Harwich Democrats

Sarah Peake Stand Out

2010-10-17T12:29:00.000-04:00

Subject: Morning Standouts @ the Orleans Rotary

Please join us for MORNING Standouts @ the Orleans Rotary, 7;30-9 AM on MONDAY & FRIDAYS FOR THE NEXT TWO WEEKS.

This is from 4 years age at our 1st Sarah Peake Standout! Stand Out for Sarah as she has stood for us!

Start your day helping the campaign. there's only 2 weeks left.

Thanks for help & support,

Kathy
508 280-5426

Gmail - In the Cape Cod Times Today - jjbangert@gmail.com

2010-10-09T08:56:00.000-04:00

Gmail - In the Cape Cod Times Today - jjbangert@gmail.com: "An advocate for the voiceless

By SARAH PEAKE

October 08, 2010 2:00 AM

My priority as your state representative has always been, and will continue to be, to fight for you. I will listen to you, learn from you, and then go to bat for you whenever and wherever that is necessary.

Sometimes that is right here on Cape Cod, like my fight to stop NStar from spraying harmful chemicals over our precious drinking water recharge areas. Sometimes those fights occur at national fisheries management meetings, like my fight to turn back efforts to change the lobster regulations for the Outer Cape, which would have cost most of our lobstermen thousands of dollars in lost income and would have put others out of business.

And, of course, many of those fights occur in Boston where I have fought to protect local aid for our towns, for Lyme disease treatment reform, to stop bullying in our schools, and to bring stability to municipal budgets by making it harder for the governor to cut regional school transportation budgets.

I have successfully worked to give us a seat at the table where decisions are made that affect our lives and livelihood. This leadership translates into keeping and growing jobs here on Cape Cod. As vice-chair of the Tourism Arts and Cultural Development Committee, I work everyday to keep our tourism and arts economic engines robust and vibrant; as vice-chair of the Regional Transportation Caucus and as a member of the Aviation Caucus, I protect our rural transportation needs and jobs at our airports; as the legislator representing Massachusetts on the Atlantic State Marine Fisheries Commission, I help create fishing policy and protect our fishermen's livelihood.

Perhaps most importantly, I advocate for those whose voices may not be heard: our veterans, our elderly, and those in need. I have helped thousands of constituents connect with government services to help make their lives better.

What's next? There are still many challenges. All one has to do is pick up this newspaper to understand that. Here are what some of my priorities will be:

* Rein in small business health care costs. We made some important steps this session to address this problem, but more must be done. I was successful in enacting legislation to allow small businesses to band together to negotiate and buy health insurance as a group because there is strength in numbers. Now we must get serious about reducing or eliminating the other causes of high premiums.
* Stop the escalating homeowners' insurance premiums. I will file three bills to establish 'standards' for the hurricane models to insure the data used is relevant to Cape Cod; limit wind deductibles to only named hurricanes; and allow for policy rebates for homeowners who take steps to 'hurricane proof' their homes.
* Get our economy back on track. I will continue to work with my colleagues from across the aisle and across the commonwealth to preserve valuable film and aviation tax credits and to find new areas of strategic investment. These investments are critical to growing the economy, increasing jobs and restoring revenue. This growth will enable us to help those who need a hand up and will allow us to look seriously at repealing taxes.

These are complex issues and my sleeves remain rolled up to continue to fight for you. There are those who offer 'sound-bite solutions.' I offer you my track record of hard work, proven accomplishments, and a fearlessness of tackling the difficult and thorny issues. Please visit www.sarahpeake.org to learn more.

I respectfully ask for your vote on Nov. 2, so I can keep fighting for you.

State Rep. Sarah Peake, D-Provincetown, represents the 4th Barnstable District in the Massachusetts House.

Copyright © Cape Cod Media Group, a division of Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

- Sent using Google Toolbar"

We need a Wolf in the Senate | CapeCodOnline.com

2010-10-09T08:46:00.000-04:00

We need a Wolf in the Senate | CapeCodOnline.com

Moving Massachusetts Forward with President Obama - Deval Patrick for Governor 2010

2010-10-08T20:40:00.000-04:00

Moving Massachusetts Forward with President Obama - Deval Patrick for Governor 2010: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Harwich Events Election 2010 Countdown

2010-10-07T12:49:00.000-04:00

Here are the a few of the next event details:

Yes We Can! Phone Bank on Bank Street Beach
David & Pam Purdy's Home (Park at Bank Street Beach)
30 Bank Street
Harwichport, MA 02646

(508) 432-1522

Sunday, 10 Oct 2010, 12:15 PM
Stop the red tea bag tide of sliding backwards! Please come on Sunday at 12 Noon, and let's call for all four our candidates!

1. Bill Keating for US Congress!
2. Deval Patrick for Governor!
3. Dan Wolf for State Senate!
4. Sarah Peake for State Representative!

To invite people to sign up specifically for your event, send your invitees
this link:

RSVP: http://pol.moveon.org/event/takeoverparty/108976

Wednesday, October 13th at 6:30 pm

For"fun-night" of phone calls with your friends from Harwich at the Lower Cape Democratic Party Headquarters.

The Lower Cape Headquarters is right on route 6A, /193 Cranberry Highway next to the bowling alley and right off Exit 12.

We will be making calls on behalf of Governor Patrick, Bill Keating and others from our Democratic team, depending on how many of you can join us.

Please bring your address book and cell phone.
With one month to go to election day, your help is needed now more than ever.

Thanks again,
Ray Gottwald

(508) 430-1666

raygottwald@aol.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Phone Banking with Ed McManus and John Bangert
Harwich Progressives Cock & Bull Pub
41 Parallel St
Harwich Centre
6-9PM Bring Cell Phones & others
(508) 527-2607 Ed's Cell
(508) 514-0143 John's Cell

John J Bangert - Community Organizer
Cape Codders for Keating
http://capecoddersforkeating.blogspot.com
CapeCodDemocrat@gmail.com
(508) 514-0143

Jay O' Brien
Bill Keating for US Congress
Lower Cape Field Organizer
(617) 816-7625
job4338@gmail.com

Julian Cyr
Deval Patrick Campaign
Regional Field Organizers - Cape & Islands
julian@devalpatrick.com
(508) 360-6694

Seth Rolbein
Dan Wolf for Senate
Senior Adviser and Lower Cape Field Organizer
rolbrain@verizon.net
(508) 367-6044

Edward F. Atwood
Mid-Cape Field Organizer
Dan Wolf for Senate
edatwood@danwolfforsenate.com
(508) 292.0910

Kathy Ohman
Sarah Peake for State Rep
Campaign Manager/ Worker
ohmankathy@gmail.com
(508) 280 5426

Not published by Corporate America’s weekly or daily newspapers!

2010-08-22T10:40:00.005-04:00

In a recent letter Steven Cole suggested that Dan Wolf is, ‘an executive’ and that a senator could not be a representative if he or she was an executive. Any dictionary would tell Mr. Cole that executive means a person having administrative or supervisory authority of an organization. The issue of NStar’s spraying of toxic chemicals along the rights-of-way under our power lines and single source aquifer on Cape Cod was cited as an example of Wolf’s ‘hardline’ stance.

During the recent debate in Eastham, I heard Mr. Wolf mince no words about where he stood. He simply stated that in negotiating with NStar, and as a sound representative of Cape Cod, his negotiations would start with the premise that there would be no spraying of poisons on our sole source aquiver, period. His opponent, Ms. Lyons, a county commissioner, backslid by posing that this toxic spraying issue is ‘more complex’ and cited obstacles in law that need to be addressed and changed, as well as her understanding of this issue and even cited personalities. NStar is not a personality, but a huge corporation which has a long history, even under another corporate name (Commonwealth Electric), of ignoring the health and safety concerns of Cape Codders; for decades, who fully understand the issue of spraying toxic chemicals and its effects on our fragile sandy spit we all call home.

Last Wednesday, Dan Wolf joined State representatives Sarah Peake and Cleon Turner in supporting a call from GreenCAPE’s Sue Phelan for NStar to permanently end the use of toxic chemicals on power lines above Cape Cod’s sole source aquifer. These are actions taken by Mr. Wolf which are much louder then only words, and his business, Cape Air’s solar heated hangars in Hyannis have been cited as one of the greenest businesses not only on the Cape but in southeastern Massachusetts, which created over 500 jobs. His stance on this issue alone is truly representative of our community, a view that needs to be heard an acted upon in the State House. That’s why I am urging people to vote for Dan Wolf on September 14th, and most importantly come November 2nd. Circle your calendars now.

Joe Bangert

Former Director Massachusetts Agent Orange Program

Harwich Wolf Pack

2010-08-21T21:30:00.002-04:00


Call John Bangert (508) 432-0545 or (508) 514-0143 for signs or literature. We are listening to you!

http://danwolfforsenate.com

http://www.danwolfforsenate.com/?l=volunteer

https://secure.sage-systems.com/cms/danwolf/?l=donate

It's about what we can do, together

2010-08-19T14:12:00.001-04:00

By DAN WOLF

August 19, 2010

http://www.danwolfforsenate.com/

http://www.danwolfforsenate.com/?l=volunteer

https://secure.sage-systems.com/cms/danwolf/?l=donate

To serve as state senator for the Cape and Islands would be a true honor. After 30 years building connections through our communities, raising a family, starting a business, creating jobs while honoring the environment, serving many nonprofit and public boards, I believe I now have the leadership, experience and temperament to represent voters well.

Two quick stories tell a lot about why I am asking for Cape constituents' votes on Sept. 14.

The first:

A few weeks ago, after a year of hard, sometimes complicated work, I threw the switch on the largest solar panel installation in southeastern Massachusetts.

Cape Air, the company I founded 21 years ago with one plane, and one route, now has almost 1,000 employees, many of whom work at our Barnstable headquarters. That facility will now be electricity-neutral on a year-round basis.

Those solar panels create good jobs as well as electricity. They reduce our unhealthy reliance on fossil fuels.

As state senator, I will work to make projects like this available to small businesses and homeowners, part of a plan we develop together to make the Cape and Islands energy-self-sufficient, strengthening our economy while protecting our environment.

The second story:

Cape Air's health insurance policy recently came up for renewal. We were shocked when the company gave us its quote: an 18 percent hike over last year.

That was on a Monday. By Wednesday, a competitor came back with an offer: How about a 5 percent hike?

We went back to the first company. By Thursday, it had revised its quote: How about a 3 percent hike?

My question: What were they going to do with the 15 percent, more than $300,000, they needed on Monday but didn't need on Thursday?

Of course I know the answer: Drive up profits at our expense.

We need a state senator who understands the crucial difference between business that is part of our community's fabric, and corporations that skim profits without caring about our future.

What does this mean?

It means we support local businesspeople and the entrepreneurial spirit. It means we turn to community banks, where I've served and participated for many years, rather than anonymous off-Cape lenders. It means we encourage local farmers; their food is better for our health, and they are our neighbors.

It means we force insurance companies to roll back outrageous homeowners' insurance premiums. It means we don't allow NStar to spray poison on our land in the name of keeping power lines clear. It means we strengthen public education. My three daughters got great educations at Cape Cod public schools. We must get our fair share of state funding so our towns are not pitted against each other in bitter fights about fiscal formulas.

This has been my lifelong philosophy. This is the understanding I will bring to the Statehouse.

My leadership has been proved. At the state level, I serve on the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, managing the state's many parks. Here at home, I worked with many others to find solutions to our wastewater crisis as co-chairman of the Business Roundtable.

No matter the issue, my process will always be the same: Bring people together, collaborate with mutual respect, build understanding, and then get real results.

So this campaign, like the past 30 years, is not about what I can do. It's about what we can do.

That's why more than 570 of Cape Air's employees are also its owners, sharing our successes and profits.

That's why I'm proud to have won the endorsement of both the Massachusetts Nurses Association and the Massachusetts Teachers Association.

That's why I ask voters to turn to anyone they know who has served with me on a public or nonprofit board over these many years. Ask about my commitment, experience and skills. Ask about my ability to connect the dots and bring people together. Ask about my passion.

I'm ready to serve as the Cape's full-time state senator.

Dan Wolf of North Harwich, president of Cape Air, is seeking the Democratic nomination for the Cape and Islands state Senate seat.

DEAN KNIGHT IS BEING ENDORSED BY DON HOWELL & REPUBLICANS!

2010-05-15T12:12:00.011-04:00

SAY NO TO RICK TOMA and
DEAN KNIGHT !

HARWICH NEEDS LEADERSHIP, NOT EMOTIONAL DIVISION!

Dean Knight Is Being Supported by Some Republicans in Harwich!

Knight was endorsed in local press by DON HOWELL Chairman, of the Harwich Republican Town Committee.

~~Dean Knight~~ and ~~Richard Toma~~ are opponents of Harwich's Locally Grown Wind Turbines Initiative!
Now is the time for us To JUST SAY NO !

RE-ELECT ED MC MANUS

ON TUESDAY
MAY 18th, 2010 !

Selectman Seeks Sylvan Setting For New Music Festival

2010-05-15T11:52:00.002-04:00

John Bangert (left) and Ed McManus stand under the giant copper beech tree that guards the entry to the natural amphitheater. ALAN POLLOCK PHOTO

Selectman Seeks Sylvan Setting For New Music Festival
by Alan Pollock

HARWICH — As part of an effort to get the event back to its hometown roots—and back to nature—this year's Harwich Cranberry Festival will include a new Harwich Music Festival to be held in the natural amphitheater in the woods behind Brooks Park.

“I was driving by and one day I looked down there,” Selectman Ed McManus said. To discourage littering and other problems, the highway department had cleared away the thick brush from the area, revealing the natural bowl-shaped clearing just east of Brooks Park. McManus, the president of the cranberry festival committee, had been working with other volunteers to find a way to introduce a homegrown musical component to the event. Before long, the pieces started to come together.

McManus was approached by Bob Weiser, a radio host and event producer with the Provincetown-based public radio station WOMR-FM, who was looking for a venue for a musical event. Weiser, a Harwich resident, said WOMR was looking for an event to coincide with the station's launch of a satellite transmitter in Brewster, which will help expand its market to the rest of Cape Cod. McManus suggested the Brooks Park site, and they gave it a careful look.

What they found was a natural performance space with great acoustics, close to parking lots, rest rooms, the bike trail and a playground. The two met with the recreation and youth commission, which has jurisdiction over the site, and police and fire officials. There are several obstacles to using the site for a public performance space, “nothing insurmountable,” McManus said, but a sizeable electrical service will need to be brought in, and some provision will need to be made for handicap access. Public safety officials and the rec and youth commission have given preliminary approval, McManus said.

WOMR will pay to erect a stage and a dance floor for its free concert on Sept. 18, and will make the stage available for the new Harwich Music Festival on the following day. Thanks to WOMR, “We're not using any taxpayer money,” co-organizer John Bangert said. During its event, the radio station will raise money from the proceeds of a beer and wine bar, which will have professional bartenders and a fenced-in area where the alcohol will be consumed.

The radio station's event will be an excellent test of the amphitheater's suitability for crowds, McManus said. “We can get a sense of how it works,” he noted. If the test is successful, the town can consider making more permanent improvements, like installing a wheelchair ramp, but not much else, Bangert said.

“We want to keep it natural, not overdeveloped,” he said. The natural space is guarded by a giant copper beech tree, whose trunk bears generations of initials from young adventurers and lovers. It's a fitting centerpiece of the music festival, McManus said. “It's got its roots in the community,” he said.

In the short term, a vehicle will be used to provide wheelchair access to the amphitheater, and people will be encouraged to bring beach blankets or lawn chairs for seating. The festival committee will also need to obtain the necessary permits for food and beverages to be served there.

It's a logical step to begin migrating festival activities to Brooks Park, away from the high school site, McManus said. The town is likely to be building a replacement high school in the years ahead, probably utilizing much of the existing front lawn, where the craft fair is usually held.

“It makes sense to build the future of the festival around here,” he said.

The new natural performance space is in keeping with the back-to-basics thrust of this year's cranberry festival, Bangert said. “It's about more culture, less carnival,” he said. The professional craft show, which drew dozens of crafters and merchants from a wide geographic area, will be replaced by a show with more local artists and craftsmen.

“Our goal is to take the 'starving' out of 'starving artists,'” Bangert said. A strong core of local artists has already emerged, including Paul Lagg, who designed an impressive logo for the event. Lagg's full-time job is as the GIS coordinator for the town of Chatham.

Even the food concessions will be encouraged to find and use local produce in their offerings, Bangert said. Likewise, the music festival will feature home-grown performers like Paul Pena, Greg Greenway, Carol Chichetto, Sarah Burrill, Kris Larson and David Roth. The event will also feature The Fireman's Daughter, a Nashville-based folk duo co-starring Catie Flynn of Harwich; Annie Lynch of Annie and the Beekeepers, Emma Dubner of the Ticks, The Elbows, JO & CO and other groups. It's an opportunity for popular, established performers, as well as up-and-coming local acts, Bangert said.

Details on the Harwich Cranberry Festival's plans will be firmed up over the summer, and information will be posted at

www.harwichcranberryfestival.org.

http://harwichfolks.blogspot.com

Me and Ed McManus!

2010-05-15T11:43:00.001-04:00

We support Ed Mc Manus for Selectman! DEMOCRAT large and small democrat!

2010-05-15T11:40:00.000-04:00

Dear Friends,

Six years ago the voters of Harwich gave me the opportunity to serve them as a member of the Board of Selectmen. I am grateful for the trust that was placed in me and I am asking for your help to continue to serve the Town of Harwich.

Not withstanding the financial problems we have had to face over the past years, much has been accomplished, and much still needs to be accomplished. In addition to setting policies on debt and use of free cash, most important has been the commitment to using ongoing revenues to pay for the ongoing expenses of the operating budget, not free cash or other one time sources. I have enjoyed being part of this process and feel I have made and will continue to make positive contributions.

Over the past three years we have advanced on many fronts. I take pride in the role I have played in developing new needed facilities whether it is the Habitat Housing at Gomes Way, the new police station, refurbished recreation facilities like the Bocce and Tennis courts at Brooks Park or the expanded parking and new restrooms at Earl Road Beach. In planning for Harwich’s near and long term future I have pushed for design funds for the Route 137 rebuild, economic planning activities in East Harwich, a High School Building Needs Study, adoption of Beach and Harbor Management capital plans and continuing support and funding for Clean Waste Water planning. The advances and awards that our schools have achieved has been nothing less than outstanding and deserving of our continued support.

I am also committed to continued work with the many businesses and organizations that support our town through the recreational, cultural and social events and improvements they work on. The Chamber of Commerce with their Fall for Harwich initiative, the Junior Theater’s efforts to bring activity and restoration to the Old Rec. Building, the Senior Softball League’s investment in fields and sponsoring the annual fall tournament, these are all things that bring a richness to our town which supports our tourism economy.

While I believe we have made a lot of progress over the past three years, the years ahead pose many challenges. We will have to decide what course to take in cleaning our waste water; which services to consider regionalizing with our neighbors, and to what extent; what services we can no longer afford, if any; and to what extent we are going to expand existing revenues or look to new revenue sources. I am asking for your help to allow me to continue to work on these challenges that face our Town. We must continue to maintain a good balance between the services provided, the cost of those services and the burden on our taxpayers. Thank you for your help in what we have done, and in what we will do in the next three years.

If you feel you can help me in an active, public or tangible way, please return the enclosed slip. I am grateful for your support, your trust, and your vote on May 15.

Sincerely,

Edward J. McManus
Candidate for Re-election to the Board of Selectmen

Harwich Horse Folks for Obama

2008-11-03T10:19:00.000-05:00

John and Gail Bangert with their 16 year old daughter Claire, a Harwich High School student, campaigns Sunday at Thomson Field by horse back.

Barack Obama wins 13 towns, on the Cape & Islands, and 13 States

2008-02-06T10:24:00.000-05:00

Brack Obama wins in these Cape Cod and Islands towns!

Thanks to voters in Harwich, Brewster, Chatham, Eastham, Truro, Wellfleet, Aquinnah, Chilmark, Edgartown, Oak Bluffs, Tisbury, West Tisbury, and Nantucket.

With this primary election over for Super Tuesday, Senator Barack Obama has national election appeal with not only Democrats, and Independents, with with liberal Republicans voters as well.

All are welcomed too!

Please Give to the Obama Campaign!

http://my.barackobama.com/page/outreach/preview/main/capecodders4obama

Democrats, Independents and Republicans Surge Together for Obama!

2008-02-02T17:57:00.000-05:00

Democrats, Independents and Republicans surge forth in a ground swell of grass roots organizing on Ground Hog Day! A diverse groop stood together in support of Barack Obama at the intersections of Rt. 137 and Rt. 39 from 2PM - 4PM.

This is what democracy looks like, Come Join us Today, Tomorrow and Monday 2/2, 2/3, and 2/4!

Chuck Micciche takes up ground over at AG Edward's corner along with Barbara Johnson, At Peace & Justice 4 corners in East Harwich.

Mary Larkin from Harwich, along with Frank Cummings from Brewster.

About 25 folks stood on the four corners in "Obalmy Weather" when the tempature reached in the high 40's degree weather.

Chatham's Anne-Marie Litchfield kept vigil as she waved to many of honking Chathamites.

Nicola Burnell along with her two son, Sebastion Francis-Burnell, Rocky Clark and Ray Gottwald, Ed Mc Manus - Harwich Selectman, Mary Larkin, Obama Campaign Event Organizers Gail and John Bangert, and with the very Harwich newcomber, Lynn Moor.

Brewster Paul Hush, the Barack Obama Cape & Islands Coordinator stopped by the Starbucks Obama MeetUp with posters, lawn signs, bumper stickers, and these were well absorbed in to the crowds.

Hey we all decided to stand out on Super Bowl Sunday from 2pm - 4pm, and again on Monday from 2pm - 4pm Rt. 39 & Rt. 137 East Harwich, MA

MOVEON.ORG ENDORSES BRACK OBAMA

2008-02-02T10:15:00.000-05:00

MoveOn.ORG

MoveOn.orgPolitical Action
For Immediate Release: Friday, February 1, 2008

MoveOn Endorsement Throws Progressive Weight Behind Barack Obama

3.2 Million Members Nationwide Mobilize to Get Out the Progressive Vote for Senator Obama
Group Has Over 1.7 Million Members In Super Tuesday States
In a resounding vote today, MoveOn.org Political Action's members nationwide voted to endorse Senator Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination for President. The group, with 3.2 million members nationwide and over 1.7 million members in Super Tuesday states, will immediately begin to mobilize on behalf of Senator Obama. The vote favored Senator Obama to Senator Clinton by 70.4% to 29.6%.

Senator Obama accepted the endorsement stating:
"In just a few years, the members of MoveOn have once again demonstrated that real change comes not from the top-down, but from the bottom-up. From their principled opposition to the Iraq war - a war I also opposed from the start - to their strong support for a number of progressive causes, MoveOn shows what Americans can achieve when we come together in a grassroots movement for change. I thank them for their support and look forward to working with their members in the weeks and months ahead."

Eli Pariser, MoveOn.org's Executive Director, issued the following statement on the group's endorsement:

"Our members' endorsement of Senator Obama is a clear call for a new America at this critical moment in history. Seven years of the disastrous policies of the Bush Administration have left the country desperate for change. We need a President who will bring to bear the strong leadership and vision required to end the war in Iraq, provide health care to every American, deal with our climate crisis, and restore America's standing in the world. The enormity of the challenges require someone who knows how to inspire millions to get involved to change the direction of our country, and someone who will be willing to change business as usual in Washington. Senator Barack Obama has proved he can and will be that President.

"With 3.2 million members nationwide and over 1.7 million members in states that vote next Tuesday, we'll be able to immediately jump into action in support of Senator Obama's candidacy. We've learned that the key to achieving change in Washington without compromising core values is having a galvanized electorate to back you up. And Barack Obama has our members 'fired up and ready to go' on that front.

"We congratulate Sens. Clinton, Dodd and Biden, former Senator Edwards, Governor Richardson, Congressman Kucinich and former Senator Gravel on running tremendous campaigns. We thank them for their contributions to the important debate that has gripped our nation and for their ongoing engagement with our members. We're looking forward to working together to bring progressive values to the nation's capitol and to end this disastrous war in Iraq. MoveOn members are committed to putting a Democrat in the White House in 2008 and ushering in a new era of progressive values no matter who wins the nomination."

MoveOn members' comments in the vote reflect the reasons they support Senator Obama:
"Obama's grassroots organizing experience and unifying message combine to show he will work for working people and speak to a broad cross section of the American public. We need this," said Linda Blong of Penngrove, CA.

"There are defining moments in our nation's political history and this is one of them. Barack Obama appeals to the very BEST of the American Spirit," said Estina Baker, Hackensack, NJ
"Barack Obama represents CHANGE in so many levels. He brings HOPE that America can, again, be respected by the rest of the world and that Americans can be proud, again, of our leaders!" Isabelle Mollien, Denver, CO "Obama has the ability to draw people to him, to energize people who generally don't vote, to create an atmosphere of long-overdue possibility around himself and what he could bring to the office. It is my belief that he can re-establish the lost connection between the American people and their leader, and put our country back on course to be a positive force in the world." Matthew Smith in Columbus, OH

MoveOn's endorsement means a fresh infusion of people-power for Obama in the critical days before Super Tuesday. MoveOn will immediately connect thousands of progressive activists into the Obama GOTV volunteer operation. It will also use the same cutting-edge computer-based phone program that made 7 million GOTV calls for Democrats in 2006 to allow MoveOn members to call other MoveOn members in Feb. 5 states and encourage them to vote for Obama.

Today's endorsement is the first time MoveOn.org has endorsed a candidate for President in the Democratic primary. Over the past year, MoveOn surveyed a rotating sample of 30,000 members each week to determine their membership's preference in the Democratic presidential primary. For months, MoveOn members were divided among many candidates -- as many waited to see who would take bold progressive positions on the issues. As the primary race has gained momentum, the polling showed a consensus forming and, with Senator John Edward's withdrawal from the race, members made their decision in favor of Senator Obama. The vote took place from Thursday, January 31st to Friday, February 1st.

An Endorsement for Barack Obama by Tom Hyden

2008-01-31T12:03:00.000-05:00

An Endorsement of the Movement Barack Obama Leads

By Tom Hayden January 30, 2008
Posted January 27, on Huffington Post.

With the California primary ten days away, it's time to decide. And for me, it's not been easy.

My paramount concern is to prevent a Republican victory in November. Even though it seems to be a Democratic year, no one can say which Democratic can defeat, say, John McCain, the full-throated advocate of "winning" the Iraq war. At stake are many issues beyond Iraq, not least the appointment of the next generation of federal judges.

I will vote without hesitation for the Democratic nominee, if only to stop to the neo-conservative usurpation of power which began in Florida in 2000.

One must choose a candidate based on the issues for which they stand, the spirit they invoke, and the people they are able to mobilize. As for issues, the differences between Obama and Clinton on Iraq are difficult to pin down. Obama was against the Iraq war five years ago, and favors a more rapid pullout of combat troops than Clinton. But both would replace combat troops with an American counterinsurgency force of tens of thousands, potentially turning Iraq into Central America in the 1970s. Obama seems more supportive of diplomacy than Clinton, but he supports military intervention in Pakistan's tribal areas. Edwards favors a more rapid pullout from Iraq, but is unlikely to prevail.

On Iraq, the anti-war movement has helped turn a public majority against the war, a historic achievement. But the movement alone lacks much capacity to forge anything beyond the slogan of "bring the troops home." Our most achievable goal is a strong voter mandate for peace in November, the election of more Congressional Democrats, and spreading public awareness of the dangers of counterinsurgency. The election of a Democratic president is a necessary condition for ending the war, but sadly not a sufficient one.

So the choice remains.

I do not like the Hillary haters in our midst. As president, her court appointees alone would represent a relief from the present rigging of the courts and marginal improvements for working people. On Iraq, I believe she could be pushed to withdraw. She is a centrist, and it will be up to social movements to alter the center.

Nor do I like the role being played by President Bill Clinton, who is telling lies about Iraq and Obama that are unbecoming a former president. Neither do I agree with Gloria Steinem's divisive claim that the gender barrier is greater than the racial one. Who wants to measure slavery against the Inquisition? In the case at hand, who among us would argue that the barriers against Hillary Clinton are greater than those facing Barack Obama? What is compelling is that most black women support Obama.

I respect John Edwards' campaign and the role he has played in driving the Democratic Party towards a progressive agenda. At this point, however, I cannot foresee a primary he will win.

That leaves Barack Obama. I have been devastated by too many tragedies and betrayals over the past 40 years to ever again deposit so much hope in any single individual, no matter how charismatic or brilliant. But today I see across the generational divide the spirit, excitement, energy and creativity of a new generation bidding to displace the old ways. Obama's moment is their moment, and I pray that they succeed without the sufferings and betrayals my generation went through. There really is no comparison between the Obama generation and those who would come to power with Hillary Clinton, and I suspect she knows it. The people she would take into her administration may have been reformers and idealists in their youth, but they seem to seek now a return to their establishment positions of power. They are the sorts of people young Hillary Clinton herself would have scorned at Wellesley. If history is any guide, the new "best and brightest" of the Obama generation will unleash a new cycle of activism, reform and fresh thinking before they follow pragmatism to its dead end.

Many ordinary Americans will take a transformative step down the long road to the Rainbow Covenant if Obama wins. For at least a brief moment, people around the world -- from the shantytowns to the sweatshops, even to the restless rich of the Sixties generation -- will look up from the treadmills of their shrunken lives to the possibilities of what life still might be. Environmental justice and global economic hope would dawn as possibilities.

Is Barack the one we have been waiting for? Or is it the other way around? Are we the people we have been waiting for? Barack Obama is giving voice and space to an awakening beyond his wildest expectations, a social force that may lead him far beyond his modest policy agend. Such movements in the past led the Kennedys and Franklin Roosevelt to achievements they never contemplated. [As Gandhi once said of India's liberation movement, "There go my people. I must follow them, for I am their leader."]

We are in a precious moment where caution must yield to courage. It is better to fail at the quest for greatness than to accept our planet's future as only a reliving of the past. So I endorse the movement that Barack Obama has inspired and will support his candidacy in the inevitable storms ahead.

CAPE AND ISLANDERS FOR BARACK OBAMA

2008-01-30T15:23:00.000-05:00

Friends: There are just a few days left to do what we can do what we can to help our guy, right here where we live, to win the Massachusetts primary.

We will be holding signs , making calls, sending emails, handing out brochures, contributing to the campaign-------

What difference does all this really make? Barack is the star. He is what this is all about. But in a close election the work of the grass roots teams-- that's us , folks -- can be the difference between winning and losing.

If we are determined, if we are out there and visible in numbers , if we really work at this, we are seen as the face and the voice of the campaign in our communities. Seeing us and hearing us gives comfort and and confidence to committed Barack supporters and the leaners and can tip the balance in Barack's favor with the still undecided.

I want to thank all of you for being part of this. I have been involved in other presidential campaigns , but I haver never before seen the likes of the spirit and energy and dedication that Barack inspires in people. I have people calling and emailing me all day long to ask how they can help. We are,for sure, " all fired up and ready to go".

Here's what is happening in the days ahead. I know you will join us where and when you can.
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VISIBILITIES: WE will be gathering ON SATURDAY to hold signs at:
-- The Orleans/Eastham Rotary from 10 to 12 AM
>-- The Four Corners in Harwich --Rte 137 and Rte 39 from 2 to 4 PM
>-- The Cape Cod Mall from 12 to 2
>-- Patriots Square on RT 134 in Dennis from 1 to 3
>-- In Falmouth at the intersection of RT 28 and Jones Road ( Stop and Shop ) staring at 9:30 AM
-- And if enough people show up in Falmouth they will send off a satellite team to Mashpee Commons. Check with Charlie Silva at 508-548-8698
All you have to do is show up at any of these locations. We will bring the signs.

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PHONE CALLING: We are making calls from Brewster ( Paul Hush 508-896-3406) , Barnstable ( Kate Singletary (508-775-2750) and Falmouth ( Charlie Silva (508-548-8698 ), and are awaiting new lists from Boston. We will contact phoners who have already volunteered for that , as needed.
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EMAILING: We will ask each of you who can do so to email to those friends and neighbors and contacts who you feel will be interested in hearing about Barack. To help in this Kate Singletary has put together from the Obama website an email summary of Barack's positions on major issues that you can forward to your list with an introductory sentence or two from you. I will send you the Kate Singletary email today.

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HANDING OUT BROCHURES: ON FRIDAY at 10 AM Charlie Silva in Falmouth and I at 11 AM in Orleans will be handing out Obama brochures and lapel stickers to whoever is interested, in front of the local Stop and Shop. I think Charlie already has some folks to help in Falmouth ,but call if you are interested, and I could use 3 or 4 volunteers to help me in Orleans. Just let me know.

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LAWN SIGNS: So far we have only been able to get 100 lawn signs for the whole Cape and we are in the process of distributing these by town. If you live at an especially visible location-- main routes-- let me know so that Charlie or Kate or I or someone else will get you a sign.
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ELECTION DAY AT THE POLLS: We will want to get volunteers to hold signs for a couple of hours on Feb 5 at as many polling places on the Cape and Islands as we can. Please let Charlie ( on the Upper Cape ) Kate ( on the Mid-Cape) or me ( on the Outer/Lower Cape know if you can help in this.
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Thanks to all. You will have heard by now that John Edwards is dropping out as of today. This will help us.

ALL Best Paul Hush

PS: IN a Bourne Middle School mock primary held today Obama got 97 votes and Clinton got 17 !! Let's hope this reflects the views of there parents.

Ted Kennedy Endorses Omaba too!

2008-01-28T10:39:00.000-05:00

Barack Obama

A President Like My Father -Caroline Kennedy

2008-01-27T10:03:00.000-05:00

Op-Ed Contributor
A President Like My Father

By CAROLINE KENNEDY

OVER the years, I’ve been deeply moved by the people who’ve told me they wished they could feel inspired and hopeful about America the way people did when my father was president. This sense is even more profound today. That is why I am supporting a presidential candidate in the Democratic primaries, Barack Obama.

My reasons are patriotic, political and personal, and the three are intertwined. All my life, people have told me that my father changed their lives, that they got involved in public service or politics because he asked them to. And the generation he inspired has passed that spirit on to its children. I meet young people who were born long after John F. Kennedy was president, yet who ask me how to live out his ideals.

Sometimes it takes a while to recognize that someone has a special ability to get us to believe in ourselves, to tie that belief to our highest ideals and imagine that together we can do great things. In those rare moments, when such a person comes along, we need to put aside our plans and reach for what we know is possible.

We have that kind of opportunity with Senator Obama. It isn’t that the other candidates are not experienced or knowledgeable. But this year, that may not be enough. We need a change in the leadership of this country — just as we did in 1960.

Most of us would prefer to base our voting decision on policy differences. However, the candidates’ goals are similar. They have all laid out detailed plans on everything from strengthening our middle class to investing in early childhood education. So qualities of leadership, character and judgment play a larger role than usual.

Senator Obama has demonstrated these qualities throughout his more than two decades of public service, not just in the United States Senate but in Illinois, where he helped turn around struggling communities, taught constitutional law and was an elected state official for eight years. And Senator Obama is showing the same qualities today. He has built a movement that is changing the face of politics in this country, and he has demonstrated a special gift for inspiring young people — known for a willingness to volunteer, but an aversion to politics — to become engaged in the political process.

I have spent the past five years working in the New York City public schools and have three teenage children of my own. There is a generation coming of age that is hopeful, hard-working, innovative and imaginative. But too many of them are also hopeless, defeated and disengaged. As parents, we have a responsibility to help our children to believe in themselves and in their power to shape their future. Senator Obama is inspiring my children, my parents’ grandchildren, with that sense of possibility.

Senator Obama is running a dignified and honest campaign. He has spoken eloquently about the role of faith in his life, and opened a window into his character in two compelling books. And when it comes to judgment, Barack Obama made the right call on the most important issue of our time by opposing the war in Iraq from the beginning.

I want a president who understands that his responsibility is to articulate a vision and encourage others to achieve it; who holds himself, and those around him, to the highest ethical standards; who appeals to the hopes of those who still believe in the American Dream, and those around the world who still believe in the American ideal; and who can lift our spirits, and make us believe again that our country needs every one of us to get involved.

I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president — not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans.

Caroline Kennedy is the author of “A Patriot’s Handbook: Songs, Poems, Stories and Speeches Celebrating the Land We Love.”

Bush impeachment on the table, Hagel says

2007-03-26T18:56:00.000-04:00

From the Associated Press

March 26, 2007

WASHINGTON — Some lawmakers who complain that President Bush is flouting Congress and the public with his Iraq policies are considering impeachment an option, a Republican senator said Sunday.

Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee and a frequent critic of the war, stopped short of calling for Bush's impeachment.

But he made clear that some lawmakers viewed that as an option should Bush choose to push ahead despite public sentiment against the war.

"Any president who says 'I don't care' or 'I will not respond to what the people of this country are saying about Iraq or anything else' or 'I don't care what the Congress does, I am going to proceed' — if a president really believes that, then there are … ways to deal with that," Hagel said on ABC's "This Week."

The White House had no immediate reaction to Hagel's comments.

Hagel, who is considering a presidential run, said he was bothered by Bush's apparent disregard of congressional sentiment on Iraq, such as his decision to send additional troops.

The senator said that lawmakers now were ready to stand up to the president when necessary.

In the April edition of Esquire magazine, Hagel described Bush as someone who didn't believe he was accountable to anyone.

"You can impeach him, and before this is over, you might see calls for his impeachment," Hagel told the magazine.

Why we are democrats!

2007-02-24T08:45:00.001-05:00

HR 508

2007-02-22T08:50:00.000-05:00

H.R.508 Title: To require United States military disengagement from Iraq, to provide United States assistance for reconstruction and reconciliation in Iraq, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Rep Woolsey, Lynn C. [CA-6] (introduced 1/17/2007) Cosponsors (49) Latest Major Action: 2/2/2007 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law.

Where is Bill Delahunt? Call and ask him to co-sponsor this bill!

Latest Major Action: 2/2/2007 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law.

SUMMARY AS OF:
1/17/2007--Introduced.

Bring the Troops Home and Iraq Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2007 - Declares that it is U.S. policy to: (1) end the occupation of Iraq; (2) accelerate the training and equipping of Iraq's military and security forces; (3) pursue security and stability in Iraq through diplomacy; (4) help preserve the territorial integrity of Iraq as a nation state; (5) account for any missing U.S. Armed Forces personnel or U.S. citizens in Iraq; and (6) turn over internal security activities and military operations in Iraq to the elected government of Iraq within six months.

Repeals the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002.

Requires the withdrawal from Iraq of all U.S. Armed Forces and contractor security forces within six months.

Prohibits, with exceptions, fund use to continue deployment of U.S. Armed Forces in Iraq.

Prohibits: (1) the construction of permanent U.S. military installations in Iraq; and (2) production sharing agreements for Iraqi petroleum resources.

Limits the total number of personnel at the U.S. embassy in Iraq.

Authorizes the President to: (1) support the deployment of international stabilization forces in Iraq; (2) provide assistance for an Iraqi reconstruction corps, mine and ordinance clearing, cultural and historical restoration, and for an Iraqi institute of peace; and (3) establish international funds to redevelop Iraqi civic and health institutions.

Revises authorities respecting the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction.

Provides for compensation of Iraqi noncombatant civilian casualties.

Provides funding availability for veterans health care.

Establishes the Joint Select Committee to Review the Origins and Conduct of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The Concept is called Cape Care

2007-02-20T13:38:00.000-05:00

CAPE CARE The Cape Care model

How do you spell relief?

For visionary Province-town physician Brian O’Malley, the letters spell Cape Care.

This proposed “single-payer” health insurance program, endorsed by 10 town meeting votes, could bring relief from worry for thousands of Cape Codders without year-round health insurance. It could also relieve doctors, dentists and clinics of the paperwork that consumes up to a third of every health-care dollar. Most important, it could relieve the whole system of the pressure of ever-rising costs.

The Cape Care working group is comprised of medical professionals and citizens, including Chamber of Commerce executive Wendy Northcross and Barnstable County Human Services chief Len Stewart, whose constituents struggle every year with health-care costs. They believe there must be a better way.

A simpler way.

The problem has been that, to many Americans, “single payer” sounds a little too close to “socialized medicine.” That’s why the state’s ambitious new plan to try to get all state residents under some form of medical insurance, starting Jan. 1, fell back on the old model: many different insurance products and managed-care companies assigned a piece of the pie, with employers still responsible for insuring the bulk of workers, and traditional payments for the poor through state social-service conduits.

It’s complicated. And much more expensive than it need be.

One example from the Cape Care talking points jumps out: Under a single-payer system, insurance company systems would still be needed to process much-simplified claims. The difference would be their profit motive and their cost. According to O’Malley, when the “Blues” process Medicare claims under contract to the government, they work on a 4 percent margin. On their own commercial policies, it’s 25 percent.

This patchwork of handlers is one reason America spends so much more for health care, yet doesn’t assure humane universal coverage. According to the journal Health Affairs, U.S. citizens paid $5,267 per person for health care in 2002, 53 percent more than any other industrialized country.

Cape Care doesn’t promise that a county-wide, single-payer setup would halve the cost. Its financial model assumes that the same money we and our employers pay now in insurance premiums, out-of-pocket costs, deductibles, etc. would fund the new plan. What Cape Care does promise is universal coverage.

O’Malley isn’t shy about calling it “a social insurance system.” We already have examples of these in our towns: public schools and the fire department.

We’re not at the point of fully endorsing the Cape Care model until we see more details about how it would work and how the costs would be distributed, but we commend the grassroots effort and the working group’s desire to build consensus.

Health returns as hot issue in '08 race

Candidates shift focus to preventive care

By Susan Milligan, Globe Staff | February 20, 2007

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Healthcare, a major theme in the 1992 presidential campaign, has returned as a critical issue in the 2008 contest. But this time, contenders in both parties are placing new focus on preventive care as a way of improving public health and ultimately reducing the skyrocketing cost of medical care.

One presidential candidate wants to give earned days off to federal workers who exercise regularly and do not smoke, while another would press schools to ban junk food. Another candidate plans to reward people who undergo regular physicals and engage in healthy lifestyles with discounts in their health insurance premiums.

Mike Huckabee, former Republican governor from Arkansas, has led the charge for giving financial incentives -- including tax breaks and paid days off -- as rewards for healthy behavior.

Democrats Bill Richardson, governor of New Mexico, and John Edwards, former US senator from North Carolina, are proposing similar ideas. Other presidential contenders have raised the issue on the campaign trail in New Hampshire.

While specialists say spending money on preventive care -- such as lowering childhood obesity rates through healthy school lunches and offering incentives to quit smoking -- may not make much of a dent in overall healthcare costs, the candidates say that preventative efforts can reduce painful, expensive-to-treat illnesses such as lung cancer and diabetes.

"Everything about the whole system is upside down," Huckabee said in a recent interview. "Doctors are rewarded for treating sick people, not keeping them well."

Candidates say they are committed to tackling the biggest health crisis: finding coverage for the 47 million Americans who do not have health insurance, a widening gap that the candidates say increases health costs for everyone.

Edwards, the only major party candidate so far to offer a detailed healthcare plan, wants to make health insurance mandatory nationwide, as Massachusetts has done for its residents.

But unlike in previous campaigns when candidates have focused almost entirely on the uninsured, the early presidential candidates are talking about promoting wellness as a way to avoid the high costs of treating cancers, heart disease, and other ailments.

"I think you're going to see a prevention component of virtually every candidate's healthcare reform" plan, said Drew Altman , president of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a healthcare advocacy group. But he said the idea could not take the place of expanding health insurance coverage and controlling costs on a large scale.

"Nobody can pretend we can cover 47 million uninsured people without a huge outlay of money to do it," Altman said.

Among Democrats, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, who tried and failed to pass a universal healthcare plan when she was first lady in the 1990s, have discussed preventive care in their early campaign appearances in New Hampshire. Neither has issued a detailed plan, although Obama said he would unveil his in the coming weeks.

The issue is personal to Huckabee, who as Arkansas governor dramatically changed his eating habits and began exercising after a doctor diagnosed him with Type 2 diabetes in 2003.

Huckabee shed 110 pounds, competed four marathons, and instituted a Healthy Arkansas Initiative to encourage state residents to stop smoking, lose weight, and exercise more. Arkansas state employees now receive discounts on their health insurance premiums in exchange for practicing good health habits.

Richardson, who recently announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination, has already banned junk food in New Mexico schools, installed school-based clinics that provide mental health services as well as medical tests, and reinstituted physical fitness classes in schools where it had been eliminated.

As president, Richardson said in an interview, he would give tax breaks to businesses that grant company time and on-site gym equipment to employees who want to exercise, and he would reward schools that eliminated foods such as chips, soda, and candy from their cafeterias.

"I believe we've got to focus more on preventive care, especially with kids," Richardson said. "In the long range, you get better health for all Americans."

While no lawmaker can force someone to lose weight or stop smoking, Huckabee said, governments can provide incentives that lead to behavioral changes. If elected president , Huckabee said, he would also give tax incentives to businesses that promote healthy habits, and he would allow federal workers to earn time off for good health behavior, the positive alternative to sick days.

Although elementary and secondary schools are largely under local control, Richardson asserts that the federal government has some control over school nutrition guidelines and funds some of it, giving the government leverage when it comes to school menus .

Edwards's healthcare plan is meant to cover all Americans by 2012 either through their employers or through a series of new "health markets," nonprofit plans run by states or groups of states. The health markets, offered to individuals and businesses that do not provide their own health coverage plans, would include lower health insurance premiums to individuals who take advantage of free checkups and enroll in "healthy living programs," an Edwards campaign spokeswoman said.

Healthcare specialists welcomed the candidates' ideas on preventive care but said the concept would not help slow the escalating cost of overall healthcare.

"I think they all feel the need to say something about [healthcare] costs. And who can argue against the logic of prevention?" said John McDonough , executive director of the Massachusetts-based Health Care for All. "The problem is, how do you do it in a way that makes a difference?"

Conducting numerous medical tests, for example, may catch some ailments early, he said, but on a mass scale the price of the tests may drive healthcare costs even higher.

Alan Sager , a Boston University health policy and management professor, said he worried the candidates "are talking about costs in ways that are politically safe and largely irrelevant financially."

Fast-growing healthcare costs will not be contained, he said, until lawmakers grapple with the more politically difficult issues of hospital payments, drug prices, and doctors' fees.

Huckabee said wellness programs would not only lower medical costs, but also increase Americans' productivity at work.

"This isn't just a feel-better" plan," Huckabee said. "It has real economic advantages. And it's something I've not only talked about; I've lived it."

Cape & Islands Health Insurance for All Becoming More Than Wishful Thinking
To Your Good Health - An Independent Health Care Newsletter
Vol. 13, No. 1, Page 3, Winter 2005
An essay by Brian O'Malley, MD

Can you imagine how secure we each would feel, living in a place where we had affordable, comprehensive health insurance, with full freedom of choice of our health care providers? That this insurance covered all acute and chronic care, both inpatient and outpatient, rehabilitation, preventive services, medications, supplies, and even long-term care. And that your family, and all your neighbors, were also covered.

And that, whether you worked for a small or large business, or ran one, or were self-employed, or retired - you would be equally covered. That both you, and your health care providers, would be freed to concentrate on maintaining your health - rather than worrying about the adequacy of your coverage.

In fact, every resident of Cape Cod and the Islands would have just this insurance, if a proposed social insurance program, currently referred to as Cape Care, were to be developed and adopted here.

It would cover all residents of the Cape and Islands with a non-profit health insurance program, governed and administered locally. The existing network of health care providers here on the Cape and Islands would maintain their existing ownership and governance. This program would simply provide a uniform insurance coverage, much like Medicare, for the great majority of their patients.

For people without health care insurance for any part of the year, it would bring the security of access to regular health care services, without barriers. For employed people, the security of coverage, independent of changes in their jobs. For those with coverage, the security of controls on the runaway costs.

And for the health care providers of the region, relief from the enormous paperwork burden - estimated to consume one-third of our income. Relief from the arbitrary coverage denials, the frustrations of the referral and prior approval processes. Relief from the multiple contracting demands of competing insurers.

The reduction in administrative expenses would fund the expanded coverage. Because we already pay in many, many ways for health care-associated costs, new money will not be required. We currently pay an extravagant price for our health care- more, in fact, than any other population on earth. Unfortunately, much of this spending doesn't actually buy any health care. Despite years of patches - futile efforts to cover all the people who remain without health care coverage - this goal remains unaffordable and unattainable.

The administrative costs of the growing tangle of programs amount to as much as 39% of the health care dollar in Massachusetts. Simplified insurance programs - including Medicare itself, and national health insurance programs - operate at 5% or lower overhead. Reduction to this level would save, literally, hundreds of millions of dollars each year for the Cape and Islands. Current health care expenditures and entitlements would be channeled, creating a health care fund that pays for all care. Simplified claims processing and a uniform set of procedures will ensure low operating costs for the system.

In addition to the administrative costs, further savings are expected. Two aspects of this proposed model address significant failings in the current market-based approach. The power of medications to effectively treat disease is becoming limited by their runaway costs.

Practicing physicians confront this dilemma daily. A rational drug formulary, developed with expert guidance and local control, would help control these costs. Instead of forcing each consumer to find and negotiate their own best 'deal', volume discounting for both covered medications and Durable Medical Equipment would give us collective strength - and substantial savings.

Finally, the most important cost saving of all, is that achieved by improvement in our collective health by reducing the burden of illness. Preventive health care and early detection services form a cornerstone in this effort. Ongoing care for chronic illness by skilled providers who know the individual patient - does reduce the long-term complications of disease. These services would be covered, and their access facilitated for all.

Information systems would link health care providers. And, taking guidance from the findings of the many in-depth community surveys conducted by the human service agencies of our three water-surrounded counties, our resources would be focused on the key needs of our people. One of the driving concepts is to use coverage as a policy tool to provide the health care services particularly needed in our community.

Groups of dedicated and knowledgeable people have been meeting for almost a year now, shaping and clarifying its vision. The Lighthouse Health Access Alliance, composed of health and human service professionals working on Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, has provided an important supporting role in this development. Over the next several years we will begin interim steps to provide health insurance coverage to those with the greatest unmet needs.

We currently envision a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organizational structure, with a Board of Directors, and professional administration. A separate Health Policy Advisory Board, of community representatives and health care providers, would be responsible for setting standards, coverage, preventive health services, etc.

In coming months, we will continue to study the many implications of such a program for the health and the economy of our region. Each and every one of us is a stakeholder in this discussion and this process. It will be up to us to shape it according to our collective vision. We have only to imagine the sense of security that could be ours with Cape Care, and believe sufficiently in our ability to succeed, to motivate our labors.

Congress Concurs with the Majority of People Say No to Surge!

2007-02-17T05:40:00.000-05:00

Today, Congressman Bill Delahunt released the following statement on House Con. Resolution 63, which passed the House by a vote of 246-182:

“This is a dangerously wrong-headed strategy that will drive America deeper into an unwinnable swamp at a great cost. And if it's carried out it represents the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in this country since Vietnam.”

This assessment the Bush escalation policy was made by the Republican Senator from Nebraska, Chuck Hagel – a decorated Vietnam veteran who originally supported the invasion of Iraq.

And I concur with his observation. But his conclusion should come as no surprise. After all, this Administration’s Iraq policy has been a series of mistakes and bad choices from the beginning.

The Bush/Cheney team was obsessed with Iraq. In fact, according to former Secretary of the Treasury Paul O’Neill, their very first National Security Council meeting focused on Saddam and Iraq. Just days after President Bush was inaugurated. And a map, noting Iraqi oilfields and potential bidders for oil contracts, was presented for review. That was in February 2001. Months before 9/11!

We all remember that awful day in September 2001. When America was attacked by al Qaeda. Not Iraq. But by al Qaeda. Nevertheless, almost immediately, plans for attacking Iraq were initiated. With the Vice President as its most vigorous advocate. Secretary Powell is reported to have observed that the Vice President had “the fever” – war fever.

Former counterterrorism czar Dick Clarke has described how, even as the smoke was still rising from 9/11, the Administration began looking for ways to use it to attack Iraq.

The American people were told that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction. That he was a clear and imminent threat. That he was an ally of al Qaeda. That if we did not invade Iraq, there could be mushroom clouds over American cities.

None of that was true. To the contrary, there was plenty evidence that the secular Baathists of Saddam Hussein’s regime and the religious fanatics of Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda were rivals. In fact bin Laden had publicly condemned Saddam as an apostate who had corrupted Islam and repressed Muslims. There was little evidence that Saddam’s regime possessed nuclear or biological weapons, or – even if it did – that it would share such materials with an uncontrollable group of apocalyptic terrorists like al Qaeda.

But the Administration did not listen to those who knew what they were talking about. Professionals like Greg Thielmann, the Director of the strategic, proliferation and military issues office in the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research. He told me personally that in his professional opinion, after years of studying the issue, Saddam did not have a nuclear weapons program.

Instead, the Administration relied on the likes of Ahmed Chalabi. An embezzler who had been convicted in Jordan of bank fraud. Who is alleged to have provided Iran with information about US troop movements. And who is presumably still under investigation by the FBI.

Chalabi provided so-called “defectors” from Iraq who – surprise, surprise – said exactly what the Administration wanted to hear. The most notorious was code-named “Curveball” – how appropriate – and was the source of the now-discredited claim about a mobile bioweapons program. The German intelligence agency warned that the man did not live in Iraq and described him as an "out of control" and mentally unstable alcoholic. It later turned out that he was the brother of one of Chalabi’s top aides. But he was one of the primary sources for Secretary Powell’s statement at the United Nations that convinced many to support the war.

Furthermore, in the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq, the Administration told the American people that it would be easy. That we would be greeted as liberators. That Iraq would pay for its own reconstruction. And that peace and democracy would flourish.

None of that was true. The American people were sold a bill of goods. But those of us who raised doubts were ignored. Some even questioned our patriotism.

But the responsibility for this mess is not the President’s alone. It is shared by the preceding two Congresses, which abdicated their constitutional responsibility to oversee and review the conduct of the war and the occupation. We will never know if serious oversight and insisting on answers over the past four years would have made a difference.

But we do know that thousands of Americans and Iraqis have died. Billions of American and Iraqi taxpayer dollars have been wasted. The Middle East is on the verge of a war that could devastate the region and the global economy. And terrorist groups are multiplying because of Iraq. Some confuse the war on Iraq with the war on terror. But that could not be further from reality.

The fact is that the war in Iraq has severely damaged our efforts to fight al Qaeda and terrorism. That’s not just my judgment: that’s the consensus judgment of US intelligence agencies. In April 2006, they prepared a National Intelligence Estimate. It represents the consensus judgment of the entire US intelligence community. Here’s what it said:

“The Iraq conflict has become the “cause celebre” for jihadists, breeding a deep resentment of US involvement in the Muslim world and cultivating supporters for the global jihadist movement.

Meanwhile, the war in Iraq has done nothing to stop al Qaeda and its affiliates from launching attacks around the world. I refer you to a Dear Colleague letter sent by two of our Republican colleagues which clearly describes that reality. It includes a list of attacks that plainly demonstrates that terrorism is global in nature. While we are stuck in the sands of Iraq, radical Islamists are launching major assaults everywhere. Because this Administration, as a result of its bungled misadventure in Iraq, has hurt our efforts against terrorism.

Remember, we were attacked on September 11, not by Iraq, but by al Qaeda. Which was based in Afghanistan. And we responded, with worldwide support, by going to war against al Qaeda and liberating Afghanistan from al Qaeda’s allies, the Taliban. But then what happened? The Administration took its eye off the ball. And invaded Iraq. It’s as if we had responded to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor by invading Mexico. Even though we had not yet defeated al Qaeda, the Administration pulled intelligence and Special Forces assets from Afghanistan in order to prepare for the invasion of Iraq. Now we are in danger of losing Afghanistan to al Qaeda and their Taliban allies.

Enough. As Senator Hagel said, this is “Alice in Wonderland…it is folly.” And the American people know it. It’s time to get back to fighting the terrorists. It’s time to concentrate on victory in the war on terror.

Oppose the escalation. Support the resolution.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He still needs to sign on to HR 508 and co-sponsor this bill!
Call Bill about the Bill for war!

Washington, DC
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URGE HIM TO SUPPORT HR-508!

How Iraq Resolution Dissidents Fare Politically at Home

2007-02-16T21:51:00.000-05:00

New York Times -February 16, 2007

By Greg Giroux

It was practically a party-line vote Friday afternoon when the Democratic-controlled House passed a non-binding resolution disapproving President Bush’s decision to increase U.S. troop strength in Iraq.

But it was not a perfect party-line vote. Among the 246 members voting for the resolution were 229 Democrats — and 17 Republicans. And while 180 Republicans provided the bulk of the votes against the measure, they were joined by two Democrats. (Six members did not vote and there is a vacancy in Georgia’s 10th District caused by the death on Tuesday of Republican Rep. Charlie Norwood.)

Assuming, probably safely, that the controversial war in Iraq will remain a central issue through the 2008 campaign season, members’ votes on this resolution will be talking points in many campaigns.

But only a handful of the 19 members who crossed party lines appear — at least at this very early phase of the 2008 campaign cycle — to face even the prospect of serious electoral challenges next year.

The two Democrats who voted no are both Southerners who projected conservative images and represent mostly conservative constituencies: Jim Marshall, a Vietnam War veteran from Georgia’s 8th District, and Gene Taylor, who represents southern Mississippi’s 4th District that gave more than two-thirds of its votes to Bush in the 2004 presidential elections.

Of these two, only Marshall is considered at this point as potentially vulnerable. Running in a district redrawn by Republican state lawmakers in a mid-decade redistricting, Marshall narrowly outlasted his Republican challenger, former Rep. Mac Collins, in 2006.

The 17 Republicans who backed the resolution come from a somewhat diverse range of political ideologies. The list includes some prominent GOP centrists, such as Michael N. Castle of Delaware’s at-large district and Mark Steven Kirk of Illinois’ 10th District. But it also contains Republicans with conservative voting records, such as Howard Coble of North Carolina’s 6th District and Ric Keller of Florida’s 8th.

This group also includes Rep. John J. “Jimmy” Duncan Jr. of Tennessee’s 2nd District and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas’ 14th, who is exploring a bid for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination. Though both overall have strongly conservative records, they are the only two Republicans in Congress today who voted against the 2002 resolution that authorized Bush to wage military operations in Iraq.

What connects most of these GOP members, regardless of their ideological orientation, is that most come from relatively “safe” Republican districts. Of the 17, 13 exceeded 55 percent of the vote in 2006, most by a wide margin. Bush ran ahead of the Democratic nominee, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, in 14 of the 17 districts in the 2004 presidential election.

But there are a few pro-resolution Republicans whose districts produce some measure of sentiment against the Iraq war.

The three members in this crossover group who represent “Kerry-Republican” House districts — Delaware’s Castle, Illinois’ Kirk and James T. Walsh of New York’s 25th District — all had vote percentages in 2006 that were their lowest in any of their House re-election campaigns, as did Thomas M. Davis III of Virginia’s 11th District, which went just narrowly for Bush in 2004.

Also enduring closer than usual races in 2006 in districts that favored Bush by modest margins two years earlier were Phil English of Pennsylvania’s 3rd District and Keller, who represents Florida’s 8th District

CQPolitics.com senior reporter Greg Giroux has compiled the following information about the 19 House members who voted against most members of their own party on the resolution opposing the troop increase in Iraq. Each member of Congress is identified by his state and district; the vote percentage they received in their 2006 re-elections; and the result of the 2004 presidential election in the district.

House Republicans voting for the resolution of disapproval (17)

• Michael N. Castle, Delaware’s At-Large

2006 Vote: 57 percent

2004 President: Kerry 53 percent

Long a partisan swing state, Delaware recently has leaned increasingly Democratic. But eight-term Rep. Castle is a long-popular moderate who previously served eight years as governor.

• Howard Coble, North Carolina’s 6th

2006 Vote: 71 percent

2004 President: Bush 69 percent

After a pair of close races at the start of his 12-term career, Coble has cruised to easy wins in this central North Carolina GOP stronghold.

• Thomas M. Davis III, Virginia’s 11th

2006 Vote: 55 percent

2004 President: Bush 50 percent

His visible engagement on local issues and relatively moderate profile benefits seven-term incumbent Davis, who has long had ambitions to serve in the Senate. But a Democratic trend in the Northern Virginia suburbs he represents is making him less safe.

• John J. “Jimmy” Duncan Jr., Tennessee’s 2nd

2006 Vote: 78 percent

2004 President: Bush 65 percent

A member of a local political dynasty in east Tennessee, 10-term Rep. Duncan has name ID and a partisan cushion in this Republican stronghold.

• Phil English, Pennsylvania’s 3rd

2006 Vote: 54 percent

2004 President: Bush 53 percent

English, in his seventh term, combines GOP loyalties with some moderate overtones, including an outreach to organized labor. But in the anti-Republican mood of 2006, his vote share in his Erie-centered district dropped 6 points from two years earlier.

• Wayne T. Gilchrest, Maryland’s 1st

2006 Vote: 69 percent

2004 President: Bush 62 percent

Though not exactly a maverick, this mild-mannered former teacher, now in his ninth House term, has distanced himself from party leaders before, especially on environmental issues.

• Bob Inglis, South Carolina’s 4th

2006 Vote: 64 percent

2004 President: Bush 65 percent

Straying from the party line is a relatively rare thing for the conservative Inglis. One of the few House members to stick to a term-limit pledge in the 1990s, he lost a Senate race in 1998 but returned to win an open House seat in 2004 and now is in his fifth term overall.

• Timothy V. Johnson, Illinois’ 15th

2006 Vote: 58 percent

2004 President: Bush 58 percent

Johnson, a moderate Republican in his fourth term, has a largely rural eastern Illinois district that is Republican enough to consistently provide him with comfortable margins.

• Walter B. Jones, North Carolina’s 3rd

2006 Vote: 69 percent

2004 President: Bush 68 percent

The namesake son of a late conservative Democratic House veteran, Jones had to explain his early and vocal criticism of Bush’s handling of the war to his strongly conservative constituency in 2006, but won a seventh term with ease. The district contains the Marine Corps’ massive Camp Lejeune installation.

• Ric Keller, Florida’s 8th

2006 Vote: 53 percent

2004 President: Bush 55 percent

After having to battle for a fourth term in 2006 in an Orlando-area district, Keller is likely to face another Democratic initiative to oust him next year.

• Mark Steven Kirk, Illinois’ 10th

2006 Vote: 53 percent

2004 President: Kerry 52 percent

An image as a leading House GOP moderate, combined with strong intellectual skills and a background in foreign policy, appeared to give Kirk political security in Chicago’s northern suburbs. But his percentage dropped sharply as he bid for a fourth term in last year’s tough political atmosphere, and Democrats may try to probe his vulnerability.

• Steven C. LaTourette, Ohio’s 14th

2006 Vote: 58 percent

2004 President: Bush 52 percent

Bush’s 2004 showing among LaTourette’s northeast Ohio voters suggests this is close to a swing district. But a weak Democratic recruiting effort in 2006 gave the party little chance of seriously testing the incumbent as he won a seventh term with ease.

• Ron Paul, Texas’ 14th

2006 Vote: 60 percent

2004 President: Bush 67 percent

A physician and former Libertarian Party presidential nominee, Paul has the nickname of “Dr. No” — earned mainly from his contrarian opposition to nearly all spending bills — that extends to some military issues he views as foreign entanglements. In his ninth full term over three separate tenures, Paul has taken a tentative step toward entering the 2008 GOP presidential race.

• Tom Petri, Wisconsin’s 6th

2006 Vote: 99 percent (no Democrat ran)

2004 President: Bush 56 percent

Now in his 14th full term, Petri has had only one relatively close re-election contest and has run several times without Democratic opposition. So he has the latitude now and then to differ with his party.

• Jim Ramstad, Minnesota’s 3rd

2006 Vote: 65 percent

2004 President: Bush 51 percent

Ramstad’s relatively moderate views and strong personal popularity have made Democrats view him as virtually untouchable after nine election victories. But Bush’s narrow lead here in 2004 suggests Democrats would have a shot in this suburban Twin Cities district should Ramstad ever retire.

• Fred Upton, Michigan’s 6th

2006 Vote: 61 percent

2004 President: Bush 53 percent

In his 11th term, Upton has a generally conservative record, but has stood apart on some issues ranging from the environment to gun control to fiscal issues — and now the Iraq War.

• James T. Walsh, New York’s 25th

2006 Vote: 51 percent

2004 President: Kerry 50 percent

Based on the 2006 results, Walsh may be highest on the Democrats’ 2008 target list among Republicans who broke with their party on the Iraq resolution. After being bolstered for years by his seat on the Appropriations Committee, Walsh faced the political fight of his career in 2006 before narrowly prevailing to win a 10th term.

House Democrats voting against the resolution of disapproval (2)

• Jim Marshall, Georgia’s 8th

2006 Vote: 50.5 percent

2004 President: Bush 61 percent

Marshall’s break with the Democratic line on the Iraq resolution wasn’t a new thing: He has been more supportive of Bush’s Iraq policy than most Democrats throughout the conflict. His success at projecting an image as a conservative Democrat was vital to his win for a third term in 2006, when he had to overcome former GOP Rep. Mac Collins and an unfavorable redistricting map.

• Gene Taylor, Mississippi’s 4th

2006 Vote: 80 percent

2004 President: Bush 68 percent

His consistent record as one of the most conservative House Democrats has enabled Taylor to grow deep roots in this southern Mississippi district since winning a 1989 special election, even though the 4th otherwise has a strong Republican edge.

Congress Concurs with the Majority of People Say No to Surge!

2007-02-16T18:41:00.000-05:00

House OKs measure opposing troop surge

By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent 3 minutes ago

The Democratic-controlled House issued a symbolic rejection of President Bush's plan to deploy more troops to Iraq on Friday, opening an epic confrontation between Congress and commander in chief over an unpopular war that has taken the lives of more than 3,100 U.S. troops.

The vote on the nonbinding measure was 246-182.

"The stakes in Iraq are too high to recycle proposals that have little prospect for success," said Speaker Nancy Pelosi (news, bio, voting record), leader of Democrats who gained power last fall in elections framed by public opposition to the war.

"The passage of this legislation will signal a change in direction in Iraq that will end the fighting and bring our troops home," she vowed.

Bush's Republican allies said repeatedly the measure would lead to attempts to cut off funds for the troops. Outnumbered, they turned to Rep. Sam Johnson (news, bio, voting record) of Texas to close their case — and the former Vietnam prisoner of war stepped to the microphone as lawmakers in both parties rose to applaud his heroism.

"Now it's time to stand up for my friends who did not make it home, and for those who fought and died in Iraq already," he said. "We must not cut funding for our troops. We must stick by them," he added, snapping off a salute as he completed his remarks to yet another ovation.

Bush made no comment on the developments, and his spokesman said the commander in chief was too busy to watch the proceedings on television.

After a secure videoconference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Bush said the Iraqis were reporting progress: providing troops to fight alongside Americans, making sure that no ethnic or religious factions are ignored in the security operations, providing $10 billion toward reconstruction and working on an oil revenue-sharing law.

The developments in the House marked the first vote of the new Congress on the war. Roughly 400 of 434 lawmakers spoke during four days of a dignified debate — an unusual amount of time devoted to a single measure.

Moving quickly, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (news, bio, voting record), D-Nev., has called a test vote for Saturday on an identical measure, and several presidential contenders in both parties rearranged their weekend campaign schedules to be present.

Republicans said in advance they would deny Democrats the 60 votes they need to advance the resolution, adding they would insist on equal treatment for a GOP-drafted alternative that opposes any reduction in funds for the troops.

The developments unfolded as a new poll showed more than half those surveyed view the war as a hopeless cause.

A sizeable majority, 63 percent, opposes the decision to dispatch more troops, although support for Bush's decision has risen in the past few weeks from 26 percent to 35 percent, according to the AP-Ipsos poll.

The House measure disapproves of Bush's decision to increase troop strength, and pledges that Congress will "support and protect" the troops.

Bush has already said passage of the measure will not deter him from proceeding with the deployment of another 21,500 troops, designed primarily to quell sectarian violence in heavily populated Baghdad.

Already, troops of the Army's 82nd Airborne have arrived in Iraq. Another brigade is in Kuwait, undergoing final training before proceeding to Iraq. Three more brigades are ticketed for the Baghdad area, one each in March, April and May.

In addition, the Pentagon is sending two Marine battalions to Anbar province in the western part of the country, the heart of the Sunni insurgency.

Bush and his allies in Congress calculated days ago that the House measure would pass, and increasingly have focused their energy on the next steps in the Democrats' attempt to end U.S. participation in the war.

"I'm going to make it very clear to the members of Congress, starting now, that they need to fund our troops," Bush said earlier this week, a reference to legislation that requests more than $93 billion for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

As developments on Capitol Hill went forward, the White House sought to play down the impact of the debate and vote. The president himself made no comment on it — with his spokesman saying he was too busy to watch — and turned instead toward Iraq. He reported after a secure videoconference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki that progress is being made.

The president said that the Iraqi leader briefed him on several recent steps by his government: providing troops to fight alongside Americans, making sure that no ethnic or religious factions are ignored in the security operations, providing $10 billion toward reconstruction and working on an oil revenue-sharing law.

"I was pleased that he's meeting benchmarks that he has set for his government," Bush told reporters. "That's good news for the Iraqi people. And it should give people here in the United States confidence that his government knows its responsibilities and is following through on those responsibilities."

Democrats have made clear in recent days they will use Bush's spending request to impose certain standards of readiness, training and rest for the troops.

"That stops the surge (in troops) for all intents and purposes, because ... they cannot sustain the deployment," Rep. John Murtha (news, bio, voting record), D-Pa., said recently.

Republicans pointed to his remarks repeatedly during the day as evidence that despite their claims to the contrary, Democrats intend to cut off funds for the troops.

"This is all part of their plan to eliminate funding for our troops that are in harm's way. And we stand here as Republicans...committed to making sure our troops in harm's way have all the funds and equipment they need to win this war in Iraq," said Rep. John Boehner (news, bio, voting record) of Ohio, the Republican leader.

HR 63 VOTE RESULTS

2007-02-16T18:20:00.000-05:00

Congress Concurs with US To Say No to the Bush's Surge!

Vote Results : Yea: 246 Nay: 182

To watch your congresspeople floor speech click here: C-Span

H.CON.RES.63
Title: Disapproving of the decision of the President announced on January 10, 2007, to deploy more than 20,000 additional United States combat troops to Iraq.
Sponsor: Rep Skelton, Ike [MO-4] (introduced 2/12/2007) Cosponsors (2)
Related Bills: H.RES.157
Latest Major Action: 2/12/2007 Rules Committee Resolution H. Res. 157 Reported to House. Rule provides for consideration of H. Con. Res. 63. Previous question shall be considered as ordered without intervening motions except motion to recommit. Debate on the resolution shall continue 1) not beyond midnight on Tuesday, February 13, 2007, equally divided and controlled by the Majority Leader, the Minority Leader or their designees; 2) not beyond midnight on Wednesday, February 14, 2007, equally divided and controlled by the Majority Leader, the Minority Leader or their designees; 3) 12 hours of debate commencing on Thursday, February 15, 2007, equally divided and controlled by the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader or their designees.

Auditors: Billions squandered in Iraq War

2007-02-16T12:00:00.000-05:00

By HOPE YEN, Associated Press Writer Fri Feb 16,
WASHINGTON

- About $10 billion has been squandered by the U.S. government on Iraq reconstruction aid because of contractor overcharges and unsupported expenses, and federal investigators warned Thursday that significantly more taxpayer money is at risk.

The three top auditors overseeing work in Iraq told a House committee their review of $57 billion in Iraq contracts found that Defense and State department officials condoned or allowed repeated work delays, bloated expenses and payments for shoddy work or work never done.

More than one in six dollars charged by U.S. contractors were questionable or unsupported, nearly triple the amount of waste the Government accounting Office (GAO) estimated last fall.

"There is no accountability," said David M. Walker, who heads the auditing arm of Congress. "Organizations charged with overseeing contracts are not held accountable. Contractors are not held accountable. The individuals responsible are not held accountable."

"People should be rewarded when they do a good job. But when things don't go right, there have to be consequences," he said.

Also testifying Thursday were Stuart Bowen, the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, and William H. Reed, director of the Defense Contract Audit Agency.

The appearance before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee came as Congress prepares for a showdown with President Bush next month over his budget request of nearly $100 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

So far, the Bush administration has spent more than $350 billion on the Iraq war and reconstruction effort.

The Army, which handles most of the Iraq contracting, said Thursday it had not reviewed the latest contract figures.

"The U.S. Army, along with the Departments of Defense and State, continue to help thousands of Iraqis daily with reconstruction projects to provide them with better lives," said spokeswoman Mary Ann Hodges. "We look forward to examining its findings and applying some of its recommendations in the future."

Senate Democrats said recently cited cases of waste were "outrageous rip-offs of the American taxpayer" and introduced legislation Thursday to stiffen punishment for war profiteers and cut down on cronyism in contracting.
According to their testimony, the investigators:

_Found overpricing and waste in Iraq contracts amounting to $4.9 billion since the Defense Contract Audit Agency began its work in 2003. Some of that money has been recovered. An additional $5.1 billion in expenses were charged without proper documentation.

_Pointed to growing Iraqi sectarian violence as a significant factor behind bloated U.S. contracting bills. Iraqi officials, they said, must begin to take primary responsibility for reconstruction efforts. That is an uncertain goal, given the widespread corruption in Iraq and the local government's inability to fund projects.

Urged the Pentagon to reconsider its growing reliance on outside contractors in wars and reconstruction efforts. Layers of subcontractors, poor documentation and lack of strong contract management are rampant and promote waste even after the GAO first warned of problems 15 years ago.

Walker complained that GAO investigators have difficulty getting basic detail about reconstruction contracts such as expenses and subcontractors involved because many Pentagon divisions fail to consistently track or fully report them.
"It's absolutely essential if Congress wants to make an informed decision on authorizations and appropriations that we get this information," he said. "We're talking about billions of dollars and thousands of American lives at stake."
Rep. Henry Waxman D-Calif., the committee chairman, has pledged scores of investigations of fraud, waste and abuse — with subpoenas if necessary — on the administration's watch.

Of the $10 billion in overpriced contracts or undocumented costs, more than $2.7 billion were charged by Halliburton Co., the oil-field services company once headed by Vice President Dick Cheney.

Noting that auditors still have $300 billion of Iraq spending to review, Waxman said the total amount of waste, fraud and abuse "could be astronomical."
"It's no wonder that taxpayers all across our country are fed up and demanding that we bring real oversight to the 'anything goes' world of Iraq reconstruction," he said.

Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., the top Republican on the panel, pointed to ongoing, "systemic" problems in Iraq contracting. "This much is clear: Poor security, an arcane, ill-suited management structure, and frequent management changes have produced a succession of troubled acquisitions," Davis said.

Bush Budget To Cut US Veteran Health-Care Funds In 2009, 2010

2007-02-16T11:54:00.000-05:00

By Andrew Taylor

An AP NEWS ANALYSIS

WASHINGTON (AP)--President George W. Bush's administration plans to cut funding for veterans' health care two years from now - even as badly wounded troops returning from Iraq could overwhelm the system.

Bush is using the cuts, critics say, to help fulfill his pledge to balance the budget by 2012.

After an increase sought for next year, the Bush budget would turn current trends on their head. Even though the cost of providing medical care to veterans has been growing rapidly - by more than 10% in many years - White House budget documents assume consecutive cutbacks in 2009 and 2010 and a freeze thereafter.

The proposed cuts are unrealistic in light of recent VA budget trends - its medical care budget has risen every year for two decades and 83% in the six years since Bush took office - sowing suspicion that the White House is simply making them up to make its long-term deficit figures look better.

"Either the administration is willingly proposing massive cuts in VA health care," said Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Texas, chairman of the panel overseeing the VA's budget. "Or its promise of a balanced budget by 2012 is based on completely unrealistic assumptions."

Edwards said that a more realistic estimate of veterans costs is $16 billion higher than the Bush estimate for 2012.

In fact, even the White House doesn't seem serious about the numbers. It says the long-term budget numbers don't represent actual administration policies. Similar cuts assumed in earlier budgets have been reversed.

The veterans cuts, said White House budget office spokesman Sean Kevelighan, " don't reflect any policy decisions. We'll revisit them when we do the (future) budgets."

The number of veterans coming into the VA health-care system has been rising by about 5% a year as the number of people returning from Iraq with illnesses or injuries keep rising. Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans represent almost 5% of the VA's patient caseload, and many are returning from battle with grievous injuries requiring costly care, such as traumatic brain injuries.

All told, the VA expects to treat about 5.8 million patients next year, including 263,000 veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan.

The White House budget office, however, assumes that the veterans' medical services budget - up 83% since Bush took office and winning a big increase in Bush's proposed 2008 budget - can absorb a 2% cut the following year and remain essentially frozen for three years in a row after that.

"It's implausible," Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said of the budget projections.

The White House made virtually identical assumptions last year - a big increase in the first year of the budget and cuts for every year thereafter to veterans medical care. Now, the White House estimate for 2008 is more than $4 billion higher than Bush figured last year.

And the VA has been known to get short-term estimates wrong as well. Two years ago, Congress had to pass an emergency $1.5 billion infusion for veterans health programs for 2005 and added $2.7 billion to Bush's request for 2006. The VA underestimated the number of veterans, including those from Iraq and Afghanistan, who were seeking care, as well as the cost of treatment and long- term care.

The budget for hospital and medical care for veterans is funded for the current year at $35.6 billion, and would rise to $39.6 billion in 2008 under Bush's budget. But the budget faces a cut to $38.8 billion in 2009 and would hover around that level through 2012.

The cuts come even as the number of veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars is expected to increase 26% next year.

In Bush's proposal to balance the budget by 2012, he's assuming that spending on domestic agency operating budgets will increase by about 1% each year.

Democrat Leadership React To Mashpee Wampanoag Federal Recognition

2007-02-16T11:34:00.000-05:00

Mashpee Wampanoag tribe receives final recognition as a sovereign nation
PRESS RELEASE
MASHPEE - The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe on Thursday became a federally recognized sovereign nation, a decision that marks the end of a 32-year effort to gain such status and the beginning of a new era for tribal members.

The tribe received word at 5 pm Thursday from the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs reaffirming its March 2006 ruling that the tribe had met all seven criteria necessary to become a federally recognized tribe.

With this ruling, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe becomes the 564th tribe recognized by the federal government and the first to be recognized during the Bush Administration.

The Mashpee-based tribe is the second tribe recognized in Massachusetts. The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) on Martha's Vineyard was recognized 20 years ago. Today's positive finding for Mashpee officially takes effect in 90 days. "Without recognition and with economic pressures on the Cape, our tribe would have dissolved into the landscape," said Tribal Council Chairman Glenn Marshall. "Recognition as a sovereign nation has saved the tribe that met the Mayflower."

Indian tribes recognized as sovereign nations by the federal government have access to federal funds for benefits and services, such as housing, health care, children and elder services, education and environmental protection. The tribe also plans to identify land for the federal government to take into trust.

"I have been proud to be Chief of this tribe many times in our history, and today that pride is greater than ever," said Tribal Chief Vernon "Silent Drum" Lopez. "Our story has been told for generations, and today we add a new chapter. The history of our tribe could not be complete without our sovereignty, and today we can celebrate and move forward."

Nathaniel Philbrick, author of the acclaimed book "Mayflower," offered his congratulations to the tribe and said, "This is a truly historic occasion. As a resident of the Cape and Islands who has spent many years examining the events of the past, all I can say is, 'It's about time!' Congratulations to the Mashpee Wampanoag people."

Today signals the end of the comment and approval process sparked by the March 2006 federal preliminary approval. The Mashpee tribe first sought federal recognition in 1975, but the petition did not reach "active status" until October 2005, under a court ruling stipulating a final decision must be announced by March 31, 2007.

The Mashpee Wampanoag Indians' history dates back more than 5,000 years, according to archaeologists, who acknowledge an unbroken continuum of habitation from that time to the present day. The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe met the Mayflower and aided the Pilgrims at the first Thanksgiving in 1621 after the terrible winter of 1620-1621. Once known as the South Sea Indians and later as the Praying Indians, the Mashpee nourished the Pilgrims, came to their aid and supplied them with much of the food for the first feast. In addition to a long history of contributions to the nation, members of the Mashpee Tribe have fought in every American conflict since the Revolutionary War and continue to serve our nation heroically to the present day.

(Published: February 15, 2007)

Democratic Leaders Reaction

''I extend my congratulations to the Mashpee Wampanoag on the recognition they received today from the federal government. For a tribe that greeted the Pilgrims when they landed on the shores of Massachusetts, this recognition is long overdue. I look forward to working with the tribe to move Massachusetts forward.''

- Gov. Deval Patrick

''The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe has been extremely patient, waiting over three decades for this moment, and I congratulate them on their federal recognition. I'm pleased that the tribe will now have access to a range of essential federal services including education, social services, housing and health benefits.''

- Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.

''Today's announcement from the United States government, a moment for which we have all waited so long and for which we have all worked so hard, is a milestone for the Tribe, our community and our nation. Let us reflect for a moment on what has happened today. Let's be clear. Aside from the legalisms - for anyone who reads history - the BIA decision does not confer tribal status. The decision confirms tribal status. The decision is a vindication of fundamental civil rights. It honors the memory of generations of tribal members. It embraces the common heritage of fellow citizens of Mashpee and towns throughout eastern Massachusetts.''

- U.S. Rep. William Delahunt, D-Mass.

''I'm very happy for them. I think it's good news for the tribe, and it's also good news for the Cape. They will be bringing a lot of services to Cape Cod that will benefit everyone and improve the overall quality of life for everyone.''

- Rep. Matthew Patrick,

D-Falmouth, whose district includes part of Mashpee

''Without the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, the Pilgrims would not have survived their first winter. This tribe is an invaluable part of the unique fabric that makes Massachusetts what it is today. The decision by the federal government to grant tribal recognition to the Mashpee Wampanoag corrects an injustice that has gone on far too long.''

- Sen. Therese Murray,

D-Plymouth

''It's historic, well deserved, and long overdue in my opinion. This is a tribe that greeted the people who came off the Mayflower. There is just no question that if anybody deserves recognition, it was the Wampanoag of Mashpee.''

- Sen. Robert O'Leary,

D-Barnstable

2007-02-15T15:10:00.000-05:00

Dear Friends,

According to House Minority Leader John Boehner, I'm a "terrorist sympathizer," and you probably are too.
Just days ago on the floor of the House of Representatives, the Republican leader claimed that "al Qaeda and terrorist sympathizers around the world are trying to divide us here at home. Over the next few days, we have an opportunity to show our enemies that we will not take the bait."
This isn't the first time Republicans have linked Democrats with terrorists at the time of an important vote. In fact, it's become the norm.
In October 2004, then-Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert claimed that al Qaeda "would like to influence this election" and would be more comfortable if John Kerry were elected.
This past August, Vice President Cheney claimed that anti-war voters in Connecticut were encouraging "al Qaeda types" to "break the will of the American people in terms of our ability to stay the fight and complete the task."
And just days before our landslide victory in the November midterm elections, President Bush claimed that "the Democrat[ic] approach in Iraq comes down to this: The terrorists win and America loses."
Put a stop to the slander. Help the Democrats pass the House Iraq resolution, and help wavering Republicans stand up to this rhetoric:
http://www.democrats.org/noescalation
The "bait" that Boehner refers to is the House Democrats' war resolution that Governor Dean emailed you about on Tuesday -- a vote of no-confidence in the president's plan to escalate the war in Iraq.
You see, with 70% of the public opposing escalation and potentially 60 Republicans crossing party lines, the Republican leadership is resorting to desperate measures to try to fool the American people and stop this damning vote.
Support the Iraq resolution -- and tell Boehner that we aren't buying his publicity stunts:
http://www.democrats.org/noescalation
The Republicans know the mess they're in. In a desperate letter to their Republican colleagues, Congressmembers John Shadegg and Peter Hoekstra wrote:
"The debate should not be about the surge or its details. This debate should not even be about the Iraq war to date, mistakes that have been made, or whether we can, or cannot, win militarily. If we let Democrats force us into a debate on the surge or the current situation in Iraq, we lose."
Why are Republicans scared of a debate on America's top issue? And why can't they stand up to the Democrats on the current situation in Iraq?
Because it wasn't the Democratic Party that led us into a war on false pretenses. Democrats didn't alienate our global allies by ignoring diplomatic efforts to find a peaceful resolution. Democrats didn't reject the advice of our military leaders, who recommended we change the course. And Democrats didn't decide to put more of our troops in harm/s way to interfere in a bloody civil war with no end in sight.
The Democrats didn't start this war, but we're working to end it -- and the House resolution is an important first step to changing the course and bringing our brave men and women home.
Support the Iraq resolution today:
http://www.democrats.org/noescalation
Don't let John Boehner imply that we are terrorist sympathizers. Don't let the Republican leadership continue these publicity stunts.
While they try, we'll be busy fighting back and governing.
Sincerely,
Tom McMahon

Democrats To Focus On Iraq War Funding Battle

2007-02-15T12:55:00.000-05:00

Democrats To Focus On Iraq War Funding Battle

(AP) WASHINGTON Democrats, expecting House passage Friday of a resolution opposing President Bush's military buildup in Iraq, are turning their sights on an even loftier target � the Pentagon's multibillion-dollar budget.

Congress next month is to consider Bush's request for nearly $100 billion more for the war, a request that promises to become a new battleground over his Iraq policy.

The House this week has been debating a nonbinding measure that expresses support for the troops in Iraq but opposes the president's decision to send an additional 21,500 troops there. A small group of House Republicans said Wednesday they disagreed with Bush's plan.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said the Democratic resolution was the first step in a longer campaign to end U.S. participation in the nearly four-year-old conflict.

In a letter to the president on Wednesday, Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said, "thousands of the new troops" being sent into Iraq "will apparently not have the armor and equipment they need to perform the mission and reduce the likelihood of casualties."

Demanding that troops meet certain requirements before being sent into harms' way was an idea initiated by Rep. Jack Murtha, the top Democrat on the House committee that oversees military spending.

Murtha, a war veteran who advocates pulling troops out of Iraq, has said he wants to forbid the Pentagon from sending additional troops "unless they have adequate training and unless they have adequate equipment."

Murtha, D-Pa., said he believes the Army may have no units that can meet those standards, meaning Bush's attempt to send more troops to Iraq would be checked. Congress also could try to slow the deployment of additional troops by curtailing the Pentagon's practice of extending the duty tours of personnel who have reached the end of their scheduled time in the war zone.

As the House debated the Democratic resolution for a second day Wednesday, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Schoomaker said protective gear for troops in Iraq was not a problem.

"Obviously, we are not going to put any force into theater that isn't properly trained and equipped," Schoomaker said.

Bush has asked for $93 billion in additional spending to finish paying for the war through Sept. 30, and Democrats could rewrite the legislation to require that troops sent to Iraq be fully equipped.

Supporting the troops, "means giving them the equipment they need, whether you agree with the mission that they are on or not," Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters after meeting with Bush at the White House.

Pelosi's remarks came as Bush shrugged off Democrats' attempt to pass a resolution declaring congressional opposition to the troop buildup and he turned his sights on the $93 billion spending request.

"I'm going to make it very clear to the members of Congress starting now," Bush told a news conference. "They need to fund our troops, and they need to make sure we have the flexibility necessary to get the job done."

Democrats took control of Congress after elections last fall that were shaped in large measure by public opposition to the war, which has cost the lives of more than 3,000 U.S. troops.

The House was to continue debating the measure Thursday, with a vote Friday, when it was expected to pass.

The resolution picked up steam Wednesday after more than a half a dozen House Republicans said they would vote for it.

Rep. Ric Keller, R-Fla., said he approached his decision "with a great deal of angst and humility," but ultimately could not stand behind the president's plan.

"I have listened to what our most well-respected four-star generals have to say about this matter," he said. And many "said that sending more troops into Baghdad is not the answer."

Rep. Jim Marshall, D-Ga., announced he would oppose the Democratic resolution. While Marshall is concerned that Bush's Iraq strategy won't work, the Vietnam War veteran said he was gravely concerned about the impact it would have on troop morale.

Reid has announced plans to try for a vote in the Senate on an identical bill in the next few weeks. Prospects there are uncertain because Republican leaders have said they will demand a vote on an alternative measure promising not to cut funds for troops in the field.

Republican Sens. Olympia Snowe of Maine and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, who do not support sending more troops to Iraq, said Wednesday they would oppose adjourning for next week's recess until the Senate is able to debate the issue.

Edwards calls for stronger action to end war

2007-02-15T12:44:00.000-05:00

Says Congress has power to end conflict
BY ROB CHRISTENSEN
McClatchy Newspapers

RALEIGH, N.C. - Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards stepped up his anti-war opposition Wednesday, calling for Congress to cut off funding for any troops in Iraq beyond the 100,000 troop level.

Edwards said such a move was the only way to prevent President Bush from putting another 20,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. He also called for withdrawing all combat troops over the next 12 to 18 months.

"We don't need debate," Edwards, a former senator, said in a statement released by his campaign headquarters in Chapel Hill. "We don't need non-binding resolutions. We need to end this war, and Congress has the power to do it. They should use it now."

Edwards's comments come at a time when the U.S. House is debating the president's war policy. A USA TODAY/Gallup Poll released Tuesday found overwhelming support for congressional action to cap the number of U.S. troops in Iraq and set a timetable to bring them home by the end of next year.

Edwards has been positioning himself as the leading anti-war figure in the Democratic presidential primary. In what has been seen as an attack on his Democratic primary opponents, Edwards has said "silence is betrayal" on Iraq.

He has said that his own vote as a North Carolina senator to authorize the war was a mistake.

Edwards says there is only a political solution to the war in Iraq, in which all parties and regional powers are involved in mapping the country's future.

Edwards' plan would:

• -Cap funding for troops at 100,000 troops and begin the immediate draw down of 40,000 to 50,000 combat troops.

• -Prohibit funding to deploy US troops to Iraq that do not meet readiness standards.

• -Require a complete withdrawal of combat troops in 12 to 18 months without leaving behind any permanent U.S. military bases.

After withdrawal, Edwards said, the U.S. should keep sufficient forces in the region to contain the conflict and "ensure that instability in Iraq does not spill over and create a regional war, a terrorist haven or spark a genocide.

Proposed By-Laws as taken from the State Committee

2007-02-11T22:02:00.000-05:00

Proposed By-Laws (Working Document)

BYLAWS OF THE HARWICH
DEMOCRATIC TOWN COMMITTEE

Town, Ward and other Democratic Committees may adopt by-laws and other rules of procedures, in accordance with National rules, the Charter and these by-laws. In the absence of the adoption of such by-laws, said committee(s) will be governed by model by-laws, recommend by the Field Services committee, and as adopted by the State Committee, if any.

Article I - NAME

This organization shall be known as the Harwich Democratic Town Committee, herein after called the Committee.

Article II - PURPOSES

This committee is organized and constituted under authority of and in accordance with the provisions of the General Laws of the Commonwealth, and shall have as its purposes the following: to foster and advance the ideals and aims of the Democratic Party; to work and organize for the success of the Democratic candidates of the District, County, State and Nation; to do all things necessary and incidental to the building and strengthening of the Democratic Party in Massachusetts and within Town of Harwich (Jurisdiction).

Article III - MEMBERSHIP

A........ The Harwich Democratic Town Committee shall consist of thirty five (35) [or number designated and reported to the Massachusetts Secretary of State prior to Presidential Primary elections] registered Democrats in Harwich, who shall have been elected at the Presidential Primary for a period of 4 years together with those elected to membership by the members of said Committee, in conformance with the provisions of law.

B........ The Committee, following the election of its members, shall meet and organize, chose a Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer, Affirmative Action and Outreach Advisor, and such other officers as it may decide to elect. At such meeting the Committee may add to its elected members provided it does not exceed the total allowed by law as found on file with the Secretary of State’s Office.

C........ The Committee may, by vote at any meeting, authorize the appointment of associate members. Associate members shall not have the right to vote but shall have such other powers and duties as the Committee may determine.

D........ Any duly elected member of the Committee who changes residence from the community during the said four years shall cease to be a member of the Committee at that time.

E........ Vacancies shall be filled by vote of the Committee. Associate members, if any, shall be the candidates first considered for filling the vacancies.

F......... With respect to current numbers of the town committee who served as such for 20 or more years or current members of any ward committee who have served within such city for 20 or more years, said member's elected position on the town or ward committee shall be vacated after the member has served over twenty years and he or she becomes a voting member of the town/ward committee.

G........ Members may be removed in conformity with Section II of the Charter of the Democratic Party of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Article IV - OFFICERS

A........ The officers of this organization shall consist of a Chairperson (or co-Chairs), Vice Chairperson (one or more), Secretary, Treasurer and Affirmative Action and Outreach Advisor. These officers shall be elected at the Committee organizational meeting and shall Serve for a term of two years, at the end of which new elections for officers shall be held. (The Chair(s) and Vice Chair(s) shall not be of the same sex)

B........ There shall be an Executive Committee consisting of the officers of the Committee and others elected.

C........ In the event of death, resignation or the permanent removal from the Harwich Democratic Committee of any of the above named officers, their places shall be declared vacant and be filled at the next regular meeting of the Committee. A statement of such changes in the officers of the Committee shall be sent immediately by the Secretary of the Committee to the Secretary of the Commonwealth, to the Secretary of the Democratic State Committee and to the town/city clerk.

Article V - CHAIRPERSON

The Chairperson shall, in addition to the duties required by law, preside at all meetings of the Committee and shall have general charge and supervision of all Committee activities. He/She shall have the power to appoint all standing committees and such other special committees as are created from time to time. He/She shall have the power to call all special meetings of the Town/Ward Committee and all regular meetings at such time or times as may seem to her/him to be advisable, subject only to the vote of the Committee in fixing the number of regular meetings to be held during the course of the year.

Article VI - VICE CHAIRPERSON

The Vice Chairperson shall preside at all meetings of the Harwich Town Committee in the absence of the Chairperson. She/He shall perform all duties and have the powers of the Chairperson in the case of her/his temporary absence.

Article VII - SECRETARY

The Secretary shall keep a record of all proceedings of the Harwich Town Committee and shall issue notice by mail to each member of each meeting of the Committee at least seven days prior to the date of the meeting. The Secretary shall, within ten days after the organization of the Committee, file with the Secretary of the Commonwealth, the Secretary of the Democratic State Committee and the Harwich Town Clerk, a list of the officers and members of the Committee; and shall immediately file with the same officials a statement of the changes in the organization or membership of the Committee thereafter.

Article VIII - TREASURER

The Treasurer shall have the custody of all funds belonging to the Committee and shall pay all orders subject to the approval of the Chairperson and shall procure and file vouchers for all such payment. No expenditures of funds of the Committee shall be made by the Treasurer outside the regular activities or expense thereof except upon the approval of a majority of the Committee at a special or regular meeting. She/He shall submit a report of the financial condition and transactions of the Committee at all regular meetings. A detailed report shall be provided at least semiannually-annually. Additionally, the Treasurer will file reports with the appropriate state and local offices with regard to fundraising.

Article IX - AFFIRMATIVE ACTION AND OUTREACH ADVISOR

The Affirmative Action and Outreach Advisor shall be responsible for developing strategies and activities to expand participation in the Committee of the Party’s Affirmative Action target groups.

Article X - CALLING A MEETING WITHOUT CONSENT OF CHAIRPERSON

A........ In the event of a refusal of the Chairperson of the Committee to call a meeting of the Committee, a majority of the executive committee may, in writing, order the Secretary of said Committee to call a meeting of the committee.

B........ Said executive committee shall have the power to act upon all matters pertaining to the Committee arising between the meetings of said Committee.

C........ Seven members of the Committee can request a meeting by a petition in writing to the Secretary and the Secretary shall call such meeting within two weeks.

Article XI - QUORUM

One third of the members of the Committee shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

Article XII - BY LAWS COMMITTEE

There shall be a By Laws Committee appointed by the Chairperson from the duly elected members. The Chairperson shall designate the Chairperson of the By Laws Committee.

Article XIII - CHANGES IN THE BY LAWS

A........ These By Laws may be amended or repealed at any regularly called meeting of the elected members of the Committee, provided such proposed change is in writing and is signed by the elected member proposing it and is in the hands of the Chairperson before the call of the next meeting, at which such proposal is to be acted upon. The proposed by law change shall be sent to all members with the announcement of the meeting and must be notified at least 30 days in advance. Bylaws can be changed by majority vote of committee.

B........ Such proposed changes in the By Laws shall be referred forthwith by the Chairperson to the By Laws Committee which shall make a report with its recommendations at the same meeting, if possible, but no later than the following meeting. A majority of the elected members present and voting shall be necessary to overturn the report of the By Laws Committee or to approve the change in the By Law. By Law change proposals which contradict the provisions of the Massachusetts Democratic Sate Party Charter cannot be considered.

C........ Unless and until amended or repealed by the elected members, these By Laws shall continue in effect from year to year and no formal motion shall be necessary at any meeting of the Committee in order that they continue in force.

Article XIV - ORDER OF BUSINESS

The order of business at meetings shall be as follows:

1. Calling the roll of officers and members and announcement of quorum (sign-in sheets may be used in lieu of roll call).

2. Reading the minutes of the previous meeting.

3. Treasurers Report

4. Reports of officers and committees.

5. Reading of communications addressed to the Committee.

6. Old or unfinished business.

7. New business.

8. State Committee Reports

9. Speaker

10.Adjournment.

The order of business may be waived by a two thirds vote of the elected members present and voting.

Article XV - MEETINGS

Regular meetings of the Committee shall be held at least four times in non election years and six times in election years, at least once each quarter.

Article XVI REMOVAL OF LOCAL MEMBERS

Members and officers pledge themselves, as elected officials, to perform diligently and honorably their duties or resign. Members of town and ward committees may be removed by procedures guaranteeing adequate notice and due process and by a majority vote of the entire membership of the committee of which he or she is a member for:

a. ...... Failure to attend at least half of the regularly scheduled committee meeting during any calendar year.

b......... Public support for or financial contribution to an opponent of a nominee of the democratic part which nominee publicly supports the platform of the Democratic party as adopted at the most recent state and national Democratic convention

c. ....... Unauthorized use of the Party name or resources

d......... Conviction after appeals are exhausted of a criminal offense other than a misdemeanor.

A member must be given an opportunity to resign before notice of the hearing on the question of removal is given to the membership of the committee.

A member removed under this section shall have 30 days to appeal to the Judicial Council (State Committee), and the vacancy may not be filled in such case until the final decision of the Judicial council is made.

_____________________________

News from the Chair!

2007-02-11T20:24:00.000-05:00

Dear Harwich Democrats,

I wanted to remind you that we have a caucus to elect delegates to the State Convention schedule for this Saturday, February 3rd at 11:00 am. in Town Hall, the Griffin Room.

We will be electing seven delegates and two alternates to the 2007 Issues Convention scheduled for Saturday, May 19th in Amherst. For those of you who have not attended previous conventions, the Issues Conventions are a great way to get involved.
Ray Gottwald

Dear Harwich Democrats;

Thanks to all of you who attended our caucus on Saturday. As a follow-up to our conversation, I have confirmed that Rep. Peake will speak at our next meeting on Tuesday, March 6th at 7:00 pm in Room 5 in the Community Center. Room 5 is located in the Council on Aging offices. Rep Peake will speak at the beginning of the meeting and than we can discuss other agenda items.

Also, if you plan on attending our Presidents Day Event on Monday, February 19th at the 400 east, please let me know ASAP.

Thanks again,

Ray Gottwald

Results of Harwich Caucus Elections:

Caucus Website

1, Ed Mc Manus, 2, John Bangert, 3, Mike Wade, 4, Chuck Micciche,
5, Sue Leven, 6, Polly Hemstock, 7, Jane Texiera Henry

Tuesday, March 6th, 2007 7: pm in Room #5, Harwich Community Center COA wing!

Our Speaker:
State Representative Sarah Peake

PEAKE ON THE HILL

2007-02-11T18:03:00.000-05:00

Our New State Representative Sarah Peake, with our new Governor, Deval Patrick

Freshman state Rep. Sarah Peake walks across the Grand Staircase in the Statehouse, at the start of a busy day on Beacon Hill and the first session for the new legislature.
(Merrily Lunsford)

By Steve Desroches
Thursday, January 25, 2007 - Updated: 01:43 PM EST

It’s cold and it’s snowing. Winter has arrived. Lynn Mogell is outside, scraping the windshield of her wife’s car. It’s a big day.

“Go on in,” said Mogell, with a smile that defies that frigid task she is undertaking. “Sarah’s inside. Go on in.”

It’s still pitch dark at 5:30 Tuesday morning. A warm glow is cast by the lights on in the kitchen of Heritage House in Provincetown, the guest house Mogell and Sarah Peake, the Outer Cape’s new state representative, live in and operate. While Peake was elected back in November and sworn in earlier this month, today is the first day the Massachusetts House of Representatives will assemble as a whole for the new legislative session.

“Hi, come on in,” said Peake as she holds open the door as it continues to snow. “Coffee?”

The table is covered with newspapers. Peake sips her coffee as she reads, looking for stories relevant to the 4th Barnstable District. She focuses on a story about the new discount prescription drug plan offered by the county, as well as a story about the state’s universal health care plan passed last year.

“It sounds like the wheels are falling off it,” said Peake as she grabs her bag and coat to begin the three-hour drive to Boston, something she will be doing several times a week for at least the next two years.

Before she heads out the door, Peake reviews the day’s schedule on her Blackberry, a technological gadget essential to keeping her day running smoothly.

“Let’s see, well, first we have to go pick up Dottie in Orleans,” she says, referring to her legislative aide Dottie Smith. “We have class elections at 9:30. I’m running for vice president. Then, an ethics meeting at 10. I’ll be in Therese Murray’s office, you know her – she’s the senator from up Cape. The Cape and Islands delegation will meet with folks from the Cape Cod Community Free Clinic. Then I’m going to go to the veterans agent luncheon, which should end just in time for when the Legislature convenes to vote on the new rules for the new session.”

As she walks out the door, Peake is saying what she hopes to squeeze in some “down time” during her day, which already appears fully scheduled.

She kisses Mogell goodbye.

“OK, my love,” said Peake. “I’ll see you sometime tonight.”

Traffic in the bullpen

The snow ends somewhere around Yarmouth and the traffic begins somewhere around Weymouth. It’s already been a long ride to Beacon Hill. And Peake has to be at the State House by 9:30 in time for the freshmen class elections. While it is largely a social position, it will be a useful networking tool to meet fellow representatives.

Her blue green sedan – with bumper stickers showing her support for Gov. Deval Patrick, her own campaign and Cape Cod-grown products, creeps along in bumper-to-bumper traffic. By 9, she passes the famous Corita Kent-painted gas tank with the blue stripe that hides an image of Ho Chi Minh, seen off Interstate 93. By 9:15 she’s headed for her parking space under the State House. At 9:45, Democratic freshmen representative Sarah Peake is elected vice president of the 17 “newbies” in the House.

There’s a flurry of “congratulations” in the “bullpen.” That’s the nickname given to Hearing Room 437, the large room all the new representatives share until they are assigned to committees and receive permanent office assignments. Of the 17 new representatives, there is only one Republican, who already has his own office. There are so few members of the GOP in the Legislature, they receive their committee assignments quicker and hence, an office. In fact, there are only 19 Republicans in the House, compared to 140 Democrats. Massachusetts is essentially tied with Idaho for the most members of one party in the State House, though for Idaho, it’s Republicans.

Any representative may serve on up to three committees. Peake has requested to be on committees relating to agriculture and natural resources, telecommunications, utilities and energy and financial services, committees she feels are related to issues important to her constituents. For example, aquaculture, shellfishing and fisheries fall under agriculture and natural resources.

“And don’t forget about my cranberry growers in Harwich,” said Peake, whose district includes seven towns, from Harwich to Provincetown.

She chose the energy committee because many of her towns are interested in pursuing alternative energy in general, and wind turbines in particular. Being on the financial services committee would be helpful as Cape Codders are grappling with sky-high home insurance, something she and the rest of the Cape and Islands delegates are trying to address.

She’s made her preferences clear, but there are no guarantees. No matter what committee she is on, Peake knows that she needs to deliver to her constituents not only the roughly 60 percent that voted for her, but the 40 percent that did not. So she said she has hit the ground running and filed her first piece of original legislation. As she promised during her campaign, Peake introduces an amendment to the Community Preservation Act, which creates funding for open space preservation, historic preservation and affordable housing. Peake wants to expand the definition of affordable housing to make more room for middle-income households. To do this, the income level eligible for affordable housing needs to include those that make 120 percent of the county’s median income, said Peake.

“I was at the Chatham Housing Summit and they found that about 30 percent of their population makes too much money to qualify for affordable housing, but makes too little to buy or rent at the market rate,” said Peake. “These are our police officers, firefighters and teachers. We must close this gap.”

Peake has about 10 minutes before a meeting on House ethics. What is she going to do with the unusually large amount of “down time”?

“Coffee and a trip to the bathroom,” says Peake, laughing.

But that only takes about two minutes. The other eight are filled with returning phone calls, opening the mail, checking e-mails, scheduling and preparing for other meetings peppered throughout the day. These tasks continue as Peake walks down the corridors and others scurry by, creating a hypnotic chorus of “click-clack, click-clack” of leather-soled shoes on the mosaic tiled corridors of the historic State House.

“I should be done about 11,” said Peake as she disappears into an elevator near the Hall of Flags, where each town in the commonwealth has a flag hanging from the rafters. (The press is not allowed to the ethics rules session.) She checks her Blackberry. One of her many e-mails is from Mogell and it’s a photo of the snow-covered moors in Provincetown. Peake smiles.

“I’ll be meeting with the veterans agents near the grand staircase. I’ll…”

The closing of the elevator doors cuts off her voice.

No longer the ‘good ol’ boys’ club

It’s 11 o’clock and the speeches have begun at the veterans agent luncheon. Peake is nowhere to be seen. For that matter, many of the listed attendees aren’t there yet. As the crowd grows, Peake, along with Smith, seem to suddenly appear. They were in the bullpen, catching up after meeting with the Cape Cod Community Free Clinic representatives and a quickly called meeting of the Women’s Caucus, which includes all female members of the Legislature. Peake joins 33 other women in the House. She is also the fifth openly gay or lesbian legislator serving in the 185th general court. This distinction, along with hailing from Provincetown, should garner her much attention as the issue of gay marriage appears before them again sometime this year.

Peake married Mogell soon after it became legal to do in May 2004. She has pledged to vote down any attempts to amend the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage rights. Being a woman and a lesbian in a government that is still largely run by white men may or may not be an issue. But it’s clear from the number of navy blue suits that Peake, along with her female colleagues, is still very much in the minority, but are successfully breaking up the “good ol’ boys” club.

But the controversial issue of gay marriage is far from the minds of legislators as they assemble with veterans agents in front of the Grand Staircase to talk about challenges facing the commonwealth’s former servicemen and women. State Rep. Robert DeLeo reads a chilling statistic: that one out of every three homeless people in America used to be a member of the armed services. And he goes on to say that the men and women returning from Iraq are not getting the services they need and deserve. Peake whispers that she has signed on to every piece of legislation regarding veterans services and assistance. Friday she is traveling with Cape Codders for Peace and Justice to Washington, D.C. to protest the war.

“I want to make sure that every veteran gets what they need when they return home,” said Peake. “And I’m going to Washington because I think we need to bring our troops home.”

The speeches are over and Peake weaves her way to the crowd and finds Norman Gill of Harwich, the veterans agent for the Outer Cape, along with Sidney Chase from the Hyannis office of the Department of Veterans Services. But it’s time to go. The Legislature is meeting at 1 p.m. It’s the first assembly of the new legislative body and it’s important to be on time.

Tick-tock, tick tock

It’s 1 clock and the Legislature is supposed to assemble. But, for the most part, the only people in the House of Representatives chamber are the 17 freshmen. The full body doesn’t assemble and call to order until about 2. At least that’s what it sounds like.

“I’d like to call the…..to order….take a….quiet….,” said a barely audible Speaker of the House Salvatore DiMasi into a sound system the state must have bought at an MBTA clearance sale.

He bangs the gavel and says something that sounds like “quiet” again and then turns to continue his conversation as the first speaker takes to the podium to debate the new rules for the House in the 2007 session. The crowd’s conversation drowns out the speaker.

“Cleon Turner warned me it was chaos,” said Peake on the way into the chambers, referring to the advice and words of caution the representative from Dennis gave her.

And it is. And it’s in this chaos that Peake will need to advance the interest and directives of her district, all at the same time as each and every other member is trying to do the same. The wheels of democracy are spinning, but the real work is getting them to spin in the same direction.

In addition to Peake’s legislation on the Community Preservation Act, she also refiled eight home rule petitions that didn’t make it through the last legislative session.

It’s impossible to hear exactly what all the conversations are about on the floor of the House. Some are small groups in a huddle, while others are loud and boisterous interrupted by laughter. Peake at first sits quietly, watching and listening, like most of the other freshmen. But soon she too is talking to the representatives around her. It’s how it works, for better or for worse.

It’s going on 3 o’clock and the first legislative session of year is far from over. The Republican leadership has introduced a series of amendments to the rules. After significant debate and 20 roll call votes, which fell along partisan lines, the Legislature closes the day’s activities around 5.

The day eventually ends, with another flurry of calls and e-mails. It’s getting dark in Boston, and by the time Peake and Smith hit the Sagamore Bridge, it’s nighttime. When they hit Orleans, it’s snowing and come Wellfleet, Route 6 is a mess.

It’s a long commute home, but Peake reaches a snowy Provincetown at 8 p.m., where Mogell is waiting to hear about the day’s events over dinner. They watch the State of the Union address and then Peake begins planning her schedule for tomorrow, checking her Blackberry before turning in. She sets the alarm clock for 5 a.m.