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Post of the Day from Leaflet Descending
Original Author:
Kenneth Quinnell
From Leaflet Descending:
Big surprise: F. Jimmy doesn't bother listening to his constituents if he can help it.
F. JimmyI know it's an exercise in futility, but trying to talk sense to Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner is, in my mind, better than ignoring him. F. Jimmy is, unfortunately, my congressman and a number of times in the past I've written him to state my views on issues ranging from the environment to our nation's military posture. His office has always returned a form reply, disagreeing entirely with me, but at least they have paid attention. Not any more, apparently.
Recently I jumped onto Sensenbrenner's web site to compose a message urging him to reconsider voting against components of -- or better yet, the entire -- jobs package proposed by President Obama. Yes, this is a fool's errand, but I keep telling myself if we fill up their email queues with views and constituent requests contrary to their world view, senseless legislators like Sensenbrenner might just have to sit up and listen a bit -- if only to save a few votes in a fast-narrowing political environment.
Mo Brooks Has a Tough Time At Town Hall
Mo Brooks wanted people to come to his town hall meeting and they did. Not just members of the South Huntsville Civic Association either, but also Occupy Huntsville participants and other skeptics of Mo's brand supply side economic "conservatism."
Mo Brooks town hall meeting gets tense at times
"There won't be any protesting, we have no signs," said Mark Jones, an engineer from Huntsville who brought a list of questions for the group to ask. "We don't want a fight. We want a level playing field."
...
The first woman in line asked why the government does not close corporate tax loopholes, allowing Brooks to make his oft-repeated point that increasing taxes on businesses and the wealthy hurts jobs.
When the woman began to press her point, the crowd grew noisy, with some shouting "Next!" to get her to step away from the microphone. That scene repeated itself several times throughout the evening as some in line challenged Brooks on his answers.
Terri Sewell Criticizes HB-56 & Micky Hammon Squeals Like a Stuck... Rat
Alabama Rep. Micky Hammon, co-sponsor of America's worst immigration law, doesn't like being criticized, it appears. Fortunately, Congresswoman Terri Sewell is doing it anyway. Calm down Micky: Sewell's not giving you Hell; she's just telling the truth and you think you're in Hell....
U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham, told Birmingham business leaders this morning the state's new immigration law is doing great harm to Alabama's national image.
"The recent immigration policy has cast a dark cloud over Alabama," Sewell told those gathered at the Birmingham Business Alliance's 2011 Congressional Forum at downtown's Harbert Center.
[...]
"It's unimaginable, I think, we have immigration policies enforced by our teachers," she said of the new law. "It's over-reaching."
Get Thee to the Gulag! GOP-Led States & Governors Making Prison Labor Pay
Using prisoners for unpaid or low-paid labor has a pretty sordid history - from the post-Civil War Southern policy of leasing convict labor to Japanese-American US citizens in US internment camps during WWII. So it's really not surprising that many GOP politicians think it's a dandy way to close holes in state budgets. From farm workers to firefighters.... these bozos think it's no big deal to replace trained labor with convicts.
It's happening all over, campers! As the New York Times reported in February, prison labor is being used to help balance state budgets. Now, in some cases, this sounds like a good deal: get the prisoners out and into some sort of job training (even if it's for a low-skill, low-wage job) and save the state money at the same time:
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