Republicans vs the Children

By TRB Last week Grace Slick, the former lead singer of The Jefferson Airplane was telling me (on tape, on You Tube) that our generation (mine and hers) got the best public school education that was ever given both before and after we came along. I looked into that. Grace once told me that she would not get back up on a stage and pretend to be a "rocker" because rockers, by their very nature were young. And she wasn't. So I knew she possessed some of that hippie mother earth stuff that can cut you in half if your don't watch your mouth. I looked into her opinion about baby boomer public schools and she was exactly right. Who knew? Education, public education had a pronounced peak. We (Grace and I and many others) were it. It dropped on either side. So, even though we got all that quality education, we somehow blew it for our kids. We are not without blame. But call our blame neglect, because that is what it amounts to. What is happening today is both neglect and abuse of our children by Republicans. Abuse, especially of those of our children in the poverty class. It is as if they do not even exist to these high-rollers in Washington D.C. and on Wall Street. In fact, they are building the prisons in which to house them at this very moment.

First let's look at the cast and the numbers. Rep. Paul Ryan (R) WI, House Budget Committee Chairman - incidentally this is the same Republican who wants to end Social Security and Medicare. He proposed over $32 billion in cuts to this year's budget. Naturally it is all non-defense discretionary funding.

And just as naturally, a lot of the defunding of programs strikes at poor women and children and some at women with more means and adult children who might want to go to college. Ryan sees an entry point, and he is right in there like a piranha, destroying as many people's lives as possible so he can expect larger donations from his benefactors next campaign cycle.

This is where I come to the piece of paper and the tape and appliance. (I usually resort to this whenever I discover a particularly despicable politician. Ryan is the worst so far.) Write the man's name on the paper. He is Rep. Paul Ryan. Tape his name where you can see it. If you are from Wisconsin, don't vote for this man again. If he runs for higher office, remember this name and remember how he treats poor women and children.

And how does he do that, on this morning where we awake to discover that this government will not be shut down - yet?

Paul Ryan wants to make enormous cuts in that part of the Special Olympics budget paid for by the government. In total, staying with education in public schools alone, Paul Ryan wants to make budget cuts that would make matters worse for 750,000 of our children.

Then he goes after woman and their babies. He wants to cut 33 percent of the budget that allows low-income women and children to receive free or reduced-fee health care. Yes, he would shave $210 million from that good cause.

Remember now, he still hasn't proposed taking a cent from the Department of Defense, which even the Defense Secretary has admitted in over-budgeted. Defense contractors make good campaign contributions though, so it only makes sense. What is a poor woman and her baby going to give him? Their bus tokens to the health clinic?

Rep. Ryan also wants to cut $758 million for the WIC program. This is the highly successful and inexpensive program, considering it covers the entire nation, that provides food to impoverished women and children. That is a six percent cut. But it will be felt in the tummies of a lot of kids.

Representative Paul Ryan, this one man that casts a dark shadow across the American landscape would also like to cut $1.1 billion from public health care programs, where as many as 30 percent of the clients are poor children. Think about that.

And think about something else Mr. Ryan said recently, describing these cuts. He called them ". . . a starting point for all negotiations," in the 2012 budget.

All of us have to sit down and think about these children and their mothers who are victims of this legislator, Ryan.

We have to look inside ourselves and understand we have already saddled these children with outrageous tax debt in the future. So what can we do for them right at this moment, before they grow up into this world of challenges and hardships? What can we do for them?

The very first thing we have to do is get Rep. Paul Ryan (R) WI out of Congress.

If he can be recalled, the people of Wisconsin must seriously consider it. If he can not, then he should never be elected again to public office. He has already spent much of his time attacking the defenseless.

Exactly how much time is too much?

You are viewing: The Cape Cod Daily Blog

Sponsored Content

[Advertise Here]