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The Koch Brothers: Big Donors With Tiny __________

Michelle Moquin — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 17:32:22 +0000

Good morning!

If you didn’t get enough of the Koch Brothers yesterday, I thought a dose of them on a Monday morning too, would give you the same jolt as coffee. Get used to these big smiling faces because if we don’t stop them in this momentum they’re trying to get going, we’re going to see them a lot more than we’d like, and with grins bigger than you can imagine

This was the closed-door gathering of big donors yesterday’s article spoke of.

From The Daily Beast:

Koch Brothers Unveil New Strategy at Big Donor Retreat

The Koch brothers’ financial network is planning on spending almost $300 million in the 2014 election, including a new anti-environment effort.

In the face of expanding energy regulations, stepped-up Democratic attacks and the ongoing fight over Obamacare, the billionaire Koch brothers and scores of wealthy allies have set an initial 2014 fundraising target of $290 million which should boost GOP candidates and support dozens of conservative groups—including a new energy initiative with what looks like a deregulatory, pro-consumer spin, The Daily Beast has learned.

This weekend, at a posh California resort near Laguna Beach, energy is expected to be among the topics as Charles and David Koch and their extensive donor network hold a semiannual fundraising and policy seminar. Political allies including Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and libertarian political scientist Charles Murray are slated to speak, according to conservatives familiar with the Koch network.

The energy initiative is being created under the umbrella of the largest Koch network nonprofit in apparent response to a number of developments: the commitment by liberal billionaire Tom Steyer to steer $100 million into ads in several states to make climate change a priority issue in the elections; numerous setbacks at the state level where Koch network backed advocacy groups have been fighting against renewable energy standards; and the new EPA regulations to curb carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.

The meeting will cap a frenetic fundraising season for the conservative donor network. This year the Koch network not only hosted a similar January conference, but several smaller gatherings in Palm Springs, Newport Beach, St. Louis, and other locales to attract new donors, according to an email from Koch fundraising honcho Kevin Gentry obtained by The Daily Beast In his email, Gentry called the Palm Springs event— which drew some 50 wealthy conservatives in March —a “highly successful recruitment reception” and encouraged other veteran donors to get involved by holding local gatherings in their areas.

Koch network operatives also have held periodic conference calls—sometimes with members of Congress on the line—to update loyal check writers on various issues and keep them in the fold, say conservative sources.

Now, hitting the $290 million goal seems within reach: almost $170 million of that total was pledged at the last big Koch donor seminar in January this year, say two conservative sources. The hefty haul will help fund a mix of politically active nonprofits like the Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity, and a newer outfit called the Libre Initiative that’s aimed at appealing to Hispanics with a small government, free-market message. AFP alone is expected to spend upwards of $125 million this year on a variety of political and advocacy projects including air and ground operations, according to Politico.

By comparison, in the 2012 presidential cycle, the Koch donor network raised more than $400 million to help underwrite 17 politically active nonprofit groups—including AFP and Libre Initiative— according to The Washington Post.

A few Koch network-backed nonprofit groups including AFP have long fought against climate change regulations, a carbon tax, and subsidies for renewable energy. But lately, the Koch universe seem to be facing bigger energy threats stemming from Washington, state governments and big liberal checkbooks.

The new energy initiative is the handiwork of Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce, the Koch network’s central fundraising hub, which was established in late 2011 as a trade group, according to an email to the group’s members from Gentry. In 2012, the fledgling group —which claims some 200 members who each kick in at least $100,000 yearly— funneled over $230 million dollars to numerous other non-profits in the Koch ecosystem according to the group’s 2012 tax returns.

In an April 1 missive, Gentry invited Freedom Partners members to join an upcoming conference call about a “significant new Freedom Partners initiative” which he touted as one that would “drive the national narrative around energy and the tremendous benefits of reliable affordable energy for all Americans, especially for the less fortunate.” The email indicated that discussions about the energy project began last summer at another Koch donor event in New Mexico, which drew outgoing House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Rep. Paul Ryan among others.

Gentry’s email stressed that liberal donors, led by hedge fund billionaire Tom Steyer, have plans to spend as much as $100 million on climate change issues and ads to make it a top-tier issue in the election. He noted that environmental groups had recently run a $5 million “clean energy” ad blitz in Iowa, Michigan, and North Carolina, all of which are considered “focus” states for Freedom Partners and among the states where Americans for Prosperity has spent over $35 million on attack ads against Democratic Senate candidates on Obamacare.

In a chagrined-sounding PS, Gentry opined that the “new multi million dollar campaign by environmentalists is arguably an effort to distract from the failures of Obamacare. But you and I know energy is a critically important issue for the United States.”

The details and scope of the new energy initiative, which has not been announced, aren’t clear yet, but it’s expected to cost in the seven figures and be a topic at the Koch donor conference this weekend— especially in light of the Obama administration’s newly unveiled EPA regulations to curb carbon emissions from mostly coal fired power plants. Two sources familiar with Koch donor world told The Daily Beast that a new nonprofit group is being formed to help run the new energy initiative. Neither spokesmen for Freedom Partners or Koch Industries responded to requests for comment about the new initiative or fundraising efforts this year.

The Koch brothers combined net worth exceeds $80 billion, according to Forbes magazine, and is derived from their control of Koch Industries, the eponymous energy and manufacturing conglomerate

Based on Gentry’s email and recent energy drives by other Koch network groups, the initiative is likely to mix a minimalist regulatory and free-market message with a pro-consumer spin.

On its website, Freedom Partners explains its energy policy goals very broadly as “increasing access to affordable energy that helps societies-businesses, families and especially the poor—prosper and thrive.” It says that the role of federal government is to “administer smart and safe environmental regulations” but argues that too often there’s a lack of transparency and that “unsound science” is used to justify decisions without weighing costs versus benefits.

The new energy initiative may partly stem from setbacks in many states where advocacy groups funded by the Koch network like Americans for Prosperity and allies have been waging mostly uphill battles to roll back renewable energy standards. In these fights the conservative nonprofits have often portrayed renewable mandates as very expensive for consumers, a point that’s frequently been rebutted by independent groups.

Even in Kansas, the home of Koch Industries, the Koch-backed advocacy network failed to repeal the state’s renewable standards, which were enacted in 2009 Under Kansas’ Renewable Portfolio Standard, 20 percent of the state’s electricity is supposed to come from renewables by the year 2020.

The Kansas fight suggests part of the strategy that Koch-linked groups are expected to pursue to broaden their message and try to appeal to consumers. Alan Cobb, a former lobbyist for the company who also did stints with AFP and Freedom Partners, was hired this spring by the newly created Kansas Senior Consumer Alliance, which sent thousands of postcards to elderly citizens criticizing the renewable standards. The postcards, with pictures of worried-looking seniors opening their mail, said that there had been 15 rate hikes since 2009 when the renewable standards were enacted and urged seniors to contact their representatives to protest them.

A state commission has found less than 2 percent of recent rate increases can be attributed to the renewable standards.

Groups backed by the Koch network in several other states have also been rebuffed in their drives against renewables. But in late May, in a rare victory, Ohio Governor John Kasich signed off on a two-year freeze on the Buckeye State’s renewable energy and energy efficiency requirements.

On the 2014 electoral front, other Koch donor supported non-profit groups like the American Energy Alliance (AEA) have poured funds into ads targeting Democrats in close Senate and House races, knocking their opposition to building the Keystone XL pipeline. In May, the AEA spent over $400,000 on ads in Colorado attacking Sen. Mark Udall for his stance opposing the Keystone pipeline. AEA, which is run by former Koch Industries lobbyist Tom Pyle, has also been fighting to end wind energy subsidies. Last year, Congress ended a two-decade old tax credit for wind energy companies after vigorous lobbying by Koch-backed groups including AEA and AFP. This year, the groups have continued to fight against attempts to revive the credit.

The fight over climate change took a personal twist this spring when Tom Steyer challenged the Koch brothers to a debate about the issue and whether more regulations are needed to curb man-made pollution. The Koch brothers turned down the invitation. In an email to a local Kansas paper, Koch spokesperson Melissa Cohlmia explained “we are not experts on climate change.”

The Koch seminar this weekend is scheduled to feature a speech by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), who last month sparked a small firestorm when he said that “I don’t believe that “human activity is causing these dramatic changes in our climate the way these scientists are portraying it.” Rubio, whose view is contradicted by many scientific studies showing that carbon dioxide emissions have accelerated global warming, added that he thinks proposed laws to deal with climate change “will only wreck our economy.” Rubio’s position should get a warm reception among the libertarian leaning donors at the conference.

*****

Readers: I HOPE you enjoyed the weekend! I certainly did. I noticed there were a flurry of comments from the ladies on Saturday, and a few from the boys too. I’m looking forward to catching up.

Oh…by the way…like the title? Did you fill in the missing word? I couldn’t help but say it because the only thing these “big donors” have is “big bucks,” and they are doing the darnedest to make sure the black man with a “big pair +,” fails at his last term in getting anything accomplished. There is no way they will let Obama, a black man, go down as the best president we have ever had. Oh…and let me remind you, their plans to do whatever they need to is all at the expense of the American people. BECAUSE THEY DONT GIVE A SHIT ABOUT ANYONE BUT THEM AND THEIRS.

The solution is simple – we know what we need to do.

PeAceOuT

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

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“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream

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Just noticing: “Observations of a blogger”

Michelle Moquin — Sun, 22 Jun 2014 18:00:03 +0000

Good morning!

“Just noticing…”

Kochs launch new super PAC for midterm fight

During a closed-door gathering of major donors in Southern California on Monday, the political operation spearheaded by the Koch brothers unveiled a significant new weapon in its rapidly expanding arsenal — a super PAC called Freedom Partners Action Fund.

The new group aims to spend more than $15 million in the 2014 midterm campaigns — part of a much larger spending effort expected to total $290 million, sources told POLITICO.

It’s an evolution for billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch. The vast network of political nonprofit groups they helped build has mostly funneled its unprecedented political spending into issue-based campaigns that usually slam Democrats for supporting big government but seldom explicitly ask voters to support GOP candidates.

(Also on POLITICO: Inside the money wars)

That’s expected to change under Freedom Partners Action Fund, according to Marc Short, president of Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce, an increasingly powerful force in the Koch network that will operate in association with the new super PAC.

“The Freedom Partners Action Fund will support candidates who share our vision of free markets and a free society and oppose candidates who support intrusive government policies that push the American Dream out of reach for the American people,” Short told POLITICO after a presentation to donors at the St. Regis Monarch Beach resort in Dana Point, California.

The gathering is the latest in a series of twice-annual so-called seminars that the Kochs started holding in 2003 to raise cash from wealthy donors after treating them to a series of slickly produced presentations from handpicked politicians, conservative media stars and operatives from Koch-backed groups.

(Also on POLITICO: Hobby Lobby aims for Obamacare win, Christian nation)

Freedom Partners, which was created in 2011, now organizes and hosts the seminars. The theme of the St. Regis seminar — “American Courage; Our commitment to a free society” — was printed on massive posters evoking an idyllic turn-of-the-century immigration motif. The posters, which depicted an immigrant family gazing in awe at the Statue of Liberty in the distance, were displayed throughout the St. Regis. A photo of one was provided upon request to POLITICO by Freedom Partners spokesman James Davis, who explained that the purpose of the seminar was “continued discussions about advancing a free society with the theme of American Courage.”

Among the dignitaries who was scheduled to address the crowd was Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), whose office declined to comment on his appearance. It was initially reported by the Daily Beast, which also first reported the $290 million overall spending goal.

Democrats are sure to seize on the new Freedom Partners super PAC as yet more fodder in their mounting campaign to caricature the brothers as evil puppeteers manipulating Republicans. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sent a fundraising missive Sunday declaring the Daily Beast’s report “AWFUL NEWS” and pleading “if we can’t start closing this gap TODAY, the Koch brothers WILL buy the election for John Boehner and the GOP.”

A spokesman for Koch Industries, the Koch brothers’ privately held industrial conglomerate, referred all questions to Freedom Partners. A Koch Industries website entry posted before Freedom Partners took over responsibility for the seminars describes them as an opportunity for “America’s greatest philanthropists and most successful business leaders” to “discuss solutions to our most pressing issues and strategies to promote policies that will help grow our economy, foster free enterprise and create American jobs.”

*****

Readers: The Kochs are determined to win the midterms and control the House. Harry Reid says the Koch brothers are a cult of dark money.

“Instead of being a religious movement or a secret sect, this is a cult of money, influence and self-serving politics,” Reid said. “This is the cult of Koch.”

I would say he’s right. Solutions? Thoughts? Blog me.

Peace out.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

A Matter Of Racial Justice

Michelle Moquin — Sun, 27 Apr 2014 18:35:32 +0000

Good morning!

On Friday I mentioned that I had more support on why raising the minimum wage is so important. Well, here it is:

A Matter of Racial Justice

A $10.10 Minimum Wage Means A $16.1 Billion Boost For People Of Color

Among the many important reasons to raise the minimum wage to $10.10, the issue is a matter of racial justice. Take a look at the graphic below from the Center for American Progress outlining how much racial groups would benefit if we raise the wage to $10.10 per hour:

People of color are far more likely to work minimum wage jobs: they represent 42 percent of those earners even though they make up just 32 percent of the workforce. And people of color who earn minimum wage are far more likely to live in poverty than average. A 2013 study found that three and a half million people of color would be lifted out of poverty if Congress passes a law raising the minimum wage to $10.10 — out of the six million total. That is 60 percent.

As we have mentioned before, raising the minimum wage has numerous positive economic effects for all Americans, like taking a step to reduce income inequality. It would also reduce government spending, providing an estimated savings from food stamps of $46 billion over ten years as fewer people with jobs need to rely on the program.

BOTTOM LINE: Low-wage jobs have dominated job growth since the end of the Great Recession, and these jobs are done disproportionately by people of color. New data shows yet another reason to raise the minimum wage to $10.10: it would provide a $16.1 billion boost to people of color and go a long way toward making sure that Americans working a full-time job don’t have to live in poverty.

Readers: Is there any wonder why people like Rep. Dennis Ross (R-FL), don’t care to raise the minimum wage? The solution to making this country a better place for all is to raise the minimum wage. When more people don’t have to live in poverty it is good for everyone. Only greedy people, and those that care about them and theirs, would think otherwise.

Howie: Nice to hear from you. As always you make quite a statement when you chime in. I appreciate you telling your fascinating story and for providing Viv with information that may have saved his life. Kudos to you, and to Viv, for collectively your actions are certainly aiding Earth.

Got to run. Happy Sunday!

Peace & Love…

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Coming Soon To A Women’s Health Clinic Near You

Michelle Moquin — Thu, 23 Jan 2014 16:53:51 +0000

Good morning!

The Supreme Court’s Probably About To Create A Right To Harass Women At Abortion Clinics

Coming soon to a women’s health clinic near you

Justice Anthony Kennedy is widely perceived as a swing vote on abortion, thanks to his decision to retain the “essential holding of Roe v. Wade” in the 1992 casePlanned Parenthood v. Casey. But this perception of Kennedy is misplaced. Since becoming a justice, Kennedy voted to strike just one of the 21 abortion restrictions that have come before the Supreme Court, and that one restriction was in Casey itself. Thus, Kennedy has not voted to block a law limiting access to abortion for the last 21 years.

On Wednesday, the justices will hear a case brought by abortion protesters seeking greater access to women approaching abortion clinics — and if Justice Kennedy gets his way, those protesters may soon have unlimited ability to “counsel” or even harass patients approaching women’s health clinics.

McCullen v. Coakley concerns a Massachusetts law that creates a buffer zone around clinics that women can freely travel through without being confronted by protesters, leafleters or so-called “sidewalk counselors.” Under the Massachusetts law, entrances to abortion clinics are surrounded by a 35 foot buffer zone that no one may enter unless they have legitimate business within the clinic or are simply passing through the buffer zone in order to reach another destination.

McCullen hinges on two distinctions at the heart of First Amendment law. Laws that are “content-based” — that is, laws that single out speech about a particular topic for inferior treatment — and laws that engage in “viewpoint discrimination” — that is, laws that treat people who hold one set of views differently than people who hold opposing views — are both treated with great skepticism under the First Amendment. Thus, the First Amendment allows a state to prohibit someone from loudly protesting outside their neighbor’s bedroom while that neighbor is trying to sleep, so long as it bans all protests on any subject whatsoever. But a law that prohibits only protests about abortion — or only prohibits protests opposing abortion — while permitting protests on all other topics, is likely to be struck down.

The plaintiffs in McCullen try to characterize the Massachusetts law as one that engages in viewpoint discrimination because it permits clinic workers and their patients to enter and exit the buffer zones (and thus to enter and exit the clinic itself), without permitting abortion protesters to do so. It’s a neat trick. Essentially, the plaintiffs argue that clinic workers are themselves pro-choice, so allowing them inside the buffer zone without also allowing anti-abortion protesters is a form of viewpoint discrimination. Should the Supreme Court accept this argument, the only way for Massachusetts to enforce its buffer zone law would be for it to also forbid clinic workers from entering and exiting the clinic where they work. Clearly, this is not a workable way for a health clinic to operate.

It’s likely, however, that the Court will hand an even more expansive victory to abortion protesters. Dissenting in a 2000 case called Hill v. Colorado, Justice Kennedy suggested that any law that prevents protests around health clinics by its very nature engages in content discrimination, no matter how the law is written or how broadly it sweeps. “We would close our eyes to reality,” Kennedy claimed inHill, “were we to deny that ‘oral protest, education, or counseling’ outside the entrances to medical facilities concern a narrow range of topics—indeed, one topic in particular. By confining the law’s application to the specific locations where the prohibited discourse occurs, the State has made a content-based determination.”

In essence, Kennedy argued that the only reason anyone ever protests outside of a health clinic is because they oppose abortion, so any restriction on protests outside of clinics should be treated as an impermissible content restriction. Should Kennedy’s view carry the day in McCullen, the result will be a constitutional right to protest outside of health clinics that does not exist at any other location or apply to protesters focused on any other topic.

In fairness, the plaintiffs in this case claim that they do not berate the women they target for so-called counseling — according to their brief, they “try to engage women who may be seeking abortions in close, kind, personal communication, with calm voices, caring demeanor, and eye contact.” That may very well be true, but if the Supreme Court gives them a constitutional right to engage in this kind of subtle protest, Massachusetts will hardly be able to permit this kind of activity while banning more aggressive protesters — permitting speech that is outwardly kind to women seeking abortions while banning speech that is overtly nasty to them would itself be a form of content-based regulation.

In other words, the likely outcome of a decision writing Justice Kennedy’s preferences into the law would be open season for everything from the kind of activity these plaintiffs say they engage in to angry men dressed up as grim reapers yelling at women approaching clinics.

*****

Sigh…

Blog me.

Peace & Love.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

What Would Martin Luther King Jr. Say?

Michelle Moquin — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 17:27:41 +0000

Good morning!

It wasn’t enough for the republicans to push legislation requiring women to purchase “Rape Insurance.” Well, it doesn’t end there. The misogynistic, I-will-control-your-body repubs are now pushing for a bill that would force the IRS to audit rape victims.

This is really getting to be ridiculous. Our rights over our bodies are getting trampled on. Women…ladies…girls…sisters…we have got to ban together and get these men out of our panties. What is it going to take for the sisters of the world who support these sick men to get over it and think for themselves and for their sisters? Really. I am just beside myself with the abuse that we are putting up with. And we really don’t have anyone to blame but ourselves.

What is wrong LADIES?! When are we going to get pissed off enough to DO SOMETHING?! Because it is getting bad.

House Republicans Are Pushing A Bill That Would Force The IRS To Audit Rape Victims

House Republicans are currently advancing the “No Taxpayer Funding For Abortion Act,” or HR 7, a measure that would impose sweeping restrictions on abortion coverage that could make the procedure less affordable for Americans across the country. In addition to preventing low-income women from using their Medicaid coverage to access abortion, HR 7 could also have dramatic implicationsfor the tax code and the private insurance market. One of its most controversial provisions could actually require the Internal Revenue Service to conduct audits of rape victims.

Why? Because HR 7 eliminates medical-expense deductions for abortion care, essentially raising taxes on the women who opt to have an abortion. Like many abortion restrictions, this provision includes an exemption for victims of rape and incest, as well as women who encounter life-threatening complications from their pregnancies. But in order to enforce those exceptions, the IRS would have to verify that the women who are claiming a medical-expense deduction for an abortion fall into one of those three categories, to ensure they’re not committing tax fraud.

Essentially, that would empower the government agency to have the final say over what “counts” as a sexual assault or a life-threatening situation. And that, in turn, would force victims to prove their case.

“Imagine having to recount a sexual assault — a horrifyingly painful, personal experience — to a tax collector,” NARAL Pro-Choice America says in an action alert to its members to encourage them to mobilize against HR 7. “An anti-choice bill in Congress would do just that. It could force sexual assault survivors who access abortion care to prove the assault occurred.”

That certainly sounds horrific. However, it’s important to remember that HR 7 is hardly the only piece of anti-choice legislation that sets up this dynamic.

The biggest political controversies over abortion policies throughout the past year have centered on rape victims, highlighting the anti-abortion laws that don’t extend any exceptions to them. It’s easy to see why the pro-choice community focuses on leveraging the outrage surrounding rape and abortion. Voters overwhelmingly favor legal abortion access for individuals who have become pregnant from rape, and policies that don’t fall in line with that seem especially callous.

But even when abortion restrictions do include some kind rape exception, as HR 7 does, the issues don’t end there. Exceptions for rape victims have some unintended consequences. They require some kind of system to separate the women who have become pregnant from sexual assault from the other women who want to end a pregnancy for a different reason. They essentially necessitate “rape audits.”

And in states across the country, that’s exactly what’s already occurring. The audits aren’t being conducted by the IRS, but they are being conducted by state officials.

Medicaid coverage for abortion services provides the best example of this. The Hyde Amendment, the policy that currently forbids low-income women from using their Medicaid coverage to help pay for abortion services, includes the same exceptions as HR 7 does. Thirty two states and the District of Columbia follow that federal standard for their local Medicaid funds — so, if the women who live there want to claim one of those exemptions, they already need to sufficiently prove why they deserve it. Some states require more proof than others. In 22 states, low-income rape victims who want to use their Medicaid coverage to pay for their abortion need to present a doctor’s note. Eleven other states require them to file a report with law enforcement or a social services agency. Last year, Iowa approved a law that requires the governor to personally approve each woman who’s seeking an exception to the Medicaid coverage ban.

Studies have found that these exceptions don’t operate as intended. Most rape victims who rely on Medicaid don’t actually end up getting reimbursed for the procedure, largely because of all the red tape. “Basically these exceptions don’t work. It’s really a myth that there is coverage that is still provided,” Stephanie Poggi, the executive director of the National Network of Abortion Funds, told the Washington Post.

Nonetheless, that hasn’t stopped state legislatures from moving forward with similar restrictions in other areas of the insurance industry. Outside of Medicaid, several states have already imposed abortion restrictions on the private insurance market that are similar to HR 7. And the health reform law has given states an opportunity to impose coverage bans on the procedure in their new insurance marketplaces.

We already live in a world in which navigating insurance coverage for abortion is so complicated that many women simply assume their insurer won’t pay for it, and end up financing the entire cost out-of-pocket. And we already live in a world in which victims of sexual assault are forced to prove the validity of their experiences to a skeptical society that doubts they’re telling the truth. We certainly live in a world that’s enacted nearly as many barriers to abortion accessas humanly possible. Abortion restrictions that assume that some women’s reasons for terminating a pregnancy are somehow more valid than others exploits all of these dynamics. HR 7 fits neatly into this worldview — but it’s a continuation of a trend, rather than a brand-new outrage.

*****

Ladies: If come November you don’t take your lives on and vote in your own best interest, you will be bending over and kissing your rights goodbye, because the repub men are going to go at it even stronger if they have the opportunity.

Additional side note: In the above statement, I say “you” and not “we,” because there are many women who do vote their own minds, including myself. I am mostly speaking to those who don’t. Time to step up, and woman-up ladies. You know who you are.

Readers: I wonder what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would say about all of this? Well, in honor of his day, I am about to tell you that he was an advocate of contraception and the basic human right of women and couples to decide for themselves the number of children they wanted and were able to care for.

Family planning, in other words. And yes, we are still discussing this same topic almost 50 years later. I found this excerpt that I wanted to share with you.

In 1954, King began his ministry career at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Ala. The post-war baby boom was picking up speed. Oral contraceptives weren’t yet available. Griswold v. Connecticut — the Supreme Court case that ruled people have a right to privacy and a state can’t ban contraception — was more than a decade away. The average American woman had nearly twice as many kids as she does today, and it wasn’t always easy to get by, especially for women and families of color. As one mother wrote to King in his December 1957 “Advice for Living” column, published in Ebony magazine:

Mother: We have seven children and another one is on the way. Our four-room apartment is bursting at the seams and living space in Harlem is at a premium. I have suggested to my husband that we practice birth control, but he says that when God thinks we have enough children, He will put a stop to it. I’ve tried to reason with him, but he says that birth control is sinful. Is he right?

Dr. Kings Answer: I do not think it is correct to argue that birth control is sinful. It is a serious mistake to suppose that it is a religious act to allow nature to have its way in the sex life. The truth is that the natural order is given us, not as an absolute finality, but as something to be guided and controlled. In the case of birth control the real question at issue is that between rational control and resort to chance. Another thing that must be said is that changes in social and economic conditions make smallerfamiliesdesirable, if not necessary. As you suggest, the limited quarters available in our large cities and the high cost of living preclude such large families as were common a century or so ago. A final consideration is that women must be considered as more than “breeding machines.” It is true that the primary obligation of the woman is that of motherhood, but an intelligent mother wants it to be a responsible motherhood-a motherhood to which she has given her consent, not a motherhood due to impulse and to chance. And this means birth control in some form. All of these factors, seem to me, to make birth control rationally and morally justifiable.

*****

Readers: “…when God thinks we have enough children, he will put a stop to it.” Dream on – that is such a line of crap. Men haven’t changed much have they?

Dr. King pretty much said that her husband was wrong. Thankfully he had his head on straight when it came to women. “…women must be considered as more than “breeding machines.” Amen Dr. King.

I’m not sure how Dr. King would respond to all of the sick stuff that our politicians are pushing to get passed, but I sure wish he were alive today so that I could hear his thoughts. I suspect it would be wise words like the above.

What do you think he would say? Blog me.

Mike, TM: How are you doing?

Peace out.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

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