American Taliban Morons Are Trying to Tell ME how to Raise MY Children

Does anybody remember when the Republicans were a party of smaller, less-intrusive government? Umm, seeing no hands, I guess the answer is no.

The freshest assault on my freedom by the American Taliban Republicans is a Jefferson City intrusion on teens and alcohol. I happen to be the proud parent of a wonderful pair of teenagers - a nineteen year-old son and an eighteen year-old daughter. They are bright, wonderful kids who are going to make a difference in this world.

Guess what? I don't have a huge problem if they violate aspects of the state liquor laws. It would not shock or offend me if either of them has a drink or two in a safe environment, with adults present, so long as they are not driving. I know that my son has been at parties in college with alcohol, and I am absolutely fine with it. If they're not driving and endangering themselves or other people, then I like to think that I am in a better position to help them make decisions than the wildly immature Jason Crowell, or any of the other hypocrites in Jefferson City.

A St. Louis County republican by the name of Mike Gibbons has declared that “There is no acceptable level of alcohol consumption for teenagers." Well, Mike, that's your opinion, and you are welcome to live in a world where your kids never take a sip of alcohol. But the rest of us don't happen to live in your world, nor do we want to.

People, the republicans are here to impose their rules on you and yours. If you voted for them, you deserve this. I don't.

Fishing Season Opens

Since I was a little boy, I've loved fishing. I don't know why I iked it then, but I understand why I like it now. It has all the qualities of a perfect past-time. You do it with people you like. You do it at a beautiful location. And the activity itself consists of complete concentration on something totally insignificant, something that simply does not matter. The same criteria apply to golf, by the way.

Anyhow, I got up before dawn this morning and went out with Paco to James A. Reed Wildlife Area, leaving at 6 in the morning. After a quick stop at McDonalds, and a visit to the Wal*Mart in Lee's Summit to buy Canadian nightcrawlers, we arrived at the park soon after the sun rose. We rented a row boat (you put $5 in an envelope and take one), and set out into the wind.

Paco and I failed to choose our weather wisely. It was only about 40 degrees (4 degrees Celsius those of you reading from abroad), and the wind averaged around 16 miles per hour (26 kph). I am sure that I could find a statistic for what the wind chill factor was, but I'm convinced that the entire concept of the wind chill factor is a nefarious plot to make our country weak and whiny, so just settle for the fact that it was cold and windy.

Regardless, we're both too insecure to admit that we'd be better off to find some nice warm coffee shop and have breakfast, so we proceed. After a while, Paco's suggestion that the boat was taking water in turned out to be supported by cold, wet evidence, so we rowed back to shore and fished from the bank. Before abandoning ship, though, I opened my season with a decent-sized channel catfish, caught on one of the aforementioned nightcrawlers.

The channel cat is the official fish of Missouri, so, in a frenzy of piscatorial patriotism, I set him free. (Actually, I tend to be a catch-and-release fisherman, out of laziness and concern about the lawn chemicals and agricultural products that find their ways into our water. Paco and I have pledged to catch enough one day soon, though, to have a fish fry for our families.)

As the day went on, Paco caught a bunch of blue gill, and a small largemouth bass. I also caught a blue gill, as well as a small flathead catfish. We also saw a guy land a bass that probably weighed 5 pounds, so we know they're in there.

It is good to know that less than half an hour away from our city homes is a place where we can go fishing amidst wild turkey, red tailed hawks and wild mallards.

Cleaver's Response

On Sunday, I expressed my disappointment in Congressman Cleaver for assisting the Republicans in passing an odious bankruptcy reform bill that will protects credit card companies at the expense of the unfortunate. I also wrote to him to express my disappointment, and he responded today:

Thank you for contacting my office with regard to S. 256, the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act. I appreciate your taking the time to reach out to me on what I believe is a very difficult issue.

As you may be aware, S. 256 comprises reform of many areas of bankruptcy practice including consumer filings, small business bankruptcy, tax bankruptcy, ancillary and cross border cases, financial contract provisions, amendments to Chapter 12 governing family farmer reorganization, and healthcare and employee benefits. But by far, the most controversial provisions in S. 256 relate to individual consumer filings.

This controversy results from the fact that this legislation is far from perfect. I would have preferred a bill that allowed judges to more readily distinguish between legitimate bankruptcy filers and those whose main goal is to "game the system." I supported proposed amendments that would carve out exemptions for those filers whose debt was a direct result of medical expenses or incurred after a job loss. Unfortunately, the Republican majority forced through a restrictive rule that denied the full House of Representatives the opportunity to consider amendments. As such, I was left with only two alternatives, the option of doing nothing or the imperfect bill. While they have not been well reported, the costs of inaction are real, and in my opinion very hurtful to consumers.

Like you, I would prefer an even more fact intensive inquiry into a debtor's circumstances, but the hard reality is that the new "means test" will afford extra protection for low and median income debtors in Missouri and elsewhere. The new bankruptcy bill will permit Chapter 7's retirement of debt for those at or below a state's median income. The bill has other positive features including prioritizing child support obligations. Under current law, commercial debtors are routinely elevated over spouses seeking support for their children. When this bill was on the House floor two years ago, Democratic members pushed for a child support provision, and its inclusion in the 2005 version marks real improvement over the original product. The bill would also for the first time provide credit counseling for debtors and require credit card companies to disclose how long it would take to pay off debts if one makes only minimum payments.

Despite the imperfections of this bill, I believe that we have an obligation to do something about the problems with our bankruptcy system. Without reform, thousands of low and median income debtors in Missouri will keep getting thrust into Chapter 13 when they can't afford it; working mothers will face the ongoing threat of deadbeat husbands evading child support because current bankruptcy laws are dismissive of obligations to children. And all of us will be forced to reimburse lenders for those irresponsible filers who seek the shelter of Chapter 7 bankruptcy although they have the ability to repay their consumer debts.

With that said, I strongly believe that Congress must also examine the effect that the credit card industry has had on consumers. As a whole, the credit card industry has begun extending credit to a wider segment of our population. My youngest son will be graduating from college this year. He does not have a job waiting for him, yet the credit card companies have seen him fit enough to send solicitations almost daily in an effort to suck him into debt. However, many consumers, some of them recent graduates, like my son may lack sufficient information about the pitfalls of credit. To combat this problem, I believe that we must work to better educate people about credit and how to use it responsibly. In addition, I believe we must take steps to curb abusive industry practices that include extending credit with unconscionably high interest rates to minors, the disabled, those who have no ability to repay the debt. The credit card industry should also be required to accurately and in plain English disclose the terms of credit card agreements. As a Member of the House Committee on Financial Services, rest assured that I plan on closely monitoring the credit card industry.

Again, thank you for sharing your views with me on this important issue. Please do not hesitate to do so in the future.

Sincerely

Emanuel Cleaver, II
Member of Congress

I remain disappointed in Congressman Cleaver's decision, but I appreciate his response. That said, I think he made a terrible mistake. His analysis that it is better to do vote for an imperfect bill rather than doing nothing is wrong in this instance, because the imperfections are so large that they far outweigh the benefits of having acted.

I don't believe that this is a minor issue involving the relative merits of credit card companies and deadbeat spendthrifts. I know that good people sometimes have circumstances in their lives force them into a deep hole of debt, and I know that hopelessness and depression can set in. I hope somebody is keeping track of the number of debt-related suicides - I am confident that we will be seeing an increase in deaths as a result of this bankruptcy reform. Weren't the credit card companies profitable enough before the reform?

So this Rabbi and this Nazi are at the Airport . . .

Hilarity ensues.

(Before you post your outraged comments about how insensitive I am, I apologize. But the mental image of a nazi and a rabbi fighting at the airport is just too silly for me to ignore.)

Republicans

I don't want to paint with too broad a brush here. Not all Republicans are greedy, immoral supporters of Saddam Hussein. But, if you're looking for an oil-for-food scumbag, you're going to find him in the Republican camp.

Not all Republicans are supporters of the confederacy. But, if you're looking for "the confederate vote", it's on the Republican side.

Not all Republicans are cowardly exploiters of a family's pain. But, if you're looking for the exact type of person who would write a memo on how to score political points out of the Schiavo situation, you'll want to start looking on the Republican side of the aisle.

In short, you don't have to be a bad person to be a republican. But, if you ARE a racist, greedy cynic, you'll fit right in.

Civics Lesson

While I hesitate to admit this, I have almost always ignored the appeals to "Call your Senators" or "Call your Congressman" on federal issues. I've always been blessed with dependably liberal Representatives (Alan Wheat, Karen McCarthy and, now, Emanuel Cleaver) and cursed with dependably conservative Senators (Danforth, Ashcroft, Bond and Talent). I've always expected my Representatives to represent me, and my Senators to represent all that is wrong in the world.

Yesterday, I learned that I need to pay closer attention. Somehow, Emanuel Cleaver chose to abandon his inner-city constituents and cast a vote in favor of the credit card companies when faced with the "Bankruptcy Reform Bill". I have no idea what his justification was - I will write to his office and seek an explanation. If I receive one, I'll post it here.

Update - here is a link to his online form for communicating with his office. Here's what I wrote:

I was suprised to read that Congressman Cleaver abandoned the democratic position and voted in favor of the so-called "Bankruptcy Reform" law written by the credit card companies. That law will harm thousands of Congressman Cleaver's constituents, half of whom will be forced into bankruptcy because of astronomical medical bills. While proponents of the bill claimed that the expenses of bankruptcy are passed on to consumers, there is no provision which obligates the credit card companies to reduce their rates in response to this gift, and we both know it won't happen.

What happened? Why has Congressman Cleaver stood arm-in-arm with the republicans to comfort the comfortable and afflict the afflicted?

View of U.S. from Bolivia

In preparation for my October trip, I've become a regular reader of Blog from Bolivia. It usually features top-notch political analysis, punctuated by charming descriptions of life in Cochabamba, Bolivia. It's a great blog, and an example of the sort of writing I would never have see in a pre-blog world.

Jim Schultz, the author, is in the U.S. right now, and, this morning, he posted a wonderfully bemused take on life here. Here's an excerpt:

And the baby strollers!! I saw a four week old today in a Washington restraint who was being wheeled about in a vehicle bigger than my first two cars. Now I don’t own a car but I do own a stroller, a little umbrella version. Mariana, our two year old, has never complained. We race in it at top speed in our yard now. She rides, I push.

There is hope here of course, valiant young people especially dedicated to knocking some sense into a country choking on materialism. Hey, I am not being self-righteous here. I ate a cinnamon raisin bagel today, went to Starbucks yesterday and coveted the electronics section in a Staples store. Viruses are an equal opportunity infection and who among us is immune.

Okay, perhaps I should never be locked in an airplane cabin for five hours with a laptop and a frenzied imagination. But really, USA, just between you and me. Don’t you think it is all just getting a little too weird?

It makes for interesting reading.

Eric Berndt is a hero

Eric Berndt is not a household name. His act of courage is not widely known. But he is a law student who dared to challenge a homophobic supreme court justice. When the Supreme Court overturned the Texas law criminalizing sodomy, Justice Scalia dissented.

Eric had a legitimate follow-up question - one that he asked in a public forum, in the presence of Justice Scalia's wife. His question was simple - "Do you sodomize your wife?"

Seems like a legitimate question to me - in fact, I think that each of the judges should have disclosed whether they had ever engaged in sodomy before considering the case. Pretty clear conflict of interest, it seems to me, if they are a bunch of sodomists (and I'm betting they are, and you are, too).

Oddly enough, Justice Scalia refused to answer. Odder still is the fact that Eric is being attacked for even asking.

Fortunately, Eric is smarter and more articulate than his attackers. It helps that he's on the right side of the issue.

Now's the time you should apologize

If you were one of the hateful morons who accused Michael Schiavo of abusing his wife. The wife he respected as a human being instead of exploiting as a political opportunity.

You should crawl to him on your knees over miles of salt-encrusted broken glass, and beg his forgiveness.

But you won't, will you?

If I still lived in St. Louis

I'd wanna hang with this guy. Waveflux is a wide-ranging, thoughtful, politically aware blog from the East Coast of Missouri. I'm adding it to my list of links.

Something Beautiful

There are special people in this world. Get out of yourself for a moment and go read this. Please. (Via Body and Soul.)

How do you sleep at night?

Absolutely incredible. The country club republicans pushing for bankruptcy reform to help the credit card companies avoid responsibility for their insane behavior have managed to include a loophole for their rich country club buddies who want to file for bankruptcy - a different class of bankruptcy, of course. If you're some poor asshole who gets sick, you're still screwed. But, if you're a rich asshole who wants to dodge a few debts but still have money to pay dues at the country club, just set up an "Asset Protection Trust", and your bought-and-paid-for republican congress will make sure you're taken care of.

In all seriousness, if you are one of the people who voted republican in the last election, how do you sleep at night? Doesn't it gall you that YOUR government is stacking the deck in favor of the wealthy at every turn, against the interests of the common man? Don't you feel stupid for letting tort reform happen? Don't you feel guilty looking at children, knowing that your vote helped impose a crushing deficit on them - a deficit that rich kids are going to shirk? I would ask how you feel when you see the photographs of flag-draped coffins coming back from Iraq, but YOUR government has you protected there, because they won't let us see the pictures, and you can get through your day without thinking of the blood shed in Bush's completely unjustified war.

I remember how I felt during the long night of November 2 and the ugly morning of November 3. I felt like our country had betrayed all reason - like it was wrapped up in some veil of right-wing ignorance that blinded it to tolerance, liberty and the common good. But, in the back of my mind, I had a niggling hope that I was over-reacting, and that time would show me that things were going to be pretty much okay.

People, I'm losing that hope. The right wing is waging war on the America I love - an attack from so many angles that it's hard to know where the next blow will come from. States everywhere are enshrining anti-gay bigotry in their constitutions. Cheney is looking hard at Iran as the next Halliburton conquest. The main-stream media is so cowed by silly accusations of a liberal bias that it is more pusillanimous than ever. When I look at the consistent attacks on the justice system, from tort reform through the Terri Schiavo case, I see a well-thought-out and carefully orchestrated attack on one of the only institutions on our planet where the powerless have a hope of a fair hearing against the moneyed interests. My own brother, a republican-leaning, salt-of-the-earth, mainstream upper-middle-class likeable guy, can't get on an airplane in this country without being hassled because his common name is on some bureaucrat's list somewhere. WTF?? Our country is torturing people, and we're okay with that? The Republicans are brazenly weakening congressional ethics, and that's fine, too? Social Security is a backbone of our support system for senior citizens, and we're talking about chopping it into pieces?

If you voted for the republicans last time around, you deserve all this, but the rest of us don't.

Great Week for Dreamers, Bad Week for Reality

Any con-man will tell you that the best suckers are optimists. Only an optimist really thinks that he is going to win at three card monte. Only an optimist believes that a Nigerian minister is going to pick out his email address to help him with a multi-million dollar transaction. Americans are an optimistic group, and the Republican con-men in Congress have spent this week exploiting our naive nature.

Two seemingly unrelated items of legislation are prime examples. First, the Republicans just turned the bankruptcy courts into collection agencies for the credit card companies. Second they just increased the deficit by giving a tax break to dead millionaires. The only reason they are able to get away with such nonsense is because of our foolish optimism. None (or very few) of us really expect to wind up in bankruptcy court, and many of us hold in our hearts the hope that if things go right, we could wind up fantastically wealthy.

The Republicans in Congress are close to passing incredibly repressive Bankruptcy legislation, protecting credit card companies from their own destructive behavior, and making a tough life even tougher for the thousands of Americans who wind up in over their head. About two million Americans each year, however, find themselves involved in bankruptcy due to medical bills - even if they have insurance! The average American should be marching on Washington in outrage over the Republican sell-out to corporate money, but nobody thinks bankruptcy will happen to him . . .

Meanwhile, the Republicans in the House have passed legislation which would repeal the estate tax - a tax which only applies to the wealthiest 2 percent of dead people. In a time of insane budget deficits, this is equivalent to taking money from our children and passing it onto the Rockefeller children. Oddly enough, though, the average American is not outraged about this tribute being paid by the Republicans to their country club masters - the average American believes that she may win the next Powerball, or that some unknown rich uncle is going to die and release her from having to shop from the value menu.

I hate to rain on America's optimistic parade, but the fact of the matter is that even if you're a hard-working, insured, frugal person, you are a hundred times more likely to wind up in bankruptcy court than you are to encounter the estate tax. The fact that you don't want to think that way is the reason that the Republicans are able to win this game of three card monte. And when the Republicans are dealing, you should know that the wealthy are going to win.

What's the Matter with Missouri?

Why is it that people love to spend Missouri money in other states? Why can't Missourians spend their public or quasi-public dollars within our borders?

The most recent example of this was Rod Jetton's lobbyist-sponsored boondoggle to Hot Springs, Arkansas, where lobbyists paid for republicans' rooms at the swank Arlington Hotel. Among the lobbyists springing for this spring-break get-away was our governor's shady brother Andy.

I'll ignore for today the dubious ethics of having lobbyists pay for your hotel room - I understand that johns pay for their prostitutes' rooms at the hotels on Independence Avenue, too. In fact, I'll ignore the whole issue of what they did while down there in Bill Clinton's boyhood home - the thought of Rod Jetton, House Speaker Pro Tem Carl Bearden, Jack Goodman, Brian Nieves, Marilyn Ruestman, Shannon Cooper, Rex Rector, Brad Roark, and Jay Wasson all cavorting in a hot tub is too upsetting to think about.

What gets my goat about this "Legislators Gone Wild Spring Break 2005" is the fact that they chose to spend the money out of state. There are plenty of good places here in Missouri where they could spend their lobbyist dollars.

The Missouri Bar does the same thing every January. This year, they took a bucket of Missouri money to Las Vegas and pumped it into the Nevada economy. Next year, they'll be spending thousands and thousands of dollars in Marco Island, Florida. It's an enjoyable boondoggle, to be sure, but I've never seen the Nevada or Florida Bars return the favor and blow a wad of cash at Missouri resorts.

If Rod Jetton and his band of republicans want to sleep in lobbyists rooms, that's their choice. It doesn't surprise me in the slightest. But what kind of Missourian would take Missouri dollars and give them to Arkansas?

Florida's Culture of Life

The right wing, fresh off demonstrating that they value "life" so much that they will threaten to kill people who allow someone to die according to her wishes, are now loosening up the restrictions on when you can pull out your gun and shoot somebody. Somehow, it's easier to attack Michael Schiavo than it is to ignore the NRA.

Proud Father, Sad Father, Joyful Father

My daughter, my little girl, my youngest child, my baby, received the proverbial "thick letter" from George Washington University, and she has been accepted into The School of Media and Public Affairs. In a few months, she will be studying journalism in our nation's capitol.

In less than two weeks, she will be turning 18. When I look at her, I see a smart, attractive young woman, but I also see the little girl who walked around with her "binkie" (pacifier). She drives a car now, but it seems like a few months ago that "cruising" meant pulling herself up on the coffee table and walking with both hands on it.

How wonderful that this child of mine is going to be studying journalism in the heart of Washington, DC! What a fantastic opportunity! She will be in her senior year during the next presidential election. Imagine the people she will see and meet!

I am choked with pride, but I also feel the twinge of sadness. Our house will be quieter without her. My mornings will no longer have the suspense of her mood. I will be reminded far less often how "out of it" I truly am. I won't see that sparkling smile as often, or hear her outrageously funny summations of her day at school, or her shockingly aware descriptions of her and her friends. Her laughter and wit are vibrant colors - their absence will dim my daily rainbow.

I wish so much. I wish I had been a better father - I know I was a good father, but I wish now I had taken her out to more "you and me" breakfasts. I wish I had been better at finding ways of interacting with her that weren't rooted in friendly teasing. I wish I had been the first person to show her the ocean, and I wish I could have conveyed to her more deeply some of the things I care about. I wish that the last time she ever cried on my shoulder weren't when I had failed her. I wish that I knew her better - that her interior life weren't such an enigma to me.

Some will wonder whether I worry about sending her to DC. I don't. She is smart, and we didn't make the mistake of over-sheltering her. She'll be fine. Of course, there is always the chance of something awful happening, but I can't even allow myself to conjure those thoughts. Besides, the chance of something awful happening to her in our nation's capitol is offset by the chance of something wonderful happening to her. To be a smart young woman studying journalism in Washington, DC will be an opportunity that Ali will seize, and she will thrive there.

I have had her in my daily life for almost 18 years now. She is a force of nature - a charming, funny, witty, friendly, smart, wise, self-aware, self-confident young woman. The time has come for her to move into the world. I know, in my heart of hearts, that she is going to change some corner of the world. And I am so proud to be her father, and to share her with the world.

Good Stuff from Raytown

Readers from outside of the Kansas City metropolitan area don't know what Raytown is. In fact, I bet a good percentage of Kansas City's more skittish suburbanites don't know what Raytown is.

Raytown was named after a blacksmith who settled there. Such a history would lead you to expect a somewhat gritty, totally non-ostentatious, working class kind of place, and your expectations would be met in Raytown. It's the kind of place where the basketball coach is named "Bud" and got in trouble a few years back for smacking his players with a wooden paddle. The Raytown Chamber of Commerce leadership is an all-white mix of small-business people, led by a school photographer, though 13% of the businesses are minority-owned. In short, Raytown is a pretty good microcosm of middle-America.

That's why it is exciting to see that the progressive movement is alive and kicking in such an environment. A fine and passionate blog entitled Raytown Progressive Action has been chronicling local, state and national politics for a few months now, and the posts are meaty and thoughtful.

What We All Want

I hope the St. Petersburg Times doesn't take offense at my liberal borrowing, but this needs to be reprinted in its entirety:

Living will is the best revenge

By ROBERT FRIEDMAN, Perspective Editor
Published March 27, 2005

---

Like many of you, I have been compelled by recent events to prepare a more detailed advance directive dealing with end-of-life issues. Here's what mine says:

* In the event I lapse into a persistent vegetative state, I want medical authorities to resort to extraordinary means to prolong my hellish semiexistence. Fifteen years wouldn't be long enough for me.

* I want my wife and my parents to compound their misery by engaging in a bitter and protracted feud that depletes their emotions and their bank accounts.

* I want my wife to ruin the rest of her life by maintaining an interminable vigil at my bedside. I'd be really jealous if she waited less than a decade to start dating again or otherwise rebuilding a semblance of a normal life.

* I want my case to be turned into a circus by losers and crackpots from around the country who hope to bring meaning to their empty lives by investing the same transient emotion in me that they once reserved for Laci Peterson, Chandra Levy and that little girl who got stuck in a well.

* I want those crackpots to spread vicious lies about my wife.

* I want to be placed in a hospice where protesters can gather to bring further grief and disruption to the lives of dozens of dying patients and families whose stories are sadder than my own.

* I want the people who attach themselves to my case because of their deep devotion to the sanctity of life to make death threats against any judges, elected officials or health care professionals who disagree with them.

* I want the medical geniuses and philosopher kings who populate the Florida Legislature to ignore me for more than a decade and then turn my case into a forum for weeks of politically calculated bloviation.

* I want total strangers - oily politicians, maudlin news anchors, ersatz friars and all other hangers-on - to start calling me "Bobby," as if they had known me since childhood.

* I'm not insisting on this as part of my directive, but it would be nice if Congress passed a "Bobby's Law" that applied only to me and ignored the medical needs of tens of millions of other Americans without adequate health coverage.

* Even if the "Bobby's Law" idea doesn't work out, I want Congress - especially all those self-described conservatives who claim to believe in "less government and more freedom" - to trample on the decisions of doctors, judges and other experts who actually know something about my case. And I want members of Congress to launch into an extended debate that gives them another excuse to avoid pesky issues such as national security and the economy.

* In particular, I want House Majority Leader Tom DeLay to use my case as an opportunity to divert the country's attention from the mounting political and legal troubles stemming from his slimy misbehavior.

* And I want Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist to make a mockery of his Harvard medical degree by misrepresenting the details of my case in ways that might give a boost to his 2008 presidential campaign.

* I want Frist and the rest of the world to judge my medical condition on the basis of a snippet of dated and demeaning videotape that should have remained private.

* Because I think I would retain my sense of humor even in a persistent vegetative state, I'd want President Bush - the same guy who publicly mocked Karla Faye Tucker when signing off on her death warrant as governor of Texas - to claim he was intervening in my case because it is always best "to err on the side of life."

* I want the state Department of Children and Families to step in at the last moment to take responsibility for my well-being, because nothing bad could ever happen to anyone under DCF's care.

* And because Gov. Jeb Bush is the smartest and most righteous human being on the face of the Earth, I want any and all of the aforementioned directives to be disregarded if the governor happens to disagree with them. If he says he knows what's best for me, I won't be in any position to argue.

Robert Friedman is editor of Perspective. He can be reached at friedman@sptimes.com.