The Spin Cycle

Weapons of Mass “Discussion”

2011-09-01T19:18:00.000-04:00

Get this, the vast majority of Americans find that talking politics with friends and family can be well downright unpleasant, so they don’t. Standing by passively does not “bring about change.” Below are a few of the current “discussion” topics.

1. Voter Suppression Laws: (takes shape in different forms-state depending), but one thing is constant-Democratic voters are devastatingly affected. How so? Voter suppression laws negatively affect young people and African Americans more than most from accessing the ballot box. It is obvious that this is a blatant attempt to affect the outcome of the 2012 elections. Why? Because they (R) are trying to make the 2012 electorate look more like the 2010 electorate than the 2008 electorate.

2. Job Creation: Republicans have had the control of the house for 240 days (as of the time of this post, approximately 8 months) and still have yet to pass a jobs bill.

3. Tax Reductions: Blocking measures to extend a tax reduction for the working and middle class through 2013, forcing a de facto tax increase on families still weathering the brunt of the recession.

Memo: Sounds more like “Weapons” of Mass Dysfunction-when you get "right" down to it.

So, what can you do? Stop biting your tongue and Talk…Talk…and Talk some more, to:

• Family

• Friends

• Neighbors

• Co-workers

Get involved in voter registrations drives, hold forums, and put up signs…Support your Democratic Candidates. GO VOTE!

Democrats are resourceful and here to stay…No political theater, just substance.

~Churchill

NHCDP

Some Unions to Skip Dems Convention

2011-08-13T13:38:00.005-04:00

Decision is viewed as 'shortsighted' by some local and state labor leaders still on board.

Casting North Carolina as an anti-union bastion with "regressive policies aimed at diluting the power of workers," more than a dozen trade unions affiliated with the national AFL-CIO have told

the Democratic National Committee that they will sit out the 2012 convention in Charlotte.

Coming on the heels of some liberals' complaints that President Barack Obama is giving in to Republicans, the unions' decision is another sign that key Democratic allies are unhappy with Obama and other party leaders as they gear up for a difficult election season.

It's also a signal that anything relating to Charlotte - from its besieged hometown bank to its lack of unionized hotels - will face scrutiny as the city eases into the national spotlight.

Labor unions have long played an integral role in Democratic conventions. And some big ones, including the National Education Association and the Service Employees International Union, still plan to be active participants when the Democrats come to Charlotte in 2012.

Local and state labor leaders also are still on board. The N.C. AFL-CIO helped lobby for Charlotte to be the convention site. On Friday, a leader of the Raleigh-based labor group called the national unions' decision understandable but "shortsighted."

"I think the only way we're going to change things here is if people understand the struggles here. I'm encouraged that the Democratic Party wants to make investments here in the state," said MaryBe McMillian, secretary-treasurer of the N.C. AFL-CIO. "This convention is going to bring much-needed work for union members and thousands of unemployed North Carolinians."

With new Democratic convention rules barring donations from corporations, federal lobbyists and PACs - including those affiliated with labor unions - the Charlotte gathering already was forecast to be less reliant than past conventions on big financial support from organized labor.

Still, the decision by the national unions - representing 2.5 million workers in the building and construction trades - reflects disappointment from labor activists who Democrats count on to get union members to the polls.

"There is broad frustration with the party and all elected officials, broad frustration with the lack of a union agenda," Michael Monroe, chief of staff of the AFL-CIO's building trades division, told The Associated Press. "People are looking for outlets to express that frustration."

The decision by the building trades came after a vote by leaders of the unit's 13 affiliate unions, including the Laborers, Painters and Electrical Workers.

In a letter this week to Democratic Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the unions bemoaned the persistently high unemployment rate nationwide and the choice of Charlotte at a time when union members "face assault after assault" in Washington and in some state capitals.

"We find it troubling that the party so closely associated with basic human rights would choose a state with the lowest unionization rate in the country," Mark Ayers, president of the building trades unit, wrote Wasserman Schultz, who is also a congresswoman from Florida.

Those busy planning the Charlotte convention appeared unfazed - at least publicly - by the unions' action.

"We were proud to have the support of local labor leaders when we chose Charlotte to host the 2012 Democratic National Convention, including the N.C. AFL-CIO," Democratic National Convention Committee CEO Steve Kerrigan said in a statement. "The DNCC will continue to work closely with local and national labor leaders as we prepare for the convention next September."

That reaction was echoed by former Mecklenburg County Commissioner Dan Murrey, who now heads Charlotte's host committee.

"We've been having frequent discussions with the local labor unions and the state representatives," he said. "They've been very helpful in the planning process and ... on getting the word out to people."

Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx, who led Charlotte's campaign to get the convention, had no comment, deferring to party officials, said a spokesman.

There was also no comment from Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers, who is leading the local fundraising campaign for the convention. "His work in this effort continues," said spokesman Tom Williams. "Any actual status on numbers will be via the election (fundraising) reports."

Despite the strong language in the unions' letter, at least one of the 13 says it is still considering whether to go.

"The Teamsters Union has not gone through our own internal decision process about the Democratic National Convention," said spokeswoman Leigh Strope.

Monroe of the AFL-CIO said the decision doesn't preclude individual members of the unions from running as delegates, and some of the unions apparently are still considering how to proceed.

But the angst could spread. The International Association of Machinists, which is not part of the building trades, said it also has decided to skip the convention after participating for decades.

"This is the union that came up with the idea for Labor Day, and this convention starts on Labor Day in a right-to-work state," said IAM spokesman Rick Sloan. "We see that as an affront to working men and women across this country."

Monroe said the unions are being careful not to use the term "boycott" because they don't want to damage Obama's re-election prospects. He said money is also a major factor, when unions are spending millions trying to beat back efforts by Republican lawmakers to diminish union rights in Wisconsin, Ohio and other states.

"It would be disappointing to our members to see us doing business as usual, diverting resources that we know are scarce when we should be laser-like focused on getting elected officials focused on the jobs agenda," Monroe said.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka warned earlier this year that unions would focus more of their energy and money shoring up local affiliates and less on boosting a single political party.

The choice of North Carolina earlier this year provoked immediate outrage among labor leaders, who said it was another indication that Democrats take union support for granted. But Democrats defended the decision, saying it's part of the party's push to win crucial swing states in the South, including a state that Obama carried in 2008.

Organized labor and Democrats had a similar squabble over the choice of Denver for the 2008 convention, where the gathering was held at the non-union Pepsi Center and the city had few unionized hotels. At one point, Teamsters President James Hoffa threatened to "blow up" the convention with picketing and protests if union issues were not worked out.

But the two sides ultimately struck a deal to staff the Pepsi Center with union employees

By Tim Funk and Kirsten Valle Pittman / Staff Writers / Posted: Saturday, Aug. 13, 2011 / Charlotte Observer

Memo: It’s our Party (Charlotte), and we will dance/sing and move forward in a diplomatic like fashion. Come Big and be Blue or Go home…and act New.

But either way, Democrats are resourceful and we are here to stay…No political theater, just substance.

~Churchill

NHCDP

GOP REDISTRICTING

2011-07-07T16:13:00.010-04:00

So GOP: Do you really think coloring outside the lines is really going to win you a seat at the table?

So, who is going to get to draw the first line? The same individual who forgot to turn the mic off during a closed-door GOP Caucus Strategy Session? Who’s confused and conflicted now? Certainly not Roy Cooper. Perhaps state GOP house leader Rep. Paul "Skip" Stam should consider setting up a “secret” kool-aid stand to raise funds for outside counsel after he is finished with “secret meetings” and the session adjourns, to cover court expenses.

So, the red crayon is in the other hand; is that the best you can do?

Memo to GOP: Democrats are resourceful and we are here to stay…No political theater, just substance.

~Churchill

Hey GOP: What's In Your Lunch Box?

2011-06-02T15:20:00.042-04:00

Down with healthy school lunches,

says House GOP

Having already moved to gut USDA programs promoting agricultural conservation and renewable energy and strip the USDA of its authority to enact the first meaningful reform of the irredeemably monopolistic livestock industry, House Republicans have now turned their attention to that other great threat to American freedom: USDA nutrition guidelines. According to the Associated Press, Republican appropriators in the House of Representatives (the lawmakers who control the government's purse) are on the verge of defunding significant parts of school-lunch reform and elements of Michelle Obama's Let's Move! program, as well as the recently announced voluntary Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines that would restrict junk-food advertising aimed at young children.

As a spokesperson for House Appropriations Committee Chair Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) put it, the new FTC rule in particular is "classic nanny-state overreach":

"Our concern is those voluntary guidelines are back-door regulation," he said, deploring the fact that kids can watch shows that depict sex and drugs on MTV, but "you cannot see an advertisement for Tony the Tiger during the commercial break."

Never mind that the potato is by far the most-consumed vegetable in America and that restricting it at school would still allow parents to stuff their children with French-fried, mashed, and chipped potatoes outside of school hours. Attention must be paid! So the Potato Lobby and representatives from potato-growing regions are fighting back hard.

And how about the new calorie-labeling requirement that was included in health-reform legislation? The House GOP is going after that, too.While snark seems the only reasonable response to such utter fecklessness from our elected representatives, the fact is that the situation is deadly serious:

The overall spending bill would cut billions from USDA and FDA budgets, including for domestic feeding programs and international food aid. Even after some of the money was restored Tuesday, the bill would still cut about $650 million -- or 10 percent -- from the Women, Infants and Children program that feeds and educates mothers and their children. It would cut almost 12 percent of the Food and Drug Administration's $2.5 billion budget, straining the agency's efforts to implement a new food safety law signed by the president early this year.

Indeed, this is no laughing matter. On the one hand, this is just the House, which, in the iron grip of the Tea Party, is spitting out one destructive piece of legislation after another. The Democrat-controlled Senate will have no interest in much of what the House disgorges. But the two houses of Congress must ultimately agree on spending legislation. The question is how the houses can meaningfully meet when one side has gone so far afield.

ΩΩΩ

We need to cut the Republicans off at the pass – Now…
~Churchill

Posted June 1, 2011 @ 08:58 PM / VisaJourney.com

Gauging the Political Compass: Where we are vs. where we’re going…

2010-07-22T22:01:00.018-04:00

Political Compass is defined as to organize and direct (to the right or to the left) political thought. Although there are many definitions and interpretations, I prefer this one. So with that said where are we now…

H.R.1751 - American Dream Act

To amend the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to permit States to determine State residency for higher education purposes and to authorize the cancellation of removal and adjustment of status of certain alien students who are long-term United States residents and who entered the United States as children, and for other purposes.

Now, first, I take issue with the title: American Dream Act. Hmmm. Better yet, How about: The Arizona-American Dream Act. And let’s not forget to hyphen. This should stay a federal issue and not be determine state by state. Remember when the drinking age was 21 in one state and 18 in a neighboring state? We need a Uniform Policy. Need I say more.

The purpose of a compass is to find your way, stay on track. Yet, there are times when decisions have been made from so far out of the ball park that I wonder if certain Congressional members might benefit from a compass tacked to the wall instead of a clock.

"Greatness is not where we stand, but in what direction we are moving”
Oliver Wendell Homes, 1809-1894

Churchill
NHCDP Member