Haiti on Reflection

By Jerry Waxman

As submitted to the Huffington Post

When the news of the earthquake in Haiti hit the first thing I did was take out my expired passport and look up the last time I had been there. It was July 31, 1987. My first trip had been in April of 1978. My brother and I had just taken over the family textile supply business and we were looking to expand. Back in those days the US still had a viable textile industry and it supported lots of wealthy owners and middle class workers. Even in the Carter administration American companies were sending American made cut fabrics and trimmings into Mexico and other countries in the Caribbean Basin under a trade agreement called Article 807 Offshore Manufacturing. This allowed the actual assembly labor to be done offshore and taxed at its add-on value, with finishing done back in the US. Through mutual business acquaintances we got involved with a contractor from Port-au-Prince who wanted us to place garment work in one of his factories. We took the trip and had some loose agreements to manufacture children’s clothing there. There was one little detail that had to be ironed out, that of giving Baby Doc Duvalier his percentage. Nothing got done in that country without his getting his part of the action. It took a few more trips to get things rolling. We were in Baby Doc’s company several times where he either entertained us at the palace, or we wined and dined him (and his entourage). Before actually signing any binding contracts we decided not to go through with it because we felt that the country wasn’t stable enough to protect our interests if things didn’t go well. It had always been one of those nagging feelings in our minds and it manifested itself just in time. We placed the work in Mexico instead (and that’s another story). Baby Doc’s abdication didn’t come for several years, but on reflection we were better off not being there.

The striking contrast between the opulent life of the ruling elite and the abject poverty of the masses was always a concern. Every time I flew in I was met by an armed escort that traveled with me to my hotel and went to the factories with me. No amount of profit is worth that kind of risk. The ruling elite were still powerful after Duvalier’s downfall. The contractor from Port-au-Prince again asked me to place work for him and I tried, but no reputable US manufacturer wanted to take a chance, even though Henri Namphy was now in office. 

Haiti is an absolutely beautiful country once you get outside the city. It’s very mountainous and its soil is very rich. At one time Haiti produced more than half of the world’s sugar cane and was one of the wealthiest countries in the Americas. Today it is the poorest. This is not by accident, and we in the US are as much to blame as anyone. The devastation, contributed to by absolute lack of infrastructure could have been a lot less had there been proper building codes and effective government policies in place. Had we not treated Haiti like a banana republic for the last 95 years it might have prevented much of the loss of life and breakdown in its civil systems that were caused by the earthquake.

Haiti’s history has been one of suppression by outside forces since Christopher Columbus discovered the Island of Hispaniola in 1492 and established (by necessity) a colony called La Navidad in what is now Haiti. By 1517 the Spanish occupiers of the island were importing slaves from Africa to work in the gold mines. The first French settlers were actually pirates who were looking for safe havens. During this period the French developed plantations for growing sugar cane, coffee and tobacco. Another lucrative industry was the production of indigo. More African slaves were brought to Haiti for the indigo industry as they were experts in growing the plants and processing the dye. The Spanish during this period did not establish agricultural communities but continued to strip the island of its gold and other precious minerals. As the French populations grew and prospered skirmishes between the French and Spanish became more spirited until boundaries were set by the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697, the eastern part of the island to the Spanish (Santo Domingo) and the western part named Saint-Domingue to France. The French were no better at treating slaves than were the Spanish, however, after the French Revolution France actually freed the Haitian slaves for a short period of time until Napoleon Bonaparte took over the government and attempted to reinstitute it. He sent 50,000 soldiers to retake the country but an outbreak of Yellow Fever killed a majority of them and the rest of them were defeated by the Haitian population. Haiti declared its independence on Jan 1, 1804 renaming itself Haiti after a local indigenous tribe.

Having no experience in self determination Haiti was ruled by a series of strong man despots who ruled with iron fists. In the roughly 200 years since Haiti first declared its independence the government has suffered 32 coups from either the Army, the elite class or outside influences. In 1825 France decided to send its Navy and troops to retake the island. France threatened a blockade which would cripple Haiti’s then robust economy. American slave owners from southern plantations also threatened to join the blockade since the idea of a free country run by former African slaves was anathema to their thinking. A treaty was negotiated that allowed Haiti to keep its independence in return for war reparations of one hundred and fifty million francs. Haiti did not finish its war reparation payments until 1947, and in order to pay the debt Haiti had to borrow tremendous sums of money from American, French and German banks at almost usury rates. As economically powerful as Haiti could have become, this onus consumed as much as 80% of its national budget according to British historian and author Alex von Tunzelmann. Up through the beginning of the twentieth century Haiti managed to survive and export its products, however the US sent in marines to occupy in 1915 during another upheaval, ostensibly to protect the safety of US citizens, but the real reason was to protect Haiti’s ability to repay the reparation loans. We were not alone as Great Britain and Germany also sent troops to occupy. Our occupation lasted twenty years and ended in 1935, right in the height of the Great Depression. You can be sure that the US got its loan payments, even if we had to raid the Haitian Treasury to do it.

The US occupation never worked for the benefit of the people; instead, we preferred to use Haiti’s economic engine as a tool to distribute wealth to foreign investors and banks rather than reinvesting in the country’s economy and infrastructure, while further burdening Haiti with an additional forty million dollar debt in 1922.

Francoise (Papa Doc) Duvalier became politically active during the period following the end of the US occupation. His appeal was based on his disdain for the ruling elites and the rise of the African masses and his call for the return of the national religion Vodou (better known as Voodoo). Duvalier was another despot who was acceptable to the US due to his anti-communistic positions. He was an absolute dictator whose private army (the Tonton Macoutes) was more powerful than the regular army. Whatever wealth Haiti could produce found its way into his pockets rather than the treasury and the Duvalier regime was noted for its corruption. During this period most of Haiti’s professionals and intellectuals immigrated to other countries, thereby leaving even less qualified people to run things properly. After his death in 1971 his son Jean Claude (Baby Doc) was installed. Baby Doc had no time for governing the country and let his mother and his ministers do it instead, preferring to race his sports cars and live a lavish lifestyle, as I and my associates can personally attest to. During this period of time the US influenced the Haitian government to open its factories to American manufacturers as a way of putting people to work. It sounded good, but what happened was that people left the farms in the country to come to work in the city. Port-au-Prince did not have the jobs to support the mass influx of people and once they left the farms they weren’t going back. This resulted in less crops being grown or sold, almost complete depletion of its forests because of the need for lumber and charcoal, which in turn led to massive flooding and soil erosion. Ramshackle buildings were constructed anywhere there was space, whether or not the ground was level. Whole hillsides contained residences, lacking foundations and that had not been constructed according to any building codes.

After Baby Doc was exiled there still was no viable infrastructure in place to address these issues. With all the upheaval American manufacturers cancelled their production contracts and placed work elsewhere. This left Haiti in the position of having its agricultural products as the only credible part of its economy. Of course, the farms had lost their labor and soil erosion had also taken its toll. The US, further exacerbating an intolerable situation, convinced Haiti to lower its import tariffs on American foods and operate in a free market fashion. Rice farmers in Haiti were devastated as American rice could be sold cheaper than the home grown product. As rice farms went out of business the population headed to Port-au-Prince to seek work.

While we shouldn’t cast the sins of our fathers upon ourselves, we do bear the responsibility of not continuing them, which we’ve not done. Prior to the information revolution we didn’t give much thought to how we treated Haiti, but in recent years we’ve seen how unrestricted enterprise enriches the elite few at the expense of many and that our government turns a blind eye in most cases. I don’t feel that our government’s efforts in aiding Haiti have anything to do with guilt, favoritism or political advantage. This is something that people of all civilized nations of conscience do willingly. Mr. Limbaugh and his right wing cronies should understand that American involvement in Haitian affairs since  before the Civil War helped bring this devastation about.

Haitians need help not just to get over this crisis, but they need help to rebuild their society properly. It takes more than money. It takes the will to institute agricultural reforms, governmental reforms, economic and social reforms that have been sorely lacking since the nineteenth century. We need to help them get there.

Terminal ills

as submitted to the Huffing Post

By Jerry Waxman

These are the people who make 85 year old grandparents using walkers take off their shoes before walking through the airport security posts. They also make sure that you don’t have shampoo or medications in containers over 3 ounces or nail clippers going through these points as well. Stupid little stuff like that. They don’t make the policy, but it’s their job to enforce it. These are the Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) and they are on duty at every U.S. airport seven days a week, twenty four hours a day, three hundred sixty five days a year. Their job and mission is to protect you as part of Homeland Security, but who protects them?

Eight years ago when the Bush Administration and Congress formed the Department of Homeland Security the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) worked hard to establish a federalized system of passenger and baggage screening instead of the old patchwork system of private companies. This resulted in the formation of the Transportation Security Agency, which administers screening throughout the country. In stark contrast to other employees at the Department of Homeland Security, and most other federal employees, TSOs are denied the basic workplace rights such as collective bargaining. AFGE has worked for eight years to have these rights restored. It’s been a long battle, and candidate Barack Obama promised (in writing) to AFGE that during his administration TSOs would gain those rights.

AFGE Local 556 represents TSOs in Tampa, Stanford, Dayton, Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Panama City, Pensacola, Sarasota, Clearwater and Orlando, Florida. AFGE has represented the TSA workforce since the agency was created in 2001. The union currently has approximately 12,000 dues-paying TSA members at more than 100 airports in 36 union Locals nationwide. AFGE is the largest federal employee union representing 600,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia, including tens of thousands of DHS employees.

On December 17 AFGE members, supported by Central Florida members of the AFL-CIO held a Solidarity Day at the Orlando International Airport in support of TSOs. All present signed statements in support. The statement reads, in part, “[TSOs] are the front line of homeland security. Just as you work hard every day to protect us, and everyone who utilizes our nation’s airlines, we will support you in your struggle for justice on the job.” The statements are being signed in conjunction with the American Federation of Government Employees and the AFL-CIO’s National TSO Solidarity Week, with events being held in more than 30 cities nationwide. Donald Thomas, head of local AFGE local 556 spoke about the difficulties of dealing with the Transportation Security Agency and the agency’s unwillingness to cooperate. Thomas cited managers with the agency who impede his security people while they are on the job, noting that some of the managers have records of alleged sexual harassment but are still on the agency’s payroll.

Paul Wilson, president of the AFL-CIO Central Florida Labor Council spoke in support, as well as Denise Diaz of Central Florida Jobs With Justice. Florida State House District 35 candidate Amy Mercado spoke in support as well as Debra M. Booth, District Director for Congressman Alan Grayson (D. FL). Orlando Int’l Airport is in Grayson’s district and Ms. Booth spoke for Grayson, saying that he supports their efforts, also mentioning that  the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) will be brought up in 2010 and its passage should ease the burdens immensely.  Machinists union people also spoke in support.  Marita Palmer of AFGE and Josh Leclair of AFSCME among others met the employee shuttle buses as they arrived with literature for both arriving and departing employees. The Solidarity Support lasted from 10: AM through 2:00 PM.

Central Florida Democrats Upset With Kosmas

as submitted to the Huffington Post

By Jerry Waxman

Friday the 13^th could possibly turn out to be a very unlucky day for Representative Suzanne Kosmas. A large group of activists, each with numbers from 1 to 126, in support of the public option on health care reform assembled for the second time in front of her Orlando office at 122424 Research Parkway on the UCF Campus and for the second time her office staff was not there to meet with them. The number 126 represents the amount of people in Congressional District 24 who will die this year because they lack health insurance. Although no one would speak for the record, there was a consensus among union members at the protest that the Central Florida unions would cut off all future funding for Kosmas due to her no vote on HB3962, The Affordable Health Care for America Act.

First, the assembled, many dressed in black, held a signing ceremony on the 126 sheet. Then the sheet was delivered to the office with the help of the grim reaper, but there was no one in the office to receive it. The office staff had left early again. Someone in the crowd remarked “Do you think we’re getting our money’s worth out of this office?” Community activist Stephanie Porta questioned Rep Kosmas votes not only on health care reform but also on her financial regulation votes, pointing out that Kosmas took considerable sums of money from the banking and credit card industry and has been voting in their favor.

Tony Scelzo from AFSCME lectured the crowd on how Kosmas betrayed the labor unions whose support she eagerly sought during the last election. He also did not accept her published reasons for voting no. The crowd voted to continue to put pressure on her and will return on Nov. 20^th.

 

You’ve Got to be Carefully Taught

As submitted to the Huffington Post

By Jerry Waxman

 

The Arts have always been ahead of the curve when it comes to social awareness. As far back as the sixteenth century William Shakespeare took on social injustice in many of his plays, including Romeo and Juliet, in which he chastised the church for always screwing things up, as well as parents using daughters for property and profit. In the modern era novelists such as Edna Ferber and Fanny Hurst explored race issues including miscegenation, which was a capital crime in many states until the twentieth century. Jazz artists Fats Waller and Andy Razaff penned the lament Black and Blue-made famous by Waller, Louis Armstrong and Bix Beiderbecke. In 1939 Billie Holliday recorded the remarkable Strange Fruit, a dirge about a lynching in the South which she had witnessed as a teenager  On the stage Oscar Hammerstein wrote lyrics that dealt with these issues in Showboat (a novel written by Ferber) and South Pacific (Based on James Michener’s novel). In the story Joe Cable, a marine officer from the Philadelphia Main Line falls in love with an island girl, Liat. Cable knows that his proper society folks would never accept Liat and he reluctantly refuses to marry her. “You’ve Got to be Taught” is his lament about his predicament. The third stanza of the song sums it all up:

“You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You’ve got to be carefully taught!”

So far all of these details are about white-nonwhite issues. Those issues still exist; however, race is only one of several hate issues. Under the guise of being a church, The Westboro Baptist Church, founded by Fred Phelps, travels around the country protesting gays and lesbians, other organized religions and, in general, any individuals or groups that don’t think and act exactly like them. Here’s the Wikipedia link to them and it’s rather extensive.

Yesterday, they came to Orlando. Their website’s daily schedule showed that they were going to picket the Jewish Community Center in Maitland in the morning, a high school in the area in the early afternoon and the Hillel group at the University of Central Florida. A local activist, Anthony Fulginity, along with two of his associates, Josh Knight and Valeria Serna, got the word out through networks of email and Facebook and organized a counter protest for the 3:30 event at UCF. Ninety people replied and about sixty actually showed up with hastily made signs of opposition. Here’s a link to the invite page and it worked very effectively. Westboro had all of three people protesting, two of them underage children bearing hate signs. Here’s the video. The first part shows the picketers and the big noise is made by the counter group. This lasted about less than ten minutes and the Westboro people beat a hasty retreat, not allowing interviews or allowing themselves to be photographed from the front. This next video shows the counter group using Westboro’s tactics against them and this third video features the organizers being interviewed. As of this writing, no one from the JCC has returned calls, so the extent of that protest is as yet unknown.

Several members of the Phelps family are lawyers and they stretch the limits of free speech to outrageous boundaries, using young children as a protective shield whenever possible. This is an unconscionable act-using small, easily influenced and indoctrinated children to promote your agenda and they have been successfully prosecuted in the past for their activities. The following is a direct quote from Wikipedia:

“The pickets have resulted in several lawsuits. In 1995 Phelps Sr.’s eldest grandson, Benjamin Phelps, was convicted of assault and disorderly conduct after spitting into the face of a passerby during a picket.[10] In the 1990s the church won a series of lawsuits against the City of Topeka and Shawnee County for efforts taken to prevent or hinder WBC picketing, and was awarded approximately $200,000 in attorney’s fees and costs associated with the litigation. In 2004, Margie Phelps and her son Jacob were arrested for trespassing, disorderly conduct and failure to obey after disregarding a police officer’s order during an attempted protest.[11] In response to pickets at funerals Kansas passed a law prohibiting picketing at such events. In the autumn of 2007 the father of a Marine whose funeral was picketed by the WBC was awarded $5 million in damages.[12][13] In June 2007 Shirley Phelps-Roper was arrested in Nebraska and charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The arrest resulted from her allowing her eight-year-old son to step on the American flag during the demonstration, an act which is illegal under Nebraska law. The defense contends that the child’s actions were protected speech, and that the state law is unconstitutional. The prosecution claims that the demonstration was not intended as political speech, but as an incitement to violence, and that Phelps-Roper’s conduct may also constitute child abuse.[14] All the principals of the Phelps Chartered law firm,[15] a firm founded by WBC founder Fred Phelps, are members of WBC. Phelps Chartered handles most of WBC’s legal work.[16] “

This kind of hate is generational and people like the Phelps family pass it on from parent to child to grandchild, etc…etc…etc. They can be successfully outgunned as yesterday’s counter protest showed. They can also be easily defeated in debates. A while back an old friend debated Shirley Phelps-Roper on an internet radio show and she hung up on him due to a challenging question he posed to her. Here’s the e-mail he just sent me:

“Hi!

I’d have to call to find out, but I know that it was an internet station out of New Jersey.

She hung up when I asked her if she was a Christian or a Calvinist…as she and her church believe that they are predestined for heaven…and the rest of us are just going to hell. I asked why any of us should bother…and why it was so important for her church to bully and picket when her family was so obviously the “chosen people” of the world…and it apparently doesn’t matter what the rest of us do.

…click…dial tone.

That’s my story…I’ll try to find out the name of the show I was on.”

In addition to being bullies The Westboro Baptist Church members show themselves to be extreme cowards when faced with willful opposition. Heroes like the counter protest organizers and my friend the phone debater prove everyday that exposing these groups for what they are lessens their impact, and that’s important when you’ve got to be carefully taught.

Unions turn away from Kosmas

As submitted to the Huffington Post

By Jerry Waxman

It was a weather perfect Friday afternoon when Suzanne Kosmas’s entire office staff at 12424 Research Parkway on the UCF campus decided to take the afternoon off. The kind of afternoon where you would not work up a real sweat on the tennis court or golf course, however, the staff took the afternoon off because they knew what was coming: a 4:30 protest of her position on the Health Care bill. The rally, organized by Tony Scelzo of AFSCME  and Jennifer Kenny of FLARA focused on Kosmas betrayal of the supporters who actually worked hard for her election in 2008. On Wednesday Scelzo and Kenny and AFSCME president Gerald Mc Entee met with Kosmas Port Orange office staff and were assured that the congresswoman had not made her decision, while at the same time Kosmas was telling the Orlando Sentinel’s Washington reporter that she would vote no on the bill.

Because there was no staff at the office the feeling among the eighty plus assembled was that she was, in addition to being a turncoat, both a liar and a coward. Calls to her Washington office were not getting through and although her personal cell phone (386 689-2147) was published and available she wasn’t answering. The crowd was urged to text her as many times as possible. All of the union people declared that their members feel betrayed by Kosmas and that she sold out to her big insurance and real estate friends, Specifically Brown and Brown, one of the largest insurance bundlers in the country. In an earlier article of mine about the enigma of Bill Nelson, Brown and Brown figured significantly in his funding efforts.

The general tone from all of the speakers was that there will be no future support for Kosmas unless she changes her position and votes for the reform. One speaker, Steve Hall of IUPAT, demanded all of the money back that he and his union had given her in 2008. Ben King of the College Democrats spoke passionately about how betrayed the students at all the colleges in her district feel.  Most of the speakers were captured on video and here they are:

Suzanne Kosmas 11/06/09 Protest Rally Part 1

Suzanne Kosmas 11/06/09 Protest Rally Part2

Suzanne Kosmas 11/06/09 Protest Rally Part 3

Suzanne Kosmas 11/06/09 Protest Rally Part 4

Suzanne Kosmas 11/06/09 Protest Rally Part 5

Suzanne Kosmas is at a crossroads in her career. Which road will she take?

Kosmas Has Got To Go!!!!!!!!!!

as submitted to the Huffington Post

By Jerry Waxman

There is a reason that Democrats didn’t win in New Jersey or Virginia. They didn’t act like Democrats and their bases stayed home. What is it going to take to convince Democrats to be themselves and to stand up for Democratic core beliefs? Why did we spend so much time, money and energy to elect people who betray us on critical votes such as the stimulus package and health care reform? In Suzanne Kosmas’s case anything was better than Tom Feeney, but at least with Feeney we knew who we were dealing with.

Since the time change last weekend I’ve been getting up before the crack of dawn and, as a creature of habit, read my morning paper with my coffee. Right on today’s front page of the Orlando Sentinel, just below the Fort Hood Massacre story was the headline Kosmas comes out against health bill which I had expected to happen, but hoped it would not. Two weeks ago I attended a meeting at Kosmas’s Orlando office with HCAN representatives. Here’s a link to that article which also contains a video of the meeting. I have criticized Kosmas in the past and I will continue to do so as I feel she is giving her Orange County constituency short shrift. She seeks union endorsements and money and then betrays them. She shows no leadership ability and frankly, as a 65 year old freshman in congress she’s going nowhere. Let’s put her out of her misery now.

Contrast that to Alan Grayson, whose district abuts hers in Orange County, what you see is what you get. That’s refreshing because Grayson is exactly who he is in real life and anyone who has spent any time with him knows that. At the recent Florida State Democratic conference I recorded a workshop on winning elections where he was a participant and had a lot to say on being yourself. The time has come for Suzanne Kosmas to go!

This morning I received an e-mail from Jennifer Kenny of the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans and with her permission I share it with you:

“Good Morning!  As most of you folks know, AFSCME President McEntee was in Port Orange yesterday for a press event at Congresswoman Kosmas office.  At that press event, we were assured by the congresswoman’s staff that Ms. Kosmas had not really decided how she planned to vote on health care reform.  Well, late yesterday I learned that Ms. Kosmas declared her intention not to support HR 3962 to an Orlando Sentinel reporter.  Ms. Kosmas and her staff have not been honest with us. 
Please come out and bring your members, friends and neighbors later today for a demonstration at Ms. Kosmas Orlando office.  Address and details included in the forwarded email below.  If you have a sign bring it.
She is not going to vote with us, it is time to take action and let her know just how disappointed you are. 
Please call me if you have any questions or concerns.  Thank you and have a wonderful day.

Jenny
— On Thu, 11/5/09, Tony <Tunin2Tony@cfl.rr.com> wrote:
From: Tony <Tunin2Tony@cfl.rr.com>
Subject: Help Change Rep. Kosmas’ Vote Against Healthcare
To: Undisclosed-Recipient@yahoo.com
Date: Thursday, November 5, 2009, 11:05 PM

Dear Fellow Activist,

I have heard from many of you that you are upset and disappointed that Rep. Kosmas appears ready to vote against the Health Care bill on Saturday.

I share that frustration!

Rather than complain amongst ourselves, a group of activists has decided to instead rally and/or protest at the congresswoman’s Orlando office on Friday, November 6th.  Many I have heard from agreed that 4:30 works best for them and their allies, so 4:30 it is.  Please join us!  Please spread the word to like minded activists.

THIS IS OUR LAST CHANCE!  LET’S BE HONEST – FOR MOST OF US, IT’S MORE IMPORTANT THAN ANYTHING ELSE WE MIGHT HAVE GOING ON, SO PLEASE MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO BE THERE!

Orlando Office:

12424 Research Parkway

Orlando, Florida 32826

Research Parkway is off Alafaya Trail (S.R. 434) between S.R. 50 (Colonial Drive) and University Boulevard (by U.C.F.).  Simply turn east onto Research Parkway, and the office is past Technology Parkway on the right hand side.

Tony Scelzo”

I can’t speak for her Volusia or Brevard County constituencies, but here in Orange County she’s toast, and burnt toast at that. Let’s get rid of her before she does any more harm. By the way take a little time and read HR 3962. It’s not everything we’d like it to be but it’s a promising start. The best I can say about it is the old expression “it’s not half-bad.”

No, I’m not Bitter…..Really.

 

By Jerry Waxman

Heeny Majesky…Johnny Gee….Eddie Joost, Johnny Pesky…….Thornton Lee; Danny Gardella…….

Van Lingle Mungo……………….

About the only thing that George Will and I do agree on is our undying, unyielding, unrequited love of Baseball. We’re also both at an age where the names in Dave Frishberg’s hauntingly beautiful oeuvre to the game, Van Lingle Mungo, were instantly recognizable and, in some cases, still playing in the major leagues. These were the years just after WWII and prior to Baseball’s expansion. The Braves were still in Boston and the St. Louis Browns had not yet moved to Baltimore to become the Orioles. The Athletics were languishing in Philadelphia and New York had three major league teams. We Philadelphians hadn’t had much to brag about in Baseball for close to twenty years until 1950. That was the year we surviving Philly natives have indelibly burned into our memories as though it were yesterday.

Phillies owner Bob Carpenter, a member of the DuPont family, had been building the team for several years and by 1950 had a good team in place, with three future Hall of Famers on the roster: Robin Roberts, Curt Simmons and Richie Ashburn. Through the farm system they had a good infield with Granny Hamner at shortstop and Willie “Puddin’ Head” Jones at third base. Veterans included Eddie Waitkus at first base and Dick Sisler (son of Hall of Famer George Sisler) in left field. Waitkus was the inspiration for Bernard Malamud’s novel, The Natural, having been shot in the chest by a deranged female fan in Chicago. Home grown power hitter Del Ennis was the right fielder. Ennis had the career stats to get into the Hall but never made it and today he is virtually unknown by the sports writers. Jim Konstanty, their ace relief pitcher, was so good that year he was voted the National League MVP. The Whiz Kids were scrappy and were in first place for a large part of the season, but they started to sag in the last week of the season and blew a seven game lead to two games when they met the Dodgers. If the Dodgers took the last series there would be a tie for first place and there would be a three game playoff between them for the NL title. As good as the Phillies were they were facing guys named Don Newcomb, Carl Erskine, Carl Furillo, Pee Wee Reese, Gil Hodges, Roy Campanella and Jackie Robinson. These guys could hurt you at any time. In the final game the score was tied 1-1 in the bottom of the ninth inning. Cal Abrams represented the winning run for Brooklyn, but Center Fielder Richie Ashburn made the throw of his career and got Abrams out at home plate. In the top of the tenth inning Dick Sisler hit a three run home run and the Whiz Kids clinched the pennant. That meant the New York Yankees. If they thought the Dodgers were tough they were now facing Casey Stengel’s guys: Joe DiMaggio, Phil Rizzuto, Yogi Berra, Billy Martin, Gene Woodling, Hank Bauer, Allie Reynolds, Vic Raschi, Whitey Ford and others who could hurt you worse. To add another obstacle, Curt Simmons was called up into the military for a tour of duty in Korea and was unavailable for the series. Manager Eddie Sawyer had to put Konstanty into the starting rotation.

When you are eight years old and your team is in the World Series you are in heaven. My prized possessions were an autographed team ball and yearbook, as well as an official Phillies cap. I treasured the signatures, even the ones by Putsy Caballero, Milo Candini, Bill (Swish) Nicholson and Mike Goliat-names lost in the archives. The euphoria didn’t last long because the Yankees won in four straight games. That’s tragedy for an eight year old.

Watching Robin Roberts and Jim Bunning (yes, that Jim Bunning) throw ceremonial baseballs the other evening brought a lump to my throat and opened up a flood of memories. It’s not easy to watch your team play so well and just not be able to beat the Yankees; not after 59 years waiting for your revenge. Here’s the tough part. I can’t hate the Yankee players from 1950 or 2009. They do their job and they do it well. You can’t hate Yogi, or Rizzuto or DiMaggio. Actually, I got to spend some time with Joe DiMaggio as he was a frequent visitor to Downtown Hollywood, Florida and we hung out at the same restaurants in his declining years. He visited my theater on occasion and he was an absolute gentleman to the end. I don’t have to like this year’s Yankees but I certainly have to respect them.

Here’s the difference. The 1950 Whiz Kids never again approached the level of play that they had in that season. It would be 14 agonizing years before the Phillies, with Jim Bunning, would come close only to blow a six game lead in the last week of the season because of Gene Mauch’s stupid decision to use Bunning and Chris Short every other start. The Cardinals, with Curt Simmons went to the series that year. This time the Phillies were the series champs last year and they are going to be a great team for a long time. Wait til next year.

Eddie Basinski……….Ernie Lombardi………..Huey Mulcahey……………Van Lingle…………. Van Lingle…………Mungo

Kosmas still not on board with Public Option

By Jerry Waxman

as submitted to the Huffington Post 10/22/09

 

Members of Health Care for America Now, a coalition of diverse civic groups and labor unions including AFSCME, SEIU, Alliance for Retired Americans, Jobs With Justice and other community organizations called on Representative Suzanne Kosmas’s (D. FL.) Orlando office on Tuesday at 12:00 PM and presented a letter urging that the Congresswoman endorse real Health Care Reform. The text of the letter reads:

“Dear Congresswoman Kosmas, the citizens present in your office today are asking for a commitment from you to endorse and vote for real Health Care Reform. The following Bullet points reflect the priorities of our coalition partners and should be included in all Health Care Reform legislation that is being considered.

• Public Option—This inclusion alone in any bill will guarantee Americans access to more affordable health insurance plans by creating competition. It will also drive quality improvements within the health care system.
• Do not allow health care benefits to be taxed. Taxing benefits could cause reductions in coverage and would penalize employers, workers and retirees.
• Allow 55 to 64 year old retirees to buy into Medicare at affordable premiums. Five million Americans in this age group need health care coverage right now!
• Close the Medicare donut hole. Seniors need a drug plan that works all year long.
• Eliminate Medicare Advantage overpayments. All Americans pay this overcharge, retired or not, Medicare Advantage members or not. It must be stopped to realize real savings to traditional Medicare.

Respectfully submitted,

Central Florida Health Care for America Now Coalition”

The congresswoman’s staff met in the office with members of the coalition and promised to forward the letter to Congresswoman in Washington D.C. Jennifer Kenny, an organizer with the Alliance for Retired Americans, acting as spokesperson for the group stated that it is imperative that congress pass real health care reform, including a strong public option, and that Congresswoman Kosmas has not been on record as a supporter. Others in the group agreed including Sarah Jones, a Volusia County civic activist who has been following Kosmas speeches and votes closely on the issue. Jones stated that “She (Kosmas) has never stated that she supports the public option in any of her speeches. She has only said that the bill would most likely pass.” All the assembled agreed that Kosmas has displayed a “lack of leadership” on this issue.

Kenny tried to make an appointment to see the Congresswoman in person and was told to get in touch with her scheduler in Washington. Once the meeting was over both Kenny and Jones gave interviews to the local press repeating the same statements about the state of health care and the need for Congresswoman Kosmas to get on board and support the public option. A video of the meeting is available here.

 Afterwards, in the parking lot, Kenny said that she will keep on pushing Florida members of congress on these issues until the bill is passed. She then got in her car and headed for Sarasota where she was staging another event.

Kosmas’s position on Health Care Reform has created concern among area Democrats. According to HCAN her town hall meetings have been mostly over the phone and when she does meet with constituents it’s usually in a merchant association or chamber of commerce atmosphere. She recently interviewed with the editorial staff of the Orlando Sentinel and did not get high marks from them, and in August she addressed the monthly membership meeting of IUPAT, where she did her best to avoid talking about the public option.

Seniors to Humana-“Don’t Lie to us!”

By Jerry Waxman  as submitted to and published in the Huffington Post 10/01/09

 

Tony Fransetta pointing the finger at Humana

Don’t mess with these seniors!

The press conference started at 12:00 on Tuesday outside of Humana’s headquarters in West Palm Beach, Florida. This wasn’t the usual group of activists rallying for health care reform; this was a 21^st century version of the Over the Hill Gang, although there were no wheel chairs or walkers in sight. The seniors in this group were members of the Florida Alliance For Retired Americans, with over 200,000 active members in the state, and they are very upset with Humana for its recent scare tactics aimed at seniors regarding health care reform. Tony Fransetta, a Korean war veteran and president of FLARA, chastised Humana for its recent letter to its Medicare Advantage clients stating that under the new laws proposed they could lose benefits.

Fransetta read from his open letter to Humana’s CEO, Michael McCallister, “The Florida Alliance for Retired Americans denounces recent mailings to Medicare Advantage recipients. These mailings are a shameful attempt to protect your profits and they are spreading misinformation about health insurance reform. We demand that you immediately cease and desist from sending further mailings and apologize to those seniors who have received this misleading mail from Humana.

We are very disappointed and saddened at Humana’s deliberate attempts to misinform Medicare Advantage recipients about health insurance reform in order to bolster your bottom line.

We all know that Humana makes outrageous profits because of Medicare Advantage overpayments. All seniors, whether or not in Medicare Advantage, are now paying an extra $43.20 a year in Medicare premiums because of these overpayments to Humana and other insurance companies. More than 31 million Medicare beneficiaries are now forced to pay this extra premium money, which goes to your profit margin, not health care for seniors.

It’s time to make Medicare work for seniors, not Humana and the insurance industry. Many seniors know the truth and are working hard to make health insurance reform a reality.

The Florida Alliance for Retired Americans and its members and allies across Florida and the nation will continue to work to ensure that our hard earned tax dollars go toward health care for which they were intended and not unethical insurance company schemes.

Fransetta then told the assembled that the Department of Health and Human Services Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services in a letter dated Sept. 18 had ordered Humana to cease and desist from their current letter writing citing that the information was confusing and misleading.

Once the conference ended Fransetta and his seniors went into the office to present Humana with an enlarged copy of the letter. The office manager tried to duck them but Fransetta’s group would not be denied. Once the manager appeared he tried to empty the office stating that it was a place of business, but the seniors forced a face to face confrontation. Fransetta told the manager in no uncertain terms that what Humana was doing was wrong and that his own office tactics were abominable. He presented the letter with instructions to forward it to Humana’s CEO.

  

Presenting the letter to Humana

Let’s Not Bury ACORN Yet

 

“A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes” is a quote attributed to Mark Twain and it is quite apropos considering what’s going on in politics today. ACORN has been around almost forty years and the public for the most part never heard of it until a year ago when allegations of voter fraud propped up. The charges were made by right wing operatives who have been trying to discredit ACORN for years. Last year the timing was perfect to try to tie in Barack Obama, a former “community organizer” with ACORN and William Ayres. There were a few people working with ACORN who falsified voter registration forms and those people were properly dealt with. No executives or board members were charged with any wrongdoing.

The reason for all this is simple: it’s all about voter suppression. Through ACORN’s community organizing efforts millions of people who would not normally be part of the process registered and voted. Their efforts affected many outcomes and the right wing sees its power slipping away. These most recent efforts are merely a continuation to discredit a valuable and important community organization and discredit our president at the same time. It is also no coincidence that these tapes have surfaced just as we’re entering the critical stages of health care reform; ACORN has a huge stake in getting real reform passed. Their clients are the people who need it most. I feel like I’m watching a sadistic Road Runner cartoon. No matter how many times that coyote falls flat on his face he continues the chase relentlessly. After all, he only has to win once.

“The Evil that men do lives after them. The good is oft interred with their bones.”

The “birthers”, “teabaggers” and such show a real ignorance of history every time they open their mouths. Now they are going after appointed “Czars” and making comparisons to Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin in the way things are being done by our administration. Allegations of communism and socialism abound and if you ask any of these people what a Czar is they can’t tell you. So here’s a short history lesson for those so challenged. Prior to World War I Nikolas Romanov using the title Czar ruled Russia. Kaiser Wilhelm of the Hapsburg family ruled Germany. The words Kaiser and Czar are derived from Julius Caesar and the emperors of Rome who bore his name. The word Caesar has come to mean something like “supreme ruler”.  It’s just such a shame when people show their ignorance as arrogantly as these groups do. Anyway, the point of this exercise is to give some historical perspective to ACORN’s problems and show that we’ve been there in the past, even in the waning days of the Roman Republic, and the parallels are amazing. The politics of Rome prior to the formation of the Empire were amazingly complicated, but some things were clear: wealth trickled up, influence and legislation could be bought and reform was met with hostility.

Julius Caesar was arguably the most talented leader in the history of Rome. He was a brilliant military leader, strategist, politician and “community organizer”. He was an outstanding writer and a masterful orator, second only to Cicero, who was his bitter political opponent. He was also a social reformer working hard to include all of his conquered subjects as Roman citizens with full rights, and basically setting up his own personal Veterans Administration for soldiers under his command. Much of what ACORN does was ideated by him. He out-thought, out-fought and out-bought his rivals and in doing so amassed fabulous wealth and stature which he intended to share with the citizenry. His fatal flaw was his willingness to forgive his enemies, who should have been put to death, including Brutus and several of the conspirators for past transgressions. Brutus made a big mistake because Caesar had willed him much of the captured Gallic territories for his own domain. While Caesar was immensely popular among the Roman citizenry, he had his enemies and detractors in the Senate who tried to instill the fear in the populace that he would actually become King. His proposed land and agricultural reforms would have diminished the Senate’s power and very much lessened the Patrician influence in government. No wonder they resisted. He reluctantly refused the crown knowing that politically it was the wise thing to do. The sixty conspirators acted on the 15^th of March in the year 44 B.C. and assassinated him just prior to his embarking on another military campaign to complete some of Pompey’s unfinished business which would have given him more fame, glory and unrivaled power.

“…so are they all, all honorable men…”

The conspirators spoke to the throngs of mourners and almost convinced them that their acts were justified as he was about to become the great oppressor and they acted on behalf of all Rome. During this brief period the conspirators wanted to do away with Caesar’s chief lieutenant, Marc Antony but Brutus convinced them to spare him, which was another big mistake. Shakespeare has immortalized Antony’s address to the crowd in one of the most famous quoted passages in history. Whatever Antony did say that day it swayed the crowd and Rome to vengeance. The actual Roman Empire did not come into existence for another twenty years but the stage had been set for the sunset of the five hundred year old Republic. By attempting to “Save Our Republic” the conspirators actually hastened its demise.

Let’s fast forward about 1700 years to the Massachusetts county of Essex in the year 1692. From February 1692 through May 1693 a series of accusations and trials took place in Salem and other cities accusing certain people, mostly single women who were not part of the mainstream of the area, of practicing witchcraft. In 1689 Salem had founded its own church and ordained its first minister, Samuel Parris. Forget what you learned in 6^th grade. These Puritans were theocrats who wrote their own rules. What they did to the Indians after the first Thanksgiving doesn’t get taught in schools. Women held no rank in society and were perceived to be more lustful and susceptible to Satan than men. When a single woman or recent widow inherited land she was a ripe candidate for the church to take it from her by hook or by crook. Parris was not above this devious behavior so he condoned the trials, in fact members of his family were some of the accusers. This crowd could teach today’s subprime lenders a thing or two about stealing property. The trials had all the atmosphere of a kangaroo court. Overall, more than twenty people were executed and several more died in prison. There have been volumes written about this. Here’s a quick lookup about it. The facts are that no one in authority at the time tried to stop the proceedings because they had too much to gain by allowing it to happen. This was definitely a dark period in both American and religious history. Okay, Massachusetts was not yet a state and we were not yet a country with a constitution, so let’s fast forward a couple hundred more years to the late 1940’s.

It was a time when you reported your neighbor for any suspicious activity. Once the definite threat of world domination by Fascism was put to rest, the fear of world domination by Communism, dormant since the Thirties, reappeared. There were communists everywhere, in government, in Hollywood, in labor unions, at the local supermarket….everywhere. They were hiding under your bed as well as their evil teachers were indoctrinating your children. Even Eleanor Roosevelt was under investigation. Enter the House Un-American Activities Committee with their trusty companion, The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations headed by Senator Joseph McCarthy, aided and abetted by J. Edgar Hoover’s F.B.I. and other government organizations. All you had to do was disagree with someone about official policy and you were pegged a “red”.  The biggest beneficiary of this period was Richard Nixon, who played it for all it was worth and built his entire political career on it. The Red Scare gripped this country with fear for several years before some people figured out it was all a hoax. Careers were destroyed and peoples’ reputations were ruined all in the name of patriotism. Actor Philip Loeb was blacklisted, and although he was never charged and he cooperated fully with the committee, he was never cleared by them. He begged them to clear his name and they never did. He ultimately committed suicide in 1955. In the movie, The Front, actor Zero Mostel’s character, Hecky Brown, was based in part on Philip Loeb.

The Red Scare went on unchecked for about five years before someone actually stood up and exposed it. Playwright Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible about the Salem Witch Trials using actual trial records as part of his text. The play was an unabashed expose’ of McCarthyism, in fact Miller was quoted as saying “The more I read into the Salem panic, the more it touched off corresponding images of common experiences in the fifties.”  The next person to stand up to McCarthy was broadcaster Edward R. Murrow, who in a series of reports on McCarthy revealed him to be dishonest, reckless and abusive. The tide had started to turn. Murrow ended his broadcast with this statement: “We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine, and remember that we are not descended from fearful men.” The final demise came a year later during the Army-McCarthy hearings which were televised and the country got the chance to see McCarthy’s underhanded tactics live. The reign of terror had finally ended for the time being. Subsequently, the Senate censured McCarthy, HUAC lost most of its power, and many of the convictions brought about during this period were overturned by the courts. Joe McCarthy died in 1957, but his legacy lives on. McCarthyism is an underlying reason why Democrats are perceived as soft on communism and weak on defense, and Democrats have never done much to dispel that idea.

So, let’s see how all this affects ACORN’s situation today. Original founder and CEO Wade Rathke was fired a year and a half ago when it was disclosed that his brother, Dale, embezzled approximately one million dollars in 2000. CEO Rathke covered it up for seven years until the facts came surfaced. Bertha Lewis took over as CEO and immediately started reforming and restructuring all functions of the organization, including policies and board of directors. Someone anonymously made up the loss. She appointed a blue ribbon panel of advisors in early 2009 to help her with the transition:

• John Podesta, President and CEO, Center for American Progress

• Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Board Member, RFK Foundation, former MD Lt. Governor

• Andrew Stern, International President, Service Employees International Union

• Henry Cisneros, Executive Chairman, Cityview

• John Banks, Vice President of Government Relations Con Ed

• Eric Eve, Senior VP of Global Consumer Group, Community Relations, Citigroup

• Harvey Hirschfeld, President, Lawcash

• Dave Beckwith, Executive Director, Needmor Fund

Since the fall of 2008, ACORN’s new management team has instituted a set of changes, including:

• The establishment of a new senior management team of the organization;

• Revamping of ACORN’s board structure, including the establishment of new oversight committees with new resourcing to those committees;

• Processes to hire a new auditor, CFO, and other key management positions.

ACORN workers and volunteers have been on the front lines of the foreclosure crisis and health care reform battles and they work long hard hours for meager compensation. They also take their jobs very seriously. We’re not talking big money here. Bertha Lewis makes an annual salary that is less than most Orange County school teachers make. The office supervisors make considerably less and the average worker is lucky to be making above minimum wage. Many of the people who work in the Orange County office are volunteers. Sometimes they have to wait extra time for their paychecks as resources are not always immediately available. There’s really nothing to hide. Any investigation launched into ACORN’s finances will reveal that the overwhelming amount of dollars goes directly into client services. And that 56 million dollars that keeps popping up? Over a 15 year period that’s a drop in the bucket. By the way, any investigation will find that a large portion of that money went to aid people that the federal government failed to help-Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Wilma victims.

“Listen…….do you want to know a secret?…….

It’s the best kept secret in all of the media. ACORN receives less than 5% of its operating budget from the federal government. Here’s another secret: EVERYBODY IN CONGRESS KNOWS IT! That’s why it was so easy for them to throw ACORN under the bus. It’s just an easy way for these phonies (especially the spineless Democrats) to appear to be resolute. Shakespeare said it best-“A plague on both your houses.”  This is an organization that gets its hands dirty, constantly, in neighborhoods where most of us shudder to think about, serving people who desperately need help. ACORN is there every day doing what we in our churches and synagogues, the private sector and local governments have neglected to do for decades.

Shortly after the videos were made public Bertha Lewis issued this statement:

“As a result of the indefensible action of a handful of our employees, I am, in consultation with ACORN’s Executive Committee, immediately ordering a halt to any new intakes into ACORN’s service programs until completion of an independent review. I have also communicated with ACORN’s independent Advisory Council, and they will assist ACORN in naming an independent auditor and investigator to conduct a thorough review of all of the organizations relevant systems and processes. That reviewer, to be named within 48 hours, will make recommendations directly to me and to the full ACORN Board. We enter this process with a commitment that all recommendations will be implemented.”

Ms. Lewis is specifically ordering the following steps be taken effective noon eastern on September 16, 2009:

• No new intakes will be accepted into ACORN’s offices for service programs, effective immediately;

• An immediate in-service training for all frontline staff has been ordered within 48 hours;

• ACORN’s independent Advisory Council will help select an independent auditor/reviewer no later than September 18th to review all of the systems and processes called into question by the videos.

On Tuesday of this week, ACORN selected former Massachusetts Attorney General Scott Harshbarger to lead the independent review of the organizational systems and processes surrounding the social services of the organization. Mr. Harshbarger, now Senior Counsel to the Firm of Proskauer Rose LLP, is also the former President and CEO of Common Cause, the good government organization.

 

“You have meddled with the primal forces of Nature, Mr. Beale, and I won’t have it!”

It’s time for ACORN to get back to basics-what made it work in the first place. Mention the name Saul Alinsky to any conservative and it’s sure to cause at least heartburn if not a downright stroke in them, and for good reason. Saul Alinsky’s methods of organizing worked then and they still work today. His first major accomplishment was to do what Upton Sinclair’s novel, The Jungle, did not do. While Sinclair exposed the conditions in the Chicago stockyards, Alinsky actually cleaned them up thirty years later. He didn’t care how big they were or how well connected they were or how wealthy they were; when he decided to take them on he won. His methods were unique, unorthodox and at times outrageous and they were also very effective. ACORN was founded on the Alinsky model in 1970 to work in depressed areas in Little Rock, Arkansas. Yes, for a short period of time they are not going to be as effective at preventing foreclosures, or getting necessary health care to clients, however, they are now free to get back into the neglected areas of the inner cities and organize these communities into action. In a way Congress has done them a favor but a word of caution to the wise: “When men sow the wind it is rational to expect that they will reap the whirlwind.”-Frederick Douglass. It’s his take on a passage from the bible and it is a stern warning to politicians about the validity of Newtonian physical laws. Recent actions to defund ACORN were so hastily concocted and so broadly written (as to not be an unconstitutional Bill of Attainder) that they will affect any enterprises that are currently doing business with our government, such as Halliburton, Blackwater and lots of corrupt government contractors.

Before we decide to condemn, let’s get an honest assessment of the situation. No obfuscation, no stonewalling, no excuses, no cover-up. If something’s wrong it gets fixed with full disclosure and no opacity. If ACORN is guilty of anything it is at worst poor judgment. It needs to make sure that its employees are properly trained and managed with regular progress and performance reports. This organization has nothing to hide, but it does have something to fear and here’s where everyone can help. The battle to clear its name is going to be costly because ACORN is being tried in the media and the media is withholding facts that help ACORN’s case. Until or unless John Roberts and Co. completely subverts our individual rights we’re still supposed to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. That’s also supposing that any laws have actually been broken. So far only the two Republican operatives have violated any laws and that’s being looked into by ACORN. ACORN has also initiated legal action against Giles and O’Keefe and it will be interesting to see how that plays out, especially in the MSM. It’s also going to be interesting to see where their defense money comes from. Kudos to Rachel Maddow for her erudite, eloquent and well researched segment, The Truth About the Lies Against ACORN, it’s a real eye opener, and special thanks to all the bloggers on HP who have written on this.  Here’s how to help. Go on to ACORN’s website now http://www.acorn.org/ and give whatever you can afford. 66,882,230 of us voted for change in the last election. If every one of us gave only $10.00 ACORN would have the resources to do its good works without fear or interruption or distraction. It would also show our spineless Democrats in congress what fools and cowards they consistently prove themselves to be.