Thursday, August 21, 2014

PRESS RELEASE: BOB CONAWAY CONDEMNS PAUL COOK's SUPPORT of HR 3964 as a JOB & WATER SUPPLY KILLER

Bob Conaway, the Democratic Candidate for the 8th Congressional District seat agrees with the California Environmental Water Caucus' opposition to HR 3964 [the mislabelled "Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley Emergency Water Delivery Act"] and condemns Paul Cook's [CA-08] support of HR 3964.
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Why? HR 3964 and Paul Cook will if passed "preempt state water law (so much for the Republican idea of States Rights being important), eliminates environmental protections for salmon and other commercially valuable species (which will cost us thousands of jobs and crush communities based on those jobs--so much for Cook caring about California jobs), it will gut the 1992 Central Valley Project Improvement Act (interfering with state due process and our state court system), overturns the broadly supported, court approved settlement to restore the San Joaquin River (decades of work thrown out) and similar to the now defunct HR1837, it would reduce water quality and water reliability for Delta communities and Delta farmers.
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It is essentially another water grab so Cook can benefit special interests [favoring large corporate farmers and squeezing out of business the smaller farmers who are responsible for tens of thousands of jobs]. This is more corporate welfare which will ironically create more demands on government assistance programs when the fisheries, tourist industry and smaller farms are impacted.

But putting aside the economics and supply management issues, it should mean something to a local--we used to have salmon running through the stream beds where the Moss Brothers dealership is in San Bernardino (and the now closed Denny's is on Orange Show Road)--how many more streams do we dry up Mr. Cook in our lifetimes for corporate gain?
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Bob Conaway says "Cook's support of HR 3964 does not add a drop of water to the drought conditions we are suffering from--it just ensures water flows to agribusiness in the western and southern San Joaquin Valley at the expense of smaller Delta family farmers--the federal government is getting involved in the century and a half old water wars by crushing (again) small agribusiness & fisheries for the big money folks.

Bob Conaway insists that water drip systems of greater efficiency as are being used in Israel could expand agriculture without using more water or having to dry up smaller businesses. Better irrigation technology is a start as is better seed selection, less waste, better crop management, better water transport systems which reduce transevaporation & protecting our drinking water resources more aggressively against polluters, even if we did not have a comprehensive plan waiting to be looked at -e.g.  "The Responsible Exports Plan" developed by the Environmental Water Caucus [found@ www.ewccalifornia.org].
                          
                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Message prepared by candidate
                                                  Bob Conaway for Congress (CA-08)
                                                     12127 Mall Blvd, Suite A-363
                                                            Victorville CA 92392
                                                      Contact No. (760) 617-8305

Thursday, August 14, 2014

DCCC Cyberbullying ....one of the latest

The digital solicitations we all get these days:
[to my gmail account]

"response@dccc.org <dccc@dccc.org> Unsubscribe





We're out of people to email you.
In the last two days, you should have received an email from:
-- President Obama
-- Vice President Biden
-- Nancy Pelosi
That's how important this is! We're getting massively outspent by Republican groups. And we're fighting desperately to turn it around.
We need 14,731 more donations in the next 24 hours if we want any shot at giving President Obama a Democratic House for his final two years.

Bob Conaway For Congress Ca-08 Conaway
Answered President Obama's call-to-action?
NO DONATION
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We're begging, Bob Conaway For Congress Ca-08. Can you answer the President's call-to-action today?"
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Personal Note:  A green back never beat anyone--trying to get the vote out the old fashioned way is what people need to do. By the way, I am still looking for people to call in my 8th District race for Congress.

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Don't Let Cook and his Teaparty Buds Dismantle Social Security--I won't if elected!!

For 79 years, Social Security has proven to be a successful program -- and after paying into it their entire lives, its benefits have allowed our seniors to retire with dignity.

That’s why it’s so disturbing that some Members of Congress want to put Social Security on the chopping block or start privatizing it.

Bob Conaway For Congress CA-08 will never let the Tea Party dismantle Social Security.

Friday, August 8, 2014

PAUL COOK IS PRO LIFE EXCEPT WHEN IT COMES TO CHILDREN COMING ACROSS THE BORDER..

Last week, Congressman Paul Cook cosponsored legislation to "close a loophole under current immigration law that has prevented children from countries non-contiguous with the US from being quickly reunited with their families in their home countries. These children are currently waiting 578 days on average for a hearing"--code words for an agenda that is neither humanitarian nor legal.
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First, Cook needs to admit he and his colleagues are really talking about entries from the South (there is no flood of children from/through Canada)--which means he and his colleagues don't want more brown skinned kids claiming (God forbid) asylum-based entries.
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Second,
hiring more immigration judges without a budget for attorneys to represent the children with immigration law experience, translators to help the attorneys in their representation of the child and a budget for investigation, makes the proposed enlargement of staffing for "courtrooms" a sped up railroading process of those children. Someone needs to investigate any child's' claim that they and their families are being targeted by gangs and thugs, verifying whether their parents died fighting for peaceful and lawful alternatives for their people and that return will mean certain death, slavery and or torture. Without these additional steps, Cook will be railroading innocents--an interesting tact for a pro-Life candidate. 
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Conaway states that "a comprehensive immigration reform bill is needed, one which does not target Hispanics seeking asylum for political symbolism and which honors the rule of law and due process".
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Message prepared by candidate
Bob Conaway for Congress (CA-08)
12127 Mall Blvd, Suite A-363
Victorville CA 92392
Contact No. (760) 617-8305
           BobConawayforCongress.blogspot.com
Contributions or gifts to Bob Conaway for Congress are not tax deductible.
Contributions from foreign nationals or corporations are prohibited.

Hold Military Rapists Accountable, Something that retired Colonel Paul Cook doesn't even have on his radar!!


Let's look at what being a retired Colonel in Congress does not think is very important--the rights of our women in uniform.
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Perpetrators are protected, promoted and permitted to continue their heinous actions while victims are isolated from all support, ostracized, shamed, humiliated and often denied the care they need.  In 2013, there were 5400 cases of military sexual assault reported, a 60% increase.
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Given that 95% of sexual assaults in our military are from repeat offenders and serial rapists and that commanders hear from the rapists the rape was "consensual sex," nothing typically gets done.
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Does Paul Cook side with rapists and the officers who cover for them? Why isn't Paul Cook not demanding policies to hunt down these criminals, those that support them, and cleaning up their act?
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Commanders too often tend to cover up crimes that would reflect on them as officers and on their corps, which Paul Cook as a Marine Officer had to have seen, so he is hardly unaware of the problems.
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18 different reports over the past two plus decades point to the problem in all the military services - a culture of abuse that is fostered by the leadership. It is clear that our military will not change unless forced to do so by we the people.
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To get a feel of the pervasiveness of the culture of abuse, watch the Invisible War Movie and get the full picture through the women's stories.
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Paul Cook needs to look at (or voted out of office if he does not) how our military handles reports of sexual assaults, how they train personnel to investigate, how investigations are done, how leaders are trained including the nonverbal communication, how the system applies accountability and justice, if at all, examine the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) in relation to these sexual assault cases and make necessary changes.
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Bob Conaway says if he is elected, "I will not be sympathetic or worst, like Paul Cook, silent on the abuse of our women in uniform. I challenge Paul Cook to explain why he has done nothing to protect women in uniform against such abuses and what he will floor legislatively to stop the Officer imposed silence and fear."
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Message prepared by candidate
Bob Conaway for Congress (CA-08)
12127 Mall Blvd, Suite A-363
Victorville CA 92392
Contact No. (760) 617-8305
           BobConawayforCongress.blogspot.com
Contributions or gifts to Bob Conaway for Congress are not tax deductible.
Contributions from foreign nationals or corporations are prohibited.

Thursday, August 7, 2014

PRESS RELEASE: BOB CONAWAY CONDEMNS PAUL COOK's VOTE WHICH STEALS MONEY FROM UNION PENSION FUNDS TO PAY FOR MISMANAGED HIGHWAY TRUST FUND


The fiscal challenges facing the Highway Trust Fund, which receives federal gas tax revenue and then distributes it to states for infrastructure projects, is suffering from a success story: Americans are driving less, vehicles are becoming more fuel efficient and the gas tax hasn't been increased in 20 years.  The funding is shrinking in the same way dropping home values hurt local governments in California over the past two decades.
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If the trust fund experiences a cash shortfall (which it did), the DOT will be forced to start taking steps to manage whatever cash it has left, or as Paul Cook thought was a good idea, transfer from the general fund (called "pension smoothing"), a step that Bob Conaway denounces as a gimmick, smoke and mirrors and stripping pension funds from hardworking union workers.
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Bob Conaway agrees with Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt) who says “We shouldn’t be paying for filling potholes by creating potholes in Americans’ pensions. This is not a serious or sustainable response to the challenge of an underfunded highway program. Congress should bite the bullet and do its job.”
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Faced with the threat that federal money for 117,000 transportation projects would begin to dry up in two weeks, the House on Tuesday approved a nearly $11 billion patch to extend funding through May.
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Bob Conaway (D, CA-08) states:
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"Everything this Congressman agrees to is a patch, not a solution, and when he acts, it will be to hurt private citizens (union and non-union) for the benefit of corporations. Only when faced with potential layoffs of 700,000 construction workers (not a good campaign "accomplishment" for even the most cynical right-to-worker) did this Congress act. Congressmen will need to discuss with stakeholders at both the state and local level in town hall-style meetings the problems and solution and then debate the competing solutions in real (and not staged) sessions of Congress on how to deal with dropping gas tax revenues per mile traveled & how to best deal with the fatiguing and failing road and bridge infrastructure without raising custom fees or raiding pensions".


Message prepared by candidate
Bob Conaway for Congress (CA-08)
12127 Mall Blvd, Suite A-363
Victorville CA 92392
Contact No. (760) 617-8305
                BobConawayforCongress.blogspot.com
Contributions or gifts to Bob Conaway for Congress are not tax deductible.
Contributions from foreign nationals or corporations are prohibited.

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

CONAWAY PROPOSES FEDERAL LEGISLATION BAN ON AUTOMATED REDLIGHT CAMERAS WITHOUT LEGAL PROTECTIONS PUT INTO PLACE

Red light camera I gotchya systems should be illegal without proper legal protections mandated, and if elected, I would put teeth in the existing ban language under the federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices[MUTCD] if those protections are not put into place.
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MUTCD is a regulation set by the Dept of Transportation (DOT) & sets "the national standard for all traffic control devices installed on any street, highway, or bicycle trail open to public travel." 23 CFR  § 655.603(a); see 23 C.F.R. part 655 subpart F .
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While California elected to adopt a state MUTCD & in 2006, the DOT Secretary approved the Calif. MUTCD as being in "substantial conformance" with the 2003 federal MUTCD. See Cal. DOT MUTCD 2006 (http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/traffops/signtech/mutcdsupp/ca_mutcd.htm; see CalVeh.C § 21400 & Oliver v. Ralph’s Grocery, 654 F.3d 903, 909-910, California still allows these clearly illegal systems, taking the view the law is not mandatory (despite the mandatory language "shall"--See below).
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California’s 2012 Edition of MUTCD FHWA’s MUTCD 2009 Edition, as amended in California) Chptr 4D [Traffic Control Signal Features January 13, 2012 Part 4 – Highway Traffic Signals P. 863§ 4D.06 Signal Indications–Design, Illumination, Color, and Shape Standard]: Under “03"states (like the federal MUTCD):
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                        “ Strobes shall not be used within or adjacent to any signal indication.”
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The arguments for the federal legislation is to restore due process and basic constitutional right protections to the hearing and evidence gathering process, we need uniformity in our laws & law enforcement throughout the state if not for the abstraction that constitutional rights of confrontation & authentication being worth defending but also for due process & fundamental fairness reasons. Were that not enough, we need to bring some credibility back to the letter of the law being something cities
need to follow (and not just their citizens).
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What we have now if people testifying that show a picture and short video clip a computer somehow records & is processed to become the sole basis for citations & convictions. The problem,is the person testifying does not have personal knowledge the system is working.

Redflex and the CITY agree in the contract that the red light camera program program, which includes software, is proprietary [per Paragraph 1.20 of the Contract], leaving defendants with only the City representative to question about whether it is working or not as it should be.
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Yet when the CITY’s representative is asked about the various operating systems listed in the Contract, she testifies as to what the systems generally are,  but has no idea if that software which is a necessary part of the system worked when capturing [defendant's] alleged violation:
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        Q: “Well, do you know what SmartCam is”
        A: Smartcam is [Redflex's] program equipment.”
        Q: Okay. You don’t have any personal knowledge of how it works; do you?”
        A:  No, I do not.”
        Q. And you don’t have any personal knowledge that it was working at the time of [defendant's] alleged violation was captured by the cameras; do you?”
        A: “No, I do not.”
        Q: “How about SmartOps? What is that?
        A: “SmartOps is the operation standard that controls the Redflex program.”
        Q: “Okay. And do you have any personal knowledge as to whether or not the SmartOps system was working on day that the alleged violation was captured by the Redflex camera of [Defendant]” 
        A: “No, I do not.”
        Q. “How about SmartScene, section 1.26 of the contract. Any knowledge as to what that system is?”
        A: “Yes. It gives me the capability of looking at – at the intersections in real time.”
        Q: “Okay. Do you know if it was working correctly at the time you saw this violation?”
        A: “I don’t have no personal –“
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Legislation I would propose would require Redflex and American Traffic Solutions to make available experts who can verify the system and its software was working for each and every violation on the day the images were allegedly taken AND be available for cross examination BEFORE any conviction can be entered AND that each and every violation only be issued by a peace officer that observed the violation on the monitor WHEN it happens and that officer is available to be cross examined at trial BEFORE any conviction can be entered.
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Monday, August 4, 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE from BOB CONAWAY for CONGRESS CAMPAIGN [Press Release] -TELL PAUL COOK TO SHOW LEADERSHIP on the IMMIGRATION CRISES

Paul Cook & his House Republican colleagues managed Friday to overcome deep divisions within the party and passed two measures to address the child-migrant surge at the U.S.-Mexico border.
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First the bill shows there is no intention of even starting the dialogue on comprehensive immigration reform--which includes topics such as work visas & green cards issued without regard to there being Americans ready, willing and able to do the work (causing American job losses) , purchased resident alien cards for foreign nationals and their extended families in exchange for certain levels of investment (displacing American workers and businesses), what our country is willing to do for refugees created by American economic and political policies, what due process guidelines do we set and enforce so terrible mistakes are not made in the deportation process and what our country is proposing to do with foreign born youth & their families who have been in this Country working and paying taxes.
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"Instead of working together, instead of focusing on the 80 percent where there is agreement between the Democrats and Republicans, between the administration and Congress, House Republicans, as we speak, are trying to pass the most extreme and unworkable versions of a bill that they already know is going nowhere, that can't pass the Senate, and that if it were to pass the Senate, I would veto," Obama said at a news conference Friday.  "They know it. They're not even trying to actually solve the problem. This is a message bill that they couldn't quite pull off yesterday, so they made it a little more extreme so maybe they can pass it today, just so they can check a box before they're leaving town for a month."
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Second, Paul Cook & his Republican buds show while they talk tough, they are unwilling to fund even their own limited program properly. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives late on Friday approved legislation that would provide $694 million in additional funding for border security, to care for children from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador who have flooded over the border in recent months & to speed up the deportation process. President Barack Obama had asked Congress for $3.7 billion to tackle the crisis.  The result, critical government work will lose funding and the task will fail, perpetuating the crises.
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President Obama said he would have to work out a solution to the border crisis on his own -- moving federal funds around. The Department of Homeland Security notified Congress last Friday that it will transfer $405 million from other programs to deal with an immigration crisis and without those funds, operations of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency needed to minimally handle the crisis could run out in mid-August and those of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection in mid-September.
The bulk of the transfer - about $270 million - will come from the Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster relief fund. An additional $30 million will come from the Coast Guard, the official said.
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Bob Conaway says to "tell Congressman Paul Cook, he needs to be more than a rubber stamp to Cruz's and Boehner's policies as we need leadership to solve the immigration crises, not just tossing money at a problem without regard to its impacts on mission critical federal programs & proposes a town hall meeting to air out the issues, take public comment and testimony."


Message prepared by candidate
Bob Conaway for Congress (CA-08)
12127 Mall Blvd, Suite A-363
Victorville CA 92392
Contact No. (760) 617-8305