Making Up
October 22nd, 2007Forgive me for not writing yesterday, Dear Reader. No one is more disappointed when I don’t post than I am, but I will make up for it. Yesterday I was swamped with work and Church, so I couldn’t possibly get it done. I’ve got two things to talk about (and one to hint at). First we will address political news, where we have this article to raise our ire.
A typical teenager can fit his or her entire financial savings into nothing more than a plastic piggy bank. Yet, the teenage son of Mr. Richard Henken and Mrs. Sarah Henken was able to contribute the maximum allowable contribution to Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign. An investigation by The Huffington Post’s OffTheBus found an example of minors donating their hard earned allowance to a presidential candidate, in the most recent campaign finance report filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) for the third quarter of the year.
Mr. Henken, president of a Boston-based real estate development firm, donated the maximum amount also, as did his wife and daughter. Although it is legal for minors to donate money, some view this tactic as bundling. Bundling occurs when a group of people, in this case entire members of a family, individually contribute the maximum amount allowable to create large sums of cash. Opponents argue that bundling allows the wealthy to work around the political campaign contribution limit of $2,300 per person during this presidential election.
Indeed, Congress tried to ban contributions from minors when lawmakers approved the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act. But the U.S. Supreme Court overturned that provision saying that it violated the First Amendment rights of minors.
Although family members may have similar ideologies and support the same candidate, what is questionable is how minors accumulate the money to give it away to a potential president. The Henkens decision to endorse president candidate Mitt Romney is evident by their campaign contributions. According to the FEC records, Mr. and Mrs. Henkens’ young son, Samuel Henken, listed as a student, donated $2,300 to Romney for President, Inc. on September 30, 2007. His sister, also a student, donated the maximum contribution to Romney’s campaign on the same day. Karen, his sister, and Richard Henken also each donated $2,300 to the Mitt Romney Campaign.
I definitely agree with the Supreme Court, but I find the end result disgusting. It’s democratic rule, though, and it has every right to exist. Now I’m just curious if the Henkens would donate money so that I can go to Colorado this weekend? I’ll bring them along, if they want. And even if they don’t want to give me some money (in which case you should, Dear Reader — and I’m only half-kidding!), then I’ll hitch a ride with some Kurds. I hear they’re on the move, no?
Dozens of Turkish military vehicles loaded with soldiers and heavy weapons rumbled toward the Iraq border on Monday after an ambush by rebel Kurds that killed 12 soldiers and left eight missing. Turkey’s foreign minister said his country will pursue diplomacy before it sends troops across the rugged frontier.
Bad joke?
It’s happening now: the Kurdish move. I’ll bet the Pentagon is up in arms over this, as they should be. This isn’t going to be good for anyone.
You thought it couldn’t get worse, right?