CNY PROGRESSIVE ACTION NEWSLETTER
APRIL 19, 2015
Vol. 2, No. 7
NEWSLETTER OF THE CENTRAL NEW YORK CITIZENS IN ACTION, INC. (ESTABLISHED IN 1997)
You can view newsletter on:
https://cnycitizenaction.wordpress.com
HEADLINES
TELL REPRESENTATIVES HANNA, STEFANIK, AND KATKO TO
OPPOSE JUST-REINTRODUCED FAST TRACK LEGISLATION
CNYCIA SIGNS ON TO NATIONAL LETTERS FOR A FAIR FEDERAL BUDGET
TELL HANNA, STEFANIK, AND KATKO TO OPPOSE PAINFUL FEDERAL BUDGET CUTS
HOLD HANNA, STEFANIK, AND KATKO ACCOOUNTABLE
FOR THEIR VOTES ON ESTATE TAX REPEAL
EARTH DAY EVENTS
WORKING FAMILIES PARTY BEGINS ENDORSEMENT
PROCESS IN ONEIDA, HERKIMER, MADISON, LEWIS COUNTIES
2015 UTICA MAYOR’S BENEFIT GALA – SATURDAY, MAY 2, 2015 – RADISSON HOTEL
TOLERATING INTOLERANCE
FEDERAL REPRESENTATIVES
Tell Representatives Hanna, Stefanik, and Katko to
Oppose Just-Reintroduced Fast Track Legislation
http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=loRz3bt2HXPfSJsnvRw%2F2l0uwU5PZhrS
The bill that would fast track the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) was introduced on Friday — so it’s all hands on deck. This bill would put the TPP on an expedited path to approval, while Congress and the public would be even further removed from the process. We need to kill this bill in order to stop the TPP. Based upon Central New York’s experience with NAFTA, TPP will have a disastrous impact on our remaining manufacturing jobs, local small business, and food and environment.
There’s a long list of reasons why the TPP would move us in the wrong direction, and we have a lot of work to do in the coming weeks and months to defeat it. Whether you care about food safety, protecting communities against fracking, keeping good-paying jobs in the U.S., or safeguarding environmental and worker protections in developing countries abroad — we all need to work together to kill this secretive, pro-big business trade deal.
The TPP is being called NAFTA on steroids and has been negotiated in secret since 2008 among some of the world’s most powerful corporations. But leaked documents have revealed just how terrible this trade deal is, including a key provision that would allow companies to sue local governments over democratically enacted laws that they claim hurt their profits. That means that if the TPP goes through, local initiatives like GMO labeling laws and fracking bans could be challenged in international trade courts.
Share the number to call Congress on Facebook and through your networks help build momentum against Fast Track. http://act.foodandwaterwatch.org/site/R?i=E2CY5crmkfDUhwnEYH2R5A Use the hashtag #NoFastTrack to plug in and spread the word. Here’s sample language to post:
“The Trans-Pacific Partnership would hurt workers, threaten food safety and give corporations even more power over our democracy. Call Congress at 877-852-4710 and say NO to Fast Track authority for secret trade deals like the TPP! #NoFastTrack”
You deserve to weigh in. Tell your members of Congress: Vote NO on the bill that would fast track approval for the Trans-Pacific Partnership. http://act.foodandwaterwatch.org/site/R?i=zyfRkj7qI9FWc2IhnWxrpg
Take action to oppose Fast Track for the TPP and protect everyone’s right to safe food and clean water. http://act.foodandwaterwatch.org/site/R?i=L7NBbxNE5TmXOCgqGAkXVA
To stop the TPP, we need to stop the Fast Track bill that would expedite its approval and limit public input even further.
Send Congress a message to vote NO on the bill that would Fast Track the TPP. http://act.foodandwaterwatch.org/site/R?i=z_agMnSSCOJvfyChosL37w
CNYCIA SIGNS ON TO NATIONAL LETTERS FOR A FAIR FEDERAL BUDGET
The Central New York Citizens in Action joined with more than 1,330 other organizations across the nation in signing the SAVE for All federal budget letter. http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=kk1Tafh2%2FK7KSO3iuSP9Z1a957Au0gyp We were able to tell every member of Congress that service providers (more than 400) faith groups (more than 250), labor, civil rights, policy experts, community-based and small business groups and other advocates support a federal budget that protects low-income and vulnerable people, invests in a stronger economy for ALL of us, and is responsible in paying for the services we need through increased revenues from fair sources and savings by curbing waste in the Pentagon and elsewhere. At this count, 218 national organizations joined with more than 1,100 state and local groups in signing the letter.
We were also one of 3,020 local, state, and national organizations who sent a letter to Senate and House appropriators, urging them to increase the FY16 302(b) allocation to their respective Subcommittees on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) to the highest possible level. Click here to view the letter. http://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/302b_THUD_final_031915.pdf
TELL HANNA, STEFANIK, AND KATKO TO OPPOSE PAINFUL FEDERAL BUDGET CUTS
The Senate and House are making critical budget decisions that will deeply affect all Americans in 2016. All members of Congress need to hear from constituents as soon as possible that cuts to programs that help Americans are not acceptable. The budgets that have been advanced do not reflect our priorities and are built on drastic cuts to basic programs like Medicaid, SNAP, low-income tax credits, and the Affordable Care Act, plus unsustainable cuts to other domestic programs. Total funding expected in the final budget would force painful cuts to education, housing, child care, Head Start, home energy assistance, meals for seniors, and so much more. Our children, families, and communities are at risk while some in Congress opt for wasteful tax give-aways to corporations and the rich, and wasteful Pentagon spending.
That’s where we come in. Together, we can prevent harmful cuts. But we have to speak out and show that constituents understand how painful and wrongheaded these cuts would be.
The path to preventing cuts: The budget is a blueprint, not a done deal. If Congress passes bills to make the actual cuts, the President can veto them. By speaking out, we can ensure vetoes and prevent Congress from overriding them. That starts with you – today.
Please sign and share this petition telling Congress to invest in America and #StopTheCuts. http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=LQghfI2Hkg57r97Y4XcXx2XVgEIOj95M
Posts to share:
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/144519585571873/photos/a.385759741447855.99027.144519585571873/923007494389741/?type=1&theater
Twitter
https://twitter.com/CoalitiononHN/status/580712950064898048
HOLD HANNA, STEFANIK, AND KATKO ACCOOUNTABLE
FOR THEIR VOTES ON ESTATE TAX REPEAL
All three local Representatives Hanna, Stefanik, and Katko voted to repeal the estate tax. We make it easy for you to express your anger at their votes. Click here to send an email, letting your representative that you are upset that if he/she voted for repeal. http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=vNTIGpdTgFqYfUALPfIywF8ES38X1bk0
Why this is so important: On April 16, the House voted in favor of total repeal of the estate tax (H.R. 1105). The vote was 240-179. That does not mean it will become law. We should be able to defeat this in the Senate. But we have to contribute to an important shift: we have to make sure elected officials know their constituents understand who really pays the estate tax, and how much the billions it raises is needed for vital services. Despite this vote, support for repeal is waning. More Democrats used to support repeal; now few do. We need to tell every Rep. that the last thing this nation needs is to make inequality worse by giving the richest estates billions more. So please click here to tell them. http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=9mqORR7nvvrvYk%2FziopXTF8ES38X1bk0
There could not be a clearer-cut choice posed to Congress. Are members in favor of giving $269 billion to a handful of multi-million dollar estates? Or will they preserve those funds to invest in the education, health care, job training, housing, child care, and other services we need? Your email will hold your Rep. accountable for the choice (s)he made.
Pretty much every claim made in support of repeal was inaccurate. No – 99.8 percent of estates will NEVER pay the estate tax; they’re not millionaires. No – only a tiny number of small businesses and family farms owe any estate tax. Thanks to Americans for Tax Fairness for debunking all the claims. We need to use every opportunity to tell the truth about the estate tax: its repeal would hand $269 billion to a handful of multi-million dollar estates.
Thanks for taking action – it matters! http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=ryHI61g0lpIUrbVstwO6H18ES38X1bk0
Please see the bottom of this newsletter for contact information regarding members of Congress.
EARTH DAY EVENTS
Here are some announcements of climate related events in the Utica area during Earth Week.
On Monday, April 20, there will be a presentation about wind and micro-hydro energy generation at the Kirkland Town Library at 7:30 pm. Sponsored by Kirkland in Transition.
On Tuesday, April 21, 2 pm to 6 pm, 2 films on climate change, followed by discussions, will be shown at Kunsela Hall Auditorium at SUNY Polytechnic Institute.
Finally, on Wednesday, April 22, Earth Day itself, there will be a demonstration in front of Congressman Hanna’s Utica office, 258 Genesee Street. The demonstration will be from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm. Bring your signs to protest Congressman Hanna’s voting record on climate-related initiatives.
WORKING FAMILIES PARTY BEGINS ENDORSEMENT
PROCESS IN ONEIDA, HERKIMER, MADISON, LEWIS COUNTIES
progressive Third Party Makes Questionnaire Available Online
The Working Families Party today announced the beginning of its annual endorsement process with the release of its online candidate questionnaire. Hundreds of candidates for local office around New York are expected to vie for the progressive third party’s endorsement. The local chapter located in Utica is seeking candidates from Oneida, Herkimer, Madison (Eastern portion), and Lewis counties. In 2015, candidates will run for county, city, town, and judicial elections.
“We want to know where every candidate, whether they’re running for Mayor or County Legislature, stands on the issues that matter to Working Families,” said John Furman of the Herkimer – Oneida Counties Chapter of the Working Families Party (WFP). “The questionnaire gets at the heart of the Working Families Party’s priorities: health care for all, paid sick leave, clean elections, green jobs, affordable housing, and living wage jobs.”
Candidates must complete the questionnaire, which can only be done on the WFP’s website, by May 21. Afterward, candidates are screened by Working Families Party Chapters around the state.
The questionnaire, which is a requirement for screening, can be found at:
http://workingfamilies.org/endorsement/new-york/apply-wfp-endorsement/
Candidates are also encouraged to send a letter and a resume to Working Families Party, c/o John Furman, P.O. Box 411, Utica, NY 13503-0411. For more information, please contact Furman at (315) 725-0974. The email address is uticaromewfp@gmail.com.
Mr. Furman said: “Founded in 1998, the Working Families Party has emerged as one of the most powerful forces for progressive politics in New York State. We have stood up to powerful interests in Albany as the voice for working families of every stripe across New York. Our victories in 2014 included winning back 250 UPS drivers their jobs back, banning fracking after years of struggle, helping fast food workers earn living wages, assisting in the organizing the largest climate march in history, and fighting for an equitable state budget. In 2015, the .Working Families Party will be in the halls of Albany and in the streets fighting for working families — to raise the wage, pass the DREAM Act and the Women’s Equality Act, win campaign finance reform, increase affordable rental housing, provide fair and greater funding for schools, end tax breaks for the wealthy and big business, and tackle the challenge of climate change.”
The Working Families Party platform supports living wage jobs, affordable housing, accessible health care, better public schools, and more investment in public services. It has been successful in organizing campaigns to increase the minimum wage, reform the Rockefeller drug laws, enact a Green Jobs Program, and restore funding for public schools in New York State.
The Working Families Party was organized by a coalition of community and labor groups including the Communication Workers of America, SEIU, Citizen Action of New York, and neighborhood and community groups. The Central New York Citizens in Action (formerly the Utica Citizens in Action) as well as area unions such as the CWA and UAW helped to organize the Oneida-Herkimer-Madison WFP organization. The party has expanded to several states such as Connecticut, Massachusetts, South Carolina, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Oregon.
2015 UTICA MAYOR’S BENEFIT GALA – SATURDAY, MAY 2, 2015 – RADISSON HOTEL
Mayor Palmieri’s 2015 Benefit Gala will be held on Saturday, May 2nd from 7PM- midnight at the Radisson Hotel-Utica Centre.
Upstate Cerebral Palsy (UCP) is this year’s Gala recipient and all proceeds will enable them to construct and equip its sensory park for disabled children at their New Discoveries and Tradewinds Education Centers here in Utica.
The cost is $50.00 per person. To make reservations, please contact: Lauren Lottermoser at 724-6907, ext. 2487 or lauren.lottermoser@upstatecp.org.
For further information and to make reservations online, please visit http://www.upstatecp.org/mayors-gala.
TOLERATING INTOLERANCE
BY RICK COOLEY
Lately, conservative republican dominated state legislatures and governors have been in the news scrambling to pass legislation known as a “Religious Freedom Restoration Act”. Designed as a move to counteract recent developments which have seen the legalization of marriage equality and appeal to the sensitivities of evangelical Christian conservatives, such laws are little more than a new way to justify and legalize anti-LGBT bigotry at the state level which has been rapidly disappearing due to the demise of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in the military and judicial and legislative moves to legalize same-sex marriage in most states.
While claiming publicly that this legislation merely solidifies religious freedom for those who oppose granting equal rights to members of the LGBT community, these laws have the effect of justifying yet another form of bigotry that has no place in a free and open society. They disagree with what they see as an immoral lifestyle from the perspective of their religion. Granting LGBT people rights equal to their own rewards behavior which they believe should not be permitted at all, let alone rewarded with societal benefits equal to their own.
Such arguments are, in my opinion, very similar in tone and results to the arguments which throughout time have enabled certain segments of our society to feel superior to others based on race, gender, religion and other seemingly irrelevant criteria which have no bearing on whether or not they are just as valuable members of the human race as those seeking to subjugate them and force them to live in accordance with what their perception of religious propriety deems to be proper behavior. Since the founding of this nation, rights have been fought for and won with respect to both literal freedom from slavery and a political voice in the form of the vote, among others.
The sense of this line of thinking seems to be that tolerating such aberrant behavior on the part of anyone infringes upon the religious freedom of those who find it abhorrent, whether or not it impinges on any of their other civil and human rights. It also places their religious beliefs and freedom above the liberties and beliefs of those who do not share them. “Religious” beliefs can be and often are very arbitrary in nature, and have been used to justify any number of practices – many of which most of us would agree to be barbaric. Even in this country. Some would say even to this day. Our history is one of constant struggle to raise up members of one disadvantaged group after another. Few would dispute that we have reached neither equal rights nor equal opportunity for all regardless of race, gender or other circumstances beyond our ability to control as individuals.
One of the founding precepts to this country was the concept of freedom of religion, but this was to prevent the establishment of a state-sanctioned religion and a backdoor route to a theocracy. People are permitted to worship in freedom, but that does not give them the right to impose that religion on others or interfere with the rights and freedoms of others. As long as the LGBT community is not harming the rest of us, or society as a whole, in any demonstrable way, why should bigotry, discrimination and intolerance of them be permitted and legally protected? How is this form of discrimination any more valid than discrimination on the basis of race, religion, gender or any other class of individual that has been deemed illegal and unconstitutional in the past? All other laws apply to them just as they do to everyone else.
Several factors have combined to mitigate, to a certain extent, the ability of these forces of bigotry to hold sway, even in some of the states which have elected some of the most rightwing governments. One is the great shift in support for the LGBT community among younger generations. Another is the economic strength that supporters of equality can have in states where such laws have become enacted. Demonstrated strength of commitment to oppose this sort of bigotry has included public determination to economically boycott states operating under such laws. Private businesses and even large corporations have become involved. The response from business and industry has already caused Indiana to at least partially rewrite its law. Walmart, headquartered in Arkansas and the country’s largest private employer, similarly helped convince that state to rethink its legislation before the governor would even sign it.
Bigotry and intolerance may never be entirely removed from our society, but our history has shown that great strides can be made to bring about a greater degree of justice and equality for all. The forces that seek to keep us divided so they may continue to rule over us are not easily defeated. Changes in demographics help to a certain extent. However, through voter suppression and economic impoverishment of many of us our current corrupt and immoral economic system that rules our political system, the few strive mightily to maintain control over the many.
Business is not as easy to convince to respond to some of the other arenas of our discontent as has been the case so far in this situation. They seem much less persuaded to act on other issues of social justice, such as wages, poverty, economic inequality and political influence. Some gains have been made recently in some sectors of the economy, exemplified by recent pledges by some employers of low wage workers to raise wages, but they are far from sufficient to make up for the intransigence of the status quo when it comes to responsiveness to the needs of all the people as opposed to the desires of the economic elites and their corporations.
Obviously, it is far easier for those on top to stay there when they control most of the resources and political power than it is for the rest of us to correct the injustices which have been decades, even centuries, in the making. We need to continue to call the oligarchs out on their economic, social and political lies, despite their obvious and more subtle attempts to thwart our efforts. The next year and a half promises to be a time filled with more rhetorical obfuscation and governmental lack of concrete action than ever. The job before us is to reverse the trend towards ever-increasing economic and political oligarchy and start moving in a direction of more democracy and freedom in all aspects of our lives.
FEDERAL REPRESENTATIVES
Representative Elise Stefanik
512 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
DC Phone: (202) 225-4611
DC Fax: (202) 226-0621
Email: https://stefanik.house.gov/contact/email
Representative John M. Katko
24th Congressional District
1123 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
DC Phone: (202) 225-3701
DC Fax: (202) 225-4042
Email: https://katko.house.gov/contact/email
Rep. Richard L. Hanna
The Honorable Richard L. Hanna
United States House of Representatives
319 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-3222
DC Phone:
202-225-3665
DC Fax:
202-225-1891
Contact Representative Hanna:
https://hanna.house.gov/email-me
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
DC Address:
The Honorable Kirsten Gillibrand
United States Senate
478 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-3205
DC Phone:
202-224-4451
DC Fax:
202-228-0282
Contact Senator Gillibrand:
http://www.gillibrand.senate.gov/contact/
WWW Homepage:
http://www.gillibrand.senate.gov/
Charles E. (Chuck) Schumer
DC Address:
The Honorable Charles E. (Chuck) Schumer
United States Senate
322 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-3203
DC Phone:
202-224-6542
DC Fax:
202-228-3027
Contact Senator Schumer:
http://www.schumer.senate.gov/Contact/contact_chuck.cfm
WWW Homepage:
http://www.schumer.senate.gov/
Congresswoman Elise Stefanik
21st Congressional District
Washington, DC Office
512 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-4611
Fax: (202) 226-0621
https://stefanik.house.gov/contact/email
John M. Katko
24th Congressional District
Washington, DC Office
1123 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-3701
Fax: (202) 225-4042
https://katko.house.gov/contact/email
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