Official response to Cheers & Jeers, April 29, 2012 in the Hanover Evening Sun
RE: Cheers & Jeers 4/29/2012
The Editors of the Evening Sun demonstrates an amazing ability to miss the point in their Cheers & Jeers column of April 29.
They charge the Adams County Democratic Committee with "complaining" that Republicans tried to mount a write-in campaign on the Democratic ticket. Ummm... no we didn't. I was even quoted in the article saying if the shoe was on the other foot I would have done it too.
What I DID say on behalf of the committee was we wanted to alert county Democrats that our committee was NOT behind either of the Repubiican write-in efforts. Period. Over and over when I was interviewed by the reporter I repeated that and he accurately printed my comments in the paper.
The Editors, on the other hand, seemed to miss the difference.
The Editors further goes on to discuss their favorite complaint about politics in Pennsylvania by going to bat for Independent voters. That bias is evidenced in who DOES get coverage in this paper. Over and over we see front page above the fold articles every time Tea Party groups sneeze.
I guess we saw once again how effective the Teaparties were in the Republican primary. As the kids say: not!
Yet it is the final point the Editors makes that I find most offensive. They admonish us to have "good, strong Democratic candidates" on the ballot. Well folks: we do. A lot.
But this paper finds that giving coverage to Democratic candidates seems to be a waste of ink. An example: the article on the the winners of the Democratic and Republican primaries for Congress. We have an excellent candidate with terrific qualifications, but in a 22 paragraph article, the Democratic candidate received 4 paragraphs. Three of those were the last 3 of the 22.
Yup, 18 paragraphs covering Republicans and 4 covering Democrats: fair and balanced?
When I complained about this imbalance I was told the conventional wisdom is a Democratic candidate can not win in this district, so that is the reason for the slant. Talk about self fulfilling prophesy! Over and over I have talked to good potential candidates who say they won't run because of the bias in the newspapers and that they can't get their message out.
If anyone is to blame for the lack of Democratic candidates it's the people who have already determined they can't win so they deny the candidates an equal forum to get their message out.
So, JEERS to the Evening Sun for denying equal access to all candidates running for office in their paper and then blaming the victims for their failure. If they truly want a more robust democracy as they claim, they will seek balance in reporting and balance in access to the thoughts and opinions of the candidates. Then let the voters decide once they are given BOTH sides of the discussion.
It is the voters, after all, who should determine who wins elections, not a newspaper who doles out information to voters based on who they think might win.
Roger Lund, chair
Adams County Democratic Committee
"The water supplies of the entire eastern half of Pennsylvania will be threatened by projects like the Marcellus Shale project," warns Nathan Sooy, who will speak on Wednesday to the Gettysburg Area DFA at the Lutheran Seminary at 7:00 pm.
Nathan Sooy is the campaign coordinator for Clean Water Action in Harrisburg, and has been asked to address the topic, Fracking: the Big Picture. Some have asked, why is this important to the Gettysburg Area? Nathan says his goal is to educate citizens as well as elected officials on the importance of protecting our water supply.
Pennsylvanians get their drinking water from our state's more than 83,000 miles of waterways, acres of lakes, reservoirs and wetlands, and a natural system of underground aquifers. According to Clean Water Action, many of these vital water sources have been contaminated or are at risk of contamination, yet our waterways receive no special protection from pollution and polluting activities in Pennsylvania.
Fracking earned mention from President Obama in his Jan. 24 State of the Union, but he did not satisfy the concerns of Clean Water Action. Obama’s position was that we need to maximize domestic energy supplies, but he adds that we must make certain that our explorations do not endanger the environment or our citizens. Environmentalists and elected officials in PA differ on the dangers of fracking in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale. Is this the only way to extract the gas that could provide needed energy and new jobs to our state? While Governor Corbett says his priority is to attract drilling companies to our state, the Pennsylvania legislature continues to fight about impact fees and effective ways to regulate the drilling industry.
The public is invited to join the debate by coming to our meeting at 7 p.m. in Valentine Hall 206 at the Gettysburg Lutheran Seminary. Bring your friends!
Elaine Jones, chair
Gettysburg Area DFA
Sometimes people ask: "What has President Obama Accomplished in the last three years?"
Here is a small list of President Obama's accomplishments:
Signed into law an economic plan that saved America from a depression, restored growth, and created or saved as many as 3.6 million jobs.
Signed into law landmark health insurance reform that holds insurance companies accountable, gives people and small businessess greater control of health care, and improves the quality of health care for all Americans.
Fought against Wall Street lobbyists to sign into law historic consumer protections and financial reforms that shield American families from unfair lending practices from credit card and mortgage companies, rein in the excesses of Wall Street, and work to prevent future financial crises.
Reformed the college loan system by ending subsidies to banks and using the money to make college more affordable. He also invested in community colleges that are providing Americans with the skills they need to succeed in today's economy.
Rescued the American auto industry, which saved millions of American jobs and helped GM and Chrysler become profitable again while repaying taxpayers.
Repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” which makes it possible for individuals to serve in the military regardless of their sexual orientation.
Helped women get the equal pay they deserve by signing into law the Lilly Ledbetter Act.
Ended the war in Iraq, initiated a responsible drawdown of forces in Afghanistan, and ordered the operation that killed Osama bin Laden.
If you would like to get these reports emailed to you as they come out, go to http://www.patreasury.org/ and sign up in the upper right hand corner of the page.
Letter to the Editor of the Gettysburg Times
Want to stop future tragedies like Tucson and Virginia Tech?
Don’t repeal health care reform.
Like many Americans, I was first stunned and then unsettled by the shootings at the Tucson Safeway. Since then, we’ve heard lots of debate about why Jared Loughner did this.
Partisan media hyperbole? Targets on an election map?
Most recently, there has been a chorus of pundits singing about the ills of the mental health system. Michael J. Fitzpatrick, Executive Director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness said, “The plain truth is that America’s mental healthcare system is horribly broken and horribly underfunded. And across the nation, budget cuts continue to eviscerate community mental health programs that reach out to vulnerable individuals and put them on a path to recovery? But, more surprisingly have been the statements of key Republicans” Republican advisor Mike Murphy said on the Bill Mahar Show on January 14, 2011, “I’d like to see a better linkage between the gun control stuff we have now and the crazy-filter.
Because if you look at Virginia Tech and you look at this guy, it is too easy for mentally ill people to get guns; because there’s no mental screening anymore.” Virginia Republican Senate candidate Jamie Radtke (and head of the Richmond Tea Party) tells ABC’s Top Line, however, that “instead of it being about the political part, it’s really about needing to get our arms around our health care, the mental health policy here.” Representative Mike Rogers (R-MI) said, “What we have to do is intervene earlier in that cycle of violence when they have this kind of disability.” Newly-elected Representative Allen West (R-FL) said, “The shooter was a very disturbed individual and it appears there were so many warning signs that he was going to do something horrible. We should be focusing on the mental health crisis in our country, not politics.” I have a simple piece of advice to solve this problem. Want to stop tragedies like this from happening again? Do not repeal health care reform. Two years ago, national legislation passed that (finally) guaranteed that most individuals with insurance will have coverage for assessment and treatment of mental illness. The health care reform legislation builds on that non-discrimination parity legislation and assures that most Americans will have some form of health coverage that includes coverage of mental health conditions.
Earmarked funding for local community mental health services will not solve the problem. The structure of the traditional community mental health system is broken beyond repair. We need to end fundamental discrimination against people with mental illnesses and get them adequate health coverage.
Monica Oss
Gettysburg
A Short List of Democratic Accomplishments
8-Hour Workday
Social Security
Minimum Wage Law
G.I. Bill of Rights
Marshall Plan
NATO
Peace Corps
Medicare
Medicaid
Operation Head Start
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Water Quality Act
Clean Air Act
First Man on the Moon
Women's Suffrage Amendment
Workers Compensation Act
Unemployment Compensation Act
Rural Electrification Act
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Federal Home Loan Program
Securities & Exchange Act
Guaranteed Student Loan Program • Family and Medical Leave Act
School Lunch Program
Motor Voter Act
100,000 New police on U.S. streets
Balanced budget in 1998 as a result of the Balanced Act 1993
