Wednesday, October 21, 2009 — Here’s an interesting phenomenon: veterans of the U.S. armed forces traveling around the country on a bus, speaking on energy independence as a national security matter. They’ll be in Manchester, Concord, and Nashua on Friday. That doesn’t leave enough time for our paper of this Friday paper to do their event any good, so we’re hastily posting this here, to encourage people to check it out.
This hardly seems like an anti-American thing to do, but talk-radio jock Daryl Metcalfe says these guys are traitors.
The British paper The Guardian sees a trend here, with right-wingnuts equating environmentalism and terrorism.
Here’s the skinny on the local events:
Nashua:
Veterans will host a roundtable with local elected officials.
WHO: Staff from Rep. Hodes’ office, State Sen. Betty Lasky, Bill Dooling, Vets and Military Families
WHEN: Friday, October 23, 2009 at 9:00 AM
WHERE: VFW Post 483; 2 Quincy St., Nashua, NH
Manchester:
Veterans will host a roundtable with local elected officials and veterans.
WHO: Veterans and Aldermen Paul Porter and Mike Lopez, Staff from Rep. Shea-Porter’s office, Veteran and State Rep. Steve Shurtleff
WHEN: Friday, October 23, 2009 at 11:30 AM
WHERE: Sweeney Post American Legion Hall; 251 Maple St., Manchester, NH
Concord:
Veterans will host a press conference with local elected officials and veterans.
WHO: Veteran and State Rep. Steve Shurtleff, City Councilor Rob Werner, Veteran Bill Shaheen
WHEN: Friday, October 23, 2009 at 3:30 PM
WHERE: Eagle Square; Off Main Street, Concord, NH.
Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have a paper to put out …
Ed asks the question, “Some local radio personality calls them traitors, so that equates to ‘Republicans’?”
We realize that Wikipedia is fallible, but for what it’s worth:
“Daryl D. Metcalfe (born November 9, 1962) is an American politician currently serving in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Metcalfe is a member of the Republican Party and has represented the 12th legislative district since 1999. He currently serves on the House Education, Finance, and Labor Relations Committees.”
The other Republican in question here is R. Limbaugh, chickenhawk extraordinaire, who is cited in the Guardian link because he’s suggesting that The New York times’ Andy Rivkin is a hypocrite if he doesn’t off himself.
Two Republicans calls for the plural.
As for nuclear power, there’s nothing patriotic about generating nuclear waste. Help yourself to a free PDF copy of our issue of March 27, 2009, in which we go into the history of nuclear waste disposal.
In brief, the nuclear power industry is a little like the financial industry, only in addition to taking money out of the pockets of the average person, it also spews radiation.
Let me get this straight. Some local radio personality calls them traitors, so that equates to “Republicans”?
Nice try, though.
By the way, if this group of veterans is so “non-partisan”, as you piece claims, then they must be strong supporters of building more nuclear power plants.
It’s common knowledge that nuclear energy could quickly wean us from dependence on foreign oil, and has the smallest carbon footprint / climate impact of ANY alternative energy sources.
They never answered why they enjoyed their ‘purple heart bandages’ so much, and I mean ‘so much’!!!!
We ‘Nam Vets, especially Navy In-Country, want to know, as do those who have been awarded the Purple Heart from any Conflict, Especially our Wars of Choice!!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 21, 2009
Zack Byrnes to Announce Candidacy for 12th District State Representative Seat
CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, PA – Democrat Zack Byrnes will announce his candidacy for the 12th District state representative seat on Sunday, November 1st, 2009 at 2:00 PM at the Butler County Democratic Fall Event at South Butler Fire Hall.
Byrnes will challenge Representative Daryl Metcalfe, who has held the office for nearly 12 years. For Byrnes, the decision to run was made after Metcalfe’s most recent outburst against veterans. In an email to Operation FREE, a veteran’s group focused on the national security implications of climate change, Metcalfe called veterans supporting the organization traitors and compared them to Benedict Arnold.
“Government in a democracy is about cooperation in our communities. As Americans, we value diverse skills and perspectives. Attacking others, especially the brave men and women who serve our country in the military, simply for voicing their opinion is a dangerous precedent to set. Rep. Metcalfe’s behavior is not only disgraceful and demeaning to his office, it also wastes time and reduces his ability to work effectively on behalf of the 12th District’s residents,” said Byrnes.
A lifelong resident of Butler County, Byrnes will outline his vision for effective and efficient government, focusing on education, employment, and eliminating waste and corruption in his official announcement.
“On day one, I will introduce legislation to reduce the size of the state legislature, mandate 5% contributions towards health care benefits, and make public all expenses by state legislators. We’re all feeling the strain of a struggling economy, and our government needs adjust to this reality,” said Byrnes.
Byrnes is no stranger to public service and tight budget constraints. As director of development and public relations with The Blind Association of Butler and Armstrong, Byrnes has striven successfully to serve the people of Butler County, even amidst budget and personnel cuts.
“Working with non-profits, you learn very quickly how to prioritize and accomplish important missions with extremely limited resources. As a state representative, I’ll bring these skills to Harrisburg and work to focus efforts on improving education and the economy in the 12th District,” said Byrnes.
For more information, or to schedule an interview with Mr. Byrnes, please contact the candidate directly at 724-991-6084 or byrnesforstaterep@gmail.com.