slash education too.
The Times News reported today that “four Republican legislators, House Speaker Lawrence Denny, Majority Leader Mike Moyle, Assistant Majority Leader Scott Bedke, and Majority Caucus Chairman Ken Roberts just sent out a letter to Idaho school districts advising them to prepare for a potential 5.5 percent holdback while negotiating next year’s teacher contracts” even when more moderate members and Democrats cite other options. Talk about kicking someone when they are down. Maybe teachers could just recycle No Child Left Behind curriculum guidelines into dashing new outfits. Oh, never mind. That’s last year’s fad.
Go Intimidate Somebody Else!
Post Published: 23 March 2010“Our presence here today is remarkable, but improbable!”
President Obama speaking today about the passage of health care legislation into law.
President Obama spoke for all the people in America that have been doing the “heavy lifting” to pass health care legislation today when he said that “people who love this Country can change it!” I again felt the same swell of optimism that warmed me back in January on that bitterly cold but historic inauguration day. As he signed the most sweeping health care reform for Americans in decades into law today, he evoked all the past leaders who fought to make America more equitable. He mentioned Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt, the Clintons, Ted Kennedy and Rep. John Dingle, who has been fighting for health care legislation his whole career, but I grudgingly give a nod of thanks to a most unlikely group; the Republican party, especially the national party.
I could hear John Boehner gnashing his over-bleached teeth as the President called Nancy Pelosi “the best speaker the House has ever had!” Newt Gingrich is probably spitting up bile and Rove and Cheney are busy sharpening their word knives even now, but one of the reasons this moment happened is partly due to all the raving and pitch-fork shaking of the far right and all their punditry. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/23/obama-signs-health-care-b_n_509715.html
The big tent we call the Democratic Party, much like the Methodist church I belong to, is unwieldy and multi-faceted. Getting us to agree on things is truly “much like herding cats,’ but under the leadership of a dynamic Obama and the tireless efforts of Nancy Pelosi and other party leaders like Clyburn and Hoyer, we refused to “scale back on aspirations” and faced the challenges. In the face of the most disturbing racist and fear-mongering I have ever witnessed, Democrats from the anti-war Kucinich to pro-life Stupak came together to pass reform.
One thing that MSM paid little attention to with their coverage of the infamous Neugebauer “baby killer” remark is what Stupak actually was trying to say when he was interrupted by the Republican from Texas. Even though I think he was played by the conservatives like a fiddle, Rep. Bart Stupak had some words of wisdom as he called for Democrats to vote for health care Sunday night:
…Democrats guarantee all life of the unborn to the last breath of a senior citizen is respected, for the unborn child and his or her mother will finally have pre and postnatal care under this bill…. www.huffingtonpost.com/…/baby-killer-yelled-at-bart-stupak_n_507718.html
And in the grandest irony of all, it was the obstructionist turned defender who characterized his party with “We stand for the American people! We stand up for life!”
How unlikely that this pro-choice, progressive would be quoting Stupak today, but now he knows the lash of their whip and the stink of their hypocrisy. I hope this serves as a lesson to all the Dino’s out there who are Democrats in name only, that when you lie down with the extremists, you get more than fleas.
The outrageous actions, words and threats by a disturbing number of people today that resulted in the rocks thrown through windows, death threats against the children of Democrats that voted for this bill, and “lock and load” remarks by the queen of the crazies should not deter or dampen our spirits. According to a Gallup/USA Today poll conducted the day after health care legislation passed the House of Representatives, 49 percent of the respondents think the passage of reform is a “good thing,” compared to the 40 percent who think it is bad. The DNC also received a million dollars in one day without even sending out a request.
Today the Senate cleared a major procedural hurdle and the health care fight hits the floor, but we must not forget that we have accomplished something historic today; historic health care reform legislation is now the law of the land Rep. James Clyburn, a veteran of the civil rights movement, who received numerous threatening faxes Monday morning, including nooses on gallows, shared his insights. “This is all about activity trying to deny the establishment of a civil right. And I do believe that health care for all is — a civil right,” the House Majority Whip argued.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/23/clyburn-racist-faxes-imag_n_509365.html
Clyburn has been very vocal in calling on House Minority leader John Boehner, who frequently calls on members of the Democratic Caucus to distant themselves from Nancy Pelosi’s remarks, to speak up against such outrageous remarks.
After watching the hate on Boehner’s face Sunday night as the votes for health care added up, I think this is like calling for an arsonist to fight the fire he has lit. But I would caution my fellow Democrats to not let these threats and antics spoil the moment and take heart from the victory.
“It doesn’t make me nervous as all,” Clyburn said, when asked how the mob-like atmosphere made him feel as he walked through the protesters to pass health care reform. “In fact, as I said to one heckler, I am the hardest person in the world to intimidate, so they better go somewhere else.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/13/clyburn-town-hall-protest_n_259118.html
Don’t be intimidated, dear friends. Instead see the anger for what it is–fear. Fear that all America changed fundamentally today for the better. And it scares them to death.
The Luck of the Irish?
Post Published: 17 March 2010It must be some of President Obama’s Irish that brought him some St. Patrick luck and the promise of a yes vote on health care from Congressman Dennis Kucinich. Kucinich, who ran for president himself, was one of the few “holdouts that thought the bill didn’t go far enough” on the Democratic side. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/17/dennis-kucinich-health-care_n_502182.html
I am also betting that my favorite bloggers Markos Moulitsas has something to do with his reversal. Markos, the darling of the netroots and founder of the DailyKos, “suggested that Kucinich should face a primary challenge if he votes no.” Hats off to Markos, who has always wanted single payer and public option at the very least for putting his liberal agenda behind him and helping push health care through the final hurtles.
The other good news on this St. Paddy’s day, (thinking of you, Senator Ted Kennedy), is that the passage of health care reform will help Americans right away even though the loudest voices and the tea baggers would have you think differently.
Representative John B. Larson, House Chairman of the Democratic Caucus, listed “the following top ten immediate benefits you’ll get when health care reform passes” (not in 2013 or 2018 or whatever the critics say). The legislation will:
1. Prohibit pre-existing condition exclusions for children in all new plans;
2. Provide immediate access to insurance for uninsured Americans who are uninsured because of a pre-existing condition through a temporary high-risk pool;
3. Prohibit dropping people from coverage when they get sick in all individual plans;
4. Lower seniors prescription drug prices by beginning to close the donut hole;
5. Offer tax credits to small businesses to purchase coverage;
6. Eliminate lifetime limits and restrictive annual limits on benefits in all plans;
7. Require plans to cover an enrollee’s dependent children until age 26;
8. Require new plans to cover preventive services and immunizations without cost-sharing;
9. Ensure consumers have access to an effective internal and external appeals process to appeal new insurance plan decisions;
10. Require premium rebates to enrollees from insurers with high administrative expenditures and require public disclosure of the percent of premiums applied to overhead costs.
By enacting these provisions right away, and others over time, we will be able to lower costs for everyone and give all Americans and small businesses more control over their health care choices. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-john-b-larson/he-top-ten-immediate-bene_b_501748.html
On a personal note, these provisions will benefit my family in profound ways. My husband has Type-1 diabetes and pays almost $400 dollars a month with insurance now. My daughter is uninsured. This is the same daughter that took training a few years ago at Blue Cross in Boise. As her job training progressed, she soon realized that her main task was to deny any and all claims that crossed her path immediately without hesitation.
I am proud to say that she gave up great benefits, good pay and health care because she couldn’t live with herself if she did this. She has gone on to create her own niche in Boise that fits her values and her personality, but she cannot afford even catastrophic health insurance. I know of many full-time employed people who have had to drop their insurance, if they wanted to pay their rent or house payment.
A friend of ours in Montana was recently denied bone marrow treatment because it was considered “experimental.” Oddly enough it wasn’t experimental when the same man received a bone marrow transplant earlier and had almost ten years of recovery. The state health insurance that covered his wife and him delayed treatment. This young father of two boys died from complications awaiting the treatment that could have saved him.
All around us, we have incidents that reveal the broken health care system where insurance companies make unprecedented profits that continue to rise. The insurance and the pharmaceutical industries are breaking the backs of Americans. Things have to change and this is our last chance make a significant chance in health care.
President Obama sent out an email to all the faithful today and talked about why he is still fighting for health care. “And I’m here for my mother. She died of cancer, and in the last six months of her life, I saw her on the phone in her hospital room arguing with insurance companies instead of focusing on getting well and spending time with her family.”
I have no better argument than the president’s words…
