cop·ro·lite
[kop-ruh-lahyt]
–noun
Showing posts with label 22nd Congressional district. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 22nd Congressional district. Show all posts
Monday, July 25, 2011
Coprolite: A Good Vocabulary Word to Describe Congressman Maurice Hinchey
I found a good vocabulary word to describe Congressman Maurice Hinchey.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Do or Die Election 2010: Toward Freedom or Secession?
I have not been blogging because I have been busy with electoral politics. Like many who have been activated this year in response to the suicidal policies of America's selfish elite, I have not done so much on a practical level in many years. Like many, I do not love the mechanics of elections such as sign placement, phone banking, petitioning and the like, but do it as a calling. My friend Glenda McGee suggested that we are throwing pebbles in the large American lake, and causing ripples just as others are causing ripples that together will form waves and then a tsunami that will overwhelm the centralized power elite. Or so we hope.
The Republicans in Ulster County, New York have never been more visible. Signs are everywhere to the extent that one Republican in the Hudson Valley suggested that too many signs were placed. County Chair Robin Yess noted in response that the Democrats have vandalized numerous signs. Indeed, many of the Paladino signs I put up have been removed, undoubtedly by people who believe themselves to be more right and more intelligent than we are. This indeed raises doubts in my mind about the universalizability of ethical belief, the foundation of Immanuel Kant's philosophy. More murder has been committed by people who believe themselves to be the most right and to be the universal standard bearers of historical right than by psychopaths and sociopaths in the normal sense. The difference between someone who believes himself to know the absolute historical and universal right and someone who does not know what right and wrong are may be nil.
Our congressional candidate's, George Phillips's, performance has been amazing. Socialist extremist Democrat Maurice Hinchey has never had an opponent this visible. I am told that our congressional district, the New York 22nd, was set up by Pataki as a kind of toxic waste dump of college campuses from Vassar to Cornell and inner city districts (Binghamton, Ithaca, Poughkeepsie, Liberty and Monticello) that are left wing. In response, Representative Hinchey painted himself as a progressive; aimed to turn the Hudson Valley into a socialist park, and repeatedly attacked Israel. Even in a toxic waste district like New York's 22nd CD there are enough normal, decent people to resist. This is despite the pro-bailout left's domination of the local media.
On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday I put up dozens of signs in the Town of Olive and distributed calling lists to four or five members of the Town of Olive Republican Party. On Thursday McGee and I gave out handbills. On Friday night McGee and I helped local entrepreneur Mike Marnell stuff his Lincoln Eagle newspaper into saran wrap-like sleeves so that they can be tossed into thousands of driveways in the Hudson Valley. On Saturday we drove around the Towns of Olive and Marbletown distributing the Lincoln Eagle to two dozen diners, farm stands, supermarkets and other stores. As well we distributed the hand bill to farm stands and health food stores, many of whose proprietors said that they would give the handbills to their friends.
The response to our handbill was varied. On Friday several of us distributed them in Woodstock and the hard leftists there were often hostile, although many others were interested. Then, we went to Adams Fairacre Farms, a specialty store, and distributed them for about an hour until the proprietor chased us away. The reaction there was positive. In other words, all but the hard, ideological left were open to the handbill. The handbill was targeted at the left concerned with food issues.
The big news for us in Ulster County was George Phillips's national support in his run against Representative Maurice Hinchey. Phillips has received more than $500,000 from American Crossroads and television advertisements have been flooding the cable lines and air waves. In addition, Phillips was aided by Mayor Edward Koch, who endorsed him over Hinchey because of Hinchey's aggressively anti-Israel position. Given the toxic nature of the 22nd district, a Phillips victory will be amazing.
My prayers are with all of the Republican candidates this year, even the RINOs, because we need to take back the government from the extreme left and the Democratic Party and repeal the socialist laws that have created growing income inequality, a declining economy and an increasingly dictatorial government. My good friend Cortes de Russy is running as a GOP write-in candidate in New York's 18th CD against extremist socialist crank Nita Lowy. I blogged about their debate about two weeks ago. Lowy is ignorant about economics and about what America is. Lowy and her supporters have increasingly made it clear that we need to begin to think about secession. This is no longer a long term question, but one that we need to start planning for. The current state of America is unacceptable and many do not share any commitment to the type of government that the social democrats have created and favor. The Untied States government is stupid garbage, and unless we can free ourselves through the ballot box, more direct political action leading to greater instability will be necessary. In a sense then, this is a do or die election.
The Republicans in Ulster County, New York have never been more visible. Signs are everywhere to the extent that one Republican in the Hudson Valley suggested that too many signs were placed. County Chair Robin Yess noted in response that the Democrats have vandalized numerous signs. Indeed, many of the Paladino signs I put up have been removed, undoubtedly by people who believe themselves to be more right and more intelligent than we are. This indeed raises doubts in my mind about the universalizability of ethical belief, the foundation of Immanuel Kant's philosophy. More murder has been committed by people who believe themselves to be the most right and to be the universal standard bearers of historical right than by psychopaths and sociopaths in the normal sense. The difference between someone who believes himself to know the absolute historical and universal right and someone who does not know what right and wrong are may be nil.
Our congressional candidate's, George Phillips's, performance has been amazing. Socialist extremist Democrat Maurice Hinchey has never had an opponent this visible. I am told that our congressional district, the New York 22nd, was set up by Pataki as a kind of toxic waste dump of college campuses from Vassar to Cornell and inner city districts (Binghamton, Ithaca, Poughkeepsie, Liberty and Monticello) that are left wing. In response, Representative Hinchey painted himself as a progressive; aimed to turn the Hudson Valley into a socialist park, and repeatedly attacked Israel. Even in a toxic waste district like New York's 22nd CD there are enough normal, decent people to resist. This is despite the pro-bailout left's domination of the local media.
On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday I put up dozens of signs in the Town of Olive and distributed calling lists to four or five members of the Town of Olive Republican Party. On Thursday McGee and I gave out handbills. On Friday night McGee and I helped local entrepreneur Mike Marnell stuff his Lincoln Eagle newspaper into saran wrap-like sleeves so that they can be tossed into thousands of driveways in the Hudson Valley. On Saturday we drove around the Towns of Olive and Marbletown distributing the Lincoln Eagle to two dozen diners, farm stands, supermarkets and other stores. As well we distributed the hand bill to farm stands and health food stores, many of whose proprietors said that they would give the handbills to their friends.
The response to our handbill was varied. On Friday several of us distributed them in Woodstock and the hard leftists there were often hostile, although many others were interested. Then, we went to Adams Fairacre Farms, a specialty store, and distributed them for about an hour until the proprietor chased us away. The reaction there was positive. In other words, all but the hard, ideological left were open to the handbill. The handbill was targeted at the left concerned with food issues.
The big news for us in Ulster County was George Phillips's national support in his run against Representative Maurice Hinchey. Phillips has received more than $500,000 from American Crossroads and television advertisements have been flooding the cable lines and air waves. In addition, Phillips was aided by Mayor Edward Koch, who endorsed him over Hinchey because of Hinchey's aggressively anti-Israel position. Given the toxic nature of the 22nd district, a Phillips victory will be amazing.
My prayers are with all of the Republican candidates this year, even the RINOs, because we need to take back the government from the extreme left and the Democratic Party and repeal the socialist laws that have created growing income inequality, a declining economy and an increasingly dictatorial government. My good friend Cortes de Russy is running as a GOP write-in candidate in New York's 18th CD against extremist socialist crank Nita Lowy. I blogged about their debate about two weeks ago. Lowy is ignorant about economics and about what America is. Lowy and her supporters have increasingly made it clear that we need to begin to think about secession. This is no longer a long term question, but one that we need to start planning for. The current state of America is unacceptable and many do not share any commitment to the type of government that the social democrats have created and favor. The Untied States government is stupid garbage, and unless we can free ourselves through the ballot box, more direct political action leading to greater instability will be necessary. In a sense then, this is a do or die election.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Phillips: Hinchey’s Federal Park Proposal Will Do Harm
I just submitted this piece to Mike Marnell's Lincoln Eagle.
Kingston, August 2. In a press conference held on the courthouse steps on Wall Street, congressional candidate George Phillips outlined problems with incumbent Congressman Maurice Hinchey’s federal park proposal for the Hudson Valley. “Turning the Hudson Valley into a federal park would cause further economic decline here,” Phillips said. Phillips noted that the region’s economy is suffering and that the additional regulation and bureaucracy that the United States Parks Service would impose would cost even more jobs than have been lost during Mr. Hinchey’s tenure in office since 1992. Since then, employment in Ulster County has grown at one fifth of the national rate. Perhaps the best part of the economic picture in Ulster County is the inaccurate one that the Democratic media has painted concerning the “pork” that Mr. Hinchey has won. Although Hinchey has obtained pork, he has harmed the economy more generally, with a net economic loss to the region because of his incumbency. “Saying that Mr. Hinchey has been helpful to the economy here when employment growth in Ulster County has been a small fraction of the national average is silly,” Phillips noted in an extended interview at Dunkin’ Donuts after his press conference.
Even the Democratic Party media’s misleading depiction of the effects of Mr. Hinchey’s activities has been faltering. Phillips pointed out that on July 4 the New York Times reported on ethical malfeasance on Hinchey’s part. To avoid a congressional ban on earmarks to for-profit firms, Mr. Hinchey and his associates set up a shell corporation called the Solar Energy Consortium that received $30 million and is now improperly funneling the money to for-profit firms.
“But don’t believe for a minute that despite Mr. Hinchey’s ethical problems there is enough pork to undo the damage that he has done to the local economy,” Phillips noted. The county’s economy has declined since Mr. Hinchey assumed office in the early 1990s. The reason is a set of environmental regulations that Mr. Hinchey advocated called the “greenway.” Mr. Hinchey supports limiting economic growth in Ulster County, except for grants to his political supporters, and the outcome has been slower employment growth than elsewhere in the country. Now that the banking crisis has further limited growth, population is likely to exit the region. “Only wealthy summer residents from New York City can afford to live here because of Mr. Hinchey’s incumbency,” congressional candidate Phillips observed.
Mr. Phillips adds that almost every single pork project that Mr. Hinchey has obtained has involved “money being put into the Congressman’s own pockets or those of his cronies and donors.” Moreover, “Pork cannot compensate for the economically depressing regulation and high taxes that Mr. Hinchey has consistently supported.”
Phillips offers an alternative vision for the region: “less government, lower taxes and a new focus on ethics.”
Friday, June 25, 2010
Rethinking Congressman Hinchey
I just submitted the following article to the Lincoln Eagle in Kingston, NY.
The past year's political developments are frustrating. Many in Ulster County supported Barack Obama for president, expecting him to be an effective moderate, and instead found that he is an ineffective spendthrift whose policies mirror those of President George W. Bush. In 2009, President Obama and the Democratic Party increased federal spending as a percentage of gross domestic product by ten percent.
At the same time, many remain loyal to Democratic Congressman Maurice D. Hinchey, who served as a State Assemblyman for 18 years and has served in Congress for 17 years since then. Many feel loyalty to "Moe", for he grew up in Saugerties, worked his way through SUNY New Paltz as a toll collector and has represented Ulster County for 35 years.
But there are times when loyalty causes bad judgment. At the local watering holes I visit I hear people complain about taxes; government waste; government's increasing intrusion into their lives; and corrupt special interests that benefit from congressional earmarks. The same people say that they have voted for Mr. Hinchey because "You have to vote for Moe." But many of the problems about which they complain are directly due to Mr. Hinchey. In voting for him, voters are condemning Ulster County to a depressed economy; continued slow growth; and an impoverished future for their children and grandchildren.
Economic Performance
Ulster County's economic performance during Mr. Hinchey's tenure in office has been dismal. From 1993, the year of his election to Congress, until 2009 the number of people employed nationally has grown 18%, from 111 million to 131 million. In contrast, the number of people employed in Ulster County has grown by 8.5%, less than half the national increase. If 1990 is used as the base year, the growth in employment in Ulster County has been a mere 2.5% over 19 years. The stagnation in Ulster County's economy is matched by the stagnation in the County's population growth. As the national population increased about 23% from 1990 to 2009, Ulster County's population has grown by less than 15%. The reason is lack of jobs and a depressed business sector directly due to policies that Mr. Hinchey advocates.
If he has his way Mr. Hinchey will accelerate economic decline. This is so not only because of Democratic Party policies, such as Cap and Trade, that Mr. Hinchey supports but, as well, because of his proposal to turn the Hudson Valley into a federal park.
Mr. Hinchey's federal park proposal hearkens back to his pivotal role as chair of the State Assembly's Environmental Conservation Committee in the late 1980s and early 1990s when Governor Mario Cuomo announced the formation of a Commission on the Adirondacks in the 21st century. The commission proposed limiting development in the Adirondacks to 10 percent of the Park through zoning restrictions, according to the New York Times. Mr. Hinchey did not oppose this proposal, but after Republicans in the State Senate stopped it, Mr. Hinchey proposed re-establishing government review boards that would govern economic decisions and home development as well as limiting land use to a few primary uses such as farming, forestry and housing. Mr. Hinchey also proposed to limit transfer of land. In other words, he aimed to create a socialist dictatorship in the Adirondacks.
Mr. Hinchey’s bill did not pass, but it reveals much about his economic world view. At the time, the New York Times claimed that if the 245 points in Governor Cuomo's Commission were not implemented there would be environmental disaster. In fact, the proposals did not become law and there has been no disaster. Now, Mr. Hinchey proposes to turn the Hudson Valley into a federal park. In selling his proposal, he claims that his proposal will do no harm to the region’s economy. The meaning of the word “harm” is revealed in his proposal concerning the Adirondacks, which precisely parallels his more recent proposal for Utah. According to Rob Bishop in Deseret News.com Mr. Hinchey has proposed to “lock up 20 percent of the state (of Utah) from economic activity.” This would not be economically harmful to Utah in Mr. Hinchey’s view.
Congressman Hinchey and American Economic Decline
When Mr. Hinchey took office in 1993, the American national debt was $4.7 trillion. In nominal (not inflation adjusted) terms the national debt increased nearly threefold during Mr. Hinchey's years in Congress. Every Ulster County voter is now responsible for $43,000 in national debt (based on dividing the nation's debt by its population) because of policies that Mr. Hinchey has mostly supported. Last year the national debt was $11.9 trillion and this year it will likely be about $13 trillion. In voting for Maurice Hinchey for Congress you are voting to increase the national debt.
For instance, on its Website the National Taxpayers' Union (NTU) shows the fiscal impact of bills that each of 441 Congressional members has proposed. They compute a spending index by subtracting proposed bills that decrease spending from proposed bills that increase spending. According to the NTU Mr. Hinchey comes in 24th of 441, in the top 5.4%, in increasing spending. Mr. Hinchey proposed bills that increased spending by nearly $1.4 trillion last year, and he also proposed bills that decreased spending by $155 million. A large portion of the $1.4 trillion was attributable to his proposal for a single payer national health care system.
With the exception of the Bush-Obama bailout of Wall Street, Mr. Hinchey has supported a wide range of spending boondoggles which tend to benefit business, especially agribusiness and big labor, at public expense.
Mr. Hinchey voted against the lowering of medical costs through tort reform, a sop to the Trial Lawyers’ Association worth $54 billion to taxpayers over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. He voted against the balanced budget amendment. He supported the $14 billion bailout of the auto industry. He supported the 2009 Stimulus Bill that cost $787 billion. He voted for Omnibus HR 1105, which included 9,000 earmarks and expanded spending on the following government bureaucracies: Agriculture; Commerce; Justice; Science; Energy; Financial Services; Interior; Environment; Labor; Health and Human Services; Education; Legislative Branch; State; Transportation; Housing and Urban Development.
One of the most economically damaging bills to be debated in Congress is Cap and Trade. The Obama administration has predicted that the financial effect of its cap and trade proposal would be as though income taxes were increased by 15 percent. Put another way, the Congressional Budget Office found that Cap and Trade will cost the average homeowner $1,600 (with Republicans saying the cost may be twice that) while Martin Feldstein points out in the Washington Post that the reduction in carbon dioxide gas will be only 15 percent. Cap and Trade sounds like good economics to Mr. Hinchey. Being loyal to him may cost you as much as $3,000 per year due to Cap and Trade alone.
Earmarks and Corruption
WBNG News in Binghamton recently reported that Rockwell Collins, which had already received $4 million in earmarks from Mr. Hinchey after contributing $1,000 to his campaign fund, had received a $63 million US Navy award to open a defense plant in Binghamton.
Open Secrets.org reports that the following corporate interests have received donations from Mr. Hinchey via earmarks: : Endicott Interconnect Technologies; BAE Systems; Center for Grape Genetics; Solar Energy Consortium; C9 Corp; Precision Flow Technologies; Rockwell Collins; and Armor Dynamics. The earmarks range from $2.4 million to $4.8 million.
According to the Federal Election Commission, Mr. Hinchey received $347,499 in contributions in 2009-10. His corporate contributors include Agri-Mark; American Crystal Sugar Company; Applied Materials; BAE Systems (which also received earmarks from him); Boeing; Brown and Company; Northrop Grumman; General Dynamics; Honeywell International; L-3 Communications; and Lockheed Martin.
In the coming months the Lincoln Eagle will pursue Mr. Hinchey’s involvement with the Adirondack Park; his links to agribusiness; and the connections among a United Nations initiative called UN Agenda 21 and his proposed Hudson Valley Park.
Mitchell Langbert is associate professor of business, management and finance at Brooklyn College (CUNY) and is a member of the Town of Olive Republican Committee.
The past year's political developments are frustrating. Many in Ulster County supported Barack Obama for president, expecting him to be an effective moderate, and instead found that he is an ineffective spendthrift whose policies mirror those of President George W. Bush. In 2009, President Obama and the Democratic Party increased federal spending as a percentage of gross domestic product by ten percent.
At the same time, many remain loyal to Democratic Congressman Maurice D. Hinchey, who served as a State Assemblyman for 18 years and has served in Congress for 17 years since then. Many feel loyalty to "Moe", for he grew up in Saugerties, worked his way through SUNY New Paltz as a toll collector and has represented Ulster County for 35 years.
But there are times when loyalty causes bad judgment. At the local watering holes I visit I hear people complain about taxes; government waste; government's increasing intrusion into their lives; and corrupt special interests that benefit from congressional earmarks. The same people say that they have voted for Mr. Hinchey because "You have to vote for Moe." But many of the problems about which they complain are directly due to Mr. Hinchey. In voting for him, voters are condemning Ulster County to a depressed economy; continued slow growth; and an impoverished future for their children and grandchildren.
Economic Performance
Ulster County's economic performance during Mr. Hinchey's tenure in office has been dismal. From 1993, the year of his election to Congress, until 2009 the number of people employed nationally has grown 18%, from 111 million to 131 million. In contrast, the number of people employed in Ulster County has grown by 8.5%, less than half the national increase. If 1990 is used as the base year, the growth in employment in Ulster County has been a mere 2.5% over 19 years. The stagnation in Ulster County's economy is matched by the stagnation in the County's population growth. As the national population increased about 23% from 1990 to 2009, Ulster County's population has grown by less than 15%. The reason is lack of jobs and a depressed business sector directly due to policies that Mr. Hinchey advocates.
If he has his way Mr. Hinchey will accelerate economic decline. This is so not only because of Democratic Party policies, such as Cap and Trade, that Mr. Hinchey supports but, as well, because of his proposal to turn the Hudson Valley into a federal park.
Mr. Hinchey's federal park proposal hearkens back to his pivotal role as chair of the State Assembly's Environmental Conservation Committee in the late 1980s and early 1990s when Governor Mario Cuomo announced the formation of a Commission on the Adirondacks in the 21st century. The commission proposed limiting development in the Adirondacks to 10 percent of the Park through zoning restrictions, according to the New York Times. Mr. Hinchey did not oppose this proposal, but after Republicans in the State Senate stopped it, Mr. Hinchey proposed re-establishing government review boards that would govern economic decisions and home development as well as limiting land use to a few primary uses such as farming, forestry and housing. Mr. Hinchey also proposed to limit transfer of land. In other words, he aimed to create a socialist dictatorship in the Adirondacks.
Mr. Hinchey’s bill did not pass, but it reveals much about his economic world view. At the time, the New York Times claimed that if the 245 points in Governor Cuomo's Commission were not implemented there would be environmental disaster. In fact, the proposals did not become law and there has been no disaster. Now, Mr. Hinchey proposes to turn the Hudson Valley into a federal park. In selling his proposal, he claims that his proposal will do no harm to the region’s economy. The meaning of the word “harm” is revealed in his proposal concerning the Adirondacks, which precisely parallels his more recent proposal for Utah. According to Rob Bishop in Deseret News.com Mr. Hinchey has proposed to “lock up 20 percent of the state (of Utah) from economic activity.” This would not be economically harmful to Utah in Mr. Hinchey’s view.
Congressman Hinchey and American Economic Decline
When Mr. Hinchey took office in 1993, the American national debt was $4.7 trillion. In nominal (not inflation adjusted) terms the national debt increased nearly threefold during Mr. Hinchey's years in Congress. Every Ulster County voter is now responsible for $43,000 in national debt (based on dividing the nation's debt by its population) because of policies that Mr. Hinchey has mostly supported. Last year the national debt was $11.9 trillion and this year it will likely be about $13 trillion. In voting for Maurice Hinchey for Congress you are voting to increase the national debt.
For instance, on its Website the National Taxpayers' Union (NTU) shows the fiscal impact of bills that each of 441 Congressional members has proposed. They compute a spending index by subtracting proposed bills that decrease spending from proposed bills that increase spending. According to the NTU Mr. Hinchey comes in 24th of 441, in the top 5.4%, in increasing spending. Mr. Hinchey proposed bills that increased spending by nearly $1.4 trillion last year, and he also proposed bills that decreased spending by $155 million. A large portion of the $1.4 trillion was attributable to his proposal for a single payer national health care system.
With the exception of the Bush-Obama bailout of Wall Street, Mr. Hinchey has supported a wide range of spending boondoggles which tend to benefit business, especially agribusiness and big labor, at public expense.
Mr. Hinchey voted against the lowering of medical costs through tort reform, a sop to the Trial Lawyers’ Association worth $54 billion to taxpayers over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. He voted against the balanced budget amendment. He supported the $14 billion bailout of the auto industry. He supported the 2009 Stimulus Bill that cost $787 billion. He voted for Omnibus HR 1105, which included 9,000 earmarks and expanded spending on the following government bureaucracies: Agriculture; Commerce; Justice; Science; Energy; Financial Services; Interior; Environment; Labor; Health and Human Services; Education; Legislative Branch; State; Transportation; Housing and Urban Development.
One of the most economically damaging bills to be debated in Congress is Cap and Trade. The Obama administration has predicted that the financial effect of its cap and trade proposal would be as though income taxes were increased by 15 percent. Put another way, the Congressional Budget Office found that Cap and Trade will cost the average homeowner $1,600 (with Republicans saying the cost may be twice that) while Martin Feldstein points out in the Washington Post that the reduction in carbon dioxide gas will be only 15 percent. Cap and Trade sounds like good economics to Mr. Hinchey. Being loyal to him may cost you as much as $3,000 per year due to Cap and Trade alone.
Earmarks and Corruption
WBNG News in Binghamton recently reported that Rockwell Collins, which had already received $4 million in earmarks from Mr. Hinchey after contributing $1,000 to his campaign fund, had received a $63 million US Navy award to open a defense plant in Binghamton.
Open Secrets.org reports that the following corporate interests have received donations from Mr. Hinchey via earmarks: : Endicott Interconnect Technologies; BAE Systems; Center for Grape Genetics; Solar Energy Consortium; C9 Corp; Precision Flow Technologies; Rockwell Collins; and Armor Dynamics. The earmarks range from $2.4 million to $4.8 million.
According to the Federal Election Commission, Mr. Hinchey received $347,499 in contributions in 2009-10. His corporate contributors include Agri-Mark; American Crystal Sugar Company; Applied Materials; BAE Systems (which also received earmarks from him); Boeing; Brown and Company; Northrop Grumman; General Dynamics; Honeywell International; L-3 Communications; and Lockheed Martin.
In the coming months the Lincoln Eagle will pursue Mr. Hinchey’s involvement with the Adirondack Park; his links to agribusiness; and the connections among a United Nations initiative called UN Agenda 21 and his proposed Hudson Valley Park.
Mitchell Langbert is associate professor of business, management and finance at Brooklyn College (CUNY) and is a member of the Town of Olive Republican Committee.
Friday, August 15, 2008
George Phillips for Congress
I attended a fundraiser at the Steelhouse on the Rondout along the river in Kingston, NY for George Phillips, a Binghamton Republican who is challenging Maurice Hinchey. Raqul Okyay was there. Raquel blogs about the Phillips campaign here .
>"George Phillips worked as a high level aide for Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey, and has years of experience assessing and advancing community needs. George Phillips, if successful in November, will undoubtedly be a fresh face and much needed change in Congress. A Congress plagued with low approval ratings and the nickname 'do nothing'."
Okyay points out that incumbent Hinchey has been squandering taxpayer money on alternative energy schemes that apparently do not interest private sector investors or Hinchey himself, who has apparently not put any of his own money into Solar Thin Films, but has put the taxpayer on the hook for $50 million.
Phillips is fine candidate. He visited us at our West Shokan cabin in June, so the fundraiser was the second time we got to meet. He is a smart, dynamic candidate and would do a better job than the incumbent.
>"George Phillips worked as a high level aide for Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey, and has years of experience assessing and advancing community needs. George Phillips, if successful in November, will undoubtedly be a fresh face and much needed change in Congress. A Congress plagued with low approval ratings and the nickname 'do nothing'."
Okyay points out that incumbent Hinchey has been squandering taxpayer money on alternative energy schemes that apparently do not interest private sector investors or Hinchey himself, who has apparently not put any of his own money into Solar Thin Films, but has put the taxpayer on the hook for $50 million.
Phillips is fine candidate. He visited us at our West Shokan cabin in June, so the fundraiser was the second time we got to meet. He is a smart, dynamic candidate and would do a better job than the incumbent.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Holy Gas Cap: Congressman Maurice Hinchey Accused of Assault
A Rosendale, NY man has accused Congressman Maurice Hinchey, who proposed price controls on gasoline a month or two ago, of assault according to the Kingston Daily Freeman.
According to the Daily Freeman, "Paul Lendvay, 46, who is the chairman of the Catskill Regional Friends of the National Rifle Association" is planning to press charges against Hinchey because the two got into a scuffle at a street fair over a Winchester 94 Teddy Roosevelt commemorative rifle that Lendvay was displaying and because Hinchey refused to buy raffle tickets for the rifle, which he was admiring.
The Freeman adds: "Police said that, based on what they knew of the alleged incident, a charge of misdemeanor assault would be unwarranted. Harassment, a violation, would be the more likely charge, they said."
Hinchey's spokesman accused Lendvay of pressing charges for political purposes.
"Hinchey, first elected to Congress in 1992, is running this fall for his ninth two-year term in the House. His Republican opponent is expected to be George Phillips of Endwell."
In a separate Freeman article, Republican challenger George Phillips, a gallant, capable, well educated and handsome gentleman, questioned Hinchey's far fetched statistics concerning energy exploration:
"In a press release, Phillips - who lives in Endwell, near Binghamton - said Hinchey was using "rhetoric" and was "blocking new oil production" by continuing to support a ban on opening drilling in protected areas.
"Despite polls showing public support for offshore drilling at near 70 percent, including a majority of Californians and Alaskans, Hinchey continues to oppose tapping the 20 billion barrels of oil that the Department of the Interior says can be found in the areas currently closed to drilling," Phillips said in the prepared statement. "The United States is alone among developed nations in implementing such a ban on offshore drilling."
New York's 22nd Congressional district looks like it's going to have an interesting and tight race. With Hinchey getting into street scuffles and Phillips getting major traction on energy, Ulster County and the rest of the gerrymandered district may be looking at a Republican in Congress next year.
According to the Daily Freeman, "Paul Lendvay, 46, who is the chairman of the Catskill Regional Friends of the National Rifle Association" is planning to press charges against Hinchey because the two got into a scuffle at a street fair over a Winchester 94 Teddy Roosevelt commemorative rifle that Lendvay was displaying and because Hinchey refused to buy raffle tickets for the rifle, which he was admiring.
The Freeman adds: "Police said that, based on what they knew of the alleged incident, a charge of misdemeanor assault would be unwarranted. Harassment, a violation, would be the more likely charge, they said."
Hinchey's spokesman accused Lendvay of pressing charges for political purposes.
"Hinchey, first elected to Congress in 1992, is running this fall for his ninth two-year term in the House. His Republican opponent is expected to be George Phillips of Endwell."
In a separate Freeman article, Republican challenger George Phillips, a gallant, capable, well educated and handsome gentleman, questioned Hinchey's far fetched statistics concerning energy exploration:
"In a press release, Phillips - who lives in Endwell, near Binghamton - said Hinchey was using "rhetoric" and was "blocking new oil production" by continuing to support a ban on opening drilling in protected areas.
"Despite polls showing public support for offshore drilling at near 70 percent, including a majority of Californians and Alaskans, Hinchey continues to oppose tapping the 20 billion barrels of oil that the Department of the Interior says can be found in the areas currently closed to drilling," Phillips said in the prepared statement. "The United States is alone among developed nations in implementing such a ban on offshore drilling."
New York's 22nd Congressional district looks like it's going to have an interesting and tight race. With Hinchey getting into street scuffles and Phillips getting major traction on energy, Ulster County and the rest of the gerrymandered district may be looking at a Republican in Congress next year.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Maurice Hinchey on the Road to Serfdom
Fox News's Special Report with Brit Hume played a clip of my Congressman, Maurice Hinchey, advocating nationalization of the American oil companies. I have been concerned about inflation for the past year or two, and Hinchey's remarks suggest one reason. The instability and wealth transfer due to inflation lead to increased demand for authoritarian solutions. Increasing government control of oil companies will increase the authority of politicians but it will not reduce gasoline prices or increase exploration. In 1911 the Supreme Court broke up Standard Oil, the most efficient oil company of its day. The reason was to enhance competition. (The decision was misguided.) Now, Congressman Hinchey wishes to eliminate competition and establish a government-controlled oil monopoly.
Part of Congressman Hinchey's willingness to vent uninformed views without inhibition is that he has run unopposed for the past several Congressional elections. Hopefully, that will not be the case this year. A high school teacher from Binghamton, NY, George Phillips, is going to run against Mr. Hinchey. Mr. Phillips is disadvantaged for several reasons. First, New York's 22nd Congressional district is absurdly gerrymandered. (Mr. Hinchey corruptly designs his election district while he claims that he can run oil companies honestly and effectively.) Due to the gerrymandering, New York's 22nd Congressional district includes Poughkeepsie, the only point it is east of the Hudson, the southern and eastern Catskills, and then a thin strip that stretches west through Binghamton and Ithaca. This has the effect of including Poughkeepsie, New Paltz, Kingston, Binghamton and Ithaca, all Democratic, in one district. A second disadvantage is that Mr. Phillips is a newcomer to politics and is organizing a campaign from scratch.
Mr. Phillips can use all of the help and advice that he can get. Any support would be welcome. A defeat of Congressman Hinchey would remove a festering, reactionary sore from Congress.
Part of Congressman Hinchey's willingness to vent uninformed views without inhibition is that he has run unopposed for the past several Congressional elections. Hopefully, that will not be the case this year. A high school teacher from Binghamton, NY, George Phillips, is going to run against Mr. Hinchey. Mr. Phillips is disadvantaged for several reasons. First, New York's 22nd Congressional district is absurdly gerrymandered. (Mr. Hinchey corruptly designs his election district while he claims that he can run oil companies honestly and effectively.) Due to the gerrymandering, New York's 22nd Congressional district includes Poughkeepsie, the only point it is east of the Hudson, the southern and eastern Catskills, and then a thin strip that stretches west through Binghamton and Ithaca. This has the effect of including Poughkeepsie, New Paltz, Kingston, Binghamton and Ithaca, all Democratic, in one district. A second disadvantage is that Mr. Phillips is a newcomer to politics and is organizing a campaign from scratch.
Mr. Phillips can use all of the help and advice that he can get. Any support would be welcome. A defeat of Congressman Hinchey would remove a festering, reactionary sore from Congress.
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