Bad Deeds for 7-6-2012

The Terrifying Texas Republican Platform – The Texas Republican Platform wants to eliminate teaching of critical thinking skills, wants to cut funding to all levels of education, and wants to enact economic policies that experts agree would make the economy worse. It reads as if it were written in another age and in ignorance of the social, economic, and scientific evidence of the past half century. Let there be no mistake about it: the Texas Republican Party Platform is terrifying. Were its recommendations implemented, the US would resemble a third-world country with a cheap, uneducated workforce and a massive gap between rich and poor. Unemployment would be rampant, growth stagnant, and answers few and far between thanks to the systematic repression of higher order and critical thinking.

Who said that? Forbes Magazine – the business and investing magazine. Not exactly a liberal publication.

Rush Limbaugh Says Giving Women the Right to Vote Screwed Up The Country – Rush Limbaugh thinks that the country was great until women got the vote.

The segment begins with a caller whipping out his pocket Constitution and arguing that “Obamacare” is really the fault of young people. In his mind, those 18 year olds are the reason we’ve elected “someone this foolish.”

Limbaugh counters with “Nah, I can do one better than that. When women got the vote is when it all went downhill.”

Romney’s Secret Wealth Assets Held Offshore – WASHINGTON — For nearly 15 years, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s financial portfolio has included an offshore company that remained invisible to voters as his political star rose.

Based in Bermuda, Sankaty High Yield Asset Investors Ltd. was not listed on any of Romney’s state or federal financial reports. The company is among several Romney holdings that have not been fully disclosed, including one that recently posted a $1.9 million earning — suggesting he could be wealthier than the nearly $250 million estimated by his campaign.

Sankaty was transferred to a trust owned by Romney’s wife, Ann, one day before he was sworn in as Massachusetts governor in 2003, according to Bermuda records obtained by The Associated Press. The Romneys’ ownership of the offshore firm did not appear on any state or federal financial reports during Romney’s two presidential campaigns. Only the Romneys’ 2010 tax records, released under political pressure earlier this year, confirmed their continuing control of the company.

Alabama Pastors Conference Invites Only ‘White Christians’; Will Include a Cross Burning – A group of pastors in Alabama says that they are not racist even though only “white Christians” were invited to their three-day conference, which will include a cross burning and be attended by Ku Klux Klan (KKK) members.

This Is What Happens When Public Services Go Private – Lifeguard Who Aided Swimmer Was Fired – As lifeguards are paid and trained to do, Tomas Lopez rushed down the beach to rescue a drowning man — and then got fired for it.

The problem: Lopez stepped out of the beach zone his company is paid to patrol, a supervisor said Tuesday.

“I ran out to do the job I was trained to do,” said Lopez. “I didn’t think about it at all.”
At least two other lifeguards have quit in protest.

“What was he supposed to do? Watch a man drown?” asked one.

Lifeguards in Hallandale Beach work for Orlando-based company Jeff Ellis and Associates, which has been providing lifeguard services for the city’s beaches and pools since 2003. This hero made about $8.25 per hour to make sure people don’t drown on the very public, lovely Florida beaches, and they fired him because they were worried about “liability issues.”

Republican Joe Walsh Blasts Double Amputee’s Military Service, Says She’s Not A ‘True Hero’ – Though he never joined the military himself, Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) disparaged his Democratic opponent’s military service at a town hall on Sunday, saying that she’s not a “true hero.”

Walsh is running against Tammy Duckworth, a double amputee who lost both her legs in Iraq when insurgents hit her helicopter with an RPG in 2004.

The Tea Party freshman opened the Elk Grove town hall by arguing that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) was reluctant to discuss his own military service in 2008, which made him a “noble hero.” By contrast, “Now I’m running against a woman who, my God, that’s all she talks about,” Walsh said.

Houston Councilwoman Brown Altered Employees’ Timecards – Houston City Councilwoman Helena Brown subtracted hours from employees’ timecards in apparent violation of federal law, according to records obtained by the Houston Chronicle. The first-term councilwoman shorted an employee by more than three hours in a day in several cases. At least six times, Brown deleted enough hours from employees’ reported workweeks that it cost them overtime by bringing their weekly total under 40 hours.

Texas Ranks Last Healthcare in the U.S. – Texas ranked dead last in the federal government’s latest report card on the delivery of health services, falling short in areas ranging from acute hospital care to home treatment of the chronically ill.

Texas scored 31.61 — less than half of top-ranked Minnesota’s 67.31 — out of a possible 100 points in the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality annual rankings. Rated “weak” or “very weak” in nine of 12 health delivery categories, Texas dropped from 47th place in 2010 to 51st in 2011, behind all other states and Washington, D.C.

Texas Republican-Controlled Legislature Cuts to Texas College Aid Cause Students to Suffer – Lawmakers cut about $1 billion from higher education financial aid last year, part of billions in spending cuts needed to balance the two-year budget without raising taxes. Education leaders worried that as a result, tens of thousands of students would be barred from attending college because of the cost. “These institutions muddled through this last year with the dollars they had, but not a whole lot of people are holding their breath to recoup the money we lost last time or to get new money,” said Dominic Chavez, spokesman for the coordinating board. “Meanwhile, we continue to see increases in the number of needy students. We are already in catch-up mode trying to meet the need of students who qualify.”

Some students eligible for TEXAS Grants end up going to a local community college if they can’t afford a four-year university or taking on heavy work schedules to support themselves. Dr. Tom Melecki, director of UT student financial services, said his office aims to help students avoid either of those options because many who try to work full time end up dropping out. Gov. Rick Perry and legislative leaders recently instructed agencies to prepare budgets for the next two years that would freeze spending or even cut another 10 percent.

Regards,
Jim