Vacation Time For Blueskygirl; Town Hall Meeting and More Questions for AMB

Blueskygirl is taking off about 10 days to clear out the cobwebs. If you can imagine becoming obsessed with Buerkle, then you have a head start on understanding why it will be so fun to go somewhere cool without a computer.

In the meantime keep an eye on her (Buerkle) .

One more thing: Buerkle is having another town hall meeting, this time at the Palmyra Town Hall on June 8 from 6-7 PM.  She's keeping the meetings good and short: a 15 minute talk at the beginning and answering easy questions in the remaining time.

If you go, you might like to ask her how she liked the bad press she and the rest of the Financial Oversight committee garnered by giving Elizabeth Warren, possibly the most upright person in Washington, a hard time?

And also maybe ask her why she questioned Elizabeth Warren about a proposed salary of $70,000 for a position in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that Warren is trying to set up, no thanks to the Republicans? [The answer: so that the Bureau will be competitive in attracting well-qualified people.]

After all,Buerkle herself is making $170,000 to be a warm body in a position she is uniquely unqualified to hold. P.S.:She probably made in the neighborhood of $70,000 as an Assistant Attorney General back in Syracuse, an unglamorous paper-pusher job.

Oh yeah, ask her how the "magic of the marketplace" is working out for poor people in Joplin and Tuscaloosa who lived in public housing with no government requirement of a safe room in the basement?

See you soon!

A Big Win for Kathy Hochul and Medicare in the 26th Special Election

NY's 26th Congressional District election is all but over and Conservative Jane Corwin conceded to Democrat Kathy Hochul this evening when it became clear that Corwin had lost by a wide margin, at least as wide as the polls were indicating earlier this week.

Blueskygirl dares to say Hochul might have won even without third candidate Jack Davis, who ticked off the tea partiers by running on their ticket without permission. From whom might that have come in a party that eschews formal structure?

Thinking that the race was going to be close, Corwin this morning got a NY Supreme Court order to bar certification of a winner and to impound ballots and equipment pending a recount. That news of the court order didn't get around until later in the afternoon and might have worked against Corwin if it were released in a more timely manner.

What makes this an especially important win for Hochul and Democrats is that Karl Rove and his American Crossroads gave Corwin $350,000 in the past few weeks for TV ads and promised her another $300,000 if need be, according to this article from buffalonews.com:

http://blogs.buffalonews.com/politics_now/2011/05/rove-backed-committee-rushes-to-rescue-corwin.html

Thankfully there won't be a recount, so there won't be a chance for Rove to manipulate the outcome.

Need Blueskygirl add that American Crossroads and Karl Rove gave Ann Marie Buerkle a shot in the arm recently?

Blueskygirl is honestly puzzled about people such as the tea partiers who will vote against their own self interest again and again. Does anger blind them to the treachery of the Republicans? One would think that they would find better allies among Democrats. Why, oh why, would they trust all that money?

They remind Blueskygirl of Gianelli's dancing piggy, dressed up in a tutu and sweetly selling Gianelli's sausage on billboards all around CNY ahead of the State Fair.

Rapture's Over, Back to Business: Buerkle's Promises

Ann Marie Buerkle wrote a letter to the editor of the Syracuse Post Standard in December 2010 to thank the voters for participating in the election process and to assure us that she would be "accountable, accessible, responsible and independent."

We are approaching the five month mark since Buerkle took office, and Blueskygirl wishes to comment about her (Buerkle's) promises and her approach to her job since she was sworn in and missed her first vote in the new congress.

Accountability? Buerkle knows she may not have a chance at another term as she may be relegated to the dustbin of history after redistricting. There is some proof that this is reality as she is making no attempt to fundraise. 

Of course she knows, as she discovered last time, that wealthy donors, interest groups and secret "educational" groups will step up, and she knows she can depend on Boehner, Cantor, Romney, Palin, or whomever are the Tea Party/Conservative darlings, to show up or blog and tweet, or run dishonest TV ads, when she needs them. 

That is, of course, if she keeps on voting with her party, narrowly along party lines...which she will. She is batting .970 voting with Boehner, unswerving in her loyalty to the boss. Buerkle will always be looking upward and not back here when she feels the pull of loyalty.

Accessibility? Buerkle shows up. She smiles and blinks. She nods her head. She mumbles "uh huh" more or less at appropriate times. 

She has begun to answer constituent letters, more or less on topic but shallow as a muddy delta. She has already mastered the art of answering with generalities and not getting anywhere near the meat of the question.

She is a super meet n' greeter, happy to see the troops who show up to support her every word and hassle the people who want some answers. Does accessibility mean throwing a town hall meeting where your supporters like to openly intimidate the rest of the people?. If she had a bit of backbone she would caution those supporters to remember their manners. Where is the civility at Buerkle's town halls? She does little or nothing to encourage meaningful discourse, though she professes to want dialogue.

Responsibility? She has voted against decades of progress along party lines in DC. She has consistently voted to hurt schools. She doesn't ever mention that there are more poor people in this nation than there ever were before, and especially more poor children., She is responsible to the likes of Randall Terry, Sarah Palin, John Boehner, the Koch brothers, Paul Singer, Susan B. Anthony List, Lila Rose, and a huge cast of other ideologues and rich people. 

Independence? Batting .970 is anything but. Ann Marie Buerkle has no more spine than a jelly fish. 

Here is that letter to the Editor:

syr.com

Letter to the Editor:

December 14, 2010

To the Editor:

When I began my run for New York’s 25th Congressional District seat, I knew the race would demand more of me than any single endeavor I had yet pursued, but I also knew the effort was worth it to have the honor of representing the great people of this district.

The campaign was just the beginning of what I hope will be a successful and rewarding relationship with my constituents — those who voted for me, against me and didn’t vote. As your congresswoman-elect, I recognize my most important job is to represent the needs and best interests of the 25th District. I can only do so by building a strong, cooperative relationship with you.

I am grateful to all of my supporters for their hard work and enthusiasm. Thank you to all who voted for me. Thank you, all who voted, regardless for whom you voted. You may have disagreed with some of my positions, but your role as a voter is essential to maintaining a free society.

However, your civic responsibility doesn’t end in the voting box. Please come to the town hall meetings I will hold often throughout the district. Visit my congressional offices. Write me about what you want to see accomplished in Congress.

Thank you to the Congressman Dan Maffei for a strongly fought election and a gracious concession. Thank you to the Board of Elections commissioners and workers for their complete professionalism.

During the campaign I had an ongoing conversation with voters about the kind of representative I would be — accountable, accessible, responsible and independent. I am grateful and humbled by the trust placed in me by the voters, and will not take my role lightly.

Ann Marie Buerkle 

Member of Congress-elect
Onondaga Hill

Is Everybody Still Here?

In Heaven There Is No Beer

...a polka with many versions and verses, wild polka band Brave Combo from Texas introduced Blueskygirl to the tune many years ago, and she still finds herself humming it, for no known reason, often.

In Heaven there is no beer
That's why we drink it here
And when we're gone from here
All our friends will be drinking all that beer

La, la, la, la, la, la ...

Heaven

David Byrne, wrote Heaven with Jerry Harrison. It is the second song, sung by Byrne and Tina Weymouth, in Talking Heads' great rock movie Stop Making Sense, made during 3 concerts in 1984. 

This is the movie where Davie Byrne wears his Big Suit for Girlfriend Is Better. 

At the end of the first set, after Life During Wartime, David Byrne asks, "Does anyone have any questions?"

Everyone is trying to get to the bar

The name of the bar, the bar is called heaven

The band in heaven, they play my favourite song

Play it one more time, play it all night long

Heaven, heaven is a place, a place where nothing, nothing ever happens

Heaven, heaven is a place, a place where nothing, nothing ever happens

There is a party, everyone is there

Everyone will leave at exactly the same time

When this party's over, it will start again

It will not be any different, it will be exactly the same

Heaven, heaven is a place, a place where nothing, nothing ever happens

When this kiss is over it will start again

It will not be any different, it will be exactly the same

It's hard to imagine that nothing at all could be so exciting, could be this much fun

Heaven, heaven is a place, a place where nothing, nothing ever happens

Heaven, heaven is a place, a place where nothing, nothing ever happens

Is Your Water Safe?

Unclear whether The Yes Men or another imaginative group of 


conspirators did this superb action, which is up on a webpage connected


to the NYC Department of Environmental Protection:

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Your Health and Our Water

A timeline for contamination

New York City's is among the best urban water supplies in the world, and will remain so through summer 2011. After that, hydraulic fracturing ("hydrofracking") beneath the New York City aquifer may begin causing contamination of our City's water supply.

If, beginning in September 2011, you suspect your drinking water to be contaminated with chemicals involved in the hydraulic fracturing process, there are simple, economical tests you may perform to lay your concerns to rest.

One such test involves bringing a lighted match or lighter into close proximity to the water of concern. Water contaminated as a result of the hydraulic fracturing process is prone to burst into flames.

More precisely, water with chemical additives, injected into deep cracks in the earth as part of the hydraulic fracturing extraction process, may enter aquifers overlaying the drill site and, along with natural gas, emerge from your faucet; upon contact with flame, this mixture can combust in spectacular fashion. (This phenomenon has been observed widely in areas subject to hydraulic fracturing extraction processes, and may soon begin appearing in areas served by the aquifer above and adjacent to the Marcellus Shale—including all five boroughs of New York City.)

If Governor Cuomo issues a ban on hydraulic fracturing before June 1, 2011, contamination of the City's water supply will not occur. If you wish to take action on this, please visit:

• Official DEP "Get Involved" page
• United for Action campaign page
• "Kill the Drill" campaign page

Please also consider helping us to spread the word about the dangers of hydraulic fracturing by posting notices near water spigots throughout the City, and please send a link to this page to any friends or loved ones you consider at risk of hydraulic fracturing contamination today or in the near future.

Disclaimer: Although hydraulic fracturing contamination is linked to symptoms such as headaches, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, hair loss, itching, and kidney failure, these symptoms are also correlated with exposure to radiation, coal fumes, common chemicals, and even some natural causes. Presence of these symptoms is thus in no way proof positive of exposure to chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing process.

Help Spread the Word

To alert more New York City residents to the dangers of contamination posed by hydraulic fracturing in the City's Marcellus Shale / Catskills aquifer, please help us post the following notices:

(full-resolution here) 

[Blueskygirl thinks to get the best result copying this graphic to create your own stickers, 

it is wise to go to the original site:

http://www.nyc-dep.org/spreadtheword.html  ]

Instructions:

1. Download and print, or otherwise obtain, notices. We recommend printing at 6'x10' or 3'x5' on sticky-backed paper, in color if possible.
2. Post notices on tile or metal surfaces near any water spigot in New York City. Do not post notices on paint or wood, as removing the notices could damage the surface.

If you would like to join the DEP's Auxiliary Volunteer Water Testing Battalion and perform special, highly visible baseline tests of New York City water spigots, please write to us for instructions.

Resources for action against hydrofracking may be found at

• Official DEP "Get Involved" page
• United for Action
• "Kill the Drill" campaign page

Please also forward these pages to at-risk friends or loved ones.

Chuckle of the Day

Governor Nikki Haley speaks during a meeting of the Tea Party in Columbia [SC] Thursday night at the Statehouse. A.L. Geddings and Louise Geddings of Columbia were representative of the low turnout. Turnout was low at the event due to Donald Trump canceling his expected appearance.

- Tracy Glantz /Tracy Glantz/tglantz@thestate.co

Buerkle: Snake Oil and Death Panels

Back To The Future: "Death Panel" Myth Invoked At GOP Town Hall To Scare Voters

ThinkProgress filed this report from Manilus, NY

ThinkProgress posted a nice little summary of an exchange between Ann Marie Buerkle and several constituents at the Town Hall Meeting in Pompey, Onondaga County, last Wednesday night, written by Tanya Somanader:

http://thinkprogress.org/2011/05/21/buerkle-death-panel/

Does Buerkle think we are morons? It is pretty easy to see that honesty does not play in Buerkle's world. Pathetically, she also cannot comprehend that other people can see what she is up to. We call it "insight" in the mental health field, and she lacks it. Otherwise she would know not to toss out garbage like "death panels" to living breathing human beings at her meetings.

Back in DC, Boehner sits Buerkle and the other novices down and feeds them these lies-gone-viral, and gives them crib sheets so they can practice. Then they are expected to go home to us rubes and tell us with a straight face stuff that even Sarah Palin doesn't try to peddle anymore. And that is saying a LOT.

Do you want Blueskygirl to tell you how she really feels?

Authentic Susan B. Anthony

I always distrust people who know so much about what God wants them to do to their fellows.

Susan B. Anthony

This Just Slays Blueskygirl!

...that Buerkle has the nerve to show up at the Syracuse Center of Excellence to offer her congratulations to recipients for receiving grants from the EPA to support various projects.  It wouldn't be because she did anything to help the process...that's for sure. She wouldn't know "cutting edge" if it bit her. Or "collaborative atmosphere" either. 


Here is the announcement from Syracuse University:

SyracuseCoE announces $200,000 in TAD [EPA] awards to four Upstate companies

May 17, 2011 

Kelly Horman Rdoski

The Syracuse Center of Excellence (SyracuseCoE) today announced that four Upstate New York companies have received a total of $200,000 in the fourth round of Technology Application and Demonstration (TAD 2011) awards. These demonstration projects are designed to improve air quality and water systems.

The awards are made possible through funding to SyracuseCoE from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The announcement was made at SyracuseCoE headquarters, and recipients were congratulated by U.S. Rep Ann Marie Buerkle (NY-25); Edward Bogucz, executive director of the SyracuseCoE; Eric F. Spina, vice chancellor and provost of Syracuse University; Pete King, managing partner of King & King Architects LLP and chairman of the SyracuseCoE; and Rob Simpson, president of CenterState CEO.

The TAD 2011 awards will push the total EPA funding to date for SyracuseCoE technology demonstration projects to more than $1.9 million, a subset of a larger portfolio of demonstration projects funded by the SyracuseCoE in the past. TAD projects are a crucial part of SyracuseCoE’s “innovation ecosystem,” which seeks to fund product and service innovations in clean and renewable energy, indoor environmental quality and water resources through research, demonstration and commercialization phases.

“Small businesses, such as those receiving this round of Technology Application and Development (TAD) awards, are the engines for economic growth in our region. I want to congratulate those receiving TAD awards today for their cutting-edge work that holds the promise for generating jobs here in Central New York,” says Buerkle. “I also want to thank the Center of Excellence for providing a collaborative atmosphere where new technologies can be researched, nurtured, commercialized."   

Syracuse University   http://www.syr.edu/news/articles/2011/coe-tad-awards-05-11.html

Meanwhile back in DC, the Republicans, wholeheartedly including Ms. Buerkle, have been doing the following:

House GOP Readies Severe New Restrictions On EPA

February 2011 In a sharp challenge to the Obama administration, House Republicans intend to unveil legislation Wednesday to ban the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act and expect to advance the bill quickly, officials disclosed Tuesday night.

The officials said the bill would nullify all of the steps the EPA has taken to date on the issue, including a threshold finding that greenhouse gases constitute a danger to the public health and welfare.

In addition, it seeks to strip the agency of its authority to use the law in any future attempts to crack down on the emissions from factories, utilities and other stationary sources.  

Huffington Post   http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/01/house-gop-epa-restrictions_n_817277.html

The GOP's EPA Ambush

March 2011 Can the 112th Congress officially claim the mantle of "most anti-science" ever? So says Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), a 36-year veteran of congressional wrangling over environmental matters. Even the contentious fights over issues like the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments pale in comparison to the environmental battles of the current Congress, the 71-year-old lawmaker noted earlier this week: "I've never been in a Congress where there was such an overwhelming disconnect between science and public policy."

It's not just that the House GOP is pushing—and will likely pass—a bill that would bar the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating planet-warming emissions and nullify the agency's scientific finding that those gases endanger human health. Congressional Republicans have mounted an all-out assault on the EPA, pushing a lengthy list of measures to handcuff the agency from exercising its regulatory authority. For good measure, they are also trying to slash the agency's budget by a third. 

The continuing resolution—the seven-month measure to fund the federal government, which the House passed on February 19—included 19 separate riders that have almost nothing to do with cutting the deficit and everything to do with derailing the EPA's regulatory clout. These provisions would block the agency from issuing regulations on particulate pollution, emissions from cement plants, and emissions of mercury, arsenic, and other toxic pollutants from coal-fired power plants. The riders would also restrict oversight of mountaintop-removal coal mining, block pending regulations on coal-ash disposal, and bar the EPA from moving forward with its plan to clean up the Chesapeake Bay and other national waterways. 

Mother Jones    http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/03/republican-epa-ambush

In Its Crusade Against EPA Climate Rules, Has the GOP Gone Too Far?

March 2011  Though she sometimes cracks a knowing smile from the witness chair, [EPA Administrator Lisa P.] Jackson is always her gracious, measured and down-to-earth self when she patiently explains to one committee or another that the Environmental Protection Agency does not now — and will not in the future — regulate cow flatulence, farm dust or milk spilled on dairy farms.

Those familiar with the hearing room-as-theater scenario in the nation's capital are accustomed to these sorts of ploys. But even hardened veterans are questioning why Republicans are persisting with this sideshow act when they have created a serious firestorm on center stage by trying to slash EPA's budget by one-third for the remainder of the fiscal year and threatening to prevent Jackson from deploying the Clean Air Act to curb emissions from heat-trapping gases. 

Reuters   http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/17/idUS94228031720110317

Barton denies any ‘medical negative’ from mercury, smog, or soot pollution

[You remember Joe Barton, don't you? He did the following, all in one day back in June of '10:  Texas Rep. Joe Barton apologizes for apologizing to BP CEO Tony Hayward over '$20B shakedown']

April 2011  At a congressional hearing on Friday designed to lay the groundwork for an effort to delay critical EPA toxic pollution standards, Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) claimed that reducing emissions of toxic mercury, sulfur dioxide, and soot would not bring health benefits. Though conceding he is "not a medical doctor," Barton offered the "hypothesis" that EPA estimates of the benefits of its proposed air toxics rule are "pulled out of the thin air" because there is no "medical negative" to the pollution:

To actually cause poisoning or a premature death you have to get a large concentration of mercury into the body. I'm not a medical doctor, but my hypothesis is that's not going to happen! You're not going to get enough mercury exposure or SO2 exposure or even particulate matter exposure! I think the EPA numbers are pulled out of the thin air!  

Grist   http://www.grist.org/pollution/2011-04-20-barton-denies-any-medical-negative-from-mercury-smog-or-soot

GOP Would Shut Down Government Over EPA, Planned Parenthood

April 2011  A deal to prevent a government shutdown has yet to be reached, and the clock is ticking ominously toward a shutdown on Friday. After a late-night meeting between President Obama, Harry Reid and John Boehner, sources said a tentative agreement was reached to cut around $34.5 billion in fiscal year 2011–12, according to the Huffington Post (the specifics of the cuts remain secret). But the sticking point concerns GOP 'riders" focused on hot-button issues unrelated to the deficit, such as defunding family planning services at Planned Parenthood and preventing the EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions—two highlights of the budget passed by House Republicans in February. 

The Nation   http://www.thenation.com/blog/159761/gop-would-shut-down-government-over-epa-planned-parenthood

GOP's Burr tries backdoor approach to whacking EPA

May 2011 For decades, Republicans have sought to weaken or eliminate government departments and agencies. They're at it again. This time the target is the 40-year-old Environmental Protection Agency. And the 34-year-old Department of Energy. The scheme: Merge them.

The sponsor of the bill that would do this is North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr. So far, he's picked up 15 co-sponsors for a plan that he claims would save $3 billion a year by getting rid of waste and duplication. 

The EPA has been under siege for some time, but never more so than now, with the likes of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and his fossil fuel-funded American Solutions for Winning the Future having proposed the complete abolition of the agency earlier this year. Not that Gingrich isn't serious. But, like many of his and other proposals from the right, this one gives Republicans the chance to put forth plans look moderate in comparison because they only take few steps in the same extremist direction even though they have the same ultimate destination.

A decade and a half ago, Gingrich sought to get rid of the Department of Energy. Then and now, Republicans have fought to remove renewable-energy programs from DOE, or failing that, to slash their spending. In the House Republican-passed budget, they axed $438 million in such spending while leaving fossil-fuel subsidies untouched. When temporarily stymied in their ultimate goal, Republican extremists don't go on a despairing drinking binge, they try an end run or another approach. Eventually, they find a position that will get enough votes to ensure passage. And when they've passed that, they'll begin chipping away. Check out abortion legislation for examples. 

Daily Kos  http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/05/06/973708/-GOPs-Burr-tries-backdoor-approach-to-whacking-EPA

Nothing Grass-Roots About This: Secret Big Machine Campaign Finance Helps Ann Marie Buerkle

As the amount of money it takes to win an election balloons, so do the completely legal opportunities to make contributions secretly, and so do the legal opportunities for certain legal entities to help finance a candidate's campaign without revealing who its contributors are. So long as these entities do not actually tell a voter how to vote, they are legal. They are "limited" to "educating" the public. The entity highlighted in this blog is a 501 (c) 3, a not-for-profit created to inform the public about certain matters conservative and pro-growth.

When Ann Marie Buerkle's race became important to conservatives, the Tea Party and Republicans during the last three months before the election in November 2010, money began to pour into the district via at least one fund shrouded in secrecy, Commission on Hope, Growth and Opportunity, as well as from Republic leaders' PACs and Paul Singer and his Elliott Associates (about which Blueskygirl blogged earlier in the year. The Singer article makes interesting reading if you haven't seen it yet.) 

A section of an article appearing today on Bloomberg News is about secret legal campaign money spent against Dan Maffei among others late last fall.  

The article Secret Big Money Deciding U.S. Elections; Somebody Call Jimmy Carter by J. Crewdson, A. Fitzgerald, J. Salant and C. Babcock, can be found here. It is very good.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-19/secret-donors-multiply-in-u-s-with-finances-dwarfing-watergate.

Thanks to Bloomberg News for this section of the article:

A Desk Downtown

Former Democratic Representative Dan Maffei said he would have been re-elected "if it were not for the outside advertising which came in exclusively for my opponent late in the campaign." Maffei lost to Republican Ann Marie Buerkle in New York's 25th Congressional District, which includes Syracuse.

Nationally, Maffei said, outside money made the difference between the Republicans picking up "30 or 40" seats in the House and the 63 they won in the end.

Commission on Hope paid at least $2.10 million for ads against [Representative John, D-SC] Spratt, Maffei and nine other Democrats in seven states in the 60 days prior to voting, according to estimates by Campaign Media. Ten of the 11 Democrats lost.

Formed in March 2010, Commission on Hope lists only one person on its website - William B. Canfield, a former Republican Senate aide who is the group's general counsel. Its address is a downtown Washington law office where he has a desk. Canfield declined to comment.

[Note: Blueskygirl's bold]

We learn from FactCheck.org, a project of the Annenburg Public Policy Center, some information about Commission on Hope, Growth and Opportunity: 

According to the Form 1024 that it filed with the Internal Revenue Service, the president and executive director of CHGO is Steve Powell, a media consultant based in Vista, Calif., who has worked for Republican candidates, corporations and conservative causes. The group’s general counsel is William B. Canfield, a one-time lawyer for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, who was until last year a registered lobbyist with the firm of Williams and Jensen. Some news reports credit GOP consultant Scott Reed with founding the organization. Reed was quoted by the Center for Public Integrity as saying that the group’s "big three" donors are "the financial services industry, the energy industry, and the health insurance industry."

No surprises here, except that nobody is accountable, nobody is limited in how much they can give, nobody is held to even the standards that we have more or less had to trust when it came to campaign finance for several decades.

The up-shot is that several hundred thousand dollars came into the Buerkle campaign or "educated" the public in the last weeks of the campaign and she overcame Dan's substantial lead. Buerkle attributed her victory to a “grassroots campaign” based on volunteers who had never been politically active before, said Liza Lowery, her spokeswoman. Really?

Smiling Mask

Blueskygirl has a story to tell about Ann Marie Buerkle's abilities at deception. It is a second hand story, yet it is perfectly believable to Blueskygirl because it was told to her by a good friend and neighbor whom she trusts. She feels that her friend would have no reason to tell anything but the truth about the incident she is going to describe. It was a powerful moment for Blueskygirl's friend, and one he will never forget.

Many years ago Blueskygirl's friend worked in the human services field as an advocate for people with certain disabilities. This friend had occasion to know Ann Marie Buerkle through his capacity as a leader in his agency and field. 

Buerkle was in a position to oppose the services Blueskygirl's friend was trying to develop, and she used her power at the time to try to undermine his work and turn the public and the funders against his project. She did this by misrepresenting the nature of the disabilities and the nature of the services.   

Blueskygirl's friend had an opportunity to confront Buerkle about her outspoken opposition. He tried to have a discussion with her about the need for the services. He tried using facts. He tried to appeal to her sense of compassion. She would not be swayed.

Finally he said to her, "You are just never going to tell the truth about this, are you? You are going to go on lying, aren't you?"

Buerkle smiled broadly at him and said, "Yes, you are right."  The conversation was over. She walked away, still smiling.

Tea Party Wants to Control Who Runs on Their Line..Is This an Oxymoron?

On May 11, Blueskygirl wrote about the rise and possible win in the vote next Tuesday of Democrat Kathy Hochul in NY 26 Congressional District between Rochester and Buffalo. 

Today the NYTimes published the second article in a week about the race for the 26th, this time particularly about Jack Davis, who is running as a third candidate on a Tea Party line and splitting the vote with Conservative Jane Corwin, giving Hochul a gift from heaven.

Here's the NYTimes article from this morning. Blueskygirl linked to the first NYTimes article on May 11.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/17/nyregion/jack-davis-makes-tea-party-bid-in-ny-congressional-race.html?_r=1&hp

Davis has created alarm among Republicans and Conservatives, so much so that John Boehner came to the 26th last week on behalf of Corwin. Karl Rove has sent Corwin a bunch of tea-colored money. The Tea Party is calling in ever-classy baseball batman Carl Paladino to denounce Davis.  

Better yet, tea partiers all over NY are up in arms about Davis. They are angry and trying, at the last minute, to organize (not their best skill) resistance to him and support for Corwin. It is a refreshing turn of events,. Blueskygirl is totally enjoying herself.

Blueskygirl doesn't think Davis is deliberately trying to create a win for the Democrat. Still, could intentional Trojan horses become an election tool next time around? Anything could happen, given the tea partiers inate inability to organize. Ah, can relegation "to the dust bin of history" be far off?

The Ann Marie Buerkle FAQ Answer Sheet

Can't get to a town hall meeting? Haven't been able to get in to see your Representative in person? 

Finally there is a time-saving aid for Ann Marie Buerkle's constitutients who have missed hearing her speak in person and want to know what she thinks about important issues.

Here, at last and in one place, is the Ann Marie Buerkle FAQ Answer Sheet. You can now easily locate common answers to all the tough questions. Become familiar with words and phrases that slip easily off her tongue as she tackles your neighbor's hard questions. Here is everything you need to know about Ann Marie's work in Congress and her approach to the many demanding and complicated problems she is being called upon to solve.

Another idea: use the Ann Marie Buerkle FAQ Answer Sheet as a check list if you go to the town hall meeting this Wednesday. How many of these responses can you collect in a single evening?  Good luck!

• we’re losing the American dream

• I must work hard to find the common ground

• real reforms that lower health costs without growing government

• we need to have a discussion

• the key here is not what I think — it’s what the business owners think

• lower taxes, less government spending, and limited government interference are the building blocks for economic growth

• I’d be happy to look into that and set up a meeting

• this isn’t a Democratic or a Republican issue

• we simply must make the tough choices

• put together a roadmap and put all our efforts into achieving these goals

• I'll have my staff look into it

• there’s a legitimate role of government in some places

• I am planning to be around often to listen

• I am looking forward to being back in the district and having the opportunity to listen to my constituents

• we don't have a taxing problem; we have a spending problem

• look at what obstacles the government puts in place for businesses to succeed

• put your faith in the magic of the marketplace

• create certainty and not regulate businesses to death

• we need to find common ground 

• overspending and bloatedness 

• why do we want to punish the rich? They work hard for their money

• the time is upon us where we’ve got to let the market take hold in so many things

• the middle class is not being hurt by the wealthy; they are being hurt by the federal government

• the government has to create an environment where businesses are not regulated and taxed to death

• we have to get this government under control

• I will keep your thoughts and concerns in mind as we move forward

• my position is to find a balance, to protect the environment while not impeding businesses in their success

• job creation and getting the economy on track is the priority of this Congress 

• we need to stop spending money that we don't have in this country

• a victory for big government; an affront to our Constitution

• we’ve got to have a system where we talk about tort reform

• right out of the gate

• I need to thoroughly review the budget

• we need to create certainty for businesses so they can plan

• you just wish there was an easier way to do it

Don't Worry, Be Happy

In Cato at the Town Hall Meeting last month, Ann Marie Buerkle dismissed a couple of serious concerns and the audience never got to ask followup questions.

• Asked about hydrofracking, Buerkle extolled the virtues of natural gas, like how it will solve all our energy problems forever. She explained with great authority that "someone" at ESF,  SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, said that hydrofracking was safe and, anyway, the gas is too deep to be reached economically up here in Central New York. If development goes forward in NY, it will be where the gas is close to the surface down by Elmira and Corning. 

            So long, Elmira and Corning.

• Asked to explain vouchers in Medicare reform, she told us that it wasn't a voucher system. A couple minutes later she called it a voucher system but  said that no one over 55, which was a large percentage of the audience that evening, would not see any change in their Medicare and so not to worry. 

            So long, under-55s.

Buerkle's assumption that everyone in the audience is happy to be self-serving doesn't, fortunately, apply to everyone. Virtually half of the voters back in November, the people who didn't vote for her, are concerned about issues that affect more than just themselves and their own back yards.

Questions for Ann Marie Buerkle at Her Next Town Hall Meeting: Wednesday, May 18 at Pompey Town Hall

Hey, join in the fun and ask Ann Marie questions this coming Wednesday, May 18, 6:00 PM in Pompey!

PLEASE NOTE: The village of Pompey is on Route 20, 6 miles south of the village of Manlius. "Manlius" in the announcement sent out by Buerkle's office is the mailing address for the Pompey Town Hall.

Town Hall Meeting
Start:         May 18, 2011 6:00 pm
End:          May 18, 2011 7:00 pm
Location:   Pompey Town Hall: 8354 U.S. Route 20, Manlius, NY 13104

Here are some questions Blueskygirl is sure Ann Marie will welcome at her town hall as she continues her quest for common ground. She is a strong proponent of finding areas of agreement, and of listening to ALL of her constituents, and so it seems important to let her know just how far toward the center she will have to move if she is truly seeking common ground.

Beneath this list of questions for Ann Marie Buerkle at her next town hall meeting is a list of questions that Blueskygirl originally posted on March 18, 2011. Some of the older questions have become somewhat irrelevant or outdated, at least for now.

Since then, Blueskygirl has continued to build the list.

Now, the current questions, please:

• What do you know about the loss of $1,000,000 for Syracuse in the Community Block Grant program that the House Republicans cut from the budget this year? 

• Who is your choice at this time for Republican candidate for president? and why?

• Do you intend to collect your monthly Social Security when you retire?

• What is your current connection (today) with Operation Rescue?

• Do you like the health insurance our government provides for you during your time in Congress?

• What do you think is the cause of the massive retreat of glaciers all over the world?

• Unions? yea or nay? Did you ever belong to a union?

• Were African Americans active in your campaign? What are you initiating to bring people of color into your tent? Why do you think there are few (or no) African Americans here at this town hall meeting?

• Where do you stand on gun control?

• What is your postion on nuclear power?

• What is your position on hydrofracking? Why do you think the City of Syracuse and the City of New York water authorities successfully insisted that their drinking watersheds be permanently excluded as possible hydrofracking sites?

• Do you know who Paul Singer is? Elliott Associates? Elliott Management?

• What is the Frederick Douglas Foundation?

• Do you like to listen to Public Radio?

• Can you please say a few words about the importance of the separation of church and state, an important judicial and constitutional concept?

• Why don't you just resign, since you are not doing any good for the district?

from Blueskygirl's March 18 post: 


Questions for Ann Marie Buerkle's Next Town Hall Meeting, and the One After That...

Ms. Buerkle, you promised us honesty and transparency during your campaign. You promised that you would try to find common ground. The election results indicate that you won by only a very small margin, so it is safe to assume that there are a great many people who would like to know you share their concerns about where this country is headed. 

Now that you have gotten your feet wet in Washington, would you be so kind as to answer some questions for us?

• You talked repeatedly about job creation and job recovery during your campaign. Since the election you do not talk about jobs. Why?  

• What are your plans, and your party's plans, for job recovery?

• Since you personally benefitted during your campaign from NPR public radio and PBS television, how can you now vote to defund public broadcasting? 

• Do you personally listen to or watch public broadcasting?

• What are you doing to keep several hundred jobs in NYS which are part of the 1200 jobs in the Northeast that National Grid is eliminating? Or do you support eliminating those jobs? Do you know why they are being eliminated?

• Do you subscribe to the idea that President Obama is not an American-born citizen? Do you need to see his birth certificate before you believe he was born on US soil?

• What do you think about what is happening in Wisconsin?
• Knowing what you do, from your multi-faceted career and volunteer experience, 

• about the needs of people and families without health insurance; 
• about people who need to be represented by an attorney and lack the funds to afford one; 
• about women (and men) who have experienced domestic abuse; 
• about the importance of family planning and reproductive health,                      

             then how do you justify cutting funds to or eliminating programs that help the neediest among us?

• What is your position on nuclear power?

• How do you respond to the idea of the threat that the nuclear power plants near Oswego and Rochester pose either by terrorists or by natural disaster?  We think about how relatively easy it might be for a terrorist group, domestic or foreign, to crash a plane into a plant or for employees and contractors to infiltrate a plant over time. Do you think continuing generation of electricity using nuclear power is sustainable given the enormous costs in treasure, safety and security?

• Why did you accept a large collective contribution from Paul Singer and several of his employees at Elliott Associates and Elliott Management, both powerful hedge funds? Do you know that Paul Singer is a modern-day robber baron who crushes whole countries for profit?

• Do you understand the importance of the separation of church and state in a democracy? Would you be willing to describe and discuss its importance so that we are all clear about this judicial and Constitutional concept?