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Mon Jan 24, 2011 at 21:59:44 PM EST
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(Common Cause is in a difficult position of having access to the powers-that-be without any influence over the powers-that-be. They are allowed into the room and want to stay there no matter how much it stinks inside. It is only outside that room where they will be able to build a movement capable of transforming what goes on inside, and I hope they're trying to build that movement. - promoted by eli_beckerman)
I was honored to receive in the mail today an individual gift membership to Common Cause, given to me personally by a Common Cause Massachusetts board member who follows my campaigns.
It has moved me to forward the gesture to another. |
| scott_laugenour :: Common Cause Gift Chain |
| During last year's campaign I received many candidate questionnaires from organizations who were interested in educating their members and voters. I answered all of them, regardless of whether I agreed with the positions of the organization or not. Common Cause Massachusetts is an organization that aspires to open, fair, and accountable government. I was proud to claim agreement with all of the organization's current priorities.
Here is a summary of how I and my opponent (4th Berkshire) and fellow candidates in all House districts responded or didn't respond last year.
Here is the cover letter that I mailed in with my answers in early October, 2010.
As reported in local press and as observed by many party 'old-timers,' we in the Berkshires have been welcoming many new members into the Green-Rainbow Party since last year's election. Many of these new members express support for the kind of good clean government that Common Cause espouses.
In appreciation for this thoughtful gift from a supporter I will continue the gift chain by presenting my own gift membership to one of these new members pictured above. I encourage voters to support Common Cause MA, which has broad multi-partisan support. Its current home page has important information about the patronage hiring scandals in the Probation office. |
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Green Mass Group is an online forum for Green thought and collective action in Massachusetts. It is a community forum for justice, sustainability, democracy and health in the Commonwealth and beyond.
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| Quotes |
"Now, is this the deal I would have preferred? No. I believe that we could have made the tough choices required - on entitlement reform and tax reform - right now, rather than through a special congressional committee process. But this compromise does make a serious down payment on the deficit reduction we need and gives each party a strong incentive to get a balanced plan done before the end of the year. Most importantly, it will allow us to avoid default and end the crisis that Washington imposed on the rest of America."
--President Barack Obama on the debt ceiling "deal"
"Despite Democratic control over the White House, despite Democratic control over the Senate, despite overwhelming opposition from the American people, a small minority of the members of the Republican-controlled House have successfully pushed an extreme right-wing agenda onto the American political landscape. It is an ideology which believes that despite the fact that the rich are getting richer, the middle class is shrinking, and poverty is increasing, all - all of the burden for deficit reduction should rest on working people."
--Independent Senator Bernie Sanders on the debt ceiling "deal"
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Then and Now
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Then...
"Last year Evergreen, a Massachusetts company, agreed to establish their first-ever United States based manufacturing facility here in Massachusetts. They did so, or are doing so, at Devens. They have now agreed and chosen to triple their size at Devens. Their next phase of expansion, right here in Massachusetts, a signature company in a signature sector, and we congratulate all of the folks at Evergreen and look forward to continuing to work with you...
We made a personal commitment to Evergreen for the sake of Evergreen, but also because we wanted to show that there are ways in which state government, in working together with private industry and with the utility companies, could begin to create a different kind of environment, a different kind of business climate here, to grow that sector, and it is happening. It's happening. Evergreen is one of the most prominent examples, but there are a whole host of examples."
--Governor Deval Patrick, April 7, 2008, boasting about state investment in Evergreen.
and Now...
"Evergreen Solar Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday, completing a stunning reversal of fortune for a high-flying alternative-energy company that once seemed to herald a new era for the Massachusetts economy... At its peak, Evergreen employed roughly 900 people locally and attracted more than $50 million in state support, as its stock price soared above $100 a share.
Yesterday, Evergreen's stock closed at 18 cents. The company shuttered its manufacturing plant in Devens earlier this year and now has only 85 employees left. Massachusetts is one of its top creditors, owed $1.5 million in rent."
--Erin Ailworth, Boston Globe, August 16, 2011
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