Thank You THE ALBANY PROJECT/ Soundpolitic for your summation of
the July 17, 2008 JCC 21st Congressional District Forum:
http://www.thealbanyproject.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3760
THANK YOU Jewish Family Services of NENY Neighborhood NNROC
and the Albany JCC for hosting the forum.
A major step toward campaign reform!
J P Sullivan
SULLIVAN'S SOLUTIONS: THE ENERGY CRISIS
SULLIVAN ON ENERGY
The oil crisis is real and it will get worse. Oil is the lifeblood of our economy and way of life.
Politicians in Washington and Albany are posturing, but doing little or nothing to provide the public with relief from the rapidly escalating costs of gasoline, diesel, home heating oil, natural gas and electricity.
These politicians have failed to take effective, immediate short run, and long term steps to deal with our energy crisis.
In the short term the public is on it's own. We must adapt our way of life to use less fuel, and other forms of energy. Driving less, car pooling, driving at slower speeds, keeping on vehicles in peak performance, lowering the thermostat in winter, insulating our homes, keep thermostats down in work places, schools and other public buildings, using less lighting in homes, shopping plazas and public places and so. In a word conservation.
Transportation for organized sports at schools, colleges and for professional sports will have to be curtailed or eliminated altogether.
At the same time we must demand that the Congress and state government stop the partisan posturing on the energy crisis and enact immediate, short term relief, and at the same time, take action to provide long term relief.
Short term, federal and state governments, must suspend collection of federal and state taxes on gasoline, diesel and home heating oil.
Congress and the state legislature must not adjourn this year without passing concrete legislation aimed at long term solutions to the energy crisis.
Congress should:
1. Authorize drilling for oil in Anwar and in offshore U.S waters,
2. Authorize rapid expansion of alternative energy production, including coal, water power and wind turbines, recognizing that it may be a decade or more before these alternative energy sources are on line.
2. Mandate that automakers make a crash program to produce vehicles that get 40 to 50, or more miles per gallon of gasoline. Note that electric or battery powered vehicles have a short range and may be an option in urban areas, but, in the vastness of our country, more MPG is the immediate need.
3. Improve repair and expansion of rail road building. Rail will eventually replace long haul trucking as a means of moving freight and automobiles for commuting to and from work.
4. Reform and shorten Congressional sessions and travel by adopting telecommuting as an alternative. Stream line legislative calendars, eliminate dead end legislation that is going nowhere, and amounts to political partisan grandstanding or posturing.
New York State should:
1. Take steps to expand and improve railroads for movement of freight and passengers.
2. Move quickly to restore the Erie Canal and Hudson River ( and port facilties) as highways for transporting heavy freight. The building of the Erie Canal , put lots of people to work, and made New York The Empire State. 80 per cent of the state's population still resides along the Erie Canal-Hudson River corridor.
3. Reform and streamline the state legislature by adopting telecommuting, reduce needless and expensive travel and per diems, and limiting the length of sessions, introduction of legislation and legislative session agendas to only meaningful bills that have sponsorship in both houses.
The above are but a few of the steps that should be considered for action, now, buy individuals, families, groups, institutions, state government and Congress.
Let's get cracking!
J P Sullivan
This is the first in a series of issue-oriented papers in which I publish my solutions for major issues facing America.
If elected to Congress I will personally visit Afghanistan to assess conditions on the ground and to seek the advice of our Soldiers and Marines fighting to bring peace and prosperity to the Afghan people. I propose the following Sullivan’s Solution for Afghanistan.
1. Find and kill or capture Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar. These
terrorists must face American justice one way or another.
2. Triple Afghan Army pay. Increasing Afghan Soldiers’ monthly pay to the
equivalent of 300 US dollars a month is a cost effective way to ensure that
Afghans not Americans are responsible for defending Afghanistan. This small
and affordable increase in pay will ensure that the Afghan Army is fully
manned and trained. Most Afghan units now are severely undermanned and
seldom able to conduct independent military operations.
3. Triple the number of NATO trainers in Afghanistan. Currently American
Military training units, that advise the Afghan National Security Forces,
are undermanned. Mission creep has led to undermanned US advisor teams.
This puts the lives of our military men and women in unnecessary danger of
being killed or captured by the Taliban. Under-strength training teams are
unable to effectively train Afghan Security Forces. Instead of sending more
US Army combat brigades to Afghanistan, send 5,000 more
military trainers to fully man our advisor teams.
4. Triple monthly pay for Afghan teachers. Education is one of the most
important keys to success in Afghanistan and teachers are the means for
achieving that end. Today in many areas of Afghanistan teachers are
threatened, tortured, and killed for simply trying to educate Afghan
children. About 70% of Afghans cannot read or write. As a former educator, I
know the importance of education. Afghanistan’s greatest hope for a peaceful
future is its children. In addition to tripling teacher pay, incentive pay
should be given to teachers who work in the most dangerous areas and
security forces should be assigned to ensure their safety. My son knows
first hand from his one-year tour in Afghanistan that Afghan children are
thirsting for an education.
5. Triple aid going directly to the Afghan people. Most financial aid
given to the Afghan government is spent long before it has a chance to reach
the local Afghan. We must find a way to circumvent the corruption prevalent
in the Afghan government and bring finical aid directly to average Afghans.
Most Afghans live in the same conditions as their ancestors have lived for
thousands of years – no running water, no sewage systems, no roads, no
electricity, no sanitation, no hospitals and the list goes on. Unless the
average Afghans realize an improved standard of living there is no incentive
to risk losing their heads to Taliban. Would you?
6. Triple aid going to Afghan women’s groups. Afghan women
endure second-class status in Afghan culture. They are forced to wear
sack-like clothing known as burkas. They are beaten, berated and spit upon
by male dominated Afghan society. This must change and we must help bring
about that change. Read the book “A Thousand Splendid Suns” for an idea of
how Afghan women have suffered in the past. Their suffering continues today.
J P Sullivan
DO YOUR PART FOR CAMPAIGN REFORM. DOWNLOAD AND SHARE.
SULLIVAN for CONGRESS 21st District, N.Y.
Our survival is on the line in the 2008 elections. Who we elect to the
Presidency, Vice- Presidency and Congress will determine our fate.
The PRIORITY issues in campaign 2008 are:
(1) Homeland Security. If we are not safe, all other issues will not matter.
(2) Emergency/Disaster Preparedness. Government can't save us. We
must save ourselves. Be ready.
(3) Maintaining a steady flow of affordably priced oil. Oil is the lifeblood
of our economy and way of life. If oil becomes too costly, rationed, or not
available; our economy will crumble, our way of life will disappear and
our nation will cease to exist.
(4) We must immediately take steps to adapt to this energy crisis.
Provide relief from federal and state gas taxes. Drill for oil whereever it is
to be found. Utilize our vast coal reserves for electric power generation
railroads and home heating needs. Develop solar, water, and wind power.
Rebuild our rail roads to move freight and passengers. Build light rail
commuter lines linking suburbs and cities. Rebuild the Erie Canal and
Hudson River waterway facilities to move freight and people. Mandate
that auto makers produce vehicles that get 50 miles per gallon or better
now, not 10 years from now. Conserve energy. Adapt our lifestyles to a
world where oil will be expensive and scarce.
5. As long as oil, in particular imported oil, is the lifeblood of our economy
and way of life, the troops are not coming home. Get over it! We must
maintain a military, naval and air presence in the oil producing regions of
the world to assure the steady flow of oil and to block foes who seek to
take over those oil producing places. To cut and run from Iraq and
Afghanistan is not the answer. We owe it to our brave young men and
women who have sacraficed their lives, or suffered wounds, for us, to
prevail. We cannot abandon the Iraqis, Afghans and Israel.
For my complete campaign platform and issue positions go to:
http://journals.aol.com/lonerangeralbany/lonerangeralbany/
If you want campaign reform, term limits and substance, I am your man!
I am not asking for or receiving support or endorsements from special
interest groups. Like the man in the Midas muffler ad, I'm not going to
pay a lot for this congressional seat. Contact me at 438 5230. Albany.
YOU have a key role in campaign reform. Make the effort to become as
informed as possible, before you vote. Demand that the media provide
equal time and space for all bonafide candidates to get their messages
out to you. Pass the word to family, neighbors and friends.
VOTE SULLIVAN DEMOCRAT for CONGRESS Tues Sept 9 Noon-9pm
THANK YOU ...to those who signed my designating petition for Congress, 21st District...to those who wanted to but could not, because they are Independents, Conservatives or Republicans...and to those who labored with me in the heat of summer to circulate, obtain signatures and witness my petition.
Signers made up a good cross section of 21st District Democrats. The majority came from wards in the City of Albany where I concentrated my petitioning efforts. Many were from the Towns of Bethlehem, Colonie, New Scotland, Guilderland, Green Island, East and North Greenbush, Glenville and the cities of Watervliet, Cohoes, Schenectady, Troy and Rensselaer. Some were from Rotterdam, Westerlo, Duanesburg, Waterford. Cobleskill, Schoharie and Montgomery Counties.
I personally obtained 629 signatures. I doubt that none of the other candidates can match that. Likely, most never even circulated their own petitions.
Brian Scavo, Albany County Legislator District 7, Albany outdid me with 670 signatures.
Luan Trinh, Tony Golden, John Fey, Brett Freedman, Charlie Carr, John Scott, James Salvinski of Albany; Joseph P Sullivan of Green Island, Jack Murray of Watervliet, and Charlie Ryan Jr of Rensselaer added another 435 signatures.
Nacer Hechehouche, and his daughter, Amal, an Albany middle school student provided invaluable assistance.
So, like the Marines, a few good men, a woman and a girl, made the mark.
Big money, special interests and party organization are not necessary to get on the ballot and run a viable campaign.
The candidates, the media and the voters can make campaign reform a reality.
YES WE CAN! Joe Sullivan
