Saturday, October 31, 2009

Two time B.C. Open winner Joey Sindelar rushed to hospital



SONOMA, Calif. -- Joey Sindelar withdrew from the Charles Schwab Cup Championship and was taken to a hospital after complaining of dizziness during the third round Saturday.


According to a Champions Tour spokesman, the Horseheads resident became dizzy after playing the 204-yard, par-3 fourth hole Saturday. He rested in between holes and tried to play the fifth before withdrawing.
Medical personnel attended to Sindelar at the Sonoma Golf Club, and the 51-year-old player was taken to a hospital for further tests.
Sindelar's wife, Sue, reached at their Horseheads home, said she spoke to her husband and he told her he had trouble breathing. She added that he seemed fine and was very talkative.
"They did some testing, did a CAT scan, checked to see there was no blood clot in the lung. They don't know," she said. "He got really short of breath and couldn't shake it. They thought it might be his heart, but it may be nothing."
Sindelar, a seven-time winner on the PGA Tour titles, was 7 under for the tournament before withdrawing. He was 1 under over his four holes Saturday, getting a birdie on the par-5 second hole.
"It's a shame. He was doing so well," Sue Sindelar said.
Joey Sindelar entered the season-ending Schwab Cup event eighth in points with 1,086. In 22 tournaments this year he's had seven top 10s, including a second-place finish behind Fred Funk in the U.S. Senior Open in August.

http://www.stargazette.com/article/20091031/SPORTS11/910310389/Sindelar+withdraws+after+dizziness+on+course

From the Facebook page of Sarah Palin


Sarah Palin's ode to Hoffman

From the Facebook page of Sarah Palin, who was one of the first leading national Republican figures to support Doug Hoffman's campaign:

I want to personally thank Republican Dede Scozzafava for acting so selflessly today in the NY District 23 race. Now it's time to cross the finish line with Doug Hoffman so that he can get to work for District 23 and the rest of America.

With Congress poised to overhaul one-sixth of our economy with so-called health care “reform” (which is really a government takeover of health care) and with plans to enact a cap-and-tax bill just as our economy struggles to recover, Doug Hoffman will be a voice for fiscal responsibility and common sense in Washington.

We need candidates like Doug now more than ever. In these final days of the campaign, it's vital that Doug continue to receive the enthusiastic support of those who want to bring common sense to Washington. Let’s help make it happen! You can help Doug by visiting his official website today and offering your support: https://www.doughoffmanforcongress.com/donate3.html

- Sarah Palin

http://www.politico.com/blogs/scorecard/1009/Sarah_Palins_ode_to_Hoffman.html

NY-23 candidate Dede Scozzafava drops out of race


By VALERIE BAUMAN, Associated Press Writer
ALBANY, N.Y. – Fighting plunging support, Republican Dierdre Scozzafava abruptly suspended her campaign Saturday in the 23rd Congressional District special election that has exposed a rift among national factions of the party.
Campaign spokesman Matt Burns said Scozzafava thinks stepping aside is for the best of the party. He said Scozzafava is essentially withdrawing from the race, although her name will remain on Tuesday's ballot.
"It is increasingly clear that pressure is mounting on many of my supporters to shift their support," Scozzafava said in a written statement. "Consequently, I hereby release those individuals who have endorsed and supported my campaign to transfer their support as they see fit."
The announcement comes after a Siena College poll found she was in third place with 20 percent of the vote in the heavily Republican district that has been safe ground for the party for more than 100 years. Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman and Democratic nominee Bill Owens were too close to call with 35 percent and 36 percent, respectively.
The race has pitted conservative and moderate wings of the Republican Party against each other in a battle of ideology. The special election in New York's rural north has received national attention as big-name Republicans including Sarah Palin, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson have thrown their support behind Hoffman. Money poured into Hoffman's campaign from all over the country.
"In today's political arena, you must be able to back up your message with money — and as I've been outspent on both sides, I've been unable to effectively address many of the charges that have been made about my record," Scozzafava said.
Some have called the race a test of the GOP's future: whether traditional conservative ideology would lead the way forward or if a more inclusive approach would draw more people back to the party. Hoffman and his backers said Scozzafava was too liberal to truly represent the Republican party, specifically noting her support of abortion rights and same-sex marriage.
Hoffman didn't address Scozzafava's action directly, instead targeting national Democrats.
"It's time for us to send a message to Washington — we're sick and tired of big-spending, high-taxing, career politicians," Hoffman said in a statement Saturday after Scozzafava's announcement.
The Owens campaign didn't immediately return calls for comment.
A Republican loss in the 23rd will leave the party with just two seats in the 29-member state congressional delegation.

http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/New-York/photo//ydownload_ap/20091030/photos_net_ap_pl/1256914876//s:/ap/us_ny_special_election

Friday, October 30, 2009

Make Hudson Valley part of the National Park Service?


Should the Hudson Valley be included as a unit of the National Park service.

By Adam Bosch
Times Herald-Record
Posted: October 30, 2009 - 3:13 PM
KINGSTON — Congressman Maurice Hinchey wants the federal government to adopt the Hudson River Valley as a unit of the National Park Service.

The designation would make the valley eligible for more federal grants to boost conservation, historic preservation and tourism.

Hinchey, D-Hurley, has authored legislation to fund a federal study that would determine whether the Hudson River Valley fits into one of the National Park Service programs. Dan Ahouse, Hinchey’s chief of staff, said they’re specifically focused on getting the region into the national river and recreation area program.

If Hinchey’s bill is adopted, it would fund the two-year study in 2010. Ahouse said the National Park Service would study the river and counties that abut the river stretching from Fort Edward to the southern-most tip of Westchester County.

The home of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Vanderbilt Mansion, both in Hyde Park, and the Upper Delaware River are among the local places already included as units of the National Park Service. The Hudson River is considered a National Heritage Area by the park service.

Hinchey will discuss his plans in more detail Monday at 11 a.m. at the Hudson River Maritime Museum in Kingston.

abosch@th-record.com

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091030/NEWS/910309975

Maurice Hinchey and the Helicopter contract here we go again


This is quite amazing. Just a few months ago New York's 22nd district Congressman Maurice Hinchey assured everyone in the Southern Tier that Lockheed Martin's Presidential Helicopter contract could be saved. Earlier this month Hinchey issued a statement that the chances of saving the copter program were 50/50. Today Hinchey issued another statement saying that he was confident that the Copter program could be saved. We need a rep that's not going to make decisions based on the direction that the wind is blowing.


By My-Ly Nguyen •mnguyen@gannett.com • October 29, 2009, 5:25 pm
OWEGO -- When it comes to funding the canceled presidential helicopter program, it's not over until it's over.


And that could be as early as next week or well into November, said Jeff Lieberson, spokesman for U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-Hurley.
President Barack Obama may have signed a defense authorization bill Wednesday that does not include funding to continue Lockheed Martin's development of helicopters to replace his aging fleet, but that bill merely sets guidance for defense spending. It's the congressional appropriations committees that decide what is funded, Lieberson said.
"They actually cut the checks, so to speak," he said.
Most of the time, appropriations follow the guidelines set by the administration, Lieberson said. But there are times when those appropriations differ.
Hinchey is on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, which earmarked $485.2 million for the helicopter program. The Senate did not include the copter funding in its version of the defense budget for fiscal 2010.
Both sides have been working to reconcile differences between their respective defense spending bills, including figuring out whether the presidential helicopter program will get the money it needs to advance in the joint, unified version of the spending plan.
"Congressman Hinchey and I are talking and working on this every day, pressing the leaders of the committee who control funding and making our arguments on the merits," U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said. "It is a difficult fight, but one we are waging as hard as we can."
The hope was that the conference committee would have wrapped up this reconciliation process on the presidential copter and other defense projects a few weeks ago.
"It's certainly not over," Lieberson said. "Our goal all along has been to fund the helicopter through the appropriations process. ... This doesn't change anything at all."
Earlier this month, Hinchey said chances are "50-50" that House and Senate leaders will restore the helicopter funding.
the canceled presidential helicopter program, it's not over until it's over.

And that could be as early as next week or well into November, said Jeff Lieberson, spokesman for U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-Hurley.
President Barack Obama may have signed a defense authorization bill Wednesday that does not include funding to continue Lockheed Martin's development of helicopters to replace his aging fleet, but that bill merely sets guidance for defense spending. It's the congressional appropriations committees that decide what is funded, Lieberson said.
"They actually cut the checks, so to speak," he said.
Most of the time, appropriations follow the guidelines set by the administration, Lieberson said. But there are times when those appropriations differ.
Hinchey is on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, which earmarked $485.2 million for the helicopter program. The Senate did not include the copter funding in its version of the defense budget for fiscal 2010.
Both sides have been working to reconcile differences between their respective defense spending bills, including figuring out whether the presidential helicopter program will get the money it needs to advance in the joint, unified version of the spending plan.
"Congressman Hinchey and I are talking and working on this every day, pressing the leaders of the committee who control funding and making our arguments on the merits," U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said. "It is a difficult fight, but one we are waging as hard as we can."
The hope was that the conference committee would have wrapped up this reconciliation process on the presidential copter and other defense projects a few weeks ago.
"It's certainly not over," Lieberson said. "Our goal all along has been to fund the helicopter through the appropriations process. ... This doesn't change anything at all."
Earlier this month, Hinchey said chances are "50-50" that House and Senate leaders will restore the helicopter funding.

http://www.pressconnects.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009910290380

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

George Phillips to run for Congress


George Phillips a Republican,Conservative from Endwell New York has announced that he will be running for New York's 22nd Congressional Seat against Maurice Hinchey a progressive Democrat in 2010. George was born and raised in Endwell near Binghamton, NY. He graduated from Seton Catholic high scool in 1994. George obtained the Thomas Watson Scholarship from IBM, which helped him pay for college at Villanova University. He also worked for three summers during college in manufacturing at IBM’s plant in Endicott. Upon graduating from Villanova summa cum laude in 1998, George was accepted to the University of Notre Dame’s volunteer teacher training program. He taught high school in Louisiana for two years and obtained a Master’s Degree from Notre Dame in 2000.

In Washington, DC, George taught for a brief time as a long term substitute in inner city DC Public Schools before landing a position with Congressman Chris Smith of New Jersey in 2001, then the Chairman of House Veterans’ Affairs Committee and Vice Chairman of the House International Relations Committee.
George worked on foreign affairs, business, immigration and senior issues for Congressman Smith. He was fortunate to handle part of Smith’s foreign affairs portfolio in the days following the 9/11 terrorists attacks and assisted on several bills that were signed into law, including the Victims of Trafficking Protection Act.

In 2005, George returned to the Binghamton area to teach Social Studies and Theology classes at his alma mater, Seton Catholic Central. He also teaches government at Broome Community College.
In 2005, he also married Diana Quintero. They have a young son George Joseph, and live in a house in Endwell near George’s parents.



Work on Fairness Doctrine
George’s opponent, Congressman Maurice Hinchey has been a long-time champion of the so-called “Fairness Doctrine,” a policy that would blatantly violate free speech rights of talk radio hosts by mandating that they give equal time to all viewpoints.
With Hinchey going recently going on CNN to say that he would be pushing legislation on the Fairness Doctrine soon, George designed to launch a new website called “Stop the Fairness Doctrine Now” to generate support against this move to limit the freedom of speech.

Will Rudy Giuliani run for Governor of NY?


State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has sent word to former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani that he will run for governor of New York next year.

That's according to the "New York Post," which says the confidential message was recently conveyed to Giuliani as a courtesy and a heads-up that he will face a brutal battle should he also decide to run for governor.

The article quotes sources as saying Cuomo is in no hurry to publicly announce his intentions, as he wants to stay focused on his current job duties.

Despite public opinion polls showing Cuomo easily beating Governor David Paterson in a Democratic primary, Paterson insists he will seek election in 2010 no matter what Cuomo decides to do.


http://rochesterhomepage.net/content/fulltext/?cid=129162

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

CNN Flops

CNN in Last Place –
James Joyner | Tuesday, October 27, 2009

CNN has dropped to fourth place in the cable news business it invented. And Fox continues to rise while under fire from the administration.

CNN, which invented the cable news network more than two decades ago, will hit a new competitive low with its prime-time programs in October, finishing fourth – and last – among the cable news networks with the audience that all the networks rely on for their advertising. The official monthly numbers will be finalized at 4 p.m. Monday and will include results from Friday. CNN executives conceded that will not change the competitive standing for the month. CNN will still be last in prime time.

That means CNN’s programs were behind not only Fox News and MSNBC, but even its own sister network HLN (formerly Headline News.) Three of its four shows between 7 and 11 p.m. finished fourth and last among the cable news networks. That was the first time CNN had finished that poorly with its prime-time shows.

The results demonstrate once more the apparent preference of viewers for opinion-oriented shows from the news networks in prime time. CNN has steered opinion hosts like Nancy Grace to HLN, while maintaining more news-oriented shows on CNN itself. When news events are not being intensely followed, CNN executives acknowledge, viewers seem to be looking for partisan views more than objective coverage.

Individually, the CNN shows were beaten resoundingly by all the Fox News programs, but also lost to all of the MSNBC programs, including a repeat of Keith Olbermann’s 8 p.m. edition of “Countdown,” which beat the 10 p.m. hour of CNN’s signature prime-time program, “Anderson Cooper 360.” Again that was a first. Mr. Cooper had 211,000 viewers to 223,000 for Mr. Olbermann’s repeat. That meant Mr. Cooper finished fourth and last in the 10 p.m. hour because, besides being well behind the leader, Greta Van Susteren, who had 538,000 viewers, he was also beaten by a repeat of Nancy Grace’s 8 p.m. show on HLN, which averaged 222,000.

[...]

CNN executives emphasized that the network continues to draw more viewers than all its competitors except Fox News when all hours of the day are counted. CNN released a statement Monday saying, “CNN’s ratings are always going to be more dependent on the news environment, much more so than opinion-based programming especially in prime time.”

Now, of course, none of this answers the question as to whether Fox is a news network or a partisan outlet. (In my opinion — granted, as someone who has all but stopped watching television news in recent years — it’s both.) But it does show what the people want to see.

I personally find most of the cable news hosts insipid, if not grating. (The exceptions, ironically, are the faux anchors Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, who manage to be smart and charming even while being partisan.) But it’s human nature to prefer routine. So, people who are in the mood for public affairs chat during prime time will naturally gravitate to their favorite news personality on at that hour and make that appointment viewing.

Indeed, the preference for host-based, periodic program over “whatever’s happening now” goes beyond news. ESPN’s most popular programs are “Pardon the Interruption” and its lead-in “Around the Horn.” Viewers — certainly, this viewer — are annoyed when “PTI” is pre-empted for some live sporting event such as the Little League World series or, say, women’s golf. And the music channels all moved from showing videos of popular songs to more routine, familiar programming.

This is even more understandable in the Internet age. People who are interested in news — whether about public affairs, sports, or the weather — can get it when they want it, how they want it. There’s no longer much point in waiting for the 6:30 or 11:00 news. Even shows like “SportsCenter,” which were a godsend 20 years ago, are now boring blather since it’s an hour talking about things viewers knew about hours earlier. Indeed, it’s gotten so bad that they chopped off the last five minutes of “PTI” and hide it somewhere during the ensuing “SportsCenter” episode, forcing people to either miss the end of the show or watch a show they otherwise wouldn’t. (Or, in my case, TiVo “PTI” for 90 minutes and fast-forward though both the commercials and non-”PTI” segments of “SportsCenter.”)

Postscript: In terms of sheer business, it’s conceivable that CNN is making a good decision here. They’ve essentially divided their network into two components, so CNN and HLN both contribute to the bottom line. The question is whether the amount of money spent on retaining name brand hosts 1) pays for itself in higher ratings and 2) offsets the cost of covering the news.

http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/cnn_in_last_place_-_behind_msnbc_reruns/

Joe Liberman says no to public option


Independent Sen. Joseph Lieberman said Tuesday he would join a Republican filibuster to block the final vote on any health care bill that has a government-run public health insurance option.

Lieberman's vote is crucial to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's hopes of passing a health care bill that includes the controversial public option. Reid announced Monday he would send to the full Senate a health care bill that has a public option but also allows states to opt out of that provision.

Lieberman said he would support a vote to launch debate on the health care bill but would oppose a motion to end debate if the public option remains in the legislation. Democrats would need 60 votes in the 100-member Senate to close debate on the bill, and the Democratic caucus has 60 members, including Lieberman.

"I can't see a way in which I can vote for cloture on any bill that contained a creation of a government-operated and run insurance company," the Connecticut senator said. "It's just asking for trouble."

Also Tuesday, two other conservative-leaning Democratic senators, Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, said they would decide how to vote once they see the final bill.

"I'm not going to make any kind of commitment until I see the bill," Nelson said, adding that he has not given Reid any assurance or "secret" acknowledgment of support.

Reid needs the support of Lieberman, Nelson, Landrieu and several other conservative or moderate caucus members to ensure that he has enough votes to prevent Republicans from blocking action on a health care bill. His Republican counterpart, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, on Tuesday promised a filibuster against both introducing the health care bill and later closing debate on it.

"Well, it's fairly routine around the Senate that controversial matters require 60 votes," McConnell told reporters. "I mean, there's no question it'll require 60 votes to get on the bill and it'll require 60 votes to get off the bill."

Reid's decision to include any form of public option was a major victory for the more liberal wing of the Democratic Party. He included the state opt-out provision to try to win support of conservative and moderate caucus members


Individual states would have until 2014 to decide whether they wanted to opt out, according to Reid, a Nevada Democrat facing tough re-election prospects next year.

Opting out would require action by state legislatures, two Democratic sources told CNN on Tuesday. If the state's governor vetoed the bill, the legislature could still enact it by overriding the veto, they said.

Reid has been melding legislation from the more conservative Senate Finance Committee and the more liberal Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.

The Health Committee included a form of the public option in its bill, while the Finance Committee did not.

On the House side, Speaker Nancy Pelosi has insisted the chamber pass a health care reform bill that includes a public option.

Republicans oppose a public option, saying it would drive private insurers out of the market and eventually lead to a government takeover of the health care system.

Democrats call such claims fear-mongering and say a public option is the best way to bring competition to the market. President Obama has called a public option the best way to help achieve major goals of health care reform, including expanded coverage and lower costs.

The president has not, however, indicated that he would veto a bill without such a provision.

Several top Democrats have previously expressed concern that the traditionally conservative Senate would not pass a bill with a public option.

Reid's health care bill, which will be given a cost assessment by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, also includes a provision from the Finance Committee bill allowing for the creation of nonprofit health care cooperatives that would negotiate collective insurance coverage for members.

The majority leader's strategy of publicizing his intention was risky, multiple sources said.

Reid said Tuesday that much work remains in the amendment process of debating the bill, indicating possible compromises in the complex legislation that overhauls the nation's health care system.

"There are a lot of senators, Democrat and Republicans, who don't like part of what's in this bill," Reid said. Asked specifically about Lieberman's opposition to a public option, Reid said Lieberman would support opening debate on the bill, "and I'm sure he'll have some interesting things to do in the way of an amendment.

"But Joe Lieberman is the least of Harry Reid's problems," he said.

Lieberman, asked by CNN about a possible Democratic backlash against his stance, said he was thinking of what is best for Connecticut and the country.

"I was re-elected as an independent," Lieberman said. "I've got an obligation to the voters of Connecticut and I've got an obligation most of all to do what's best for the United States of America, so I'm not going to worry about the political ramifications in a way that will stop me from doing what I think is right."

Reid, meanwhile, also expressed disappointment at the virtually unanimous Republican opposition to Democratic-led health care reform efforts.

He also expressed disappointment about the virtually unanimous Republican opposition to Democratic-led health care reform efforts.

"When I came here, we had Republicans and Democrats work together," Reid said. "But you can't dance if your partner is unwilling to get off the chair."

On Monday, Reid said he hoped to eventually win over Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe, the lone Republican to back the Finance Committee bill. Snowe has indicated her preference for a "trigger" provision that would mandate creation of a public health insurance option in the future if specific thresholds for expanded coverage and other changes were not met.

Snowe issued a statement Monday saying she was "deeply disappointed" about Reid's decision on the public option. She said that a decision in favor of a trigger "could have been the road toward achieving a broader bipartisan consensus in the Senate."

Reid, in turn, said he was "disappointed that the one issue, the public option, has been something that's frightened" Snowe.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/10/27/health.care/index.html

Monday, October 26, 2009

Give up meat to save the planet?



You read the title correctly. Lord Stern suggests that giving up meat will save the planet.

People will need to consider turning vegetarian if the world is to conquer climate change, according to a leading authority on global warming.

In an interview with The Times, Lord Stern of Brentford said: “Meat is a wasteful use of water and creates a lot of greenhouse gases. It puts enormous pressure on the world’s resources. A vegetarian diet is better.”

Direct emissions of methane from cows and pigs is a significant source of greenhouse gases. Methane is 23 times more powerful than carbon dioxide as a global warming gas.

Lord Stern, the author of the influential 2006 Stern Review on the cost of tackling global warming, said that a successful deal at the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December would lead to soaring costs for meat and other foods that generate large quantities of greenhouse gases.


He predicted that people’s attitudes would evolve until meat eating became unacceptable. “I think it’s important that people think about what they are doing and that includes what they are eating,” he said. “I am 61 now and attitudes towards drinking and driving have changed radically since I was a student. People change their notion of what is responsible. They will increasingly ask about the carbon content of their food.”

Lord Stern, a former chief economist of the World Bank and now I. G. Patel Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics, warned that British taxpayers would need to contribute about £3 billion a year by 2015 to help poor countries to cope with the inevitable impact of climate change.

He also issued a clear message to President Obama that he must attend the meeting in Copenhagen in person in order for an effective deal to be reached. US leadership, he said, was “desperately needed” to secure a deal.

He said that he was deeply concerned that popular opinion had so far failed to grasp the scale of the changes needed to address climate change, or of the importance of the UN meeting in Copenhagen from December 7 to December 18. “I am not sure that people fully understand what we are talking about or the kind of changes that will be necessary,” he added.

Up to 20,000 delegates from 192 countries are due to attend the UN conference in the Danish capital. Its aim is to forge a deal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions sufficiently to prevent an increase in global temperatures of more than 2 degrees centigrade. Any increase above this level is expected to trigger runaway climate change, threatening the lives of hundreds of millions of people.

Lord Stern said that Copenhagen presented a unique opportunity for the world to break free from its catastrophic current trajectory. He said that the world needed to agree to halve global greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 to 25 gigatonnes a year from the current level of 50 gigatonnes.

UN figures suggest that meat production is responsible for about 18 per cent of global carbon emissions, including the destruction of forest land for cattle ranching and the production of animal feeds such as soy.

Lord Stern, who said that he was not a strict vegetarian himself, was speaking on the eve of an all-parliamentary debate on climate change. His remarks provoked anger from the meat industry.

Jonathan Scurlock, of the National Farmers Union, said: “Going vegetarian is not a worldwide solution. It’s not a view shared by the NFU. Farmers in this country are interested in evidence-based policymaking. We don’t have a methane-free cow or pig available to us.”

On average, a British person eats 50g of protein derived from meat each day — the equivalent of a chicken breast or a lamb chop. This is a relatively low level for a wealthy country but between 25 per cent and 50 per cent higher than the amount recommended by the World Health Organisation.

Su Taylor, a spokeswoman for the Vegetarian Society, welcomed Lord Stern’s remarks. “What we choose to eat is one of the biggest factors in our personal impact on the environment,” she said. “Meat uses up a lot of resources and a vegetarian diet consumes a lot less land and water. One of the best things you can do about climate change is reduce the amount of meat in your diet.”

The UN has warned that meat consumption is on course to double by the middle of the century.


http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article6891362.ece

Mark your calendars


CHICAGO (AP) — Sarah Palin is going to sit down with Oprah Winfrey.
Harpo Productions announced Tuesday that the former governor of Alaska and Republican vice presidential candidate will appear on The Oprah Winfrey Show on Monday, Nov. 16.

According to Harpo, the interview will be Palin's first about her new book, Going Rogue: An American Life, and it will be the first time Palin and Winfrey will meet.

Palin's book was No. 4 on Amazon.com's best-seller list on Tuesday. It's slated to be released Tuesday, Nov. 17, the day after Palin's interview with Winfrey.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2009-10-20-oprah-winfrey_N.htm?csp=34

Fire Prevention/Fire Safety


The link posted below is to a website that is dedicated to informing the public on the proper techniques for fire prevention and fire safety. Check out the site and say hello to Firemanrich.


http://bit.ly/yPabb

Sunday, October 25, 2009

New Feature

A new feature that has been added to the George Phillips for Congress blog site is an integrated search bar from google located on the top and also on the middle right portion of the blog. You don't have to leave our blog site if you would like to look up some more info on George Phillips for Congress or anything else that you would like to research.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Gingrich endorses Dede Scozzafava






Newt Gingrich endorses Dede Scozzafava in NY-23 House race
By Mark Weiner / The Post-Standard
October 16, 2009, 2:01PM
Newt Gingrich, the leader of the "Republican Revolution," was House Speaker from 1995 to 1999. Washington -- In a major coup for her campaign, Republican Dede Scozzafava today will pick up the endorsement of Newt Gingrich, one of the nation’s leading conservative figures and the architect of the “Republican Revolution” in the mid-1990s.
“The special election for the 23rd Congressional District is an important test leading up to the mid-term 2010 elections,” Gingrich said in a statement to supporters. “Our best chance to put responsible and principled leaders in Washington starts here, with Dede Scozzafava.”
The endorsement is important for Scozzafava, a social moderate, as she attempts to hold onto a conservative base eroded by Doug Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate in the thee-way 23rd District race.
A Siena Research Institute poll released Thursday found Hoffman, who claims he is the “real Republican” in the race, gaining ground with the support of 23 percent of voters in the 11-county district.
Scozzafava was favored by 29 percent and Democrat Bill Owens by 33 percent of likely voters in the poll conducted Sunday through Tuesday. Scozzafava led the pack by 4 percentage points only two weeks ago.
Hoffman has mounted a late surge in the special election with endorsements by prominent conservatives that include former Republican Sen. Fred Thompson; Campaign for Working Families founder Gary Bauer; and the conservative Club for Growth in Washington, D.C.
Scozzafava's candidacy is also reported to have triggered a deep divide among House Republicans, with some of the most conservative members refusing to support her campaign.
But Gingrich, who served as Speaker of the House from 1995 to 1999, wants to unite the party. He sees Scozzafava and the Upstate special election – the only House race in the nation this fall -- as the best hope for Republicans to start a comeback and regain control of Congress.
Gingrich is apparently willing to overlook Scozzafava’s support for same-sex marriage and abortion rights.
“The Republican Revolution in 1994 started very much like what we see today,” Gingrich said in his statement. “Like then, our country is reeling from misguided liberal policies, high taxes and out-of-control spending. This special election in New York’s 23rd Congressional District could be the first election of the new Republican Revolution, but we need the momentum to get it started.”
Gingrich noted that Scozzafava agrees with him on many of the key issues of the day, including her opposition to a cap-and-trade bill to limit pollution associated with climate change.
Scozzafava is seeking to fill the seat vacated by Army Secretary John McHugh, who was among only eight Republicans in the House of Representatives to support the bill, which narrowly passed earlier this year.
McHugh said he voted for the bill because Democratic leaders agreed to include provisions to set new limits on the pollution that causes acid rain, which has damaged lakes and forests across the Adirondacks -- a large part of the sprawling 11-county district.

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2009/10/newt_gingrich_endorses_dede_sc.html

Health Care

George believes that we need to look for solutions to make health care more affordable for business and the uninsured. However, he opposes a government take over of the health care industry, believing that the overall costs and inefficiencies of government will make matters even worse.

ACORN

I'm sure by now most people are familiar with the group known as ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now). ACORN has been the subject of public controversy over embezzlement, management fights, voter registration fraud and other misconduct committed by its workers. ACORN employees were caught on tape explaining to a couple posing as a pimp and a prostitute how to avoid paying taxes and how to qualify for a mortgage that the couple planned to use as a brothel. On September 17, 2009 a vote was taken prohibiting federal assistance to ACORN. It passed 345-75. Congressman Maurice Hinchey New York's 22nd district rep voted to keep on Funding ACORN.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Romney hosts fundraiser for Rick Lazio


http://mittromneycentral.com/2009/10/15/romney-to-hit-the-big-apple-for-rick-lazio-while-giuliani-weighs-options/

Pro-Life Dem

Rep. Bart Stupak (D.-Mich.) told CNSNews.com yesterday that he has organized a group of “about 40 likeminded Democrats” who will vote to kill the health-care bill if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D.-Calif.) does not allow a floor vote on his amendment to prohibit federal funds from going to insurance plans that cover abortion.Under Stupak’s plan, the approximately 40 Democrats in his camp would join with all House Republicans in voting to defeat the special House “rule” that would set the terms for debating and amending the health-care bill on the House floor when it is brought up for a final vote. If a majority of the House does not first vote to approve this rule, the health-care bill itself cannot be brought to the floor.“We will try to—we, there’s about 40 likeminded Democrats like myself—we’ll try to take down the rule,” Stupak told CNSNews.com. “If all 40 of us vote in a bloc against the rule—because we think the Republicans will join us—we can defeat the rule. The magic number is 218. If we can have 218 votes against the rule, we win.”

universal health care pitting dems against dems on abortion

House Democrats are at an impasse over whether their remake of the nation's health care system would effectively allow federal funding of abortion.
At least two dozen anti-abortion Democrats believe it would, and while their opposition is unlikely to stall the legislation in the end, they are at odds with Democratic leaders just weeks ahead of anticipated floor action on the bill.
Lawmakers on the other side say they've compromised as far as they can to address the anti-abortion lawmakers' concerns by specifying that people receiving government subsidies to buy health insurance couldn't use that money for abortions.
Negotiations to find common ground have not yielded fruit.
"We have a difference of opinion at the moment we cannot bridge," said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, where the abortion language was approved. "We have done everything we can to ensure that there will be no federal funds for abortion services."
Waxman said he's still working on the issue with Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., the leader of the anti-abortion group. On Thursday the two had an earnest discussion on the House floor but afterward they said nothing had really changed.
Stupak, who's on the tall side, made a joking reference to Waxman's diminutive stature when asked whether their conversation had yielded a meeting of minds. "I'm a little taller. Our minds don't meet," Stupak said.
The main point of contention is the proposed new federal subsidies that would help lower-income people purchase health care coverage from private plans - and potentially from a new government-sponsored plan - within a new purchasing exchange.
Currently a law called the Hyde amendment bars federal funding for abortion - except in cases of rape and incest or if the mother's life would be endangered - and applies those restrictions to Medicaid, forcing states that cover abortion for low-income women to do so with their own money. Separate laws apply the restrictions to the federal employee health plan and military and other programs.
But the Democrats' health overhaul bill would create a new stream of federal funding not covered by the restrictions.
Stupak says language specifying that someone obtaining an abortion must use her own money, not federal money from the subsidies, doesn't go far enough because it's impossible to clearly segregate funds in that way.
"Once you get the affordability credits (subsidies) in there, that's public funding of abortion. We're not going there," Stupak said. "How do you get past the affordability credits is really the issue. And we can't."
Waxman said that if the language is changed to Stupak's preference - to bar any subsidy money from going to any insurance plan that includes abortion coverage - the result would be to deny women legal and sometimes medically necessary procedures. The advocacy group NARAL Pro-Choice America is dissatisfied with the language now in the bill, contending that it "singles out abortion from other health care services, but apparently it was necessary to stop anti-choice politicians from continuing to use health care reform to attack a woman's right to choose," according to a statement from the group's president, Nancy Keenan.
NARAL recently sent a letter to supporters singling out Stupak for criticism and asking them to call their members of Congress to make sure he doesn't prevail.
On the other side, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said it can't support a health overhaul bill unless the anti-abortion language is strengthened.
Unless an eleventh-hour agreement is reached, Stupak intends to carry through on a threat he's been holding over House leaders for months: to block action on the larger health overhaul bill unless he's allowed to offer a stand-alone amendment during floor debate to include the Hyde amendment restrictions in the health overhaul bill.
Such an amendment would be almost certain to prevail, since it likely would attract the votes of most Republicans as well as some Democrats. So Democratic leaders won't let Stupak offer it.
Instead, it appears they may have to take the risk of letting Stupak try to block action on the underlying bill, which he intends to do by assembling "no" votes on a procedural measure that needs to pass before debate can begin.
In the Senate, where the leading health overhaul bill includes language similar to that in the House, abortion has been much less of an issue.

Term Limits

George believes many of the problems in Washington are due to career politicians. He will fight to enact term limits for Members of Congress to help send politicians addicted to spending and dominated by special interests home

Palin backs Hoffman for NY-23





Former Alaska GOP Gov. Sarah Palin on Thursday endorsed Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman over Dede Scozzafava, the Republican Party's choice, in the special election for New York’s 23rd congressional district.
“The people of the 23rd Congressional District of New York are ready to shake things up, and Doug Hoffman is coming on strong as Election Day approaches! He needs our help now,” Palin wrote in a statement that will be posted on her Facebook page late Thursday.
“I am very pleased to announce my support for Doug Hoffman in his fight to be the next Representative from New York's 23rd Congressional district. It's my honor to endorse Doug and to do what I can to help him win, including having my political action committee, SarahPAC, donate to his campaign the maximum contribution allowed by law,” Palin continued. “Our nation is at a crossroads, and this is once again a 'time for choosing.'”
Scozzafava has been plagued throughout her campaign by grassroots conservative activists who have questioned her credentials, and Palin is the latest in a slew of prominent national conservatives who have weighed in for Hoffman.
In her statement, the GOP's 2008 vice-presidential nominee sounded a clear anti-party tone.
“Best of all, Doug Hoffman has not been anointed by any political machine,” Palin wrote. “Doug Hoffman stands for the principles that all Republicans should share: smaller government, lower taxes, strong national defense, and a commitment to individual liberty.”
“Political parties must stand for something. When Republicans were in the wilderness in the late 1970s, Ronald Reagan knew that the doctrine of ‘blurring the lines’ between parties was not an appropriate way to win elections,” she added, launching into an attack of the Republican Party.
“Unfortunately, the Republican Party today has decided to choose a candidate that more than blurs the lines, and there is no real difference between the Democrat and the Republican in this race. This is why Doug Hoffman is running on the Conservative Party's ticket,” she wrote. “Republicans and conservatives around the country are sending an important message to the Republican establishment in their outstanding grassroots support for Doug Hoffman: no more politics as usual.”

Phillips’ Bold Plan to Reign in Out of Control Spending




Federal spending is simply out of control. This year’s $3.5 trillion budget on top of the existing $11 trillion debt is jeopardizing our nation’s future. When in Congress, I will be proposing legislation to create a bi-partisan commission of business leaders designed to study federal spending and offer solutions for eliminating waste and inefficiency in the federal government. My plan is modeled upon President Ronald Reagan’s Grace Commission, which found that one-third of federal spending was wasteful and inefficient. It made recommendations to reduce this waste which were unfortunately never enacted upon. Imagine if a commission today had similar findings. One third of $3.5 trillion is over $1 trillion. These valuable taxpayer dollars could be put back into our communities, empowering entrepeneurs to create jobs and enabling families to build their future.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Rick Lazio to run for NY Governor





Rick Lazio announced back on September 22, 2009 that he will be running for Governor of New York State.

http://lazio.com/

Redrock Wilderness Act






New York's 22nd Congressional district has seen it's fair share of hard times this year. Lockheed Martin in Owego had it's Presidential Helicopter contract axed and nearly 1,000 workers laid off. BAE Systems located in Johnson City, NY and Endicott Interconnect located in Endicott, NY both had layoffs. Vail Ballou a publishing company in Kirkwood, NY will be closing in the coming few weeks putting 270 workers out of work. With all this turmoil going on in Congressman's Maurice Hinchey's district why is he the main sponsor of the Redrock Wilderness Act located in the state of Utah. I did some research and found out that Hinchey was good friends with former Utah Congressman Wayne Owens. Owens first introduced the Redrock bill in 1989. Owens left Congress in 1993 after loosing a Senate bid and asked his friend Maurice Hinchey of New York to keep reintroducing the bill. Don't they have reps located in Utah that can handle this? We need to put George Phillips in office. We need a rep that will be focused on our needs in the 22nd district, not a rep that's going to be introducing bills in other states because a friend asked him to.

http://www.abc4.com/content/news/top%20stories/story/Feds-say-Utah-wilderness-bill-needs-to-shrink/c45znJ_gJ0WBO7Zta-LRSg.cspx

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Phillips for Congress Blog Launched


George Phillips a Republican,Conservative from Endwell New York has announced that he will be running for New York's 22nd Congressional Seat against Maurice Hinchey a progressive Democrat in 2010. George was born and raised in Endwell near Binghamton, NY. He graduated from Seton Catholic high scool in 1994. George obtained the Thomas Watson Scholarship from IBM, which helped him pay for college at Villanova University. He also worked for three summers during college in manufacturing at IBM’s plant in Endicott. Upon graduating from Villanova summa cum laude in 1998, George was accepted to the University of Notre Dame’s volunteer teacher training program. He taught high school in Louisiana for two years and obtained a Master’s Degree from Notre Dame in 2000.

In Washington, DC, George taught for a brief time as a long term substitute in inner city DC Public Schools before landing a position with Congressman Chris Smith of New Jersey in 2001, then the Chairman of House Veterans’ Affairs Committee and Vice Chairman of the House International Relations Committee.
George worked on foreign affairs, business, immigration and senior issues for Congressman Smith. He was fortunate to handle part of Smith’s foreign affairs portfolio in the days following the 9/11 terrorists attacks and assisted on several bills that were signed into law, including the Victims of Trafficking Protection Act.

In 2005, George returned to the Binghamton area to teach Social Studies and Theology classes at his alma mater, Seton Catholic Central. He also teaches government at Broome Community College.
In 2005, he also married Diana Quintero. They have a young son George Joseph, and live in a house in Endwell near George’s parents.



Work on Fairness Doctrine
George’s opponent, Congressman Maurice Hinchey has been a long-time champion of the so-called “Fairness Doctrine,” a policy that would blatantly violate free speech rights of talk radio hosts by mandating that they give equal time to all viewpoints.
With Hinchey going recently going on CNN to say that he would be pushing legislation on the Fairness Doctrine soon, George designed to launch a new website called “Stop the Fairness Doctrine Now” to generate support against this move to limit the freedom of speech.