Edible Chemicals

"For the first time in the history of the world, every human being is now subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals, from the moment of conception until death." ~ Rachel Carson

https://news.yahoo.com/fast-food-items-contain-chemicals-104551921.html

Some infuriating lines from the article that taken together paint a damning picture of the FDA and our government in general.

1. "Currently, the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates the safety of food (editor note: and the equipment that processes it), has no legal thresholds limiting phthalate concentrations in food." (Why not? Do you think for a minute that the FDA knows nothing about phthalates or their effects on the human body, especially fetuses?) 2. "The FDA said in a statement that it will review the George Washington study and consider it as part of the body of scientific evidence." (Our civil servants are prevented from innovating and are reduced to putting patches on things the private sector has broken.) This is an example of how capitalism is failing: corporations, governed by their financial overlords, focus obsessively over short-term profits, leading to broken situations like this. This behavior is permitted because our own financial overlords have convinced us and our politicians that big government is evil and must be reduced, throttled, even cut off at the knees. So Congress defunds our regulatory agencies in the name of...what? Efficiency, budget, cost, FREEDOM? We get the government that we deserve because we believed since 1986 Saint Ronald's 9 scariest words: "I'm from the government and I'm here to help." As a result of Reagan’s public disparagement of his own government, we have been squandering its capacity to be an active value creator. Bottom line: we as individuals have no negotiating power to force corporations to consider the well being of us, the consumers. And we let it happen, drip by drip, over decades. Wow, I didn't start this post intending to write a critique of ruthless capitalism, but here we are.

Socialist Nonsense

The term socialist nonsense is an accusation made in a different post, but the real debate isn’t between capitalism and socialism, but about the appropriate balance between the two. I actually favor having a military, a police force, a fire department, social security, medicare, free and mandatory education to age 16, state universities. I freakin' love the:

- Small Business Administration, - National Science Foundation, - Federal Aviation Administration, - Federal Highway Administration, - Federal Transit Administration, - FCC, - Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology, - U.S. Department of Energy, - DARPA, - SBIRs, All of which are socialist constructs, all of which help us Americans. Our society could not function or would be much poorer without them. We balance between the two, and the ratios go back and forth depending on which party has more votes. On the other hand, I don't like social spending (government subsidies) for oil and other fossil fuels, and most of the special interest carve-outs in the federal taxation system (that’s socialism too). So we take the good with the bad. We all know the tax code is used to promote or encourage social programs. Otherwise, why would the tax code give a discount to you based on how many children you have? We need children, so we childless taxpayers pay you to have them. And after you have them and they move out, we take the discount away, thank you very much. An example of a social good subsidized by all who will benefit. Socialist nonsense... I don't consider myself a socialist, but you can accurately call me an antifa libtard.

Dave Joyce: Infrastructure Bad

Open Letter to Dave Joyce (OH-14). I've been writing letters to our US House representative every week for a month. This is the latest one.

Representative Dave Joyce (Ohio-14) 8500 Station Street Suite 390 Mentor, OH 44060

Hello Rep. Joyce, This letter is intended to explain my disagreement with your inexplicable vote against the infrastructure bill. Your inaction is literally killing Americans. Decaying infrastructure is not a new or unknown problem: the Brent Spence Bridge in Cincinnati has needed repairs for years. Other catastrophes include Amtrak crashes, the Hoan bridge in Milwaukee, I-480 bridge in Webbers Falls, OK, C-470 overpass over I-70 in Golden, CO, Minneapolis I-35W bridge over the Mississippi River, all show that failure to invest literally KILLS Americans. Your “no” vote last week was not tied to any other bills, it was a clean vote, but you chose to deny incredibly important infrastructure investment that will be used by your own, and our, children and grandchildren. You decry deficit spending but this is timed investment. The bipartisan infrastructure bill, negotiated in good faith as you say, will be paid for, appropriately, by the users as it is used; by all of us, our children and grandchildren. You want to show how republican you are, knowing that the dems have us constituents covered, then you criticize them for doing it. I continue to be disappointed in your behavior as my representative, especially in your very safe R+5 district. Sincerely,

Tots and Pears - Texas

 School shooting. Again. In Texas. Ted Cruz and Gregg Abbott today offering tots and pears for yet another school shooting in Arlington, Texas. This is the same Texas that allows permitless carry anywhere.

Now is the time to talk about effective gun laws. Last year was a better time. Last decade even better. 1. Universal background check including no guns for those on federal no-fly list. 2. Violent misdemeanor prohibition, 3. "May Issue" permit laws (versus "Shall issue"), giving police departments discretion on issuing permits. 4. No permitless carry, concealed or open. The first three laws in combination results in 36% reduction in gun homicides. The most effective gun-control measures are those that regulate who has legal access to guns as opposed to what kinds of guns they have access to. Especially effective are measures that restrict the access of people with a history of violence. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-019-04922-x

So tired of hearing that only criminals will have guns. Those 3 laws will reduce gun homicides by a third. The "only criminals" argument is an NRA red herring. Nor do I ever want to hear about a good guy with a gun. They're the ones who get shot when the real cops show up.

Think about the text your daughter will send you when some jackwad with a gun walks into her classroom. Your heart will fall to the floor and shatter.

A Wish for America

This country belongs to all of us, not just the superrich. But for years, politicians in Washington have turned their backs on people who work for a living. We need tough leaders who won’t give in to the millionaires and the lobbyists, but will fight for good jobs, good wages, and guaranteed health care for every single American.

Yet Another Republican Lie

 Open Letter to Representative Dave Joyce. I continue my mission of tilting at windmills.

Hello Rep. Joyce, This letter is intended to explain my disagreement with your false statements about Build Back Better that you included in your most recent Weekly Wrap. You stated “The Build Back Better Act is estimated to result in $4 trillion in spending over the next 10 years and add up to $3 trillion to our debt.” That is blatantly false. Your own non-partisan Congressional Budget Office says different: The CBO said in its Nov. 18 report that the House bill, not including revenue from the IRS enforcement provision, would cost $1.7 trillion in spending and bring in $1.3 trillion in revenue over 10 years, adding a net $367 billion to the deficit. But once we factor in a $207.2 billion revenue impact from the IRS provision — a CBO estimate — the net increase to the deficit is $160 billion over 10 years. A deficit of $16 Billion per year for 10 years is not even remotely similar to $3 Trillion. It’s the cost to upgrade ONE of our 270 deployed F-35 jets. As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, you know that and should use the CBO estimates. Without any justification, you complain about spending $80 Billion on IRS enforcement capability to gain back $400 Billion in unpaid taxes. Your letter actually suggests $412 Billion, completely wiping out the deficit from Build Back Better. That is new money from those very tax cheats stealing from me and your other constituents. The Appropriations Committee is supposed to appropriate, not encourage and reassure millionaires and billionaires to put their tax burden on our backs. Finally, your “no” vote on negotiating drug prices kept 79,350 OF YOUR CONSTITUENTS with diabetes at the mercy of the rapacious drug manufacturers. They have increased the price of insulin by 10% per year, every year, FOR 17 YEARS and you voted to allow them to continue their relentless avarice. With that vote, you forfeited your right to lecture anyone about inflation. Sincerely,

High Density Lying

 Republican Fact-Free Explanation of Gerrymandering Lawsuit. Repub spokesmodel John Fortney packs 4 lies in one phrase: "another far-left attempt by Barack Obama’s attorney that leads a liberal group to try to lecture Ohioans about what’s fair."

1. Eric Holder's lawsuit on behalf of 12 Ohioans is not a "far-left attempt". It is a mainstream effort to prevent an engineered, unconstitutional, 13-2 repub majority. 2. Eric Holder is not now, and was never Barack Obama's attorney. He is a former United States Attorney General. 3. Eric Holder is not leading a "liberal group" but defending the 45% of Ohioans who voted for President Biden. 4. Eric Holder is not trying to "lecture" anyone: he is suing to prevent a grossly unfair, highly partisan, gerrymandered map from creating 87% repub representation in the US House of Representatives. The lawsuit is intended to enforce Ohio's constitution and to create fair and balanced representation. AITA?

As Many Dead Bodies As You're Willing To Legislate

 Guns in your kid's classroom. Columbus Police Commander: "You can have as many dead bodies as you're willing to legislate."

The Ohio House passed a bill to allow teachers to carry guns in the classroom after just 20 hours of CCW training. I think it's a bad idea. “We have to arm these teachers to give these kids a fighting chance," Rep. Phil Plummer (R-Dayton), said. "This isn't that bad of a bill." 'This isn't that bad' is the best thing he could say about it. Yes, it is that bad. https://www.statenews.org/government-politics/2021-11-17/ohio-house-passes-bill-lowering-training-requirements-for-armed-teachers-and-school-staff

I ABSOLUTELY DO NOT WANT A GUN BATTLE TO ERUPT IN MY GRANDKIDS' CLASSROOM! This could happen, from the opening of this NYT article: https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/25/nyregion/police-decision-to-shoot-in-midtown-left-9-wounded.html "As the two officers confronted a gunman in front of the Empire State Building on a busy Friday morning, they had to make a snap decision: Do they open fire in the middle of Midtown?" "From a distance of LESS THAN 10 FEET, the officers, Craig Matthews and Robert Sinishtaj, answered in unison; one shot nine times and the other seven." "Investigators believe at least 7 (not even half) of those 16 bullets struck the gunman, said Paul J. Browne, the Police Department’s chief spokesman. But the officers also struck some, if not all, of the nine bystanders who were wounded." Nine bystanders, like your kids, were wounded, some by the officers and some by the gunman. School boards must shut down this option.

Street's Eye View Of The Bus

 Mike DeWine's Fundraiser Email. This is his claim: "As we’ve proven in our state, the key to economic success is to reduce taxes and get government to get out of the way."

In the ten years while repub governors John Kasich and Mike DeWine ruled, with repub-dominated legislatures under them, cutting taxes and getting out of the way culminated in this: 1. 2/3 of Ohio's counties lost population. 2. Only Cinci and Columbus grew their cities, Columbus only by annexing suburbs. 3. Cleveland, Akron, Canton, Dayton, Youngstown and Toledo all lost people. 4. Rural population declined. 5. Seventh largest State of Ohio's total population grew by only 260,000, while eighth largest State of Georgia's pop grew by 1,000,000. We are on the cusp of being demoted to #8 as GA overtakes OH. 6. OH lost a US House seat. While repubs abdicated their duty to responsibly lead Ohio into the 21st century, the only documented result of their policies and DeWine's "keys to economic success" are undermining most of the State of Ohio. How will repubs invest Ohio's federal infrastructure monies? Specifically, how will they help OH's 2nd largest city, Cleveland, which has been bleeding population for 70 years? Reducing taxes hollows out OH's ability to react to emergencies. Getting out of the way wastes whatever depleted resources the state can bring to the effort to move into the 21st century. Richie Piiparinen at Cleveland State University made several proposals to fix our cities. Read his papers.

Unprecedented

 Hello Rep. Joyce,

After your very appreciated Thanksgiving opening paragraph thanking me for my service in Vietnam, you moved directly to your opening lie: “In an unprecedented move, President Biden announced this past week that he would would (sic) release 50 million barrels of oil held in the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).” This “move” is entirely precedented. In your lifetime, certainly in your living memory you saw: 1. In 1991, under President George HW Bush, 17 million barrels were released in the First Gulf War. 2. In 2005, President George W Bush released 11 million barrels in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. 3. In 2011, President Barack Obama released 30 million barrels as part of a joint effort with other countries to counter supply disruptions from Libya. 4. In 2017, under President Trump, the Department of Energy authorized the release of 5 million barrels to Gulf Coast refineries when Hurricane Harvey wreaked havoc in the region. One, now two, Democrat and three Republican presidents released the SPR. Completely precedented. You purposely neglected to mention that China, Japan, South Korea, India and Britain all plan to release from their reserves. This is an international, not a domestic problem that President Biden is cooperating with other major economies to resolve. As you say, the US SPR will not solve this shortage alone, but you scream crisis, then want to blame our President for a global price increase in gasoline. You know better, so shame on you for propagating yet another Republican lie. Speaking of Republican lies…tell us constituents in OH-14 what you did or said after a sitting rep accused another sitting rep of being a suicide bomber? And in the same public speech accused a male Cabinet member of trying to "chest feed". And another rep released a video portraying him murdering the Speaker of the House of Representative. Your silence speaks volumes and belies your Catholic upbringing. These comments and others they made treat human beings, including women, Muslims and gays in your district, YOUR OWN CONSTITUENTS, as subhuman. And fearing the loser, you won't defend your own constituents. That is just pitiful behavior and poor representation of us. Sincerely, and I mean it, Robert E. Chalfant

Freedom Perverted

 In what dictionary is the word "freedom" defined as being free to put everyone, or anyone, else in danger? As in:

"I'm free to not wear a mask, even though I have the 'rona and you will get infected." (insert "my body, my choice here). "I'm free to carry any kind of loaded gun anywhere I go." The school board meetings over the past 3 months put on public display illogical individual "freedoms" at the expense of the safety of our children and their teachers. Our own Representatives and Senators scream "freedom" to make senseless claims in opposition to campaign finance, gender rights, schools, guns, climate; the list is long and distinguished. An aside, but relevant to "freedom": the SCOTUS disagrees with me, but 1. I don't believe corporations are people, 2. don't believe money is speech, 3. nor do I believe that not-people-corporations should be permitted, in the name of free speech, to give not-free-speech-money in unlimited amounts to politicians in order to influence their votes in the pursuit of "freedom." Having said that, I do and have contributed to political campaigns because I agree with a politician's policies, not because I disagree and want to change the politician's vote. Today's radical right claim an absolute individual right to do almost anything in the name of "freedom." Even Saint Ronald, during his 1966 bid for governor of CA said “If an individual wants to discriminate against Negroes or others in selling or renting his house, he has a right to do so.” That individual right, is of course, now illegal, but you know people who have a tight grip on that concept of individual liberty to this day. Today that argument of individual rights over public good is the primary argument made by radical right republicans. We should not allow those people to co-opt the definition and application of freedom to do what is right for society.

Death By A Thousand Cuts

 U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman on Wednesday night granted a preliminary injunction blocking a Texas law seeking to ban “viewpoint discrimination” on social media platforms. “Social media platforms have a First Amendment right to moderate content disseminated on their platforms,” the judge wrote.

Well of course, you might say. After all, the users agreed to the Terms of Service simply by using the platform. But that unconstitutionally bad law is another example of how legislators with an agenda create bad laws on purpose, then hope for a tea party judge to agree with it. Most of those legislators have a law degree, so they can't plead ignorance of the constitution. This "death by a thousand cuts" explains how our democracy is dying. One after another, across the USA, bad laws are being written in state legislatures. Democracy, fair representation, and a civil society is being dismantled in the perpetual pursuit of unbridled power.

Debt Ceiling

 This week's letter to Representative Joyce in reply to his newsletter "The Weekly Wrap"

Hello Rep. Joyce, This letter provides my feedback on your Weekly Wrap newsletter of December 6, 2021. Also included are some individuals, your constituents, from our Politics – Civil group on Nextdoor.com who have requested to be included in my notes to you. You or one of your aides may request to join our group here: https://nextdoor.com/g/v4ipxkz9v/. First: thank you for notifying the VA of your support for policy changes to allow veterans access to medical cannabis. Please keep up the pressure in support of our disabled vets. Second, I disagree with your assessment that it was the Democrats who callously ignored the debt ceiling. This entire standoff was started on October 8 when Mitch McConnell said he would not again help Democrats extend the government’s borrowing authority. He threw down the gauntlet two months ago to initiate the deadlock and to launch the political theater that ensued. McConnell and McCarthy orchestrated the stalemate in order to invent the talking points you are using today. You are complicit. Disagreement on raising the debt ceiling is not a Democrat thing despite your claims. I’m frustrated that you continue to use the same misleading and destructive talking points given to you by the Party spokesmodels rather than making your newsletter about how we are doing better because you are our House Representative. But you keep telling us how we are doing worse. Third, the US continues its relentless monthly job growth, again, despite losses in retail, chip shortages in the auto industry, and clogged supply lines. This is not “Yet Another Miss.” Job growth every month since President Biden was sworn in does not support your statement that 210,000 new jobs serve “as a reminder that the current administration's economic policies are failing the American people.” That is pure Republican Party hogwash and you should not spread this misinformation further. Finally, in an odd claim you say “government mandates will only further squander our nation's economic recovery.” Which is it, an economic recovery or failing economic policies? Your Weekly Wrap should be used to explain to us how you have improved the safety, employment, health and welfare of OH-14, not doggedly pointing out in every one of your newsletters how the sky is falling upon our heads. It’s not. But if it is, you are still our representative. Sincerely, Robert Chalfant,

Not One Republican House Member. not even one...

 We saw this coming a mile away.

Governor Mike DeWine released an email today, claiming credit for the American Rescue Plan Act and blamed Democrats for defunding the police. The title of the email was "$250 Million - Backing the Blue and First Responders!" Exclamation point! Of course this money is coming from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. To be very precise about which party is defunding the police: NOT ONE REPUBLICAN HOUSE MEMBER VOTED TO RESCUE AMERICA! Not even one. Including our own House rep, OH-14's David Joyce. Inferring that this $250 Million is a grant provided in some way by Republicans, Gov. DeWine used these words: "While Democrats work to defund the police, we're investing in our law enforcement and communities. We have to ensure that our Republican leaders get re-elected and can continue to invest in the brave men and women who keep us safe." He is using money he did not want in the first place, that every Republican House rep did not want, to fundraise for...Republicans. Gov. DeWine was joined by his Republican posse during Monday’s press conference, held at the Ohio Statehouse: Lt. Governor Jon Husted Sen. Teresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green) Sen. Nathan Manning (R-North Ridgeville) Rep. Al Cutrona (R-Canfield) Rep. D.J. Swearingen (R-Huron) Hardin County Sheriff Keith Everhart, outgoing BSSA (Buckeye State Sheriff's Association) president Lorain County Sheriff Phil Stammitti, incoming BSSA president Findlay Mayor Christina Muryn If DeWine, and Joyce, and the other Republican hypocrites actually believed their screams and rantings about a budget deficit, they would not participate in any of that pork spending nor accept any of this budget-busting money. That is, if they believed their own words.