Part of the Solution or Part of the Problem

In today's edition of the Daily Item, there was an editorial written in support of Lynn Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy's decision to spend nearly $20,000 on a TV promo for the city. While some news reports have questioned the Mayor's decision (see here and here), the writer of this editorial believes that there are plenty of good things to showcase about Lynn and that the funding allocated for the ad will be money well spent.

http://itemlive.com/articles/2012/08/10/updates/updates24.txt

Though the decision to spend that amount of money on an ad is debatable, there is one statement in the editorial I agree with:

It’s 2012 — high time for critics within city limits to become part of the solution, to tell or show someone who is not aware about Lynn what’s great about it. It’s time for all to work to shed the unflattering ditty that has been attached to the city for too long.

It seems that some of Lynn's biggest detractors live within the city's boundaries and too often resort to complaining (most notably under anonymous names on online forums) without ever taking any sort of positive action. At last week's school department budget hearing, there were just 6 speakers (a record high compared to previous years) and approximately 20 people in the room. Other types of public hearings as well as school committee and city council meetings in the city tend to see the same kind of turnout. Voter participation in the 2011 local election was just 23% overall and as low as 12% in a few ward precincts. In the face of all of the negative criticism about the schools or the crime or the untidy streets from a sizeable proportion of Lynn residents, where are all the people speaking out about issues that concern them in the appropriate venues? It is important imperative that more residents become involved in whatever manner they choose - whether it be through a community organization, with the school system, voter participation, city cleanliness, mentoring or some other Lynn-related cause in order to affect the kind of tangible change Lynners are seeking. While it is the city officials' jobs to manage the city, it is all of our responsibility to make Lynn the city that it could and should be.

10th Essex District State Rep Election Q & A: Gardy Jean-Francois

Despite a campaign setback that resulted in his name being taken off the ballot, Gardy Jean-Francois has decided to continue his bid as the Democratic candidate for the 10th Essex District State Rep against incumbent Robert Fennell via a sticker or write-in campaign. See below for his answers to a few questions posed about his candidacy.

Why are you running for 10th Essex District State Rep? In the face of your recent election setback, why are you continuing on with a sticker campaign?

I am running to be the state Representative for the 10th Essex District for the following reasons: first and foremost, I love the community and I firmly believe that we have so much potential in the City of Lynn but we are lacking of leadership. I want to bring your pain, frustration, and your anger to the State House and address them appropriately. I want to be a strong voice for the 10th Essex District and bring common-sense solutions to local issues. I want to bring government back to the people and most importantly a fresh start to our district.

What are the top 3 issues that you would address if elected?

I am also running for office because  I want to respond to the constituents needs not special interests by establishing a local office within the district and I am committed to bring resources to address issues such as: EDUCATION, PUBLIC SAFETY, and ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. I am on a mission to accomplish that vision.

What qualities or qualifications differentiates you from your Democratic opponent?

I have the ability to communicate in 4 different languages. I know the majority of the residents of the district. I know their names and and their faces and most importantly they know my name and my face. I am highly engaged in the community, I am accessible and fully aware of the problems we are facing as a community.

I am ready to fight for resources to address the overcrowded class sizes in our school.

To provide more funding for early childhood education.

To expand kindergarten hours.

To provide more funding to build new schools and renovate existing buildings

To improve our education system.

To provide incentives to businesses in order to create business expansion, creation and extension.

To reduce the commercial tax in our city which is the highest in the

North shore.

To fight crimes, gangs and and drugs in the city.

Massachusetts' unemployment rate is 6.3%. Lynn's unemployment rate is 17%.  As your State Representative I will aggressively work with my colleagues on both sides of the House for incentives to create jobs in our district. The 10th Essex District deserves effective government and a Representative who really cares about the district. It is time for a change. The incumbent had 18 years to make the district a better place to live, work and raise your children but never did. The residents of the district will do a lot better under a new leadership.

Anything else you would like to add?

On Thursday September 6, 2012, I am respectfully asking the voters of the 10th Essex District to voice your choices by either writing my name or using the stickers to vote for a better future for the 10th Essex District.

Please visit our website www.gardystaterep.com for more information and please do not hesitate to contact us via email at ELECTGARDY@GMAIL.COM to request your stickers or you can also call us at 781- 354 - 2402 for comments or suggestions.

2012 Gubernatorial Elections

Besides the presidential election, there will be gubernatorial elections in 11 states and 2 territories this year.

• American Samoa (Currently D)
• Delaware (Currently D)
• Indiana (Currently R)
• Missouri (Currently D)
• Montanta (Currently D)
• New Hampshire (Currently D)
• North Carolina (Currently D)
• North Dakota (Currently R)
• Puerto Rico (Currently R)
• Utah (Currently R)
• Vermont (Currently D)
• Washington (Currently D)
• West Virginia (Currently D)

Were Lynners More or Less Likely to Bullet Vote?

In this post, the Lynn-side Edition discussed the pros and cons of bullet voting (only voting for one or two candidates despite having 4 or 6 votes). With Tuesday's election behind us, it would be interesting to analyze whether or not voters used most, some, or all of their votes in this year's citywide elections.

Overall

On average, Lynn voters left nearly 3 blank votes (2.85) in the school committee (SC) race and between 1 and 2 (1.38) blank votes for Councilor At-Large (CAL). It doesn't seem as thought the average Lynn voter bullet voted on Tuesday; the average number of blanks for school committee would have been between 4 and 5 and for CAL between 2 and 3 if this Lynners chose to bullet vote more often than not.

Ward 1

Ward 1 averaged 2.71 blanks in the SC race and just 1.32 blanks in the CAL race.

Ward 2

Ward 2 averaged 2.79 blanks in the SC race and 1.38 blanks in the CAL race.

Ward 3

Ward 3 averaged 2.77 blanks in the SC race and 1.35 blanks in the CAL race.

Ward 4

Ward 4 averaged 3.2 blanks in the SC race and 1.54 blanks in the CAL race.

Ward 5

Ward 5 averaged 2.96 blanks in the SC race and 1.29 in the CAL race.

Ward 6

Ward 6 averaged 3.3 blanks in the SC race and 1.65 blanks in the CAL race.

Ward 7

Ward 7 averaged 2.73 blanks in the SC race and 1.35 blanks in the CAL race.


The wards that appear to have had the most bullet voters are Wards 4 and 6.


While the pluses and minuses of bullet voting have been discussed and debate, in the end, it appears as though most Lynners used most of their votes in this year's election.

*Data taken from: http://lynnhappens.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Nov-8-results.jpg

Lower Voter Turnout Seen Across Massachusetts

Lynn wasn't the only city in Massachusetts with a low voter turnout on Tuesday. For a variety of reasons (no presidential election, no mayoral race, not registered, general apathy), a low percentage of voters went to the polls in other cities/towns as well. For example: 

• Salem: 21%
• Peabody: 40%
• Saugus: 32%
• Holyoke: 38%
• Methuen: 31%
• Beverly: 44%
• Springfield: 22%
• West Springfield: 30%

Drug Related Convictions & the FAFSA: The Aid Elimination Provision

In 1998, the Higher Education Act (HEA) was reauthorized with what, at the time, was a little known or debated provision called the Aid Elimination Penalty (also known as the Drug-Free Student Loan Amendment). Added by then Indiana Representative Mark Souder (R), the Aid Elimination Act automatically disqualified students who had any drug convictions (except juvenile convictions) including misdemeanor marijuana possession from receiving federal financial aid regardless of when the conviction occurred. Specifically, the amendment states:

A student who is convicted of any offense under any Federal or State law involving the possession or sale of a controlled substance shall not be eligible to receive any grant, loan, or work assistance under this title during the period beginning on the date of such conviction and ending after the interval specified...

The intervals originally set forth for aid ineligibility depended on the whether the charge was the possession or  sale of a controlled substance and whether it was the person's first, second or third offense. For possession, the period of ineligibility is one year for the first offense, two years for the second offense and indefinitely for the third offense. For sale, ineligibility for financial aid lasts two years for the first offense and indefinitely for the second offense.

Additionally, the amendment states that

A student whose eligibility has been suspended under paragraph 1 (see above) may resume eligibility before the end of the eligibility period determined under such paragraph if 

(A) the student satisfactorily completes a drug rehabilitation program that - 

     (i) complies with such criteria as the Secretary shall prescribe in regulations for purposes of this paragraph; and

    (ii) includes two unannounced drug tests; or

(B) the conviction is reversed, set aside or otherwise rendered nugatory.

So, why was this provision added?

Former Rep. Mark Souder, who authored the Aid Elimination Penalty, was huge proponent of the so-called "War on Drugs." Souder had previously supported foreign drug war adventures in places like Colombia and Mexico and was a staunch opponent of softening marijuana laws even for medical uses. In 1998, as amendments were being added to the original Higher Education Act of 1965, Souder included the Aid Elimination Penalty in these changes. Interestingly, the amendment only refers to drug convictions; convicted murderers, rapists, burglars, child molesters and other criminals are still eligible for financial aid without conditions.  Though the provision was added as an attempt to curb drug use among young people, the Government Accountability Office recently indicated that it could find no evidence that the penalty "actually helped to deter drug use."

Since the provision was added over 10 years ago, 200,000 students have been denied aid because of the provision; it has been estimated that thousands of other prospective college students did not even apply for aid because they believed their application would be denied. Additionally, the amendment has been found to especially hurt low- and middle-income families as students from wealthy families often attend college without public aid. Additionally, due to the discriminatory enforcement of drug laws, the Aid Elimination Penalty tends to keep people of color out of school at a much higher rate than the general public.

Due in  large part to external pressure, the law was actually scaled back in 2006 such that only people who were convicted of a drug related offense while receiving financial aid would be stripped of their ability to receive federal money for their schooling. The law was further amended in 2008. During the Higher Education Reauthorizaton process, Congress made it much easier for those convicted of drug-related offenses to regain their financial aid eligibility. Now in order to regain their aid eligibility, students would have to pass two unannounced drug tests administered by a government-approved treatment program without having to complete the program itself which the law initially required. 

Still, more than 325 groups and organizations including the National Education Association, the ACLU and Students for a Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) have called for the law's repeal, but with little progress made. In 2008, the ACLU along with SSDP sued for an injunction against the law calling it "unconstitutional because it violates the Fifth and Eight Amendments to the United States Constitution." Groups such as these are of the opinion that the law allows students to be effectively punished twice for the same transgression. Also, some believe that forcing students with drug convictions out of school makes them more likely to abuse drugs or engage in criminal activity and less likely to become productive taxpaying citizens. The Court, however, ruled against the SSDP stating the denial of financial aid based on prior drug convictions did constitute cruel or unusual punishment and did not violate double jeopardy laws. As it stands today, the Aid Elimination Penalty, albeit in its amended form, is still on the books with groups like the SSDP continuing to fight for its complete repeal.

Citations:

Students for Sensible Drug Policy: http://ssdp.org/campaigns/the-higher-education-act
1998 Amendments to the Higher Education Act of 1965: http://www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/leg/hea98/sec483.html

Political Alternatives: The Green Rainbow & Libertarian Parties

The current political deadlock over the debt ceiling has many frustrated with both the Republican and Democratic parties and disillusioned with the American political system. While U. S. politics is  essentially dominated by a two-party system, there other political parties that often produce candidates for a variety of local and state elections. 

Green Rainbow Party (MA; known as Green Party nationally)

Taxes & the Economy

• Supports an ecological approach to economic security in which economic enterprises are a compatible, integrated part of local communities with increases emphasis on local cycles of production, consumption, and recycling
• Calls for tax fairness measures to be implemented to address the unfair tax burden in which lower income people pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes and fees than do wealthier citizens and corporations
• Supports the repeal of the constitutional constraint that forbids providing tax relief by taxing lower income residents at a lower rate than higher income residents
• Supports legislation that would return any state-owned land deemed surplus to local communities to be used for affordable housing, local agriculture, public open space or enhanced community sustainability
• Supports programs to create community-based green jobs such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable agriculture, public transportation and recycling
• Supports the pursuit of food security by increasing the fraction of food that is locally grown
• Opposes increased reliance on regressive forms of revenue production such as the sales tax, gambling casinos, the state lottery and fees

Health care

• Support moving to a single-payer health care
• Calls for the elimination of any penalties upon people who do not purchase private health care coverage 
• Demands that steps be taken to ensure that people do not lose their health coverage when their employment situation changes

Education

• Calls for a value-oriented public school system that emphasizes the importance of literacy, good citizenship, civic participation and healthy self-realization
• Opposes the privatization of public education 
• Supports access to quality, free public education at all levels and support significant rollbacks of tuition and fees at public colleges and universities
• Supports real commitments to eliminate disparities in education and prohibit using standardized tests to punish students

Source: www.massgreens.org

Libertarian Party

Taxes & the Budget

• Supports cutting taxes 
• Supports reducing a defense budget it believes a large percentage of is spent defending "wealthy countries like Germany and Japan"
• Also supports ending or reducing foreign aid which it calls "welfare for nations"
• Opposes bailing out private industries

Health care

• Supports establishing Medical Savings Accounts
• Supports deregulating the health care industry
• Supports removing barriers to safe, affordable medicines

Poverty & Welfare

• Supports ending welfare; believes that the government should "get out of the charity business" and allow private charities and groups, who it believes to be more efficient, to help the truly needy
• Supports establishing a dollar for dollar tax credit for contributions to a private charity; believes this will help to facilitate a transfer from government welfare to private charity
• Supports eliminating barriers to economic growth such as the minimum wage and mandates benefits
• Believes that poverty cannot be solved without addressing public education system; supports school choice and a free marketplace in education

Source: www.lp.org

Madame President: A List of Female Heads of State

While the United States has yet to elect a female president, a number of countries have and continue to elect female heads of state. Here is a sampling of women who have been elected to their nation's highest office over the years.

• Isabel Martinez de Peron (Argentina): President, 1974 - 1976
• Elmira Minita Gordon (Belize): Governor-General 1981 - 1993
• Maria Lea Pedini-Angelini (San Marino): Captain Regent, 1981
• Vigdis Finnbogadottir (Iceland): President,  1980 - 1996
• Agatha Barbara (Malta): President, 1982 - 1987
• Gloria Ranocchini (San Marino): Captain Regent, 1984
• Jeanne Sauve (Canada): Governor-General, 1984 - 1990
• Corazon Aquino (Philippines): President, 1986 -1992
• Gloria Ranocchini (San Marino): Captain Regent, 1989 - 1990
• Catherine Tizard (New Zealand): Governor-General, 1990 - 1996
• Violeta Chamorro (Nicaragua): President, 1990 - 1997
• Mary Robinson (Ireland): President, 1990 - 1997
• Edda Ceccoli (San Marino): Captain Regent 1991 - 1992
• Patricia Busignani (San Marino): Captain Regent, 1993
• Chandrika Kumaratunga (Sri Lanka): President, 1994 - 2005
• Mary McAleese (Ireland): President, 1997 - present
• Pearlette Louisy (Saint Lucia): Governor-General, 1997 - present
• Adrienne Clarkson (Canada): Governor-General, 1999
• Rosa Zafferani (San Marino): Captain Regent, 1999
• Vaira Vike-Freiberga (Latvia): President, 1999 - 2007
• Mireya Moscoso (Panama): President, 1999 - 2004
• Tarja Halonen (Finland): President, 2000 - present
• Maria Domenica Michelotti (San Marino): Captain Regent, 2000
• Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (Philippines): President, 2001 - 2010
• Ivy Dumont (Bahamas): Governor-General, 2001 - 2005
• Maria Ciavatta (San Marino): Captain Regent, 2003 - 2004
• Fausta Morganti (San Marino): Captain Regent, 2005
• Michaelle Jean (Canada): Governor-General, 2005 -2010
• Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (Liberia): President, 2006 - present
• Michelle Bachelet (Chile): President, 2006 - 2010
• Doris Leuthard (Switzerland): President, 2006 - present
• Pratibha Patil (India): President, 2007 - present
• Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (Argentina): President, 2007 - present
• Rosa Zafferani (San Marino): Captain Regent, 2008
• Quentin Bryce (Australia): Governor-General, 2008 - present
• Dalia Grybauskaite (Lithuania): President, 2009 - president
• Rosa Otunbayeva (Kyrgyzstan): 2010 - present
• Laura Chinchilla (Costa Rica): 2010 - present
• Dilma Rousseff (Brazil): President, 2011 - present
• Maria Luisa Berti (San Marino): Captain Regent, 2011
• Atifete Jahjaga (Kosovo): 2011 - present

Presidential Candidates: Herman Cain (R)

Background

• Born in Memphis, TN on December 13, 1945
• Graduated from Morehouse in 1967 with B.A. in mathematics; Received a M.S. in computer science from Purdue in 1971
• Worked full-time in ballistics for the United States Dept. of Navy
• Has worked for Coca-Cola, Pillsbury (vice-president), and Burger King
• Was CEO at Godfather's Pizza before leaving to become CEO of the National Restaurant Association
• Was also a member of the Federal Reserve of Kansas City, serving as its chairman from January 1995 to August 1996
• Hosted The Herman Cain Show on Atlanta talk radio and served as a commentator for Fox News
• On the board of Aquila, Inc. from 1992 - 2008
• Has coauthored 4 books including Leadership is Common Sense (1997) and CEO of SELF (2001)

Political Positions

Social Security

• Has criticized the current implementation of Social Security, calling it a "scam;" favors reforming the system through free market reforms

Welfare

• Has criticized welfare stating that it was designed to make people "more dependent rather than less dependent"

Taxes

• Supports lowering corporate tax rates from 35 to 25 percent
• Wants to eliminate the capital gains tax
• Supports suspending taxes of repatriated foreign profits
• Supports elimination of estate tax
• Strong supporter of FairTax which would replace all federal, personal, and corporate income taxes with a 23% national sales tax

Abortion

• Cain is pro-life and opposes abortion
• Favors defunding Planned Parenthood

Same-Sex Marriage

• Supports the Defense of Marriage Act and is against legalizing same-sex marriage

Iraq War

• Was in favor of war in Iraq
• Opposes timetable for withdrawal stating it would be equivalent to surrender

Education

• Opposes federal education plans such as No Child Left Behind
• Advocates weakening the Department of Education in favor of state control of education
• Argued for greater performance-related pay and accountability for teachers
• Argued for choice in terms of expanding voucher programs and charter schools

Health Care

• Favors appealing the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
• Favors allowing the free market to play the greatest role in health care

Illegal Immigration

• Believes undocumented immigrants should go through the traditional citizenship process
• Opposes what he describes as an automatic sense of entitlement by those who come to the U.S. illegally

Other

• Has expressed support for Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia
• Stated that he would not appoint a Muslim to his cabinet on the grounds that they may support Sharia Law
• Opposes any form of negotiation with North Korea, but favors a diplomatic, yet cautious approach with Iran

For more information: www.hermancain.com

Election 2012

Despite being over a year away, Election 2012 is already ramping into high gear. Naturally, President Obama will run for a second term, although Randall Terry, a pro-life activist from New York, will challenge him for the Democratic nomination. For those interested in other potential challengers, here is a list of Republicans who have announced their intention to run for their party's nomination:

Fred Karger, political consultant and California gay rights activist

Andy Martin, perennial political candidate from Illinois

Jimmy McMillan, candidate from New York

Tim Pawlenty, former governor of Minnesota

Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts

Other presidential prospies who have not yet announced their official candidacy include Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee, Michele Bachmann, Sarah Palin, Rudy Giuliani and oh-so-serious candidate Donald Trump. 2012 could be a very interesting year for American politics.