Free Press - November 2, 2006

November Election

Dear Friends,

Good morning. Two stories from the Pennsylvania legislature should be enough reason to vote against every Republican running for reelection. Last week, former State Senator Ed Howard told his class at Delaware Valley College that in his day, of the 50 state legislatures, Pennsylvania ranked 49^th (worst). In my opinion, the present legislature is no better than what he experienced 30 years ago.

Howard asked me to speak to his students about politics and the media. All of them were in their 60’s, 70’s and 80’s…I felt right at home.

As you know, I’ve been ranting about the need for term limits for decades…to no avail. I passed out sheets containing problems, which should have been solved decades ago. I suggested that if every congressman, senator or state legislator served no longer than 12 years, these troubles would have been disappeared. Here are some of them…at the federal level: illegal immigration; the sale of tobacco; dependency on Middle East oil; compulsory service (military or non military) for every high school graduate, no exception, regardless of gender, class, or race; a national health system; and a national mass transportation solution.

At the state level these problems would have been solved within 12 years: reducing the number of Pennsylvania’s 2,600 municipalities; abolishing the property tax; ending public school monopolies; and gerrymandering.

I could have made a much stronger case for term limits, if I’d had the October 26^th and 28^th editions of the Philadelphia Inquirer at my fingertips. “A comprehensive sex-abuse bill sought by district attorneys and child-welfare advocates failed to come up for a vote in the state House of Representatives Tuesday, and supporters say it now stands little chance of passage in this session,” the Inquirer wrote (Oct. 26).

The Republican leadership in the legislature refused to let the representatives vote on the bill. “Advocates for the bill said the Catholic Conference raised a number of objections to the bill in a memo circulated Tuesday to lawmakers,” the Inquirer continued.

The point of this is that the House leadership caved into a high-powered lobby and locked down the legislators. Equally bad, your state representative and mine followed that leadership, even though they knew they should have voted for the bill.

And what did we read two days later?

“The legislature gave final approval yesterday to a bill that would end Pennsylvania’s distinction as the only state without a law requiring lobbyists to report how much money they spend wining, dining, and otherwise persuading lawmakers,” the Inquirer wrote Oct. 28. To show the public that the legislature is pure as the driven snow…“The Senate, which had recessed Monday until after the election, came back yesterday. It passed the lobbying measure unanimously and sent it to Gov. Rendell, who is expected to sign it.”

Fearing for its life, the legislature unexpectedly returned from its recess to demonstrate that it wanted to be tough on lobbyists. Friends, it passed unanimously. But that same legislature won’t take up the sex abuse bill. What an absolute crock!

When do you think we voters will get off our backsides and say, “That’s enough?” Or, is it true…that we’re just like sheep…exactly as the typical legislator hopes that we remain?

In any event, I had a wonderful time at Del Val. The students were most kind and asked me to return after the election to discuss what happened. It should be fun.

And now to business.

President Bush’s advisor, Karl Rove, must be licking his lips in satisfaction. Four years ago, he produced a smoke screen, a “red herring,” which American voters swallowed, hook, line and sinker. In 2004, the national Republican Party was able to convince conservative voters that marriage was under attack…that homosexuals were taking over the institution of marriage and the only way to rescue the country was to affirm George W. for four more glorious years.

Friends, the GOP is trying for a repeat. Last week, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that gay couples have a right to the benefits, if not the title, of marriage. It took two seconds for our president to tell the country that marriage was under attack again. Today, heterosexual marriage has a 50 percent failure rate. Maybe we should let homosexuals marry and see if the divorce numbers fall.

Let’s turn to something more humorous.

Did you see that Richland Township Supervisor Mike Zowniriw is appealing his district court conviction? “Found guilty of disorderly conduct in August for throwing a rock at his neighbor, he is now appealing the conviction to Bucks County court,” Toni Becker wrote for the Free Press (Oct. 26).

As I mentioned several weeks ago, the only fault I found with District Justice Robert Roth’s verdict, was the light sentence. At the very least, Mike Zowniriw should have been sent to anger management school. He’s lucky that the Bucks County Court can’t impose a heavier sentence.

Next week, I’ll share some good news about Generation “Y.” Now in their teens to age 30, they are the millennials who just may save the world. USA Today (Oct. 24) claims that these young people will take the place of America’s Greatest Generation…the people who lived through the Great Depression and fought in World War II. TV star Tom Brokaw wrote about this generation in the best seller by the same name, “The Greatest Generation.”

In his book, “Bowling Alone,” Harvard professor Robert Putnam railed about the generations that followed the “Greatest Generation”…those generations that have been unwilling to volunteer for public service.

Well, help is on the way. Stay tuned.

Sincerely,

Charles Meredith