p13, v7.09 — Left Turn / Right Turn

Left Turn / Right Turn

Mountain Views News Saturday, March 2, 2013

MVNews this week: Page 13

LEFT TURN/RIGHT TURN

Mountain Views News Saturday, March 2, 2013

THE UGLY TRUTH

Politicians routinely make all sorts of claims
and promises, usually along the lines of how
they are committed to helping us and that their
only special interest is us. Just as routinely, we
find ourselves disappointed that once in office
they don’t act in our best interest. Well the ugly
truth is that most politicians – from the left and
the right- don’t act in our best interest; they act
in their own, and they will resist with every fiber
of their body anything that reduces their power.
And if they have to reduce their power, they will
try to make it as painful for us as the possibly can.

The administration’s threatened implementation
of the budget sequester is a perfect case in
point. President Obama, in Tuesday’s address,
said the sequester will “eviscerate” education,
energy and medical research. In addition,
several government departments have already
announced the most severe of cutbacks: The
Department of Immigration and Customs
Enforcement actually released hundreds of illegal
aliens into the Southwestern states in advance of
budget cutbacks, and the Navy announced that
the aircraft carrier, USS Truman, will not be
deployed because of those same budget cuts.

Please keep in mind I am not disputing the factual
reality of these claims. I believe that ICE released
the prisoners and that the Navy is holding back
a nuclear carrier and reducing its readiness in
the Persian Gulf. What I am questioning is the
motives of this administration in deciding to
make those cuts.

After – I repeat, AFTER – the sequester takes
place Friday, the federal government will still
spend $15 billion MORE in 2013 than it did in
2012. As I’ve written before, only in Washington
can an increase be called a decrease. But here’s
the greater reality, the one that needs to sink
in. Washington doesn’t need to make cuts in its
core responsibilities unless it wants to. Services
that really matter do not need to be reduced or
eliminated unless Washington wants to inflict
pain on the American people. The sequester
could easily be met by elimination of waste.

This is even more shameful when you consider
that the Obama administration could stick with its
2012 budget and we’d be just fine. You remember
2012, don’t you? I do. What the government
spent in 2012 was somehow adequate enough to
let kids go to preschool, keep cops on the beat,
roll the fire trucks when needed, make Medicare
payments, send social security checks, and fund
the military. No cuts were needed then, and the
2013 budget AFTER THE SEQUESTER will be
$15 billion larger.

So why are we now faced with such draconian
cuts in services? The answer is to scare us and
to hurt us to the point where we surrender. The
more money politicians and bureaucrats have to
spend, the bigger their departments, the more
people or programs that report to them, the more
powerful they are. Power - that is the currency
of Washington. The sequester, and any serious
attempt thereafter which seeks to curb the
runaway spending in D.C., is really curbing the
power of Washington over the rest of us, and it
will be met with fierce opposition.

The good news is there is a simple solution. We
still live in a functioning democracy. That means
the people still have the right to remove politicians
from power
and to enforce discipline
on our elected officials.
As frightened as
politicians are at losing
some of their power,
they are even more
terrified of losing all of
their power – of being
voted out of office.

Politicians of the right
and the left will listen
to the people, if the people speak up. But if we
won’t, they won’t. Every poll consistently shows
that about 70% of Americans – Republicans,
independents and Democrats – believe that the

federal government is spending too much
money, and yet we put the same clowns in
office and let them pull the same shenanigans.
This was true under the last 3 years of George
W’s administration, and it is even truer under
Obama’s.

We are allowing them to act irresponsibly. We are
allowing them to lie to us. We are allowing them
to scare us. And we are allowing them to cut
needed services instead of eliminating waste and
fraud. We are allowing them to take $15 billion
more of our money and to provide fewer services.

It is time for Americans to stand up and demand
maturity, responsibility and honesty. There are
a handful of politicians who are fighting this
culture. They are the ones who want to provide
government services for the price we can afford
to pay. They are the serious ones – the adults in
the room – and they need our support. The other
politicians hope we will pick up the phone to
pressure the serious ones into caving.

We can’t do that, but we should make our
voices heard. Every one of us who is sick of this
nonsense should pick up the damn phone and tell
our representatives to start making the choices
they were hired to make, to honor the promises
they made during the campaign. They have more
than enough money, and they don’t need to make
a single cut. That’s the simple truth.

We’ve been here before and done just fine. Back in
1943, government spending after the war was cut
40%, and the economy actually grew faster than
beforehand. We had a sequester in 1986 ( a much
larger one in fact), and the economy boomed.
Even when there is a real cut (not today’s phone
cut), the economy does just fine.

We should not be afraid of the sequester. We
should embrace it. This is our time to take back
control of our government. If anyone should
be afraid, it is the politicians, not the American
people. Looking at how they’re acting, I think the
ugly truth is that they are afraid, and that may just
be the best thing to happen to this country in the
last several decades. It is up to us. So pick up the
phone America and give ‘em a little hell. They
deserve it.

About the author: Gregory J. Welborn is a
freelance writer and has spoken to several civic
and religious organizations on cultural and
moral issues. He lives in the Los Angeles area
with his wife and 3 children and is active in the
community. He can be reached at gregwelborn@
earthlink.net.

GREG Welborn

HOWARD Hays As I See It

“I would argue, however, that the actor who really got inside Lincoln’s head was John
Wilkes Booth . . . (audience groan) . . . Really – 150 years and it’s still too soon, huh?”
- Seth MacFarlane

The past couple weeks, I’ve commented on forming one’s own opinion before hearing
what the pundits say. Okay, I thought Seth MacFarlane was really funny on the Oscar
telecast. If there was help needed, it was in material for award presenters – too many
instances where they’d say a few lines, then turn to each other with that “This isn’t
working, is it?” look.

There was Barbra Streisand with the sublime “In Memoriam” finale, singing “The Way We Were” with
portrait of composer (and Pasadena Pops conductor) Marvin Hamlisch behind her. And – I’ll sit
through three hours of anything to hear Shirley Bassey sing “Goldfinger”.

I’d seen most of the nine Best Picture nominees (and probably would’ve most liked to have seen
“Beasts of the Southern Wild” get the Oscar). Our son, who works in digital effects, thought the most
inappropriate award was the one for Cinematography given “Life of Pi”, since there was so relatively
little “cinematography” involved (shots of the tiger swimming were about the only shots of a “real”, as
opposed to computer-generated, tiger in the movie).

Yes, I love history. “Lincoln” inspired me to delve into the history of Rep. Thaddeus Stevens (R-PA),
subject of an Oscar-nominated portrayal by Tommy Lee Jones. The real-life Rep. Stevens did have an
ill-fitting hairpiece, and (spoiler alert) was regarded as being common-law married to his mixed-race
housekeeper, Lydia Hamilton Smith. The home they shared was not long ago saved from demolition
and has been preserved in Lancaster, PA.

As a member of the Pennsylvania State Legislature, Stevens saw passage in 1834 of the Free School
Act, arguing “it is the duty of government to see that the means of information is diffused to every
citizen.” In Congress he became Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, identified
as being one of the “Radical Republicans”. (Pause for a moment and ponder that term – “Radical
Republicans”.)

Transcending history into timelessness, Rep. Thaddeus Stevens observed, "It is easy to protect the
interests of the rich and powerful. But it is a great labor to protect the interests of the poor and
downtrodden."

I was impressed by the dead-on late-1970’s “look” in “Argo”; sideburns, moustaches, wire-framed
glasses. I remember that look, and I also remember D.J.s on AM radio giving out Canadian telephone
area codes on the radio – asking us to call some random number north-of-the-border to say “thank
you”.

Interviewed on CNN, Jimmy Carter said the major thing the film got wrong was in making the hostage
rescue too much of a one-man operation, severely understating the major role played by the
Canadians in getting our embassy personnel out of the country. Nevertheless, Carter said he thoroughly
enjoyed the film – and was rooting for it to win Best Picture.

The one history-related Best Picture nominee I haven’t seen is “Zero Dark Thirty”; great reviews, but
I was put-off by director Kathryn Bigelow’s and screenwriter Mark Boal’s response to critics of their
depiction of the role of torture in the hunt for Osama bin Laden. They conceded that acknowledging
the use of torture is upsetting to some, but refused to allow that to affect their determination not to
sugar-coat the reality that torture was indeed employed by those acting in our name.

With that response, Bigelow and Boal appeared to miss what it was the critics were complaining
about; that it wasn’t the torture itself, but the fact the film suggested it brought information crucial to
locating bin Laden. This was something nobody had previously cited credible evidence to support.
Members of the Senate Intelligence Committee were alarmed at the prospect of intelligence officials
having divulged something to the filmmakers they hadn’t to members of the Committee over months
of highly-classified testimony.

It turns out that conclusions reached by Senate investigators some time ago remain unchanged; that
torture was used, but produced nothing useful in the hunt for bin Laden. In fact, that operation may
have been hindered by false information given by subjects of “enhanced interrogation” just to make
the torture stop. As for the filmmakers, that bit about torture providing useful intelligence appears to
have been something they made up.

Of course, we all know it’s “just a movie”. Audiences expect a degree of dramatic license, and are able
to distinguish between screenplay devices and actual history.

Or maybe not – as sometimes there’s an irresistible desire to accept the fictional as reality. Just ask
NY Daily News reporter Dan Friedman.

A few weeks ago while covering the Senate confirmation hearings on Defense Secretary nominee
Chuck Hagel, Friedman asked a GOP staffer about charges Hagel had accepted speaking fees from
“controversial” organizations – but no one seemed to know exactly what those organizations were.
C’mon, an exasperated Friedman asked the staffer, just what are these mysterious groups, “Junior
League of Hezbollah? . . . “Friends of Hamas?”

The very next day, Friedman found that Ben Shapiro had written on the website Brietbart.com about
how he was hung up on by the White House when he called to confirm rumors of Hagel having spoken
to the group “Friends of Hamas”. In Shapiro’s mind, this was justification for reporting that White
House officials refused to deny the allegations.

Before long, Chuck Hagel’s connection to “Friends of Hamas” was being spread by the National Review,
Mike Huckabee, Lou Dobbs on Fox, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and conservative talk radio. This
goes to show how people can accept fiction as reality, or - wait a minute – this could be the next Judd
Apatow project; I see Steve Carell as reporter Friedman, Will Farrell as the Fox anchor, Louis C.K. as
the talk radio host . . .

HOLDEN INTRODUCES BILL TO CHANGE

PRISON REALIGNMENT

AB 1065 Keeps Criminals with Serious Mental Disorders or Sexual Offenses
off County Streets

SACRAMENTO – Following numerous calls for changes to California’s 15-month-old prison realignment
program, Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-Pasadena) has introduced a measure to shut
the revolving door of state parolees with serious mental disorders and mentally disordered sexual
offenders from being transferred to county supervision.

“Many of these felons are being rushed through the system for early release onto our streets and in
our communities without regard to the serious mental issues that some of them have,” said Assemblymember
Holden. “As recently reported, this shift has put a tremendous strain on county resources
resulting in thousands of sex offenders removing their GPS tracking devices because they know they
won’t be sent back to overcrowded prisons or jails.”

Under the state’s prison realignment law that went into effect in October 2011, more than 12,000 parolees
have been put on probation in LA County rather than state parole. To qualify, their last offense
must have been non-violent, non-sexual, non-serious. But the law only applies to that last offense,
not their entire criminal history.

Holden’s AB 1065 – supported by Los Angeles County - would require that an inmate who has previously
been classified as a Mentally Disordered Offender, or Mentally Disordered Sexual Offender and
served time for a crime where he or she was required to undergo treatment in a state mental facility,
to remain under state supervision.

“Los Angeles County is committed to the safe and effective implementation of AB 109, balancing
the public safety of our communities and the need to provide rehabilitative services to the population
of offenders under our supervision,” said Chief Jerry Powers, Chief Probation Officer of Los Angeles
County. “Individuals who have previously been designated as Mentally Disordered Offenders
require consistent treatment and intensive supervision services when released from prison to the
community and we believe that level of care can best be provided by the State. I applaud Assembly
Member Holden for this bill and his commitment to public safety and the successful implementation
of AB 109.”

“The State system is better equipped to handle these offenders than the counties which are being
asked to take up the difficult task of supervising very dangerous offenders,” concluded Holden.

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