Monday, April 30, 2007

Tax-Free Homes Question for County Commissioner Candidates

Who among area candidates for county commissioner would make a motion to decertify unfair tax-free Keystone Opportunity Zones? In one area of Fayette County, a Keystone Opportunity Zone has already been designated which contains zoning for residential, single family homes. Fay-Penn Economic Development Council owns the property, and apparently has been in negotiations with a developer to construct houses in the $400,000 range, and up, in the tax-free zone.

Faced with the KOZ designation ending in 2013, it's reasonable to wonder whether Fay-Penn would seek an extension of the KOZs for a longer residential development process.

So among the primary questions to the commissioner candidates in Fayette County - should a resolution be presented to you, would you authorize an expansion or extension of KOZ for the area of the county which contains residential zoning?

Party loyalty at issue in Fayette election
By Chris Foreman
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, April 30, 2007


http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribunereview/news/fayette/s_505276.html

For background material on Fayette Keystone Opportunity Zones and Crystal Springs development plans

Wakeup

http://dirtline.tripod.com/wakeup/id16.html

Thursday, April 26, 2007

PA Freshmen salary commission proposal negligence

PA legislators need somebody else who can read and understand the PA Constitution to advise them on its meaning! The idea to establish a panel to determine salary and benefits package for them is ludicrous and obscene. thumbs down Mr. King and Galloway. And these are two freshman legislators.

Just follow the PA Constitution. It's in there already...

Legislative pay panel sought
By Alison Hawkes, For the Herald-Standard
04/26/2007
Updated 04/26/2007 12:04:20 AM EDT

HARRISBURG - Bucks County Reps. Chris King and John Galloway are calling for the establishment of an independent commission to establish the salary and benefits package for legislators.


The two freshmen lawmakers are presenting their case today at the House Legislative Reform Commission, which is taking testimony from the public at the Philadelphia Convention Center for phase two of its work.

http://www.heraldstandard.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18261682&BRD=2280&PAG=461&dept_id=468520&rfi=6

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Was Rudy Misquoted?

Brit Hume on Fox News says former Mayor Rudy Giuliani has stated he didn't make the quote attributed to him by The Politico. This is big news if true. It appears someone from the Politico asked Rudy a question, and the Politico reports Giuliani's response...


Giuliani warns of 'new 9/11' if Dems win
By: Roger Simon
April 24, 2007 08:29 PM EST
Updated: April 25, 2007 01:28 PM EST

MANCHESTER, N.H. —- Rudy Giuliani said if a Democrat is elected president in 2008, America will be at risk for another terrorist attack on the scale of Sept. 11, 2001.

But if a Republican is elected, he said, especially if it is him, terrorist attacks can be anticipated and stopped.

“If any Republican is elected president —- and I think obviously I would be the best at this —- we will remain on offense and will anticipate what [the terrorists] will do and try to stop them before they do it,” Giuliani said.

The former New York City mayor, currently leading in all national polls for the Republican nomination for president, said Tuesday night that America would ultimately defeat terrorism no matter which party gains the White House.

“But the question is how long will it take and how many casualties will we have?” Giuliani said. “If we are on defense [with a Democratic president], we will have more losses and it will go on longer.”

“I listen a little to the Democrats and if one of them gets elected, we are going on defense,” Giuliani continued. “We will wave the white flag on Iraq. We will cut back on the Patriot Act, electronic surveillance, interrogation and we will be back to our pre-Sept. 11 attitude of defense.”

He added: “The Democrats do not understand the full nature and scope of the terrorist war against us.”

After his speech to the Rockingham County Lincoln Day Dinner, I asked him about his statements and Giuliani said flatly: “America will be safer with a Republican president.”

Giuliani, whose past positions on abortion, gun control and gay rights have made him anathema to some in his party, believes his tough stance on national defense and his post-Sept. 11 reputation as a fighter of terrorism will be his trump card with doubting Republicans...

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0407/3684.html




Giuliani: Republicans will keep you safe
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani “flashed his combative side” on a stop in New Hampshire yesterday, Newsday reported this morning.

At issue, apparently, was a questioner “who said there were ‘no rights’ left for Americans in the fight against terror.

”’That’s hardly no rights!’ Giuliani shot back, saying the war on terror demanded tools like the Patriot Act and warrantless wiretapping,” the newspaper reported. ”’You live in a country that has more rights than any in the history of the world. You have more freedom than anyone in the world has ever had, and no one has taken that from you.’”

According to the online site Politico, Giuliani also said “if a Democrat is elected president in 2008, America will be at risk for another terrorist attack on the scale of Sept. 11, 2001. But if a Republican is elected, he said, especially if it is him, terrorist attacks can be anticipated and stopped...

http://polhudson.lohudblogs.com/2007/04/25/giuliani-vs-obama/




Democrats fire back at Giuliani on 9/11 warning
Reuters
Wed Apr 25, 2007 11:57AM EDT



WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic White House contenders Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton criticized Republican Rudolph Giuliani on Wednesday for suggesting a Democratic president would put the United States at risk of another September 11-type terrorist attack.

The former New York mayor, who leads the 2008 Republican White House race in national polls, said in a speech in New Hampshire on Tuesday night the United States would be safer and fight terrorism more aggressively under a Republican president.

A Democratic president, he said, would "wave the white flag on Iraq" and take the United States "back to our pre-September 11 attitude of defense," the Politico.com quoted Giuliani as saying.

While the United States ultimately will prevail in the fight against terror, he said, "the question is how long will it take and how many casualties will we have? If we are on defense, we will have more losses and it will go on longer."...

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN2535987220070425

Campaign Finance Law Draws Supreme Court Skepticism

Fox News reporting on Supreme Court's consideration of constitutionality of McCain-Feingold...

Court Eyes McCain-Feingold Limits on Ads
By FREDERIC J. FROMMER, Associated Press Writer

Wednesday, April 25, 2007
(04-25) 14:32 PDT WASHINGTON, (AP) --

A majority of the Supreme Court appears to be skeptical of the landmark McCain-Feingold campaign finance law's restrictions on pre-election issue ads that mention a candidate by name.'

The law prohibits interest groups from running corporate-funded radio and TV ads that mention a candidate's name within 30 days of a primary or 60 days of a general election.

In arguments defending the law Wednesday, attorney Seth Waxman said that advocacy groups could still run the ads as long as they are financed with funds from political groups that comply with federal limits and disclosure requirements.

"What do you make of the fact that so many advocacy groups say that's impractical?" asked Justice Samuel Alito, whose vote could be pivotal because he took the place of Sandra Day O'Connor. She was one of five justices to uphold large portions of the campaign finance law in 2003.


Waxman responded by pointing out that one of those groups, the ACLU, never mentions a specific candidate by name and therefore hasn't been affected by the restriction.


But Chief Justice John Roberts, who has also joined the court since the 2003 ruling, wasn't moved by that.


"Just because the ACLU doesn't do that doesn't seem particularly pertinent to me," he said.


Last year a lower court relaxed the law's restrictions on issue ads that are run by corporations, labor unions and other special interest groups in the final weeks of a campaign.


That court sided with Wisconsin Right to Life, an anti-abortion group that had sought to run ads during the 2004 campaign, asking voters to contact the state's two senators, Democrats Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl, and urge them not to filibuster President Bush's judicial nominees.


But because Feingold was up for re-election, the group could not run the ads in the final stretch of the campaign, under the law named for Feingold and Sen. John McCain.


Wisconsin Right to Life argues that McCain-Feingold unfairly restricts its free-speech rights. In its decision in December, the lower court ruled that groups may mention candidates by name in ads as long as they are trying to influence public policy, rather than sway an election.


The McCain-Feingold provision in question was aimed at preventing the common practice of issues ads that stopped short of calling for the election or defeat of a specific candidate, but that would cast a candidate in a positive or negative light. By doing so, sponsors of such ads had been able to circumvent limits on contributions in federal elections.


Wisconsin Right to Life argues it was not trying to influence an election, but rather rally people to lobby senators on an issue before the Senate...

The consolidated case is Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life, 06-969, and McCain v. Wisconsin Right to Life, 06-970.



http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/04/25/national/w143246D34.DTL&type=politics

Gore advisor to British Government on Global Warming

Isn't it interesting. Former Vice President Al Gore will be an advisor to British on global warming...

Film on Global Warming Is Challenged
Wednesday April 25, 3:22 pm ET
By Raphael G. Satter, Associated Press Writer
Scientists Demand Changes to Global Warming Skeptic's Film


LONDON (AP) -- A group of British climate scientists is demanding changes to a skeptical documentary about global warming, saying there are grave errors in the program billed as a response to Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth."

"The Great Global Warming Swindle" aired on British television in March and is coming out soon on DVD. It argues that man-made emissions have a marginal impact on the world's climate and warming can better be explained by changing patterns of solar activity.

An open letter sent Tuesday by 38 scientists, including the former heads of Britain's academy of sciences and Britain's weather office, called on producer Wag TV to remove what it called "major misrepresentations" from the film before the DVD release -- a demand its director said was tantamount to censorship.

Bob Ward, the former spokesman for the Royal Society, Britain's academy of science, and one of the letter's signatories, said director Mark Durkin made a "long catalog of fundamental and profound mistakes" -- including the claim that volcanoes produce more carbon dioxide than humans, and that the Earth's atmosphere was warmer during the Middle Ages than it is today.

"Free speech does not extend to misleading the public by making factually inaccurate statements," he said. "Somebody has to stand up for the public interest here."

Durkin called the letter "loathsome."

"This is a contemptible, weasel-worded attempt to gag scientific criticism, and it won't work," he said. "I don't believe they're interested in quality control when it comes to the reporting of science -- so long as it's on their side."

Durkin acknowledged two of the errors highlighted by the scientists -- including the claim about volcanic emissions -- but he described those changes as minor and said they would be corrected in the expanded DVD release.

But the scientists do not want the DVD released without edits to completely remove the material they object to -- something Ward said would fatally weaken the film's argument.

"The fact is that it's a very convincing program, and if you're not very aware of the science you wouldn't necessarily see what the errors are," Ward said. "But the errors are huge. ... Without those errors in, he doesn't have a story."

Ward has also complained to Britain's media regulator, which said it was investigating the matter. British broadcast law demands impartiality on matters of major political and industrial controversy -- and penalties can be imposed for misrepresentations of fact.

The decision to broadcast Durkin's documentary on Channel 4 was an unusual move in a country where the role of man-made carbon emissions in heating the globe is largely taken for granted and politicians regularly spar over which party has the greenest environmental policy.

As for the former vice president, Gore has been hired as an adviser to the British government, which plans to send copies of his film to schools around England...

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070425/global_warming_film.html?.v=1

Fayette's Unnamed Companies Needs

Some 42 companies in Fayette County need workers. Please identify.

Honest appraisal: Panelists reflect on Fayette workforce
By James Pletcher Jr., Herald-Standard
04/25/2007
Updated 04/25/2007 12:31:22 PM EDT

Most of the participants in a workforce and housing summit Tuesday agreed that Fayette County is a great place to live.


But it has its problems, among which are illegal drugs, inadequate housing, workers with too few skills and work ethics and an apathetic populace.

Fay-Penn Economic Development Council hosted its first Fayette County Workforce and Housing Summit at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus. There were 13 panelists representing business, education, health care and industry who talked about the problems they have in recruiting and keeping employees and a need for more medium-range housing and rental units.

The consensus was that while the county continues to have an unemployment rate among the highest in the state, it lacks job seekers with necessary skills even for entry-level positions.

Employers also find that people they hire lack basic work ethics, such as showing up on time, working when they want rather than when required and not calling their employer to tell them when they won't be at work on a given day.

In terms of housing, the panelists said there are not enough rental properties for both entry-level and upper-management workers. There also is a dearth of ready-to-move-in housing for people across all income ranges. Some of the employers offered personal stories of spending months trying to find a home through newspaper advertisements, local real estate firms and word of mouth.

Other issues they named were a lack of events aimed at young professionals, concerns about personal safety, public transportation and a Fayette County community Web site listing general information...

Leo T. Krantz, Fay-Penn chairman, said the purpose of the summit was to "discuss good news. It's a fact we are having workforce problems and housing problems and that shows we are expanding,'' he said, adding that "10 or more new technology companies have opened in Fayette County in the last four years.''

"This is the first time we have brought a group of employers together to discuss their needs,'' said Mike Krajovic, Fay-Penn president. Krajovic added that in February, Fay-Penn polled 42 Fayette County companies who said in the next 12 to 18 months "they will need to hire 1,900 workers...

http://www.heraldstandard.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18255721&BRD=2280&PAG=461&dept_id=480247&rfi=6


Desperately seeking able, willing workers
By Michael Cope
Daily Courier
Wednesday, April 25, 2007


Help wanted: Welder. Nurse. Electro-optical systems engineer.
Despite a steady 5 percent unemployment rate, a panel of nine executives assembled Tuesday at the 2007 Work Force & Housing Summit said there are hundreds of jobs to fill in Fayette County.

But there are few skilled, responsible workers.

"The purpose of this summit is to discuss good news," said Leo Krantz, chairman of Fay-Penn Economic Development Council, which sponsored the event at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus. "The fact that we have a work force problem shows that progress is being made in our county."

According to a Fay-Penn study, 42 companies in Fayette County will hire 1,900 workers during the next 12 to 18 months -- primarily the blue-collar manufacturing jobs that support middle-class families.

The poll reached just a tiny percentage of the 2,900 companies operating in the county.

"The people who command this subject are the managers facing these recruiting problems," said Michael Krajovic, president of Fay-Penn.

Nine panelists representing a cross-section of local industry -- trucking, construction, hospitality, technology -- disparaged the local work force.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/dailycourier/news/s_504533.html...

Unequal taxation are KOZs

It will not be a surprise to learn promoters of the idea of housing in Keystone Opportunity Zones in PA desire another, longer extension of the legislation to give them a longer time period to purchasers to live tax-free. Mark the date 2013 on your calendar. Sometime around then, we'll see state Rep. Tim Mahoney propose a new plan for economic development that includes an expansion of KOZs.

Remember, developers and owners, Fay-Penn, have had every governmental grant available to them since 1998/99, when the three local taxing bodies adopted KOZs.

Where are the high-paying jobs? Where are the new employers, not just the recycled businesses that close down in one area of the county to reopen in the KOZ?

Keep watching.

Fayette County woos new companies, but where will workers live?By C.M. Mortimer
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, April 8, 2007


In recent years, Fayette County has had success wooing new companies in technology, defense and homeland security industries. Economic development officials say the county needs more workers with the right skills to keep growing.
But Fayette needs quality housing -- condominiums, townhouses or starter homes in good neighborhoods -- to attract workers, their families and top managers.

"Fayette County is at the point where it needs to be looking at the type and quality of growth. We have to get rid of the beggar mentality," said Michael W. Krajovic, president of the Fay-Penn Economic Development Council, the agency charged with adding employment opportunities in the mostly rural Southwest Pennsylvania county.

Enter Elliott Edelstein, a Monroeville housing developer who believes parts of Fayette County could become the next Cranberry -- the Butler County community that is one of the fastest-growing in the state and home to 3,000 businesses.

Edelstein's Crystal Springs Investors is trying to develop 229 acres in Springhill Township and build 280 single-family homes, which would make it the largest housing development in Fayette County in years. His group has an option on 625 acres nearby.

The kicker: the land in question is in a Keystone Opportunity Zone, where generous tax breaks are available. Originally intended to spur economic development -- not housing -- when it was created in 1998, the state program would give a homeowner forgiveness from property taxes and state and local income taxes through 2013.

Edelstein has been negotiating with Fay-Penn, which owns the land. He estimates it will take about $11 million to develop the site in the southwestern portion of the county and close to the fast-growing Morgantown, W.Va., area. Planning and zoning approvals are in place, leaving financing as a final hurdle, officials said...

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribunereview/news/fayette/s_501709.html

ADHD and Ritalin

The following notice concerning Block's book is not an endorsement, for your information. See our further coverage at Citizen Mom

http://dirtline.tripod.com/citizenmom/id22.html

ADHD: Fix it without drugging your kids
Doctor asks: 'Doesn't your child deserve more than a label and a drug?'
Posted: April 12, 2007
3:43 p.m. Eastern
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com


If your child is among the millions of American kids who are taking Ritalin or similar drugs, or if he or she has learning problems or has been diagnosed with ADHD-ADD, this life-changing package – called "The ADHD Kit" – is for you. Exclusive to WorldNetDaily's online store, it has practical, proven and easy-to-follow information that has helped thousands of families around the world.

Millions of American children, mostly boys, are diagnosed with new diseases like ADD and ADHD that didn't exist a generation ago. To "treat" them and make their behavior more acceptable, we force them to take dangerous psycho-stimulant drugs.

"Dangerous"? Yes. Between six and nine million American children are taking Ritalin, the most popular treatment for "attention-deficit" and "overactivity" problems at school. But Ritalin is the trade name for Methylphenidate, which the Drug Enforcement Administration classifies as a "Schedule II" substance. "The controlled substances in this schedule," the DEA cautions, "have a high abuse potential with severe psychological or physical dependence liability, but have accepted medical use in the U.S."

Thus, reports the New York Times, "pediatricians and child psychiatrists are increasingly turning to pharmacology as the treatment of choice for depression, attention disorder, severe anxiety, obsessive disorder, manic depression and other conditions." Twice as many boys as girls are being given these psychiatric drugs.

Dealing with the real problem

Dr. Mary Ann Block, D.O., is a renowned expert on treating ADHD-ADD without drugs. Her approach is to look for and treat, whenever possible, the underlying causes of the health and learning problems instead of covering the symptoms with psychiatric drugs.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55166

PA Constitutional Convention Bye Bye Almighty God?

Although I'm opposed to a PA Constitutional Convention, for a variety of reasons continuously expressed herein, if one were held, I couldn't help but wonder if any one of the delegates would dare to admit to being an atheist?

Why an atheist couldn't even mount a campaign for election as a delegate because he, or she, would be pilloried and demonized.

What's the difference between someone who might want to alter our Constitution of PA to exclude mention of Almighty God and someone who might want to alter our Constitution of PA to implement citizens' initiatives and referendum?

The Founding Framers inserted the reference to Almighty God and excluded direct democracy (contrary to their concept of representative government).

If there is room to change one, why isn't there room to change the other?

Just some thoughts as May 1 is just around the corner. Learn your history.

PA Public Education Should be Abolished

Though I object to a PA Constitutional Convention being called and held, for reasons I've expressed here throughout, in the event of such a convention being held, the first item I suggest for elimination is:

The Public School System.

Article III Section 14

The General Assembly shall provide for the maintenance and support of a thorough and efficient system of public education to serve the needs of the Commonwealth.

Has anybody really thought about the implications of maintaining a system of public education to SERVE THE NEEDS of the Commonwealth.

To serve the needs of the state.

It's no wonder the Pennsylvania educational system run by money-grubbing administrators many of whom make more than the state legislators is in such a shambles.

The focus isn't on the child becoming all of the individual the child can be, but on the child serving the needs of the state of Pennsylvania.

But seriously, if an election of delegates to the convention were held, does anyone believe a candidate espousing elimination of the public monopoly over education - failure that it is - would have any chance of endorsement?

I doubt it. The public is too dependent on the system of education funded through taxpayers' monies.

To sideswipe such a candidate, the political machine in every district would groom a "citizen" to look, talk, and act like a regular citizen and win the delegate spot.

Don't think it can happen? How naive. Ever wonder why the same type of school board directors end up in office. Not one ever calls for consolidation of school districts, merging of districts into a county-wide system which would be more cost-efficient. Not only that, look into the hirees of any school district and you'll surely find relatives and associates of school board directors employed in some capacity.

The most egregious is when positions are created specifically to rehire a retiree as a consultant or some such usually at astronomical salaries for less than one-year of full time employment.

Sick public school system - needs to go.

But it wouldn't need a convention to get rid of it. Just an overwhelming public outcry from the taxpayers - we're still waiting.

Food & Drug Administration To Regulate Alternatives

Happened upon an item that should concern all of us who are interested in taking responsibility for our own health as much as possible, including being informed about vitamins, herbal products, and even the kind of water we consume.

World Net Daily reports

FDA looks to regulate natural substances as drugs, with prescriptions from doctors

The Food and Drug Administration says vitamins, supplements, herbs and other natural substances, including water when it is used to "treat" dehydration, should be classified as drugs, and opponents have only until April 30 to express their concern about the proposals under Docket No. 2006D-0480...


The site links to a form to comment by the deadline which is Monday, April 30th.

The Healthy News Service also provides an informative article with the same link to the comment form, and mailing address for comments...

Another site, newstarget, posts an article Health freedom action alert: FDA attempting to regulate supplements, herbs and juices as "drugs" which outlines what is happening and contains action items.

That article references Jon Barron's informative piece which includes the link to the FDA document in pdf.

www.fda.gov/OHRMS/DOCKETS/98fr/06d-0480-gld0001.pdf

What to say if you want to comment on the FDA's Draft Guidelines?

We're trying to obtain an educated and well-informed comment for your information, and ours.

Check back soon.

Form link

http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/oc/dockets/comments/COMMENTSMain.CFM?EC_DOCUMENT_ID=1451&SUBTYP=CONTINUE&CID=&AGENCY=FDA

FDA's Latest 'Guidance Document' on Complementary & Alternative Medicine


Published on Thursday, April 19, 2007
by Healthy News Service
WHY NOW? Why did the FDA create this document? There are a couple of theories. One is that the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) asked the FDA to "harmonize" with their way of thinking. Another idea is that importation of products (which is a major concern to the FDA) will soon be a top issue. Functional foods could also be a target (as forewarned by the FDA December meeting on functional foods - read about our response and presentation). Regardless of the why, we do know that the health freedom community was not consulted in the preparation of the document. Furthermore, the clumping of food, products, medical devices, and therapies makes for an awkward, confusing, and unconstitutional "way of thinking" and does not represent what is best for the consumer.

THE IMPACT The draft guidance, when finalized, will represent the agency's current thinking on the regulation of complementary and alternative medicine products by FDA. Though it does not change the law, it does represent a potential major expansion on how foods, therapies, and products could be regulated. Of further concern, is that this document could be used by health freedom "opposition" and regulators to pressure Congress to change legislation. The language in the document gives us great concern and we cannot allow an agency such as the FDA to finalize the document in its present form.

ACTION The comment period expires on April 30. It has been our experience that citizen letters to the FDA during the comment period rarely have an impact on the FDA's decision-making process. This is important to know, since the appropriate response to this situation is not to just be busy (as in writing letters to the FDA) but to be effective. What the FDA has told us is that they want to hear from practitioner groups and trade associations. Remember, that the FDA officials are not elected and generally the wishes of the public fall on deaf ears.

The two things that are most likely to influence the FDA's actions as it pertains to the issues outlined in this document are: Members of Congress who have a variety of mechanisms for shaping the authority of the FDA. State Attorneys General who can threaten legal action if the agency tries to usurp the authority of the states in regulating health care activities within their states.

In consideration of the above, we are taking these actions: We are alerting our Congressional friends about this issue, and asking them to take appropriate action. We will notify you when it is time to write to these elected officials and make your wishes known. We have commissioned an extensive, legal response to the guidance that has the kind of technical detail the FDA bureaucracy wants (or actually DOESN'T want) to see as they strive to give this document the force of law. We are planning to communicate with the proper officials in each state to notify them of the potential for federal interference in state regulatory activities. If you do write the FDA, please send a copy of your concerns to your representatives in Congress. These elected officials DO care about your opinion and your voice matters. Go to www.healthfredom.net to contact Congress.

SUMMARY We believe the CAM Regulation Guidance would set the tone of the FDA in regards to functional foods; alternative medicine therapy, devices, and products; as well as dietary supplements and could help set the stage for future legislation that would restrict access. While public comments to the FDA by individuals are a course of action, we want you to be aware that fighting FDA's "way of thinking" will need a stronger course of action and we are prepared to follow though. We have fought the FDA before and have been successful.

There are numerous issues facing the health freedom community that need attention where your action can make a big different: a draft bill to restrict access to individualized/compounding medicine, the right of the practitioner to practice being threatened by individual states, and Rep. Dingall wanting to "kill" dietary supplements because they are a "snake" to be killed.

Please know that we are working diligently on the important issues facing the health freedom community. It takes both time and money and your financial support is greatly appreciated.

SUBMIT COMMENTS If you would like to submit your written comments to the FDA, please use one of the following methods

MAIL: Division of Dockets Management (HFA-305) Food and Drug Administration 5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061 Rockville, MD 20853

EMAIL: Click here

NOTE: No matter which method, be sure to refer to Docket No. 2006D-0480

http://healthy.net/scr/news.asp?Id=9084




Feds eye control of vitamins, supplements – even water!
FDA looks to regulate natural substances as drugs, with prescriptions from doctors

Posted: April 24, 2007
9:30 p.m. Eastern
By Bob Unruh © 2007 WorldNetDaily

The Food and Drug Administration says vitamins, supplements, herbs and other natural substances, including water when it is used to "treat" dehydration, should be classified as drugs, and opponents have only until April 30 to express their concern about the proposals under Docket No. 2006D-0480.

The government agency under the direction of Andrew C. von Eschenbach, who became commissioner in 2006, also has put its "Complementary and Alternative Medicine Products and Their Regulation by the Food and Drug Administration" on a fast track for implementation.

But parents' groups, natural remedy interests, food and herb businesses and others are horrified. A group called Gentle Christian Mothers alerted its constituency in no uncertain terms.

"Please Read!!! The FDA is trying to regulate all things that are considered by them to be treatment for disease. They want to regulate vitamins, herbs, alternative therapies (things like hot stone therapy), even down to juices and holy water," the warning said. "It might mean having to go to a doctor or medical professional for vitamins."...

The FDA's "draft guidance" on the issue first appeared in December, but federal officials said it was printed in the Federal Register on Feb. 27, prompting the growing storm of protest.

The FDA has reported that approximately one-third of all adult Americans have reported participating in or using some form of "complementary and alternative medicine" and officials estimate nutritional supplement sales total about $5 billion a year in America.

On the NewsTarget website, self-described "Health Ranger" Mike Adams posted one of the alerts.

"What this means to consumers, according to the proposal as outlined in FDA Docket number 2006D-0480, is that things like vitamins and herbs would be controlled by the FDA, and could possibly require prescriptions from a naturopath, herbologist or some other physician, all of which would require you to pay a health insurance company and contribute to the already back-breaking cost of healthcare in America," he wrote...

"This move by the FDA is designed to once and for all destroy the 1994 DSHEA law that has made supplements 'legal' while eliminating nutritional supplements and natural medicine from the United States, ensuring monopoly profits and control by drug companies and the FDA," he said.

"Under these proposed guidelines, FDA 'experts' (the same corrupt officials who re-approved Vioxx after it killed over 50,000 Americans) will decide whether herbs, supplements, vitamins or simple devices like massage stones are to be regulated as drugs and medical devices," Adams continued. "If the FDA experts, in their infinite wisdom, decide that these things are to be reclassified, they will essentially be outlawed, stripped from the shelves, and regulated out of existence. Anyone who dares to manufacture, promote or sell such products may be branded a criminal and rounded up by armed FDA agents who have a well established history of suppressing natural medicine."

"This is not a drill. It really is time to be alarmed," he said. "Nothing else I've written about this year is as important as this sinister plot to destroy natural medicine and force the American population to resort to dangerous prescription medications sold at monopoly prices under a system of medical tyranny."

For example, he cited wording directly from the FDA plans: "…if a person decides to produce and sell raw vegetable juice for use in juice therapy to promote optimal health … [and] if the juice therapy is intended for use as part of a disease treatment regiment…, the vegetable juice would also be subject to regulation as a drug." ...

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55370




Link to comment form

Docket Management Comment Form
Docket: 2006D-0480 - Draft Guidance for Industry on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Products and Their Regulation by the Food and Drug Administration; Availability

http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/oc/dockets/comments/COMMENTSMain.CFM?EC_DOCUMENT_ID=1451&SUBTYP=CONTINUE&CID=&AGENCY=FDA

Who hyped Lynch's rescue?

Jessica Lynch talks to Fox 'n Friends about the falsification of reports of her rescue. 4 years later she is having to set the record straight - there was no Rambo type rescue of Lynch. The news was hyped and untrue.

Setting the Record Straight
Web Exclusive
By Julie Scelfo
Newsweek
Updated: 3:42 p.m. PT April 24, 2007
April 24, 2007 - Jessica Lynch became a national hero in 2003 after she was dramatically rescued by a team of Special Ops soldiers from an Iraqi hospital where she was believed to be a prisoner of war. Her story was compelling not only because she was a 19-year-old supply-unit clerk who had stumbled into an attack during convoy travel with her unit, but because she was portrayed by military authorities as having valiantly fought back against her attackers even as her unit was surrounded and her comrades were killed and injured. The legend quickly unraveled, however, after Lynch returned to the States, recuperated from her substantial injuries (broken arm and leg bones, damage to her back and kidneys, and a six-inch laceration to her head) and began to speak out about what had really happened.

Today, Lynch testified before a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing probing the source of misleading information about Lynch and about the death of Army Ranger Specialist Patrick Tillman in Afghanistan. NEWSWEEK's Julie Scelfo spoke with Lynch, who turns 24 on April 26, about her experiences...

NEWSWEEK: Why did you decide to testify?
Jessica Lynch: Mainly it was about me just getting out the truth. I’ve spent the past four years trying to tell everybody the real truth, and not the stories they put together. They were false, ya know?

What was the greatest misinformation about you?
The whole Rambo story, that I went down fighting. It just wasn’t the truth.

So what really happened?
I didn’t even get a shot off. My weapon had jammed. And I didn’t even get to fire. A rocket-propelled grenade hit the back of our [Humvee], which made Lori [Piestewa], my friend, lose control of the vehicle, and we slammed into the back of another truck in our unit.

Who is to blame for spreading the misinformation?
Well, I think really the military and the media. The military, for not setting the record straight and the media for spreading it, and not seeking the true facts. They just ran with it instead of waiting until the facts were straightened out.

What do you hope Congress achieves with today’s hearing?
I hope it [helps] the Tillman family get the accurate information that they deserve. They need to know what happened to their son and why they were lied to.

Do you feel like this is a pattern, misinformation from the military?
Well, it kind of seems like that’s the way it’s been happening. I hope they can learn from mistakes and correct this and not let other family members and soldiers have to deal with the things that my family and I went through.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18297391/site/newsweek/?from=rss



Tillman, Lynch accounts slammed
By Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon lied to create heroes from Iraq and Afghanistan, former Army private Jessica Lynch and the brother of former NFL star and Army Ranger Pat Tillman told a House committee Tuesday.
Kevin Tillman, who served in a Ranger unit with his brother, and Lynch testified as part of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee's investigation into inaccurate accounts of the battlefield actions of Lynch and Tillman...

Early versions of Lynch's capture and rescue, quoting unnamed U.S. officials, said Iraqi soldiers shot and stabbed Lynch, who fought back until she shot off her last round of ammunition and was captured. That made her seem like "little girl Rambo," Lynch said Tuesday.

In truth, she said, she was hurt too badly to fight. The narrative that described Tillman's actions, for which he was awarded the Silver Star, "was utter fiction," Kevin Tillman said...



http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-04-24-tillman-lynch_N.htm?csp=34


Secrets in time of war

The following letter-writer's thoughts - published in the Tribune-Review's Daily Courier - are well worth a reading.

Woods talks about the embedded reporters sanctioned to be present in Iraq while the war is being conducted. The writer broaches the incident wherein Geraldo Rivera, engaged in an on-the-spot report, draws a sketch of the location of U.S. troops. Thereafter, according to the writer, Rivera was sent packing.

The writer suggests a potential for bias favoring how the war is being conducted when embedded reporters get to know the troops.

On the other hand, this bias from friendships may also turn into stories glorifying troops rather than telling the stories around them. Gretchen R. Wood, Daily Courier, Saturday April 21, 2007


The writer suggests there could be repurcussions on the reporters when they report the truth about the war or the troops.

Sometimes even if a journalist does tell the unfortunate truth about the agenda of a military unit, the unit can retaliate against the reporter by cutting him off from any future information. Gretchen R. Wood, Daily Courier, Saturday April 21, 2007


I recall watching as Geraldo etched the location of our troops in the sand. It was a wonder to me that the man wasn't charged in mere minutes with giving away military secrets and aiding the enemy. If it were one of us bloggers who came upon info that revealed the location of troops in a time of war, we'd have already been scooped up as an enemy combatant. Geraldo got a pass primarily because it would've been really bad publicity to charge him with providing such info that could potentially jeopardize our troops.

At any rate, there is a difference between providing even sketcy details of location of troops, and providing accurate information regarding the amount of injured and killed.

Even so, if there is more of a steady diet of the costly side of the war and none about how many deaths have been prevented by the presence of our military and the conduct of the war, the "news" about the war cannot be said to be balanced.

It is probably a matter of where one is coming from politically as to whether one thinks the war is being covered fairly.

I agree, everything should be revealed as far as deaths of our military men and women. Nothing should be covered up. But whether one agrees or disagrees with the war, some things simply have to remain secret from the public until after the war has ended. Revealing locations of troops can't in any way be conducive to the object of winning the war. That's the goal - whether one "supports" the war, or not.


Objectivity & embedded reporters
By Gretchen R. Wood
Saturday, April 21, 2007

In April 2003, Fox News war reporter Geraldo Rivera did a television report during which he drew a map in the sand identifying where he and the 101st Airborne Division were situated in Iraq.

On March 24, 2003, Joe Eddins, chief photographer for The Washington Times, wrote about an incident in his Marine unit during the Iraq war in which two men drowned after being ordered to swim across a canal in full battle gear without a safety line.

John Burnett, a NPR correspondent based in Austin, Texas, was one of several journalists embedded with a Marine unit in Iraq. He became pressured by the unit commanders to focus on the men's acts of valor and courage rather than the events surrounding those acts.

When the government instituted the notion of "embedded reporting" during times of war to allow reporters to travel with troops, it was viewed as a way to allow the media to report on wars -- even if they were tightly controlled.

On the surface, the program made good sense: Journalists lived and traveled under protection with military forces and to witness firsthand the horrors of war, even though military officials carefully edited or censored what could and could not be reported

This was a big change from reporting during the Vietnam War, when journalists could report what they wanted with little restriction, and during the attack on Grenada, where the media was shut out. It almost seemed like a balance between the two, giving journalists a chance to report and the government the authority to censor what it felt necessary.

Today, some of the restrictions on journalists include that they are not permitted to report details of a mission or the location of a unit unless given permission, nor can they report U.S. casualties until 72 hours have passed from the time of the incident or it can be confirmed that the soldiers' families have been contacted.

These all seem like obvious rules, all geared to protect our own troops in battle. If a journalist fails to comply with these rules, there are consequences for their actions.

After Rivera's report it was determined that he potentially jeopardized the safety of the entire unit. His mission was canceled and he was sent home shortly thereafter.

A negative point to the embedded system is that while living with their military units, journalists undoubtedly form friendships and close bonds with their fellow comrades. This can develop into a strong bias influencing journalists to become less inclined to write stories that would shine poorly on the unit regardless of how true they may be.

Sometimes even if a journalist does tell the unfortunate truth about the agenda of a military unit, the unit can retaliate against the reporter by cutting him off from any future information.

On the other hand, this bias from friendships may also turn into stories glorifying troops rather than telling the stories around them.

Burnett and the other journalists reluctantly obliged to follow their commanders' orders and told stories about the heroic acts preformed by the unit. When a photograph of the unit preparing for battle became a color spread for Time magazine, a press officer appreciatively commented on it, saying, "Money can't buy this kind of recruitment campaign."

So in the end how effective is embedded reporting? Who is it really benefiting? Americans? Or the American government? Only without a biased journalist and resistance of military pressure can the American public really know the truth of their county at war. Which is the intention of war reporting after all, isn't it?

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/dailycourier/guestcolumn/s_503328.html


Related

Ashleigh Banfield slams war news coverage
World Net Daily
April 25, 2003: NBC reporter Ashleigh Banfield slammed her colleagues in television news over coverage of the war in Iraq, saying the realities of the conflict never reached American viewers.

Banfield, in a speech at Kansas State University, lashed out at "cable news operators who wrap themselves in the American flag and go after a certain target demographic."

The dig was a veiled swipe at Fox News Channel, whose war coverage included a patriotic tinge. Canadian-born Banfield hosted "MSNBC Investigates" on the No. 3 cable news network, MSNBC. While MSNBC's ratings improved during the war, the network still came up short in the ratings game behind No. 1 Fox and CNN.

http://celebrate10.wnd.com/?q=node/32


http://celebrate10.wnd.com/?q=node/32

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Earth like planet out there

Found: The New Earth
By MICHAEL HANLON - More by this author »

Last updated at 22:33pm on 24th April 2007

Comments

It's got the same climate as Earth, plus water and gravity. A newly discovered planet is the most stunning evidence that life - just like us - might be out there.

Above a calm, dark ocean, a huge, bloated red sun rises in the sky - a full ten times the size of our Sun as seen from Earth. Small waves lap at a sandy shore and on the beach, something stirs...

This is the scene - or may be the scene - on what is possibly the most extraordinary world to have been discovered by astronomers: the first truly Earth-like planet to have been found outside our Solar System.

The discovery was announced today by a team of European astronomers, using a telescope in La Silla in the Chilean Andes.

The Earth-like planet that could be covered in oceans and may support life is 20.5 light years away, and has the right temperature to allow liquid water on its surface.

This remarkable discovery appears to confirm the suspicions of most astronomers that the universe is swarming with Earth-like worlds.

We don't yet know much about this planet, but scientists believe that it may be the best candidate so far for supporting extraterrestrial life.

The new planet, which orbits a small, red star called Gliese 581, is about one-and-a-half times the diameter of the Earth.

It probably has a substantial atmosphere and may be covered with large amounts of water - necessary for life to evolve - and, most importantly, temperatures are very similar to those on our world.

It is the first exoplanet (a planet orbiting a star other than our own Sun) that is anything like our Earth.

Of the 220 or so exoplanets found to date, most have either been too big, made of gas rather than solid material, far too hot, or far too cold for life to survive.

"On the treasure map of the Universe, one would be tempted to mark this planet with an X," says Xavier Delfosse, one of the scientists who discovered the planet.

"Because of its temperature and relative proximity, this planet will most probably be a very important target of the future space missions dedicated to the search for extraterrestrial life."

Gliese 581 is among the closest stars to us, just 20.5 light years away (about 120 trillion miles) in the constellation Libra. It is so dim it can be seen only with a good telescope.

Because all planets are relatively so small and the light they give off so faint compared to their sun, finding exoplanets is extremely difficult unless they are huge.

Those that have so far been detected have mostly been massive, Jupiter-like balls of gas that almost certainly cannot be home to life.

This new planet - known for the time being as Gliese 581c - is a midget in comparison, being about 12,000 miles across (Earth is a little under 8,000 pole-to-pole).

It has a mass five times that of Earth, probably made of the same sort of rock as makes up our world and with enough gravity to hold a substantial atmosphere.

Astrobiologists - scientists who study the possibility of alien life - refer to a climate known as the Goldilocks Zone, where it is not so cold that water freezes and not so hot that it boils, but where it can lie on the planet's surface as a liquid.

In our solar system, only one planet - Earth -lies in the Goldilocks Zone. Venus is far too hot and Mars is just too cold. This new planet lies bang in the middle of the zone, with average surface temperatures estimated to be between zero and 40c (32-102f). Lakes, rivers and even oceans are possible.

It is not clear what this planet is made of. If it is rock, like the Earth, then its surface may be land, or a combination of land and ocean.

Another possibility is that Gliese 581c was formed mostly from ice far from the star (ice is a very common substance in the Universe), and moved to the close orbit it inhabits today.

In which case its entire surface will have melted to form a giant, planet-wide ocean with no land, save perhaps a few rocky islands or icebergs.

The surface gravity is probably around twice that of the Earth and the atmosphere could be similar to ours.

Although the new planet is in itself very Earth-like, its solar system is about as alien as could be imagined. The star at the centre - Gliese 581 - is small and dim, only about a third the size of our Sun and about 50 times cooler.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/technology/technology.html?in_article_id=450467&in_page_id=1965

Ballot Option Would Show Intent of Voter

Finally, a common sense option that should be on every ballot in the country. None of the Above! There are many races where a voter simply doesn't want to vote for any of the candidates listed, and doesn't want to write in a name, even a fake name. By including the option to leave the race blank, the voter's intent is documented.

That should be the law in every state.

'I Choose Not To Vote' May Soon Be Ballot Option
Option Could Not Win Race

POSTED: 5:42 pm EDT April 23, 2007
UPDATED: 11:48 am EDT April 24, 2007


TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Maybe a congressional race was so nasty that a large number of voters simply didn't want to check the box next to either candidate.

That's what state Sen. Mike Bennett said he believes happened in the now-infamous District 13 congressional race.

Hoping to prevent a repeat, he persuaded the Senate Ethics and Elections committee to approve a bill, SB-494, on Monday that would require ballots to have the additional option of "I choose not to vote."

http://www.local6.com/news/12933300/detail.html

Polled to Death

Tracking some polls on opinions of partial-birth abortion... it seems there has been consistency over the years with about two-thirds of the American public opposed to partial-birth abortion... So why has it taken so long for our elected officials to catch up?

What Now, Lifers?: Ditch partial-birth - pro-life movement strategy
National Review, Feb 19, 2001 by John J. Miller

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_3_53/ai_70433369

Ebbing Support For Abortion On Demand
CNN/TIME poll finds fewer Americans support unrestricted access
By Keating Holland/CNN

WASHINGTON (Jan. 16) -- In a significant shift, fewer Americans today support unrestricted access to abortion than six years ago, according to a new CNN/TIME poll.

In 1992, nearly half the country believed a woman should be able to get an abortion if she wanted one no matter what the reason. Today, only 38 percent favor abortion on demand.

Now, 43 percent of people surveyed believe that abortion should only be legal in certain circumstances, such as when the woman's health in endangered or when the pregnancy results from rape or incest.

Sixteen percent believe abortion should be illegal in all circumstances. And nearly three-quarters of Americans think that the government should ban the procedure sometimes called "late-term" or "partial-birth" abortion except in cases where the mother's life is in danger...

Partial-Birth/Late-Term Abortion Should Be...
Legal 19%
Illegal 74
Not sure 7

http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/01/16/poll/


Same articles, different headline tags

PARTIAL-BIRTH HYPOCRITES
by Robert Novak

April 23, 2007 -- WHEN the Supreme Court Wednesday upheld the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act passed by Congress in 2003, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told a press conference: "I would only say that this isn't the only decision that a lot of us wish that [Justice Samuel] Alito weren't there and [former Justice Sandra Day] O'Connor were there." Does that mean Reid was repudiating his Senate vote for the bill restricting abortions? No, he told me, he was talking about other decisions by Alito...

http://www.nypost.com/seven/04232007/postopinion/opedcolumnists/partial_birth_hypocrites_opedcolumnists_robert_d__novak.htm

Abortion ruling has Reid, Dems in tricky spot
April 23, 2007
BY ROBERT NOVAK novakevans@aol.com

http://www.suntimes.com/news/novak/353423,CST-EDT-NOVAK23.article
Partial pro-life Dems

By Robert Novak
Tuesday, April 24, 2007

WASHINGTON -- When the Supreme Court Wednesday upheld the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act passed by Congress in 2003, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told a press conference: "I would only say that this isn't the only decision that a lot of us wish that (Justice Samuel) Alito weren't there and (former Justice Sandra Day) O'Connor were there." Does that mean Reid was repudiating his Senate vote for the bill restricting abortions? No, he told me Thursday, he was talking about other decisions by Alito.

Reid reflects a dilemma on abortion among Democrats who are flying high against dispirited Republicans. Delivering a fetus and then crushing its skull, a procedure called "partial birth abortion" by its critics, is massively unpopular. Its prohibition is favored 61 percent to 28 percent in the most recent poll (Fox News, March 2006). But the abortion rights lobby is adamant against any erosion of Roe v. Wade...

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/columnists/guests/s_504192.html

When a diet isn't a diet

When a diet isn't a diet? When you want to keep the weight off for the rest of your life.

Diets don't keep the weight off for life... so says yet another study, according to a guest appearing on Fox 'n Friends.

You have to learn what your unique relationship with food is, says an author, Gerard J. Musante, who published, The Structure House Weight Loss Plan.

OK, just don't call it a diet, that's the key. Call it a lifestyle change. That makes sense since nobody likes or wants to be restricted in their eating for the rest of their lives.

Friday, April 20, 2007

Constitutional reform should be a time-consuming process

The next wave of reforms includes those which are amendments to the PA Constitution which alter more than the rules and regs under which the state legislators operate.

Such changes to the PA Constitution by amendments should be time consuming.

That the process for amending the PA Constitution needs two sessions of the legislature for passage, then the referendum by voters, isn't a negative. That process includes deliberation, discussion, education, and enough time for voters to reasonably consider which amendments are absolutely necessary, and which are not.

Legislative reform a time-consuming process
Friday, April 20, 2007
By Ed Blazina, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The special state House commission that changed some of the House's secretive ways of operating in just two months could find it will take years to implement its next wave of reforms...

...Any constitutional changes would require approval in two sessions of the Legislature and by a voters' referendum. The earliest a referendum could occur would be 2009...



http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07110/779668-181.stm

David Stewart talks about U.S. Constitutional Convention

Founding Fathers discussion on C-Span Washingtton Journal interview with David O. Stewart, author of The Summer of 1787.

Stewart said the Framers of the Constitution of the United States were against the popular election of the president...

caller started revolutionary.com says the news is communistic... says there isn't a free-market with the subsidized news on cable networks... asks about protection in Bill of rights and freedom of the Press...

another caller asks about a government bank, federal reserve...

see webcast video of program

Washington Journal Entire Program (04/20/2007)

http://www.c-span.org/homepage.asp?Cat=Series&Code=WJE&ShowVidNum=9&Rot_Cat_CD=WJ&Rot_HT=206&Rot_WD=&ShowVidDays=100&ShowVidDesc=&ArchiveDays=30

Stewart will appear on Sunday programming
8 PM April 22, 2007 David Stewart Author

http://www.q-and-a.org/

Question submitted to Stewart

Will you please clarify whether the founding fathers formed the United States as a republic, or a representative democracy, and explain the differences between a republic and a democracy.

Sanjaya Takes Good Leaves Bad Behind

Interviewed on Fox 'n Friends, recently dismissed 17 year old American Idol contestant, Sanjaya was asked what he thought after being tromped by Simon Cowell.

Sanjaya said he takes the good and leaves the bad behind...

As to Simon's harsh criticism, the youth said, that's his opinion.

That says it all, doesn't it - the youth is already an example of success. What an attitude. He's sure to be an example to millions of youths around the world - and he's only 17.

He may be gone from the competition, but not from influence by his positive attitude.

Now just who is his "life coach?"

'American Idol' Says Sayonara to Sanjaya
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
By ERIN CARLSON

NEW YORK — Sanjaya Malakar, the under-talented but unflappable singer who horrified and captivated millions in his improbable "American Idol" run, was finally voted off the show Wednesday night. When the result was announced, Malakar wiped away tears and got a big hug from LaKisha Jones, the next lowest vote-getter. "I'm fine," he told Ryan Seacrest. "It was an amazing experience."

"I can promise you: We won't soon forget you," Seacrest replied.

Malakar then performed one last song, "Something To Talk About." Putting his own twist on the song, the 17-year-old known for his pretty looks and ever-changing hairstyles ad-libbed: "Let's give them something to talk about ... other than hair."

On Tuesday night's show, Simon Cowell had slammed his performance as "utterly horrendous." And for once, the notoriously mean judge was vindicated.

"I'm beginning to sense something here," a grinning Cowell said when Malakar wound up in the bottom three.

Six contestants are now left: Jones, Blake Lewis, Jordin Sparks, Chris Richardson, Melinda Doolittle and Phil Stacey.

Malakar was routinely savaged by Cowell as he developed into one of the weakest, most awkward "Idol" finalists ever. Still, the gangly teen managed to outlast better singers by cultivating an unlikely fan base that helped him survive round after round of viewer elimination.

http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2007Apr18/0,4670,TVAmericanIdol,00.html

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Testimony of Experts on Voting Issues

Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Elections and Voting
Ensuring Fairness and Accuracy in Elections Involving Electronic Voting Systems

On Wednesday, the Information Policy, Census, and National Archives Subcommittee will hold a hearing on ensuring fairness in elections involving electronic voting machines.

The following witnesses will testify:

Hon. Gracia Hillman, Commissioner, U.S. Election Assistance Commission
Mr. Randolph Hite, Director, Information Technology Architecture and Systems, U.S. Government Accountability Office
Hon. Robin Carnahan, Secretary of State, State of Missouri
Avi D. Rubin, Ph.D., Technical Director, Information Security Institute, Department of Computer Science, Johns Hopkins University
Mr. John S. Groh, Vice President, Election Systems & Software International, and Chairman, Election Technology Council
Diane Golden, Ph.D., Director, Missouri Assistive Technology Council (on behalf of the National Association of Assistive Technology Act Programs)

http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1248

Reference

Vote PA message board

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VotePA/
Court Recognizes Pennsylvania Voters' Right to Reliable, Secure Voting Machines
April 12, 2007

'Great Victory' in Challenge to Use of Systems in 56 Counties Statewide

PHILADELPHIA, April 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A Pennsylvania court
held late today that voters have a right under the commonweath's
constitution to reliable and secure voting systems and can challenge the
use of electronic voting machines "that provide no way for Electors to know
whether their votes will be recognized" through voter verification or
independent audit.
The ruling by the Commonweath Court allows the continuation of a suit
filed last year by 26 individual Pennsylvania voters against the Secretary
of State that challenged the certification of Direct Electronic Voting
systems (DREs) used in 56 counties across the state.
"This is a great victory for Pennsylvania voters," said Mary Kohart, a
partner at Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, one of the lawyers representing the
group of voters. The case, which ultimately seeks the decertification of
the DREs, was also brought by the Public Interest Law Center of
Philadelphia (PILCOP) and Chester County attorney Marian K. Schneider.
The 4-3 decision was sharply critical of the Pennsylvania Secretary of
State's actions in certifying the DREs. Judge Rochelle Friedman, who
authored the majority opinion, noted the certification was the result of
"deficient examination criteria" which "do not approximate those that are
customary in the information technology industry for systems that require a
high level of security."
"Because Electors have no way of knowing whether their votes will be
honestly counted by DREs that are not reliable or secure and that provide
no means for vote verification or vote audit," the voters sufficiently
raised a violation of the Pennsylvania constitution in their suit, the
court declared.
"Across the country, both state legislatures and Congress are realizing
that DRE voting systems cannot be trusted," said Michael Churchill, a
lawyer with PILCOP. "More and more states are requiring optical scan paper
ballots that voters mark directly or through a ballot-marking device."

Procedurally, the court's decision overruled the Secretary of State's
16 preliminary objections against the voter's August 2006 complaint. The
objections claimed that the voters had no legal right to proceed with their
case and no legal right to obtain the relief that they sought.
In the voters' complaint, they alleged that the DREs failed during
elections in Pennsylvania and in other states by losing votes, registering
votes for one candidate when the voter was attempting to vote for another
candidate; causing high "undervote" rates; failing to register votes when
the ballot contained only one question; counting votes twice; failing to
print "zero tapes" to demonstrate that no lawful votes were stored on the
machine prior to the election; printing "zero tapes" after votes had been
cases; reporting phantom votes and other irregularities.
Schneider noted that last fall's elections across the country showed
the unreliability of the machines. "The 2006 elections demonstrated that
DREs repeatedly failed by breaking down, switching votes, losing votes and
not providing the security necessary for a functional democracy," she said.

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/04-12-2007/0004564747&EDATE=


See discussion of the issue at VotePA message board

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VotePA/message/2958

PA Judges: Voting Machines Certification Lawsuit Can Proceed

Voting machine lawsuit proceeds
State sought to have complaint dismissed
Saturday, April 14, 2007
By James O'Toole, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Commonwealth Court has rejected the state's objections to a suit challenging the testing and use of new electronic voting machines, including those recently adopted in Allegheny County.

The court, on 4-3 vote, allowed the suit to proceed as it dismissed 16 preliminary objections filed by attorneys for Secretary of the Commonwealth Pedro Cortez, who, in his role as the state's chief elections official, had certified the direct electronic voting systems whose reliability the plaintiffs attack. Among the systems in question are the iVotronic touch screen machines used for the first time in Allegheny County last year.

The plaintiffs, echoing the complaints of activists and voting watchdog groups across the country, maintain that the newer machines place reliable elections at risk by failing to produce a paper record that can be verified by the voter. The suit includes a litany of examples of voting machine mistakes and anomalies in elections across the country. Among them was the apparent under-count of thousands of votes in a disputed Florida congressional election last November.

In a statement responding to the ruling, Mr. Cortes emphasized that it had dealt solely with preliminary legal issues.

"The court's decision was not a final determination of the facts of the case," he said.

The majority opinion of the narrowly divided court, however, suggested some sympathy with the plaintiff's contentions. Written by Judge Rochelle Friedman, the opinion notes that a variety of the systems certified by Mr. Cortes, "produce no contemporaneous external paper record that would allow voters to verify that their votes were counted accurately.''

The ruling also faults the state elections department for failing to establish uniform testing criteria for the machines, thus denying voters a benchmark for challenging certification procedures.

The three dissenters, who joined in an opinion written by Judge Mary Hannah Leavitt, rejected the plaintiffs' arguments along with the rationale of most of the majority opinion. The minority said Mr. Cortes acted within his discretion in certifying the machines...

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07104/778003-181.stm


Related

Opinion

http://origin-www.courts.state.pa.us/opposting/cwealth/out/442md06_4-12-07.pdf

Vote PA message board discussion

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VotePA/message/2959
On the right legislative track in PA

State Senate OK bills to cap judicial pay
Thursday, April 19, 2007

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

State senators yesterday approved a bill to stop the salaries of Pennsylvania's 1,000 elected judges from automatically rising when federal judges receive raises -- a provision that is a remnant of the 2005 government pay raise law.

The bill, which passed 49-1, still requires approval from the House and Gov. Ed Rendell to become law.

Aides to Mr. Rendell and House Democratic leaders did not immediately say whether they support the bill. The House Republican leader, Sam Smith, R-Punxsutawney, said his caucus would take a serious look at the legislation.

"I think it would be an improvement over what the current law is," Mr. Smith said in an interview.

The pay-raise law was repealed in November 2005 -- four months after it was enacted -- after a public outcry. But the state Supreme Court reinstated the portion of the law that raised judicial salaries and tied their future raises to the salary structure of federal judges.

The court ruled in September that repealing the judges' pay raise was barred by a constitutional provision meant to prevent the Legislature or governor from punishing judges for unfavorable rulings by reducing their pay.

Current judicial salaries are $175,236 for justices of the state Supreme Court; $165,342 for judges of the Superior and Commonwealth courts; and at least $152,115 for county judges...

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07109/779183-85.stm

Push for PA Constitutional Convention Premature

Agree wholeheartedly, wait the normal route out for reforms.

A limited convention is in the eye of the beholder...

Exactly, what is one's limitation, is another's opportunity.

Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial
Posted on Mon, Apr. 16, 2007
A Constitutional Convention?Give the legislature a shot
The push in Pennsylvania to hold a constitutional convention, a rare and drastic device for reforming state government, is premature.
A state Senate committee has been gathering testimony around the state, including at a hearing in Philadelphia last week, on the possibility of holding a convention with as many as 150 citizen-delegates.

These elected delegates would consider amending the state constitution to, for example, cut the size of the legislature, impose term limits on legislators, or to allow "initiative and referendum" ballot questions in Pennsylvania (much like Propositions A through Z for which California has become so notorious).

Calls for this grassroots revolution grew louder after the legislature's scandalously self-serving pay-raise vote in July 2005. Neither the subsequent repeal of the pay raise, nor the election last November of 54 new legislators, has derailed the idea of a convention.

"There is a disconnect between the people of Pennsylvania and their government," said state Sen. Jeffrey E. Piccola (R., Dauphin), chairman of the state government committee.

Not so fast. This step is not necessary, at least not yet.

The years-long process of organizing a constitutional convention could very well end up covering some of the same ground of reform that the legislature is now plowing.

A bipartisan panel appointed by Speaker Dennis O'Brien (R., Phila.) already has enacted some rules to make the House more open and less vulnerable to the whims of party leaders. Having completed those "inside baseball" changes, the speaker's commission is now turning to reforms that the public should appreciate more.

The panel will hold three hearings, beginning Thursday, on term limits, campaign finance limits, the size of the legislature and the state's open-records law. Some of these topics, if they turn into proposals, would take the form of amendments to the state constitution.

The panel will meet in Philadelphia at 9 a.m. April 26, in Room 202 of the Convention Center. Anyone who can't attend is invited to send suggestions to reform@speakerobrien.com.

This House commission, co-chaired by Reps. Josh Shapiro (D., Montgomery) and David Steil (R., Bucks) has been diligent and has stuck to its promised schedule. It has accomplished a considerable amount since January. Last week, the panel approved a plan to select half the members of the House Ethics Committee randomly, rather than having them chosen by party leaders.

It's more proof that the spirit of change, ushered in by voters last fall, is still active inside the Capitol. That process should be allowed to play out for a few more months.

"A constitutional convention should wait until we give this legislature an opportunity to do its work," Shapiro said. He's right.

Critics of allowing the legislature to propose amendments to the constitution say it's a time-consuming procedure. A proposed amendment on term limits, for example, would need to be approved in two successive legislative sessions. The earliest it could come before voters would be November 2009.

But a constitutional convention is not exactly a swift vehicle of reform, either. Piccola said if the legislation that he is drafting gets approved without delay, the earliest a convention could be held would be January 2009.

Another potential pitfall with a convention is its scope. Piccola envisions a gathering in which hot-button issues such as gun control, abortion and the death penalty would be off-limits. But his committee vice chairman, Sen. Michael Folmer (R., Lebanon), said a constitutional convention was the only way to address "pressing issues," including "tort reform," a perennial target of conservatives.

A limited convention is in the eye of the beholder.

"It's an expensive, long, drawn-out and uncertain process," said Robert Williams, a professor at the Rutgers University School of Law in Camden. "Be careful what you wish for."

Before committing the state to this extraordinary step, let's see whether a reinvigorated legislature can achieve the needed results...

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20070416_Editorial___A_Constitutional_Convention_.html

Media Role in Gun Control Revitalization

Nationwide, the focus is naturally on the tragic devastation at Virginia Tech. The media can't help itself, as overall they have been shown to lean to the liberal side of the political question time and time again. Virtually on Day One, Monday, as events unfolded on the campus, the media was already inviting guests on programs to speak about the revitalization of gun control issues on the agenda of Congress.

CNN

MSNBC

Fox News Hannity and Colmes

Check them out to find what was discussed, and will continue to be discussed.


The Fix Chris Cilliazza
Parsing the Polls on Gun Control
Washington Post

In the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy, the issue of gun control is likely to reemerge in the national political debate. But will the Monday's terrible massacre fundamentally reshape American public opinion about guns and gun control? And will gun control now join Iraq, health care, terrorism and the economy as key issues around which voters will make their decisions at the ballot box?

Recent and historical polling information suggests the answer to both questions is no. Polling on gun control has remained remarkably consistent for the past decade or so, with external events -- even emotionally powerful ones -- not moving the dial in any appreciable way.

Let's Parse the Polls!

Scan recent surveys that touch on guns and gun control and you realize quickly that it has not been a matter of political debate in quite some time. Last fall, a question on gun control was included in an October Post/ABC News survey.

The sample was asked whether they favored or opposed "stricter gun laws." Sixty-one percent said they favored tighter restrictions while 37 percent opposed more stringent regulations.

Not surprisingly, Democrats were generally more supportive of more gun restrictions than Republicans. Seventy-three percent of Democrats favored stricter laws, compared with 52 percent of Republicans who said the same; 56 percent of independents supported tighter strictures.

The same trend was seen when voters were differentiated by ideology. Seventy-one percent of liberals backed stricter gun laws, followed by 61 percent of moderates and 55 percent of conservatives.

It's interesting to note that the Post/ABC poll was in the field shortly after the the shooting at an Amish schoolhouse in Pennsylvania -- the third fatal school shooting in a week's time. Events like the Amish school shooting or even Columbine incident -- i.e. ones that managed to make gun violence in schools a part of the daily debate for several years -- don't have any long-term impact on Americans' overall beliefs about gun laws. Since 1989, an average of 63 percent have expressed support for stricter gun laws -- regardless of external events.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2007/04/parsing_the_polls_gun_control.html

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Protect your pet recalls

Rice protein concentrate added to contaminated ingredient in pet foods...

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070418/pet_food_recall.html?.v=4

Partial Birth Abortion No Longer Option in U.S.

Supreme Court upholds ban on partial birth abortion in 5-4 ruling.

Court Backs Ban on Abortion Procedure

Apr 18 10:18 AM US/Eastern
By MARK SHERMAN
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court upheld the nationwide ban on a controversial abortion procedure Wednesday, handing abortion opponents the long- awaited victory they expected from a more conservative bench.
The 5-4 ruling said the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act that Congress passed and President Bush signed into law in 2003 does not violate a woman's constitutional right to an abortion.

The opponents of the act "have not demonstrated that the Act would be unconstitutional in a large fraction of relevant cases," Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the majority opinion.

The decision pitted the court's conservatives against its liberals, with President Bush's two appointees, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, siding with the majority.

Justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia also were in the majority.

It was the first time the court banned a specific procedure in a case over how—not whether—to perform an abortion.


http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8OJ2HV82&show_article=1


Court backs ban on partial-birth abortions
Mark Sherman - Associated Press Writer
OneNewsNow.com
April 18, 2007

http://www.suntimes.com/news/novak/353423,CST-EDT-NOVAK23.article


Supreme Court Upholds Partial-Birth Abortion Ban

Robert Barnes
Washington Post Supreme Court Reporter
Thursday, April 19, 2007; 12:00 PM

Washington Post Supreme Court reporter Robert Barnes was online Thursday, April 19 at noon ET to discuss Wednesday's 5-4 ruling upholding a Congress-passed law banning partial-birth abortion, which could mark a more conservative trend on social issues with Justice Kennedy in the court's ideological center...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/04/18/DI2007041801582.html?nav=rss_nation/special

Anti-depression drugs effect in Virgina Tech slaughter?

When speaking to a guest who offered the Washington Post had reported Cho Seung-Hui trained using an online video called Counterstrike, Bill Hemmer noted the Washington Post pulled the reference to the video, suggesting the item was unsupportable.

The two men discussed when and how the reference was pulled, with the guest saying he searched the site and the reference still came up in a summary.

Prescription Medications may have been found, Fox News reporting the possibility is as yet unconfirmed.

There has been very little reporting of Cho's therapy for depresssion which may have included prescriptions for anti-depression medications!

Fox News yesterday appeared to be the only media outlet to interview experts on the connection between violent tendencies and outright violence by individuals who've been on such prescription drugs!


Chilling picture emerges of Virginia Tech gunman
Railed against `rich kids' and `debauchery" on campus
By Adam Geller
Associated Press
Article Launched: 04/17/2007 08:25:01 AM PDT


BLACKSBURG, Va. - The gunman in the Virginia Tech massacre was a sullen loner who alarmed professors and classmates with his twisted, violence-drenched creative writing and left a rambling note in his dorm room raging against women and rich kids.
A chilling picture emerged Tuesday of Cho Seung-Hui - a 23-year-old senior majoring in English - a day after the bloodbath that left 33 people dead, including Cho, who killed himself as police closed in.

News reports said that he may have been taking medication for depression and that he was becoming increasingly violent and erratic.

Despite the many warning signs that came to light in the bloody aftermath, police and university officials offered no clues as to exactly what set Cho off on the deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history.

http://origin.mercurynews.com/ci_5686446


Virginia Tech shooter reportedly on anti-depression meds, increasingly angry leading up to massacre
Suspected killer of 33 - including himself - left note railing against 'rich kids, 'debauchery' and 'deceitful charlatans'
The Associated Press
Article Last Updated: 04/17/2007 12:00:32 PM MDT


BLACKSBURG, Va. - The gunman suspected of carrying out the Virginia Tech massacre that left 33 people dead was identified Tuesday as an English major whose creative writing was so disturbing that he was referred to the school's counseling service.

News reports also said that he may have been taking medication for depression, that he was becoming increasingly violent and erratic, and that he left a note in his dorm in which he railed against ''rich kids," ''debauchery" and ''deceitful charlatans" on campus.

Cho Seung-Hui, a 23-year-old senior, arrived in the United States as boy from South Korea in 1992 and was raised in suburban Washington, D.C., officials said. He was living on campus in a different dorm from the one where Monday's bloodbath began...

http://www.sltrib.com/News/ci_5686225

Friday, April 13, 2007

Hearing Doesn't Show Outcry for PA Convention

Lengthy, expensive process... seems not everybody is on the PA Constitutional Convention train-wreck... Even Surrick offers a proposition that doesn't necessitate convening a convention...

Net the Truth Online

Officials hold 3d hearing on revamping Pa. governmentTwo state senators listened to expert witnesses discussing the need for a constitutional convention.
By Vernon Clark
Inquirer Staff Writer

At the University of Pennsylvania Law School, two state senators heard testimony yesterday on the convening of a constitutional convention for the reform of state government.
State Sens. Jeffrey E. Piccola (R., Dauphin) and Michael Folmer (R., Lebanon) held the third hearing on the topic, listening to the views of three speakers: an area lawyer and author, a Rutgers University law school professor, and the president of the local League of Women Voters. Previous hearings were held in Harrisburg and Pittsburgh.

The constitutional convention is being considered in light of recent problems in state government, including the legislative pay-raise scandal. No firm time frame has been set for a convention - which could take up a potpourri of political issues - but the concept continues to be studied by the state Senate Government Committee.

In an ornate lecture hall, Robert B. Surrick, a lawyer who wrote the book Lawyers, Judges and Journalists: The Corrupt and the Corruptors, told the senators and about 15 spectators that voters are clueless with regard to the election of judges.

"Voters will vote for a candidate if the candidate is from a county near where they live," Surrick said. "They will vote on name recognition regardless of how the name is known, good or bad."

He added that race plays a large part, saying a "law-and-order" candidate blatantly "appeals to those who believe all blacks belong in jail."

Surrick suggested using a "reform plane" in which the state would be divided into seven judicial districts, and judicial candidates would have to present themselves to "the local newspapers, bar associations, service clubs, etc."

This would allow voters to gain a better understanding of candidates' qualifications, he said.

Kay McKenna, president of the League of Women Voters of Southeastern Pennsylvania, said that while her organization does not have a position on proposals to hold a constitutional convention, her group was "concerned about what steps are necessary to produce a convention that will have constructive and credible outcomes for government reform."

McKenna said one area of concern was redistricting. "If reduction in the size of the legislature, which the League supports, is a subject that comes before a constitutional convention, it should be preceded by reform in the way legislative districts are drawn."

Robert F. Williams, a professor at Rutgers University School of Law, told the senators that holding a constitutional convention is "a lengthy and expensive process."

"Be careful of what you wish for," Williams told the senators.

Williams also noted that most people who serve in a constitutional convention say it is the most important thing they have done in their career.

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/pa/main_line_delaware/20070412_Senators_hear_ideas_on_a_constitutional_convention_for_Pa_.html

Oath-breakers at fault not PA Constitution

We still disagree that a Constitutional Convention is necessary to enact any of the reforms or amendments legitimately called for to make our elected officials reform themselves. A convention is not necessary to enable the reform of THOSE WHO BETRAYED their oaths to the PA Constitution. Vote them out next time.

The PA Constitution does not need "modernized" because hundreds of state legislators enacted the illegal payraise/unvouchered expenses of 2005.

Piccola is wrong. It isn't government that needs reformed - it is the kind of state representatives and senators who are willing to break their oaths of office who need booted out of office. To some extent, that was done with some 55 newcomers elected to state office in 2006 elections. They are currently mounting reforms upon themselves. More hearings on additional reforms are being held, aside from the Piccola hearings on a convention.

There is no need to open up the PA Constitution to a potentially unrestrainable Constitutional Convention.

All of the reforms offered can be done through the normal legislative amendment process.

It is disheartening to hear Sen. Piccola, and others, go on about limiting a convention.

They haven't considered the precedent-setting Philadelphia Convention...

Pennsylvania's Constitutions and the Amendment Process - Where it Began, Where it is Now
By Ann Liivak, former Reference/Special Collections Librarian
23 Pennsylvania Law Weekly 324 (March 27, 2000)


Philadelphia Convention
Less then two weeks after the Declaration of Independence, the citizens of Philadelphia were inspired to form a convention for drafting a constitution for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Provincial Assembly and the governor were ignored, and the convention not only entered upon the task of forming the constitution, but superseded the old government by assuming the legislative power of the commonwealth and establishing a Council of Safety with extensive powers to rule in the interim.

The elected delegates debated, drafted, and on Sept. 28, 1776, passed and proclaimed the Bill of Rights and Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania signed by "Benj. Franklin, Prest." The Constitution of 1776 provided that the power of amending the constitution would rest with a Council of Censors as it found necessary. The Constitution of 1776 was considered one of the most democratic state governmental structures of the times, even though it was not submitted to the electorate for ratification or adoption...

http://www.jenkinslaw.org/collection/researchguides/publications/ann-constitutions.php



Now that's what is called a precedent. If it's done once, without constraints, it can be done again, and there would be no stopping an unlimited convention from replacing not only our Declaration of Rights, but the uniformity clause and who knows what all else...

More coming soon...

Net the Truth Online

Time to revise Pa. Constitution
By Jeffrey E. Piccola
Tue, Apr. 10, 2007

Over the last two years, the actions of Pennsylvania's General Assembly, executive branch, and judiciary regarding pay raises and bonuses, to name just a couple of issues, have sparked a public outcry for the reform of state government. The type of institutional change being called for can be accomplished only by revising the Pennsylvania Constitution.

There are two ways to change the constitution: an amendment by the General Assembly or a constitutional convention. When Abraham Lincoln spoke to the nation in his first inaugural address in 1861, he said of a pending amendment to the United States Constitution: "To me, the convention mode seems preferable to the amendment process in that it allows amendments to originate with the people themselves, instead of only persuading them to take or reject propositions originated by others not especially chosen with a purpose." I believe President Lincoln was right. That is precisely why a constitutional convention has relevance for Pennsylvania state government in this age of reform.

As chairman of the Senate State Government Committee, I held the first of a series of three statewide public hearings a month ago to discuss legislation that would provide for the convening of a constitutional convention. (The second was held in Harrisburg recently.)

The first question these hearings seek to answer is whether this is a proper time to hold a convention. Given the number of scandals that have rocked the state capitol of late, I believe we have reached a tipping point that necessitates a convention. There is precedent for this: The 1874 convention was triggered by a number of scandals. Public outcry at the time was such that a convention was warranted. I believe we are facing a similar set of precipitating circumstances now.

Second, can the changes that have been proposed in the current climate be adequately addressed in the traditional way of amending the constitution, or is a convention merited at this time? Since 1968, amendments to the constitution have been made in a piecemeal fashion. Amendment proposals can be initiated only through the General Assembly and must pass two consecutive legislative sessions before they can be put before voters. Further, each amendment can encompass only one subject. This is an arduous process that can take up to four or more years to accomplish. A convention could bypass this long process and place multiple amendments before the people within a year or two.

Third, what would be the structure, operating procedure and mechanics of such a constitutional convention, including decisions regarding the number of delegates, timeline, and place of the meeting?

The 1968 convention is our nearest model of reference, but unfortunately, that model is dated. Delegate selection in 1968 was controlled by the county parties, which would surely be unpopular today. The 1968 convention had a limited three-month time frame, which in my judgment would not afford enough time for serious deliberation. In addition, the Internet may allow the citizens to have direct participation in the convention process. All of these factors must be considered when crafting a convention.

The final reason for conducting these hearings is to discuss what limits and subject matter should be placed before a convention for its consideration. Should we restrict the convention's reach to a few specific items that go to the core of how government functions in Pennsylvania? If so, what should those subjects be? A constitutional convention may not be the best forum to tackle controversial social issues. However, it may be the perfect body to discuss the legislative process, the size of the General Assembly, term limits, salaries for legislators and judges, and reapportionment.

During the public hearings, witnesses from a broad spectrum of viewpoints have testified, and I invite the citizens of Pennsylvania to provide us with their testimony. A window of opportunity for reform now exists, but how long that window might be open, or even how wide it is, are not yet known.

State Sen. Jeffrey E. Piccola is a Republican who represents Dauphin and York Counties.

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/pa/20070410_Time_to_revise_Pa__Constitution.html
http://www.piccola.org/

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Border Patrol Agents Wives Talk

On Glenn Beck's program, wives of two border patrol agents, Ramos and Compean, speak about the situation of their husbands' prosecution and incarceration...

Duncan Hunter also speaks about the unfairness of the sentences of 11 and 12 years for the two men.

94 members of Congress have signed the Congressional pardon, Hunter says...

Another woman speaks about her husband's case. Ashley Hernandez, wife of Gilmer Hernandez. The bullet he discharged was at the van's tires...

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/gb.html

Global Warming Jokester

How snow can you go?
WEATHER | Falling fluff causes havoc, sets record -- and more is on the way

April 12, 2007
April snow's the worst.

Forget what the weather forecasters said -- you didn't really expect this: a record 2.9 inches of snow, topping the mark of 2.3 inches for April 11 set in 1957...


http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/338364,CST-NWS-snow12.article