Free Republic

January 31, 2011 Dear Fellow New Yorker: First, please accept my family's wishes for a happy and prosperous new year. As Carl Paladino's former campaign manager, I know the campaigns of 2010 were exhausting for all of us. I wanted to drop you a note of thanks for your support for Carl's candidacy. We lost at the polls, but we might still see a policy victory: today, Governor Andrew Cuomo is talking like a fiscal conservative. His ideological shift - if it is for real - can be attributed to two factors: New York's economic reality and the chorus of...

Dear MoveOn member, It's tough out there this holiday season. We all see the signs: a family member out of work, a neighbor who still can't afford health care, or a child not getting enough to eat. So as a community, MoveOn and its members have chosen a few extraordinary nonprofits to support together. From thousands of nominations, we've voted to support Habitat for Humanity, Feeding America, and Planned Parenthood with our combined dollars. Together, our goal is to raise $150,000 for these organizations—to help provide food to hungry families, build safe housing for those with no place to call...

March 10, 2010 Dear xxxxxx, As you may know the Senate and House are deadlocked over the budget. The budget conferees from the two chambers are $542 million apart on PreK-12 Education funding. The House budget cuts an additional $684 million beyond the cuts in the introduced budget and the Senate cuts $142 million. The Senate is holding out to protect public education. Senator Mary Margaret Whipple, the majority caucus chair in the Senate asked that I convey the following message to you: Dear educators, Like many of you, I consider public education to be one of Virginia's most fundamental...

Dear Friend, You know me. I am not a “Born Fundraiser.” In fact, this is the first such letter I have sent out in my entire three years as a United States Senator. But the time has come for me to begin thinking seriously about what it will take if I decide to run for re-election in 2012. And it is important for me to know the extent to which you and others are willing to help. I began my 2006 campaign on February 8th of that very year, only nine months before Election Day. On that day I had...

Dear xxxx, On Tuesday, we wrote to you about the vote the U.S. Senate was taking on the Nelson-Hatch amendment to the health care reform bill. As you will remember, this amendment was virtually identical to Stuapk-Pitts ban and would have prevented women from using their own money to purchase private health insurance that provides comprehensive reproductive health care. The good news is that the amendment was defeated by a vote of 54-45. The great news is that both Senators Warner (D-VA) and Webb (D-VA) voted against this egregious assault on women's reproductive health care. While we still have a...

Dear Friends: I want to share with you an op-ed I wrote that ran in today's Philadelphia Daily News about why I oppose sending additional American troops to Afghanistan. If you are interested in learning more about how I came to this decision, I encourage you read the floor statement I made in September in which I raised substantive questions about our mission in Afghanistan. At that time, I also wrote detailed letters to - and subsequently received responses and briefings from - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, CIA Director Leon Panetta, DNI Director Dennis...

email from Equality VA, a pro-homosexual group in VA: Exciting news! The Kaine administration has started the rulemaking process that could result in state employees being able to choose either to include either a spouse or an “otherwise qualified adult” on their state health insurance plan. Equality Virginia has been working to achieve this goal for the past year. These efforts finally have resulted in publication of aNotice of Intended Regulatory Action that is the first step in a long process that will not conclude until months after Governor-elect McDonnell takes office in January. To move this proposal from suggestion...

In recent months, Americans have seen our economy make strides down the long road to recovery. However, we are constantly reminded of the recession as jobless rates continue to climb. As the recovery bill continues to be implemented we must remain vigilant in providing assistance to those hardest hit by the economy. Information was released last week showing the Pennsylvania unemployment rate for September at 8.8 percent. Although unemployment in our state is lower than the national rate, over half a million Pennsylvanians remain unemployed. A significant number of these people have been out of work for months and tens...

Received this in an e-mail yesterday, best explanation I've seen yet. --From a teacher in the Nashville area "We are worried about 'the cow' when it is all about the 'Ice Cream.' The most eye-opening civics lesson I ever had was while teaching third grade this year... The presidential election was heating up and some of the children showed an interest. I decided we would have an election for a class president. We would choose our nominees. They would make a campaign speech and the class would vote. To simplify the process, candidates were nominated by other class members. We...

Your Concerns From: Senator Roland Burris Dear [Forgiven Sinner]: Thank you for contacting me regarding the Senator Leahy Amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (S. 1390) regarding hate crime legislation. Current law defines hate crime as any crime against either person or property in which the offender intentionally selects the victim because of the victim's actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, gender, or disability. Currently, hate crimes are not distinct offenses under federal law; rather, they are crimes that are committed by individuals who are motivated by one or more biases that are considered to be...

Organizing for America After months of negotiations, the health reform debate is about to move to the full Congress for the first time. With the insurance industry lobby pulling out all the stops to derail progress, we need everyone who supports reform to weigh in. So here's the plan: Set a new OFA record by getting 100,000 calls to Congress placed or committed to on a single day. On Tuesday, October 20th, OFA volunteers will gather at "Time to Deliver" call parties and neighborhood outreach events across the country. We'll get together in living rooms and public locations, and reach...

Facts about Sarah Palin by Dewie Whetsell, Alaskan Fisherman The last 45 of my 66 years I've spent in a commercial fishing town in Alaska. I understand Alaska politics but never understood national politics well until this last year. Here's the breaking point: Neither side of the Palin controversy gets it. It's not about persona, style, rhetoric, it's about doing things. Even Palin supporters never mention the things that I'm about to mention here. 1 - Democrats forget when Palin was the Darling of the Democrats, because as soon as Palin took the Governor's office away from a fellow Republican...

Extreme anti-choice groups including Operation Rescue just launched a new attack on personal rights. The groups are encouraging people to display their photos online with a sign stating that they are the "majority" who oppose federal funding for reproductive health care. The problem is, it's a lie. The groups are touting data from a year-old poll of only 2,481 voters that had a two percent margin of error. Since when did so few people represent the "majority" of the 3 million American citizens today? Almost more outrageous is the question this poll was based on. Respondents were asked, "President-elect Obama...

Dear XXXXXXXXXXX: Thank you for sharing your concerns regarding health care. Since first coming to Congress in 1993, I have refused to enroll in the coverage offered to members of Congress until every American has access to high-quality, affordable health insurance. Should a health care reform bill pass that offers a public insurance option, I would be pleased to enroll. I strongly believe that our health care system is in need of reform. First and foremost, we must reduce the long-term growth of health care costs for patients, taxpayers, and businesses; protect families from bankruptcy or debt because of health...

Dear xxxxx, We are just 40 days away and all the polls are showing the same thing; this race is neck and neck. But the only poll that matters is the one on Election Day and I am fighting to make sure that that's the one we win. A strong ground effort was what put Tim Kaine, Mark Warner and Jim Webb over the top in their campaigns, and we need more of that kind of one on one communication to win this election. We are planning the most ambitious voter contact operation ever undertaken for a gubernatorial election in...

The cavalry is here -- and they're in white coats and scrubs: More than a half a million doctors and millions of nurses are joining forces to help pass real health reform. Americans listen to their nurses and doctors when it comes to health reform -- and for good reason. If we can help them amplify their voices, it'll be a huge boost to our campaign for change. So we're working on a new television ad featuring their voices explaining why doctors and nurses so strongly support President Obama's plan -- and asking Congress to pass it. We'll run the...

Hi, I'm the public health insurance option. People have been saying all sorts of untrue things about me lately, so I decided it was time to stand up and set the record straight. First off: the reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated. I'm happy and healthy. And I'm proud to play a starring role in four of the five health reform bills currently on the table. Second: I have a lot of friends. President Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi support me—as do 77% of the American people.1 In fact, I'm feeling pretty popular. But there is one...

email sent to me about an hour ago. No I didn't watch his majesty, I decided to work on my houseplants instead and build a shelf ----------------- I just finished laying out my plan for health reform at a joint session of Congress. Now, I'm writing directly to you because what happens next is critical -- and I need your help. Change this big will not happen because I ask for it. It can only come when the nation demands it. Congress knows where I stand. Now they need to hear from you. Add your voice: Ask your representatives...

XXXXX, I just finished laying out my plan for health reform at a joint session of Congress. Now, I'm writing directly to you because what happens next is critical -- and I need your help. Change this big will not happen because I ask for it. It can only come when the nation demands it. Congress knows where I stand. Now they need to hear from you. Add your voice: Ask your representatives to support my plan for real health reform in 2009. The heart of my plan is simple: bring stability and security to Americans who already have health...

(I received this in my inbox.) To provide you with a clear understanding ... PLEASE PASS IT ON. TO PROVIDE YOU WITH A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF THE PLANS BEING PROPOSED: Healthcare: Questions and Answers (regarding: H.R. 3200, Americas Affordable Health Choices Act): 1-QUESTION: Will health reform force all Americans out of their private insurance plans and into a government-run plan? Answer: No. You will always have a choice. If you like your insurance, you can keep it. H.R. 3200 builds on the employer-based coverage we have today. If your employer offers health insurance, you will continue to get your coverage...