Real cowboys are in Mitt's 47%

'This latest evidence of Romney's obtuseness appalled credible conservative commentators.' (photo: Jim Young/Reuters)

By David Horsey

The Los Angeles Times

readersupportednews.org

21 September 12

n the imaginary universe of Mitt Romney, the 47% of Americans who pay no income tax are loafers, shiftless bums and welfare queens who will all vote for President Obama in November. In the real world, that 47% includes the working poor, the newly unemployed, handicapped people, the elderly, veterans, 4,000 millionaires and the nation's greatest icon, the American cowboy.

A few years ago, I helped move a herd of cattle with some honest-to-God cowboys on a big ranch near White Sulphur Springs, Mont. At the end of the morning as the cows and calves mothered up, the cowboys told me how they loved the life they lived -- the broad land, the wide sky, the days tending animals, even the hard and endless work in all kinds of weather.

One of the cowboys said he knew he would never get rich; he and his wife lived with their kids in a tiny rental house and they would probably never have much more than that. But it was enough for him. He had no interest in being an entrepreneur, a venture capitalist or a king of Wall Street.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average yearly income of a cowboy is around $25,000. Tax laws that were passed under President Reagan aimed to help Americans of modest means by giving them an income tax break. As a result, working people in the income strata below $30,000 a year are likely to pay little or no income tax. That covers a lot of cowboys.

Are they slackers? No, there is no one with a stronger work ethic than cowboys. A willingness to work does not guarantee affluence, though. Among the 47% that Romney disdains are millions of hardworking, poorly compensated people and other millions of retired folk who labored all their lives. But, in a speech to wealthy donors last May, Romney said he would not even try to win the votes of this 47% because they were "dependent on the government" and felt "entitled to healthcare, to food, to housing, to you-name-it."

With these comments revealed, it becomes even more obvious that Romney has vast gaps in his understanding of the people he aspires to lead. He speaks as though he is being fed lines by a staff made up of Ayn Rand zealots and Rush Limbaugh dittoheads and has no clue how they are misleading him.

This latest evidence of Romney’s obtuseness appalled credible conservative commentators, such as David Brooks and Bill Kristol. Limbaugh, of course, was ecstatic to have the Republican presidential nominee join him in a world without facts.

The sad reality is that Romney is wrong about one other thing: There are plenty of folks among the 47% who will vote for him -- and not just the millionaires who have found ways to evade the income tax. Working-class men, in particular, have fallen for the Republican call to "take back America" from gays, illegal immigrants, baby-killing feminists, tax-crazy liberals and a president who is just not truly American. They feel embattled and hope Romney will be on their side. But how can he be their champion when he does not even know who they are or how they live?

If Mitt Romney saw a real cowboy, he'd think it was costume night at the country club. 

    READER COMMENTS     

 

+143 # indian weaver 2012-09-21 10:52

I had to laugh at the last line. We live in southwestern Colorado where ranching and farming constitute most of the local business, along with the energy industry's gas drilling. At City Market supermarket and everywhere else in town (pop. 10,000, county 18,000, elev. 6200') and country, locals wear their cowboy hats and boots, cowboys and cowgirls on horseback with their cattle dogs along the highways herding cattle from Winter to Summer pastures (and the tourists here for Mesa Verde stopped on the highway taking photos), our ever-present working and family dogs riding around in our trucks and cars with us. Yet, amazingly enough, the cowboy hat and boots are not costume dress for our "country club". I can't imagine harder working folks making less money and loving it. I guess we are the lazy hobos depending on government for our livelihoods? I don't think so. Cleaning out irrigation ditches, brush hogging acreage of tough sagebrush to enlarge our pastures, baling and stacking bales of hay for local consumption and trucking to market, this is a county of back breaking physical labors of love to pay our way. We are blessed to live in clean space and emptiness, far from romney's rich and famous geniuses. Many of us have to laugh at this guy who actually has deceived himself and many others into viewing him as presidential material. Gimme a break, and another laugh.

 

+4 # KittatinyHawk 2012-09-21 18:05

Enjoy it Fracking may not affect you at your altitude but it will affect others.

I am glad someone in a different situation has given us a glimpse of how American seems to meld into the employment in its midst.

I was offended for the Military...not all are brass slugs.

 

+17 # indian weaver 2012-09-22 05:10

Fracking is here. Altitude has nothing to do with it. It's as horrible here as everywhere. Underground explosions have already knocked one home off its foundation just north of cortez, co. Bill Barrett Co. is doing the damages and is facing a lawsuit by the AG of colorado, filed in Denver. The underground explosions are also suspected of weakening the foundation of Cliff Palace on Mesa Verde, the largest cliff dwelling in the national park. We know all about fracking here.

 

+9 # Regina 2012-09-22 09:40

Romney comes with rich and notorious scoundrels and jackasses, not "geniuses." Cowboys know a helluva lot more about nature than these dingbats, who know zilch about human reproduction, climate, evolution, and all the other science areas they firmly think they have a choice and a vote, for or (usually) against.

 

0 # robniel 2012-09-25 10:30

As Mozzie would say, "He's an empty suit".

 

+67 # fishmother 2012-09-21 11:08

I can see no way in which anything akin to reality will shake all if those wood be good lie boys from Romney. It's too bad that there isn't some ID requirement that could keep em from voting. Is there a way to make racism & stupidity a case for voter fraud?

 

+42 # CL38 2012-09-21 12:40

Racism, misogyny, homophobia, stupidity, lying and propagating misinformation should all be grounds to prevent those who believe in a right to discriminate, from running for public office!

We need tests that those aspiring for public office have to pass that weed out extremists. Otherwise, our politicians are certainly not serving all Americans, only old white males.

 

Great news for red winos

ASU researchers have confirmed that not only does resveratrol, a compound found in red wine, extend the lifespan of honey bees by 33 to 38 percent, it also changes the decisions that bees make about food by triggering a “moderation effect” when they eat.
Photo by: Brenda Rascón

By Sandy Leander
ASU News

The idea that drinking red wine may provide health benefits – or possibly even extend your life – is an appealing thought for many people. Now, there may be added attraction. Researchers have found that when given resveratrol, a compound found in red wine, bees consume less food.

Previous scientific studies on resveratrol show that it lengthens the lifespan of diverse organisms ranging from unicellular yeast to fruit flies and mice. Since bees are social animals like humans, a team of scientists from Arizona State University, the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, and Harvard Medical School, decided to test the effects of the chemical on the honey bee.

In a series of experiments published in the journal Aging, the scientists tested the effects of resveratrol on the lifespan, learning ability, and food perception in honey bees.

Their research has confirmed that not only does this compound extend the lifespan of honey bees by 33 to 38 percent, it also changes the decisions that bees make about food by triggering a “moderation effect” when they eat.

“For the first time, we conducted several tests on the effects of resveratrol by using the honey bee as a model,” said Brenda Rascón, an ASU alumnus and doctoral student with Gro Amdam, an associate professor in ASU’s School of Life Sciences and the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. “We were able to confirm that under normal living conditions, resveratrol lengthened lifespan in honey bees.”

Since resveratrol is an antioxidant, researchers also questioned whether it would be capable of diminishing the damaging effects of “free radicals” – often released during stressful conditions. Free radicals are believed to cause damage to cells, and have an effect on how we age. Resveratrol did not, however, prove to extend lives of bees living under stressful conditions.

Yet, since the bees tested with the compound were living longer, researchers asked the next question: What’s happening that is causing them to live longer?

“Because what we eat is such an important contributor to our physical health, we looked at the bees’ sensitivity to sugar and their willingness to consume it,” said Amdam. “Bees typically gorge on sugar and while it’s the best thing for them, we know that eating too much is not necessarily a good thing.”

Interestingly, Amdam, Rascón, and their research team discovered that bees given the compound were less sensitive to sugar. By using different sugar solutions – some very diluted and some with stronger concentrations – they found that bees receiving resveratrol were not as interested in eating the sugar solutions unless the sugar was highly concentrated. The bees basically changed their perception about food.

In a final experiment, they measured how much food the bees would consume if given the opportunity to eat as much sugar water as they possibly could.

“Surprisingly, the bees that received the drug decreased their food intake,” said Rascón. “The bees were allowed to eat as much as they pleased and were certainly not starving – they simply would not gorge on the food that we know they like. It’s possible resveratrol may be working by some mechanism that is related to caloric restriction – a dietary regimen long known to extend lifespan in diverse organisms.”

The Research Council of Norway and the PEW Charitable Trust funded this study.

ASU School of Life Sciences is an academic unit of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.,

Get spooky at Library Friends bookstore

During the month of October, The Library Friends of Payson Bookstore is featuring all things spooky.  Stop by and select a book for a chilling read.

 

You will find Mysteries  prominently displayed.  For the entire month of October, buy one mystery book at our already low price and get a second one free.  It’s a wonderful way to get into the mood for Halloween. 

 

In keeping with the “spooky reads” theme, mystery writers such as: Patricia Cornwell, Mary Higgins Clark, Faye or Jonathan Kellerman,  Dean Koontz, Tom Clancy, and John Grisham will be featured in October 2 for 1 sale.  This is an excellent opportunity to plan ahead for great winter reading.

 

Crafters who are anxious to get an early start holiday projects will want to stop by the Bookstore soon.  All year Bookstore volunteers put aside holiday craft books and now it’s time to put them on display.  Don’t miss this chance to discover new ideas for the holiday season.

 

Bookstore prices range from $4.00 to $1.00 for hardback books based on copyright dates.   Stock changes rapidly, therefore, the savvy shopper stops by frequently.  Bookstore volunteers are always happy to see you.

 

 The LFOP Bookstore is located to the right of the circulation desk just inside the Payson Public Library, 328 N. McLane Road.  For more information visit the Library Friends of Payson website at www.libraryfriendsofpayson.org

US needs leaders who understand threats

 BOB EDWARDS 

 COMMENTARY 

By Bob Edwards

Gazette Contributor

(Gazette Blog Editor's note: Bob Edwards is a former Michigan State Legislator and former Mayor of Payson.)

America just experienced 9/11 two, granted it is less dramatic since it was stretched over days and not minutes, but make no mistake, it was a severe attack on America  by Islam extremists.

The history of embassies has shown them to be safe havens protected by the government of the countries in which they reside, even countries with governments that oppose America. However, this time the government did not protect them and there are strong hints that they may have even had a role in promoting the attacks.

The above should be a concern to all Americans but an even bigger concern should be that in this world of ever increasing fanatical terrorists we seem to have an administration that turns a blind eye to the growing crisis.

To excuse the terrorist actions on a video is the height of naivety. Yes the video is in poor taste and stupid but humans are a breed that does such things.  By comparison, Islam radicals not only make much wilder statements they cut off heads. The Islam radicals have succeeded in making even the mildest questions about Islam the work of islamaphobes yet they continually rile against and call for the killing of all none Muslims.

Iran and Israel are at a flashpoint threatening a major worldwide explosion yet Netanyahu can’t get a meeting with the president while entertainers can. The attacks on the embassy are excused as a natural reaction to a weird You Tube video for which the administration seems to think America is at fault. Now it seems clear that the UN Ambassador Susan Rice was sent out to deliberately lie to the American people which, if true, should scare every American. Open and honest debate was a principle our country was built on. I understand a politician getting caught off guard or waylaid by a devious reporter and making a misstatement but to make a prepared statement that is a deliberate lie is an erosion in standard that should shake us deeply.

The world is moving to a crisis state both financially and politically. Europe is racing toward a financial abyss and is still stepping on the gas… Greece is toast, Spain and Portugal are in the frying pan, France just elected leaders that will insure they will follow suit and America is using Europe as a financial model.

Politically, Libya and Egypt have moved from despot dictators who were not a threat to America or Israel to despot leaders who call for the death of both America and Israel. The popular uprising in Syria, a country that is a threat to both America and Israel is being ignored just as the popular uprising in Iran was ignored.

America needs leadership that clearly understands the threats we face and is willing to engage in both economic and foreign policies that make sense.

Taxes increase for non-primary residents

[Gazette Blog Editor's note: You might want to check your recently received Gila County property tax bill to see if you are impacted by the following.  But remember, both houses of your state legislature and the governor's office are firmly controlled by the Republican Party.]
 
(GLOBE, AZ)— The Arizona legislature last year passed House Bill 2001 and was signed into law by the Governor that created a new legal class for residential property. 

This new legal class 4.1 is for residential property that is not the owner’s primary residence and for residential property that is owned by a financial institution. The new legal class is found in Arizona Revised Statute 42-12004 Section 1.
 
Previously a person owning multiple residential properties would receive the homeowner’s rebate, commonly known as Less State Aid to Education, on each residential property, as long as a residential property was not rented to someone who was not a member of the owner’s family per Arizona Revised Statute 42-12053.

The new legislation means that all secondary residences, such as personal use vacation homes, and residences owned by financial institutions in Gila County and throughout the state of Arizona will see a change in their 2012 Property Tax Bills.
 
The loss of the Less State Aid to Education could mean an increase in a property tax bill as much as $600.00. The actual increase in property taxes for a property for class 4.1 is dependent on the Limited Property Value of each property and the School District the property is located in.

A Non-Primary Residence Tax Bill will increase on average based on the average Net Assessed Value of a Non-Primary Residence within the following school districts:
Payson Unified School District: $188.96
Globe Unified School District: $87.32
Young Unified School District: $190.14
Pine-Strawberry Unified School District: $63.21
Tonto Basin School District: $87.06
Miami Unified School District: $56.21
Hayden-Winkelman Unified School District: $96.20

Since the state has created this new legal classification, the only residential property that will stillreceive the homeowner’s rebate is legal class 3, owner occupied and/or family member occupied property used as their primary residence.

For more information, you can contact Mr. Larry Huffer at (928) 402-8716 or Ms. Hazel Dillon at (928) 402-8711, with the Gila County Assessor’s Office. Within Arizona, you may dial (800) 304-4452, ext. 8716, or 8711.

STUDY: Expanding Medicaid will boost AZ economy

By DANIELLE VERBRIGGHE
Cronkite News Service
 
PHOENIX – Expanding Medicaid eligibility to 133 percent of the federal poverty line, as called for under the Affordable Care Act, would boost Arizona’s economy and add jobs, a think tank reported Wednesday.

While that approach would increase costs for the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, the nonprofit Grand Canyon Institute said, it also would make the state eligible for a higher percentage of federal funding.

The group held a news conference to discuss a report that examined three options for Medicaid under the federal health care law. The others were maintaining the current policy, which froze enrollment for childless adults as the state struggled with budget deficits, and restoring coverage for everyone up to 100 percent of the poverty line.

“It’s obvious that … the option involving full implementation of the Affordable Care Act is where to go,” said George Cunningham, a former Democratic state lawmaker who serves as chairman of the Grand Canyon Institute.

The group describes itself as a centrist, nonpartisan policy group.

Because of the U.S. Supreme Court’s health care ruling this summer, states are under no obligation to expand Medicaid coverage. However, the federal government is willing to pay a larger portion of the costs if states opt to do so.

While Arizona voters passed a proposition in 2000 that required Medicaid coverage for those up to 100 percent of the federal poverty line, state lawmakers opted out of that policy last year.

Dave Wells, research director for Grand Canyon Institute and author of the report, said expanding Medicaid coverage, while raising the state’s costs, would boost the economy through the federal contribution. His report put that impact at $2.8 billion and 21,000 new jobs.

Continuing the current policy isn’t a long-term option because it conflicts with what voters approved in 2000, he said.

“They would save money in the short run, but in the long run they would be hurting hospitals, hurting people who won’t have health coverage and hurting the economy,” Wells said.

Coverage up to 133 percent of the poverty line would increase state costs between fiscal year 2014 and fiscal year 2017 from $855 million to $1.52 billion, according to the Grand Canyon Institute’s analysis. It also would increase federal funding during that period from $2.76 billion to $7.93 billion.

If the state were to restore funding to the 100 percent threshold established in 2000 its costs would be even higher because of a lower percentage of federal funding, reaching $2.73 billion, the report said. Under that scenario, it said, federal funding would rise to $6.35 billion.

Under any of those options, children up to age 18 would have to be covered up to 133 percent of the poverty line under the federal law.

Byron Schlomach, an economist with the Goldwater Institute, an independent watchdog group that promotes limited government and free enterprise, said the group’s conclusion doesn’t take into account the full implications of relying on federal money.

“Part of the problem, of course, is this money comes from somewhere,” Schlomach said. “It comes from the federal government. That’s true. But the assumptions about the economic benefits of that money I don’t believe are accurate.”

Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said the state should comply with the funding levels set by voters in 2000 but can’t afford to commit more state or federal money to Medicaid.

“The federal money is also our money,” he said. “The only difference is the federal government takes it out of our right pocket instead of our left pocket.”

At last, good news for Republicans...

If things play out in November the way they are currently trending, Republicans will be rid of Mitt Romney once and for all - and so will the rest of us. 

An Independent Voter

How Mitt dodged the draft

Mitt Romney:

UNFIT FOR COMMAND

by Hugh E. Scott--freelance journalist, political cartoonist, Vietnam veteran and creator of the noncommercial website, www.Unfit-Mitt.com

In 2007, when a reporter asked him why he didn't serve in the military during the Vietnam War, Romney dodged the question by saying he“longed to be in Vietnam," even though he had used four deferments to evade the draft.
.
More recently, when asked why his five grown sons hadn't worn the uniform, Mitt replied, "Instead of serving in the military, they are supporting our nation by helping me get elected because they think I'd make a great president."
.
The audacity of that pompous statement alone disqualifies Governor Romney from being the leader of our armed forces. For incredibly to me--and I'm sure to you as well--he actually believes that political campaigning is equal to military service. A man like that who has no understanding of what it means to be a soldier, sailor, airman or marine, is the absolute last person who should be their commander-in-chief.

Mitt's inability to relate to military service was never more apparent than when he delivered his acceptance speech at the GOP convention in Tampa, Florida. Shamefully, not once did he pay tribute to our troops overseas. Nor did he ever mention the Afghan War.
.
Finally, Governor Romney is unfit for command because he lacks the single-most important element of leadership: INTEGRITY. Time and again, he has lied and distorted facts while campaigning against President Obama. With a dishonest record like that, how can the American people trust Mitt to be truthful when it comes to armed conflicts?

The sad fact is, we can't.

Two reasons Romney is on the ropes

Portrait, Robert Reich, 08/16/09. (photo: Perian Flaherty)

By Robert Reich, Robert Reich's Blog

readersupportednews.org

25 September 12

've spent the past few days debating right-wingers - among them, Grover Norquist and Ann Coulter. This isn't my idea of fun. I do it because apparently many Americans find these people persuasive, and it seems important to try to show why they're profoundly wrong.

There are two major theories about why Romney is dropping in the polls. One is Romney is a lousy candidate, unable to connect with people or make his case.

The second is that Americans are finally beginning to see how radical the GOP has become, and are repudiating it.

Many Republicans - including some of the right-wingers I've been debating - hold to the first view, for obvious reasons. If Romney fails to make a comeback this week, I expect even more complaints from this crowd about Romney's personal failings, as well as the inadequacies of his campaign staff.

But the second explanation strikes me as more compelling. The Republican primaries, and then the Republican convention, have shown America a party far removed from the "compassionate conservatism" the GOP tried to sell in 2000. Instead, we have a party that's been taken over by Tea Partiers, nativists, social Darwinists, homophobes, right-wing evangelicals, and a few rich people whose only interest is to become even wealthier.

These regressives were there in 2000, to be sure. They lurked in the GOP in the 1990s, when Newt Gingrich took over the House. They were there in the 1980s, too, although Ronald Reagan's sunny disposition gave them cover. In truth, they've been part of the GOP for more than half a century - but never before have they held so much sway in the party, never before have they called the shots.

The second view about Romney's decline also explains the "negative coat-tail" effect - why so many Republicans around the country in Senate and House races are falling behind. Scott Brown, for example, is well-liked in Massachusetts. But his polls have been dropping in recent weeks because he's had to carry the burden of the public's increasing dislike of the Republican Party. The same is true with regard to Republican senate races in Florida, Virginia, and every other battleground state.

Romney's failing isn't that he's a bad candidate. To the contrary, he's giving this GOP exactly what it wants in a candidate. And that's exactly the problem for Romney - as it is for every other Republican candidate - because what the GOP wants is not at all what the rest of America wants.

---

Robert B. Reich, Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley, was Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration. Time Magazine named him one of the ten most effective cabinet secretaries of the last century. He has written thirteen books, including the best sellers "Aftershock" and "The Work of Nations." His latest is an e-book, "Beyond Outrage." He is also a founding editor of the American Prospect magazine and chairman of Common Cause.

Top two primary prop faces tough fight

Former Phoenix Mayor Paul Johnson is a leader of the Open Government Committee, which is promoting a ballot proposition that would establish open primaries in Arizona. (Cronkite News Service Photo by Sean Peick)
 
By SEAN PEICK
Cronkite News Service
 
PHOENIX – As mayor of Phoenix, Paul Johnson found city officeholders and candidates more willing to seek common ground and less beholden to groups promoting narrow interests.

The reason, he said, was the city’s nonpartisan primaries.

“It created substantially better results,” Johnson said.

Then came running for governor in partisan primaries. And seeing rising public discontent with divisive politics.

Those experiences, he said, are behind his support of a ballot proposition that would create open primaries for state offices. If approved in November, Proposition 121 would have the top vote-getters advance to the general election regardless of party.

Johnson joined with other business and civic leaders to form the Open Government Committee, which got the measure on the ballot and fought successful court battles to keep it there.

With relatively few voters currently taking part in primaries, especially independents, Johnson said open primaries would lead to a more inclusive government.

“It is a way to allow independents and independently minded Democrats and Republicans to have an equal voice with what has become an ideological extreme in both parties,” he said.

The group promoting that idea has raised a large amount of money along the way.
As of Aug. 24, the Open Government Committee had raised $965,000 and spent $954,000, according to its latest filing with the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office. 

That’s the most to date among groups supporting or opposing the various ballot measures.

Save Our Vote, a group headed by Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery that is opposing Proposition 121, had raised $33,000.

Even so, Johnson sees both sides’ finances as fairly even because his group spent more than $800,000 on petitions to get on the ballot. The group’s lawyers wrote off most of the fees from court battles that twice reached the state Supreme Court.

“We’re now with the media portion of the campaign,” Johnson said. “They’ve got to go run a media campaign, we have to go run a media campaign. The good news for us is we’ve already identified people who like our initiative and that’ll give us money.”

While Johnson shies away from outright declaring himself the group’s leader, he has also made the most significant financial investment in the form of a $150,000 loan earlier this year.

Forty-six of the 255 total contributions, including loans, totaled at least $5,000 each.
While the 177 individuals who donated gave a combined $284,000, 15 organizations donated a collective $334,000.

The largest donation was from Greater Phoenix Leadership, a coalition of Phoenix-area business leaders that has given $121,500 in six installments.

“We believe in representative democracy, we believe that every voice is important to be heard,” said Thomas Franz, the group’s president and CEO.

Professional Fire Fighters of Arizona, a union representing thousands of firefighters statewide, donated $100,000. Other contributing organizations included Cowley Companies Inc., the Southern Arizona Leadership Council and the Arizona Cardinals.

Sarah Smallhouse, president of the Thomas R. Brown Foundations of Tucson and a member of the Open Government Committee’s leadership, contributed $5,000. She said Arizona’s current primary system leads to elected officials who won’t work effectively with the business and nonprofit sectors.

“Together, with reinforcement, we can do a lot more than those three things working independently,” she said.

Having to spend so much money supporting open primaries is discouraging but necessary to Lea Marquez-Peterson, president and CEO at the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, which has endorsed the effort.

“It’s important to educate our community so they understand what the particulars are in this initiative,” she said.

David Berman, a senior research fellow at Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute for Public Policy, said organization and fundraising ability don’t necessarily lead to a successful campaign. But Proposition 121 has a good chance to pass, he said, because of growing public dislike for partisanship and the success of similar systems in California, Washington and Louisiana.

One thing opponents have in their favor, Berman said, is that the Open Government Committee is proposing something new and unfamiliar to many voters.

“When people are confronted with something like that, they’re likely to say ‘no’ because they don’t want to gamble,” he said.

   Some Donors for Prop 121:   

• Greater Phoenix Leadership Committee – $121,500
• Professional Fire Fighters of Arizona – $100,000
• Mark Sklar, managing director of DMB Associates Inc. – $35,000
• Cowley Companies Inc. – $25,000
• Arizona Pipe Trades 469 (PAC) – $20,000
• James Kaufman, retired developer – $20,000
• Philip Francis, retired executive chairman of PetSmart Inc. – $20,000
• United Food & Commercial Workers Local 99 General Account – $20,000
• William Post, former chairman of the board of Arizona Public Service and Pinnacle West Capital Corporation – $12,500
• Mary Kay Post, retired – $12,500

Mitt wins poll of replacement refs

By Andy Borowitz
The Borowitz Report
 
NEW YORK (The Borowitz Report)—G.O.P. Presidential nominee Mitt Romney finally got some good news today as he found himself ahead of President Obama in a poll of N.F.L. replacement referees.

The survey, which immediately lifted the spirits of the Romney campaign, was taken among replacement refs on the field during N.F.L. games that they were supposed to be officiating last Sunday and Monday.

According to the poll, if the election were held today the replacement refs would have Mr. Romney beating President Obama by a score of 14-12.

By a wide majority, the replacement refs “strongly agreed” with the statement, “I’m pretty sure I’m right about this but I need to talk it over with some other people first.”

Photograph by Joel Auerbach/Getty.

Scott Walker's dream is Packers' nightmare

Replacement NFL referee Richard Simmons breaks up an altercation between the Seattle Seahawks and the Green Bay Packers after the game. (photo: Steven Bisig/US Presswire)

By Marc Ash, Reader Supported News

26 Septmeber 12

isconsin's union-busting hero Governor Scott Walker can list among his accomplishments laying the groundwork for Monday night's debacle in Seattle that cost Wisconsin's beloved Green Bay Packers a hard-fought win they rightly deserved. 

Not to mention professional football its credibility.

There is no strike, the NFL referees are not striking. The NFL players did not strike last year, and NBA players didn't either. All three conflicts were, "lockouts" orchestrated by the team owners. The owners decided they did not like the contracts they had signed, simply tore them up and locked the door.

All three conflicts are part of a far larger war on unions by American business owners and the government officials who serve them. Scott Walker's initiatives in Wisconsin to weaken public service unions and humble their members are an inspiration to big American interests. They believe as Walker believes that the time is now to save America by destroying unions, or at least pad their bottom lines failing that.

What is at issue in this latest big-sports owner lockout is pensions. The team owners want to alter and reduce the pension packages they agreed to in their contract negotiations with the NFL Referees Association, (NFLRA). The refs have thrown a flag and a fight has broken out. More importantly the owners bared the veteran referees from working and are withholding their paychecks.

Bring in the replacement referees, (Scabs).

Think workers have no value, think anyone can do any job, think experience doesn't matter? Ask the Green Bay Packers or the Detroit Lions or any head coach or player in the NFL, they'll break it down for you. American workers have value. The NFL like all American businesses (whether they know it or not) was built on the backs of workers. 

The workers are the process, and in the case of the NFL the fans and customers as well.

Out the Window With Gruden

The color announcer for ESPN's Monday night broadcast was former NFL head coach Jon Gruden. At a point in the 4th quarter, even before the climactic melt-down on the game's last play, Gruden said in utter frustration, "I feel like jumping out of this broadcast booth." Maybe the time has come for the NFL's taken-for-granted fans to go out the window with Gruden. Right now NFL has as much credibility as Saturday 

Night Wrestling

But the bigger question is will Gruden or any of the other high profile sports figures speaking out against the NFL stand in solidarity with Chicago's teachers, Wisconsin's public service employees, the nation's airline pilots or any of the millions of dedicated employees caught up in the union purges of Walker and his ilk?

We're in the 4th quarter and the game is on the line.

---

Marc Ash was formerly the founder and Executive Director of Truthout, and is now founder and Editor of Reader Supported News.

    READER COMMENTS   

+14 # wipster 2012-09-26 07:26

look, I'm a Seahawks fan and I felt like I should take a shower after that game. That was absolutely disgusting but that's not the only game where bad calls have been made. this season has gone from bad to worse and I wonder just how much worse is going to get.

+14 # portiz 2012-09-26 08:04

Work that requires skills is work that requires SKILLED LABOR. Even Walker knows this, in fact following Monday's game he tweeted, “After catching a few hours of sleep, the #Packers game is still just as painful. #Returntherealr efs,”.

Sadly, Walker is too dumb to realize the failure in his own reasoning.

+17 # Barkingcarpet 2012-09-26 08:04

Disgusting Nightmare? A Disgusting Nightmare is humans being more upset wrapped up and involved in the really important things in life, such as Football, than involved with leaving a livable future anything, and actively putting an end to Endless Wars, Fracking, GMO's, Legitimate Rapist Bankers and Corporate Political Policy.

Football, like everything else, all folks seem to care about is $ profits, and winning.

Where are we actively involved in creating clean water, food, shelter, and diverse community?

Football is great fun, and, it IS just a game. A healthy future is more than a game......

+1 # flippancy 2012-09-26 09:48

You're right, without a doubt, but things like this get the attention of the uninformed masses and that's a good thing to have the simpletons who vote Republican see a concrete result of the stupidity of Republican ideology.

+16 # suzyskier 2012-09-26 08:19

When will this greed ever end? It is shamefull. Workers fought huge battles to allow them to form unions. They deserve to have unions to protect them against greed of owners etc Americans have been fed alot of anti union propaganda. The Republican party is gone and what has taken it's place is greed, greed and more greed and many Americans believe this propagnda, mores the pity.

+15 # Old Uncle Dave 2012-09-26 08:32

The players could end this by refusing to play with amateur referees. The fans could end this by not coming to the games. The television viewers could end it by refusing to watch and tanking the ratings.
Solidarity!!!

0 # RightForAReason 2012-09-26 10:05

Yeah and turn down almost a half million in a game check? Sure. In your "solidarity" dreams.