Bernie Sanders to Rebuild Democratic Party?

I'd say the lessons of 2016 are still ambiguous at best. Everyone is clamoring to have been right in 2016 and to be certain that others acknowledge that distorted reality. 

Many competing manipulations and bad strategies were at play, including Bernie Sanders' failure to ever change his message or campaign, which led to his loss. He continues to speak about the same issues in the same way as if it would make any more difference now than it did then. That reminds me of a saying, doesn’t it to you?

That being said, Sanders does evoke emotion and camaraderie in many of today’s youth and young adult populations, not to mention the far left’s embrace of him seems to know no bounds. This too often comes at the cost of allies and respectful dialogue.

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Unfortunately, some of Sanders supporters allowed themselves to become Russian agents in 2016, using manipulated leaks and fabricated innuendo to support their continued hatred and anxiety about Hillary Clinton. Ultimately, these divisions and derisive atmosphere wrapped in a fear-based, xenophobic, anxiety-provoking campaign led to the election of Trump. 

Hillary did the minimal to resolve these issues in any concerted and effective way. Her campaign became an anti-Trump campaign as much as the core of Sanders support became anti-Hillary and anti-Trump. Anti-individual campaigns aren’t beneficial for an honest discussion, nor for moving the country or a vision forward. They also have a long history of not being successful in America.

It makes little sense for a non-Democrat to rebuild the Democratic Party. He wanted to blow up the Democratic Party. Sanders was at least successful in that much.

It's no mistake that at Bernie's rally where the new DNC Chair, Tom Perez, was in attendance, that Bernie's faithful booed the DNC's new leadership. That's not a welcoming sign for the future of the party, now is it?

Paying People Looks Dangerous

Paying people what they deserve looks dangerous, but it puts money in the pockets of so many people in our community. Those people are desperate for money. They will spend all of it. 

Does anyone even know how much the CEO of Walmart and the administrative classes are awarded every year in salaries and bonuses? It's a bit much compared to the people who generate those salaries and bonuses. 

There are ways to incentivize businesses to pay their workers for hard work that does not hurt the bottom line of the business. And, in small towns and rural areas, there are ways to assist small businesses to avoid any harm to their bottom-lines as well. We don’t have to look at this as a zero sum game. 

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The outcomes would be that everyone in those small communities would have much more money to pay their bills, afford to take care of their families, and to live a much more secure and fulfilled life because they’re working hard like they are now.

Most people focus on the number. That’s what they want you to do. That’s why a minimum wage of $15 is a bizarre policy to put forward. It makes people react emotionally because you may have worked at a McDonald’s and didn’t make $15 and hour or went to a McDonald’s and had a sad customer experience from people making $7 and hour that weren’t trained at all, weren’t managed well because of high turnover rates, and had no wage for their hard work.

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Taking care of customers is hard work. It’s not impossible, but you have to be trained in how to handle people with unrealistic expectations and demands that outstrip a $1 burger, $1 fries, and a $1 large sweet tea. 

McDonald’s used to be the place people lauded as the gold standard in training the young in hard work in this country. The company has failed communities because they were allowed to not pay their workers fairly and the people found reasons to let them continue doing it. This has allowed them to not train employees, to manage employees effectively, and to basically not give much of a rat’s ass about the communities where they sell their products and hire workers.

I don’t know about you, but when I go into fast food joints, increasingly I see older workers inside. But hey, I’m paying attention and care about people. 

We Need More Conversation and Dialogue

Today, the local paper printed one of my Letters to the Editor. I urge you to read it and ponder it here.

From my numerous conversations over the decades, I've come to understand that most of us truly believe similarly. We've just been led to believe by politicians, pundits, and the media that we're so different that we can't even respect each other.

We need real political will to hammer out real solutions that will produce real results for the American people. 

http://jg-tc.com/news/opinion/

(Picture Courtesy of +Wonderful World)

Shimkus Traveling Help Desk Primer 2

These are the latest bills that Representative Shimkus has opted to co-sponsor in the this session of Congress. Go out and talk to his representatives at his Traveling Help Desks. 

He has never held a Town Hall, but claims he will meet with a handful of people face-to-face. Those meetings last 15-20 minutes.

Come on, Rep. Shimkus. Meet your constituents, address their concerns, answer their questions.

H.R. 631 - Death Tax Repeal Act of 2017

It’s just like the title suggests. However, it is not paid for . . . so this bill would increase the deficit and debt.

H.R. 637 - Stopping EPA Overreach Act of 2017

This is really a terrible bill for the environment, public health, farmers, and the economy.

I can understand there being some disagreements and debate being necessary regarding the inclusion of carbon dioxide and water vapor as being ‘air pollutants,’ but this bill takes reason and logic off the map.

It throws methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride off the ‘air pollutant’ list as well. Let me describe a bit about each of these chemicals.

Methane - Background on methane. www.scientificamerican.com, www.nasa.gov

There are multiple methods to conserve methane, collect it, and reuse it. Even back in the 90s, one of my research projects was to engineer a way to collect and ultimately sell methane from landfills. This is a massive missed opportunity here in Illinois for diversifying our energy supply and for creating green jobs. www.epa.gov

Nitrous Oxide - If you were alive in the 80s, this is one of the chemicals that leads to both smog and acid rain. Due to efforts by the EPA, the country was able to eliminate acid rain and reduce smog. By removing Nitrous Oxide from the EPA’s list of pollutants, our skies and cities will begin to look like Beijing. That reality alone will have a negative impact on the economy in America’s cities and the American heartland.

Fluorinated gases - These accounts for 2% of the greenhouse gases, but have 100 to thousands greater capacity to trap gases than methane. By taking these chemicals out of regulatory structures, it eliminates any need for creating better, more efficient equipment that doesn’t leak. That actually costs American jobs. Instead, we can anticipate buying more cheap goods from China.

H.R. 781 - Free Speech Fairness Act

This is a real slap in the face to those who desire separation of church and state. It allows churches to actively campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate and not lose their tax-exempt status. Basically, the for-profit church model could become a money-laundering/pandering scheme. Also, there is no accountability or transparency for sources of funding.

H.R. 36 - Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act

Congress applies flawed science and debunked studies to come up with a 14-point declaration on the pains of an embryos and fetuses. It basically requires all doctors to never cause pain to embryos or fetuses, yet says that both do at a certain stage of development, which is never proven. 

It also uses research involving adults and children to make the case for what happens inside the womb. The most horrifying government-forced action is to require doctors to attempt to extract the fetus alive, regardless of date of conception. This would actually precipitate the painful event that would make the procedure illegal under this act.

I would prefer women to analyze the language of the bill, since I’m just another man trying to understand this piece of disturbing legislation. 

Shimkus Townhall Primer

Here’s a primer if you’re heading to see Rep. Shimkus at one of his district offices or are planning to email him. 

This is a list of the legislation he’s co-sponsored or spoke on the floor of the House during the 115th Congressional Session.

• Shimkus co-sponsored House Joint Resolution 38. It allows coal companies and other businesses to dump chemicals into streams without EPA enforcing clean water provisions.
• This bill became law. 

• He also co-sponsored H.R. 354, the Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2017, an unconstitutional act. 

• He also spoke on the record about H.R. 7, which defunds health plans that covers elective abortions of Federal employees, congressionally appropriated funds for abortions in D.C., and restricts elective abortions in federal prisons and through the Peace Corps. 
• This bill already passed the House.

• And, Shimkus also co-sponsored H.R. 548 on healthcare liability. Not sure what this is about, but it grants hospitals and emergency departments liability protection. This bill sounds a bit scary if a doctor or other medical personnel would make a grievous error that was avoidable. It would make the facility and the personnel not liable for damages. 

https://shimkus.house.gov

https://shimkus.house.gov/legislation/voting-record

Killing Public Schools; Analysis of H.R. 610 and The Choices in Education Act

The Replacement: Choices in Education Act

• Makes Secretary of Education into glorified application evaluator and check writer.

• Creates a block grant system to the states.

- This allows Secretary of Education to determine winners and losers.

• Demands states to create voucher program.

- This allows governors and state legislatures to determine winners and losers.

• The Secretary determines ratio of funds of block grant money distributed.

- This would severely damage undocumented children, states and local jurisdictions 

           with high undocumented children populations

• Allows Secretary to create reallotments if state is determined ineligible for grants.

- This exposes the agenda: government wants to punish states with which it disagrees.

• Re-distributes funds from public schools to private schools to create competition.

- This exposes the agenda: kill public schools.

• Raises the costs of education through voucher program.

- Each private voucher includes tuition, fees, and transportation, which is higher than public education. 

- This is a direct payment from taxpayers to private businesses.

- The creation of competition by this bill coupled with the higher costs of tuition, fees, 

           and transportation will severely limit funds to public schools.

• Increases the incentives of homeschooling as a direct payment from the government.

- This has serious limitations for the comprehensive education of students. 

- Is not taxable.

- Is not equitable.

• Eliminates nutritional requirements in food programs.

The Repeal of Elementary and Secondary Education Act

• Any grants or contracts awarded prior to H.R. 610 would be voided. 

- This would create instability and uncertainty throughout the country. 

- Specifically, local school districts and jurisdictions awarded grant money or contracts   through the Department of Education would not know if that money would support the   

          programs currently being implemented. 

-This places undue burdens on local school districts and their taxpayers.

• Actions to Improve Low-Performing Schools would be discontinued.

- The raising of standards and increased accountability in public education would cease. 

- These measures would be especially difficult for schools in areas of high poverty. 

- Technical assistance and capacity building assistance would end. 

- This would eliminate funds to schools and states with under-performing schools. 

- Would end assistance to build private partnerships with foundations, businesses,   community-based orgs, and other organizations to help schools improve.

- Ends compliance monitoring of schools, leading to less accountability.

• Ends equal access to education.

• Ends funds for professional development of teachers and staff.

Conversation with My Representative

It was a wonderful opportunity today to go to Neoga for Rep. Shimkus’ District traveling help desk. He ended up not making an appearance, but his district director was quite courteous and knowledgable. She’s been with him for 20 years. 

The majority of the time was occupied with questions and concerns about the Obamacare repeal and replace efforts in Congress. It seems that any answers from Shimkus on this are going to be highly vague. She offered these proposals: mandating people to go to a primary care physician, block grants to states for Medicaid, and high risk pools for pre-existing conditions. 

The array of voices was both conservative, liberal, young and old. I believe by the end of a roundtable on this issue the constituents felt fixing the law seemed a much preferable first line approach. The district director didn’t really respond to this. I asked specifically about taxes being part of any plan to make up the difference between the current law and any replacement. Again, she said it was too soon to really know the shape of the plan.

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All of the constituents expressed dismay and frustration that after 7 years the GOP had no plan ready to go. Excuses ranged from re-districting, to GOP having offered up plans, and to Harry Reid blocking proposals in the Senate. None of these seemed to pass the smell test with me.

I asked specifically about Shimkus’ position on Sanctuary Cities and the GOP-Trump proposal to deny federal funding to these cities and in some cases states. I cited South Dakota v. Dole from 1987, a 7-2 conservative decision that used states’ rights to make this sort of federal government coercion unconstitutional. She felt that Shimkus would side with denying funds to Sanctuary Cities, but that she would bring up this states’ rights concern.

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Also, we discussed Medicare and Social Security. She stated his position as follows: he will not support changing eligibility age for those currently in the system. That being said, she seemed to suggest that Shimkus strongly supported increasing income caps, as these haven’t risen for decades. There’s no reason why someone like Trump or Warren Buffett shouldn’t be paying more into the Social Security and Medicare system. 

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Lastly, I brought up food insecurity in the district, citing Cumberland County’s statistics to push Shimkus to support expanding food stamps. I offered up that for every $1 spent on food stamps by the federal government $1.76 is generated in economic output. It pays for itself and helps protect families and children. The answer was to point people toward food pantries, which I countered that many times a transportation barrier exists for these families.

I’d suggest to anyone to go to these events with an open mind and listen to what is said by others and by the representative and/or their office staff. This was an amazing opportunity to begin a dialogue and learn more about where Shimkus actually stands on some key issues.