Finding Ulysses

It’s impossible to live here in Trumansburg and the town of Ulysses and not think about water. Our most contentious political issue over the last couple of years has been the attempt to establish a new water district. With Cayuga Lake and our creeks running down to the lake, water defines our landscape, and the effort to find clean water and protect it determines where we live.

How is our new representative in Congress, Democrat Michael Arcuri, elected just over one year ago, doing on the water issue? I’m happy to report that he is among those in the House of Representatives who have co-sponsored a worthwhile bill, the Clean Water Restoration Act of 2007.

When the Clean Water Act was passed years ago, it applied to all wetlands and waterways in the United States. Recently, however, right wing Supreme Court justices appointed by George W. Bush ruled that the Clean Water Act should not apply to some wetlands and streams, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation. With this Supreme Court ruling, the integrity of water supplies in many parts of the country was put back in jeopardy.

The Clean Water Restoration Act is designed to correct for the problem created by this ruling. The legislation ensures that all America’s natural sources of water are protected, as the Clean Water Act intended to protect them. This legislation is not an expansion of the authority of the Clean Water Act, just a correction of a right wing attempt to cripple the Clean Water Act.

It’s good news that Congressman Arcuri’s name is on the list of co-sponsors of H.R. 2421, the House version of the Clean Water Restoration Act. One of our U.S. senators, Charles Schumer, has joined Mike Arcuri in consponsoring the bill (labelled S.1870 in the U.S. Senate).

Please call Representative Arcuri at (315) 252-2777 and Senator Schumer at (607) 772-6792 and express your thanks for their positive action on this issue.

Our other U.S. senator, Hillary Clinton, has not joined Arcuri and Schumer to protect the integrity of America’s water resources. She has not co-sponsored the Clean Water Restoration Act. As our senator, but also as a presidential candidate in 2008, Hillary Clinton ought to be leading on this issue, not letting it fall by the wayside.

Please call Senator Clinton and let her know that you want to see her name on the list of co-sponsors for the Clean Water Restoration Act. The phone number at her Syracuse office is (315) 448-0470.

Congressman Michael Arcuri gets it right some times, but today, he sure got it wrong.


Arcuri, the politician who represents New York’s 24th district in the U.S. House of Representatives, voted for H RES 847, which might easily be called the Religious Pandering Act of 2007. It’s a resolution that expresses the support of Christianity and Christmas.

“Whereas Christians identify themselves as those who believe in the salvation from sin offered to them through the sacrifice of their savior, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and who, out of gratitude for the gift of salvation, commit themselves to living their lives in accordance with the teachings of the Holy Bible…”

   
“Whereas the United States, being founded as a constitutional republic in the traditions of western civilization, finds much in its history that points observers back to its roots in Christianity…”

“acknowledges and supports the role played by Christians and Christianity in the founding of the United States…”  

Congress can’t bother itself with ending the war in Iraq. Congress can’t pass an energy bill that increases fuel efficiency. Congress can’t do a thing to seriously address global warming. Congress can’t hold George W. Bush accountable for the increasingly obvious grave crimes he’s committed against the Constitution and laws of our nation.Yet, Congress can find the time to pass a resolution saying that Christmas and Christianity are especially important?!?


Why? This bill is in direct response to right wing propaganda that there is a war against Christmas. That’s blatant nonsense, of course. Look around you, and you’ll see that there is no war against Christmas. No one is doing anything to prevent people from celebrating Christmas in their homes or businesses, if that’s what they choose to do.


There isn’t any particular vulnerability of Christianity that needs addressing either. In fact, with the 2008 presidential campaign, it seems that Christianity is being made a requirement for holding public office. The candidates seem to be in a competition with each other to prove who loves Jesus most.


Furthermore, there’s troubling language in the legislation that expresses support for the idea that the United States of America was founded as a Christian nation. That’s an historically false and politically dangerous assertion. These claims are being made by the Religious Right in order to promote laws giving a privileged legal status to Christians above all other Americans. By voting for the resolution, Representative Arcuri gave aid to this effort.


This congressional resolution is unnecessary. It’s a distraction from urgent business that is not being taken care of. Worse than that, it’s a violation of the Constitution. The first line of the first amendment to the Constitution reads: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion”.


Congress is forbidden by the constitution from passing legislation that establishes special recognition of any religion, or of religion in general. Yet, that’s just what the House of Representatives did today, and Mike Arcuri went along with it.


He didn’t have to vote against the resolution. He could have abstained from it, to hold himself apart from the shameful religious pandering. How disappointing that Arcuri went along with the rhetoric of the Religious Right and voted for the legislation in spite of this easy alternative.

A quick note of appreciation this morning to Trumansburg’s Representative in Congress, Michael Arcuri, for supporting H.R. 6, the Creating Long-Term Energy Alternatives for the Nation Act.

The new law would have set fuel efficiency standards at an average of 35 miles per gallon of gasoline. The last time these standards were set was when Gerald Ford was President. The law also would have mandated that electric power companies get at least 15 percent of their energy from relatively sustainable alternatives.

The House of Representatives passed the bill on Thursday, with the help of Arcuri’s vote. Sadly, the Senate yesterday failed to pass the legislation, thanks to the opposition of Republicans and three Democratic senators: Evan Bayh, Robert Byrd and Mary Landrieu.

Nonetheless, thanks are due to Representative Arcuri, who not only voted for the bill, but signed on as one of its co-sponsors.

It has been announced that New York State will be holding a public meeting about the future of the Black Diamond trail, a walking/biking trail that would run from Ithaca up through the Town of Ulysses.Here’s the letter sent out by Jan Zeserson, who organizes the effort to establish the trail, much of which is already in good walking condition:

“The Black Diamond Trail’s BIG MOMENT has arrived! NYState Office of Parks has announced PUBLIC HEARINGS on the adoption and implementation of the Master Plan for the trail. This is a MILESTONE. We’ve been waiting 30 years for this day. Please mark your calendars and make it a personal priority to show up for one of the hearings:Wed Dec. 5 in the Borg Warner Room of Tompkins County Public Library.Thurs Dec. 6 in the Franziska Racker Center cafeteria, 3226 Wilkins Road, Ithaca (Ulysses).Information Sessions: 5:30-6:45 p.m.Public Hearings: 7:00 p.m.The purpose of the INFORMATION SESSIONS is to offer an opportunity for the public to become more familiar with the Draft Master Plan/Draft Environmental Impact Statement.The purpose of the HEARINGS is to let the general public comment orally or in writing. Be sure to sign in for the 7:00 public hearings—that’s where your support will be registered.WHY SHOULD YOU ATTEND? Don’t assume there is no opposition to the trail. If supporters don’t turn out in large numbers, we risk having the trail put back on hold (it was first proposed 30 years ago!). Similar trail projects have been crushed by opponents. Supporters must attend these hearings in great numbers to make sure the Black Diamond Trail project moves forward.

To find out more about the effort to formally establish the Black Diamond Trail, visit the Black Diamond Trail web site