Bad Deeds for 7-13-2012

Republicans Shut Down TB Hospital Amid Worst TB Outbreak in 20 Years – Welcome to the Sunshine State: Republican-run since 1998, tea party-controlled since 2010, and fast becoming one of the lowest-service states in the nation. Which helps explain how lawmakers shut down its only tuberculosis clinic last month, just as the worst outbreak of the infectious disease in America’s recent history flared up with a vengeance in Jacksonville, Miami, and who knows where else—an outbreak that state and local officials sat on until last month, according to an investigation published by the Palm Beach Post.

Last spring, however, the Republican-dominated Legislature voted to shutter the hospital as a cost-saving measure. The state’s governor, former health care executive Rick Scott, signed the bill in April and even pressed for AG Holley’s closure to be moved up six months; the facility was permanently shuttered on July 2.

What was Scott thinking? According to the Palm Beach Post exposé, AG Holley’s closure came after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had warned the governor and his state health office in a report that tuberculosis was making a big comeback in the state.

Hundreds, possibly thousands, of people in Florida could now be carrying the TB strain, which so far has claimed 13 lives and been confirmed to have infected 99 people, including six children, according to the Post—the worst in America in 20 years.

Thanks, Republicans, for saving a few tax dollars!

Romney Invested Millions in Chinese Firm That Profited on US Outsourcing – According to government documents reviewed by Mother Jones, Romney, when he was in charge of Bain, invested heavily in a Chinese manufacturing company that depended on US outsourcing for its profits—and that explicitly stated that such outsourcing was crucial to its success.

This previously unreported deal runs counter to Romney’s tough talk on the campaign trail regarding China. But with this investment, Romney sought to make money off a foreign company that banked on American firms outsourcing manufacturing overseas.

Republican Lawmaker Horrified to Discover that Christianity is Not the Only Religion – One Louisiana Republican is learning the hard way that religious school vouchers can be used to fund education at all sorts of religious schools, even Muslim ones. And while she’s totally in favor of taxpayer money being used to pay for kids to go to Christian schools, she’s willing to put a stop to the entire program if Muslim schools are going to be involved.

Valarie Hodges admitted that when she supported Governor Bobby Jindal’s school voucher program, she only did so because she assumed the religious school vouchers could only be used for Christian schools. Religious freedom means that everyone’s free to follow Valarie Hodges’ religion!

Islam is a religion protected by the constitution, too? No one told Valarie Hodges anything about religions being equal under the law! She can’t support any sort of anything that could learn to families using taxpayer money to educate their kids in Islamic schools. She added Bachmannesquely, “We need to insure that it does not open the door to fund radical Islam schools. There are a thousand Muslim schools that have sprung up recently. I do not support using public funds for teaching Islam anywhere here in Louisiana.”

House Republicans Hold 30 Times More Votes On Repealing Health Care Than On Creating Jobs – A chart from the Nation illustrates the stark disparity between the number of votes that House Republicans have held on repealing the Affordable Care Act versus the number of votes they have held on job-creating measures like the American Jobs Act.

After the House voted to eliminate Obamacare for the 31st time this afternoon, it’s a helpful reminder about how the GOP has pushed aside economic issues despite touting the economy as a central platform issue.

 

Limbaugh Race-Baits – Mitt Romney never had a chance of winning over the NAACP, according to Rush Limbaugh. That’s not because Romney’s a Republican, or because his policy positions aren’t shared by the organization, but because Mitt Romney is white.

“Obama’s the Preezy,” Limbaugh told his listeners Wednesday, (get it? Cuz Limbaugh thinks that’s how black people talk). “He’s confident they’ll boo Romney, simply ’cause Romney’s white. He’s confident of that.” This is, put simply, the dumbest thing Limbaugh has said since the time the 61-year old radio host revealed he didn’t know how birth control works.

When Ross Perot adressed the convention in 1992, press accounts don’t describe any boos despite Perot referring to the audience as “you people.” Then-Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton was well received. Former Republican Senator Bob Dole (R-Kan.) declined to speak, saying he wanted to talk to audiences he “could relate to.” Both Al Gore and George W. Bush addressed the convention in 2000, and neither were booed.

I wonder how Limbaugh will explain why Vice President Joe Biden, who is also white, was so well received by the NAACP convention Thursday.

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One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors. – Plato

Regards,

Jim