Town Hall Meetings in Penfield and Clay, and Questions for AMB

Penfield Town Hall Meeting

Start: August 31, 2011 6:00 pm

End: August 31, 2011 7:00 pm

Location: Penfield Town Hall - 3100 Atlantic Avenue, Penfield, New York 14526

Town of Clay Town Hall Meeting

Start: September 1, 2011 6:00 pm

End: September 1, 2011 7:00 pm

Location: Clay Town Hall - 4407 Route 31, Clay, New York 13041

Questions for Congresswoman Buerkle:

When will you stop making citizens at your town hall meetings write out their questions ahead of time and having your staff screen them? Are you afraid of direct questions? Are you afraid of controversy?                                                                                                                                     

Where do you stand on the validity of creationism? Intelligent design?

Why didn't you criticize John Boehner, or he you, after the final Debt Ceiling vote?

If you were to be voting tomorrow for a Republican to run against President Obama, who would he/she be?

What, specifically, have you done to create jobs? Have you introduced a single bill that would create jobs? 

What are you doing to reduce the disparity between the wealthiest 1% of our nation and the children, 20% of all children in the United States, who live in poverty?

Why are you using Tea Party support but not joining Michele Bachmann's Tea Party Caucus in the House?

Why do you not maintain civility at your town hall meetings, instead letting your ardent supporters boo and jeer at questions coming from people who don't support you and are trying to ask legitimate questions that deserve thoughtful answers?

Why did you accept lobby money to pay for your recent trip to Israel?

What is you view on recent/current US involvement in Libya, and why? Do you know that there is a CIA presence on the ground in Libya? How long does the US military intend to remain in Libya?

August Questions for Buerkle

August Questions for Buerkle

• Without added revenue, how do you propose to pay for our nation's commitments to wars in four countries on two continents?  

• Why are you instilling fear in middle class tax payers by not acknowledging that the only revenue increases on the table are aimed at the wealthiest Americans and corporations?

• Without cutting your own district's discretionary spending, how do you intend to convince your colleagues to cut theirs?

• What will you think about proposed horizontal hydrofracking behind your Skaneateles Lake camp, just over the hill in the Owasco watershed?

• Why did you vote against the final debt ceiling bill when, only a few days before, you were confident something would pass prior to the Tuesday deadline and you were for it?  

• Was your no vote because you fear alienating the last of the people who ever believed in you?

• Have you cashed Sarah Palin's June 29 check to your campaign yet?

• Why haven't you joined Michele Bachmann's Tea Party Caucus?

• Who are your national and international economic advisors?

• When is your next in-person Town Hall meeting?

Buerkle: June 28, 2011, Community Forum in Manlius plus Questions

Ann Marie will join a group of local politicians at the Manlius Village Auditorium on Tuesday, June 28 from 7 to 9 PM.


Since this is a different format than Buerkle's Town Halls, it is not clear whether she will take questions.


If she does, here are some questions that Blueskygirl wants answers to:

• What, exactly, have you done for the people of your district? Please give specific examples.

• Are you pleased about the same-sex marriage victory in New York?

• Why haven't you joined with the many members of the Congress, Republicans and Democrats, who are calling for an end to the war against Afghanistan?

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?

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?