Guns and Irony

We who are not fearful that the government is going to come banging on our doors to confiscate our guns are more fearful of those people whose paranoia demands total freedom to bear -- and bare -- their weapons.  We wondered at the bizarre result of the tragedy of 20 children shot and killed in Newtown in December of 2012:  more states passing more laws allowing more weapons with less training in more public places.

So it was just another ironic happenstance today that the front page of The State's website headlined "Officer Involved Shootings on the Rise in South Carolina, Richland County," with the third story on the page being, "Haley Will Sign Bill that Allows Concealed Weapons in Bars, Restaurants on Tuesday."

Where is the disconnect???  Is it a matter of the more things get out of control, the greater the paranoia and the more things get out of control?  Are we being controlled by the NRA and ALEC or is it the gun nuts who, like the most psychotic people in the neighborhood, are also the loudest and the hardest to speak over?

When logic is constantly being defeated by radical ideology, as it is in the South these days, I think the question has to be why those capable of reason -- those who I still believe are the majority -- continue to be uninformed, uninterested, uninvolved.  I can understand why those who are rageful and irrational are the ones who persistently and tirelessly show up at abortion clinics and the state capital, and stand in line at Chick-fil-A to wave their dollars in support of homophobia.

What I can't understand is the number of citizens that understand the issues and don't vote.  And the ones who know the issues but minimize the importance and continue to vote on a party line.  And for gods' sake, our own Democrats and Democratic Party that vote for guns and against the rights of women and gays, what on earth is that all about?

So here we have it, consolidated into one front page website, the insanity that more people are being killed by guns while our politicians are voting to allow the freedom to carry weapons into public places, bars, restaurants, schools.  And coming soon:  legislation to allow people to "open carry," so the paranoid can actually see that those people they believed were coming to get them are armed.

I don't know where it ends, but the crazies are indeed tireless and, unlike so many of the rest of us, they vote.

Dear Nikki

Once again, in today's mail, at taxpayer expense, was a lovely response from Governor Nikki Haley to an email I sent.  In it, she affirmed that despite my opinion, she was right, but encouraged me to keep in touch.

Here is my reply:

Dear Governor Haley:

I am responding to your letter dated March 13, in which you reiterated your reasons for refusing to use federal dollars to fund a Medicaid expansion, which would help the poor, unemployed, disabled and elderly of your state.

You stated that South Carolina is rated as only the 45^th healthiest state (this after over two years of your governorship!). You use this as the reason for not accepting the federal dollars to expand Medicaid.

I would like to say that the failure of logic in that reply is astounding.

Perhaps it would make sense to look to the states that have higher health ratings than South Carolina (you have 44 to choose from), rather than continue to double down on obviously losing practices.

Once again you have spent taxpayer dollars to respond to an email through the US Postal Service. Additionally, I would like to remark on the way you addressed me in your letter.

I am a Doctor of Philosophy, yet you address me as “Ms.” I am at least glad that you did not opt for Mrs. or Miss, but please be aware that the proper form of address in this case is “Dr.” Also, you added, “Thanks, Agnes,” which I'm sure you consider friendly but actually is quite rude. I am a 61 year old woman, and we have never met. I would no more consider addressing you as “Nikki” than you should sign off by thanking me using my first name.

Since you are from South Carolina, I am surprised that you do not show more respect in addressing others. But then again, you are the governor who is denying health care benefits to the most needy, and for that matter, have sought to disallow any food item that might be considered a treat to persons receiving Supplemental Nutritional Assistance. Oh, and you force state employees to begin telephone calls from people seeking help with the lie, “It's a great day in South Carolina.” So perhaps it is safe to say that respect for others is not much of a consideration for you.

Most sincerely,

Agnes F. Pomata, Ph.D.

P.S.  It is presumptuous of you to sign off  "God bless."

By the way, if you would like to contact Governor Haley, you might be interested in knowing that she has paired up with that fellow she promoted a couple of months ago.

A match made in heaven, or maybe just buddies that hang out together on Friday nights.  Either way, my guess is if you follow the money, that's where it will lead.

Nikki Cuddles Up While We Pay Up

So who among us is surprised that Governor Haley wants to appoint an insurance industry lobbyist to run the state insurance agency?

Scandal is no stranger to Governor Haley, and no more so than in her relationship with the insurance industry.

In 2011, after less than one year, David Black resigned the post.  With no official statement it was nonetheless not hard to jump to the conclusion that he was reluctant to be the fall guy on Haley's Health Planning Committee, which spent a million dollars in federal health care reform grant money for the purpose of determining that South Carolina would not participate in the health exchange.  In Nikki's own words, the directive to the committee was:

"the whole point of this commission should be to figure out how to opt out and how to avoid a federal takeover, NOT create a state exchange."


Not hard to understand why Mr. Black was unable to stomach the workings of the Haley administration.  Also easy to understand Haley's move in nominating Ray Farmer this time around.  AIA is absolutely tickled that this 32 year insurance insider is now going to the government side.

Fortunately, there has been a bit closer scrutiny of this nominee, but who among us will be surprised when Mr. Farmer gets the green light?

Meanwhile, if you spend much of your free time reeling from the high cost of all kinds of insurance premiums, too many of which are higher than claims and conditions in the state would warrant, our state government is hard at work to get you to stop griping.

No, they are NOT going to challenge the insurance industry.  What they WILL do is give you a tax credit to offset those too large premiums.  That's right folks, instead of getting the wealthy and powerful insurance industry to lower their premiums (and hence, their profit), our state is going to give us back some of our tax dollars.  That's less money for schools and teachers, roads and bridges, police officers, libraries, hospitals, colleges.

So check out the Excess Insurance Premium Credit, brought to you by Governor Nikki Haley, who loves nothing better than using your tax dollars to keep industry fat and happy. 

Lemonade Out of Lemons

With our own Nikki Haley in the forefront of the national voter suppression movement, we Democrats have been handed a golden opportunity.


This is our chance to organize a very special Get Out the Vote campaign.


We can spend the rest of 2011 organizing and fundraising on all levels, local, county, state.  In January of 2012, we will be ready.


Ready to move out into the community, knocking on doors, doing interviews on the radio, running television ads.  We will be ready to arm angry and disenfranchised voters -- or voters who are not even yet aware that their ability to vote in 2012 has been snatched from them.  We can arm them with their right to vote.


We don't need to wait for candidates.  This is a campaign that will write itself.  We can educate people throughout South Carolina six months before the primaries.  We can go door to door, not for a candidate, but with voter registration forms in hand, as well as information about how to get the requisite voter ID.  "Don't let the South Carolina legislature and Nikki Haley keep you from voting."  We can offer volunteers to take potential voters to the DMV.


This is the way to do voter outreach like it hasn't been done in forty years.  The people are ready -- is the Democratic Party?

In the News -- April 1, 2011

The Environmental Protection Agency reports that amounts of radiation found in the water on the East and West Coasts of the U.S. coming from Japan could actually be beneficial.  Unfortunately, since budget cuts have reduced the staff of the EPA to three graduate students and a retired tobacco CEO, this is merely a "best guess" scenario.  On their recommendation, however, President Obama vows to redouble efforts to increase the number of nuclear power plants under construction.  Asked for comment, John Boehner responded, "Jobs, jobs, jobs."

The Central Intelligence Agency is searching for some sleazoid to put in power in Libya after Gaddafi goes into exile.  While there are no apparent hard and fast requirements, the candidate should pretend to like the United States, and if not an all-out supporter of capitalism, at least be willing to accept large amounts of  cash.

Representative Eric Cantor admits to failing his required college government course repeatedly.  "I don't know what it was about U.S. Government," he confided, "probably all those complicated checks and balances."  He confirmed in a news conference yesterday that he has been using John Boehner's old cheatsheets as guidelines for determining House rules.

Also, in a remarkably cynical turn of events, President Barack Obama has announced that he will run in 2012 as a Republican.  "It seems that I only get respect from folk like Mitch McConnell and John Cornyn.  I try to explain to those people on the left that voted for me in '08 that it's all about compromise, well, let this just be proof of that.  There is no greater compromise than complete surrender," he said to new friend Bill O'Reilly.

In local South Carolina news on this April 1:

An audit of Governor Nikki Haley concluded that Governor Haley has in fact paid all federal taxes that were due.

And The Lord came to Senator Jim DeMint today, explaining that in fact, it is His will that those who have should help those with less. 

The Biggest Bargain in The Country -- Or Is It?

When I looked at my property tax bill in December, I was flummoxed.  With funding cuts to important services like libraries, and essential services like police and schools, my property taxes had gone down.


South Carolina does it again.  If there's a problem here, goes the common wisdom, it can be solved by cutting taxes.  And if taxes go down for the poor and middle class, you can be sure there are even bigger bargains for the wealthy -- corporate and individuals alike.


There is an eye-opening article on the SC Progressive Network website, written by Dr. Holley Ulbrich, which details the immoral aspects of our tax code here in South Carolina.  Now, the wealthy are indeed pillaging and plundering our government services throughout the country, but there is a special place for us here in SC:  our taxation rate ranks 47th out of 51 (including the District of Columbia) as percent of income, and an impressive 51st in taxes per capita.


Governor Nikki Haley would have us think that the pitifully low taxes would attract business to South Carolina, but in actual fact, many firms take their business to states where there is a better educated work force, better transportation, better government services in general.


Whether or not businesses locate here, the fact is that our legislators' philosophy of government in general is immoral.  Governor Haley does not believe it is the responsibility of government (read, taxpayer) to fund schools.  Let the churches pay for educating the poor; the wealthy, well, the wealthy can take care of themselves, although Haley et al. are happy to help out with government assistance whenever possible.  And if education gets bad enough and joblessness, crime and illness are on the rise, we can turn to our corporate bedfellows and just privatize.


The geniuses that own this philosophy, from DeMint to Haley,  just don't have to think past privatizing, but if they did they would come up against the fact that it takes government -- taxes -- to pay corporations to run prisons and hospitals.  And when corporations take over government services, the cost skyrockets, and services plummet.  Call this the Blackwater/Halliburton syndrome.


And that, folks, leaves us with the kind of debt that our country inherited from the Bush years, where tax cutting and privatizing ruled the land, as well as Afghanistan and Iraq.


It may be that corporations are the way to go for goods, but when it comes to services, our government is the best bargain in town.  And that means taxation.


There are protests here in South Carolina, demanding that Governor Haley adopt a "moral budget".





We need to step up and be heard.  South Carolina can do better, but it will take the people of this state to stand up and make the legislators accountable.