Ratings for Arizona Schools

41st: Average Starting Salary for Teachers
49th: Median Annual Salary for Teachers
48th: WalletHub “School Systems” Ranking
42nd: Unemployment Rate
45th: 10-Year Change in Teacher Salaries
49th: Pupil-to-Teacher Ratio
51st: Public School Spending per Student  

STOP The "illegal immigration crap"

40% of the undocumented HUMANS who are in this country arrived legally with PERMISSION to enter.

Students, tourists, temporary workers, business related persons, truck drivers, etc. with restricted legal authority to be in the United States.

NOTHING NEW!

During the 1930s Great Depression, counties and cities in the American Southwest and Midwest forced Mexican immigrants and their families to leave the U.S. over concerns they were taking jobs away from whites despite their legal right to stay.

The result: Around 500,000 to 1 million Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans were pushed out of United States during the so-called 1930s' repatriation.

<In good times, plentiful employment and employers are seeking low wage workers look at the open gates to the United States.  Government officials and business leaders recognize that immigrants could fill the need for cheap labor and encouraged the flow of workers.>

The immigration system is broken and in need of an overhaul.  This we know.

Common-sense reform would restore public faith in the system and level the playing field for all Americans, while supercharging the economic benefits from our immigrant population.  {Bringing people out from living day by day in a hidden under-ground America.}  It is estimated <2012>  there were 11.3 million unauthorized migrants living in the United States.

Mixed Status  <Issue of breaking up families.>

Undocumented immigrants are often part of the same family as documented immigrants.  Which points to another problem, it is estimated 9 million families have U.S. born children citizens.   The unauthorized immigrants are not new to this country, the median length of residence is 13 years.   62 percent of undocumented immigrants have been living in the United States for 10 years or longer, and a full 88 percent have been living in here for five years or longer.  Of course they have families, children, U.S. citizen spouses.
U.S.-born children of immigrants have been automatically considered American citizens since the adoption of the Constitution's 14th Amendment in 1868. A Supreme Court ruling in 1898 halted previous attempts to limit the birthright of Chinese-American citizens after the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act.  United States Supreme Court affirmed that regardless of race or the immigration status of one’s parents, all persons born in the United States were entitled to all of the rights that citizenship offered.   <...and nothing has changed or been challenged since 1898.  take that Mr. Trump>

REPUBLICAN PROBLEM  <and they know it>

Second-generation immigrants—children of immigrants—are the driving force behind the growth of the Latino electorate.   They have "birth certificates" and are United States citizens with the Constitutional guarantee of all the rights and privileges including voting.

Republicans across the country have sought to build road-blocks to voting and have created a growing problem for themselves.  You can be an 80 year old fourth generation European American who has been voting for 50 years and move across the country to be with one of your children and don't hold a "proper" government issued photo ID and are refused the right to vote.  Top it off they have been voting Republican since Barry Goldwater in 1964.  {Not many but a growing number.}

DEMOCRATS GAINING

As was proven with the reelection of President Barack Obama in 2012 the progressive groups who generally support a strong government that will expand opportunities and personal freedom for all Americans is growing. That coalition is growing and gaining political power.

SOLUTIONS EXIST 

full electronic entry-exit system that can check machine-readable passport, visa, and biographical information for all immigrants who leave by airports and seaports by the end of 

Senate-passed immigration reform bill, S. 744   achievable pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.   

Immigration enforcement

cost of apprehending, detaining, processing, and transporting one individual in deportation proceedings.

Arizona Democrats Falling Behind

Recent days have seen reports showing Democrats are being washed away as if the monsoons have created a downhill stream landsliding everything Democrat.

I realize the Democratic party is not overrun with rich corporation heads, or wealthy hedge fund managers soaking up profits from tax collection loopholes given as gifts from the GOP state and national legislative and congressional leaders.  Maybe I should not say gifts, but put it in clearer and what could be better described as "payback" for their financial contributions to GOP election victories.

Report #1
Republicans out raised Democrats more than two to one.  Latest financial reports show the Republican coffers grew at an outstanding rate as Democrat lagged badly behind.

Republicans raised $942,000 to Democrats $406,000 during the last reporting period.  It is said, "Money is the Mother's Milk of politics". While over the years Democrats and Democratic causes have trailed the GOP money raising machines they have made up for it in people power.

Report #2
Republicans have increased their voter registration advantage by several thousand. Voter registration in Arizona shows 34% prefer the Republican label over the Democrats 28%.

But wait, 36% turned down both political parties and registered to vote Independent or "other".   Since Independent is not a political party with a party platform or statement of values, why did a majority of voters register Independent?

Report #3
Democrats elected not ONE statewide Democrat to office in 2014. Arizona's election results could only be described as dismal also losing one Congressional seat in one of the worse elections ever for the party.

<It was NOT the candidates!  The Democratic slate of candidates were well qualified and in many cases far superior choices to their Republican opponents.>

Report #4
In February the Democratic National Committee released a report saying the Democrats lacked a "cohesive narrative" in the just then completed 2014 election.

What does that mean?  Did the Republicans offer a better more sound program of governing?  Was it more voters agreed with them on core values and Democrats were out of step with the majority opinion of voters?  That was certainly not the case according to every public opinion poll or sampling of voters as they left the polling stations in 2014.

By a wide margin the majority of Americans agree with the positions and values of the Democratic party across the board.  It is presently and definitely over the past several years the problem of messaging.  It is not the Democrats core values and beliefs but the inability of delivering the narrative to the voters.

Governor Howard Dean as Chairman of the Democratic National Committee for the 2008 election had it right on the mark with his "50-state strategy".   Since then the coalition of Democrats nationwide has fallen apart with almost everyone running in circles not able to put winning tactics together.

To quote a person of noted participation in the political process, author and syndicated columnist, Arianna Huffington, "Ever wonder how the radical right has been able to convince the average Americans to repeatedly vote against their own interests?  It's the framing, stupid!"

She was following up on a book by California Professor George Lakoff, "don't think of an elephant!"  Lakoff states, "Know your values and frame the debate."   Democrats have failed miserably in conveying their message.

I do not believe the Democrats are less passionate in their principals, but haven't mastered the way to promote and connect their candidates and their goals and aspirations in a meaningful way.  Nationally and in Arizona Democrats have lost their way to deliver their message to voters in a concise way.  No vision and convincing talk with voters has taken place.

DEMOCRATS Beware of 2020  The election before nationwide Congressional and Legislative REDISTRICTING.  How goes the drawing of political lines so goes the battles over future legislation.  Spending Priorities are on the block!

Watching the financial powers behind the Republican takeovers of so many statehouses, legislative and congressional seats in 2010 should have been a lesson.  It was well planned.

Liberals and Progressives better brush up on tactics to sway voters to the Democratic party again.  Attacks on Voting Rights with attempts to discourage and hamper voting must be beaten back.  Don't let anyone let the air out of the footballs.  We aren't looking for unfair advantages just a level playing field.

Democrats need to look at voters who register Independent.  If those voters wanted to join the ranks of the GOP they could have easily done it. Democrats need to put meaningful recruitment into place, show Independents solid reasons to JOIN...REDO...CHANGE their voter registration.  

Remember humans are creatures of HABIT, just like large retail stores who get folks in their store with giant grand opening sales, special events knowing they will be back with the store or brand often. Democrats need to seek commitment and then keep faith with their followers with action. Promises made, values of fairness, equality and opportunity delivered.

Democrats need to learn to deliver their message that resonates with voters.  Narrow down the issues and talking points to attract voters, campaign hard for registration in the Democrat ranks using bread and butter economic issues and offers of a vision of future opportunity.

Democrats need to exercise evangelical zeal in reaching out to Independent voters. Each and every  advocate of Democratic values and progressive principles must become a tireless worker to bring these voters into the fold.  It actually should be an easy task finding agreement on issues, the difficulty of course is to find common ground and then prepare them to change their voter registration and request being put on the Permanent Early Voting list.  

The act of filling out and signing the request form is a great time to suggest they designate Democrat on the registration form.  No effort can be more important other than getting them to the ballot box for the election.  Just the act of registering Democrat is planting the seed of election day action.  

While registering Democrat is not a 100% guarantee they will vote or mark their ballots for all the Democratic candidates,  When they get down the ballot in some of the lesser know races at least they can identify with Democrat candidates.  Just think if we could have had 200 more votes in the Congressional District lost in 2014.

It is well worth the effort!

Sales Tax School Holiday

Democrats asking all to join in Family Friendly Sales Tax Exemption for
"Back to School Shopping".

Democrats of Oro Valley Club have proposed seeking legislation in the next session of the Arizona Legislature to have a "sales tax free holiday for back to school shopping."

A number of states have given families a break on back to school shopping by taking a Sales Tax Holiday prior to the start of school every year.  While it is a Democrat Club proposal they will be asking Republican Legislators and other public service groups to join in their proposal.

The Oro Valley Democratic group plans on asking the Pima County Democrat Precinct Committee and other Democrat and public groups to endorse the proposal.  

They will request legislation be drafted for introduction in the next Legislature.

SAMPLE of States who have enacted Sales Tax Back to School Exemptions

Iowa's Tax Free Weekend 2015 is coming up in August. It applies only to clothing and shoes and is intended to coincide with annual back-to-school shopping for families.

Iowa's Tax Free Weekend 2015

Iowa's Tax Free Weekend is scheduled for August 7-8, 2015. 

Sales Tax Holiday  TEXAS

Aug. 7 - 9, 2015

This year’s Sales Tax Holiday is Aug. 7 - 9. As in previous years, the law exempts most clothing, footwear, school supplies and backpacks priced under $100 from sales and use taxes, which could save shoppers about $8 on every $100 they spend.

List of Qualifying Clothing, Footwear and Other Items Sold During the August Sales Tax Holiday

The exempt items on this list must be priced under $100. The exemption does not extend to rental, alterations or cleaning services on these exempt items of clothing and footwear.

All-inclusive list of qualifying school supplies (if priced less than $100)

The state of Florida has a “sales-tax holiday” during the back-to-school season.

Illinois: In 2010, the state held sales tax holidays for footwear and clothing with a sales price of less than $100 per item and for school supplies. However, the state has not enacted any sales tax holidays for 2011. 

2015 Back-to-school state sales tax holiday information 

Map with information state by state information.  

<Put your mouse on the various states for details.>

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150730005995/en/#.Vczc9PlViko

It's a MYTH--Fiscal Conservative and Social Liberal

I have been attempting to write for many years, mostly with limited background and education.  Some how it seemed important to be able to express myself in writing. This piece has taken a great deal of time, perhaps the biggest effort to "go against the grain" to express an opposite view of the common understanding.

Recently a friend  wrote in her blog, Restore Reason, a piece with regards to the common and standard cop-out, I am fiscally conservative and socially liberal. 

Warning Progressives, there is no such thing.  You can't separate fiscal issues from social issues.  They are deeply intertwined. One affects the other, economic issues are social issues.

MY VIEW:
Conservative fiscal policies can and do have enormous social consequences.  If fiscal conservatism means low taxes, small government, reduced regulations and a free market with globalization of business and industry then it leads to human abuses.  That is a social problem.  Make no mistake the people living under the harshest conditions have not had fiscal policies ease their social burden.

If you are poor living in poverty, chances are your children are going to be poor also.  Being poor makes it harder to get an education or job training that would lead to higher-paying employment. Where in "fiscal conservative" does it appear a support system to provide boots and the bootstraps for the poor to pull themselves up from poverty.

<On the side, in my opinion, one of the most important roles in a child's education is that of the parent, parents or responsible guardian, the state or other to nurture and encourage the child's education.  "The first in the family to be a high school/college graduate.">                    
  
Do we really believe the poor can be expected to rely  entirely on one's efforts and resources?  Think again, fiscal conservative means slashing safety nets, services for the poor, lowering taxes for the rich, cutting rules and regulations for businesses, destroying collective bargaining by wiping out unions and employee protections such as health and safety rules on the job.

Is fiscal conservatism an inescapable trap leading to frustrations. domestic violence, alcoholism, drug use or other crimes of desperation?   Does social liberal mean "live and let live",  don't look in bedroom windows, ignore harassment of people of color, racist or homophobic actions taken by authorities, breaking down of policing?

Another aspect of forces behind fiscal conservatism is to keep the status quo, oppose changes. Voter suppression is real and the massive efforts nationwide to block voting, limiting polling access, limiting voting hours, early voting, etc.  

New requirements such as voter IDs to register or to cast ballots are designed not to prevent rare voter fraud but the continued effort to keep power out of the hands of the young temporarily away from home at school or transient, possibly away in military service or church service.  Many other folks lack the required IDs, but the whole idea is to limit open and convenient voting rights.

The WORST tactic of the fiscal conservative is placing financial hardship on people who can 
least afford the burden.  Regressive sales taxes and fees, while of course mouthing the old conservative song and dance.  Low taxes good, high taxes bad especially on incomes and capital gains.

Then comes police tactics.  Using the police to enhance local treasuries through the disproportionately ticketing people of color, blacks and browns.  Fines and fees, the people with the fat checkbooks think nothing of it, but the extra financial burden is felt by the poor. What you can't pick up with those regressive sales taxes you can pick up with fines and fees.

This additional penalty for being poor is only matched by jail and prison policies.  Can't pay the fine or get up the bail the fiscally conservatives are in the conspiracy of privatized prisons.  Prisons run by people who have no interest in reducing incarceration rates.  High recidivism rates, longer prison sentences play right into the pocketbooks of the private prison corporations.

The fiscal conservative is happy.  We got government out of the prison business so smaller government, and running a necessary government function run as a business.  The cry of the fiscal conservatives, run government like a business.  

Another devastating joke voiced by the fiscal conservatives, deregulation.    Get the government out of the way of commercial enterprise.  Yes, just like we did for the banking and financial services industry.  Where did that get us?  

We have to end government spending, especially those ineffective and wasteful government welfare programs.   Get those people to pull themselves up by their "Boot straps" we have built up generations of government depend people!  

Wait, Progressives when did we ever say we favored ineffective and wasteful government spending?  Which social liberal declared we wanted to pour government resources down a rat hole? Social liberals, don't plead guilty and let the fiscal conservatives put that on us. 

Social Liberals care about oppression of anyone, equal pay for equal work, LGBT people, disabled people, African Americans, Hispanics, Irish, well all people of color, and "Mr GOP Presidential Candidate" you need to do more than go to same-sex weddings and listen to hip-hop music to be a social liberal.

Fiscally Conservative is a bit more than just economic policies.  Social Liberal is more than live and let live.  In my thinking they are not two separate values, two peas in a pod.  One is not brown and the other green, they are in the same pod and they are both green.



                         

Part 2 Corruption destroying governments and organizations worldwide.

Government, corporations, organizations around the world are suffering from corruption.  People have lost faith in institutions and are throwing up their hands feeling hopeless against the tides of corruption.

World soccer officials arrested overseas for taking bribes, issuing contracts and making decisions with their hands out for bribes.  Getting arrested doesn't make you guilty of any crime, but when they are refusing extradition to the United States to answer charges it makes you realize someone has something to hide.

Drug companies and others buying their way, local things like zone changes thereby increasing land use and property values.  Building permits or inspections all subject to private conversations and dealings between two individuals are subject to misdeeds.

Corruptions in all forms particularly dishonest behavior by those in positions of power, such as managers or government officials. Corruptions can include giving or accepting bribes or inappropriate gifts, double dealing, under-the-table transactions, it simply boils down to dishonest actions that destroy people's trust.

Lets say we are both members of the Legislature and I see a couple industries in my district that are spoiling the environment with pollution from their activities.  I don't want to be the one to cost them money or eliminate jobs, their employees would be up in arms and probably cost me votes and my next election.  However, I know it is wrong and has to be stopped.

I go to you and ask you to introduce a bill that would correct the excesses and cleanup the mess they are making.  My hand prints will not be on the legislation, in fact I could put up a huge fight to stop your bill.  You say you are willing to help me if I can use my position on the Transportation Committee to move a state highway one mile east of its proposed route so it goes right by Uncle Charley's farm.  

Uncle Charley now has prime highway frontage which just increased his farm land in value.  Corruption or criminal activities or just plain under-the-table transactions neither of us wanting to take credit or responsibility.

One hand washes the other, no one is really hurt.  Next election I can go to the people with those industries, the employees and their families for campaign funds and votes.  You have your Uncle Charley in great financial debt to you.  A winning formula for soft corruption.

Let's take a high school teacher and coach getting elected to Congress and moving up in position in the Congress to be third in line to be President if something should happen to the President and Vice President of the United States.  

This happened in recent times, Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned under the cloud of corruption that happened before his election as Vice President under Richard Nixon. Now the United States is without a Vice President, no replacement until after the next election.  Sometime later President Nixon resigned as a result of Watergate and political pressure.

Who became President, Congressman Gerald R. Ford who was Speaker of the House of Representatives.  So who elected President Ford, the people of one Congressional District in Michigan.  No other voter in all the United States ever voted for the 38th President of the United States before he became President.   He actually lost the next election to Democrat Jimmy Carter.

So lets look at the high school teacher who became Speaker of the House.  It has been reported he was paying someone money to the tune of $3.5 million to keep some private matters from being made public. How did a high school teacher and a Congressman obtain a of bank account where he could pay that kind of hush-money?

Plain and simple like so many government officials from the Military, Executive Department appointees to former members of Congress their access to those still in positions of government power, decision makers has real value around a town like Washington, DC.

It's sweet to go to lunch with someone in the know, especially having worked with you before you took up your job as an influence peddler, I mean consultant.  {Lobbyist}  I don't need you to deliver the contract to me, just let me know who and what the other bids are, I can manage it from there.

Bill Curry former White House counselor to President Clinton writing for SOLON online said, "No public-sector budget itemizes the cost of corruption, but here's a safe bet: America loses more to corruption than to shoplifting."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXAdvertisement

Not since Watergate in the 70s when a number of election reforms were enacted has much been done to insure clean and fair elections. Campaign finance and reporting requirements were put in place, ethics rules along with some new campaign laws.  Of course the problem in matters like this, adequate money is never given to the enforcement agencies so not much gets done on the enforcement side. 

People see campaigns point fingers at each other talking about election law violations,  but that's just feel good talk most likely nothing will come of it.  Crying foul in elections is just another tactic to draw attention to a candidate and maybe pick up a few votes because of the attention and maybe a  sympathy vote or two.

The voters stand back,  feel it's "old hat" and get back to their favorite cable TV program.  Then they proceed to ignore total election involvement. Unless turning to no one in particular and declaring nothing in it for me, darn politicians!

Everyone's attention has been drawn to money in politics since "Citizens United" but you can bet your last dollar political consultants, media organizations, advertising agencies and those who benefit from all the money spent in campaigns won't support many changes.

The word in the backrooms of the campaign offices is, "money is round and was made to roll around."   The big boys in politics have invented pay-to-play now days.  I wasn't there but I wonder if today we have much over Tammany Hall of New York or the Pendergast Machine in Missouri from political machines of yesterday?

Political bosses, backroom politics are old fashion, today it's bundling money together for so-called Independent Expenditure Committees.  In days gone by it was making friends, passing out favors, doing little things for people like having recommendations for jobs and then at election time those folks are expected to do things for you.  Like show up and vote for the party's slate of candidates.

I remember the days when a letter from a legislator could get you a pretty easy and well paid job at a dog or horse race track.  Those folks working those ticket betting machines and remember there were plenty at every race track were personal friends or family members of state legislators. In fact in the back offices doing minor jobs were a few state legislators themselves.

Of course it had noting to do with allowable racing days set by state law, or regulations put forth by racing commissions tied to state lawmakers.  A better system than dark money flowing into campaigns from who knows where?

It is interesting to hear some of these candidates attack their opponents ethics and campaign funding with some strong hints of corruption.  But and this is important, what election reforms are they proposing?  As a result a few people think government is rotten, politicians worthless and get right down to it, WHY VOTE?

To get some real change we will have to cut through all the denials and manipulation  of the system.  Jeb Bush put his foot in his mouth before he actually declared his candidacy and it slipped out he was running for President.  That's a great BIG NO-NO acknowledging your candidacy before formal declaration and avoiding the laws limiting contributions to candidates.  

Some {I hate to say this.} like Hillary Clinton attend fundraisers for her "independent" Political Action Committee {PAC} but leaves after greeting and thanking everyone and before the real business starts of collecting the money everyone know they are there to give.

This type of action beats the candidate and their campaign committee working directly with the so-called "independent" PAC which again is against the law but no one believes many follow the law.  Just another reason for people not to show up at the polls, fingers are pointing back and forth until the voter shakes their head and decides to get home early before the vote count comes in and watch their television.  Why bother to vote everyone knows politics is all rigged.

In elections the Democratic voters aren't inspired to vote and the game is rigged by Republican state legislatures who have successfully gerrymandered legislative and congressional districts in favor of the GOP candidates.  

Independent Election Commissions which draw more attention and opens the reapportionment process to public view have been set up by citizen initiatives in a few states are being challenged in court.  Legislative leaders in many states are not about to give up the power of drawing election district lines without a fight no matter how much it costs the taxpayers of their state to pay the legal bills.

Politicians are tied to their donors, and after the elections jobs are found for those folks out of work who ran the Independent Expenditure Committees, many just get rehired on the politician's staff or take their regular job at a local business who loaned them to the candidate's committee.  In return for the campaign assist the candidate will turn out to be quite grateful.

If this sounds quite an autocratic or authoritarian with little input from the population ruled over, not to worry the majority don't vote anyway and leave the decisions to the few who do.   In order to insure participation in the voting process some countries have voting required by law.  Other countries don't have elections the guys in charge of the police and army pick the leaders and have heavy punishments for those who protest.      

One Problem Facing all Governments--Corruption!

The United States needs a WAR, not in the Middle East over control of oil or a War on Drugs to show who is tough on crime, but a real war on political corruption.

Political ethics involving judgements, public policy, political actions, and favoritism abound just when we should be holding public officials to higher standards than are necessary in private life.  Private decisions are expected to reap rewards in the form of more business, mutual cooperation. They should be afforded the right to privacy. Ordinary citizens can make those decisions without being held to the same accountability as public officials who must be concerned with conflicts of interest. The public has the right to know about the total decision making process. 

Sweetheart public contracts, appointments. hiring of government workers, extended pay and personal benefits to campaign supporters and their family members on public payrolls  occur on a daily basis. Crony politics" such as workers doing "favors" as instructed by their employer is often thought of as soft corruption" as opposed to "hard corruption."  Such practices, while not new, should not be overlooked.

What is new is the blame game attributing corruption to the Supreme Court's declaration in the Citizens United case. Sorry, but corruption and political favoritism existed long before corporations became people, at least in the Court's collective mind.

It has long been a practice of consolidation of power through favoritism, it is the use of that power attained through the handout of political plums or citizen involvement that matters.

Let's face it: Reformist movements are part of the process to end corruption. The women's temperance movement to promote and enact prohibition against alcohol was propagated on a religious basis, but would have gone nowhere were it not supported by factory owners who had massive absenteeism on Mondays.

"Blue Monday" was recognized as the name given to the third Monday of January reflecting the most depressing day of the year. Many of employers dreaded Mondays when workers were too hung-over to show up or be productive at work. The answer was to get a reform movement going.

Watch this election cycle as the corruption undergoes massive exposure. Flashlights used where floodlights are needed cause corruption to go largely unpunished.  Corruption steals from the poor all around the world.  Riots in massively populated areas puts fear in the hearts of government leaders in China and Russia. Protest marches in the streets, people holed up in masses in public parks, and yes, the "Arab Spring" and the revolutionary wave of  demonstrations from Northern Africa to the Middle East have fueled world interest.

Some leaders in the Arab world were deposed, removed from office and put on trial. As civil uprisings and major protests proliferate around the world, Civil war rages in Muslim countries such as Syria and Yemen. 

Remember back just a few years when the corrupt undemocratic regime of Ferdinand Marcos, the president of the Philippines caught our attention.  It was not his wife, Imelda Marcos and her collection of some three thousand pairs of shoes that brought down his government.  It was the excess public corruption.

One more little reminder of political corruption that forced the only resignation of a U. S. President, namely, Watergate.  The "fighters" of political corruption in the United States will be out in force in the 2016 elections as the political aspirants strive to capture the public anger.

My next attempt at my brand of Liberal and Progressive thought will expose some quacks, charlatans, just plain fakers, hoaxers and con artists using the "right" rhetoric, but not walking the walk!

Republicans, file this under Family Values

Note:  Since this was written Loretta Lynch has be confirmed and sworn in as Attorney General.

The Republican-led Senate held back confirmation of Loretta Lynch's as Attorney General in response to a disagreement with Democrats over a human trafficking bill.

Who could oppose a bill to combat human trafficking?  Really No One.   Then what is the problem?

The Republican Leadership refuses to let the human trafficking bill pass unless it has language that will impose forced birth on teenage sex slaves. They are refusing to hold a confirmation vote on Loretta Lynch unless they can keep the provision that will impose forced birth on teenage sex slaves. And they are so desperate that they have scheduled five cloture votes that they know will fail in an attempt to ram through the language that will impose forced birth on teenage sex slaves.

Now, it's true that there's a number of the conservative movement that overtly cheers forced birth for teenage sex slaves, but didn't Sen. McConnell say that the new Republican majority in the Senate would be a force for reason and collaboration? Well, it seems instead that Senate Republicans are giving their extremist colleagues in the House a run for their money. With a special emphasis on making sure that kids who are forced into prostitution bear the offspring of the men who raped them.

Existing law has included annual restrictions on taxpayer spending for abortion for decades.   In the proposed bill a victims' fund is envisioned that would be made up of fees paid by criminals.  The Democrats say applying restrictions on abortion spending to that victims' fund money is a restriction they can't accept.  A very simple way of stating the Republican position, young girls held as sex slaves, raped and forced into prostitution who become pregnant can not have an abortion, period.  It doesn't make any difference who pays for it, even money from the criminals who lead to their pregnancies.

So much for "welfare queens" having babies to grab taxpayer money, so much for two parent families.  You know, family values.  Who would have guessed the Republicans in Congress would be leading the effort for kidnapped, young girls being forced to have children of their rapist captors.

The BIG LIE, Republican Congressional Budgets

          It is your DUTY!   VOTE
This is an "edited" article by Stephen Ohlemacher 
to be released March 23, 2015 by Associated Press 
under the Title: "Fact Check".

The new House and Senate Republican budgets make a big boast: They both balance the federal budget within 10 years, without raising taxes.

The Republican's proposals would leave a $90 BILLION shortage each year for the next 10 years!

Their own numbers, however, say millions of American families and businesses would have to pay more in taxes to make the math work — about $900 billion more over the next decade.

Both the Republican Senate and Republican House budgets claim big savings by repealing President Barack Obama's health law. But at the same time, they rely on more than $1 trillion in tax revenue from the health law that they would supposedly repeal.

The two Republican nonbinding political documents that lack details, especially when it comes to taxes.  It  provides important insight into how majority Republicans in Congress would tackle the federal government's finances.  

THE CLAIM: "First and foremost, we balance the federal budget in less than 10 years by reducing spending by $5.5 trillion — without accounting gimmicks or higher taxes." —Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., chairman of the House Budget Committee, in a published opinion article.

"Republicans have put forward a responsible plan that balances the budget in 10 years with no new tax hikes, that protects our most vulnerable citizens, it strengthens our national defense, and it improves economic growth and opportunity for hardworking families." —Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., chairman of the Senate Budget Committee.

THE FACTS: Both Republican budgets say they will generate $41.67 trillion in revenue over the next decade. That is very close to the $41.75 trillion that would be generated under current law, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

<The LIE exposed not by President Obama's Executive Department's fiscal estimates, but the Congressional Budget Office's own nonpartisan fiscal staff.>

Current law assumes that more than 50 temporary tax breaks that expired at the start of the year will not be renewed. They include tax breaks for businesses big and small, as well as provisions that benefit commuters, teachers and struggling homeowners.

All together, the tax breaks add up to $898 billion over the next decade, according to CBO.

Do congressional Republicans really want to eliminate $898 billion in tax breaks?

No!   NOT TO DATE!

Most Republicans in Congress have voted numerous times to temporarily extend them. And over the past year, the Republican-controlled House has voted to make some of the more popular ones permanent.

Then why don't the Republican budget resolutions reflect the costs of providing those tax breaks?

<How many times have we heard this before?>

Republican budget writers assert that they can fill the revenue gap by simplifying the tax code and making it more competitive.

Both GOP plans call for overhauling the taxes paid by individuals and businesses. Without providing many details, they count on that overhaul to spark more economic growth, which would generate additional tax revenue.

<What cutting taxes to create more taxes?   When has that ever worked?>

"Our budget calls for comprehensive tax reform that would include lower rates for individuals and families as well as large corporations and small businesses who often file their tax returns through the individual side of the tax code," says the House plan. "Along with lower rates, we propose broadening the tax base by closing special-interest loopholes that distort economic activity."

The plan doesn't specify which "loopholes" would be closed. That would be left to the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee to figure out later.

<Ground Hog's Day all over?>

The Senate plan creates a reserve fund that could be used to help pay for a tax overhaul or to "extend certain expiring tax-relief provisions." But the budget resolution doesn't allocate any money to the fund.

<Call it the Santa Claus Fund or the Tooth Fairy under your pillow fund.>

Some policymakers in Washington say that letting temporary tax cuts expire isn't the same as increasing taxes. But congressional Republicans don't make that argument, especially about tax breaks that have been around for years and even decades.

To drive home the point, when Congress voted in December to extend the temporary tax breaks through the end of the year, the title of the legislation was the "Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014."

After the November Elections, the December extending of temporary tax breaks was called, the "Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014" and the Fox said to Little Red Riding Hood, "All the better to eat you with my dear."

            DUTY CALLS--VOTE!