I'm MAD AS HELL!

It's been many, many years since I have felt like acting out that scene from the movie Network and yelling "I'm mad as hell and I'm not gonna take it any more!" 

I held back all throughout hanging chads and missing ballots. 

I didn't scream it when the Republicans jiggered with the Gore-Bush election and the Supreme Court handed it over.

I didn't consider it very often throughout the Bush, Jr. era, even when he abandoned the hunt for Bin Laden to revenge daddy and invade Iraq leading to the deaths of thousands. 

I held my tongue when the Citizens United decision was announced.

But this Republican party, you know the one that is run by elite rich white men who think they know what's best for everyone, particularly women, has finally done it.  So let me say, loudly and clearly, "I'M MAD AS HELL AND I'M NOT GONNA TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!!"

I always considered myself a moderate with a good set of values inherited from my blue collar military-brat Catholic upbringing. Although I unabashedly have aligned with Democrats all my life, I never thought of myself as on "the far left". I always was fairly progressive with social issues but leaned more conservatively on fiscal issues. I can even say that I have at times voted Republican. 

But NO MORE.

Values are defined as "the moral principles and beliefs or accepted standards of a person or social group."  Some of my core values are compassion, integrity, honor, tolerance, equality, family, peace, justice, and respect. The current Republican party fails on all of those in so many ways, more than I can discuss here.

Moreover, the one thing I abhor most of all is a hypocrite.  You believe something different than I?  That’s ok, that’s what diversity and democracy are all about.  But 30 years of corporate real world experience showed me that you if you don’t “walk the talk” you won’t be respected as a leader - as my mom hammered into me, “Actions do speak louder than words”.  

So let’s review recent actions of the current Republican party:

• Does the Romney-Ryan budget strike you as compassionate and in line with Ryan’s professed Christian values? One advertised as necessary for deficit reduction and designed to reduce services to the poorest of our country, radically changing Medicare for seniors while providing huge tax cuts for the wealthy and outrageous subsidies of taxpayer dollars to industries that have no need of them? And a budget that won’t do a thing for the deficit for more than 20 years? The LA Times explains the Ryan budget here. Even the Catholic Church doth protest!

• Do the efforts of many Republican governors, state legislators, and party operatives to suddenly discover a non-existent voting fraud problem they are determined to "fix" in a myriad of ways that serve only to prevent likely Democratic voters from getting to the polls sound anything like integrity, justice or honor?  Does this sound like the actions of a party that respects our Constitution and the rule of law (or is it using law to get to rule??)  Ohio is working hard to disenfranchise voters as just one example.

• Does the continued war on women, from transvaginal probes right up to this week's most egregious affront to women regarding rape sound like justice and equality? Does this sound like a party that really believes in “the sanctity of life” at any cost? Or is this just being used so even more restrictions to abortions, contraception and the morning after pill can be codified into law, ensuring America comes closer to conforming to one particular religious point of view? And the "war on women" is real and goes deeper than "misspoken" words. It is embedded in the official Republican party platform.

• Does the mantra “Don’t tread on me”, or such diatribes as don’t “let the government get between you and your doctor”, or we believe in “protecting” all life, or any of a number of Bible references to justify some ideological stand square with the likes of trying to legislate thru constitutional amendments who can marry whom, and what choices a woman can make about her own body?  Does that sound like smaller government to you?  Why is it ok to pass laws that restrict personal choices of an intense individual nature such as gay marriage (which hasn’t hurt a single person as far as I know) but not regulations that protect the environment and prevent horrific water and air pollution? Such regulatory laws bring hoards of “big government” hacks out of the woodwork, yet in the absence of such regulations hundreds of thousands have been harmed at a cost of billions per year (medical costs, cleanups, etc.). Why is science an “inconvenient truth” to the GOP? Science is what moves our world forward.  Yet the GOP seems to latch on to any junk science that supports their ideology regardless of who it may hurt.  My goal in life is to protect my family, and the generations of my family to come.  But if the GOP has their say, we likely won’t survive beyond a few generations.  Does this sound like a party that really respects “life” and the “family”? The party continues to march right to the extreme while driving us to extinction.

• Is the constant assault on groups who "aren't like them" such as our diverse citizenry, our LGBT community, and specifically Latinos, African-Americans and Muslims sound anything like equality and tolerance?  Does the hate that spews forth from any number of right wing religiously driven organizations that are embedded within the Republican party square with what you were taught Jesus would preach?  Does a nation that values its heritage of diversity built on immigrants who made this country what it used to be, respect that other religions may have their “God” that is just as valid and loving as the Christian one?  Our nation is NOT founded as a Christian (or any other religion) state and a few key individuals worked to keep it that way.

• Does a government that has the largest military in the world and wants to spend even more on defense represent a party that respects peace and justice as it’s first line of offense?  According to SIPRI, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, “The United States spent $728 billion on its military in 2010, or about 45 percent of the world’s total, more than the next 14 largest military spenders combined and nearly six times more than the next biggest spender, China. The US spent slightly less in 2011.”  At a time when budget austerity is the mantra of the day, why is it necessary to INCREASE the defense budget and rescind sequestration of it at the expense of the middle class and programs that serve them?  Why are members of Congress continually pushing for defense programs in their constituencies yet crying about the need for spending cuts anywhere else that isn’t in their backyard?  Why do they push programs even the Pentagon doesn't want? Jobs? Then why are many other job creating programs getting cut? (The Wind Production Tax Credit comes to mind.) Again, government driven jobs = “big government” doesn’t it? Or are the big government jobs only ones not in their own district? Does this sound like a party that truly acknowledges a real fiscal crisis? 

Romney and many of his Republican cohorts are spending this week scrambling to distance themselves from Todd Akin, but it’s not out of horror at what he said - it’s the specter of defeat, possibly costing them control of the Senate, that is their driving force.  It is not because they recognize that he crossed any line - that line doesn’t exist in their world. But he did possibly throw a real kink in the works of their goal of total control.  

Conservative is defined as "disposed to preserve existing conditions, institutions, etc., or to restore traditional ones, and to limit change." (I shudder to think how far back they wish to preserve....) Be aware, and be scared people.  The election is only 77 days away now.  Our choice is clear - conserve the status quo, one which moves us ever backwards down a dark path of government by the rich for the richer, based on a false theocracy and ruled by plutocrats, or one in which true democratic principles of freedom, equality and justice are respected and will have room to flourish and serve to make us a “more perfect union”?  The choice, hopefully, will be ours through the voting booth (for those of us who can actually get into the voting booth) and not sold to the highest bidder.

So, get up out of your chair....but before you do, watch this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThB0uAbjhGY

Note to readers who made it this far: I recognize that there are many good people in the Republican party who do not necessarily buy into the far right extreme either. I am not intending to disparage all Republicans and certainly the Democrats have had their issues too.  But the above reflects the platform of the party and the policies being pushed by their leadership and hence, drives my rant!

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

In 1977 Jimmy Carter was President and America was still recovering from the 1973 oil embargo which caused many us to sit, curse, read and rant while waiting in long lines at the gas station. Three months into his presidency, Carter recognized we needed a national energy strategy that would provide energy independence from hostile countries while hastening a transition to renewables.

"We simply must balance our demand for energy with our rapidly shrinking resources. By acting now, we can control our future instead of letting the future control us”, he explained.  He concluded by stating: “We have always wanted to give our children and grandchildren a world richer in possibilities than we've had. They are the ones we must provide for now. They are the ones who will suffer most if we don't act.”

Inspired by that speech, which aligned with my conservation minded living, my husband and I put solar hot water heating on our rooftop in New Jersey and started a small solar contracting business.  With the incentives in place at the time, business boomed....until 1981.  That was the year President Reagan took office and removed the solar panels from the roof of the White House.  It was also the year that we closed our business and lost our shirts.

Fast forward 35 years. What has changed? Although climate change was not the driving force for this speech, much of the situation that existed then continues today.  The main difference is the recent exploitation of domestic oil, coal and gas reserves, much to the detriment of the environment.

35 years of inaction.  35 lost years of innovation and the adjacent jobs.  35 years of spewing CO2 and other pollutants into the air.  And where are we now?  Staring down one extreme weather event after another with no end in sight.  A non-existent national energy plan that touts “all of the above” without even a thought to the environmental damage nor the tremendous jobs and innovation opportunities that could result from different choices.  

Right here in San Diego we are facing our own energy problem with the current shutdown of the San Onofre nuclear plant.  Nuclear energy is touted as clean but the risks associated with it are clear, as Fukushima readily exposed.  The two reactors currently generate 2150 MW of energy.  But just in San Diego County alone we have 7000 MW of rooftop solar waiting to be installed.  Rooftop - as in homes and parking lot covers, not as in utility scale desert installations.  WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR?

That’s why I joined Citizens Climate Lobby at their annual national conference, “The Cure for Climate Trauma” in Washington DC a few weeks ago.  In addition to informative speakers and workshops, the main focus was a week of lobbying by 175 citizens from across the U.S. and Canada to ask Congress to take effective steps to stop climate change. Volunteers met with over 300 congressional offices to press for a bi-partisan bill that will place a steadily rising price on carbon-based fuels with the fees collected returned to citizens to offset higher costs, thereby accelerating the shift to clean energy and energy efficiency. What we discovered is both exciting and disturbing.  

The good news is that the conversation is resonating on both sides of the aisle, as Republicans consider tax reform and look for ways to decrease our dependence on foreign oil, while Democrats are attracted to the clear market signal that will create opportunity for green jobs and investment.  Economics is just one aspect that points to this clear and transparent solution, as it will unleash American innovation and development.  The scientific community recognizes the speed at which the Earth is heating up and the risks to human health.   Faith communities around the world are publishing statements acknowledging the problem and urging an immediate response.  Even the American military is on board, recognizing the threat to national security and cost in American lives.

According to the feedback we are getting, Congress needs to hear from constituents.  Our legislators need support to take on the most powerful industry in the country.  They need to hear that people want to stop the flow of subsidies as we establish the real cost of dirty energy and move into the clean energy economy.  So get the word out to your family and friends to call Congress, asking for Carbon Fee and Dividend legislation and an end to fossil fuel subsidies.  It is no exaggeration to say that the next election will decide the fate of the world.  Energy is the conversation we need to be having as we choose our next Congress.

An Open Letter to Chick-Fil-A Management (based on an actual letter sent to my local franchise):

Enclosed please find several coupons I was holding on to until I could have an opportunity to buy breakfast at your establishment, which I frequented for lunch.  However, given the recent events regarding the corporate view on same-sex unions and relationships, I can no longer spend my money on your business.  Please let me explain, as this isn’t just a media inflamed emotional act.

First of all, I applaud anyone, including Mr. Cathy, who lives by and expresses his beliefs, whatever they may be.  I am a strong supporter of the First Amendment and therefore I do not take issue with any statements that have been made historically or recently by any member of Chick-Fil-A’s management team.

However, through the act of donating money to organizations with stated anti-gay missions it is clear that Mr. Cathy is going beyond speech and using corporate profits from my purchases to promote his agenda, which includes supporting organizations labeled as true hate organizations and specifically working to undermine our LBGT community.  Here are just a few examples of actions of one of them, the Family Research Council:

• As described on their website: "Family Research Council believes that homosexual conduct is harmful to the persons who engage in it and to society at large, and can never be affirmed.  It is by definition unnatural, and as such is associated with negative physical and psychological health effects.  While the origins of same-sex attractions may be complex, there is no convincing evidence that a homosexual identity is ever something genetic or inborn. We oppose the vigorous efforts of homosexual activists to demand that homosexuality be accepted as equivalent to heterosexuality in law, in the media, and in schools. Attempts to join two men or two women in "marriage" constitute a radical redefinition and falsification of the institution, and FRC supports state and federal constitutional amendments to prevent such redefinition by courts or legislatures.”   
• They oppose the expansion of civil rights laws to include sexual orientation and gender identity as illegal bases for discrimination.
• They are a member of ProtectMarriage.com, a coalition formed to sponsor California Prop 8 to restrict marriage to opposite-sex couples only, which passed in 2008.
• Their Sr. Researcher for Policy Studies Peter Sprigg stated that gay behavior should be outlawed and that "criminal sanctions against homosexual behavior" should be enforced.
• FRC President Tony Perkins has repeatedly voiced the false association of gay men with pedophilia, saying that "If you look at the American College of Pediatricians, they say the research is overwhelming that homosexuality poses a danger to children." The opinions expressed by Perkins are contradicted by mainstream social science research on same-sex parenting and the likelihood of child molestation by homosexuals.  One need only look at the long time happily married “heterosexual” Jerry Sandusky scandal to realize pedophilia is a sickness unrelated to sexual orientation.

This is personal for me.  My 20 year old grandson is gay.  He is a fine upstanding young gentleman with more decency, tolerance and love in his heart for all kinds of people than any of these so-called “Christians” who work hard to distort and defame the message of Jesus Christ.  If one wants to refer to the Bible as a guide for acceptance of traditional marriage I ask you, which Biblical version of the marriages described below do you advocate?

• Polygamy? Jacob had two wives; Moses also had two wives; King David had seven wives; Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines.
• What about when a man dies without having a son? Deuteronomy 25:5-6 indicated that his brother must marry his widow and have children in his name.
• War and Pillaging? If a soldier was part of a conquest he could forcibly take a prisoner of war wife according to Deuteronomy 21:11-14.  Imagine if our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan held that Biblical view?
• Rape? If a man rapes a virgin then he has to marry her (Deuteronomy 22:28-29), but I guess if he raped a non-virgin then no marriage necessary?  
• Or not marry at all as St. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 7:32-25? 

This was all prescribed or condoned in the Bible although I doubt any of it would be permissible today.  Times evolve, cultural mores change over time to handle the circumstances the world creates.  The Bible should not and could not be taken literally for many instances of various forms of violent behavior that would be grossly illegal and unacceptable today.  The Bible was intended to be a guide, a story, a set of parables by which humans could determine how to live with, support and tolerate each other in a loving, nurturing way to ensure human survival.  

My grandson today, though far from perfect, embodies all the traits that Mr. Cathy would be proud to see displayed by any of his own children.  To deny him the right, when the time comes, to legally enter a long term loving relationship that harms no one, allowing him to be a happy, contributing member of society is as mortal a sin as I can think of, one which I hardly think Jesus Christ would condone.