Letter to the Editor 7-23-2013

It’s interesting to note the demands people are putting on large corporations to start paying a living wage. Just what is that and what is the consequence of NOT paying a living wage.

First of all, it is described as the minimum wage to keep a person out of poverty working a straight 40 hour week. This will vary regionally. It costs more to live in California than say, Arkansas.

What happens when people are forced to work at below the poverty line? ‘Forced’ sounds pretty harsh but anytime someone needs work to put food on the table or a roof over their heads and the only jobs available are below the poverty line in earnings, it is ‘forced’ labor. Paying substantially less than what it takes to keep body and soul alive is dehumanizing and borders on ‘enslavement’.  As they say, a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Slavery by any other name is still slavery.

These large corporations are getting a ‘free’ ride in our society because they have convinced their representatives locally and nationally, that it is in society’s best interests if they DON”T pay any taxes. The burden then falls on the worker bees that they aren’t paying a living wage. Public services are cut to help the impoverished (low wage earners) or to supply necessary safety services such as fire support, police support or ambulance support to those who stay behind from choice or lack of ability to leave. No income means no services.

Detroit is a case in point. They cut taxes to the corporations, services declined to almost non-existent and now the city is on the auction block to be sold to the people NOT paying for the services that any city must supply to its residents.

It is said that ‘people’ force the private businesses out of business when stores like Walmart, Lowe’s or Home Depot move into a neighborhood. If they wouldn’t shop there those big box stores would leave. That is very true except for one small fact. If the only store sells the only things they can afford on the minimal wages earned, they will shop where they can maximize their earnings. People need clothing, shelter and food, that is a reality. When wages are so low they cannot afford to buy from no one but their ‘bosses’ they become chattels. Their choices of who to buy from become limited because they cannot afford to buy from a competitor that must sell higher because its labor costs are higher especially if it’s a local business.

It becomes a round robin system where the low wage earner loses and the big box store justifies keeping wages low as their profits soar. Jobs lose in any market when the big box stores move in. California did a study and proved that as the stores moved in with their 200 or so jobs the rest of the area lost considerably more than that as businesses folded due to a lack of support. Where is the justification of giving these monstrosities a ‘free’ ride? The jobs created are low wage jobs. Local companies are forced to shutter their doors because they cannot compete with ‘low prices’.

As cities lose the ability to supply necessary life support to its residents, those that can, leave. Those that can’t, stay and get kicked in the teeth and are told they need too much, demand too much, won’t work hard enough to take care of their needs.

Someone must pay for fire support, police support, and ambulance support. All are paid for with tax dollars. If the people left to pay for these services can’t feed themselves, where is that money going to come from? The corporations already know they don’t have to pay, they get a free ride from the city managers to bring ‘more’ jobs to the area.

Soon or later America will have to wake up and smell the coffee. You’re being swindled.

Letter to the Editor 7-20-2013

The dismantling of America by the Republican goon squad led by the Koch brothers funded Tea Party, is just the most maddening thing I've watched in my entire life. To deliberately set your goal to undermine the public sector, sell off all public assets to multinational corporations glutted with 'public' tax largesse and lawless disregard for the people doing the dirty work is worse than criminal. It is inhumane, filthy, dishonest and despicable. Not to mention unAmerican.
Anyone watching the selling off of Detroit by the Republican governor and his elected goons who does NOT get so angry they take to the streets, just doesn't get it. You're next. The manufacturing jobs and equipment in Detroit were dismantled and shipped to China taking the middle class with them. Homes and businesses dependent on the auto industry that could not leave, went bankrupt. Public services have been reduced so low no one will move there. If it takes 58 minutes to get an ambulance or police to answer your call for help would you move there?
Austerity measures are designed to make YOU the abuser of public assets, YOU, the greedy 'me me me' glutton of our wealth and resources. You, the one 'suckling at the teat of state' demanding to be cared for. You, the one 'needing' state funded programs because you are too lazy to work.
Every Republican in office knows (and everyone waiting in the wings to replace any Democrat, Green party or liberal candidate presently in office) you put the onus, your ineptitudes, lies and corruption, on your opponent. Make them the 'bad' guy. Make them the ones having to undo the lies and misinformation printed or said about them. Make it impossible for them to achieve any 'liberal' agenda or goal by leaving office with the country in financial disarray and near bankruptcy. Make them spend all their money and resources trying to 'prove' they are NOT doing what the Republican party is doing behind your back. Make them spend their time and resources correcting the loss of public trust and bailing out the corporations the Republicans count on for their support and financial gain that sold YOU down the river for personal profit while hedging their bets that YOU couldn't save yourself from their corruption.
How much money did you get when the housing bubble burst? Bank of America, Wells Fargo and all of Wall Street made billions. Yet today BoA is STILL cheating, lying and dissembling on the loans they have in their control.
All of Detroit will be on the auction block; public schools, public services, public housing, you name it, ALL will be sold off to the highest bidder at firesale prices.
When the dust settles and Detroit is just another corporate town, people will get their education but it will cost more, be less comprehensive, more corporate oriented and NOT for the general public, it will be what is left after the profiteers have taken their 'share' of the tax dollars you will continue to pay. If you are the 1%, your child will go to a 'private school' funded by your tax dollars and taken as 'the best' education money can buy. Unfortunately your child won't get to go, you're too poor to pay for 'private' school. Medical services will be doled out as the need is determined to keep you 'healthy' as long as there is a place you can fill in the labor market. If you're not needed or become too old to work, you will be cast aside. Latin America is the example you can look to. It is your next stop on the economic road to poverty.
Everything will be based on profitability. If you can't make the corporate bosses a profit, you will be just left to figure out how to survive on your own. Look to India and China where a 'few' are allowed to control the wealth of the state. They drive through ghettos in their Lamborghinis and Porsches, have apartment buildings and homes several stories high but never 'see' the poor, the slums, the streets running in raw sewage at their feet.
Is this what you want for America? The Republicans do. Our assets are theirs and theirs alone. They scream "NO MORE TAXES!" while they pay NONE!
There will be NO public property. You have no right to own ANYTHING! Not even public land, not even the schools you educate your children in, not even the roads you drive on or the water you drink or the police paid for with your taxes to protect you or the prisons to keep the 'bad' guys off the streets. The police will protect only those who have the means to build high fences or gated communities. 'Break the law', and the private prisons will accept you as a non-paying member whose labor can and will be used to improve the corporations bottom line that owns that prison.
You will become a chattel of the corporation, to be done with as they see fit all because they believe you are too stupid to have this much wealth at your disposal and not profit from it. Our national parks will become like DisneyLand, only the very rich will be able to enjoy them.
If this is your idea of "America" count me out. The next election cycle is in 2014. If you enjoyed being 'played' by the Right Wing Tea Party you will continue to support their '2nd Amendment' right to own assault rifles, no health care for women just invasive illegal 'probes' of a woman's most private body parts by unqualified 'men', voter fraud laws (when there is no proof fraud exists), all designed to keep you from focusing on the 'real' issues  of grand theft and larceny. If you care at all about what is left of our country you WILL vote. I hope you vote in favor of MY country. It's not going to be mine or yours for long if you don't. Your vote becomes more precious every day as the Republicans work to make it impossible for you to exercise that right.

Letter to the Editor, 7-15-2013

Never before have I seen our country so divided and proud of it. When a person can 'kill' another human with impunity, you have to ask yourself, "Where is our moral compass?"
There appears to be a lack of respect by some for the community in which we all live. The minorities have learned early on they don't count. They are a social liability and will always be just that. The jobs many are given are of the lowest on the pay scale, promotion is arbitrary, health care is subsidized by the state proving once again they are unable to support themselves and marginalized as 'children'.
Florida has put a target on the back of every young black male in America. SCOTUS has gutted the Voting Rights Act because there is no reason for it anymore since we elected a black man to the position of president. If that was true why are the Republican legislatures across the country introducing voting restrictions such as picture ID, gerrymandering to limit minority power to elect their 'kind' to office? They are using their power to limit the number of voting machines available in minority communities so that every voter that wishes to exercise his/her right to vote must stand in line for hours.
The 'minority' schools across the nation are sub par or are being eliminated completely so people are forced to travel great distances to the next available school. The program is 'school to prison'. Maybe a few weeks working a minimum wage job but ultimately, they will be prison bound. Our privatization of prisons has made it the most lucrative business in our country second only to owning a bank. Well paying jobs are going to those who can afford to go deeply into debt through higher education aka college degrees.
If this is 'America, Land of the free' maybe we need to rephrase that to be what it actually is, 'land of the white'.
Unless we learn to respect each other for what we are and not for the color of our skin or our country of origin, we are doomed to never enjoy the sanctity of 'one nation...'. Letting ALEC write state laws giving gun control to anyone with the money to purchase one or allowing anyone to use 'deadly force' when that was always restricted to those who were sworn to uphold the law (police) is undermining the safety and security that we once enjoyed or should definitely try to achieve.
I stand with every American that is in the streets demanding that we rethink our humanity and our society. Second class citizens are not what our founding fathers had in mind even though they owned slaves themselves. Don't you think it's time we joined the 21st century and got over the civil war? It's been over a 150 years. What ever you think about the win or lose outcome of that war, we are one people, one country, and to some that repeat the pledge of allegiance 'one nation under God'. Start acting like it.

Early Voting

City Government election May 14

 Early voting will be held Tuesday, May 7, 8, 9, 10 and 13 at the 

Garland County Election Commission.  Election Day is May 14 and nine sites 

within the city limits will be open.   ONLY  Garland County Registered Voters 

residing within the City Limits of Hot Springs will be allowed to vote.

If you like the current government you must vote AGAINST this ballot initiative. It was proposed by someone that does not live in Hot Springs but resents the city's right to regulate the installation of water and sewer pipes within a 5 mile radius of the city limits. He wants us to go back to the Alderman system that was so corrupt the retirement funds for the police and firemen were absconded. 

We have to keep a professional BUSINESS person in charge of the daily operation of bill paying not some special interest good ol' boys bunch of hoodlums.

Breaking News From Little Rock

The 'Boys' are at it again

The Republicans are trying every dirty trick in the book to get you to not have a voice in our so-called Democracy. The current plan is to eliminate ALL election  commissions and then replace them with appointed commissioners from the Republican districts.  Please call your Representatives ASAP and tell them to vote NO on SB 722.

We do not need an oligarchy or a plutocracy running Arkansas.

SJR 7 is a bill defining Rules and Regulations. It will be used to discriminate against us voters. Vote NO, go to Little Rock and sit in on these committees and watch what happens when we aren't paying attention. Our country is being systematically robbed out from under our feet.

These are the names of all the Senators that voted to fund Planned Parenthood, please call and tell them how much you appreciated their support for this organization that does so much for the poor and indigent in Arkansas.

• Senator David Johnson
• Senator David Burnett
• Senator Eddie Cheatham
• Senator Linda Chesterfield
• Senator Joyce Elliott
• Representative Deborah Ferguson
• Senator Stephanie Flowers
• Senator Keith Ingram
• Representative Greg Leding
• Senator Uvald Lindsey
• Representative Fredrick J. Love
• Representative Reginald Murdock
• Representative Mark Perry
• Senator Bobby Pierce
• Senator Larry Teague
• Representative Butch Wilkins
• Representative Hank Wilkins, IV
• Representative James L. Word
• Senator David Wyatt

The legislature passed the voter ID law and it will go into affect next January. If you know anyone that does not drive offer to take them to get a photo ID. Get as many IDs as you can so in case you lose one you'll have a spare.

I have to look up all the bills being introduced and will report back with more details. We are under seige in Little Rock, make no mistake. The Republicans want us enslaved and on our own without any kind of government support. If this is your idea of what our government should be like, please move to Saudia Arabia.

Breaking News From Hot Springs

We will be voting on what type of government we want to run our fair city. Right now we have a City manager/mayor system. It means that we vote who represents us and hire a manager to run the everyday business of managing the city. Some unhappy contractor got the prerequesite signatures to force an election to change our government BACK to Alderman/mayor type. He lives in the county and yet because he got the signatures we have to pay to keep our form ogf government. That means that we will have I think 12 people deciding what we will do rather than the 8 we now have. Under the system this guy wants to reinstate, the city built more water pipes across the state than we have in the entire city of Hot Springs. 

I would appreciate anyone diving in on this and getting all the details straight as I'm not much of a detail person. I like to paint with broad strokes. Thsi election is coming up the first of May and you need to Vote NO or AGAINST this proposal. We got rid of the corruption under the Alderman form of government, we don't need to go backwards just because this guy doesn't like the idea that Hot Springs can tell him how to put in sewer and water lines. Would you rather let him put them in any old way he wants and then when the city annexes the property, the city has to replace all the existing pipes to bring it up to code? Or when we hook up to his services have to replace all his stuff so we can supply city water to the homes he built and sold without annexation.

Never a dull moment around Arkansas. The national news is full of our fiasco at self determination.

Letter to the Editor

Latest Submission to the Sentinel  Record

Dear Editor,

The last time you published my letter I received an anonymous call from someone who did not identify himself. In the usual cowardly way he told me I was a 'frigging moron'. I would put his phone number here but it would probably be removed.

His name calling didn't bother me because I realize there are a lot of cowards in the world. They don't all live in and around Hot Springs either. 

Yesterday his ilk proved it in the worst possible manner; someone set off 2 bombs with the distinct purpose to wreak havoc amongst the gathering of celebrants and contestants of Boston.

My caller did no real damage to me or my ego. He didn't make me afraid to send my opinions into your newspaper. It just showed me that cowards are everywhere. There are just degrees under which they operate.

Judy Ladd

(address available elsewhere)

I was going to go on about what an idiot he was when I decided to respond to his phone call but Boston happened and put him in a whole new context.

I guess I just don't give a shit whether anyone likes my opinions or not. I lived under threats most of my life and I learned you can't run from them or turn your back on them. You have to face them out in the open and in the light of day.

I hope everyone is doing well and that we can survive this too. Terrorists only succeed when we let them terrorize us. It's a game of cowards.

We're Off to see the Wizard

A Day at the Capitol

This is an observation of my day at the 'legislature'. 

On Monday, April 8, 2013, Barbara Butler, Melinda Nobel and I went to Little Rock to confront our legislators on the latest effort to screw up "Obamacare'. We met with Philip Adams, liaison for Health and Human Services, at the office of Governor Mike Beebe. We had a long discussion about why the health care bill currently under consideration, is a bad idea. It lets the insurance companies 'cherry pick' the healthiest people to insure while the state picked up the uninsurable, disabled, aged and sick. 

He explained that as the situation was today Blue Cross-Blue Shield had a 'monopoly' on health care in Arkansas. You either used their insurance or pretty much went without. As a compromise, it was determined that in the interests of 25,000 Arkansans that are currently NOT insured, it would be best to let other competitors into the market. This plan will be in effect for 3 years only (at which time I'm hoping Arkansans have wised up and voted these imbeciles out of office). Philip said it was better to settle for 'good' rather than hold out for 'perfect'. With that information, we went on the attack. 

I met with Bruce Cozart who has maintained the sleezy personality that he expressed when he first ran for Representative of my district. The NAACP asked both Cozart and Jerry Rephan to debate their positions to those interested in the 2 candidates running in District 24. In the course of questioning I asked him if he was for the ERA. His response was he knew nothing about it but would get back with me. When I could get my jaw off the floor, the 'debate' went pretty much as you would expect. Jerry well informed, Bruce hedging and 'how religious he was' and that his business experience as a contractor gave him the edge when it came to running government. FYI, government is NOT a business. Anybody need help, get out your dictionary.

Meanwhile back at the Capitol, I asked Bruce if he'd figured out what the ERA was. He responded with (as near as I can remember, a direct quote): " I realized I was in a set up situation so I decided it's best to play ignorant and just say I knew nothing about it".

I'm sure that the NAACP would love to know that. They are a non-partisan, non-profit group dedicated to the improvement of race relations and to give its members an opportunity to learn first hand from the candidates the issues and their positions without partisanship or bias. Everyone is welcome to express their opinion and make their case.

Well done, Mr. Cozart. You're a typical Republican who will never understand why minorities don't buy into your ideology.

Back to our reason for approaching Mr. Cozart. I asked him if he was for the health care bill and he said he was still undecided. I think that meant he was not going to discuss it with me. I explained my position and though it had changed after talking to Philip Adams, I hoped he would support it.

Later, after all of us had hit the halls of 'higher echelons of governance', we went to John Boozman's office. He doesn't have a sign saying the door you enter is 'John Boozman's office'. You have to ask unless you've been there before.

We presented our individual cases to his emissary ( I can't find the card he gave me with his name on it. Maybe Barbara or Melinda can update this blog if they like) for what we wanted Boozman to support and asked if his position on gun control was in keeping with the majority of Americans. I told his liaison that if Congress was not going to restrict or limit guns and magazines for them then tax the bullets. He laughed at me. Barbara pointed out to him (which took the smile off his face) that that was how Al Capone was brought down.

We explained that the ERA was an important issue that needed to be resolved, women will always stay under the gun until they reach parity with men. Until that happens, we will always be used as a political football. Each of us gave examples of why it was not government's role to restrict or regulate abortions. He said he was against abortions, period. I asked him how many babies he'd had? Since he hadn't had any I didn't give a damn what his opinion was. Barbara gave him a card to Foster care volunteers since he said he wasn't even involved in the care of those children he insisted women give birth to. It will be interesting to see how many in Boozman's office take up Barbara's offer to foster care these children he feels so attached to. I told him 24,000 children went to bed hungry every day in Arkansas, why wasn't he concerned about that.

All in all, a very interesting day with nothing to show for it except exhaustion and the knowledge that we had done our best to participate in our Republic and its politics; good, bad and very ugly. Damn its hard being a woman sometimes. I realized that after all the hard work, politicking and picketing I had done for most of my adult life, I was further from equal rights with my male counterpart than I was at 20. At 20, I had youth and good looks on my side. It's a bitch being a 2nd class citizen and old.