Stevieslaw: Shared Values-On top of old Smokey…

We all know the song. We all sang various parodies of it as children. But thanks to our Republican representatives in Congress, we may have to change the beginning to something like:
On top of old Smokey,
all covered in coal…
The GOP led House this week passed a bill that would block a new federal rule to prevent coal companies blasting mountaintops to get at the coal and then dumping the toxic debris into nearby streams and valleys. They then defeated a Democratic amendment to stop the blocking action if it could be shown that the practice increased the incidence of birth defects, or lung, heart or kidney disease. And, to complete the trifecta, they voted to kill a new EPA rule to protect headwaters and wetlands. Obama has promised a veto.
We got these little known facts from the “roll call” section of the Centre Daily Times. The column provides a snapshot of what your representatives are up to. It was a pretty typical week—even accounting for the fact that Republican Governor Rick Snyder of Michigan decided that poisoning children in Flint was okay if it saved money.
As I recall the argument, many Americans vote Republican because the candidates “share their values.” Maybe it’s time to make a list of all the values we share with them–a bucket list of shared values. So far this year we have:
1. Poisoning the poor (particularly children) and
2. Poisoning the environment.
But, trust me, these bozos are capable of more and better values for us to share, in the eleven and a half months remaining to 2016.