Kudos for ‘100 hours’ agenda
Last week, the 100th Congress selected Nancy Pelosi as the first
woman ever to serve as Speaker of the House of Representatives.
This action is worthy of celebration by all equality-minded
Americans, as it represents another in a long series of steps taken
throughout our history to truly extend the promise of democracy to
all.
As Democrats, we celebrate for other reasons as well. And not
just for the political reasons that you might imagine, but rather
because Ms. Pelosi has pledged to use her position to bring relief
to the American people, who have been misled and underserved in
recent years.
The agenda she will pursue is an agenda which is shared by
Democrats across the country; the interests she will serve are the
interests of the common people. We on the San Benito Democratic
Central Committee are proud to support the
”
First 100 Hours Agenda
”
of Speaker Pelosi and Congressional Democrats to:
– Clean up Congress, breaking the link between lobbying and
legislation;
– Commit to pay-as-you-go, no-new-deficit spending;
– Implement the recommendations of the independent, bipartisan
9-11 Commission;
– Raise the minimum wage;
– Make health care more affordable for all Americans;
– Negotiate lower drug prices for the Medicare prescription drug
program;
– Promote stem cell research to offer real hope to the millions
of American families who suffer from devastating disease;
– Broaden college opportunity, cutting interest rates for
college loans in half;
– Achieve energy independence, beginning with rolling back the
multi-billion dollar subsidies for Big Oil;
– Guarantee a dignified retirement, and fight any attempt to
privatize Social Security.
The San Benito County Democratic Party has asked Speaker Pelosi
to add environmental protection to her list of priorities. We know
that most people want to leave a healthy planet for their children
and grandchildren.
Jeanie Wallace
Chairperson
San Benito County Democratic Central Committee
Kudos for ‘100 hours’ agenda
Last week, the 100th Congress selected Nancy Pelosi as the first woman ever to serve as Speaker of the House of Representatives. This action is worthy of celebration by all equality-minded Americans, as it represents another in a long series of steps taken throughout our history to truly extend the promise of democracy to all.
As Democrats, we celebrate for other reasons as well. And not just for the political reasons that you might imagine, but rather because Ms. Pelosi has pledged to use her position to bring relief to the American people, who have been misled and underserved in recent years.
The agenda she will pursue is an agenda which is shared by Democrats across the country; the interests she will serve are the interests of the common people. We on the San Benito Democratic Central Committee are proud to support the “First 100 Hours Agenda” of Speaker Pelosi and Congressional Democrats to:
– Clean up Congress, breaking the link between lobbying and legislation;
– Commit to pay-as-you-go, no-new-deficit spending;
– Implement the recommendations of the independent, bipartisan 9-11 Commission;
– Raise the minimum wage;
– Make health care more affordable for all Americans;
– Negotiate lower drug prices for the Medicare prescription drug program;
– Promote stem cell research to offer real hope to the millions of American families who suffer from devastating disease;
– Broaden college opportunity, cutting interest rates for college loans in half;
– Achieve energy independence, beginning with rolling back the multi-billion dollar subsidies for Big Oil;
– Guarantee a dignified retirement, and fight any attempt to privatize Social Security.
The San Benito County Democratic Party has asked Speaker Pelosi to add environmental protection to her list of priorities. We know that most people want to leave a healthy planet for their children and grandchildren.
Jeanie Wallace
Chairperson
San Benito County Democratic Central Committee
Views stink, but the roads are OK
Thank goodness Publisher Mark Paxton’s poison pen clarified he and Rep. Farr represent “the rest of us.” The Pinnacle rarely offers balanced editorial comment to issues such as illegal immigration.
Information could be provided for guest worker programs which have worked in the past, as well as cost information and who pays what percentage of taxes (not “the rest of us”) from a source other than which supports amnesty. Mr. Paxton could offer information about the 14th Amendment by those who wrote it and the Supremicist decsions which overturned it without Constitutional authority.
Paying almost $7k in property taxes, I feel we are being taxed too much, with too little in return. California is spend and tax, populist state. It is essentially a dictatorship run by the teachers association and unions. There is no social program, agenda, or speech restriction too small to small to push with tax dollars at the expense of what used to be typical government spending. This is why I voted against the sales tax increase.
Mr. Paxton, like Representative Farr, cannot seem to report anything positive out of Iraq, or for that matter, EVER offer a solution which reduces government. There is no dictator or murderer that does not deserve the audacity of appeasement or understanding by the “rest of us.”
Representative Farr and Mr. Paxton do not represent my views, nor do they ever represent us.
Finally, as usual, Mr. Paxton’s seeming positive perspective ends on a sour note with two slams on an “all-around nice guy.” The only diversity in The Pinnacle is in letters to the editor and the fictitious business statements. Perhaps the owner of the paper could see to it that ALL customers are served, rather than just “the rest of us.”
Finally, on a positive note, road maintenance does a good job with pothole repair and ditch maintenance.
Mark Dickson
Hollister
Editor’s note: Paxton’s reference to the war in Iraq being unpopular was based on a Nov. 11 Associated Press poll indicating 35 percent of Americans support the initial American invasion of Iraq and 70 percent support the President’s plan to send more troops to the region.
Surge a real Bush victory
Troop withdrawal now with no additional sacrifice of American lives leaves Iraq with an elected government faced with the problem of reconciling hostile factions to avoid a civil war and rebuilding their country. This elected government is anti-Israel and
pro-Iran. It favors Iran over the United States.
Surging 21,500 American troops through January 2009 with troop withdrawal by a new president leaves Iraq with an elected government faced with the problem of reconciling hostile factions to avoid a civil war and rebuilding their country.
Surge a real Bush victory
This elected government is anti-Israel and pro-Iran, favoring Iran over the United States. This is a true victory for president Bush and worth the sacrifice of American lives
over the two year period. His friends with no bid contracts will enjoy two additional profitable years, which would be lost by withdrawal now.
Frank Crosby
Morgan Hill
Great volunteer overlooked
I was really impressed with the full-page coverage of the Hospital Auxiliary. It was a really comprehensive history of the organization. However, I feel a very important person was not mentioned. Nothing was said about the present gift shop and its management. I would like to see some recognition of Aileen Bauder. She has been a volunteer manager for eight years.
Aileen puts in untold hours in buying, merchandising, receiving, pricing and sales. She has been very successful generating a profit for the Auxiliary’s projects.
JoAnn Byrd
Hollister
A fine teacher overlooked
I enjoyed reading your article on Promethean boards used at our Southside School. This is certainly a great innovation for our children. We were wondering why your article did not mention the name of the teacher in the picture. She is Barbara Miller who exhibits the finest in a cadre of good teachers.
Mary Jo and John Appel
Paicines
Editor’s note: Teacher Barbara Miller was identified in two photos in which she appeared on page A7.
‘It ain’t necessarily so!’
We get what we pay for in government: to borrow from Porgy and Bess, “It ain’t necessarily so!”
While the Hollister City Council cries “poor” and cuts services in the face of a $2 million budget shortfall, that same council continues to skim approximately $10 million each year off the city’s share of the property tax revenues that would otherwise go to the General Fund and eliminate any need for sales tax increases or budget cuts. This $10 million a year is the tax revenue diverted to the Redevelopment Agency established by the City Council in 1983. You citizens have no voice, no vote in how this money is spent. The RDA built the Briggs parking building at a cost of about $6 million: because it was funded with 30-year bonds, the true cost is closer to $12 million. Six cars were parked there last time I looked.
The Farmers and Merchants Bank Building was another RDA project. It stands expensive and empty on San Benito Street along with all those cute blue awnings, fancy new sidewalks and streetlights in our dying downtown, courtesy of RDA funds. While these have some merit, they pale in priority when compared to the public safety, fire and police protection the City Council is willing to cut.
Why doesn’t the City Council defund its creation, the RDA? Why don’t they use that proven tax revenue stream instead of asking for higher sales taxes? Because it’s a great little slush fund, out of sight of the city’s taxpayers, that can be spent by the politicians with little accountability and less notification to the general public.
Are we getting the government we pay for? “It ain’t necessarily so!”
John C. Buchanan
Hollister
