Armchair Action - Ask D Candidates to Support Impeachment

Here's a simple, direct armchair action housebound (or office trapped) political activists can take to further the conversation about impeachment in your precincts, your congressional districts, and your states.

Ask those Democrats running for Congress in 2006 to CLEARLY STATE THEIR POSITION ON IMPEACHMENT.

(This diary was cross-posted on DFA and DailyKos.)

Last night, the Connecticut Legislature, in Special Session, voted to pass

Bill No. 7502, AN ACT CONCERNING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF VARIOUS BUDGETARY PROVISIONS

http://www.cga.ct.gov/2005/tob/h/2005HB-07502-R00-HB.htm

This is a cross-post to reach out to CT voters.

For all you people in Connecticut who called the legislature last week, and for those others of you who read about the action:

HB6008

http://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/cgabillstatus/cgabillstatus.asp?selBillType=Bill&bill_num=6008&whi ch_year=2005&SUBMIT.x=9&SUBMIT.y=9

is now waiting to be voted on by the Connecticut State Senate.

HB 6008 is a groundbreaking piece of legislation.  It says that the Adjutant General of Connecticut will provide returning National Guard service members with adequate testing for exposure to depleted uranium under Army regulations.  It calls for the formation of a task force to study the health effects of exposure to hazardous materials including, but not limited to, depleted uranium; to develop a plan for outreach and follow-up of military personnel; and prepare a report concerning potential exposures to depleted uranium and other toxic chemical substances and the precautions recommended under combat and noncombat conditions while in a combat zone; and make any other recommendations the task force considers appropriate.

This is cross-posted to other blogs.  I wanted to make sure that CT voters who may have called in see it!

What a difference a day makes!

An amazing and important action was taken in Connecticut -

The Connecticut House of Representatives passed HB 6008 yesterday.

The vote was unanimous - 144 yea to 0 nay!

Just as exciting - seven additional members of the Veterans' Affairs Committee signed on to this bill as cosponsors, including two Republican representatives.

This was a truly nonpartisan action.

HB 6008 is a groundbreaking piece of legislation.  It says that the Adjutant General of Connecticut will provide returning National Guard service members with adequate testing for exposure to depleted uranium under Army regulations.  It calls for the formation of a task force to study the health effects of exposure to hazardous materials including, but not limited to, depleted uranium; to develop a plan for outreach and follow-up of military personnel; and prepare a report concerning potential exposures to depleted uranium and other toxic chemical substances and the precautions recommended under combat and noncombat conditions while in a combat zone; and make any other recommendations the task force considers appropriate.

The Connecticut National Guard is the only service group that the Connecticut Legislature has jurisdiction over.

Details of the law can be found at

www.cga.ct.gov/2005/amd/h/2005HB-06008-R00HA-AMD.htm

Kudos to Representative Roger Michele, who overcame petty politics and political bickering:  He constructed a creative solution that allowed the legislators to cross party lines, drop feuds, and respond to the issue in the manner it warranted.

Admiring mention goes to Representative Kalinowski of the 100th District, who crossed party lines to speak out in favor of the bill and who signed on as cosponsor.  The combined efforts of Rep. Michele and Rep. Kalinowski led to cross-partisan compromise and extensive support of the bill, allowing it to pass into law without debate.

The following representatives joined the originator of the bill, Representative Pat Dillon, to cosponsor the legislation:  Representatives Wilber, Graziani, Boukus, Sayers, Bielawa, and Adinolfi.

And finally, thanks to Speaker Amann for letting the House vote on this bill.

The Louisiana House passed a version of this law on May 19.  New Hampshire, New York, Minnesota, Montana, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, and Texas are researching or are submitting similar bills for consideration.

Here in Connecticut, I believe that voters who called or wrote their legislators or Speaker Amann to urge this law through committee and onto the floor for a vote MADE A DIFFERENCE and helped this law be passed.

Yesterday a rare thing happened - Legislators listened to the needs of their constituents and rose to the occasion.

I'm cross-posting my DailyKos diary entry here because to get the word out to CT residents as quickly as possible. Thanks for your patience. You can scroll past this if you don't live in Connecticut.

Will CT Democrats Screw Returning Veterans?

I am outraged.

Understand that I'm now an unaffiliated voter - I have been for a couple of years now - but a former Democrat of 29 years, who reaffiliated to volunteer and vote for Howard Dean in the 2004 primary. I then promptly unaffiliated again because of GARBAGE like this in the Democratic Party.

There are not one but TWO bills of great value and concern to U.S. military veterans returning from combat and service in the war on terrorism that have passed through committee and are now pending before the Connecticut Legislature, which is a Democratic Super-Majority.

CT Senate Bill 1245 calls for a task force, a conference on the impact on soldiers of depleted uranium, a health study, and a permanent health registry which will track veterans. This is a replication of the actions taken by the government to investigate the health effects of Agent Orange.

CT House Bill 6008 calls for an independent test for exposure to depleted uranium for every returning Connecticut National Guardsman.

These two bills have been waiting to be brought to the floor for a vote by the Connecticut House since May 19. If these bills are not brought to the floor and voted on by state representatives, they will be killed.

The Speaker of the House, James Amann (Democrat), and the Selection Committee are going to kill these bills by not bringing them to the floor of the Legislature for a vote. It is the Speaker and the Selection Committee that choose which legislation is voted on by the entire House and when they are voted on.

I'm not a politician but this is how I understand it works:

All bills that successfully move out of committee are placed in a pile in the Speaker's office. The Speaker and the Selection Committee (who are anonymous) choose which bills are pulled from this pile and are then brought to the floor of the House for a vote. Added to the pile, are all the bills that have been passed by the Senate. Just because a bill is passed by the Senate, it doesn't mean that bill will always come to the floor of the House for a vote. I've heard it's happened (and not just once) that Speaker Amann refused to bring a bill to the floor because he didn't like the legislator(s) who submitted the bill.

And I've also heard that this is what is happening NOW to these two bills.

This is an OUTRAGE. The Democrats running Connecticut are playing with the lives of our soldiers. This is a violation of our responsibility to support our troops. How can we, as Democrats, shake our finger at the Republicans in charge of the government in Washington who are shrinking the Veterans Affairs budget, closing VA hospitals and military bases across the country, and ignoring the needs of the very soldiers who've defined our lives and our system of government, when we Democrats are turning our backs on them in our home states.

Their families need our support. Our veterans need our assistance so that they can return to lives as productive citizens and strong members of our community. It's shameful that there are politicians not only in DC but in Hartford who are willing to play politics with the lives of people who were willing to sacrifice themselves for the very system that is being used against them now.

This is betrayal.

The irony of this situation is that the state of Louisiana COPIED CT House Bill 6008 and passed it on May 19, where it now sits on the governor's desk to be signed into law.

There is NO reason for Connecticut Democrats to remain silent about these bills. You can affect a change; you can make these bills LAW.

If you are registered to vote in Connecticut, call James Amann today and say this:

"I demand that you allow the Connecticut Legislature to vote on House Bill 6008 and Senate Bill 1245."

Speaker Amann's phone number is 860-240-8500.