It’s All About the Power, Prestige, and Control

Published on July 30, 2010 in Fresh Brew. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , .

With the fall-out of my “taken out of context” blog article He’s Not One of Us (Tim Burns)…You’re Right! finally going to the wayside (Read the latest on PA2010.com), I find it very telling that no one in the business sector, here, has spoken out against the misconstrued attack ad Mr. Pasquerilla recently posted in the Tribune-Democrat against Mr. Burns.  When you talk in small circles here, the whispers support my article and it’s underlying idea that our governmental contracts truly only benefit “a few” here, and we’re now mostly at the mercy of whatever “pork” can be provided to us by skilled politicians who know how to work the earmark system in Washington.  While the silence is deafening, it DOES speak volumes, doesn’t it?  Even though Congressman Murtha is no longer with us, his “good ole boy” fraternity still presses on with the hope that Mr. Critz will continue Mr. Murtha’s legacy of “pork.”  And while Mr. Critz “does his dance” in Washington alongside Nancy Pelosi, Johnstown will continue to simply exist with no real chance of prospering.  As the Obama-Pelosi administration tries to instill this highly contoversial concept of “spreading the wealth” and how “they (the government) will take care of us,” the people of this great area will continue to be blindsided and short-changed.  When all the glitter and stars dissipate (after we get our next year’s million dollars of “pork” and after the ribbons are cut on t.v.), I pray eyes will finally be opened and we all will truly see and accept we’ve been scanned by the very best!  These glorified contracts and grants are just enabling the very elite here to prosper while countless others continue to struggle.  Enough!

I found an interesting article on the internet (an older article from RollCall.com) which I’d like to share with you. It’s located here: Companies Follow Murtha’s Earmark Trail

The author, Paul Singer, writes:

“Aeptec’s story is not unique. Murtha has obtained millions of dollars in earmarks for firms in his district, many of them clients of PMA and KSA. But in many cases the money is not for local companies, it is for companies that move to the district, and frequently it is for start-ups that essentially would not be in business were it not for Murtha’s largesse. Some of the firms also are simply store-front offices of companies that do most of their work elsewhere.”

As I mentioned, this article is now considered “old news” (It was written back in 2007), but it points out some things our local media would never print or put on the nightly news.  There have been numerous articles like this printed all over the place and highlighted on the national nightly news channels, too, but we simply ignored it.  For the life of me, I can’t understand why — except the people here likely didn’t have a voice — a voice strong enough to be heard over the power, prestige, and control already established here.

The Democratic party has long been equated with helping the “working men” of this country while the Republicans have been characterized as the stingy, selfish ones who only care about themselves and “big business.”  (Side note:  I’m not sure how anyone can truly say that our former representative of the 12th wasn’t catering to big business!)  I COMPLETELY AGREE and ACKNOWLEDGE there are bad apples on both ends of the spectrum, but we’re focusing on the here and now — in little ole Johnstown.  We have the opportunity to turn things around and get ourselves back on the right path here — a path that can be successful and prosperous for everyone (not the elite “lucky ones”).  Of course there will be stumbling blocks (We already have a very grim national economy to contend with and there are always challenges involved when working with new leadership and administrations), but I am confident we can turn things around here.  I’m confident we can help to build up our economy here in the PA 12th congressional district so our children and grandchildren might finally stay.  It takes a lot of courage to admit when we’ve screwed up and it’s terribly scary to change direction (especially after years of doing things one way), but we can do this, friends.  With God’s help, a renewed commitment to this area and ALL of it’s residents, and with NEW leadership and experience, we can once again become the “great city” we once were so many years ago.  I’m not asking you to consider Tim Burns as a Republican; I’m asking you to consider Tim Burns as a fellow American.  He’s not the right man for the job because he’s Republican; he’s the right man for the job because he’s young, a successful business entrepreneur, a family man, and lastly, he’s NOT a career politician.  (*I’d like to also point out that Tim Burns has not utilized “attack ads” or campaigned in such a way as he understands the people of this district need integrity, honesty, and responsibility — something which is clearly missing in today’s political arena!)   Tim Burns has a FRESH, NEW perspective we so desperately need right now.  I understand that change is hard and with change comes great difficulty, but we cannot and MUST NOT re-elect another Murtha candidate.

Let’s try a new direction.  Let’s work on developing small businesses here in the private sector.  The key is jobs!  If we can provide good-paying jobs FOR EVERYONE, everything else will fall into place.

Please carefully consider Tim Burns this November.

Spin City (Yup, it’s at the local level, too!)

Published on July 29, 2010 in Fresh Brew. 5 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , .

I was very disappointed to see a large political ad printed in the Johnstown’s Tribune-Democrat on July 25th citing a blog article I wrote back in May called “He Isn’t One of Us (Tim Burns)… You’re Right!“.  The ad’s author clearly misunderstood and contorted my article’s message and unfairly blasted both Tim Burns and myself, personally, as well as Tim Burns’ political campaign here in the 12th congressional district of Western Pennsylvania.

I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised as this is politics, right?  Well, I will admit I was absolutely shocked my article (and the intent of my article) were taken out of context in such an extreme manner and then seemingly used to vilify both myself and Mr. Burns.  How disconcerting!

In my rebuttal of this unfortunate attack ad on both Mr. Burns and my article, I immediately responded to theTribune-Democrat’s editorial section with the following comments (I anticipate it will be printed in the editorial section of the weekend paper).  I’m not able to print a large quarter page ad like my counterpart did (I don’t have the monetary resources, unfortunately), but to use the same words as my counterpart… I “will not be silenced.”

He Isn’t One of Us! (Part II)

In response to a recent political ad printed on July 25th citing my blog article “He Isn’t One of Us! “, I would like to clarify my comments and the intent of this article I posted online in May. Please visit my blog for the full article: http://www.dawnrager.com/blog/?p=1106.

I don’t believe I disrespected our area’s workers. I repeatedly complimented this area for its diligence and hard-work ethic. I have no issues with our hard-working defense industry, health care, law enforcement officers, teachers, and other public sector and non-public sector workers. I was referring to the types of work available here, not the workers personally. We’ve become increasingly dependent on government “pork” while private businesses have been left out of the economic equation (since they don’t have the financial or political backing to acquire contracts). What will happen when these contracts and funding are unavailable? Friends of mine, who work in the defense industry, are equally as concerned.

In closing, regardless of where Tim Burns’ former business was located, he grew up in this area. He knows the ropes. Finally, Tim Burns did not outsource jobs; the outsourcing of his company’s jobs happened after he sold his business. How can we continually blame him for something that happened “after the fact?”

If you want more of the same “good ole boy” politics, then vote for yet another career politician, Mr. Critz. If you want a fresh start with a proven successful business perspective for everyone, then Tim Burns is your candidate.

The original blog article I wrote was not intended to attack workers, personally, here in the 12th congressional district, and there is no such indication of this in my writing. I was not putting down our hardworking men and women who work in the defense industry, health care, law enforcement, education, steel industry, or any other public or non-public environment.   Just for the record, my husband is a skilled welder/fabricator and I am very proud of his work accomplishments!   Friends, my article was about the kinds of work available here in relation to our overall job outlook.   That’s it.  Nothing more.

Our current job and employment environment highly favor the public sector and government-contracted work, while the non-public and private business sector are dwindling here because they do not have the monetary or political backing to adequately compete for and acquire big contracts.   We are not especially welcoming to private businesses that wish to start-up here, either.  In essence, we’ve aligned all of our ducks in a row for governmental projects and grants while inadvertently discouraging small business growth and now, we’ve backed ourselves into a difficult corner.  On one hand, we want those government contracts (or “pork”) to continue to come through for us so we can sustain ourselves here (it’s our life support), but in doing so, we encourage even MORE dependence on these contracts and still do little to promote job growth elsewhere.  It’s a vicious cycle of dependence which will be increasingly difficult for us to break from — especially as more small businesses (in the private sector) pack up and leave for good.   The truly unfortunate thing is we’ve allowed ourselves to get backed into this corner; we continually re-elected politicians who secured “big money” in Washington for us (and they promised us this would be good for us and the area), but we seemingly didn’t think much about the consequences or “the big picture.”   The consequences of this, now, reach far more than just economics and jobs; it’s about government control and oversight in yet another aspect of our personal lives.  This is a growing concern for many of us who, ultimately, want “less government” involvement and oversight in our daily lives and decisions.  For many here, the government has a hand in how they’ll pay their bills and put food on their tables (with both unemployment on one end of the spectrum and contracted “pork” on the other).

*SOME of the companies, who have opened facilities here (I’m being specific here with my wording so my words and intentions are not misconstrued and I’m wrongly accused of speaking on behalf of ALL companies), regularly use “transplants” from other facilities across the country to fill vacancies here, so residents of this area are overlooked for employment opportunities.  Who, then, are truly benefiting from these contracts?  We have many willing and able hard workers here in this district who can fill these positions with on-the-job training, when necessary.

As a mother of young children and a wife of a blue collar steel worker, I understand that we all work and do what we have to do so we can provide for ourselves and our families.  Once again, my initial article was not designed to degrade ANY KIND OF WORKER, in any way, and it is simply irresponsible to suggest otherwise.  Anyone who knows me would tell you that I have the highest respect for our public workers and many of my family, extended family, and friends are, in fact, public servants or workers contracted through the government.  Many of them also share the same concerns I’ve shared with you above.

I do hope we can continue to talk and have fruitful, honest conversations about these very important issues which affect us all — without all the unnecessary drama of taking things out of context and attacking individuals personally.  We have far more important issues to overcome TOGETHER (unemployment, health care reform, etc.) than waste our time jabbing at each other and “muddying the waters” from the real issues at hand.  We must be responsible in our words and what we say (especially about others) if we wish to show a young generation what it means to have integrity, as well.  It would also be refreshing if we could have these open discussions without worrying about increased sensitivity, either, and just talk frankly and honestly (without having to worry about political correctness and having to overemphasize words with bold and big letters so ideas and concepts aren’t wrongly quoted.).  We need to all just step back and take a deep breath, folks.  The upcoming mid-term elections aren’t just about Democrats and Republicans.  Rather, the upcoming mid-term elections are about us as Americans — and the future of our children and grandchildren.  As responsible Americans and parents, we need to research and take the time to really get to know our candidates and honestly evaluate — in a non-emotional way — our needs in the 12th congressional district.   Lastly, we need to forgo the political and personal attack machine we’ve become so accustomed to (and often listen to).   Let’s agree to disagree, but let’s do it with integrity, honesty, and responsibility.   I’m in… Are you?