TARBALL (Congressman JOHN MICA) with his oleaginous pal GEORGE W. BUSH
Big Oil Lobbyist DAVID MICA
Last night, starting at 7:30 PM, some 10,000 mostly St. Johns County residents received robotic telephone calls from Congressman JOHN MICA, a/k/a JOHN LUIGI MICA a/k/a “TARBALL.”
MICA’s recorded voice told listeners that he’d called 10,000 people to invite them to participate in a “Town Hall Meeting.”
Listeners could hit the zero key to queue up to ask questions.
MICA stayed on the phone line from his Washington office until just after 10 PM.
The telephone Town Meeting is the newfangled way for Congresspeople to reach out to constituents. Instead of having to put their clothes on and go somewhere, constituents sit at home and listen, some sucking on champagne.
Many of the questioners were from Ponte Vedra, a number with their noses predictably in the air.
A man who identified himself as “Bill” -- a Human Resources and Risk Manager for a company in Jacksonville -- asked MICA about illegal aliens qualifying for workers’ compensation payments. Bill complained that Florida was one of the few states that allows illegal immigrants to receive workers’ compensation.
MICA agreed it was a state law question but indicated it should be banned. “I don’t think they should be eligible anywhere in the country from any standpoint.”
The question of workers’ compensation for illegal immigrants was decided by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which held that illegal immigrants are eligible for benefits from the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Workers’ Compensation Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act, upholding decisions by the U.S. Department of Labor Benefits Review Board and U.S. Department of Labor Administrative Law Judge Honorable Clement J. Kennington.
Human rights and common decency require that if a worker is injured, they be compensated. Hiring workers, injuring them and expecting to deny them compensation is immortal, indecent and depraved.
Shame on JOHN LUIGI MICA. Shame on “Bill”
MICA says he is “not a lawyer,” but he complimented a caller named Peter, who works in law enforcement, that Peter was “one of the cruelest people I ever talked to,” but MICA asked his staff to research whether felons can be denied Social Security or disability. (His staff did not know the answer – they apparently can unless they’re incarcerated, fleeing prosecution or their disability is the result of a felony or they murdered their spouse).
MICA was tired, yawning and sounding bored. Several people asked how he was feeling, saying he sounded tired. Toward the end, MICA said, “I’m getting a little frayed around the edges. I started early this morning – I really enjoy talking to people like you.”
MICA stuttered, stammered and uhhhhed his way through the evening, with a high-pitched nasal voice. MICA sounded like Ronald Reagan on a bad day, telling meaningless anecdotal stories. MICA told of one woman who was “walking her dog” who told her of a shiftless worker who, after working for her company for 30 days, immediately tried to get fired to collect unemployment.
In his own squirrelly world, MICA ducked and covered as voter after voter talked about tough times.
Sheldon from Northwest St. Johns County spoke of bankrupt, closed businesses and subdivisions with no homes. MICA said “hang in there,” saying that he and his wife moved to Florida the same way they got married, and that the economy “ebbs and flows,” saying you’re “having a pretty rough time right now,” saying of people in Washington, “I don’t think they get it.”
MICA said he voted against every economic stimulus bill, but complained that 2/3 of the money has not been spent yet, complaining of “red tape” before federal tax dollars are spent.
Gary from Ponte Vedra Beach asked about unemployment compensation extension. MICA said he was against it because of “deficit spending,” saying we are indulging in “Chinese credit card billing to our grandkids and our kids.”
Karen from St. Johns County asked who MICA was voting for and he said “the Republican nominee.”
Steve in St. Johns asked about passing a law that one’s credit rating not be increased merely because of unemployment – he was temporarily unemployed, kept paying his debts, but his credit rating was lowered because he was unemployed. MICA, who voted against the financial reform bill, tried to pretend he was on Steve’s side, asking his staff to check on possible legislation. MICA stumbled, “under the new financial reform bill, there are some provisions on consumer lending and credit issues – I don’t know if address it or not – the bill will be up for corrections in no time—Beth, make note to check bill and if it does not have that provision let me know .”
So, having voted against consumers, MICA pretended to Steve to want to help them. This is pure chutzpa.
There was a question about abortion, and MICA said “one of the most important things I do in Congress is protect the weakest in our society” (except for poor people and injured workers who happen to be illegal immigrants, apparently).
MICA allowed as how he opposes term limits (although he signed the Contract with America that sought term limits). MICA said that “when people like me go, you start all over, babbling on about “freshman, lack of institutional knowledge” and “some of the garbage they pull here … new guys can be run over, got to have a little bit of stability on the team.”
MICA said the “Founding Fathers were pretty smart people” (although he supports amending the Constitution at the drop of a hat, usually at the behest of people who want to violate human rights).
MICA said that “what’s become disgusting is the money chase,” which he said is “very difficult to change,” blaming “the Courts” (actually Chief Justice Roberts’ pro-corporate Supreme Court).
Asked about transportation, MICA complained that only 7% of federal funds go to transporation, overseen by the committee on which he is the top Republican. “I never give up. I do not give up easily,” MICA said.
Asked about the Tea Party, MICA defended it, saying it is “derided by the media, called all these bad names – I think they’re patriots.”
Cathy from St. Johns asked about H1B visas and foreigners with technical skills taking Americans’ job for less pay. MICA claimed he thought “we’d turned off the spigot.” (It hasn’t been). Then MICA bragged about getting a tip about illegal aliens working on courthouse construction in Orlando and his calling in a tip to Immigration, resulting in arrests.
MICA claimed he got “hate calls,” but that “my job is to enforce the law, not ignore it.”
Actually, MICA’s job is to write the laws, and the aging fratboy (onetime employee of his national fraternity) does a horrible of writing laws. Where it comes to our City of St. Augustine, MICA has not only not ”enforce[d] the law, he’s “ignore[d]” it, bragging on getting grants for the City of St. Augustine’s massive money-losing $25 million parking garage.
MICA whined that regulators were too tough on community banks. “FDIC hired another 500 bank examiners – they’re harassing even more of the small community banks,” MICA claimed.
MICA complained to Rep. John Boehner (House Republican leader) that House Republicans are “we’re all over the lot… we’re not getting our message out…. we do a much better job”
MICA said he had no problem with the Arizona immigration law: “I’m not an attorney – I’m just a normal businessman trying to bring in some common sense to Washington. Actually, MICA is a lying former developer who made millions bidding on cell phone auctions, winning money from speculation on government monopolies.
MICA later said that we need guest workers because there are some Americans who are unwilling to pick fruits and vegetables in 90 degree heat.
MICA said he supports repealing the health care reform bill and had signed a “discharge petition” to bring it to the floor for a vote. “I could easily support repeal,” MICA said.
MICA sniped at a recent Obama health care appointee as “a ration health care kind of guy” and lamented the number of people required to administer the national health care legislation.
Mike from St. Johns complained about Congress “sneaking” in legislation requiring small businesses to issue 1099s and said “I guess I’ll just fire someone to pay for it.” (What a lugubrious goober.). Mike asked MICA if he would support repealing that portion of the health care bill.
“Oh, yeah,” MICA said, saying “every day” he learns of some new provision in the health care bill of which he was unaware, saying he read the bill but that it makes many references to other laws and has hidden meanings.
MICA said on health care “we’ve got to do tort reform” (sic)(he means “deform) and that there are a lot of big corporations that will be willing to pay fines rather than provide health insurance, saying that perhaps this is what the Democrats intended.
Like the aging fratboy and George W. Bush crony he is, JOHN LUIGI MICA mocked the St. Johns County communities of Elkton (“you don’t want to blink”) and Fruit Cove (asking where uptown and downtown are), saying it’s “a lovely little community.”
On Amendment 6, MICA hem-hawed on about redistricting, stating (in response to Don from St. Augustine) that “I don’t have a problem with redistricting by commission – the legislature should do it, but if the people want to do it” through a Commission, that would be fine, although “I’m not in favor of an apolitical commission… – politics always enters into it even with commission.” MICA says he was “shafted” by both Democrats and Republicans on redistricting (a dig at ex-Speaker of the Florida House and now ex-Congressman Tom Feeney, who took most of MICA’s old District for a sinecure, sticking MICA in St. Johns County commencing January 4, 2003).
MICA said he’s prepared to be “shafted by a commission, too,” adding, “I may let someone else be around” for the redistricted seat. MICA said that Corinne Brown’s district is “a complete (inaudible) – it’s amazing.” He said minority legislators have a “legitimate concern” about majority minority districts.
MICA offered a few interesting aphorisms:
“Politics is a lot more interesting than anything that’s on the tube.”
MICA blasted AMTRAK as a “Soviet-style train system – we subsidize every ticket $54.80.”
IN response to Lois from Ponte Vedra Beach, MICA also endorsed nuclear power (“I’m a big nuclear fan if it can be done safely”) and danced around offshore oil drilling and oil drilling in the Everglades, never admitting or defending his support for both. “Thanks for inquiry and allowing me to rattle on,” MICA concluded his lengthy peroration.
Bonnie from Ponte Vedra Beach (who is both a special education teacher and the mother of a special needs child), questioned the controversial No Child Left Behind Act and how it has hurt her students and child. “I don’t think it’s fair that both teachers and public education are now the enemy,” she said.
JOHN LUIGI MICA patronized Bonnie like the “Pander Bear” he indeed, saying “thank you so much for your commitment to education,” saying he is “married to a public school teacher” and that his “son we wound up putting in private school last two years.” Then MICA said “No Child Left Behind is probably a pretty good law, based on accountability.”
After some two hours and 30 minutes of MICA yawning, extemporizing and boring more than 1300 of 1400 people into hanging up -- with elliptical answers from MICA on every subject, with only a few dozen of us still on the telephone line (out of 10,000 people called and 1400 who opted in), Congressman JOHN LUIGI MICA ended just after 10 PM last night, thanking everyone for letting him serve in Congress. (Not for long, we hope!)
A request for the tape recording of the Town Hall meeting to Rep. MICA’s office [later yielded the response that he does not tape record his Tele-Town Hall sessions].
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