I Want My Country Back

Yes, you heard me.  I want my country back… back from the Tea Party and the big corporations that financially support them.  I do NOT want my country to return to the Tea Party and Republican principles of:

• Repealing the Civil Rights Act because the central Government should not tell States how to treat American citizens.
• Eliminating the 19th Amendment to the Constitution.  Women should not be voting.  They don’t have time for politics because they need to be in the kitchen cooking and they should be waiting on their husbands.  The bible tells us that women are subservient to men.
• Returning to slave labor and sweat shop labor practices because businesses should be free to abuse their employees without Government interference.
• Dismantling Social Security because seniors should have planned better for their retirement.  Too bad and too sad if Wall Street bankers stole most of their IRA money.  Tough luck if the seniors worked at jobs that didn’t have a pension program or 401K program.  If these seniors worked for minimum wage, they still should have thought ahead even if it required providing less food and clothing for their children so that they would have that extra money to save for their retirement.  Some Republican candidates are claiming that Social Security is unconstitutional.
• Dismantling Medicare because health care is not a right, it is a privilege and the Tea Party does not approve of privileges except when it comes to their idols and themselves.  Besides, only the privileged deserve health care.
• Eliminating disability payments because people need to be more responsible and not get injured on the job.  This includes our military veterans.  They should stop whining because after all, they volunteered.
• Forcing Catholics, Jews and Muslims to commit sins by having to read and study the protestant bible in public schools.
• Allowing property owners to create toll roads.  People have a right to collect money from anyone that crosses their property line.  Good luck with getting to work on time and having any money left over from your paycheck after paying all the tolls.
• Supporting “Second Amendment” solutions as a means of conflict resolution.  This might also work as a method of population control.
• Returning to the glory days of lords and serfs.

I want my country back from hate mongers like Beck, Palin, Limbaugh, Malkin, Kristol, Bachmann, Rove, Cheney, and all the rest that appear on Fox News, the opinion network.  The goals for these people are to divide our country and to make piles of money while undereducated people do their dirty work for them.

I want my country back from racists such as Beck, Laura Schlesinger, the Tea Party and the Larouches.  These people are so upset because there is a black family living in, what they perceive as, the White(‘s only) House.

I want my country back from people that profit from the suffering of others (Beck, Palin and Limbaugh).

I want my country back from politicians that place Wall Street above and before Main Street, such as Pat Toomey, Tom Corbett, Jim Gerlach and all the other Republicans and Tea Party members.

Yes, I want my country back.  The one where everyone is treated with respect and  equality, the one where everyone receives good health care, the one where everyone receives a livable wage, and the one where everyone is free to practice their religious beliefs without interference from other religions.

I want back, the country that was progresing forward.  Not the one that is currently heading in Reverse.

The Real Pat Toomey – Part 2

Yikes!  Pat Toomey hates seniors.  He is against health care reform which will begin to close the doughnut hole in Medicare Part D and make medications cheaper.  Pat Toomey wants seniors to pay more for their drugs.

Here’s more on the “Real Pat Toomey“.

Pat Toomey hates American workers.  He would prefer to send our jobs overseas.

• Toomey argued free trade would create jobs, while acknowledging that workers might be “displaced.” While Toomey supported free trade policies so that American products could be bought in global markets, he also acknowledged that American workers would be “displaced” and should receive help. “It’s very important for jobs in the Lehigh Valley,” Toomey said. “Lucent can export more chips, Air Products can sell more gas and chemicals overseas, and it means Victualic can sell more overseas.” [Morning Call, 12/5/99, 1/21/00]

The PA Congressional District DINO

Yesterday, Representative Tim Holden sided with the Republicans and the Tea Party by voting against the best interests of his constituents.  He voted “NO”, twice, for health care reform.

The historic health care reform bill that just passed the House will immediately provide the following benefits to Pennsylvanians in the 17th Congressional District:

. Improve coverage for 444,000 residents with health insurance.
. Give tax credits and other assistance to up to 168,000 families and 13,000 small businesses to help them afford coverage.
. Improve Medicare for 120,000 beneficiaries, including closing the doughnut hole.
. Extend coverage to 18,500 uninsured residents.
. Guarantee that 7,300 residents with pre-existing conditions can obtain coverage.
. Protect 900 families from bankruptcy due to unaffordable health care costs.
. Allow 47,000 young adults to obtain coverage on their parents’ insurance plans.
. Provide millions of dollars in new funding for 7 community health centers.
. Reduce the cost of uncompensated care for hospitals and other health care providers by $59 million annually.

Read more about the benefits of health care reform here…

Support a REAL Democrat by voting for Sheila Dow Ford at the Democratic Primary in May.  Here’s a link to Sheila’s statement regarding yesterday’s historic vote.

More On That Midnight Pay Raise

From an email…

Friends of Congressman Tim HoldenContact:  570-429-0397

Statement from Congressman Tim Holden regarding PA Senator Dave Argall’s announcement:

Today’s announcement from Dave Argall should be very troubling to the constituents he currently represents as he was just entrusted less then a year ago with the Senate seat of the late Jimmy Rhoades.  Senator Rhoades was a colleague and friend of mine. He coached me in my early football years.  He and I worked closely together for the people we represented and we upheld the long tradition of bipartisanship which has served our constituents well over the years.

I am proud to share this same tradition of bipartisanship with other elected legislators throughout the 17^th Congressional District.  It is disturbing to me that Dave Argall has chosen to disregard this policy for his own personal gains, but now that he has made this choice, let’s take a close look at his legislative record.

While serving as a State Representative, Dave Argall voted to increase his own pension by 50%.

Then, while serving in a leadership position in the PA House, he wrote, signed and was responsible for rounding up the votes for the infamous midnight Pay Raise legislation.  That’s right, Dave Argall gave himself a 34% pay increase.  Let the record be clear, without Dave Argall, this bad legislation would never have seen the light of day, much less be passed into law.  It was Dave Argall, working closely with his colleague, the now indicted former Speaker of the House John Perzel, who made sure that the votes were there to pass this appalling pay increase.

At the same time he was lining his own pockets, Dave Argall routinely voted to increase taxes on his constituents and voted against funding health insurance programs for people who most needed the assistance.

One thing is for sure, Dave Argall is not a leader and he is not concerned about average working men and women.  Dave Argall has demonstrated time and time again he is only concerned with one thing…. Dave Argall.

Berks County Row Offices – Democrats 2009

Born and raised in Berks County, Charles Corbit will work hard and work smart to make sure the Prothonotary’s Office works for the tax payers of Berks County.  With two decades of private sector experience, Charles will update obsolete technology to reduce costs and ensure secure document filing.  Under his leadership, the Prothonotary’s Office will provide fast retrieval and quality service to all customers.  That’s better for Berks.

It time for someone with energy, leadership experience and computer knowledge to manage the important legal documents that are vital to the tax payers of Berks County.  We need change.  Charles will not spend his time decorating his office for the holidays nor will he be doing “political work” on taxpayer’s time.  Instead, he will be working hard for everyone in Berks County.

Serving the people of Berks County as our present Coroner, Dennis J. Hess has accomplished much in his first term.  By restoring professionalism and integrity to the Coroner’s Office, Dennis and his staff have earned the trust of the people of Berks County and built strong working relationships with all their constituents, including funeral homes, ambulance and fire companies, hospitals, law enforcement and the District Attorney’s Office.

Unlike the previous Coroner (Bybel), Dennis Hess has NOT incurred any costly lawsuits against the Coroner’s Office.

With 25 years of leadership experience at Med-Ed and FirstEnergy in finance, operations and administration, Carole can bring fresh thinking to the challenges that face the County and the Treasurer’s Office.  She will improve operations, increase efficiency and control costs through better use of technology and strengthening the departments commitment to customer service.  Carole has the knowledge, enthusiasm and commitment to work hard for the people of Berks County.

Carole Snyder will establish a policy of openness with all funds and operations, unlike the current Treasurer that refused an Internal Audit.  She will work to minimize the huge pension fund investment losses which must be made up from taxpayer dollars.  The current Treasurer (Nelson Long) oversaw two huge losses of pension funds in excess of $50 million in the past ten years.

VOTE FOR THESE DEMOCRATS ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3rd AND PUT AN END TO ALL THE WASTE OF TAX PAYERS MONEY BY THE REPUBLICANS OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS.

Vote straight Democratic Party.  We can not afford 4 more years of Republicans wasting our tax dollars.

Berks County Row Offices – Republicans 2009

Mary Ann Sutton is the current Prothonotary for Berks County. She is 73 years old and even though she claims to have implemented the software purchased by the tax payers of Berks County for streamlining the document management that is required by the Prothonotary’s office, she doesn’t take full advantage of this software. It’s time for her to retire and enjoy her thirteen grandchildren and her Social Security.  We need a person with leadership and computer skills that will save the tax payer’s money by fully implementing the software purchased by Berks County.  Not someone that is more interested in decorating her office for the holidays than learning new skills that would save Berks County money.  Sutton needs to hire consultants to do the work that she and her staff should be doing.  That’s not efficiency nor is that cost effective.

Now this isn’t illegal, but, it is questionable.  If you visit the Berks County Republican Committee website and click on Maryann Sutton’s name you get a link to her email account (msutton@countyofberks.com), the one that is paid for by the tax payers of Berks County.  How much “party politics” does Maryann Sutton do on the tax payers time when she should be working for us instead?

Nicholas Bybel, 76 years old, is trying to make a comeback as Coroner for Berks County.  He made a statement to the Pottstown Mercury saying that he was going to fire employees if he gets elected and hire medical staff to do the coroner assistant work.  Berks County was sued for this very reason before, must we visit this again?   Bybel lost the primary 4 years ago to an unknown lawyer because Berk’s County tax payers had enough of covering all the lawsuits that Bybel had incurred against the Coroner’s Office.   He lied by making a false statement regarding endorsements (see previous post).  Besides, he too, should be enjoying his retirement and stop wanting the Berks County tax payers to raise his standard of living.  Our current Coroner is doing an excellent job.  He has NOT incurred any lawsuits because he does his job.  We had Bybel once and that was enough.  Say “bye, bye to Bybel”.

Nelson Long, 70 years old, is the “youngster” running on the Republican ticket.  His position as Treasurer leaves many questions such as:

1. Why does he repeatedly refuse to allow scutiny of the County Record Improvement Fund by Internal Audit?

2.  How does he justify expenditures for furniture, appliances and trips using Record Improvement Money?

3.  Why does he risk losing money in the Berks County pension fund by recommending that the County invest 8% of these funds in junk bonds?  (Can anyone say ‘derivatives’?)

4.  Why did he try to hide the fact that he failed to include the cost of outsourcing work for the Tax Claim office to his campaign Chair by claiming that he saved money when in fact he didn’t?

5.  How does he explain two huge losses of pension fund assets in excess of $50 million (ouch) in the past ten years that he oversaw?

6.  Why does he ignore repeated recommendations of the PA Auditor General to provide proper checks and balances over the handling of cash? (from audit reports for periods ended 2002 and 2006).

7.  Is he too computer illiterate to implement the Cash Management portion of the County’s new computer system that was paid for by the tax payers?

WHAT IS NELSON LONG HIDING FROM THE TAX PAYERS OF BERKS COUNTY?  INSTEAD OF TRASHING HIS OPPONENT WITH LIES, HE HAS EXPLAINING TO DO REGARDING HIS MANAGEMENT OF BERKS COUNTY FUNDS.

It time for him to retire, also.  We need someone that is willing to use the Record Improvement Fund for its intended purpose as is done in other counties.  Berks County is way behind the times and it is costing the County money.  We need someone that can implement the proper checks and balances to safeguard Berks County assets.  So far, Nelson Long has failed in protecting Berks County assets.  We can’t afford to trust him with our money any longer.

Manan Trivedi – Candidate for PA 6th Congressional District

From Berks County to Iraq and now a PA 6th Congressional District Candidate

Let me introduce you to Manan Trivedi.  He is an Iraq War Veteran and a physician and a progressive candidate for the PA 6th Congressional District.

Learn more about Manan at his website:  http://trivediforcongress.com/home/

You can also contribute to his campaign at:  ActBlue for Trivedi

Excerpt from Manan Trivedi’s website:

Decorated War Vet, Primary Care Doctor, and Berks County Native Seeks Democratic Nomination

9.7.2009

Gregg Kravitz

610-370-9489

Reading, Pa – Today Manan Trivedi announced his candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives in the 6th Congressional District of Pennsylvania. Recently retired as a Lt. Commander in the U.S. Navy, Trivedi made his campaign for the 2010 Democratic nomination official.

Trivedi’s roots in the district are deep. He grew up in Fleetwood, Berks County, and then went on to become a decorated Iraq War Veteran by serving as the Battalion Surgeon for a Marine Corps Infantry Battalion in the 5th Regiment. After his tour of service, Trivedi returned home to the district, and he now resides in Reading, where he works as a board-certified internal medicine doctor at Reading Hospital.

“I was raised in this district by working-class parents and experienced what many families are going through now with the loss of their jobs and their pensions. But I also learned the importance of serving others and working hard for things that matter. These principles have guided my career, from the battlefield to the emergency room,” said Trivedi.

“I am now prepared to serve my community in a new capacity: in the halls of Congress. We have some big challenges facing our nation. Our healthcare system is broken, we’re engaged in two wars, and our economy continues to struggle. I know how to get things done under extremely difficult situations, and my direct experience with these challenges will give the working families in my district a strong and credible voice in Washington,” Trivedi concluded.

Manan and his wife Surekha have been married for five years, after meeting in college. Trivedi’s recent involvement in Democratic politics was as a Healthcare Advisor to the Obama for America Campaign.

###

Complete Bio:

From boots on the battleground to scrubs in the emergency room, Manan Trivedi’s life’s story and life’s work have prepared him to confront the pressing challenges Congress faces today.

A son of immigrants from India, Manan Trivedi was born and raised with his brother in Fleetwood, Berks County. His parents worked at the old Red Cheek apple juice factory. He attended public schools and graduated from Fleetwood High School. He went on to college and medical school before embarking on a Naval career that took him to the frontlines of the War in Iraq. Now, he’s a primary care physician in Reading, board certified in internal medicine.

Manan Trivedi’s passion for community service began at a very early age. As a young boy, he won a national contest for launching a healthy eating initiative. In college, he received a community service award for his work with HIV/AIDS patients. As a physician, he has treated the poor and uninsured in the inner city.

From 2001 to 2003, Trivedi served as the Battalion Surgeon for the 1st Battalion, 5th Regiment Marine Corps Infantry Battalion. His battalion was among the first US ground forces to enter Iraq. Trivedi served on the frontlines of battle, commanding a medical team that cared for over 1,200 of our troops and hundreds of Iraqi civilians. For his service, Lt. Commander Trivedi earned the Combat Action Ribbon, the Navy Commendation Medal, and his unit was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation.

After his service in Iraq, Trivedi received a Masters degree in Health Policy. He drew on his experience with combat medicine to become one of the early researchers to investigate the unique mental health issues affecting our troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Trivedi went on to serve as health policy advisor to the Navy Surgeon General and was an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences.

After leaving the Navy, Trivedi is now a primary care physician at Reading Hospital and Medical Center. An expert on public health and Veteran’s health care, Trivedi served as health policy advisor to Barack Obama’s campaign for President. He met his wife Surekha while they were in college together. They live in Reading where they enjoy outdoor activities and are avid Philadelphia sports fans.

Joe Sestak for US Senate

Pennsylvania for Change endorses Joe Sestak for US Senate representing the people of Pennsylvania.

http://joesestak.com/welcome/Home/Home.html

Joe is a supporter of gender equality.

Joe Sestak believes in building better lives and futures for working families – particularly America’s women. Today, women earn only 77 cents for every dollar that men earn and 12 percent of women are their family’s main wage earner. To ensure the opportunity for a more secure future for women and their families, Joe believes we need to ensure that women are not only provided fair wages, but also benefits that are based on their performance; equal rights to challenge unfair practices, secure health and safety – including the right to choose – and skill training in fields that are underrepresented by women; and secure retirements and pensions that guarantee their independence and economic security in the coming years.

He also supports a public option health care plan.  When Joe Sestak retired from the Navy, he was offered many positions working for the military complex and he turned down these high paying jobs to run for Congress because he believes that it is his turn to give back to the American people.

Visit Joe’s website and read more about his position on issues, volunteer and/or contribute to his campaign.  During the 2010 primary, help get out the vote for Joe.

A Real Democrat for Senator

Let me introduce you to a real Democrat, a lifelong Democrat, a Democrat that didn’t switch parties just so he could get elected… Bill Kortz.

Learn more about Bill Kortz at http://www.kortzforsenate.com/

Be sure to view the video at Bill Kortz’s website.

Legislator Bill Kortz will be at the “Rally for Single Payer Health Care” in Harrisburg on Thursday.

RALLY ON THE CAPITOL STEPS
for
SINGLE-PAYER
June 11th
Get the latest info here!

Meet Bill Kortz, Democratic State Representative from the 38^th Legislative District in Allegheny County, a candidate for the United States Senate in 2010.

Bill Kortz, life long democrat entered this race “For All the Right Reasons”, just as he entered the race for State Representative in 2006 when it became abundantly clear that’s some of our State Representatives were out of touch with the citizens of Pennsylvania. As a member of the Appropriations Committee for the State House of Representatives Bill Kortz the working class candidate is in the unique position to see first hand the economic devastation tax breaks for the wealthy and the unjustified Iraq War Policy by the Bush administration and his republican allies, including now long time republican, conveniently turned democrat, Arlen Specter, have reeked on Pennsylvania and our nation.

As one of the political enablers, Specter helped devastate our economy by way of a wink and nod attitude to the corporate greedy on Wall Street, wealthy bankers, and predator lenders. With the end result being a cost in dollars and broken lives that is immeasurable.

It will take hard work and dedication by elected U.S. Representatives that truly aspire to public service, “For All the Right Reasons”, to reverse this problem. Bill Kortz has proven to his colleagues in the State House with untiring commitment to his duties and dedication to constituents in his district, that he is that person.

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Just Ask – UPDATED with Links to Results

Twelve years ago in June, my husband and I moved into our current home.   The first chance that we got to vote in our new neighborhood was during the general election.  When I went to vote, I was greeted outside by a man who introduced himself and handed me a pen with his name on it.  He told me that he was running for Township Supervisor and he asked me to vote for him.  I asked him his views on environmental issues.  Turns out, he is a strong advocate of open space.   He won the election.  I told you that so that I can tell you this…  there was no one from either party standing outside the polls working for candidates other than the man running for Township Supervisor.  The Republican turnout in this township was strong and the Democratic turnout was weak.

This absence of party representation continued throughout the years.  The Republicans would place signs along the building and the Democrats had no information available.  Then came the year 2004 and George W. Bush was running for re-election.  We got involved with the Kerry Campaign which then introduced us to a group of like minded Democrats that were bound and determined to get out the vote for Kerry.  As a result, during the general election of 2004, my husband and I set up shop outside the poll with information about Democrats that were on the ballot.  We met many Democrats from our area which gave us a good feeling because in 2004, the Republicans outnumbered the Democrats in our voting precinct.  In 2005, we were both elected as Democratic Committee Precinct Leaders.

Since then, every general election, we set up shop complete with table, chairs and candy outside the poll.  We have been able to recruit volunteers to help with coverage.  Some volunteers even brought food, coffee and tea.  Last year, during the highly contested primary in PA, we asked Democrats if they would like to join our email list.  We told them that we would not abuse their email address and that we would only contact them prior to elections.  This worked out great during the general election of 2008 because we were able to get complete poll coverage not only at our voting precinct but also at other voting precincts that were missing Democratic Committe Precinct Leaders.  We also made phone calls and sent out postcards listing all the Democratic Candidates.  When the results were final, the part of the County that we and the volunteers covered went from red to blue.  This is remarkable.  The Democrats came out and voted.

Because of our visability at the poll over several years, we have made many new friends (it becomes a party atmosphere) and found that getting help to Get Out The Vote at election time is not too difficult.  All we had to do was ask and volunteers stepped forward.

UPDATE:

Link to unofficial results of primary Berks County by Precinct Check out the results in Oley and Pike.  The Democrats came out and voted in this very off year election.  Oley has a higher number of Republicans than Democrats and Pike has 8 more Democrats than Republicans.   Yet the the number of votes by Democrats for the row offices outnumber the number of votes by Republicans.  Good job!

Link to unofficial results total for Berks County.