World of Class Warfare

While Vote No on 26 and the deceptions of the Vote Yes on 26 dot net group are still worthy of being at the forefront of any Mississippian's mind, some National news has popped up that is worthy of note as well.

Class Warfare!


Richard Wolff, a professor of economics and author, wrote a very insightful piece, published on the Common Dreams dot org website, entitled "The Truth about 'Class War' in America."

First, at the end of the second world war, for every dollar Washington raised in taxes on individuals, it raised $1.50 in taxes on business profits. Today, that ratio is very different: for every dollar Washington gets in taxes on individuals, it takes 25 cents in taxes on business. In short, the last half century has seen a massive shift of the burden of federal taxation off business and onto individuals.
Second, across those 50 years, the actual shift that occurred was the opposite of the much more modest reversal proposed this week by President Obama; over the same period, the federal income tax rate on the richest individuals fell from 91% to the current 35%. Yet, Republicans and conservatives use the term "class war" for what Obama proposes – and never for what the last five decades have accomplished in shifting the tax burden from the rich and corporations to the working class.

This goes along with my response to the "Class War" accusation, which is, "Yes, it is Class Warfare! After decades of being under attack by the top 2%, the Other 98% is finally starting to fight back!"
Or, from Billionaire Warren Buffet, "There's class warfare, all right, but it's my class, the rich class, that's making war, and we're winning."

The rabid obsession that Republicans and the Tea Party (henceforth TeaPublicans) have with lowering taxes has reached the point of absolute insanity.  The Facts show that we are living under the Lowest Tax Burden in over 50 years(1). "Taxed Enough Already" is a fevered delusion.  The result of such low taxes has been the giant leaps in the amount of our deficit.  How can we pay our bills when we are reducing our income? Even Business Insiders realize that the TeaPublican rants are just insane.

Anyone who says with a straight face that successful, ambitious people will kick back in a chaise lounge because the government is going to take 40 cents of every dollar in income above a million dollars instead of 35 cents is an idiot, an ideologue, or a liar.

Speaking of Reducing income, there has also been a vast attack on upward mobility in those same decades.

the seismic shift in our economic structures wasn't an accident: the upward redistribution of wealth in this country has been a direct result of policies for which those at the top have lobbied hard – labor policies, trade deals, cuts to the social services that lifted some of those at the bottom out of poverty and a tax structure that shifted a big chunk of the burden from corporations and the wealthiest to ordinary working families.

Income Inequality(2) has reached staggering heights. Most significant division has been since 1980 when Reagan brought in the absurd "Trickle Down" economic policies that have failed miserably - as anyone can see when looking at :

See the Red line, starting in 1979 and pulling away from the rest? That is income NOT trickling down. It is staying up top and collecting there - being leeched from the economy.  These are real numbers, real history, real facts. There is no twisting what they mean.  Sure, you might can argue the "Why" but not the "What." The top 10% have seen ALL the income growth over the last thirty two years.  The other 90% of us, those who work for a living, have seen their incomes stay pretty much flat - not even keeping up with inflation.  Our "Share" of income has dropped.  That is the only thing that "Supply Side" economics creates - more profits to the top and less money to go around in the economy.  Which means, "It is not being distributed to anyone else and so is not being spent on consumer goods either."

It is extremely clear that Lower Taxes on the top 10% + Lower Taxes on Corporations + Deregulation = Rising Income Inequality + Reckless Behavior = Economic Collapse.

Stop The Insanity!

If you want to see Class Warfare, then watch the Daily Show hi-light Fox News as it attacks "poor" people. It is absolutely disgusting.  They defend the "Rich" and attack the "Poor."  It was actually one of the driving forces behind my "Makers and Takers" post.

References
World of Class Warfare - http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-august-18-2011/world-of-class-warfare---warren-buffett-vs--wealthy-conservatives
(watch part 2 as well) http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-august-18-2011/world-of-class-warfare---the-poor-s-free-ride-is-over
(1) http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/taxes/2010-05-10-taxes_N.htm
     http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3151
     http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20060440-503544.html

(2) http://www.businessinsider.com/15-charts-about-wealth-and-inequality-in-america-2010-4
     http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/income-inequality-in-america-chart-graph
     http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/business/july-dec11/makingsense_08-16.html

Vote yes on 26 - Lies Exposed

On November 8th, 2011 in the General Election for Mississippi, there will be three Ballot Initiatives to vote on. 26 - to redefine "person" in our constitution, 27 - to require voter ID (ie disenfranchise voters) and 31 - to restrict the use of eminent domain.

The most important thing to know about i26 is that, realistically, the initiative might not even outlaw abortions in Mississippi.  If you think this is an anti-abortion bill, think again! All it actually says is that "person" is redefined to be all humans from the moment of fertilization.  That is it.  No, "makes abortion illegal" or "ends abortion" - Nothing.  All actual effects it has is left up to the courts and state legislature. So when supporters say, "it doesn't say anything about outlawing birth control" they are technically right - but it also doesn't say anything about outlawing abortion either.  They know this, so, by saying it will not result in "The Pill" being outlawed, they are lying ( further down, I link to proof ).

"Vote yes on 26" dot net - is a largely out of state group.  The yeson26.net people have pulled some nasty deceptions.  They have even sunk as low as hijacking the URL "http://mississippiansforhealthyfamilies.com" and setting up an attack website there. The actual url for Mississippians for Healthy Families is http://votenoon26.com/ - Vote No on 26, Mississippi!  My fliers have been pulled down, yard signs for "No" have been stolen and comments on their Facebook page have been deleted for revealing the truth - not for opposing or attacking, but just for revealing information.  I posted on one of their posts and both comments were removed and I can no longer comment.  My comments were :

"The Amendment’s language neither expresses nor implies such a ban." The Amendment's language neither expresses nor implies a ban on abortion either. There is no guarantee about what this will or won't do as is all left up to the courts.  I suppose the question becomes "Do you trust the government to decide everything about your mother, your sister or your daughter's pregnancy?"

and (in reply to a quote used)

retired OBGYN and yeson26.net board member, Beverly A. McMillan, M.D. : "I painfully agree that birth control pills do in fact cause abortions."

They point out that out of state people are involved in the resistance, those freedom fighters campaigning against the horrible "26."  They, however, fail to also note that the anti-choice "yeson26.net" is backed by many more out of state organizations and people (and significantly more money!).  Personhood USA - based in Colorado - is the driving force behind the proposal. They brought in Mike Huckabee (of Arkansas) to raise money. "Georgia Right To Life" is a driving force behind a supposedly Mississippi based organization. A California 'Reverend' has been brought in to convince the 'communities of color.'

They claim that there is "Big Money" behind opposing 26 - however, have you seen more "yes" tv commercials, radio spots, yard signs or more "no"?  What about their website? Man, that is slick and pricey.  So, if you want to see where the "Big Out of State Money" is - they have it. (update : some tv ads for "No" are running and I've seen billboards are up in some places!)

Calling them extremists is well backed up as well. Personhood Mississippi is founded and directed by Les Riley, a long-time proponent of usurping our nation's constitution and creating a theocracy in it's place.

They even admit that the amendment throws all kinds of laws into question :

"The legislature and the courts will still have to wrestle with the application of the law to specific circumstances.
IVF
stem cell research
some forms of birth controll
embryo adoption
(and many more areas)
all may be touched by this law, but none are directly addressed."

Then pawn off any and all responsibility for the repercussions of such a reckless change to our constitution (the misspelling is theirs):

"The Personhood Amendment sets the parameters – lawmakers, judges, members of the excutive branch are still charged with the duty of dealing with the myriad of possible applications."

Another thing to consider : Women are not pregnant until the fertilized egg actually attaches to the uterine wall and starts developing.  So, this amendment will make a 'person' before a pregnancy occurs!

[UPDATE] Now they have altered their FAQ page and changed their answers! It appears the Truth didn't sit well with Mississippians, so they've changed the text. Deep-Fried Thinkers goes into more detail!

I found This article while searching for "Mississippians for Healthy Families" - the official group opposing the Personhood amendment.  I just thought I'd correct some of the vote yes on 26 group's misinformation from their press release and the story above.

The Personhood Amendment WILL result in more prosecutions of women for miscarriages.  Why do I say "more?" Because its already an established process. ( See : Utah and Mississippi ) Mississippi has already charged a 15 year old girl with Depraved Heart Murder for having a miscarriage (while using drugs). When a fertilized egg is a "person" it will be much worse. Right now when you have a miscarriage, its between you and your doctor for the most part.  When a "person" dies, you must call in the coroner for a preliminary investigation and a death certificate.

The Outlawing of Contraceptives.  To be fair, only birth control pills (BCP), other Hormonal Birth Control and Inter-Uterine Devices will be outlawed. Those methods prevent a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterine wall - even as a third tier effect. Condoms will still be legal, since that prevents fertilization in the first place.

This is a big one that they have changed, returned and changed again on.  "The Pill" they are currently claiming will not be outlawed.  Well, their phrasing says that "the amendment will not outlaw birth control" - and it won't by itself, but the re-defining of a person will have the effect of outlawing birth control pills.

A retired OBGYN, Beverly A. McMillan, M.D. is on their board and is quoted in the previous link as saying, "I painfully agree that birth control pills do in fact cause abortions."  So, how can they tell you with a straight face that the amendment will not outlaw the pill? They can't. They Lie.

Rev. W. Hoye, a Personhood USA spokesman from California who is trying to indoctrinate the Black Community to vote "yes" admits that "The Pill" will be outlawed, if what Dr. McMillan says is true.

Of course, with the abstinence only policies pushed by the state currently that either ignore protection all together or emphasize that they don't work, unwanted pregnancies will skyrocket and many more Mississippians will rely on welfare to get by.

In Vitro Fertilization will be effectively outlawed.  The process fertilizes many eggs outside the woman's body and inserts them until one attaches to the uterine wall and becomes a pregnancy.  With the "Personhood" law in effect, all those fertilized eggs will be people, therefore, if they are not used, they will be, effectively, murdered.  So, no doctor will want to risk such charges.

Les Riley dug up this quote to share on their "bioethics"* page and I changed the emphasis :

However ccording to Fritz Baumgartner, MD (a surgeon and UCLA medical professor):
“Every human embryologist worldwide states that the life of the new individual human being begins at fertilization. No human embryologist has ever described human life as “potential” human life. Thus, killing the embryo — by harvesting embryonic stem cells, by using abortifacient contraceptives, by committing so-called therapeutic cloning, or by flushing spare in-vitro fertilization embryos down the sink — takes that human life.“

Risks to women's health. The biggest factor here is ectopic pregnancies or tubal pregnancies.

"There is no way to save an ectopic pregnancy. It cannot turn into a normal pregnancy. If the egg keeps growing in the fallopian tube, it can damage or burst the tube and cause heavy bleeding that could be deadly. If you have an ectopic pregnancy, you will need quick treatment to end it before it causes dangerous problems."

However, with the fertilized egg being considered a Person, with full rights, those pregnancies can not legally be terminated. So, doctors are faced with murdering the egg or in effect murdering the woman.  Some doctors may even refuse to treat women at all due to the dangers of such occurrences.

In October 2007, The Guardian reported :

Last November it became a crime for a woman to have an abortion in Nicaragua, even if her life was in mortal danger. So far it has resulted in the death of at least 82 women. (11 months, 82 deaths)

Maybe it would be a little less insane if it sought to define 'person' as being from the moment of implantation in the uterus - when a woman becomes pregnant.  Using 'moment of fertilization' has got to be used to target In Vitro Fertilization.

Dr. Randall S. Hines , a fertility specialist in Jackson working against Proposition 26 with the group Mississippians for Healthy Families, said that the amendment reflects “biological ignorance.” Most fertilized eggs, he said, do not implant in the uterus or develop further.
“Once you recognize that the majority of fertilized eggs don’t become people, then you recognize how absurd this amendment is,” Dr. Hines said. He fears severe unintended consequences for doctors and women dealing with ectopic or other dangerous pregnancies and for in vitro fertility treatments. “We’ll be asking the Legislature, the governor, judges to decide what is best for the patient,” he said.

Abortion is a big business? On average, there are only 3,200 abortions in Mississippi each year - and Planned Parenthood performs none of them. Many of those are teenagers, due to the state not wanting to educate them on how not to get pregnant when having sex. Not quite "Big Business."

On the Federal level, only 3% of Planned Parenthood's services are abortion related and none of the federal tax dollars go toward those services, as that is already against the law. Outlawing abortion would do absolutely nothing to hurt Planned Parenthood, but would do a lot to damage Mississippi and our Young Women.

Most of the areas Mississippi leads the Nation in are really bad statistics. Draw your own conclusions about Mississippi leading to pass this kind of legislation.

Proponents of the silly amendment do believe that this is the first state where their legislation is likely to pass - because they think we are really that stupid.  Even National Right To Life refused to support this kind of legislation "because they thought it was counter-productive and likely to be struck down as unconstitutional."

A waste of money? Pushing this initiative and all the advertising they are doing when they know full well that Mississippi law states that the Initiative process can not be used to alter the "Bill of Rights" section of the State Constitution is a waste of money.  It will cost the state and taxpayers dearly if this passes on the ballot and then must be struck down by the courts.

If by some malfeasance of the court, it actually stands if passed, it would lead, statistically speaking, to 739 additional teen births per year, which would cost our taxpayers, roughly, an additional $16 Million dollars per year. (see High Cost of Teen Birth) Do you think an poor, unemployed teenager would be able to pay the $11,000 plus price tag of giving birth? Young women (and by association, young men) would have very little to keep them in the state and lots of reasons to leave as soon as possible.

I hope that the Majority in Mississippi are really not so stupid as to pass this horrible initiative.

Mississippi Doctors Against 26 are uhm... are Against 26. :)

For your "Vote No on 26" bumper stickers and a t-shirt, go to http://www.zazzle.com/ms_bobbykearan 
Watch my New Video - Every Child

Also check out Parents Against MS 26 and an article on The Daily Mississippi Online.

Read this article about the new battle on abortion rights.

Read  The Handmaid's Tale (Everyman's Library)

Terminology

I am Pro-Life and Pro-Choice.  There is no contradiction there.  Contradiction lies in someone claiming to be Pro-Life and supporting pollution, the death penalty and opposing programs to help care for and feed children - both before and after birth - and public education for all.  Anti-Choice is the more accurate term for those opposed to abortion.

Nobody is Pro-Abortion.  Its not an easy choice to make, but sometimes, it is the right thing to do, for the good of all involved - even the potential child.  If you are privileged enough to not even have to consider the option, good for you, but do not deny anyone else the ability to make the hard decision to do the right thing.

(I've outlined more reasons why to vote no on 26 in this post and more on why Anti-Abortion is not Pro-Life in this post.)

If you are on Twitter, follow @NoOnMS26 and @MS4HealthyFams (and @BobbyKearan ).
On Facebook, Like the Mississippians for Health Families link at the top and join two previously started grassroots groups -  "Vote no on Mississippi Amendment 26" and "Mississippians against Personhood Amendment"

Check out this video explanation of how birth control works.

 

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

* It is my contention that these people have no idea what Ethics really are nor what it means to be ethical.

Makers and Takers

I've seen a lot of talk about "The Makers" and "The Takers" going on.  Now, they want you to believe that "The Rich" are the makers and the working class are the takers, that "The Rich" are somehow 'job creators.'

I say that is just not the case. Unlike them (Fox News anchors for instance), I can back up my assertions with facts.

The Makers are the factory workers, the short order cooks, the chefs, the woodworkers, the upholstery workers, the CNC machine operators, the framers and roofers.  Those are the people who Make things and earn money.

The Takers are those who sit up in offices giving orders and taking profits off the labors of the Makers. They don't make anything, they don't really earn much of the money they take.

They are not even 'job creators.'  This absurd notion assumes that they just hire someone for no reason.  Nobody hires someone just to create a job.  They hire people because they have something to get done that they don't want to - or can't - do for themselves.  There has to be a cost benefit advantage for anyone to open a job position.

So, what creates that desire to create the job position? Demand. Something must be done and someone needs to do it and that work will generate or support more profit than it will cost.  Who drives demand? Consumers - most of those also happen to be the Makers - working class people.  Sure, "The Rich" create some demand, but they are only - at most - 10% of the population.  You can't support an economy with only 10% of the people able to participate.

Most 'job creators' are struggling entrepreneurs who have an idea or a plan or see a need they can fill.  Most never make it into the 'rich' category, most never make themselves over $250,000 per year.  To answer the stupid question "have you ever been hired by a poor person?" Yes.  In fact, I have.  I ran my own computer service and I had plenty of "poor" people hire me to fix or install their computers or telephone systems.  Many of them because they had to fix old computers instead of buying new ones because they were poor or even middle class.

What is causing our current problems?  The 80% of the population that drives the economy is being drained of that driving force - money.  The share of income and wealth that the bottom 80% get has decreased greatly over the last thirty or forty years.  The leeches - aka the takers, aka the rich - have siphoned more and more money up to the top - where it sits, "invested" to pull even more money out of the economy.

WHAT? That doesn't fit your political ideology? Look at the numbers, look at the facts, look at the condition of the economy right now.  I'm telling the TRUTH, backed up by facts. Its not theory, it is what the numbers say is happening. Sorry if you don't like it - at some point you have to face the facts.  You can theorize all day long that tax breaks for the rich and loopholes for corporations make life better for everyone - but that is just not supported by the facts of the last forty years.

See : The Real News - "New research demonstrates that when the wealthiest Americans get 10% richer, middle income Americans get 2% poorer."

See : Business Insider charts - "The poor are getting poorer, wages are falling behind inflation, and social mobility is at an all-time low. If you're in that top 1%, life is grand."


See and Watch : Elizabeth Warren - "I hear all this, you know, “Well, this is class warfare, this is whatever.”—No! There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. Nobody."

The bottom 90% of the entire population of the United States has only 28.5% of all wealth.  We can not drive the economy any more - we're broke.  The Rich have pretty much all of the money.  Economy stalls.
The top 1% has 33.8% of the wealth.... 1% has more than 90%.  We're all tapped out. The leeches have it all.

In 1962, the wealthiest took home 125 times the average income, in 2004, they took home 190 times the average income.  Its only getting worse.  Which is why it is so frustrating when the Tea Party middle class people urge it to get even worse with the policies they support.

All tax rates are dropping, but the top tier tax rates are plummeting - which means we can't pay our bills as effectively, which drives up the debt. Which is why it is so frustrating that the people who claim to be concerned about the debt are the same ones refusing to have the top pay their fair share.

Mississippi has some of the worst income inequality in the Nation - not the worst, which goes to the very north east.  Yet we still vote Republicans into control of our state - it will never get better as long as we do.

To get more Facts about the Economy and Politics - Turn Off Fox News, they Lie.

Huntsman sadly another Tool

I was really hoping Jon Huntsman would be a rational Republican candidate, but after reviewing his "Jobs Plan" I can see he is just another tool of the 'privileged' class of wealthy elites to get special breaks and leech even more money out of the economy - out of the hands of working people - and into their coffers.

Here it is, with commentary :

DEBT
* Let me start by saying that debt is a cancer that if left untreated will destroy our economy from within.  I have been an outspoken supporter of the Ryan Plan, which I believe begins to address the long-term problems that make our current course of spending unsustainable.  I also support a balanced budget amendment. Our debt is immoral and it should be unconstitutional as well.
But we cannot restore our nation’s economic strength by cuts alone.  We must compete.

Okay, he wants to be different, but starts off with another republican talking point.  I agree that we cannot restore our nation's economic strength by cuts alone - but cuts and more cuts will not make it, we need revenue increases to cover our necessary spending.  Huntsman plans to give away even more breaks to the already obscenely wealthy and take it out of our hides.

TAX REFORM
* Over the last few decades, our tax code has devolved into a maze of special interest carve-outs, loopholes and temporary provisions that cost taxpayers more than $400 billion a year to comply with.
* Rather than tinker around the edges of a broken system, I’m going to drop a plan on the front steps of the Capitol that says, “We need to clean house.” Get rid of all tax expenditures, all loopholes, all deductions, all subsidies. Use that to lower rates across the board. And do it on a revenue-neutral basis.

He had me up until "revenue-neutral" - we can not gut our revenue stream and expect to cover our bills.

Individual Rates
* For individual taxpayers, I propose a version of the plan crafted by the Simpson-Bowles Commission, known as the “zero” plan. We will eliminate all deductions and credits, in favor of three drastically lower rates: 8, 14 and 23 percent.
* We will eliminate the Alternative Minimum Tax, which is unfairly penalizing a growing number of families and small businesses.
* We will also eliminate taxes on capital gains and dividends, which will lower the cost of capital and encourage investment in the economy.

WOAH! Zero on capital gains and dividends? So, people who are obscenely wealthy and make their living by simply making more money will not have to contribute ANYTHING to running our country?? Seriously? Hedge Fund Managers and Stock Brokers and Billionaires will be able to make money tax free?? Seriously? Not just no, but HELL NO.

Corporate Rates
* The United States cannot compete with the second-highest business tax rate in the developed world. So I propose lowering it from 35 to 25 percent – 1 point lower than the OECD average.
* A tax holiday for repatriation of corporate profits earned overseas should also be implemented immediately, making between $400 billion and $600 billion available to companies to make capital investments. 

More "Pamper the Rich" CRAP. Now, if we eliminate all loopholes and breaks and subsidies, then perhaps we can afford to lower the rate.  In reality, our corporations pay one of the LOWEST Actual tax burdens because of all those loopholes.  Now Huntsman wants to give them a tax-free ride on all the money they shipped off in order to evade taxes?  They are flush with cash - they are NOT reinvesting in anything! We've given them tax breaks, loopholes and all kinds of incentives and the ONLY thing they have done with them is to pay CEOs big bonuses to cut U.S. Jobs.

REGULATORY REFORM
* Our creative and entrepreneurial class is being strangled by a complex and convoluted web of misguided and overreaching regulations.
* One of the most indefensible examples is the National Labor Relations Board’s ongoing effort to prevent America’s largest exporter, Boeing, from building a new plant in South Carolina in an effort to block investment in right-to-work states. If elected, I will immediately instruct the NLRB to stop pursuing this politically motivated attack on free enterprise, and if they fail to do so I will replace them.   

Okay, I kind of agree that NLRB shouldn't be blocking a plant.  Its not a "right-to-work" state, its a "right to get fired with no warning and for no reason" state, but semantics aside, we need plants and jobs.

* An equally chilling regulation we must repeal is Dodd-Frank.  Rather than true financial reform, the American people were handed a 1600 page monstrosity that gives unelected bureaucrats unprecedented and unreviewable power over our financial system.
* Another fundamental problem with Dodd-Frank is it perpetuates “too big to fail.” Taxpayers must be protected from more bailouts. Yet we must reconsider whether increased competition between smaller entities is more efficient than a vast new regulatory apparatus that will almost certainly produce more bailouts.

Apparently protecting people from business malfeasance is "bad." I don't think so.  They have proven, rather consistently, that they are incapable of doing the right thing without adult supervision.  We need regulations to protect the public from predatory corporations. 

* We also must repeal Obamacare, a $1 trillion bomb dropped on the taxpayers that only hampers businesses and job creation.

Absolute delusion and lies.  We MUST reign in the growth of health care expenses and insurance costs. They are nowhere near in relation with actual costs and only go to profit, profit, profit.

*We must end the EPA’s serious regulatory overreach, exemplified by its current effort to pass a new ozone rule, which would effectively halt new construction. And we must also reform the FDA’s ridiculous approval process that increases development costs and unnecessarily delays new products.

We have to live on the planet and we can not tolerate any business destroying our environment for a quick buck. Future generations must live and work here too.  Again, they have proven they will not be responsible on their own, they need supervision and regulation.

ENERGY INDEPENDENCE
* To free ourselves from OPEC’s grasp and create American jobs, we must end our heroin-like addiction to foreign oil. Every year America sends more than $300 billion overseas for oil – to unstable and unfriendly regimes.
* We need to expand and open up new sources of domestic energy, thus lowering costs to businesses and improving our global competitiveness.
* We must start by expediting the approval process for safe, environmentally-sound projects – including our oil and gas reserves in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska and appropriate Federal lands and supporting the Keystone Pipeline Project in cooperation with Canada.

Yes, Yes and Hell No! Oil and Gas are NOT 'new sources' they are the same old, dangerous, much too risky sources.  They cause all kinds of problems - poisoning our soil and water for years upon years. We need energy sources that are much less likely to kill us.  The Keystone Pipeline is a disaster waiting to happen.  Our lives and environment are worth a lot more than a few quick profits for private enterprise that will do nothing to help the majority of U.S. Citizens.

* We must eliminate subsidies and regulations that discourage domestic energy sources and technologies such as natural gas, biofuels and coal-to-liquids.
* Here is just one example. The U.S. has more natural gas than Saudi Arabia has oil. Yet the Obama Administration just issued fuel economy regulations that effectively bar heavy-duty trucks from converting to natural gas.

You can not be innovative while stuck in the past.  Oil, Coal and Gas cause more damage to the environment and the health of those working to extract them than they are worth.  We need to move AWAY from those types of energy and toward the future.

* Simply said, we can and must begin producing more energy right here at home.

Yes, we do.  But not your way, Huntsman.

FREE TRADE
* As a former diplomat, trade official, governor and business executive, I’ve witnessed firsthand the tremendous economic opportunities of free trade.
* 95 percent of the world’s customers live outside our borders, and with the U.S. party to only 17 of more than 300 trade agreements worldwide; opening more markets for American businesses should be a commonsense tool to spark immediate growth.
* For 2.5 years, the President has failed to act on three trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama – I’d make them a top priority.
* Washington must also immediately start discussions with India to end in a bilateral free trade agreement strengthening our relationship with a friend who will prove to be critical to America’s success in the 21st century.

 So, to create jobs, Huntsman proposes giving businesses more areas to find cheap labor and ship our jobs out to?? Goes with the standard Republican agenda of seeking to accomplish something by doing the exact opposite.

Vote No on 26, Mississippi - Here is why

Now that the Personhood for Zygotes Amendment has been defeated in Mississippi, I would like to remind people that most of the things posted here will also relate to any time Full "Person" Rights are given to a fertilized egg.  Please, be ever vigilant to Protect Democracy, Protect Women and Protect Life. Vote NO to any "Personhood for Zygotes" attempt.

 On November 8th, 2011 in the General Election for Mississippi, there will be three Ballot Initiatives to vote on. 26 - to redefine "person" in our constitution, 27 - to require voter ID (ie disenfranchise voters) and 31 - to restrict the use of eminent domain. The full, actual text of 26 is below. Vote No on 26, Mississippi!

I've put a lot of thought into this initiative. I've tried to keep this updated with the most recent developments.  There is a lot of information, so please bear with me and read this through.  Where I have supporting documentation, there are links within the text that are blue and underlined.

First, a video.











A Conversation on Mississippi Initiative 26

by: bobbykearan
at the website XtraNormal

---

The "Personhood" initiative only defines the word "person" in the Mississippi constitution as "every human being from the moment of fertilization." That is before a woman is actually pregnant! If you think this is an anti-abortion bill, think again.  It says nothing about outlawing abortion. It says nothing about outlawing the morning after pill. It says nothing about anything else. All results of the bill will have to be figured out by the police arresting people and the courts deciding what the change to the definition of person means. It might not even outlaw abortion. It might have lots of other, perhaps unintended, consequences.

For instance :

Birth control pills and IUD pregnancy prevention methods would be outlawed by the 'personhood amendment' (because they prevent a fertilized egg - which would instantly become a fully legal 'person' - from attaching to the uterine wall as a rare third stage effect, but it still happens), further increasing these numbers.  The "yes" group claims otherwise, even though their own board member, Dr. McMillan says, "I painfully agree that birth control pills do in fact cause abortions." (see the 'lies exposed' link further down for more details)

I have come to believe that the wording of i26 actually targets IVF to put it out of business.

Drinking and smoking during pregnancy would go from just being risky to becoming criminal negligence. Women who have miscarriages would have to endure investigation for possible criminal charges, from negligence up to and including murder. You think not? There is already legal precedent - 15 year old Rennie Gibbs was charged in Mississippi with Depraved Heart Murder in December, 2006 after a miscarriage. (see pregnant women who lose babies face murder charges - Thanks to Jill S. Butler for that link and this "what does personhood look like in practice?" article)

 A commitment to pre-embryonic personhood would require us to investigate these miscarriages to ensure that no foul play was involved in the loss of these persons.  This does not necessarily mean that all women experiencing miscarriages would be prosecuted; however, our legal framework requires an investigation when there has been a loss of life. - Jonathan F. Will (an assistant professor of law at Mississippi College School of Law, serves as director of the law school’s Bioethics and Health Law Center)

26 leaves no exception for rape.  Are we going to tell the victim that even though she was forced to conceive, we are going to double the victimization and force her to carry the child?  It is fine if a rape victim does want to carry the baby and is happy doing so.  But shouldn't that be her choice? Remember, if 26 passes, there will be no 'morning after' pill nor RU486 nor even birth control pills. On top of that, the rapist can have visitation rights or even sue for custody!!

There are many more possible legal ramifications in addition to the stated intent of outlawing abortions. Supporters will say, "The Bill doesn't say that!" Well, the initiative doesn't say it outlaws abortion either.  All it does say is that "Person" is redefined to be all humans from the moment of fertilization. Everything else is up to the courts to decide.  They might not rule it outlaws abortions. In fact, since Federal Law supersedes State Law, it can't.

If the "Personhood Amendment" passes - and survives the expensive constitutional court challenges that will follow and the courts decide it can outlaw abortion in Mississippi - we will have the following increases every year :

• An additional 54 girls under 15 will give birth.
• An additional 685 teenage girls will give birth.
• An additional 1163 young, college age women will give birth.
• 743 more Mississippi babies will live in poverty.
• 646 additional people will receive SNAP benefits (aka Food Stamps).
• 210 more Mississippians, on average, will be unemployed.
• 226 more per year will be incarcerated in our prisons.
• 3 of those babies will eventually be homeless, 2 with no shelter at all.
• 585 more people per year will be uncertain as to whether they will eat their next meal or not – 206 will go hungry.

Mississippi now has "Abstinence Only" or "Abstinence Plus" education policies, despite their horrendous track record of ineffectiveness and in some cases increases in teen pregnancy, we would likely see an increase in these numbers. (see Open Education article.)

If you take into consideration that most of the children born to unwed and/or teenage mothers will need welfare, many of those numbers will be even greater.  If you consider the loss of education, opportunity and job/income loss that sometimes goes along with an unplanned pregnancy, the cost to Mississippi is even greater. For those 739 teen births that would be forced to occur, Mississippi taxpayers would be on the hook for an additional $16 Million dollars. (for more on the cost of teen births, read this JFP article.)


In addition, I believe in personal responsibility. In this case, if the State of Mississippi forces a woman, who does not want to, to give birth, then all the expenses of the birth and the care of the child should be the responsibility of the State.  There is also a certain case to be made that in such cases, the fertilized egg - and by extension, the State - is holding the woman hostage until it is developed and delivered.

Abortion is a hard choice to make, but it is a choice that, when made, is often the best for all involved in the decision.  It is not a choice made frivolously. I've been involved in making that decision and am still certain that it was the right thing to do.  I am all for providing education, assistance and alternatives to those faced with the circumstances that cause the need to consider this decision.  I do also firmly believe that Government should not interfere in such a private decision between a woman, perhaps her family, and their medical professionals.

How Personhood USA and the Bills they support will hurt ALL pregnant women (video - you have to watch this! Even anti-abortionists have suffered!)


"If you want to invite Big Brother into your bedroom, vote yes on 26"
"If you want to keep government out of health care, vote no on 26"

Now watch this video! Trust Families!

For another good blog post about how bad of an idea 26 is, read this Feministing post.

There are two amazing notes on facebook...
Ricky and Tony

Also read my newer post : vote yes on 26 - lies exposed
and how Anti-Abortion people are not "Pro-Life"
 
For your "Vote No on 26" bumper stickers and a t-shirt, go to http://www.zazzle.com/ms_bobbykearan 

Watch my New Video - Every Child

Also check out Parents Against MS 26.

Also see the Facebook groups "Vote no on Mississippi Amendment 26" and "Mississippians against Personhood Amendment" and "Mississippians for Healthy Families"

In October 2007, The Guardian reported :

Last November it became a crime for a woman to have an abortion in Nicaragua, even if her life was in mortal danger. So far it has resulted in the death of at least 82 women. (11 months, 82 deaths)

Science may say that life begins at conception, but this amendment wants to say a "person" exists up to two weeks before conception - at the moment of fertilization - when up to 90% of all eggs fertilized naturally don't make it to the point of implantation, aka "conception."

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The Personhood Amendment : ( I will not link to their fact distorting website )

The Mississippi Personhood Amendment-- is a citizens initiative to amend the Mississippi Constitution to define personhood as beginning at fertilization or "the functional equivalent thereof." <snip>The entire proposed Amendment is as follows:

Be it Enacted by the People of the State of Mississippi: SECTION 1. Article III of the constitution of the state of Mississippi is hereby amended BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW SECTION TO READ: Section 33. Person defined. As used in this Article III of the state constitution, "The term 'person' or 'persons' shall include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning or the functional equivalent thereof." This initiative shall not require any additional revenue for implementation.

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I've collected some from comments on the groups "Vote no on Mississippi Amendment 26" and "Mississippians against Personhood Amendment" :

• So does this mean that said person is eligible for welfare benefits immediately after fertilization?
• Would smoking one cigarette or having one drink while pregnant carry the same penalties as giving them to a child?
• (A pregnant woman's) rights would be pitted against the rights of the fetus inside her and the court system/law enforcement will have to determine, via an as-yet-not-invented-process, what you and your doctor can and cannot decide to do, whether that be use the birth control method of your choice or receive life-saving medical treatment. Too poor to go through the court system? Too bad.
• Forcing women to have babies that they don't want and/or can't care for...this is just going to lead to an entire generation of neglected children and bad parenting.
• This law will eliminate all forms of birth control except abstinence and condoms. No more pill, no more IUD, no more hormonal contraceptive.
• It could be used to dictate prenatal care and birth choices for women, because it is deemed by law (not medicine) as the "best" way to protect the rights of the fetus.
• The wording of the bill is absurd. . . it makes someone who takes the morning-after pill a murderer!
• I've already been told another pregnancy will kill me - I refuse to let the state take away MY right to life.
• What if someone has one of these IUDs now that are good for 5 years. I've only had it in about half the time. Is there going to be a "recall" where the clinic is going to call me and I have to go have it removed if this passes?
• What is the official life-begins-at-conception stance on identical twins? Did God put two souls in the one cell at the beginning? Did he add an extra soul after the split? If not, is one twin a soulless monster? Also, If he put in two souls at once because he knew it would become twins, wouldn't it therefore be logical to assume that he put no souls in the fetus he knew would be aborted?

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Some Facts and Figures used in calculating the numbers used in the above summary, with links that are worth reading :

Johnston’s Archive
Over at 10 year period from 2000 to 2009, Mississippi has averaged 43,620 births per year, with 3,231 abortions per year.

Abortion Facts
by 1995 numbers, 1.7% of those were girls under 15, 21.2 % were between 16 and 19, 36% were women between 20 and 24.  88% were before 12 weeks. 97% were before 15 weeks.

Measure of America
More than 1 in 5 Mississippians live below the poverty line – which is over 20%.

Google Public Data
Average unemployment in Mississippi – not counting the aftermath of the recent republican policy led recession – is around 6.5%.

State Health Facts
702 Mississippi residents per 100,000 citizens are incarcerated - .7%. Out of 2,867,200 Citizens, 575,674 receive food stamp support (SNAP) – 20%. .09% of state residents are without a home, more than half of those have no shelter.
23% of the citizens live in poverty.

Inside Mississippi : Societal Distress
18.1% of households in Mississippi didn’t know where their next meal was coming from or if they would get the next meal. 6.4% went hungry.


Read this book :










The Handmaid's Tale (Everyman's Library) 
For other data, see - Census dot Gov

A Letter about 26

Bishop of the Mississippi Episcopal Church, The Rt. Rev. Duncan M. Gray, III, issues a statement saying VOTE NO on i26 :

My dear friends,

My deep reservations about abortion and the death penalty grow out of my abiding belief in the sanctity of human life and the arbitrary nature of these actions. I am not, however, a pacifist in regards to war. I do believe... that some very serious moral decisions are not simply choices between good and evil, but rather in the case of two evils, choices between the lesser of two evils. Such is the complexity of human moral decision-making in a fallen world.

I appreciate the intentions of those who have supported Proposition 26, what has been called the Personhood Amendment. I share their passion for the sanctity of human life. However, I am gravely concerned about the unintended consequences of this legislation. The moral nightmares of doctors no longer able to give preference to saving the life of the mother in such cases as an ectopic pregnancy and the uncertain impact on in-vitro fertilization are real. Thus, the Board of Trustees of the Mississippi Medical Association has announced that it cannot support this legislation.

The legal nightmares arising from this legislation are also very real. The word “person” is used over 9,400 times in the Mississippi Annotated Code and the implications for mass confusion and decades of legal challenges over every use of the term are staggering.

For their own reasons, Roman Catholic bishops in several states, including Mississippi, have said they could not support this particular legislation.

While I recognize the complexities of such moral decisions and the need for each of us to make our own informed and prayerful choices, you need to know that I share the aforementioned concerns about the unintended consequences of this legislation. Thus, I cannot support Proposition 26 on the November 8th ballot in Mississippi.

Please feel free to share this letter with whomever you wish.

Faithfully,

The Rt. Rev. Duncan M. Gray, III

Texas Miracle? Sure, as long as you ignore facts

Yes, those old, pesky "Facts" that are just so bloody inconvenient, why NOT ignore them? Maybe they will go away???

Read up at Angry Bear.

Running for Governor - the Lessons so far

So far, I have learned that most people are not actually fed up with political business as usual.  Most people are happy as clams with the two-party runaround system - no matter how much they complain.  They won't step out of their comfort zone and do anything to change things.

I have also learned that the media are co-conspirators in maintaining the system - even those who supposedly stand against the 'mainstream' media's corporate messages.

I have learned that unless you start with loads of money and have loads of free time, you won't be able to run a strong, traditional campaign. It is very frustrating trying to work 40 hours a week and campaign and take care of your personal life and other responsibilities. You have to pay (dearly) to play apparently.

Even the Secretary of State puts up road blocks to third party candidates - as evidenced by the 'sometime in September' decision about which is the legitimate Reform Party in the state.  Delaying the decision that long seriously hurts efforts to campaign.  We will have just over a month to actually campaign after the decision.

I have learned that there are a lot of political campaign consulting companies fishing for business.  They say they will run your campaign, train volunteers and campaign staff, etc.  I even had one guy guarantee me to win, that he would move to the state, run the campaign and I could pay him after I was in office. Sorry, but I am not going to owe anyone anything if I win. That is one of the major problems with politics anyway - political favors.