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and other materials. In the Arctic, the environmental damage from oil spills is more severe and lasts longer than in more temperate climates.
The oil drilling was defeated for this year thanks to a filibuster led by Democrats. Only three Democrats voted for the drilling, our own Sen. Ben Nelson being one of the election year weak-spined crossovers.
The other measure done under the cloak of darkness was another appropriations bill misnamed something like the Deficit Reduction Act, which is to say, in Republicanspeak, nothing like the title leads you to believe. The bill in fact actually increases the deficit.
To be sure, there were some reductions in spending from the original bill because of the financial burden of an ever increasing costly war in Iraq.
Those spending reductions of course followed the Republican mantra of tax reductions for the wealthy. Yes, more tax reductions for the wealthiest of Americans, that is the GOP's answer to everything under the sun.
The spending reductions were for such frivolous programs such as Medicaid, education, health care, well…. you get the picture. The billions of dollars in reductions in the budget bill came as usual at the expense of the poorest of the poor.
Under the provisions passed over the objections of the Democrats were a host of Draconian cuts to the poor. With the passage comes even fewer children able to get needed health care.
Fewer children able to get glasses in order to see correctly and learn to read.
Fewer children able to get hearing tests and hearing aids.
Fewer children will get a hot lunch and more children will go hungry.
More children will suffer for lack of after school activities and fewer tutors available for those who need extra help.
More children needing instructors to accommodate special needs will go without.
More families will feel the cold this winter for lack of help on energy bills.
Check the votes, folks. Check out your congressman's votes. I haven't pushed my magic button yet to check but I have no doubt you'll find our three congressmen, Lee Terry, Jeff Fortenberry and Tom Osborne, all professing "family values," voted lockstep with the tag team of Hastert and DeLay in supporting all these cuts.
This is the most corrupt and morally bankrupt Congress in history of the nation and it needs to be eradicated next November.
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