Libertarian Party says Governor’s budget more of same

Rendell’s budget: higher taxes, more spending, bigger bureaucracies

Harrisburg, PA – The Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania Research Committee today released its review of Governor Rendell’s proposed 2007 budget.

The review is highly critical of Rendell’s plans to increase spending, raise a number of taxes and extend Harrisburg’s meddling even further into the marketplace and into individual lives.

Ron Satz, Ph.D., the research chair of the Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania, remarked that, “The governor’s budget proposal accelerates us in the wrong direction. While history shows that small government, low taxes and free enterprise are necessary for prosperity, this budget only gives us higher taxes and more spending on new and expanded Harrisburg government programs.”

Rendell’s budget would increase total state general-fund spending by 3.6% to $27.3 billion. Rendell’s increased spending will be funded by:

* A higher PA sales tax
* A new electricity consumption tax
* A new tax on oil producers and suppliers
* Higher cigarette taxes and new taxes on other forms of tobacco
* A new payroll tax on employers who do not provide employee health care benefits
* Increased municipal solid-waste disposal fees
* Higher taxpayer debt obligations via more state bonds.

Rendell plans to use this money to expand the state government’s involvement in pre-K and primary education as well as health care. Parents, students and health care consumers will pay more yet lose control of these most personal aspects of their private lives.

"This is a bad budget for Pennsylvanians," concluded Satz. "Governor Rendell continues to adopt the failed big-government approach of trying to 'run' Pennsylvania from the top down. The key to reviving Pennsylvania is for Harrisburg to stand aside to let individuals keep more of their money, and let Pennsylvanians’ personal situations and choices target real needs."

The report, which consists of a summary of 18 critical concerns regarding the proposed budget, along with the LPPa's comments and alternatives, is available at the end of this release.

Libertarian Party is the third largest political party in both Pennsylvania and the United States. Nationwide there are over 200,000 registered Libertarians with organizations in all 50 states. Libertarians serve in hundreds of elected offices throughout the nation. Please visit www.LP.org or www.LPPA.org for more information.

Pennsylvania Libertarian Party Review of Governor Rendell's Budget Proposals

1. Governor: Increase total state general-fund spending by 3.6% to $27.3 billion.

LPPa: Begin reducing total state general funding spending to ultimately provide for the police, courts, part-time legislature, and one executive department to protect life, liberty, and property. Nothing else.

2. Governor: Increase the state sales tax from 6% to 7% to help provide property tax cuts, along with gambling revenues, of $900 million next year.

LPPa: Eliminate all income taxes and begin reducing the sales tax. Property taxes should be based on the actual cost of protecting buildings and land, not for raising money for schools. Schools should be paid for and controlled at the local level by their users.

3. Governor: Impose a new electricity consumption tax to pay off $850 million in borrowing for alternative power development and energy conservation.

LPPa: Eliminate or reduce regulations on power companies so that they will make private investments to improve energy efficiency based on engineering calculations and not Harrisburg's political calculations.

4. Governor: Increase municipal solid-waste disposal fees by $2.75 per ton for hazardous-waste cleanup.

LPPa: Privatize solid-waste disposal operations and let strict
enforcement of property rights laws address any environmental concerns.

5. Governor: Impose a new tax on oil companies' gross profits and exempt those companies from the state's corporate net income tax.

LPPa: Eliminate all income taxes to promote development. Don't single out an industry, or a single corporation within an industry, with special favors or with special penalties.

6. Governor: Increase the cigarette tax from $1.35 to $1.45 per pack, levy a new tax on other forms of tobacco and impose a new 3% payroll tax on employers who do not provide employee health care benefits.

LPPa: Stop levying special taxes on products the government doesn't like. As all state taxes are reduced on all business and individual, let the free market address health care needs.

7. Governor: Boost overall education spending by 6%.

LPPa: Reduce state-level spending on education and give local school districts more financial and educational control of the schooling of their children including the elimination of financial penalties against private education providers.

8. Governor: Expand accountability block grants for pre-K and kindergarten by $100 million.

LPPa: Let parents decide on pre-K and kindergarten programs for their children instead of mandating a "one-size fits all children" state-government program.

9. Governor: Expand programs for special education students, improve elementary science education, make academic programs in 30 high schools more rigorous and provide laptops.

LPPa: See 7 and 8. Remove barriers to having future job providers get involved with educational providers in the education of young people at no charge to taxpayers.

10. Governor: Ban smoking in workplaces, restaurants, and bars.

LPPa: Let private workplaces, restaurants, and bars decide for
themselves whether to have smoke-free areas or not.

11. Governor: Expand by more than 18% an early intervention program for 76,000 children age 5 and younger.

LPPa: No evidence exists for the benefits of such a program. Stop
wasting taxpayer money for the sake of expanding state government!

12. Governor: Increase Corrections Department spending by 13% to handle growth in the state prison population by adding beds and to reduce recidivism by treating substance abuse and better monitoring inmates after they are released.

LPPa: The governor has the constitutional authority to release
through pardon non-violent drug offenders. This eliminates the need for additional spending and replaces expensive incarceration with lower-cost outpatient medical treatment.

13. Governor: Make possession of a stolen gun a felony, require police notification whenever a gun is lost or stolen, let local communities restrict the distribution and use of handguns, and limit gun purchases to one per month.

LPPa: "The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of
themselves and the State shall not be questioned." Article I, Section 21, PA Constitution.

14. Governor: Establish the "Energy Independence Fund" to pay for such items as conservation initiatives, solar energy, research, research, support for emerging clean-energy products and companies, and purchase of low-power appliances.

LPPa: See 3 and 5 above. Don't let politicians play scientist or engineer.

15. Governor: Seek legislative and voter approval for $850 million in bonds to encourage alternative energy development and energy conservation.

LPPa: See 3 and 5 above. Dont let politicians play scientist or engineer.

16. Governor: Create a $500 million Jonas Salk Legacy Fund to foster biomedical research funded by tobacco settlement revenue.

LPPa: See 3 and 5 above. Don't let politicians play doctor or medical researcher. Tobacco settlement money should only go to those affected by tobacco company fraud, if any. Otherwise the money should be distributed to the all taxpaying citizens of Pennsylvania as hard tax reductions.

17. Governor: Lease the Pennsylvania Turnpike to a private company to raise $965 million for roads and bridges.

LPPa: Sell the Pennsylvania Turnpike to the highest bidder; let them handle the maintenance.

18. Governor: Tax oil companies' gross profits to raise $750 million for mass transit.

LPPa: See 3 and 5 above. Privatize mass transit and don't subsidize it with tax revenues from private industries, especially industries who would be subsidizing their own competition.

Doing back flips for the YouTube campaigns. Give us a break.

Bob Mayo of WTAE and others are make a big deal about the YouTube campaigns. Anyone up for a food fight? Shall I set the table?

From hex

From signs

From signs

From signs

These numbers of page views are not going to set the world on fire. They might be a spark. Time will tell. The important element in these videos is trust. To see, watch, hear and catalog the perspectives can't be denied. That is where the power resides. Meanwhile video ads from faceless, nameless, image trashing sources amount to pimples on the digital landscape and our shared political spaces.

Finally, the coverage from the MSM to the trite and the fumbles to the matters of substance is fuel for the fire -- even the sparks. Seems that the MSM would like to give props to empty shoes. That's just another example of Pittsburgh needs oversight.

The links to my video sites, and the photo catalogs at Picassa, are to the left of this blog. I have toyed with this medium and various messages. There isn't any one 'masterpiece.' The best offering of mine has been the CDs that are given in person to those who attend candidate functions.

Recent highly viewed video: Rauterkus.Blip.TV video called, "Democracy is Important to Me" from city council presentation.

Pokora sues fellow Dems

Pokora sues fellow Dems - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

No sense in making sure that ever vote counts. No way.

The worst: un-democratic democrats.

Second worst: Run to court politicians.

Tony should just pull out of the Dem party so he can run in the general election against the winner of the D's primary. Well, he should have done that. Now it is too late.

Staying put. The Pens won't be tossing in the towel.

KDKA TV News is reporting that the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins are not going to move. A meeting is slated to dot the "i"s and cross the "t"s and the announcement will be made before the next home game.

From Pens Village

Sources: Pittsburgh arena deal done - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: A spokesman for Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said he knew nothing of a deal.

'I never heard that. I heard nothing like that,' spokesman Dick Skrinjar said.

Why Do Evangelicals Ignore Ron Paul? by Chuck Baldwin

Why Do Evangelicals Ignore Ron Paul? by Chuck Baldwin The question burning in the minds of evangelicals today is: Which Republican candidate for president will we anoint? There are several possibilities, but apparently Congressman Ron Paul is not one of them.

Ron Paul received his Bachelor's degree from Gettysburg College. He received his MD from Duke University. He began his OB/GYN career in 1968. He was also an Air Force Captain and a member of the Air National Guard.

OpenOffice.org urges Dell's CEO to respond to customer demand and bundle OpenOffice.org's free software alternative to Microsoft Office with

In an open letter released today, the OpenOffice.org community invites Michael Dell to work with them to pre-install OpenOffice.org 2 office software on Dell computers. Dell's own IdeaStorm website has recorded an overwhelming customer demand for this feature, currently showing more than 70,000 requests for OpenOffice.org 2.

The OpenOffice.org community is the home of the leading free software competitor to Microsoft's Office suite. The letter claims that OpenOffice.org 2 software and Dell hardware make a perfect match, sharing identical values of delivering high quality at unbeatable value. A joint development by Dell and OpenOffice.org raises the prospect of an "OpenOffice.org supplied by Dell" product, with finance from Dell helping to built security for the open-source community.

Text of the letter:

Michael S.Dell, Chairman and CEO
Dell Computer Corporation
One Dell Way
Round Rock, Texas 78682

Dear Michael

Dell Computer Corporation has become one of Fortune's “America’s Most Admired Companies” by providing great value, high quality computers and peripherals, but most of all, by listening to your customers. Your recent “IdeaStorm” initiative is the latest example of this. Here at OpenOffice.org, we were delighted to see that the second most requested feature by Dell customers was to have our office software pre-installed on Dell systems. This request attracted more than 25,000 votes in two
days.

We believe that OpenOffice.org 2 software perfectly matches Dell’s values. OpenOffice.org 2 is high quality office software, the result of over twenty years’ continuous software engineering. It runs under all common operating systems. It offers everything users expect from office software, plus some bonus features that may pleasantly surprise them. It’s easy for customers to use, with a familiar look and feel, and can read and write a wide range of file formats, including Microsoft’s. On top of all this, being licenced under open-source terms, it represents outstanding value for money for you and your customers.

Let’s have a conversation about how we could build an “OpenOffice.org supplied by Dell” product to give your customers what they are asking for. We’d also be happy to accept any financial contribution that Dell might offer to help ensure that OpenOffice.org continues to evolve in the future.

Sincerely

John McCreesh, Marketing Project Lead, OpenOffice.org

House bill would further restrict voter choice

Libertarian Party announces opposition to PA House Bill 48

Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Libertarian Party today announced its strong opposition to House Bill 48 which defines criteria for disqualifying votes in an election.

The bill contains a clause preventing a write-in campaign by an independent state-wide candidate who, after submitting the minimum number of signatures to be placed on the General Election ballot, is then removed from the ballot due to procedural technicalities.

This is exactly what happened in the last election. Carl Romanelli submitted 95,000 signatures to be placed on the General Election ballot for Senate. Democrats challenged and convinced the courts that thousands of signatures were invalid, leaving Romanelli 8,931 short of the 67,070 required.

Pennsylvania’s petition signature requirements are extremely strict. Signatures are rejected for technicalities such as forgetting to enter the date or entering information in the wrong box. In addition, the courts have arbitrarily redefined “qualified electors” as registered voters from its less stringent statutory definition of Pennsylvania citizens over 18.

Under House Bill 48, Mr. Romanelli would be unable to then mount a write-in campaign, as any vote cast for him would not be counted.

Doug Leard, LPPa Media Relations Chair, remarked “Factions in the state bureaucracy and the state legislature are committed to restricting political choice on the ballot. With last year’s crushing 67,070 signature requirement, Pennsylvania is the second worst state in the nation for ballot access. When Mr. Romanelli submitted 95,000 signatures, the courts scrutinized the signatures then threw him off the ballot, as well as ordering him to pay over $80,000 in court costs and Democratic Party legal bills. Now, to add injury to insult, the House has introduced legislation to prevent Pennsylvanians who support such a candidate from having their vote even counted.”

Michael Robertson, LPPa Chair added, "Limiting the choices of voters and not counting votes is directly contrary to what government should be doing. Every voter should have their say and every vote cast should be recorded and reported. We urge Pennsylvanians to contact their representative in the General Assembly to oppose House Bill 48.”

I went into the Allegheny County Elections Department after the 2006 general election ended. Sadly, our designated poll watcher was not allowed to be there in the tabulation time, but that is another story. I counted the write-in votes from those in Allegheny County for the office of US Senator in the Casey vs. Santorum race.

Guess what.

My guy, a Libertarian, didn't get his votes reported to Harrisburg. His votes were not put together in a total. I conducted a write in for him. It didn't matter.

Hundreds of voters in Allegheny County made write in votes. Most of them didn't count.

Rep. Ron Paul To Run For President - Politics

Rep. Ron Paul To Run For President - Politics: "U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, a strict constitutionalist and fierce anti-war critic, will formally declare his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination Monday when he appears as a guest on a C-SPAN call-in program.

Paul, R-Texas, created a presidential exploratory committee in January, allowing him to begin collecting money on behalf of his bid. Kent Snyder, the chairman of that committee, said Saturday that Paul would make his candidacy official on Monday.

This will be Paul's second try for the White House. He was the Libertarian nominee for president in 1988.

...Paul, for example, was the only Republican congressman to vote against Department of Defense appropriations for fiscal year 2007, which he opposed because of the war in Iraq -- a war he says is "not necessary for our actual security."

He once described President Bush as "not a constitutional president" and voted against a resolution declaring that the United States would win the war on terror.

He acknowledges that the national Republican Party has largely shunned him despite his nine terms in office under its banner. He gets little money from the GOP's large traditional donors, but benefits from individual conservative and Libertarian donors outside Texas.

Paul bills himself as "The Taxpayers' Best Friend," and is routinely ranked either first or second in the House of Representatives by the National Taxpayers Union, a national group advocating low taxes and limited government.

Pittsburgh Comet gives insights. Pi Day is just around the corner!

From texture - misc.

The Pittsburgh Comet When you get into a pie-fight with Mark Rauterkus, be ready for a faceful of cherry-lemon meringue and custard.

I'm not that interested in a food fight. However, I'm not going to be idle when others try to re-write history.

Likewise, is Peduto the first to do YouTube? Well, I'm the first at JumpCut.com and Blip.tv. Furthermore, being first isn't what this is about. Sure, I want to make history and not be a slave of it. But, this is a long-haul endeavor. In a swim race, the winner isn't called by seeing how hits the water first. Often in the real world it is the pioneer who gets the arrow in the back.

The pie quote from The Pittsburgh Comet comes at a great time, just two days before "Pi Day" -- one of my favorite holidays. When I'm elected, I'll decalre "Pi Day" a big harry deal. (Harry, as in Harry Readshaw.)

From hex

Feel free to take an image of a round "pi object" from my Picassa album and post it on your blog or site to celebrate pi day.

On March 14, 2006, (last year's pi day), was the special election for Pgh City Council district 3. That was the first race I was in which I didn't get last place.

Letter to the editor in the PG from Mark C, with insights

Plum's Mark C, a Libertarian, posted to our Libertarian list:

I had a LTE in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette today (3/11/2007) about how a spending cap on the Iraq war might not be enough to stop it. The LTE link and text is below.

What's different about this LTE (letter to the editor) was that I got two calls
from the PG about it. The first was simply to confirm my intent to be printed. The editor who called said she agreed with everything I said and even complimented me on a particular sentence.

The second call was a few days later from another editor who wanted verification of a statement I made about routing calls to Canada to avoid US law. She had no problem with the example of outsourcing torture to avoid US law.

I told her that I remember reading it in what I think was WorldNetDaily years ago. She asked if she could soften the statement for printing since there was no proof. Since it was late Friday and they were soon going to print for the early Sunday edition, it was either soften or don't print. We agreed on wording, but I said I'd try to find the reference for her anyway and she gave me here email.

Instead of the WND reference I found another that made the case and revealed that it was even worse than I thought. (The US, England, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have routinely used each other to get around their own laws to monitor their own citizens based on an agreement made in the late 1940s.) I emailed the link to her, stayed polite and told her that fact-checking must not be dead because she really made me work for this letter.

I hope that I'm establishing credibility with the editorial staff at the Post-Gazette. Maybe the small-government viewpoint will gain credibility with them too. I did like the title they gave it.

By the way, has anyone else ever been challenged on a LTE like this?

Mark C.

---

Link to the letter published in the P-G

Downsize it all Post-Gazette, 3/11/2007

It's naive to think that a targeted spending limit ("The Half-Trillion-Dollar Solution" by Bruce Ackerman and David Wu, March 4 Forum) is the solution to the Iraq war. Limits are easily circumvented and soon forgotten.

Years ago, during the Clinton administration, I read that government pressures telecommunications providers to route calls and e-mails through Canada to avoid U.S. wiretapping laws.

The Bush administration outsourced interrogation to Egypt to avoid torture bans.

Congress usually doesn't even read the legislation it passes. A catchy-titled "Iraq Cap Act" might also include the fine print preparing for an Iran invasion.

The fundamental problem is that our government is too big. It has too much power, too many resources, too many agendas and too many places to hide too many secrets.

Even if we manage to stop the bleeding in Iraq, that will only redirect blood to other domestic and foreign policy wounds, all too numerous in our bipartisan welfare and warfare state.

That's why the real solution must include capping all of government back to its libertarian origins, as the U.S Constitution intends. If not, our country will suffer a debilitating shock as the burden from these wounds threatens our financial and personal lives.

MARK CROWLEY, Plum

City Council District 9 candidates forum in Homestead - first blush

Most of the candidates in the crowded city council district 9 race came to a forum today at the Homestead branch of the Carnegie Library of Pgh. The incumbent was absent and she had said she'd attend. Randall Taylor came an hour late.

I got an hour of video tape and will upload some of it to YouTube in the hours and days to come. Audio from start to finish was also obtained, but I'm not sure of its quality yet.

T.C. should not get a single vote. Well, she'll get the votes from her family members. She wants to snub the residents and voters by not showing up to the candidate debates. So, she should be snubbed at the polls.

All in all, a lot of nice candidates are in the race.

Most of them say things that cause fear in terms of their desires for bigger government. One said that no shovel would turn any dirt in the district unless he had been involved and was on-board with the project before it got started.

Just putting up the raw video would tell a great story in some instances. However, some of the comments need to be discounted within the clips as an over-reach of the roles of city council, however.

Great event! Good people. Some wonderful answers mixed with a few well intended but un-sound approaches.

The only other technical note, now, goes to the fact that the endorsed Democrat, a 22 year old women who has graduated from Howard University did not get the entire packet of her papers filed in the right place at the right time. However, at this point there has been no challenge filed. Time will tell.

Pittsburgh's Great Young Hope, Steel City Mayor Luke Ravenstahl Is Only 27 Years Old - CBS News

Pittsburgh's Great Young Hope, Steel City Mayor Luke Ravenstahl Is Only 27 Years Old - CBS News (CBS) Smokestacks still rise above the three rivers in Pittsburgh, once home to America's steel industry. But today, so do new stadiums, museums and high-tech businesses. It's more than a face-lift — Pittsburghers are trying to draw new money and new energy to town.

Erin R., Pittsburgh's First Lady, gave the quote that my wife repeated to me. I went to church and she stayed home and watched the show -- under my orders.

It is crazy to think that the mayor is in charge of "all that" when looking out while driving through the city.

The mayor isn't in charge of the market place, the economy, the private concerns and the people.

Weirdness in the reporting. Two years ago, the state did NOT pull Pittsburgh back from the brink of bankruptcy. I contend that the state's bailout was inferior.

The Pens didn't threaten to leave the city the other day. It has been a threat for nearly a decade. That has been a lingering threat, just as we've had a lingering bailout.

Mistick talks about 'smart money' giving the mayors job to one guy over the other. That's the problem. Why is "smart money" going to rule? Rather, I'd love to see smart voters make the decisions. Money and ideas are not one in the same. Nor is money and capacity to govern one in the same.

Moreover, when the money goes to one, that might be more of a burden when it comes to doing what's best for the people, day-in and day-out.

SmallGovTimes.com :: Ron Paul to officially announce presidential candidacy Monday

SmallGovTimes.com :: Ron Paul to officially announce presidential candidacy Monday Ron Paul to officially announce presidential candidacy Monday

Great news.

Immolation - Wikipedia: Whispers Footnote

Immolation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Self-immolation is suicide by immolation, notably as an extreme form of protest.

The Republicans will NOT find anyone to run for mayor. They can't find that person now. The deadline for them has come and gone.

From Jokester Dan: China not trying to shanghai the Pens - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review JUDGE JOE? Former Republican Pittsburgh mayoral candidate Joe Weinroth is running for office again, but this time he won't be a punching bag for the Democrat mayoral nominee.

Wonder if we should keep a list of insults from the Trib and others.

This punching bag might punch back. Furthermore, it is my hope that the D's mayoral nominee does step into the ring. But, I wonder if the courage to do so will permit it.

Google Group, Western PA Sports

Self promotion on this group is welcome.

Western Pennsylvania Sports

Visit this group

Keith Olbermann | We Fight for Liberty by Having More Liberty, Not Less

Sink Newt Now!

Newt is toast. He is running for president now. Give us a break.

Keith Olbermann | We Fight for Liberty by Having More Liberty, Not Less Gingrich Wants to Restrict Freedom of Speech?

Health care press event slate for Harrisburg on Monday

Heads up. The bill these folks are pushing for is NOT like what the Governor wants to do.

TIME TO SHOW YOUR SUPPORT AGAIN FOR THE FAMILY & BUSINESS HEALTH CARE SECURITY ACT OF 2007 PRESS CONFERENCE ANNOUNCING INTRODUCTION OF SENATE BILL 300 AND ITS HOUSE COUNTERPART (BILL NUMBER SOON TO BE ASSIGNED)

PRIME SPONSORS: SEN JIM FERLO AND REP BARBARA McILVAINE SMITH

ALL 15 HOUSE AND SENATE CO-SPONSORS, REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS, ALSO INVITED

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

MONDAY - MARCH 12, 2007

11 AM to NOON

MEDIA CENTER – EAST WING (250 seating capacity)

CAPITOL BUILDING

HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA

Universal Health Care Access

Single Payer Efficiency and Cost Savings

Comprehensive, Not "Basic," Coverage

No-Fault Malpractice Reform and Compensation Program

End Racial, Economic and Geographic Disparity of Care

Tax Rebates to Volunteer Emergency Responders

Health Care Education as a Priority

Rational Cost Containment and Error Reduction

Disaster Preparedness

Mr. Swartz, To Face Luke's Boss In Democratic Primary

kdka.com - Onorato To Face Swartz In Democratic Primary 'He's a community activist,' said Onorato. 'I'm sure he's a good guy. If he wants to enter the race, I'm looking forward to the exchange of ideas.'

Mr. Onorato said in this segment from KDKA TV that he'd debate any candidate that gets into the race.

Governor Rendell, Penguins, Mayor Ravenstahl, County Executive Onorato Statement on Negotiations to Keep NHL Team in Pittsburgh

They did issue a 'longer' statement.

Governor Rendell, Penguins, Mayor Ravenstahl, County Executive Onorato Statement on Negotiations to Keep NHL Team in Pittsburgh Governor Rendell, Penguins, Mayor Ravenstahl, County Executive Onorato Statement on Negotiations to Keep NHL Team in Pittsburgh

HARRISBURG, Pa., March 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following
statement was released Wednesday evening following negotiations between
Governor Edward G. Rendell, Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, Allegheny
County Chief Executive Dan Onorato and the Pittsburgh Penguins to keep the
NHL franchise in Pittsburgh:
'We had a very constructive meeting where significant progress was
made. The parties have agreed to meet again next Wednesday. They also
agreed that no further comment will be made.'
The Rendell administration is committed to creating a first-rate public
education system, protecting our most vulnerable citizens and continuing
economic investment to support our communities and businesses. To find out
more about Governor Rendell's initiatives and to sign up for his weekly
newsletter, visit his Web site at: http://www.governor.state.pa.us.
Chuck Ardo
717-783-1116

Road Trip to Harrisburg to work for the democratic process

Join Celeste on a trip to Harrisburg. I'm not going, but would, if I could. I hope to go to Harrisburg the next day.

Come to the Election Reform Forum in Harrisburg this Tuesday March 13! It will be a great day because fair and accurately counted electionsare something on which everyone can agree. Let's tell the legislature!

If you are planning to come, sign up with this link.

*** There are FREE BUSSES (one from Pittsburgh and one from Philly) that include a FREE LUNCH! If anyone in other areas can CARPOOL (Centre County? NEPA? NWPA? South-Central PA?) please come and bring people!

Here is bus info:

Pittsburgh leaves promptly at 6 am from the Hill House located at 1835 Centre Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15219 and will arrive at the Capitol Complex in Harrisburg by 10 am. Bus will leave Harrisburg at 4 pm and arrive in Pittsburgh at 8 pm. To reserve a seat please contact Celeste Taylor at 412-670-0937.

Philadelphia bus will leave at 8am from the Cheltenham Mall Parking lot located at Cheltenham and Washington Ave.., Philadelphia, PA 19138 and will arrive at the Capitol Complex at 10am. Bus will leave Harrisburg at 4pm and arrive in Philadelphia at 6pm. Those requesting a seat onthe busshould contact Mrs. Dukes at 215-224-5522 or the bus captain Deacon Willie Daugherty 215-549-2225. Cars can park in the front of the mall and be directed to where the bus is.

Busses are first come, first served. Again, please REGISTER at the above link even if you contact one of the numbers above for a bus seat or are carpooling/driving yourself.

More than 40 years after the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed, minority voters are still facing calculated and determined voter intimidation and suppression tactics. And even though the need for a voter-verified paper record has been well-documented over the past several elections, not all voters in Pennsylvania have access to dependable voting systems. Additionally, language minority voters and those with disabilities continually face barriers to the ballot box.

Our forum will address voting machine and voter verifiability issues, barriers to voting, deceptive practices and other related concerns, and will be followed by an afternoon of legislative visits with those who have the power to guarantee access and accountability!

Date and Time:
March 13, 2007
Forum: 10:30 - 12:30
Legislative visits: 1:00 - 3:30

Location:
Harrisburg, PA 17120 - Capitol Complex: Keystone Building (400 North
St), Hearing Room 1
(Group transportation will be available from Philadelphia and Pittsburgh on a space-available basis)

Speakers:

Rafael Collazo - People For the American Way Foundation and Democracia USA
Rev. Robert Shine - People For the American Way Foundation and African
American Ministers Leadership Council
Barry Kauffman - Common Cause PA
Lora Lavin - League of Women Voters of PA
Tim Stevens - B-PEP, Black Political Empowerment Project
Marybeth Kuznik - VotePA
Paul O'Hanlon - Disabilities Rights Network of PA

The forum will also feature a montage from Video the Vote!

Invited Guests:
U.S. Representative Mike Doyle
Secretary of State Pedro Cortes
Senator James Ferlo
Senator John Pippy
Representative Dan Frankel
Representative Tony Payton, Jr.

Sponsoring organizations:

People For the American Way/Foundation
League of Women Voters of PA
VotePA
B-PEP, Black Political Empowerment Project
Disability Rights Network of PA
Common Cause/PA
Allegheny County ACORN
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Democracy Rising PA
Pennsylvania Center for Civic Participation
Pennsylvania Council of Churches
League of Young Voters
The Committee of Seventy
National Council of Jewish Women - PA

If you have any questions, or would like to find out how you can become a co-sponsor or donate to this event, please contact Celeste Taylor at 412-670-0937 or ctaylor@pfaw.org.