This Week's Votes in Congress

In the House, the Republican majority:

1. Refused to allow non-profit organizations that engage in nonpartisan voter registration drives to receive money from a new federal fund for building affordable housing. HR 1461
2. Refused to override Pentagon plans to close or revamp base closings. HJ Res 65
3. Imposed sanctions, including finanicial penalties, for "frivolous" lawsuits in Federal courts and also limited "forum shopping"in civil tort litigation; Republican members rejected a Democrat proposal to wave the law in cases alleging price gouging by companies holding U.S. disaster relief contracts, which would have allowed suits to be filed, as they are now, in potentially any jurisdiction. HR 420

Frank LoBiondo voted with his Republican brethren in every instance.

In the Senate, the Republican majority refused to increase funding for No Child Left Behind, Head Start, and Pell Grants. HR 3010

Gun Lobby Owns Bush, Congress

The House of Representatives recently passed legislation to protect the U.S. gun industry from lawsuits. The 288-144 vote indicates bipartisan cooperation, just like the July Senate vote of 65-31. President Bush, who has said many times that the protection of the American people is Job 1 for him, is expected to sign the bill into law.The new law not only shields manufacturers but also dealers and distributors. It includes ammunition as well as guns. The law provides backward protection so that any suits in the pipeline before the law becomes effective will be thrown out. This law, along with the expiration of the assault-weapons ban, the gun-show loophole and the attorney general's ruling that records of gun purchases must be destroyed after 24 hours, provides terrorists and criminals alike a most friendly environment, probably the best in the industrialized world. The National Rifle Association and the gun lobby said when Bush was elected in 2000 that they now had a seat in the Oval Office and a president in their back pocket. It appears that ownership extends beyond to the inclusion of both houses of Congress. Our own Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd, supports Bush's position against gun control. Bush's many giveaways to big business and special interests usually only cost the average Amercian money; the new law stands to cost some Americans their lives as well.

NICK REINA

Milmay

Letter printed in AC Press, October 29, 2005

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/opsed/story/5657339p-5675263c.html

Faith in Bush Administration Slipping

Lynndie England was convicted of prisoner abuse and sentenced to three years in prison. General Richard Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was quoted as saying that it was "one more example of holding people accountable, because that's who do it." He said, "We had a problem and we dealt with it in an appropriate way." It seems rather odd to me that the policy this soldier was working under was developed by then Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, which redefined the meaning ot "torture." It was approved by the president and implemented by the Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, first in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, then in Iraq and Afghanistan. Rumsfeld admitted responsibility for the policy last year before a senate committee. According to President Bush, the prison practices "represent actions of a few people." Since then, those punished have tended to be lower level soldiers. The total abuses in Iraq and Afghanistan has reached 230 while the number of inquiries has passed 400. Bush's rhetoric calls for full investigations but his actions have blocked any calls for a full, independent investigation that would look at the role played by his administraiton. It is difficult to have faith in leadership that claims responsibility for its actions while doing evertything in its power to to duck accountability. We should be telling Bush and all supporters at the next election that actions speak louder than words. KAREN PADMORE

Cape May Court House

Letter published in Cape May Herald, October 26, 2005

LoBiondo's Recent Votes

Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act: The House voted to prohibit lawsuits blaming the food industry for weight-gain or obsesity. (306-120, 7 not voting.) LoBiondo voted yes.

Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act: The House voted to protect gun manufacturers and distributors from lawsuits stemming from the criminal use of their products. (283-144, 6 not voting.) LoBiondo voted yes.

LoBiondo's No Moderate

I was startled to see an Oct. 8 story that described U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo as a Republican “moderate.” Huh? Any time our 2nd District congressman has put a feeler out among state Republicans about his interest in seeking a statewide office, the media have described him as too right-wing to be elected in our moderate state. LoBiondo's voting record seems on most issues to substantiate the view that he is not a moderate Republican. Elected as a “Contract with America,” balance-the-budget, fiscal conservative, he has abandoned any pretense of supporting fiscal restraint. His vote for the pork-laden highway bill is the latest example. And he has embraced the “voodoo economics” of the neoconservatives.LoBiondo's record on the war is equally fiscally irresponsible. He has supported the failure of the Bush administration to ask for any sacrifice from the American people and continues to push for even more tax breaks for the super rich. While both moderate Republicans and true fiscal conservatives have more and more come to question the war's cost, LoBiondo continues to be an ardent supporter and defender of the Bush war policies.The Press article describing LoBiondo as a moderate was in reference to his support for an investigation into the awarding of various contracts after the storms in the Gulf Coast — a position he acknowledges will never make the House floor. On investigations that have made the floor, he has repeatedly voted against any kind of independent investigation into the Bush administration transgressions. Alexis de Tocqueville warned, “The American republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money.” Hopefully, the extreme fiscal and moral irresponsibility of LoBiondo will be rejected by the voters of the 2nd District in 2006.

LARRY ANGEL

Mullica Township

Letter printed in Press of Atlantic City, October 17, 2005

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/opinion/letters/story/5624720p-5638656c.html

Saving Gasoline and Ignoring the Public, Too

White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan stated that one of the ways the administration would be saving energy is by cutting the number of vans used to transport members of the press. The many trips to various sites along the Gulf Coast for photo opportunities are obviously intended to improve the president's sagging image and poll numbers. Never mind that the president intentionally excluded any conservation measures in his recently passed national energy policy. Mr. Bush and his staff have come up with a brilliant way to kill two birds with one stone. The first bird killed is accurate information passed on to the public by an unbiased press. It is no secret that the current administration is the most secretive in our lifetime, and possibly in all our history. It has gutted the Presidential Papers Act, the Freedom of Information Act and has standing instructions to all its departments that public information is to be doled out to an inquiring public in dribs and drabs. This attempt at restricting information, of course, does not apply to sympathetic media who act as the government's propaganda arm. Think Fox News for one. The other bird killed by the administration is the unbiased press members who report exactly what they see, regardless of how much the administration tries to intimidate them. The media allowed to ride with the presidential convoy will exclude those critical of the administration. Some of us noticed that the coverage following the first few days after Hurricane Katrina differed greatly from the coverage after the third day. All of a sudden, there were no more corpses floating in water and less outrage at the treatment of the victims housed in appalling conditions. It never ceases to amaze me how resourceful this group in Washington, D.C. is. All one has to do is look at how the destroyed area quickly became an enterprise zone for Bush-friendly companies with no environmental, affirmative action and worker wage restrictions. What a shame the same resourcefulness was not applied to helping victims.

NICK REINA

Milmay

Letter printed in the Daily Journal, October 15, 2005.

http://thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051015/OPINION03/510150323/1014/OPINION

Not Under God

I strongly dissent from your piece about the Pledge of Allegiance. When I was sworn into the Navy as a young ensign in 1957, I pledged to defend the Constitution of the United States, not to honor or love a God. All Americans agree to love and support our country, but if anyone thinks we're all under the same god, he's crazy. Whatever values religion may promote in our public life, unity is not among them. Religion is a divider, not a uniter. Your suggestion that children hearing the pledge is "a valuable lesson into everything from majority rule to accepting others' beliefs" is as chilling as it is wrong. You would put the belief of the majority on a pedestal and marginalize those who don't have it. Our Constitution provides for majority rule but, unlike most countries, protects the rights of minorities. By the way, those who claim there are no atheists in foxholes have usually never been in one and most likely don't know many atheists.

JAMES F. MCCARTHY CDR/USN-Retired

Ocean City

Letter printed in Courier Post, October 14, 2005

http://www.courierpostonline.com/news/opinion/index.html

No Tax Money to Dredge Lagoons

As a four-year resident of Ocean City, I am puzzled bythe City Council's willingness to spend public tax money for the benefit of 400 private slip owners.Council President Jack Thomas is quoted as saying the city won't pay for the dredging itself, just the costs to set up and take down the equipment, estimated at $1,250 per slip owner for a total of half a million dollars. This still amounts to public money spent for private benefit.The argument that improving a small group of island properties raises the tax base is interesting. But if this theory made any sense, why not pay every homeowner a subsidy to improve his property?Thomas's comparison of dredging to snow removal is just as weak. Snow removal benefits all citizens, not just a few.The most incredible argument I've heard is that slip owners pay more taxes than the rest of us because they have water views and lagoon access, therefore they should get some help from the city. Maybe these folks should just send in a claim to FEMA.

JAMES F. "MAC" McCARTHY

Ocean City

Letter printed in Press of Atlantic City, October 13, 2005

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/opinion/letters/story/5623475p-5627420c.html

Ivins Investigates

Syndicated columnist Molly Ivins has been a journalist for more than 35 years. She has a master's degree in journalism, has studied at the Institute of Political Science in Paris and has worked for respected newspapers and magazines. She has also written several books on Texas politics and George W. Bush in particular. Had more people troubled themselves to read any of her books before the 2000 election, they would have learned enough about Bush to want to vote for someone else. She exposed his resorting to dirty tricks to win the governorship of Texas and pass legislation. She exposed his bankrupt policies such as his education plan, which was criticized by the Rand Corporation and a prestigious Texas university. She also exposed his taking credit for working with Democrats to pass a patients' bill of rights when what he actually did was let the bill become law without his signature knowing that the legislature had enough votes to override his veto. He also left Texas passing a two-year health bill that was only funded for 23 months. Lawmakers then had to scurry around looking for ways to pay for that last month.

NICK REINA

Milmay

Letter printed in the Courier Post, October 10, 2005

http://www.courierpostonline.com/news/opinion/index.html

LoBiondo Waited to Return Cash?

It wasn't until Jack Abramoff was indicted that Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd, returned Abramoff's PAC money, despite the strong evidence and reports of ethical misdoings. Now Tom DeLay has been indicted. LoBiondo has accepted at least $5,692 from Tom DeLay's PAC and has voted with him more than 81 percent of the time. Will he now return this PAC money, too? And why does he have to wait for criminal indictments before he does the right thing? It's a little bit like President Bush. He won't fire Karl Rove for releasing confidential information about CIA agent Valerie Plame unless there is a criminal conviction. Is this our new ethics standard — one based not upon fairness, appearance of conflict of interest and the sullying of our national image, but upon the criminal code of beyond a reasonable doubt? So much for LoBiondo's “Contract with America” to clean up Washington.

JANET L. FAYTER

Egg Harbor Township

Letter Printed in AC Press, October 8, 2005

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/opsed/story/5610654p-5593672c.html

Bush Wastes Fuel For Photo-Ops

Recently, our maximum leader, with a straight face, solemnly told America (I paraphrase) to be patriotic, skip driving the kiddies to soccer practice, buy granny a sweater, turn down the thermostat, sacrifice and save fuel — as he stepped aboard Air Force One for the seventh time in a week to politically waste more fuel in one day than all the soccer moms in the country do in a month. While fishing for photo ops, needless to say, he contributed nothing while egregiously wasting the time of the people who really did have something to do. Does the world need more evidence of the mindlessness of the “leader of the free world?”At least the media finally may be detaching their lips from this clown's behind — they spent the day marveling at this latest insanity.

DONALD CONNOLLY

Lindwood

Letter Printed in Pressof Atlantic City, September 8, 2005

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/opsed/story/5610654p-5593672c.html

Peace Prize

Guess who won the Nobel Prize for peace? Not George Bush, even though he has brought democracy, prosperity and tranquility to the Middle East (while infinitely multiplying suicide bombings worldwide.) No, indeed. It was Mohammad al Baradei, the UN's Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, who tried his best in '02 to save George's (and our) bacon with the truth: that Iraq had none, zero, zilch, "nucular" capability. But George (and his slime machine) had already planned on the re-election value of a nice little war like Daddy's, so they spent two years trying to get al Baradei fired. The Nobel committee is giving him and his people a medal and over a million dollars. When Joe Wilson blew the whistle on George's state of the union ("or whatever they call it") lie about Iraq's "nucular" activity, the same slime machine went after Wilson's wife. With any luck that whole gang of assassins will get some prizes too - like a couple of years in some federal rest home for felons.What a leader this creature Bush is! Like the scarecrow, the tin woodman and the lion, if he only had a brain, a heart and some guts he just might win a prize for something. Alas, lacking all of the above, how about impeachment?

DONALD CONNOLLY

Linwood

Writer Was Wrong on Iraq

In response to the letter to the editor from K.C. Najarian, complaining about how Susan Horowitz and Cindy Sheehan do not speak for the majority of Americans, or even capture the majority's general opinion, K.C. is wrong. Look to public opinion polls. President Bush's public approval ratings are the lowest for any president since his father was in office. K.C.'s general mindset seems to be that a lot of good is being done in Iraq. Accordingly, anything the U.S. does is justified. We install western democracy and remove the tyrant Saddam Hussein from office. Therefore, we can engage in an illegal war that has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and thousands of Americans. I would remind K.C. that this is an illegal war. It is not justified by the United Nations decree. And it was not even justified by President Bush, himself. Does K.C. remember that America went to war with Iraq because: (1) Iraq had WMDs, (2) Iraq was in league with Al Queda and (3) Iraq was planning imminent attacks on U.S. property and people. Well, the 9_11 Commission proved that President Bush had reason to know that all of these assumptions were unfounded. How many times can the President be so mistaken that K.C. does not understand that the man is just lying to the American people? In your spirit, K.C., I call your letter and opinions those of the right wing's misinformation. Do not confuse the work of our good soldiers with the idea that we should even be in Iraq in the first place. Do not obfuscate the issue with your illogical nonsense about moveon.org. This is why Cindy Sheehan does speak for loyal Americans.

M.P. REINA

Farmington, Michigan

Letter Printed in Garden City Observer, Michigan, October 6, 2005

Bush Isn't Up to the Difficult Job

I agree with the Sept. 28 letter, “Bush critics being unfair,” when it states that Bush has been faced with “some awfully difficult jobs.” Having said that, being the president of the United States is probably one of the most difficult jobs on Earth, something one must know and accept when taking such a position.We would expect our employee (the president) to be worthy of the task. Unfortunately, Bush's job record in the past did nothing to help us come to that conclusion, yet he was elected anyway. Sadly, this president has proven he is not up to the task.Although the phrase “blame game” has been bandied about much in the past weeks, I suggest that accountability for one's actions or inactions is the name of the game. In this administration, I have seen no one who is accountable.We, as Americans, must step up and ask for better from our elected officials, especially the president.

EILEEN FAUSEY

Cape May Court House

Letter Printed in Press of Atlantic City, October 4, 2005