New NY 23rd

Trump, in a tweet Saturday, thanked North Korea for its plan to dismantle the nuclear test site, calling it “a very smart and gracious gesture!”–Kim Tong-Hyung | AP May 13 at 7:00 AM, Washington Post

North Korea offers to close their nuclear test site amid great fanfare. Is this meaningful; have we forgotten that this site reportedly is on the verge of collapse and is unusable? Does President Trump know this; does he care? Can Kim get credit for closing an unusable nuclear test site?

Astonishingly, Kim was praised for releasing prisoners. These persons were arrested on phony charges and held for no fair reason. If Kim would arrest more people, would he be praised if he later released them?

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-43894394

https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/12/asia/north-korea-missile-test-pledge-intl/index.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/trump-welcomes-n-korea-plan-to-blow-up-nuke-site-tunnels/2018/05/12/e16a974a-565a-11e8-a6d4-ca1d035642ce_story.html?utm_term=.23dade4a3b23

This entry was posted in Trump, War and tagged Kim Jong-un, Korea, nuclear test site. Bookmark the permalink.

“Shared Economy is also known as collaborative consumption or collaborative economy or peer economy. It refers to a hybrid market model of a peer-to-peer exchange. Such transactions are often facilitated via community-based online services.”–Wikipedia

Uber has an incredible history of positive disruption and has been the single biggest player in the transformation of the car service industry. “Getting to work reliably is a concern for many, and today’s discussion was incredibly beneficial as Uber looks toward retooling how people get to work and provide for their families.–Rep Tom Reed

“Positive disruption,” what is that? “Car service industry,” “incredible beneficial,” what can Tom mean?

We’re growing as we’re talking about it. –Patrick Lyden, Uber federal policy representative

Lyden and Reed also discussed how the tax code needs to be restructured to reflect the changing economy that would mirror how businesses like Uber are employing individuals.

We need to modernize the tax code to recognize that there is a portion of this workforce that wants to work in a flexible way, Lyden said.

Wants to work in a flexible way, or can’t find a full time job with benefits that pays a living wage?

Reed used the term “back packing” as it relates to individuals maintaining their earned benefits who might work for multiple employers. He said current work with the tax code will attempt to reflect those individuals with jobs like that of Uber.

By “reflect those individuals” what might Tom mean?

The Post-Journal article isn’t clear: when Tom talks tax law changes, what problem does he mean to solve? Does he want to help Uber, their drivers, riders, or the Treasury? If the discussion with Uber was “incredibly beneficial,” whom did it help? Tom may have accidentally chosen the right word–much of what he says is incredible.

http://www.post-journal.com/news/page-one/2018/08/area-business-leaders-uber-discuss-ridesharing/

I met a man in Japan, a native speaker of Japanese, who claimed to speak both English and German equally well. In fact he spoke both languages in the same way; he said he could see no important difference between … Continue reading

Posted in 2018, Reed’s Views Tagged Democratic Primary, June 26th primary

The NYS Board of Elections have certified that the petitions of all five NY23rd Candidates have enough signatures to be on the June 26 Democratic Federal Primary Ballot. They have also announced the order they will be listed on the … Continue reading

Posted in 2018 Tagged Democratic Primary, Eddie Sunquist, Ian Golden, Linda Andrei, Max Della Pia, NYS Democratic Primaries, Tracy Mitrano

The next phase of the NY23rd Congressional Campaign will begin on March 6 (Tuesday). That is the first day the candidates and their campaign teams can ask registered NY23rd Democrats to sign their nominating petitions. Each campaign will decide when … Continue reading

Posted in 2018 Tagged Andrei, Della Pia, Democratic Primary, Gallant, Golden, Mitrano, Petitions, Sundguist

Karl Warrington, Minister and Social Worker from Phelps, has decided to end his campaign to be the Democratic Candidate to run against Rep. Tom Reed. In an email that he sent to the Democratic County Chairs, he cites his full-time job, … Continue reading

Posted in 2018, Uncategorized Tagged Democratic Primary, Karl Warrington, NY 23rd Candidates, ve Reed

I heard Nate Shinagawa say at the  2012 July 4th Parade in Hammondsport that you don’t need to raise the most money, but you need enough money to compete. As of today, there are eight Democrats running for the right … Continue reading

Posted in Campaign Finances Tagged Democratic Candidates, Democratic Primary, Funding NY23rd’s Democrats

Small potatoes

Emily Birnbaum, writing for The Hill on Nov. 26 reports:

Nine Democratic members of the Problem Solvers Caucus are urging prospective Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to back three rules changes as she aims to drum up enough support to lead the House.

What are these three changes, one might wonder. Here they are:

1. The first proposal would require that any legislation that achieves 290 cosponsors — three-fifths of the House — be debated and get a timely floor vote.
2. The second would mandate that any amendment with at least 20 cosponsors from both parties would get a debate and a vote.
3. The final proposal says every member in every new Congress can introduce one bill on the committee on which he or she serves that would be guaranteed debate and a committee vote as long as the measure is bipartisan and germane to that panel’s jurisdiction.

The House is a large legislative body that can’t operate without rules. Are the proposed rule changes desirable?

The proposed changes don’t appear radical, but may have desirable and undesirable consequences if adopted. The primary effect would be to slightly reduce the power of the Speaker and committee chairpersons.

The first rule change would limit the power of the Speaker to keep popular measures from being considered by the House. While it seems reasonable that popular measures should be considered, past speakers have found reasons to block them. If an elected speaker is irresponsible, this rule change would do little to limit the harm. It the Speaker is responsible, this rule change seems unnecessary.

The second change is more clearly undesirable–it could result in too much time being wasted on amendments supported by special interests. It would reduce the power of the Rules Committee and the Speaker to guide proceedings of the House.

The third change seems highly political–committee members could seek publicity by forcing committee debate on pet bills. I rate this proposal undesirable. If the bill is a good one, it should succeed on its own merit.

It will be interesting to see if any of these proposed changes is adopted, and if so, what impact, if any, it has on legislation considered by the House.

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/418179-problem-solvers-dems-urge-pelosi-to-back-three-rules-changes

This entry was posted in Congress, Political and tagged House, House rules, Problem Solvers. Bookmark the permalink.

Plumb is an excellent candidate — as many viewed at the Chautauqua Lake school debate — at the wrong time in our national history. At the wrong time? Evidently because they fear that Hillary Clinton will be elected President. In … Continue reading

Posted in 2016, Congress, Economics, Political, Terrorism Tagged John Plumb, National debt, NY-23, Post-Journal, Tom Reed

This article was written by  Russell Tocqueville, a friend of the New NY23rd, and a long time Southern Tier resident. Having grown up and spent most of my life in the Southern Tier among friends and family, I can first hand … Continue reading

Posted in Trump Tagged Bill Batrowny, Chris Friend, John Plumb, Leslie Danks Burke, Tom O’mara, Tom Reed

This is crunch time for the campaigns. Here is information about debates and scheduled radio interviews with various NY23rd candidates. I have also included some previously recorded interviews and even a Leslie Danks Burke radio ad and John Plumb commercials … Continue reading

Posted in 2016 Tagged Interviews, Jason Perdue, John Plumb, Lee Hyson, Leslie Danks Burke, NY 23rd debates

In Washington, I am known as the “Solar Republican” because I am pushing clean energy policies forward through tax policies that allow alternative and renewable energies to blossom. My all-of-the-above approach will lower energy costs, increase development investments, create jobs, … Continue reading

Posted in 2016, Congress, Education, Hydrofracking/Gas& Oil Industry, Political, Taxes Tagged energy, Jobs, John Plumb, Solar, Tom Reed

I will put service to our people first.–John Plumb We need to focus on policies that put our families first.–Tom Reed John Plumb Tom Reed The biggest issue we face here in the Southern Tier is jobs. The most important … Continue reading

Posted in 2016, Congress, Economics, Education, Political, Reed’s Views Tagged Jobs, John Plumb

Location: WROC-TV (Channel 8) studio, Rochester, NY Participants: NY 23rd Congressional Candidate John Plumb, Rep. Tom Reed, and WROC-TV reporter Allison Warren Event: Plumb and Reed met with Warren separately to discuss National Security. Follow this link to see the 2:21 minute segment and/or … Continue reading

Posted in Defense, Homeland Security Tagged Department of Homeland Security Shutdown, DHS, John Plumb, National Security, WROC-TV

  “I can’t believe what I’m reading. Today, Donald Trump publicly invited Russia to hack our government’s emails in order to attack Hillary Clinton. I’ve spent my career defending our country from attacks. I never imagined we would see a … Continue reading

Posted in 2016, Uncategorized Tagged Donald Trump tweet, John Plumb, protecting America, Russians Hacking data, Tom Reed

One issue that all of us will probably agree about is that television political advertisements are important to get a candidate elected. Television ads are quite expensive. The cost is determined partly on the size of the market, and partly … Continue reading

Posted in 2016, Campaign Finances Tagged John Plumb, Sidekicks, TV Markets

Rep. Tom Reed has commented about the Orlando Tragedy through a Press Release and his Campaign Facebook page. His June 12th (after the Orlando Massacre ) Campaign Facebook comment was:  Our world has been shaken by terrorism repeatedly, but Obama still … Continue reading

Posted in Constituents, Gun Violence, Legislation, Shutdown, Terrorism Tagged Guns for Terrorists, Homeland Security, John Plumb, Obama’s ISIS plan, Orlando, Radical Islamic Terrorism, Terrorists

  The following is a Press Release from the John Plumb for Congress campaign team. Jamestown, NY — Congressman Tom Reed is continuing his record of undermining the safety of New Yorkers. Last year he voted to shut down the … Continue reading

Posted in 2016, Gun Violence, Reed’s Views Tagged John Plumb, No Fly List, Shut Down Depart of Homeland Security, Terrorist and Guns

Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged. 

The quote is from the Ordinance of 1787, commonly known as the Northwest Ordinance, drafted originally by Thomas Jefferson and passed by the Continental Congress in that year.

“On the topic of what the federal government can do to help students who are two to three years behind after the Pandemic, Sempolinski said it’s something all of society needs to on work together:”

“Whether it’s the federal government setting broad policy. Obviously, much of what happens in education is a state and local issue which is where it should be, frankly, constitutionally. That should be in the province of the state of New York and the other states and, most importantly, with the parents, and with the local officials on the ground. Those are who should be taking the lead on education but it’s something we all need to work on together to make sure we don’t leave behind an entire generation.”

I approve when Joe Sempolinski talks about working together rather than fighting with each other.

“Sempolinski said when it comes to child care, that the federal government should do things within its purview that have a good return on investment:”

“What we’re talking about here is people trying to do the right thing, right? They’re trying to go work. They’re trying to come into one of your businesses and be a productive employee and maybe what’s holding them back is that they have some sort of childcare issue or other issue at home. All right, maybe that’s something where we can, as the government, as the society, help those folks out because then they’re going to be working. They’re going to be paying taxes. They’re going to be a productive member of society.”

I think we might better address the affordability of childcare because it is the right thing to do.

“Sempolinski said more emphasis needs to be put on the skilled trades when it comes to addressing workforce development issues.”

I find it dishonest when Joe Sempolinski, who was a graduate student at Yale, suggests that others skip college. When Thomas Jefferson wrote about the importance of “religion, morality, and knowledge,” I doubt he was thinking of trade school.

John Plumb, candidate for Congress, had a 22 year career in the serving our country in the Navy, an official at the Department of Defense and a staff member on the National Security Council. He recently released his five point plan to defeat ISIS and stopping the growth of  Radical Islamic Extremism.

He starts by stating:

“We must be both smart and strategic in our approach to defeating ISIS, while pushing back against the avenues to radicalization that have allowed ISIS to grow.”

Plumb’s plan, which you can read in full at Medium.com, includes the following topics (Most of the descriptions below are directly from Plumb’s document):

1. Protect the Homeland: Reinvigorate our Joint Terrorism Task Force to effectively integrate information on threats and interrupt planned attacks on the homeland

2. A New AUMF (Authorization for the Use of Military Force) for our Current Enemy: The AUMF was created after 9/11 to legally hunt down and kill those those involved with that event. Plumb feels there should be a new AUMF since our needs are different than 15 years ago.

3. Intelligence Sharing and Joint Operational Planning to Create a True Coalition: Enhance support for intelligent sharing and joint planning.

4. Cutting Off ISIS Sources of Money: Expand operations and financial activities aimed at undermining ISIS sources of power — specifically their oil, arms, and financial backers.

5. Confront ISIS in their Cyber War: Expand and enhance existing authorities and funding that allow the U.S. to engage in offensive and defensive cyber operations to undermine and eliminate ISIS efforts to radicalize and recruit online.

Plumb explains these five points in more details in his plan.

It takes money to enhance and expand programs. Will the GOP leaders support these, or any ideas to improve our ability to combat ISIS and Defeat Radical Islamic Extremism?

I hope so. Maybe we should ask Rep. Reed.

For a printable or sharable pdf copy of the following John Plumb’s Combating ISIS sign follow this link: Plumb ISIS.

Every year at work at a local manufacturer, we heard from a Human Resources spokesperson that the business could no longer afford increasing insurance costs. We would have to pay more. Then one year the CEO, presumably a Republican, explained that government could do nothing more to help the business than to take on the cost of employee insurance. A few years later President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act.

ACA addressed the issue of rising  costs in several ways:

• Near universal coverage
• Preventative care
• Spread the risk over the entire population with the “individual mandate.”

The rate of cost increases slowed.

Tom Reed later visited that company. He reported that management asked for lower taxes and decreased regulations. Healthcare wasn’t mentioned in Tom’s report. I have to wonder if company management was no longer concerned with healthcare costs, or did Tom neglect to mention this concern in his report. In my years at work there, I never heard complaints about taxes or regulations significantly impacting the business.

If the individual mandate is repealed, healthcare insurance premiums are expected to jump higher. Evidently, this is what our representative, Tom Reed, wants.

This entry was posted in Health Care, Reed’s Views. Bookmark the permalink.

‘The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, ‘which is to be master — that’s all.’ –Lewis Carroll

Rep. Amash (R-MI) on the border security crisis

“I think both sides are making a mountain out of a molehill,” Amash said in an interview on Friday with the Sentinel-Standard. “Both sides are pretty stubborn. Both are exaggerating the significance of the wall as part of this legislation.

“Whether the wall is $2 billion or $5 billion will have relatively little practical effect. It’s not unusual. These kinds of things happen in a lot of these fights, where a particular element gets exaggerated for political purposes.”…

“I don’t have an inherent objection to a border wall,” he said. “It needs to be done thoughtfully. It should take into consideration private property at the border and environmental concerns. If those things can be taken into account, I’m OK with it.”

Rep. Amash argues above that a few billions are small potatoes, but this conflicts with his view that budget items ought to be considered individually and in detail.

But the congressman believes the issue has been blown out of proportion. He thinks much more attention should be paid to the entire spending bill, because it includes far too much waste that will continue to balloon the federal deficit, and in turn the massive national debt.

“If the issue is whether we’re going to spend $2 billion or $5 billion on a wall, that’s not worthwhile (for a shutdown),” he said. “The real issue people should be concerned about is the excessive spending in other areas. It’s the departments and programs we are spending hundreds of billions on (that are the problem).”

Amash said that in order to prevent future shutdowns, a more open and deliberative process needs to be established. He feels that each item in spending bills should be discussed and examined individually, rather than each party taking hard stands and fighting.

Rep. Amash, a conservative Republican, believes the government spends too much. However, in this article at least, he fails to explain why he thinks spending billions for border security doesn’t deserve careful examination.

I expect Rep. Amash to object to “executive overreach,” but he didn’t mention any concern over that.

https://www.sentinel-standard.com/news/20190102/amash-doesnt-expect-quick-shutdown-resolution

Marc Cenedella

Marc Cenedella plans to run for Congress in NY-23 where he lives.

I’m a political outsider who has worked for decades to help Americans improve their lives, their incomes, and their careers. I’ve seen firsthand the power that good jobs have for making families stronger and more successful, and the damage that’s done when the government undermines the efforts of hard working people, notes Marc. What he thinks the government has done to undermine the efforts of hardworking people or what people struggling with poverty would do without government support, Marc doesn’t say.

Here is more of what Marc says for himself.

Marc is a political outsider who has worked for more than two decades helping people find good jobs and advance their careers.  He knows that good jobs help people get ahead, provide for their families, and accomplish work that they can be proud of. In Washington, Marc will fight to keep more of your paycheck (sic) and bring better job opportunities to Western New York.

The best economy and employment rates that America has ever seen were under President Donald Trump.  Marc wants to stop liberals and big government from getting in the way of the economic engine of the United States. In Washington, he’ll work to restore the Trump economy.

Marc was raised on the conservative values of Western New York, and now he’s raising his own family the same.  He is running for Congress to fight for strong, conservative policies like limited government, less spending, and lower taxes. The government should not undermine the efforts of hardworking Americans.

Mark hasn’t explained how conservative policies like limited government, less spending, and lower taxes would bring better job opportunities to Western New York. This must be a matter of faith in laissez-faire. Nor has he explained why being a “political outsider” might be a good thing.

Marc might hope to run as a Republican, a Conservative or an independent in the special election, a primary election if there is one, or both, as well as in the general election. It would be good for all if there were a Republican primary, which would give Republican voters a chance to choose their candidate for the first time in more than a decade.

https://www.cenedellaforcongress.com/issues