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« July 2005 |
Archives
| September 2005 »
Katrina: Tough Questions for the Bush Administration
Here is an excellent article on Hurricane Katrina and the Bush Administration’s slow response to the victims of the tragedy. Please especially pay attention to the last three paragraphs of the story, which details how the White House dealt with Tropical Storm Cindy, which hit the area seven weeks earlier.
As we speak, there are over 250 desperately needed helicopters sitting in Kentucky with the 101st Airborne division. They are preparing to leave for Iraq in the fall. The President should immediately divert those needed resources to the Louisiana Gulf area to aid in the rescue operations while there’s still time to save lives.
Posted by ChairmanTorres at 06:40 PM
« July 2005 |
Archives
| September 2005 »
The Ronn Owens Show
For our Bay Area Democrats, I will be on the Ronn Owens Show on KGO radio, AM 810, Wednesday morning at 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. for a discussion of state politics. For those of you who are out of KGO's range, you can listen live here.
Posted by ChairmanTorres at 11:04 AM
« July 2005 |
Archives
| September 2005 »
Senator Feinstein’s Speech on the Impact of the U.S. Supreme Court on Americans’ Lives
Please take a moment to read the major speech that U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein delivered on Wednesday before the Los Angeles County Bar Association. She articulated the enormous impact the decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court have on the everyday lives of Americans and how important each nominee to the Court is. It is an excellent explanation of the gravity of the upcoming Senate hearings on John Roberts.
Posted by ChairmanTorres at 05:15 PM
« July 2005 |
Archives
| September 2005 »
Bush’s Hypocrisy
I recently came across this quote from President Bush:
“There’s only one person who hugs the mothers and the widows, the wives and the kids upon the death of their loved one. Others hug, but having committed the troops, I’ve got an additional responsibility to hug and that’s me and I know what it’s like.”
(December 11, 2002)
Tell that to Cindy Sheehan. Read her article here on why she is returning to Crawford.
Posted by ChairmanTorres at 01:29 PM
« July 2005 |
Archives
| September 2005 »
Bush: "Biking Toward Nowhere"
This op-ed by Maureen Dowd offers an insightful look into just how out of touch and clueless President Bush really is. With the number of troops killed in Iraq fast approaching 2,000, his behavior and comments come off all the more insensitive and uncaring.
Posted by ChairmanTorres at 09:55 AM
« July 2005 |
Archives
| September 2005 »
Hypocrites
Republicans in the Assembly today refused to support a bill by Assemblyman Lloyd Levine that would have closed a corporate tax loophole. The bill would have closed a tax credit for companies with a mailbox in the Caribbean. The money saved would have gone to help provide health care insurance for National Guard families. It passed without one Republican vote.
Posted by ChairmanTorres at 06:32 PM
« July 2005 |
Archives
| September 2005 »
Pew Hispanic Center Survey on Immigration
There's so much in the media about immigration - lots of misinformation and rhetoric. Here's some interesting and intelligent reading on the subject from the Pew Hispanic Center, "Attitudes toward Immigrants and Immigration Policy: Surveys among U.S. Latinos and in Mexico."
Posted by ChairmanTorres at 05:07 PM
« July 2005 |
Archives
| September 2005 »
Arnold - Return the Money
Thanks to Deborah Burger, President of the California Nurses Association, for telling it like it is. Read her letter to the editor calling on Arnold to return another contribution -- this time it's Pleasant Care Corporation, which is currently under criminal investigation for elder abuse and neglect.
Posted by ChairmanTorres at 04:52 PM
« July 2005 |
Archives
| September 2005 »
What Our State Cannot Afford
George Skelton of the Los Angeles Times put Schwarzenegger’s priorities into perspective with his column today:
“Schwarzenegger talks like the state can afford roughly $50 million for a special election. But here are things he contends it cannot afford:
• $48 million to provide 1.2 million elderly, blind and disabled who receive federal supplemental security income with $15 monthly cost-of-living increases for three months. He confiscated the federal money.
• $3 million he vetoed to treat low-income men for prostate cancer.
• $20 million for materials to help children learn English.
• $9 million for state parks staffing and maintenance.”
Posted by ChairmanTorres at 05:49 PM
« July 2005 |
Archives
| September 2005 »
Sunday Morning Fox News Appearance
I will be appearing on Fox News Network on Sunday morning, August 14, at 11:15 a.m. to speak on the news of the day and reaction to the Sunday political talk shows. This will be another opportunity to get our Democratic message out.
Posted by ChairmanTorres at 10:03 AM
« July 2005 |
Archives
| September 2005 »
Support a Grieving Mother
Grieving mother Cindy Sheehan, whose son Casey was killed in Iraq in April of last year, has traveled to President Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas to demand a meeting with our Commander-in-Chief over the devastating loss of our troops.
We should all send Cindy Sheehan a note that we support her and are with her in spirit. We should also ask everyone we know to send her a letter as well. Sending her our words of support only takes a moment and a .37 stamp.
Her address:
Cindy Sheehan
Prairie Chapel Road
Crawford, TX 76638
Thank you.
Posted by ChairmanTorres at 04:35 PM
« July 2005 |
Archives
| September 2005 »
Democrats in Congress Receive High Marks From National Hispanic Leadership Agenda
The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda recently rated the last Congress on how well they represented Hispanic interests. Democrats consistently scored higher than Republicans on the issues that matter to the Hispanic community. As the New Politics Institute's Hispanic Project pointed out, “It is important for progressives to continue to educate constituents about the compatibility of Hispanic interests with the Democratic agenda if they want to secure this important pool of voters.”
Posted by ChairmanTorres at 10:23 AM
« July 2005 |
Archives
| September 2005 »
Gov's Top Staff on Both State and Campaign Payrolls
I issued the following statement in response to today’s San Jose Mercury news story revealing that Patricia Clarey, the Governor’s Chief of Staff, Rob Stutzman, Director of Communications, and Richard Costigan, the Governor’s Legislative Affairs Secretary, are earning significant amounts of money from the Governor’s campaign funds in addition to their state paid salaries:
“These activities raise the question whether this is appropriate behavior on behalf of the state’s taxpayers. Are the staff members’ timesheets available so that the taxpayers can review their activities and whether taxpayer money is being used appropriately?
“The highest commitment by any officeholder should be to the taxpayers of this state. Even Karen Hanretty, spokesperson for the California Republican Party, has said, ‘there ought to be a clear line between political work and work that is done on behalf of taxpayers.’ (Los Angeles Times, November 11, 2004)
“All of these people should stop accepting outside income just as the Governor was forced to do. Stop the money and respect the state taxpayers.”
Click here to read the story in the San Jose Mercury News.
Posted by ChairmanTorres at 03:26 PM
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