Thursday Mashup (6/23/11)

This tells us that the Obama National Labor Relations Board is trying to implement a rule that would shorten the amount of time it would take a workforce to join a union…

Union elections have been heavily tilted in favor of business for many years now, because of the long lag times between the announcement and the actual election, and because of how businesses use that time to intimidate and harass employees. Even despite this, 63% of all union elections succeeded in 2009, a testament to worker desire to join together to fight for their rights. If the process were streamlined and made more fair, there would not only be a better rate of victory, there would probably be more elections.

So you just knew that the U.S. House Repugs had to oppose it (here)…

The chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee harshly attacked on Tuesday proposed new rules from the National Labor Relations Board designed to drastically shorten the period workers have to consider a vote to join a union.

Rep. John Kline, Minnesota Republican, who is the panel’s chairman, said in a statement that the NLRB, now dominated by appointees of President Obama, “continues to push an activist agenda at the expense of our nation’s workforce.”

“Not only will this misguided proposal to expedite union elections undermine an employer’s lawful right to communicate with his or her employees, it will cripple a worker’s ability to make an informed decision,” Mr. Kline warned.

Which of course is total bullshit – FDL also tells us the following…

In a parallel action, the Labor Department announced a rule that would force public disclosure of the consultants hired by employers to union-bust. This rule expands the 1959 Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act to close a loophole that employers used to bring in anti-union consultants, saying they merely provided “advice.”

Oh, and by the way, as noted here, Kline also sponsored an amendment blocking a rule that, in essence, would stop for-profit colleges from gouging students and turning them into debt slaves.

Next up on our parade of right-wing House miscreants is Paul Broun of Georgia, opining over at The Daily Tucker (here)…

I often say that Washington can learn a lot from using some good ole Georgia common sense.

Earlier this month, after one of my town hall meetings, a mayor of a small town in my district told me a story about the struggles her city has been facing. With the economy in the worst state since the Great Depression, unemployment has shot through the roof and many businesses in Hoschton, Georgia have been forced to downsize or shut down completely.

The mayor, Erma Denney, told me about how tough times have also required her to make some bold choices about Hoschton’s budget. Ultimately, in efforts to keep the town afloat, she ended up slashing their budget by a whopping 67 percent. Mayor Denney said to me, “Everything has to be put on the table… nothing can be impossible to cut.”

Washington: take note.

In response, I give you the following:

Broun had no problem here with the potential of 250,000 employees getting laid off as a result of his party’s games with the debt limit, saying they should get a “real job.”

He also did and said nothing in response to a “shoot Obama” comment from one of his constituents (here).

He also encouraged lawbreaking by telling people not to fill out their census forms (here).

Just like every other Repug, he said here that everyone has health care because they can go to an emergency room (Remember that one? And that’s particularly ridiculous since Broun is apparently a doctor).

He called for an investigation into the Council on American-Islamic Relations, rightly termed a “witch hunt” by Glenn Greenwald (here).

And as noted here he said that health care reform and the stimulus will “kill people by denying care”; he said that Obama and the “Socialist elite” were planning to “declare martial law”; and in his book “The Backlash,” Will Bunch documented Broun’s ties to the “Oath Keepers,” a “fast-growing, ultraradical organization that spreads unsubstantiated fears of Obama confiscating guns and placing U.S. citizens in concentration camps.”

Actually, I don’t know who is more repulsive; Broun, or the life forms that continually send him back to Congress every two years.

And that’s probably an appropriate transition into this week’s Area Votes in Congress writeup (here – getting to this today because I just don’t know about posting tomorrow)…

House

2012 farm, food budget. Voting 217-203, the House passed a bill (HR 2112) to appropriate $17.3 billion in discretionary spending for the Department of Agriculture and related agencies in fiscal 2012. The bill would cut spending by nearly 14 percent below 2011 levels to meet targets in the Republicans' 2012 budget plan. The bill would provide $2.2 billion for the Food and Drug Administration, down $284 million from 2011 levels, and $171 million for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, down $32 million.

The bill would sharply cut discretionary spending for domestic food initiatives such as the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program and aid for community food banks. But it would fund an increase of more than $7 billion, to $108.3 billion, in mandatory 2012 spending for crop subsidies, food stamps, school lunches, and other entitlements whose levels are set by formula, not by congressional appropriators.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

Voting yes: Charles W. Dent (R., Pa.), Michael Fitzpatrick (R., Pa.), Jim Gerlach (R., Pa.), Frank A. LoBiondo (R., N.J.), Pat Meehan (R., Pa.), Joseph R. Pitts (R., Pa.), Jon Runyan (R., N.J.), and Christopher H. Smith (R., N.J.).

Voting no: Robert E. Andrews (D., N.J.), Robert A. Brady (D., Pa.), John Carney (D., Del.), Chaka Fattah (D., Pa.), Tim Holden (D., Pa.), and Allyson Y. Schwartz (D., Pa.).

Less money to regulate our food and drugs, less for poor women and young children, and less for regulating commodities including the price of oil…remember this vote the next time you hear about what an upright “family man” with his six kids Mikey the Beloved supposedly is (also remember this the next time J.D. Mullane blames Obama for $4-a-gallon gas).

Food-safety funds. Voting 193-226, the House defeated an amendment to add $1 million to HR 2112 (above) to help the Food and Drug Administration implement a 2010 law that greatly expands its authority over domestic and foreign companies that handle raw and processed foods. The $1 million was to have been transferred from a variety of Department of Agriculture administrative accounts.

A yes vote was to spend more on food safety.

Voting yes: Brady, Carney, Dent, Fattah, Holden, LoBiondo, Schwartz, and Smith.

Voting no: Fitzpatrick, Gerlach, Meehan, Pitts, and Runyan.

Not voting: Andrews.

Of course – who needs safe food, right (take a bow, teabaggers…e coli, here we come! And good for Dent, Smith and LoBiondo to act like adults here, unlike Saint Mikey).

Breast-feeding funds. Voting 119-306, the House defeated an amendment to strip HR 2112 (above) of its $85 million for a program that educates mothers about the health advantages of breast feeding. The counseling is part of the WIC nutrition program for low-income families.

A yes vote was to defund the breast-feeding program.

Voting yes: Pitts.

Voting no: Andrews, Brady, Carney, Dent, Fattah, Fitzpatrick, Gerlach, Holden, LoBiondo, Meehan, Runyan, Schwartz, and Smith.

Joe Pitts has cast all kinds of awful No votes, but this has to be one of his very worst. Leave it to this supposed paragon of morality, who will yammer all day long about the unborn, to not give a damn about these kids once they pop out of mommy’s belly.

Want to know why this matters, Pancake Joe? Click here..

Veterans' suicides. Voting 184-234, the House defeated a bid by Democrats to spend an additional $20 million in fiscal 2012 for services to prevent suicides by veterans of combat in Afghanistan and Iraq. The vote occurred as the House passed a bill (HR 2055) appropriating $72.5 billion for military construction programs and the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2012. The $20 million was to have been offset by cuts elsewhere in the bill.

A yes vote was to increase spending to prevent veterans' suicides.

Voting yes: Brady, Carney, Fattah, Holden, and Schwartz.

Voting no: Dent, Fitzpatrick, Gerlach, LoBiondo, Meehan, Pitts, Runyan, and Smith.

Not voting: Andrews.

At a certain point, I just have no words for my disgust (here).

Senate

Ethanol subsidies. The Senate voted, 73-27, to end tax subsidies and trade protection for the U.S. ethanol industry. The measure would end refundable tax credits for refineries that blend ethanol with gasoline, saving the Treasury $6 billion annually. The credits amount to 45 cents per gallon of ethanol. The amendment also would repeal a tariff of 54 cents per gallon on imported ethanol. Critics noted that U.S. refineries need no financial incentive because they are required by law to undercut this domestic alternative to foreign oil. The underlying bill (S 782) remained in debate.

A yes vote was to end ethanol subsidies.

Voting yes: Thomas Carper (D., Del.), Chris Coons (D., Del.), Frank Lautenberg (D., N.J.), Robert Menendez (D., N.J.), and Pat Toomey (R., Pa.).

Voting no: Bob Casey (D., Pa.).

This week, the House debated the 2012 defense budget and a revamp of U.S. patent laws, while the Senate took up a bill streamlining the process for confirming presidential appointees (which, judging from how they’ve moved at slower than a snail’s pace on Obama appointees, I would say is long overdue).

Finally, I came across some truly ripe stuff from Michael Grunwald of Time (here)…

There was a telling confrontation at last week’s Netroots Nation gathering of progressive activists, interrupting a panel discussion on “What to Do When the President Is Just Not That Into You.” A bisexual volunteer for President Obama reelection campaign approached the stage to hand a flyer to Dan Choi, a gay former Army lieutenant and a leading crusader for the repeal of don’t-ask-don’t-tell. Choi dramatically ripped up the flyer and declared that he wouldn’t support Obama.

And why should he? What has Obama ever done to help gays serve openly in the military? Other than repeal don’t-ask-don’t-tell, so that gays can serve openly in the military? Ah, “the professional left,” never happy unless it’s unhappy.

I will admit that I’m not sure what else Obama can do about “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” that he hasn’t already done (open to any new information on this if anyone has anything). And yes, he could stop this squishy hand-wringing on marriage equality when the country is plainly moving in that direction with or without his help (also, don’t ask me to comment on Obama’s speech last night on Afghanistan because I didn’t see it due of home renovations to Le Manse Doomsy, currently allowing us a single TV that has been thoroughly monopolized by the young one…sounds like Number 44 was going for half a loaf once again, though I honestly am not sure what else he could do at the moment; yes, I want to see the wars end, but it’s all about winning over those “independent” voters…like it or not, that’s the political calculation anymore).

However, Grunwald uses this column as an opportunity to “punch the DFHs” once again for complaining about the “stim” (yes, for the hundred and fiftieth time, it was too small…and gee, maybe if it had been a trillion and a half, say, then the effects would have lasted into the 2010 midterms and the Dems would not have gotten wiped out) and the fact that a public option was not included in health care reform (yes, there was a window when it enjoyed popular support before the whole sausage-making boondoggle behind the whole enterprise ended up turning people off, and yes, it would have encouraged competition and lowered costs).

(And by the way, I’m not providing links in the prior two paragraphs because I’ve already posted about this stuff many, many, many times, but I must keep bringing this up because of Grunwald and his fellow corporate media minions. However, I will provide a link here to a Media Matters post in which Grunwald agrees with Flush Limbore’s assessment about the BP spill…way beyond a joke all the way around - the reality point of view is here)

Grunwald concludes his column with this…

It’s easy for activists to complain about imperfect achievements like the stimulus or Obamacare, especially when they’re not among the 3 million Americans who would’ve been unemployed without the stimulus or the 50 million Americans who would’ve been uninsured without Obamacare. Complaining is what activists do. And bloggers are right that Obama hasn’t made a consistent case for liberal politics or Keynesian economics, allowing anti-government Republicans to hijack the national debate. But making a case is what bloggers are supposed to do.

That’s a preposterous statement upon first glance. However, when you think about it, I suppose it’s true.

Particularly when politicians and a supposedly free, objective media entertaining all points of view equally refuse to make those cases themselves.