Finding Ulysses

Today, the United States Senate is scheduled to begin consideration of the FISA Amendments Act, a proposed law that gives the Attorney General to declare unilaterally that government spy operations against the American people are legal, without any judge being able to rule to the contrary. The legislation places the President, through the Attorney General, above the law.

Yesterday, the Ulysses Democratic Committee sent a letter to our U.S. Representative, Michael Arcuri. On June 20th, Congressman Arcuri introduced a resolution to limit debate on this far-reaching law to just one hour, with less than ten minutes given for the law’s opponents to speak. Then, Arcuri voted for the FISA Amendments Act.

The Ulysses Democratic Committee’s letter reads,

Dear Michael Arcuri,

We, the Ulysses Democratic Committee, in the Town of Ulysses, County of Tompkins, State of New York, are very disappointed, in your vote for the FISA Amendments Act. While we were petitioning to get you on the ballot, you were working to undermine our Constitution, and give retroactive immunity to telecoms that are illegally spying on us. We hope you continue to support the Constitution and the voters in your district.

The Ulysses Democratic Committee also sent letters to senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Barack Obama has declared that he will vote for the FISA Amendments Act, even if amendments are not passed to improve the law. The committee’s letter to Obama reads,

Senator Obama,

We Democrats in the Town of Ulysses, County of Tompkins, the only county you carried in New York State in the primary election, are deeply disappointed over your support for the FISA Amendments Act. Senator Obama you have said that if elected you would investigate the crimes of the present administration. Passing the FISA Amendments Act would remove some of these crimes from consideration and further damage our rights as citizens as defined by the 4th amendment to the Constitution. Bill Burton, a spokesman for Senator Obama, vowed that you would “support a filibuster of any bill that includes retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies.” It is essential that you declare his intention to honor this pledge now. We need 41 senators to maintain a filibuster of this seriously flawed legislation. Senator Obama, as the likely nominee of our party, you are the de-facto head of the party. We need your leadership in-order to find these 41 senators.

Senator Hillary Clinton has not been clear about her intentions with the FISA Amendments Act. The Ulysses Democratic Committee sent her the following letter:

Dear Senator Clinton:

Our community is very disappointed with the House for voting to pass the FISA Amendments Act. We call upon you to join our Senior Senator from NY, and Senators Dodd and Feingold, in acting to filibuster the bill in the Senate if telecom immunity is not stripped from the bill. We also question the need for increased powers for the Executive branch to spy on the American people without a warrant, which we understand to run contrary to our constitutionally-protected rights.

New York’s senior senator, Charles Schumer, has clearly expressed his opposition to the FISA Amendments Act. Thanks to him for making that stand.

Tomorrow, the Senate will vote on H.R. 6304, the FISA Amendments Act. The name doesn’t tell you much. It sounds all technical and dry and boring.

Go to the Library of Congress. Read the law, and try to get over the obscuring legislative language, and you’ll find that the FISA Amendments Act is not at all dry and boring. It’s rather frightening, actually.

The FISA Amendments Act gives the President (through the office of the Attorney General of the U.S.) the power to conduct spy operations against Americans and foreigners alike. These spy operations can completely avoid judicial review and control. They can include electronic surveillance of our personal communications as well as physical searches of our homes. There need be no search warrant, and no proof of suspicion of a crime. The government doesn’t even need to tell you that they’ve searched your home or been reading through your emails.

Don’t buy the spin about supposed protections that the FISA Amendments Act provides. Read the law for yourself, and you’ll see it contains loopholes a mile wide. The Attorney General is given the power under the law to conduct spy operations that violate the law. The Attorney General only has to make the assertion that a spy operation is following the law, and no court, not even the FISA court, will have the power to disagree. These loopholes mean that any supposed limitation on spy programs can be easily nullified by the White House, and no one will have the power to stop it.

It’s clear to anybody who has studied the FISA Amendments Act that the law gives extremely dangerous power to the White House. What has not been clear, however, is where one of our United States Senators stands on the bill.

Charles Schumer is doing the right thing. He opposes the FISA Amendments Act and has worked with other Senators to try to organize a filibuster.

Our other senator, Hillary Clinton, has been extremely unclear. At first, Senator Clinton’s office stated that she opposes the bill’s retroactive immunity for telecommunications corporations that helped George W. Bush spy on the private communications of millions of Americans. Senator Clinton’s position on the other provisions of the bill, however, was not explained. Last week, however, Clinton’s aides refused to make any statement at all. When the time came for an attempted filibuster of the FISA Amendments Act, Senator Clinton didn’t vote yes or no. She just didn’t show up to work in the Senate that day.

Today, Senator Clinton’s aides are giving a very confusing description of the senator’s position on the FISA Amendments Act. They say that a statement has been issued, but only internally, to Senator Clinton’s offices - not to the public. The aide I talked to said that Senator Clinton opposes the FISA Amendments Act, but that it isn’t known how Senator Clinton will vote tomorrow.

That’s confusing to me, and suggests some lingering uncertainty. If Hillary Clinton truly opposes the FISA Amendments Act, then she wouldn’t have trouble saying simply that she intends to vote against he proposed law.

I’d like to give Senator Clinton the benefit of the doubt, but given the way that 105 Democrats in the House of Representatives (including our own disappointing Michael Arcuri) turned coat in June and voted with the Republicans in favor of the FISA Amendments Act, nothing can be regarded as certain.

Today may be the last chance you have to make a difference. Please help Senator Clinton decide upon a clear opposition to the FISA Amendments Act. Call her office at (202) 224-4451 and ask her to vote NO on retroactive immunity and NO on the entire FISA Amendments Act.

There’s been a great deal of controversy over the last few months over the proposal to privatize our Ambulance service. With talk of a private billing service being hired to pursue Ulysses residents to pay the bill whenever EMS is used, there’s a been a skeptical reaction. At a recent public meeting on the subject, all 9 volunteers who showed up spoke in opposition to the plan.

Here’s what Town Board member Liz Thomas has to say on the matter.

“On June 18th, the Village held a public hearing for all residents within the Fire District on a proposal to move from providing taxpayer-funded ambulance service to a bill-for-service system. Billing for ambulance transport would allow the Fire District to recover some funds from health insurance companies, which many of us feel is a justified use of our insurance. However, many residents have no insurance and the result of this switch to billing for service is that everyone will be billed, not just those who are insured. It should be noted that the Village is willing to commit to forego collection of bills for uninsured individuals, if it is legally permissible.

I would estimate nearly 100 people attended the hearing, and the majority who spoke, including several EMS volunteers, were in favor of keeping the system as is. From my point of view, the audience seemed inclined to continue taxpayer funded emergency medical service coverage for all, regardless of whether they are insured or not.”

As for myself, I take special note of the following sentence in what Thomas has to say: “It should be noted that the Village is willing to commit to forego collection of bills for uninsured individuals, if it is legally permissible.”

There’s a pretty big IF in that statement, when it comes to what’s legally permissible, and a loophole that those who seek to extract money could drive a bus through.

Also, I’d like to know what the Village plans to do about the underinsured. Our community is not just divided up into insured and uninsured. There are a lot of self-employed people in Trumansburg and Ulysses, and we tend to have pretty bad medical insurance, because we don’t belong to the big employment pools that can negotiate special rates.

What’s the Village willing to do for the underinsured, when it comes to ambulance service? If we’re not covered for ambulance service, will we not be billed, or will only those with absolutely no medical insurance whatsoever be given a break…

… if the Village makes the legal interpretation about whether that’s permissible.

These are hard economic times, and the way that health insurance in the USA is likely to be going through big changes in the next four years. Property values in Ulysses are going up right now.

Is there really a reason to rush this decision through this year?

The following news has been sent out about the Comprehensive Planning board by Town Board member Liz Thomas:

What will the Town of Ulysses look like in 20 years? What can you do to help ensure it is an attractive and vibrant place to live? A public input meeting with the Ulysses Comprehensive Plan Committee and consultant Bergmann Associates will be held:

Thursday, July 10th

7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Franziska Racker Centers, 3226 Wilkins Road

Join us for a lively and informed discussion of planning issues. Learn about the results of the Community Character Survey that summarizes the way that Ulysses residents feel about development.

Review the Draft Future Land Use Plan that was developed from input at public workshops held in the spring. Talk about what the plan means and how it could help guide future development regulations.

Comprehensive Plan documents in draft form are available at the Town Hall, the Ulysses Philomathic Library, and on the Town’s web site at www.ulysses.ny.us (under “document downloads”). Can’t make the meeting? E-mail your comments to ulyssesCP2008@gmail.com.

Transparency Concerns

Concerns about the transparency of the Comprehensive Planning (CP) process were raised at the last Town Board meeting by one member of the board. The Comprehensive Planning Committee (CPC) is a dedicated and diverse community group of volunteers who have been working for nearly 2 years to update the existing CP to guide the development of our community for the next 20 years. The CPC has been very busy. Working with Bergmann Associates, a professional planning firm, they have created a community-based plan with input from residents who have chosen to participate in the process. This past fall, the CPC surveyed residents to determine their wants and needs. In February, Bergmann Associates presented the results of the survey to the public along with other statistics of our town (see them at http://www.ulysses.ny.us/tou-existing-condrefiitions.pdf). In April, the CPC and Bergmann Associates hosted two public workshops to refine the types of development residents felt would be an asset to the community and those that would be inappropriate. Also at these 3-hour workshops, residents were asked to help create a map of Ulysses outlining potential future land use. This map very broadly identifies the kinds of development that would be appropriate and desirable in various areas of the Town. It will serve as a blueprint to guide future land use planning decisions and could inform zoning changes. The draft policy areas can be seen at http://www.ulysses.ny.us/cp-policies2008.pdf and the potential future land use map at http://www.ulysses.ny.us/ulysses_flp07-01-08.pdf.

This has been an incredibly productive group thanks to the dedication of the volunteers who have donated hundreds of volunteer hours and to Bergmann Associates’ expertise. As you can see, the CPC has bent over backward to be inclusive and open in the process of creating this draft plan. Please be a part of the future and come to the upcoming meeting on July 10th or contribute comments. The regular meetings of the CPC are held the 3rd Tuesday each month as is stated on the web and are always open to the public.

If you would like to speak to a CPC member, they are Sue Poelvoorde, Rod Hawkes, David Tyler, Bob Brown, Bob Weatherby, Sue Ritter, Heather Filiberto, John Wertis, Roxanne Marino, Deirdre Cunningham and I am the liaison to the Town Board.

Over the last week, I’ve enjoyed going through town seeing how lush people’s gardens have become with almost daily doses of rain combined with good, strong sunshine. It’s reassuring to see things flourish, when in another year, we might already be entering a time of crispy brown grass.

I thought the time would be appropriate to link to Vine Garden Designs, a florist’s shop run by Marcia Horn on Elm street, with the mission: “To lend a fresh, new, creative approach to floral design and to give our customers an experience that is uniquely tailored to their needs.”