WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE...WHAT CAN BE DONE

I have the consolation of having added nothing to my private fortune
during my public service, and of retiring with hands clean as they are
empty

Thomas Jefferson


I wonder how many of our friends in Albany and Washington would be able
to make the same claim.

Not many I am sure.

This will continue to be the case as long as we allow our
representatives to have outside interests with economic consequences.

Government should not be a part time job.

There should also be some type of Common Sense requirement for those to
hold office.

Right now we have the JAMES ZADROGA 9/11 HEALTH & COMPENSATION BILL stuck in committee
with no one even ooking at it but Congress has time to look at bill that would require
the NCAA to have a playoff for the national football championship,

Am I the only one who sees something wrong with this picture?

Also we basically allow Congress to buy Health Care votes by giving
Louisiana anywhere from $100 million to $300 million in disaster
recovery aid.

Now I do not begrudge the victims in Louisiana but this is the state at
misappropriated nearly $1 billion in disaster aid after Katrina.

How about getting some of that money back before they get anything else?

But we will continue to toss good money after bad and while local grass
root organizations that actually do some good struggle to survive
billions will go to phantom not for profits or shell organizations under
ACORN.

This will not change until we get some accountability in place.

It will also not change until you get the aid to the people who need it
and not into the pockets of middleman and political cronies.

It was just announced that $150 million will be coming to New York.

I ask Senator Schumer and Congressman McMahon to make sure that this
money goes to what it was allocated.

I ask them to set up workshops to help organizations like CERT who at
the local level actually get things done get some of this money.

Don't let the money be spent on garbage trucks and executive salaries or no show
jobs like it was after 9/11.

We should use some of the money to document what was done in New York at
the local level after 9/11.

Had it not been for these local efforts and all of the volunteers God
only knows where we would be now.

Many of these volunteers are now dying and being denied medical
benefits.

Possibly we could use some of this money to help them out.

Taking care of those who took care of us in our time of need would only
promote the same response if this ever happens again.

Thomas Jefferson also said "We in America do not have government by the
majority. We have government by the majority who participate."

Participation begins at the local level and needs to be fostered.

We need to make sure that it is.