The LuLac Edition #67, Oct. 4th, 2006

PICTURE INDEX: CHRIS CARNEY AND FAMILY, STATE REPRESENTATIVE PHYLLIS MUNDY SMILING AS SHE HEADS FOR ANOTHER TERM IN OFFICE, AND JOE LEONARDI WITH GOP LTN. GOVERNOR CANDIDATE JIM MATTHEWS.

SHERWOOD/CARNEY TV AD WARS

The fight is intensifying between Don Sherwood and Chris Carney in the TV ad wars. Sherwood and Carney are trying to match each other dollar for dollar, message to message, response to response. A Sherwood ad talks about the Congressman’s record helping flood victims earlier this year, while Carney responds with his agenda for change. A father holds up a photo of his daughter and talks about the charges leveled against the Congressman saying he could no longer support Sherwood. Sherwood responds with a full blown apology to his family, “the love of his life” and what seems to be the entire free world. This campaign along with its TV ads are like a fast moving merry go round with something new every day. Carney leads in the polls but the true test will be if the GOP can mount a mass turnout of Sherwood supporters to help the Congressman with this race. But as I told L.A. Tarone on his TV show, many hard core supporters of Sherwood are more disappointed than anything else and just might stay home this election leaving the incumbent Congressman to twist in the wind.

MEANWHILE, LEONARDI MARCHES ON

Since efforts to have Congressman Kanjorski respond to debate invitation from candidate Joe Leonardi and have failed and since the Congressman has refused my request to be adopted by his family in my search for greater financial gain, I thought I’d let you see some of Leonardi’s stands on the issues. Policy wonks and interested voters: ENJOY!

Immigration Reform

My father immigrated to this country in 1963. He had a sponsor and a visa. He followed our laws, learned English, and was not hampered because the world wasn’t translated into his native Italian. He worked hard to support his family and raise his children. To quote myself, "I am a strong believer in legal immigration into the United States. Obviously, had it not been for legal immigration I would not be in the position I am in now — running for the office of U.S. Representative to represent all citizens in the Pennsylvania 11th district."
The time for our legislators to listen to the call of their citizens and take action is long overdue. No matter how complicated the issue, the U.S. cannot afford to be weakened and leave itself vulnerable in a post-9/11 world. Send me to Congress so I can raise our voice and end illegal immigration.
My proposal:
The first priority is to stop the massive flood of illegal aliens from Mexico. We need to build a wall from California to Texas. No half-measures, a real physical barrier reinforced with electronic monitoring devices. This solution is both conceivable and cost effective compared to the alternative of doing nothing.
Reinforce all our borders, including the ports. Terrorists will try to reach us any way they can. We need to stop them on all fronts.
Establish a national language. History proves to us that nothing unites a country like a single language and nothing divides it like multiple languages. English language classes should be readily available for anyone who wants to learn.
Those who are in the U.S. illegally not only broke our laws, they continue to violate our laws by disregarding our sovereignty.
We must empower both state and local officials to enforce immigration laws. As we discover those in this country illegally, they must be returned to their country of origin.
Second Amendment
The best way to sum up my view of the second amendment is to say that I believe "the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed," exactly as is written in the Constitution. The Firearm Owners Against Crime (FOAC) have given me their endorsement.
Individual gun ownership is a protected right.
National gun registration is a violation of the Second Amendment.
I support legislation to rein in rogue federal agents who carried out illegal "sting operations" against law-abiding citizens who attend gun shows.
I would not only support a Congressional resolution to ensure that not one American tax dollar is ever used to support or advance the U.N. effort to disarm private citizens worldwide, I would sponsor such a resolution.

National Security

In the 1980's I served in United States Navy. The day I was discharged we were on the verge of President Reagan’s 600 ship Navy. Today the Navy has a mere 285 ships. It was an egregious mistake to assume that the U.S. would no longer face physical threats after the fall of the Soviet Union. Every generation has its challenges. All good societies have adversaries. We need to maintain the greatest military power the world has ever known. No more naivete. The United States is in the middle of a fight that will last a long time. Via a superior military we will prevent new threats from emerging, quell existing threats and once again prove that peace through strength does work.
We need to:
Adequately fund our entire military in every capacity: training, equipment and benefits
Stand firmly behind our men and women in uniform
Give respect and assistance to veterans, retirees and their families
Aggressively hunt down and eliminate terrorists and their networks throughout the world
Advocate strengthening, improving and modernizing our intelligence agencies

Health Care

Very few issues concern the average person more than skyrocketing health care costs. I am self-employed and have been responsible for my own health care costs. Unfortunately, there is no single, quick-fix solution to the problem. Beware the politicians who claim there is.
However, there is a combination of steps that can be taken to start reducing costs and make health care more affordable:

Health Savings Accounts

Pooling of health insurance plans among small businesses
Greater access to our own medical records and information regarding physicians, prevention and self-analysis

Local Issues

The 11th District requires change. It is time to elect a citizen legislator who cares about the area as a whole. One who is in touch with and accountable to the people. We no longer need a career politician is more beholden to Washington politics and his own self interests. We deserve a Representative who is beholden to the constituents of Northeast PA and the citizens of the United States of America.

No to the inflatable dam scheme. (Please see my editorial).
Economic development is important. I want to be a salesman for the area.
Crime problems are getting worse. I want tough penalties on criminals. We must increase our efforts at combating the spread of drugs and gangs into our area.
I will have a full-time office in every county. A small business liaison will be in each office once a week to assist people in accessing government programs in setting up, developing and growing their businesses.
During congressional recesses I will personally spend four hours a day at each office.

Taxes and Spending

People are overtaxed and very justifiably exasperated by government excess. We must institute an equitable, commonsense tax system that will grow the economy by keeping money in citizens’ pockets’ and making sure government spending becomes less decadent and careless.
I want to institute a flat tax system, which entails a flat rate of 17% on all income.
The first $15,000 is automatically deductible, $5,000 per child and the 17% rate above that leaves no room for loopholes or systematic abuses.
I will encourage our state legislators to altogether eliminate property taxes in Pennsylvania.
Function of Government
Our forefathers envisioned citizen legislators who stepped out of the private sector for a limited time to work on behalf of their communities. They would be horrified by the careerist culture that we live in today. The founding fathers were also foresighted enough to realize that power may corrupt. Therefore, they established checks and balances on power. Washington is in crisis, and many of our country's ills are a result of the abandonment of checks and balances. How does the one branch check or balance the other if term limits exist on one and not the other? There are several things that we need to do. Start by sending me to Congress where I will:

Serve no more than three terms (six years), and work to institute term limits across all of Congress to restore the checks and balances contained in our Constitution.
Work for greater transparency in government, allowing for easier public access to budgets, congressional voting records and spending earmarks.
Advocate a more limited federal government, the elimination of wasteful, unnecessary agencies, and the revamping of inefficient, but needed agencies.
Stop astronomical spending increases, waste, pork spending, corruption and the steadily creeping scope and control of government over people's lives.
Support the concept of individual responsibility and rugged individualism through which this country was founded and made great.
Refuse to accept and vote against all pay increases, including cost of living adjustments, unless the federal budget is balanced.


Respect for Life

My hero, Ronald Reagan, wrote in 1983:
"Anyone who doesn't feel sure whether we are talking about a second human life should clearly give life the benefit of the doubt. If you don't know whether a body is alive or dead, you would never bury it. I think this consideration itself should be enough for all of us to insist on protecting the unborn."
Characteristically displaying both his logic and moral clarity, Reagan made the case that we, as the world's greatest society, should base our ethics on both faith and reason. Abortion is a tragedy on both counts.
Seven men in black robes took the decision out of the hands of the American people. While poorly decided Supreme Court cases are outside the realm of Congress, justice will be served the day Roe v. Wade is overturned and the issue is given back to the states to decide.
Social Security
Social Security is referred to as "the third rail of American politics — touch it and you die." I feel that is not the view a leader should have, so I will grab the third rail with both hands while standing in a bucket of water. Like much of what I propose, there is no single, silver bullet solution. I have a three-point plan:
Remove Social Security from the general fund and place it back in a lock box.
Remove the cap on taxable income more than $90,000 dollars and have a Social Security tax of 3% on income in excess of $90,000.
Allow those under 50 years of age the option to invest a small portion of their contribution in private funds.

Economic Development

Many of the downtown areas of our local towns are full of empty storefronts. We need to fill them. We need to create family-sustaining jobs and prevent existing jobs from being shipped overseas. I will work hard to grow our industries and bring new ones to NEPA. As your Congressman, I will also be a salesman for the area.

I will contact 100 fortune 500 companies my first 100 days in office and aggressively encourage them to set up operations in the 11th district
I will make Pennsylvania a leader in new technologies, particularly regarding new energy production and other emerging technologies
I will assist small and medium-sized businesses in getting government help from my office locations in each county.

Courage and Communication

Once elected, I pledge to debate any and all who wish to run for the office I hold. I will stay in touch with the constituents of the 11th district through interviews with the mainstream media, local bloggers and regular appearances on local talk shows. I will demonstrate accountability, responsibility and courage to our constituents — traits that are presently lacking in our current representative, Congressman Paul Kanjorski.

STATE HOUSE 120th DISTRICT/WHERE’S JOHNNY?


John Cordara, GOP nominee who will be facing off against Representative Phyllis Mundy has to come out of hiding if he is expected to make a showing in this race. Cordara, a state committeeman for the GOP won the nomination over Joe Chacke who at least campaigned and put signs up. Mundy, in office since 1990 and who voted for the pay raise seems poised to get another term easily. Cordara started out great guns declaring on the Sue Henry show earlier this year how serious he was about this race. But a scheduled debate with Mundy has failed to materialize and many feel there is no exchange of issues in this contest. The county GOP, which sorely lacks for funding and leadership handed this nomination to one of their own and it appears to me he has done nothing with it. I’ve met John a few times in my life, found him personable, intelligent and pretty dedicated to his party. Why he has not come out of hiding is a mystery to me.

FOLEY PLAYS THE ABUSE CARD

What else is this guy going to throw into the pot on these allegations of sexual misconduct? First he was going to go into alcoholic rehab because that was part of the problem, now, after all this, he’s claiming he was abused by a clergymen when he was a teenager. What’s next, he was fed bum Bosco (not the WILK producer but the chocolate drink) or Nestle Quik when he was watching reruns of McHale’s Navy? Look, abuse victims have truly suffered, they deserve our sympathy and support. And there are studies that have shown that victims of abuse are likely to become abusers themselves. No argument here. But this sounds just too darn convenient to me.