Before the badly-informed public continues use of the “right to work” term in a positive light, they should take a look at the true impositions the far-right’s anti-labor sentiment imposes on them.

For example, check out this recent graph created by Think Progress. The United States is the only country listed that does not offer a guaranteed right of paid maternity leave from the workplace. 

And before anyone yells out “socialist!” take a good look at that list of countries featured on the graph – Germany, Italy, South Africa and almost all of the others are republics with governments elected by the people (and that have solid capitalist economies with profitable companies and corporations).

Ones with paler economies (Mexico, Venezuela) have it, and even a country with a much stricter, male-dominated social structure (Pakistan) guarantees that right to its women workers, too.

And there are many, many more than just those 14 countries listed on the graph that offer this basic benefit. In fact, aside from the United States, only Papua New Guinea (which has only five medical doctors for every 100,000 citizens) and Swaziland (which has a life expectancy of only 32 years) don’t guarantee this medical benefit.

That’s right – we’re one of only three countries on the planet that does not provide its citizens with a guaranteed right of paid maternity leave.

But it doesn’t stop there; 74 countries offer paid paternity leave, too, with 31 of those nations guaranteeing 14 weeks to new fathers. 

We’re also notably absent from the list of 48 countries that guarantee paid time off to parents who need to care for sick children.

It gets a lot worse for U.S. workers, too; 163 countries have paid sick leave, not limited to maternity, as a basic right – but not the United States. Even though 86 percent of the population says it should be guaranteed – even 81 percent of those who self-identify as conservative – we’re still far behind the rest of the world.

Federal government employees have that right (and so does the state of Connecticut recently, due to campaigns by that state’s Working Families Party), but everyone else in the private sector is left at the mercy of their employers.

That mercy ain’t much, either – 16 percent of American workers say that they or at least one of their relatives has been punished by employers, reprimanded, or even fired because of missing work due to an illness. 

In this election year, let’s keep basic labor rights included in the questions we ask candidates. Make sure they defend these rights and freedoms in the Land of the Free, and help the United States join the rest of the modern world.

And if the candidates you speak with disagree? Tell them there’s plenty of room for their kind over in Papua New Guinea and Swaziland.

Little did Donna Dewitt know of the wave of troubles and ill will her demeaning and insensitive actions last week would bring upon the nation.

Instead of the intended results of a shower of candy, smacking a piñata bearing the image of South Carolina governor Nikki Haley produced a spill of animosity instead.

But while outgoing state AFL-CIO president Dewitt has had to answer for her completely cruel behavior on national news, it appears that a completely new stick is wildly swinging across the country in hopes of gaining its own sweets and treats.

Today, country music legend Willie Nelson filed suit against a piñata manufacturer for producing stuffed dolls in his image. Joining Nelson are pop star Justin Bieber and Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin, whose likenesses are also borne by best-selling piñatas. 

DC Comics will be joining this trend, its attorneys announced this morning, and to protect the image of its Batman character. “He’s, like, undefeatable,” the company’s attorney said. “To have kids whack him with a stick is – you know, an insult to his character, no matter what goodies the piñata gives them in exchange.”

Further indicating the severity of the cruelness Dewitt instigated, hundreds of children across the country have filed class-action against a senseless company that produces a piñata in the image of their Sesame Street pal Elmo.

A couple who recently separated just hours after their wedding ceremony are planning to file complaint as well, blaming their irreparable differences on the bride and groom piñata featured at their wedding reception. 

Joining this trend, the national Republican Party has filed suit against a company for producing piñatas in the image of its elephant logo. The consumers of that particular piñata have filed a counter-suit, however, complaining that the GOP piñata only produced IOUs and pink slips.

In what appears to be last-second stab at redemption by the person who started all this, Dewitt has also filed suit, and on behalf of all the workers – both employed and unemployed – in South Carolina.

In her complaint, Dewitt states that she injured her back while attempting to open the piñata that carried an image of the governor. “If Haley’s skull wasn’t that thick, all of us wouldn’t be in so much pain right now,” Dewitt said.

 A new Violence Against Women Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday evening, with all of South Carolina’s Republican congressmen voting for it, including Dist. 1’s representative, Tim Scott.

This version of VAWA (H.R. 4970) doesn’t live up to its stated purpose, however, says Bobbie Rose, who is Scott’s Democratic opponent in the 2012 election year.

The House version distinctly differs from the one passed last month in the Senate (S. 1925), which removed the obstacles many immigrants regularly encounter when reporting abuse, and extended coverage to the gay, lesbian and transgender community. S. 1925 also addressed the high levels of abuse Native American and Native Alaskan women endure in their communities, expanding their independent prosecution of domestic violence committed in their own jurisdiction. .

“Rather than reauthorize a bipartisan act, the House of Representatives chose to make a very partisan statement,” Rose says.  “They decided that their female constituents would be best served if a group of GOP sheep determined which woman, which mother, which wife and which daughter should receive protection and aid from our government. They, in their infinite wisdom, determined that immigrant, Native American and LGBT women should be afforded no protections at all!” 

The restrictive bill, which removed those terms from the Senate version, barely passed the House on May 17 with only a 222-205 vote. Scott and other South Carolina Republicans all voted for H.R. 4970.

“Unsurprisingly, our own Rep. Tim Scott voted with his guru, Eric Cantor, and the majority of the House to pass a bill that decides which women in America will be afforded protection from a violent abuser,” Rose protests.  

So limiting is the House Republicans’ version of VAWA that even the National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence Against Women opposes it, declaring it to be “dangerous for victims(.)”

The National Task Force strongly supported the Senate version of VAWA, however.

Scott’s support for this restrictive format of the bill, Rose says, should send a clear message to voters that the incumbent congressman fails to represent this constituents. “A 13-year average shows that 36,000 South Carolina women are victims of domestic violence every year, and 33 of those women are murdered by their abusers.”

The Palmetto State has held the dismal rank of first of all 50 states in homicide committed against women by men, and 12.5 percent of the South Carolina women are victims of physical abuse at least once in their lifetimes.

H.R. 4970 will now return to the Senate for consideration.

“I ask that everyone who loves and respects a woman, a wife or a mother to join me in protesting this abuse of the authority we granted our congressmen,” Rose says. 

Defending women’s rights is a key platform issue of Rose’s campaign.  

You can't teach an old dog new tricks. But if that dog comes back to life, it's opportunities are endless!

Take Mitt Romney's former pooch, Seamus, for example. In this election year, Romney's been haunted by his former pet from yesteryear, who was once (as everyone around the world now knows) strapped upon the roof of his car while the Romney's ventured on a 650-mile road trip. 

Not only has the memory of that animal and its torturous trek been preserved by consistent media reports, but it appears to have launched a reincarnation of Seamus, too, who last night came back to life in the form of Seattle news reporter Nancy Guppy.

Arriving at the 38th annual Seattle International Film Festival last night, Guppy crawled out of a pet cage strapped atop the roof of a car.

(from a Ken Lambert/Seattle Times photo)

At least Guppy could tolerate the journey much better than Seamus did. She didn't need to be cleaned up at a car wash, like Romney had to do to his (now immortal) pooch. 

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Also see:
'Dogs Against Romney' hit Charleston campaign event

When it comes to campaigning for office, there are some things a politician simply can’t do.

For example, a candidate for public office can’t openly affiliate with any person, group or entity that has any questionable record. Doing so automatically associates the candidate with the negative public reception that entity can have.

Somebody needs to tell that to a couple of South Carolina Republicans, though, who are both having significant portions of their campaigns operated by a company affiliated with adult entertainment.

Summerville Media Group designed and operates the websites of two Republican candidates in Dorchester County – Ed Carter for State House 97 and Bill Hearn, the incumbent County Councilman for District 6.

For verification, simply check the bottom-right corners of each one’s website. At both www.edcarterforthehouse.org and www.billhearn.org will you read “Proudly powered by Summerville Media Group,” complete with link.

It’s when that latter link is explored that things get interesting. Summerville Media Group’s site not only offers additional verification that it designed those political pages (it has images of Carter’s site posted as a sample its web design, for example), but it lists other sites designed and maintained by SMG, too – including (get ready) “Sexy Skin Magazine.”

SMG lists “Sexy Skin” as a proud example of its site design and online marketing.

Using only its SMG page description as source, “Sexy Skin” seems to promote itself as a hub for amateur porn, inviting persons to offer their own photographs for a weekly contest.

“Do you have what it takes?” that website asks, inviting ladies to submit their own pictures. The winner of its “Hottie of the Week” contest can get “a chance to shoot a ‘Feature Layout’ with a Sexy Skin Magazine feature staff photographer.”

SMG affiliation with “Sexy Skin” delves a little deeper, too. It also does “a lot of the Photo Edits of the girls,” its site states, as well as “design the magazine covers for all the issues.”

(Another site claiming affiliation with “Sexy Skin,” and making the exact same “Photo Edits of the girls” claims of personal contribution to it, is that of 106 Designs, which apparently is another name used by SMG. Adding to the GOP:Porn affiliation, 106 Designs lists the website of Dorchester County’s Republican state Rep. Chris Murphy as one of its projects.)

This certainly seems to be an inappropriate affiliation for any politician to have (let alone openly acknowledge, as indicated by their sites’ “proudly powered by” links), but this is a pretty standard theme for South Carolina Republicans.

Take Roland Corning, for example. This former state representative was an assistant deputy Attorney General for the state when he was found in a cemetery one afternoon with an 18-year-old strip dancer – and Viagra. Corning’s a SC Republican.

So is Beverly Russell, who in fact was on the executive committee of the state’s Republican Party. Russell admitted under oath that he had molested his teenaged stepdaughter for over nine years.

Then there’s former Gov. Mark Sanford, who was busted for using taxpayer dollars to fund his extramarital affair in Argentina. Sanford’s GOP, too.

And let’s not forget the longstanding Republican segregationist Strom Thurmond, who impregnated a 16-year-old African-American woman, and then denied being the father of the child throughout his 47-year term in U.S. Congress.

(This isn’t limited to South Carolina Republican officials, please note. Consider the long listing on www.republicansexoffenders.com, which apparently couldn’t keep up with the multitude of consistent news releases of such incidents – it hasn’t been updated since mid-2008.)

This soft-porn affiliation isn’t extended to the Democratic opponents of Carter and Hearn, though. Incumbent Dist. 97 Rep. Patsy Knight has her website maintained by Harbor Light, which includes in its long portfolio not a single site that a kid couldn’t see.

And the same can be said for Miriam Birdsong, the Democratic candidate for Hearn’s county council Dist. 6 spot. Birdsong’s site (still under some construction at the moment) is being made by John Kauth, a photographer with some dazzle in website design. 

There are no accusations of reading dirty magazines or visting porn shops cast upon either of these Republican candidates, but if Hearn says he will “lead by example,” and if Carter claims “personal responsibility” as an attribute, then perhaps both should live up to those claims by answering to the affiliation their political campaigns now carry.

When you see the two Republican candidates for District 97 standing side by side, they’re easy to tell apart.

Jordan Bryngelson is tall, slender and notably young, with a thick crop of dark hair he keeps closely cut. Ed Carter is shorter and much older, and the gray hair on his round head has a notably receding hairline.

When you hear the two speak at the same event, however, they become identical twins. Neither Bryngelson nor Carter has a campaign platform stance that is in any way distinguishable from the other’s.

They made that clearly known, too, as they stood next to one another at a debate of Republican candidates, held at the Dorchester County Council building in Summerville on April 30.

Both claimed intentions to provide the best of support to the district’s rural areas.

The top priority for both would be new jobs in the district, they said, followed by modifications for improvement to education, which each claimed would be achieved by charter schools and parental school selection (which translates to sending public school funding to private schools, only for the benefit of upper-income families).

Both Carter and Bryngelson swore to support the bizarre “Fair Tax” program (which is so unfair that even the Bush Administration tossed the concept out the window).

And each one promoted himself to be a tried and true conservative, both using the term “100 percent” so often in those self-descriptions that they each exceeded their quota for use of the phrase by 150 percent.

But if there was any notable difference between them that stood out tonight (aside from their age, height and hair), it was in their declarations of faith to the Republican Party.

Not that each one doesn’t have party faith, mind you. It was the way that Carter explained his one-time run as a Democrat that made him not just visibly distinguishable, but maybe even ethically different, from Bryngelson.

In 2000, Carter ran for this same District 97 State House race as a Democrat, winning the primary but losing a very close race in the General Election to Republican candidate David J. Owens.

But that doesn’t mean he ever strayed away from the GOP, he claimed.

 “The only time I ever voted for a Democrat was when I ran as a Democrat,” Carter said when asked by Summerville Patch reporter Lindsay Street about that last campaign.

He only ran as a Democrat, he told the packed house of voters, to intentionally mislead voters.

“In 2000, that was a strongly Democratic seat,” Carter explained, a seat being exited by then-incumbent Rep. George Bailey.

(Bailey is currently a county councilman, and who not only openly played the party-switch game himself, but who even tried to run as a candidate in both the Democratic and Republican party primaries in the same election for the same office. That was in ’06, when he was unseated by the now-incumbent Democrat, Rep. Patsy Knight.)

“What we were doing in 2000 was, run as a Democrat, secure the seat. Then when we redrew the (House district) lines and make it Republican, switch parties next year, and make that a Republican seat from then on out.”

And wouldn’t you know it? The Dist. 97 lines were just redrawn to the likings of the Republican Party. The northeast portion, which is dominantly African-American and Democratic-leaning, was pulled out. It’s now in Dist. 104 that’s represented by the African-American Rep. Joe Jefferson; rural white (and very conservative) portions of Colleton County were added to 97 in its place.

“Now with redistricting this year, it looks like it’s going over to lean Republican,” concluded Carter’s excuse.

But did Carter actually conclude the story? Or even come close to an excuse?

Who was the “we” in the “what we were doing” and “when we redrew” statements?

And when at any time in these back-room deals did the interests of voters get considered?

In his excuse, Carter openly admitted that his intentions were not to represent the public, but only his own interests and those of his Republican Party.

Remember, mind you, that both candidates made the same “party, not the public” pledge.

Carter, however, one-upped Bryngelson by admitting to cheap, unethical and deliberately-misleading schemes. 

Thankfully, no matter which one pulls it off in the June 12 primary race, voters can still select Rep. Patsy Knight in November.

Knight won’t let middle-class tax dollars be used to the pay the private school tuition for children of upper-class families, unlike the declared goals of those Republican candidates. Different from the stances of both Bryngelson and Carter, she doesn’t fall for the “Fair Tax” foolery, either. Separating her from those two even farther, she represents all constituents, not just a political party.

And in distinct difference from Ed Carter in particular – and which he publicly admitted – Knight has not, will not, and never will mislead voters with any cheap, back-room, political trick.

Only once in the last half-century has South Carolina awarded its electoral votes to a Democratic presidential candidate.

A top Republican advisor is predicting that the Palmetto State could turn blue once again this year, however.

In a recent state-by-state breakdown, Karl Rove listed President Obama to have a three-percent lead in South Carolina over Mitt Romney, the apparent Republican candidate.

The Republican political consultant and former Deputy Chief of Staff to President George W. Bush includes the state with five others in a “toss-up” category.

Rove doesn’t list a source for his recent state-by-state estimates, but refers to poll results compiled by Real Clear Politics for a nationwide status.

Obama has led Romney in practically every national poll conducted over the last 15 months, according to Real Clear Politics. However, its few South Carolina polls that included a head-to-head contest between the two show the Republican candidate in the lead.

The most recent of such South Carolina polls listed by Real Clear Politics was conducted in October 2011, in which did Romney take 46 percent to Obama’s 40, leaving 14 percent undecided.

Another aggregate poll result source, David Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections, shows Romney’s lead over Obama in South Carolina to only be 44 to 43, and includes a more recent poll from January 2012 in its compilation.

The Obama campaign appears to regard the state as winnable, having opened a local campaign headquarters in North Charleston last October.  

In a November interview on the South Carolina Radio Network, Ben LaBolt, press secretary for the president’s re-election campaign, said “If we’ve got supporters in a state, even if it’s a traditionally red state, they ought to have the means to help the campaign if they want to get involved, and that’s exactly what they’re doing.”

Adding weight to the state in this year’s election, South Carolina gained a delegate, rising to nine.

John Kennedy won South Carolina’s delegates in 1960 with 51 percent of the vote. It wasn’t until 1976 before another Democrat, Jimmy Carter of neighboring Georgia, won the state. The Republican nominee won in South Carolina every election since.

John McCain led the state in 2008 with 54 percent of the vote. Obama had a majority of votes from Charleston County, however. 

Tea Party politicians won many elections in 2010 with promises  to reduce government spending.

Rep. Tim Scott, however, seems to have done the opposite despite his Tea Party pledge, even outspending his predecessor who was often criticized for unnecessary expenses such as franking.

And one particular category of spending increase by Scott could imply political favors and cronyism, another point that conservative and liberal voters alike continue to speak against.

The “Statement of Disbursements of the House” for the end of 2011 shows Scott spent roughly $1.272 million for operation of his offices, approximately four percent more than Rep. Henry Brown spent in 2010.

Making the comparison stand out further, Brown’s 2010 totals included additional one-time expenses, such as bonuses to staff upon the close of his office as he stepped down after five terms and 10 years. When compared to Brown’s more ordinary expenses from 2009,which didn’t include that same rate of bonuses, Scott outspent his predecessor by almost $100,000 in just his first year in congress.

One very direct category of spending comparison between Brown and Scott is rent on local offices in the 1st Congressional District.

In 2010 Rep. Brown paid $2,700.33 every month for a district office in North Charleston, and another $750 a month for a small Myrtle Beach office.

In 2011, though, Scott spent almost 10 percent more on district offices, including the same one used by Brown in Myrtle Beach.

That Myrtle Beach property is owned by Republican state Rep. Alan Clemmons, a self-declared friend and political ally of Brown’s, insinuating that Brown allowed his taxpayer-funded expense account to pay for political favors.

Beginning in January 2011, right after he took over Brown’s spot in Congress, Scott began paying more than Brown did for the same office in the previous month.  In the same category of reciprocating political favors, Scott was endorsed by property owner Clemmons in the 2010 primary.

Scott does rent a different Charleston-area office than Brown did, but this one not only costs about 10 percent more than Brown’s ($2,975 a month), but is also owned by yet another South Carolina Republican politician.
 
Scott’s West Ashley office is owned by state Rep. Bobby Harrell, who operates his own insurance firm from the same property that carries the name "Harrell Square Center." Scott's $2,975 per month rent is paid to Charlotte D. Harrell LLC, the office rental service listed under the name of the state representative’s wife.

Like Clemmons, Harrell endorsed Scott early in the 2010 primary campaign. 

Scott’s total office expenses in 2011 were a definite stand-out from other South Carolina representatives, even from the expenses of long-standing Rep. Jim Clyburn.

While Clyburn’s total expenditures in 2011 exceeded Scott’s by approximately $85,000, the 6th Congressional District representative also has more obligations; he sits on more committees than Scott, is required to travel much more than Scott, and is third-ranking party official in the House with more administrative expenses.

Despite the seniority of Clyburn and the staff who have worked for him in his 20 years in the office, Scott spent more on compensation to his rookie personnel. While both have 21 staff members, Scott gave additional bonus pay (“other compensation”) to nine of his personnel at the end of 2011, pushing his office’s total payroll over $1 million. That’s about $24,000 more than Clyburn paid his experienced staff.

Scott also paid himself over $3,000 directly from his office’s budget for the specific expense of “private auto mileage,” a program similar to tax credits for commercial use of a private vehicle, through which did he collect money based on mileage he drives in his own car. Clyburn, however, did not apply for nor receive any such compensation.

None of the other South Carolina representatives spent more, or spent a greater portion of their total allowance (84.72 percent), than Scott, either.  The 2011 office costs of the other Republican congressional representatives in the state ranged from $1.064 million/74.35 percent of total allowance from Rep. Mick Mulvaney (Dist. 5) to $1.183 million/82.01 for Dist. 2’s Rep. Joe Wilson. 

South Carolina has an unemployment rate of 8.9 percent, ranking 42nd worst of the 50 states and DC, but … Gov. Nikki Haley is on a self-promoting and self-profiting book tour.

The state has the third-worst high school graduation rate in the country (58.6 percent), but … Haley needs to appear on talk shows instead of in her governor's office.

And despite her dismal approval rating from voters (only 37.3 percent), the governor is only focusing on glamour shots and sound-bite promos. 

(posted on youtube by SCDemParty)

When is she going to leave the stage and return to the state capitol? That's a good question, says the South Carolina Democratic Party.

The SCDP chair has an answer or three to that question, too.

"Nikki Haley has spent the last month with her publicist, shuffling from talk show to photo shoot while the folks in South Carolina have spent their time trying to earn enough money to put the groceries on the table," says Dick Harpootlian.

“The only thing Nikki has worked hard at is becoming a pol-ebrity: a politician-celebrity. First it's Rod Blagojevich, then Sarah Palin. Now Nikki Haley wants her 15 minutes.”

Haley's official schedule for the month has consisted dominantly of media appearances and special-event speaking. 

Meanwhile, the state has undergone much debate and political skirmishes over vital issues, such as port improvement funding, state health insurance, and state government restructuring. 

"Instead of peddling books, Nikki Haley should be doing the job she was elected to do," Harpootlian says. 

The brutal media show Obama no mercy, catching him in a private moment and promoting it all over the country. 

It seems like a Republican dream come true, too. 

(Source: The Onion)
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Some people - somewhere - somehow - will believe this video is true. Even with its "China declares war" closing, some will still take this satire as truth and promote it.