"Committee of Correspondence"

Comment by Christine A. Pacifico on July 6, 2009 at 10:47am

My husband and I attended the Freedom Fest today at Legion Park in Hollidaysburg. IT WAS UNBELIEVABLE! They had OVER 500 people in attendance. There was no admission fee, but donations were suggested. They had a speaker on health care, faith, and the economy. It was beautifully decorated, There was live music. There were different types of flags for sale. There were several printed brochures and they had MANY corporate sponsorships. One company donated enough money to purchase and offer FREE lunches (which were delicious) for 500 people.
I have some close friends who are very involved with the group, and they introduced me to several members who I knew of, but did not know well. They are very interested in working with our group on projects (like filling a bus for rallies in other cities). It seems there has been some contact between our two groups but it is not cohesive. I'd like to continue to be involved in this manner but don't know how to proceed. We could take some tips from this group, this event was REALLY impressive. It should be on both the Johnstown and Altoona news this evening, as all three stations were there.
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Comment by Greg Fasolt on July 6, 2009 at 3:30pm

Christine,

Thanks so much for posting this. Quite inspiring!

You are absolutely right that we should be learning from this group. Do you have a contact there? Could you start a dialog?

Greg

Comment by Christine A. Pacifico on July 6, 2009 at 4:17pm

Greg,

I have close friends (a married couple) who were/are very involved and who I speak with often. As I mentioned above, they introduced me to several members of the leadership of their group. They are interested in communication between our groups. I think there has been some already, but perhaps not directed. They mentioned things like working together on bus trips, so we could perhaps fill a bus between our two groups. They are also planning to go to Washington on 9/12. I'll talk to my friends some more this week and see how they might want to proceed. If you have anything you'd like me to pass along, let me know.

Christine

P.S. Oh, and by the way, their final headcount was OVER 700!

Comment by Greg Fasolt on July 6, 2009 at 4:40pm

Please do take this up with your friends. I bet we can fill more than one bus.

Comment by Gordon Jenness on July 6, 2009 at 6:30pm

I got home too late tonight to turn on the local news in time - was the event reported on the local TV news? If so, did anyone get a recording? A video record of the event might be valuable in the future.

Comment by Greg Fasolt on July 6, 2009 at 6:45pm

Check out Dallas

I think DC was a difficult destination for many people. 37,000 in Dallas is quite impressive. We'll do even better on 9/12 in DC, but this seems to point to the significance of local action.

Comment by Christine A. Pacifico on July 7, 2009 at 2:02pm

Here's a link to WJACs story:

http://www.wjactv.com/news/19958860/detail.html

Comment by Greg Fasolt on July 7, 2009 at 2:49pm

This is great! What a success!

Comment by Christine A. Pacifico on July 11, 2009 at 10:38am

With regard to contacting Casey on Cap & Tax; here's a copy an email response that my husband received from the senator. The original contact urged the senator to vote 'no' on the bill.

Dear Mr. Stellabotte:

Thank you for taking the time to contact me regarding global warming. I appreciate hearing from all Pennsylvanians about the issues that matter to them most.

The international scientific community concluded human activities that add a large amount of heat-trapping greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, to the atmosphere are a leading cause of climate warming. I believe Congress must take action to reduce and eventually reverse the hazardous effects of climate change, including extreme weather, famine, population displacement and the escalated spread of disease.

The House of Representatives recently considered global warming legislation. H.R. 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, introduced on May 15, 2009 by Representative Henry Waxman of California and Representative Ed Markey of Massachusetts, takes a comprehensive approach to reducing greenhouse emissions through a number of proposed programs, such as capping carbon emissions, renewable energy requirements and energy efficiency standards. H.R. 2454 passed the House on June 26, 2009. When this bill comes before the Senate, it is likely that the Senate will divide the contents into two separate pieces of legislation, one focused on global warming policy and one on energy policy.

As the Senate considers global warming legislation, I will continue to advocate strongly for the people and the economy of Pennsylvania. In fact, I have introduced a bill focused on climate policy, S.1134 the Responsible Use of Coal Act, focused on carbon capture and storage technology. I am also working on a program which provides assistance to workers as they train for new clean energy jobs in a transitioning economy. In addition, I introduced a budget amendment for funding to help accelerate research and development of carbon capture and storage technology in the fiscal year 2010 Budget. Throughout the upcoming debate I will continue to fight to ensure that clean coal is included in the national strategy to reduce carbon emissions, and that affordable electricity and assistance to ratepayer programs remain available. It is of great importance to me that American families are not left behind as the country addresses the challenge of global climate change.

As a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, I am also closely monitoring international negotiations leading up to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen this December. I believe that a global agreement is necessary to alleviate rising energy prices, to transform the world economy, and to protect our national security.

If done properly, our national global warming policy will reverse the global environmental impacts of man-made greenhouse gas emissions while cultivating new clean energy jobs, re-energizing the manufacturing sector in Pennsylvania, and revitalizing the national economy. Please be assured that I will keep your views in mind as I continue to work with my colleagues in the Senate to develop climate legislation that will help Pennsylvania’s workers and economy.

Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future about this or any other matter of importance to you.

If you have access to the Internet, I encourage you to visit my web site, http://casey.senate.gov. I invite you to use this online office as a comprehensive resource to stay up-to-date on my work in Washington, request assistance from my office or share with me your thoughts on the issues that matter most to you and to Pennsylvania.


Sincerely,
Bob Casey
United States Senator

Not a satisfying answer, do you think?

Comment by Greg Fasolt on July 13, 2009 at 5:51pm

It is, at least, a confession of his rejection of reason. Shall we be content to be ruled by men who reject reason and who act on impulse as do the savages of primitive tribes?

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