A letter to the Editor about McClintock

Dear Blog Editor:
Congressman Tom McClintock left his Elk Grove home (he never moved in the district) to attend a couple of meetings with his constituents last week, none of which included El Dorado County people.  I guess he doesn't feel he needs our input. 

It's not like he has a tough work schedule.  He did the PEOPLE'S work six (6) days last month and is only scheduled for four (4) days this month.  He has two budget meetings this week, but nothing scheduled for his other committees for the rest of the month.  According to the House schedule, the House will be dismissed on the 17th of Feb. and not go back until 3 pm on Tuesday March 1st.

McClintock is paid a nice wage in this environment of "government mismanagement at its worst."  He got a $11,900 RAISE from last year's pay and is now being paid by the taxpayers $174,000 a year. 

But what is he doing for this pay?  The house is only in session from 10 am to 3 pm (Budget meeting has the same hours) Wednesday and Thursday.  At this rate, McClintock gets paid $172.80 an hour to do the people's business. On top of paying his salary, taxpayers pay his staff close to $100,000 a year, and EVERYONE in McClintock's office gets taxpayer-paid health insurance--minus a co-pay, something that he doesn't want for the rest of American citizens.  In addition to all this, McClintock does not pay for car or plane or gas...That's all covered by an expense account paid by the taxpayers.

Since Mr. McClintock does not feel the need to communicate with El Dorado County Residents (Letter, calls and emails continue to be unanswered) in his very tight schedule between Elk Grove and Washington DC, maybe the paper can ask this for me: Why are you talking about how my sisters and my mother have to take a cut in Social Security, something that they paid into with each and every pay check they earned?

When my paycheck went over the max, $109,000, it was like a raise -- my pay check for the rest of the year was LARGER.  After McClintock pays Social Security for the first $109,000, he pays nothing for the $65,000.   

Why Mr. McClintock are you asking that only the people who make less than $109,000 have to be FISCALLY responsible and take these cuts, but people like you who will be paid $864 a day for 6 days of work this month and pay nothing on the last $65,000 do not have to be fiscally responsible?

Dink Lane
Garden Valley

Pacifc Bell cared about their customers--AT&T (SBC) cares about their profits

After 15-days to get our phone service back... This story on Crooks & Liars pisses me off. (I condensed it to just AT&T)

 

Obama meets with U.S. Chamber of Commerce (Gave Karl Rove's non-profit PAC $75 Million)

 

Today, President Obama addressed the leaders of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a right-wing trade association representing large international corporations.

 

Obama asked these business executives to “get in the game" and spend some of the trillions of dollars of STRAIGHT profit on job creation.

 

In fact the leaders of the Chamber such as AT&T has spent the past few years rewarding themselves with millions in additional compensation while eliminating American jobs.

 

Telecommunications Giant AT&T Is On The US Chamber’s Board Of Directors:

– AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson was awarded a compensation package valued at $20.3 million in 2009, a jump of 35% from 2008. Last year, AT&T devoted an extra $8.99 million into Stephenson’s pension plan, ensuring that his retirement will include a pension “equal to 60 percent of his highest average salary and bonus in three of his last 10 years at the company. Although he’s not currently eligible for retirement, his pension is valued at an estimated $31 million today.”
– In recent years, AT&T has aggressively downsized its American workforce. In 2008, the company killed over 16,000 jobs as the recession hit. But in the last two years as AT&T enjoyed record profits, the company announced layoffs of “hundreds” in Kansas, 96 in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, 150 in Connecticut, 525 technicians in California, and 140 jobs in Oklahoma. These are LAYOFFS not retirements.

Here is the BEST part....a comment posted to this story.  I had heard about this back when it happened:
Comment by Lori: "I was one of those 16,000 laid off by ATT in 2009. ATT laid off 5K in 2008, right before Xmas. I remember at the time, right when the 2008 lay-offs were beginning, that our Director spoke to us on a conference call about Stephenson's big concerns were at the time. Apparently, he was concerned that no one would ride in the elevator with him. The story went that he got on the elevator and the first time the elevator stopped, everyone that had been on the elevator when Stephenson got on, got off - even though buttons had been pushed for floors that had not been reached yet. Stephenson's solution? He encouraged all of the people on his 'team,' VP's most of them, to impede on rank-and-file employee's breaks in the cafeteria by sitting down with them and starting conversations. Randall Stephenson - winning hearts and minds wherever he goes! These are the minds that run our largest corporations today. Morons."

Is the media pushing stories?

Remember when the Iraq War was building up?  Things didn't look right.  How did "the 9/11 attack" --> "Iraq"

It didn't connect.  But I trusted my government.  They loved this country as much as I do.  I was sure of it. So I trusted them.

Then I read this Jessica Yellin interview on CNN.  The interview talked about how the Corporate Bosses to the three (3) different networks actually pressured the press corps to present the stories on the war were supportive.

Is that what is happening today?

CBO: Economy stronger, revenues up - UPI.com

I didn't read this in the Papers or hear it on the news broadcasts...

$18 Billion is a nice reduction.... Lets hope we can get more people back to work.

The link:

CBO: Economy stronger, revenues up - UPI.com

Water, water everywhere... except for California's farms (Rep. Tom McClintock) - The Hill's Congress Blog

McClintock lived down in the Thousand Oaks area for years until he ran for Northern California's Congressional seat. He moved back up to Elk Grove. A little closer to the District he represents but not quite. See in California someone who runs for a Congressional Seat only has to be a Registered Voter in California. He doesn't have to live in the district. He doesn't have to vote on the issues that affect the people he represents. He doesn't have to shop at the same stores or drive on the same roads. He only has to have enough people to put a mark next to his name every two years.

This fight for the 4th Congressional District's water is NOT for the people he represents. This is a fight for the right to the water captured in Northern California's mountains and send it down to his old buddies down in Kern County.

The water from California's Northern Sierras is clean clear water, purer than anything they pump out of the ground or capture from Colorado River.

McClintock is NOT fighting for the people he represents, he's fighting for the Business Communities in Southern California. They have a lot more money to put in his campaign than any retiree or logger who lives in his district.

A link to The Hill's article --

Water, water everywhere... except for California's farms (Rep. Tom McClintock) - The Hill's Congress Blog

Corporate contributions have surged for new Republican leaders in House

A link to the Washington Post article:
Corporate contributions have surged for new Republican leaders in House

Let's put on our thinking caps. What does this mean to you and me?

The first line to the Preamble of the Constitution says:

We, the people of the United States, . . .
(NOT -- We, the business communities of the United States, . . .)

If our legislators are putting the Corporation's interest OVER what is good for the People, then are they really Representatives, or are they paid spokesmen?

Vote Nov. 2

My son and daughter out pounding the pavement, knocking on doors.  I am transporting groups from neighborhood to neighborhood...

Don't forget to vote...