Congress

In 2004 and 2006, I supported Leonard Boswell, Congressman from Iowa's third Congressional district. Boswell has been heavily targeted by the Republican party and tends to squeak by to victory. His age and health were issues in 2006. I supported him through it all.

This year I am supporting a primary challenger to Boswell with some reluctance. Bottom line is I am tired of having to defend the district against increasingly aggressive Republican challenges just waiting for Boswell to retire. The time for him to retire is now and there is an excellent alternative.

House Party for Steve Harrison for Congress
I am helping host this one along with Joy Romanski and Marjorie and Alan Gersten.
Sun., Apr. 27, 2008, 4:00 PM
Suggested Donation $50
Location: Willow Street, Apt 1, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Steve Harrison is against the war in Iraq, supporting a plan for withdrawal similar to those proposed by Bill Richardson and John Edwards. He supports strengthening port security as a better way of fighting terrorism than getting mired in Iraq.

NY Times Editorial Board endorsing Steve on his 2006 run:

"Mr. Harrison...is an attractive alternative to Mr. Fossella in his own right. Mr. Harrison has a presence in both sides of the district; he resides in Brooklyn, while his mother and sister live on Staten Island.

As chair of Community Board 10 in Brooklyn, he demonstrated leadership as he oversaw one of the city's largest efforts to contain overdevelopment through rezoning. He has a good command of the issues, and a feel for the concerns of the district. Mr. Harrison surprised many with his passion and keen intelligence in a series of debates with Mr. Fossella. The distinctions could not be clearer. We endorse Mr. Harrison for Congress."

Hosts: Alan and Marjorie Gersten, David Michaelson, Joy Romanski ~ and Jacob.

Sunday, April 27, 2008
From 3PM to 6PM
50 Willow Street, #1

Meet, Greet, and Eat at Mildred’s Meals (Kenbridge-Lunenburg County)
When: Tue Apr 15 07:30 – Tue Apr 15 08:30
Where: 109 E 5th Ave., Kenbridge, VA 23944

Tom Perriello, candidate for Congress in the VA-5 district, has worked with child soldiers, amputees, and local pro-democracy groups in Sierra Leone played a significant role in the peace and reconciliation process that ended twelve years of violence in that country. He then became Special Advisor and spokesperson for the International Prosecutor during the showdown that forced Liberian dictator Charles Taylor from power without firing a shot. After this success, Tom served as a national security analyst for the Century Foundation. He has worked inside Darfur and twice in Afghanistan. This is the kind of leadership we need in Congress!

Tom Perriello will be meeting the voters of the 5th District at Mildred's Meals in Kenbridge the morning of April 15th in Lunenburg County. All are welcome to come out to meet Tom!

The saga of government intrusion into the private lives of government workers continues. Congress is now taking up the issue of Homeland Security Presidential Directive #12, a directive intended to, quite reasonably, standardize ID cards in government facilities to include contractors and students.

I introduced the issues surrounding the implemtation of Homeland Security Presidential Directive #12 (HSPD #12) in Sept. of 2007. I discussed the way implementation of this directive requires a government employee to sign away their Constitutional Rights, allowing the government free access to their medical records, financial records, etc. I discussed the potential anti-gay aspect of one part of the process, the so-called "Suitability Matrix." And I published a resignation letter from a woman who had been an employee at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) for more than 30 years but resigned over the intrusive implementation of HSPD #12. Since then I have updated you on the ups and downs of the court case filed by some NASA employees. Currently there is an injunction preventing implementation of HSPD #12 at JPL pending an appeal, but where my wife works, the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in Manhattan, implementation continues. My wife has been told that all employees and contractors (she's a student) will be processed soon at GISS. For my wife it is a race between her finishing her Ph.D. and moving to a non-NASA job and the slow pace of the NASA bureaucracy demanding she sign away her rights to the government.

Newton Town Hall Meeting
Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - 11:30 AM
Please join Ed for a Town Hall Meeting and discussion about fair trade issues.
Uncle Nancy's Coffeehouse and Eatery, 114 N. 2nd Ave. West, Newton IA

Des Moines Town Hall Meeting
Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - 9:00 AM
Please join Ed for a Town Hall Meeting and discussion about fair trade issues.
Fair World Market, 116 5th Street, West Des Moines IA

Republican corruption has inspired voters to vote out a good chunk of the Republican leadership. Democrats have replaced Tom DeLay and Mark Foley. This coming Saturday, March 8th, voters might elect Democrat Bill Foster to replace the disgraced Dennis Hastert. Bill Foster is a successful busiessman and eminient physicist and would make an excellent Congressman. The race is very close.

Among Bill Foster's many supporters is Illinois Senator Barack Obama. Obama has taken time out of his presidential campaign to make an ad supporting Foster:

You can make a last minute contribution to elect Bill Foster to Congress through Senator Dick Durbin's Act Blue Site. And if you live in Illinois, you can volunteer on Saturday, March 8, for Bill's campaign: Marianne_at_foster08.com.

I have volunteered to be on the Host Committee for a fundraiser for one of the most amazing women I have ever met: Diane Benson running for Congress in Alaska. And she has been outraising her Republican opponent! Yes, folks, we have a real shot at getting rid of yet another corrupt Bush/Abramoff Republican and replacing him with a true working class American patriot.

Join me on March 18th for a fundraiser to benefit Alaska Congressional candidate Diane Benson. The event will be held at the home of Barbara and Morris Pearl, 1020 Park Avenue (corner of 85th Street) from 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM.

Our special guest speakers for the evening will be our local Congresswoman, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, and Jon Soltz, Co-Founder and Chairman of VoteVets.Org and a veteran of the Iraq War.

Diane Benson is a true American from a working class background, a former teamster and commercial fisherman, whose son lost both his legs serving in Iraq.

Diane Benson is very strong on important and progressive issues such as ending the Iraq War, veteran's benefits, developing and conserving the environment and extending quality health care and insurance to all. She is also a staunch supporter of the SCHIP program and of legislation to control the pharmaceutical industry.

I was reminded today by a foolish comment in another diary on Culture Kitchen by a global warming denier that this nation needs more common sense in Congress. The latest global warming denial foolishness is claiming that because it is cold this winter, global warming can't be happening. This is a huge fallacy. Trying to deny a century-long pattern based on a single season is about as wrong as you can get in science. What we need is more scientific input in Congress...and what better way to do that then electing a scientist to Congress. We have that chance March 8th in Illinois.

Corrupt Republican Dennis Hastert was the Congressman in the IL-14 district until he resigned in disgrace. Hastert was one of the leaders of the Republican Party who knew about and ignored, even covered up, the pedophilia of Republican Congressman Mark Foley.

Now Bill Foster, an eminent scientist at Fermilab and successful businessman, is running to take his place. This race pits Foster, who is against the Bush/McCain Iraq quagmire and for affordable healthcare, against pro-Bush, pro-War, right wing extremist Oberweis. The choice is clear. Bill Foster is the man.

Before he became a scientist, starting at age 19 and with $500 from their parents, Bill and his brother built a company that now manufactures over half of the theater lighting equipment in the United States. At Fermilab Bill is a leading scientist in elementary particle physics. He has also managed several multimillion dollar accelerator construction and research projects, and led teams of engineers and physicists to help build the latest round of Fermilab's giant particle accelerators. An impressive career as a businessman, scientist and manager. Experience that would be excellent in Congress.

The Sierra Club sent out an email today highlighting the efforts of another environmental organization, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV). LCV just put out their annual Congressional Scorecard, and the Sierra Club wants everyone to notice that John McCain received a big fat zero. McCain scored as low as anyone could on environmental issues.

Here is the email from the Sierra Club:

Two weeks ago John McCain was the only Senator to duck a crucial vote on the future of clean energy in America -- dooming to failure the measure that would have helped make renewable energy more affordable and accessible. Now it turns out this missed vote is part of a pattern.

Last week, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) released the 2007 National Environmental Scorecard giving Senator McCain a score of ZERO. According to the scorecard, McCain was the only member of Congress to skip all 15 crucial environmental votes scored by LCV.

Can you help spread the word about McCain's 0% environmental voting record and write a letter to the editor? The opinion page is widely read in most communities -- and a well-placed letter can reach a broad audience. We've included sample text to get you started.