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Bernice Vetsch

St Paul, MN
Commenter for
5 years 25 weeks

Recent Comments

Posted on 03/17/12 at 12:04 pm in response to Violence Against Women Act: A political opening for Democrats?

oppose the addition of "new groups" to the protections from violence this bill offers.

Are some of us not as equal under the law as others? Isn't this bill about persons, not "groups," who have been hurt or threatened with harm?

Posted on 03/15/12 at 11:57 am in response to Jeffrey Sachs' quest: Something new at the World Bank

from the oh-so-damaging results the IMF and World Bank now create. I doubt that he would ever, for instance, have made Greece solve its debt problem by both shrinking its economy and imposing unbearable austerity on its citizens. Nor would he countenance the privatization by means of IMF-forced sale of its public assets, including water.

Instead, we may (but I hope NOT) get Larry Summers, who is in the running for this position, and further advances of the corporate (the Goldman-...

Posted on 03/14/12 at 04:04 pm in response to Minnesota’s Voter ID constitutional amendment advancing

estimates at 5 million the number of American voters who would be disenfranchised if this ALEC legislation is enacted nationwide.

It is pure hooey to pretend that its intention is anything but this disenfranchisement of the poor, elderly/disabled, people of color and students -- all of whom tend to vote for Democrats.

Posted on 03/14/12 at 03:47 pm in response to St. Croix bridge construction to start in 2014

the organization that opposes the Big Boondoggle Bridge were to sue in federal court on the basis that it is fiscally irresponsible to spend this much taxpayer money on one bridge while a smaller design would save several million dollars that are desperately needed to repair or replace bridges and roads in bad shape all around the state?

Posted on 03/14/12 at 04:18 pm in response to Good News Clubs seek to expand Gospel outreach in Twin Cities public schools

is to prepare children for citizenship in a country that keeps religion separate from government, not to allow a particular religion to try to convert children to a religion other than that practiced by their own families.

Senator Mitch McConnell, during the recent floor debate over birth control, made it clear that his religion's position (that of right-wing ultra-conservative Christianity -- by no means including all Christians) was what all Americans should be obeying. In fact, he...

Posted on 03/14/12 at 03:55 pm in response to Religious faith and public life: Reflections on Edward Burdick’s life

about a beautiful person and including a beautiful quote from John Adams.

Thank you.

Posted on 03/14/12 at 03:39 pm in response to Why voter ID rulings in Texas and Wisconsin may not apply here

Benjamin Jealous and others from the NAACP traveled to Geneva this week to ask the UN's Human Rights division to study the impact of the various voter i.d. measures on the basic civil rights of US citizens under international law. The 14th Amendment would also seem to apply.

The McClatchy article referemced be;pw cites a Brennan Institute for Justice report estimating at 5 million the total number of American voters that would be disenfranchised if all states adopted the anti-...

Posted on 03/13/12 at 11:56 am in response to Israel-Gaza truce ends worst fighting since 2009 war. Did Iran have a role?

Why does it matter? Does Gaza have no right to defend itself, and Iran no right to help a neighbor they consider the victim of Israeli aggression? Would we not help Canada if it needed us? It wouldn't necessarily be a topic for worldwide wonder as to our intentions.

The founder of the Electronic Intifada, a guest on Democracy Now today, noted that Israel killed 108 Palestinians (15 of them children) during 2011 with premeditated murders, widespread bombing over Gaza and other...

Posted on 03/14/12 at 03:08 pm in response to 'Right to work,' Act One: Ending a 'jobs tax'?

However, their creation and support of a nationwide pro-corporate organization that "helps" state legislators write bills that benefit corporations at the expense of ordinary people, that has tame think tanks in every state to help push their agenda, that works with anti-tax zealot Grover Norquist and the National Chamber of Commerce to support anti-union, anti-public schools, anti-science idiocy about climate change that seeks to make people believe it's a hoax so they can continue to push...

Posted on 03/12/12 at 04:15 pm in response to Five things they're not telling you about the Vikings stadium

that it would seem incredibly, irresponsibly stupid of the state to go ahead with this deal, even if Mayor Rybak can get around the very clear ban by Minneapolis' citizens on any such expenditure over $10,000 without a referendum?

We have real problem to address. A gift to Zygi Wilf that will deprive the state/county/city of property taxes and pretty much any other income from the stadium should not be allowed to distract us from being sure that:

-the "reform" crowd doesn't...