Category: Kristin Olson
House Votes on Intelligence Bill
WASHINGTON, Dec 7,2004-The House, after several false starts, was expected to give its final approval Tuesday night to legislation designed to implement the 9-11 Commission’s recommendations for a national intelligence revamping.
While the final vote occurred after the Times’ deadline, the Senate was expected to easily pass it Wednesday. The bill would constitute the biggest overhaul of the U.S. intelligence network since the end of World War II.
“I am pleased that at long last Congress has stepped forward with a bill that provides congressional reform and intelligence community overhaul that will provide the safety and security for the American people,” said Congressman John F. Tierney (D-Salem).
The House vote marked the end of a month-long stalemate spurred by two influential House chairmen who led the charge against a Senate-passed compromise measure that President Bush and an apparent majority of the House had favored.
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) had insisted that the original bill’s establishment of the post of national intelligence director would interfere with the Pentagon’s chain of command and would obstruct the military’s ability to get vital information. House Judiciary Committee Chairman, F. James Sensenbrenner opposed the original bill because it did not include measures to control illegal immigration.
The final version of the bill included language intended to allay Hunter’s concerns about the national intelligence director’s authority by guaranteeing battlefield commanders access to top-secret information.
Congressman Tierney said in an interview Tuesday that he did not think the new language substantively changed the original bill. He added that he suspected Hunter’s true aim was less budgetary control for the new national intelligence director. Tierney supports full budget authority, and said that was not changed in the new bill.
While the new bill also does not address Sensenbrenner’s efforts to deny driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants and impose other restrictions on the immigrants, President Bush sent a letter to House members promising to address illegal immigration issues early in the New Year.
Tierney said he and others believed Sensenbrenner’s concerns could be dealt with at a later date.
The July release of the commission’s report prompted legislation aimed at better safeguarding America from terrorism, chiefly by creating a centralized national intelligence director and a national counterterrorism center and by granting more funds for border control agents and detention facilities.
The Senate’s version of the bill, co-sponsored by Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.), passed overwhelmingly early this fall. The House passed a GOP-drafted version along party lines, but were unable to reach a compromise with Senate negotiators before the election.
When they did reach a post-election compromise during the pre-Thanksgiving lame-duck session Hunter and Sensenbrenner objected. Although House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert supported the bill he refrained from sending it to the floor without the approval of a majority of Republicans.
“That they didn’t have a majority of a majority voting for it . that’s what concerned me: when partisanship is put ahead” of the good of the country, Tierney said of Hastert’s refusal to bring the bill to a vote. The Salem Democrat said times like these require congressmen to “put aside that kind of stuff.”
Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) issued a similar statement Tuesday. “Shameful political games and stonewalling by House Republicans and complicit Administration officials have stood in the way of desperately needed intelligence reform for too long,” Kerry said.
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Obesity Battle Plagues Poor
WASHINGTON, Dec 2, 2004-The people of Gloucester have a better chance than residents of lower-income communities to combat obesity, which is second only to smoking as the leading cause of death in the United States, according to health and nutrition experts.
And the economic factors affecting obesity are something many nutrition and epidemiology experts would like to see the federal government do more about.
Because people of higher socio-economic backgrounds have more access to healthy foods and more money to spend on the recommended diet of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean meats and fish, they have a leg up on dodging the obesity epidemic, according to many experts.
Conversely, nutrition experts believe, and studies show people of lower socio-economic backgrounds, opt to buy cheaper foods -- white bread and sugary treats, for example -- that tend to be unhealthy.
This is compounded by the fact that low-income areas generally have fewer grocery stores and higher concentrations of fast-food restaurants, not to mention fewer outdoor spaces and parks for exercise.
The limited outdoor space, the lack of grocery stores, and the high cost of produce in poor areas create the perfect recipe for obesity.
Gloucester illustrates the advantage wealthier people have in the fight against the obesity epidemic. With a median income of $48,000 -- $6,000 above the national median -- it has a single McDonald's, four large supermarkets, seven beaches, five parks, two fitness centers, and one yoga studio-a sharp contrast to a poor urban neighborhood.
The Obesity Epidemic
Nearly 65 percent of the adult population-119 million Americans-are overweight or obese, according to Trust for America's Health, a non-profit organization that works to make disease prevention a higher national priority. In Massachusetts alone, the obesity rate among adults increased by 81 percent between 1990 and 2000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
That federal agency defines obesity as an excessively high amount of body fat in relation to lean body mass. Individuals with a body mass index (BMI) of 25 to 29.9 are considered overweight and those with an index of 30 or higher are considered obese.
Body mass index is a common measure expressing the ratio of weight to height. For example a five foot, four inch woman who weighed 130 pounds would have a BMI of 22.3, indicating a perfectly healthy weight. If that woman were to gain 45 pounds, however, her BMI would rise to 30 and she would be considered obese. (You can check your BMI at the Web site of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.)
Obesity causes at least 300,000 deaths in the United States each year and affects all major bodily systems: heart, lung, muscle and bones, according to the American Obesity Association. More than 30 medical conditions are associated with obesity. Ninety percent of people with type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese and nearly half of obese men and women have high blood pressure. Obese people have twice the likelihood of heart failure than those with healthy weights, according to the New England Journal of Medicine.
Despite the explosion in recent years of diet and exercise regimens, from low-fat or low-carb diets to Weight Watchers or Jennie Craig to yoga or Richard Simmons, obesity rates have steadily climbed in the past decades. Despite books like Fast Food Nation and movies like Super Size Me that warn of the dangers of unhealthy eating habits, Americans keep getting fatter.
The Government's Role
So what is the federal government doing to help ward off obesity? More specifically, what is the government doing to help even the playing field for rich and poor alike in combating this deadly disease? Many nutrition and epidemiology experts say nothing or not enough.
"The government plays an immense role in the relative prices, research and all aspects of our diet, and it would be a revolution if they truly focused on a healthy diet," said Dr. Barry Popkin, director of the division of nutrition epidemiology at the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
"Right now the government subsidizes animal-source foods and sugar and does little for fruits and vegetables, so they distort relative food prices away from healthier foods," Popkin said in an interview, referring to the government's inaction on subsidizing healthy foods.
"Right now the government does the same for public recreation options that favor the rich," Popkin said about the lack of outdoor spaces available to those in poor neighborhoods.
While half of poor women suffer from obesity, only a third of women who are not poor are diagnosed with the disease, according to a September 1998 study by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank.
Adam Drewnowski, the director of the Center for Public Health and Nutrition at the University of Washington in Seattle, firmly believes that poverty predetermines obesity. "When I look around I can tell the highest rates of obesity and overweight among adolescents and adults are in the most disadvantaged neighborhoods," Drewnowski said on the Australian radio show The Health Report in May 2004.
"Obesity is the consequence of economic decisions-some voluntary, some not-that have much to do with social and economic resources, food prices and diet costs," Drewnowski wrote in a report on poverty and obesity published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Drewnowski said that diets of refined grains, added sugars and added fats are more affordable than are "prudent diets based on lean meats, fish, fresh vegetables and fruit."
As a result, he wrote, "there is no question that the rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes in the United States follow a socioeconomic gradient, such that the burden of disease falls disproportionately on people with limited resources, racial-ethnic minorities and the poor."
The Wealthy Advantage
Whole Foods Market, a grocery chain that caters to its customers' desire to live healthy lifestyles, exemplifies this disparity between the upper and lower classes. According to its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, this natural and organic foods market chooses its sites by determining the income and education level of residents in specific areas, like Route 1A in Swampscott, where a store is soon to open.
Inside every Whole Foods Market is a giant fresh produce section, a salad bar complete with tofu, vegetables and exotic bean mixtures, a plethora of whole grains and nuts, yoga books and magazines, exercise balls and mats and gourmet wines. Just as the stores' magazine racks lack the Star and the National Enquirer , so do their grocery shelves lack food with added sugars, refined flours and trans fats, a leading contributor to the epidemic of coronary heart disease.
Whole Foods Market stocks its store with all the ingredients that the U.S. Department of Agriculture suggests people include in their diets. The USDA Healthy People 2010 report, co-sponsored by the Food and Drug Administration, advises people to eat a variety of whole grains, plenty of fruit and vegetables and moderate amounts of fat and sugar. Shopping at Whole Foods Market, a customer would hardly have to think about those guidelines.
Unfortunately, according to a survey the chain commissioned, three-quarters of the people surveyed believe the primary barrier to shopping there is the cost of the food. At the same time, over half those surveyed believed the food at Whole Foods is better for their health.
Is this a privilege of the upper classes? Some argue it is.
In his interview with The Health Report, Drewnowski said his Harvard colleagues came up with a new food pyramid, a play on the pyramid the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services food designed to lay out the recommended servings of the different food groups.
The government's pyramid suggests a daily dose of five to 11 servings of bread, cereal, rice or pasta, three to five servings of vegetables, two to four servings of fruits, two to three servings of milk, yogurt or cheese, two to three servings of meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs or nuts and minimal use of fats and oils. A new set of guidelines will be coming out in January, which government officials said they hope will stem the tide of obesity by giving nutritional information in a way that makes sense to the public.
Drewnowski's colleagues' tongue-in-cheek food pyramid consists of a whole red snapper, a whole head of radicchio, a salmon steak, arugula, fresh raspberries and a glass of merlot. Drewnowski called it an example of economic elitism that doesn't account for the needs and restricted resources of the minorities and poor.
"People who are most obese are the ones living in the poorest neighborhoods, [so] the advice to consume more fresh fruit and play a bit of tennis is not working and will not work," he said.
In accordance with Drewnowski's studies, Laura Segal, spokeswoman for Trust for America's Health, said in interview, "Low-income zip codes tend to have fewer and smaller grocery stores than higher-income zip codes."
As a result, she said, "people in low income areas pay more for nutrition. The cost of items in a city might be higher because there are fewer supermarkets available, so the cost of produce is higher." The supermarkets available to poor people are in sharp contrast to Whole Foods stores, Segal said.
More research needs to be done to understand the impact of subsidizing healthier foods and making it more affordable for poor people, Segal said. The government should also think about redeveloping unused spaces in urban areas, such as abandoned buildings or parking lots, into parks or recreation areas, she added. The combination of more affordable health food and more outdoor areas could help stop the rise of the obesity epidemic among the poor, Segal said.
Drewnowski, on The Health Report, said, "We have this tragedy where research and public health policy don't bridge the gaps." He said more integration of research data with concrete plans in state and local government agencies is needed to curb obesity among the poor.
Fighting Poverty and Obesity
The federal government has been trying to find solutions to this problem.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has programs in many states, including Massachusetts, which has implemented 5-2-1 Go!, a school-based overweight prevention program. The goal is to increase consumption of fruits and vegetables, decrease consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, step up physical activity and lower time spent watching television and playing computer games. But this program, in its initial stages, is geared only toward students, who typically are not in charge of buying the family groceries.
In looking at the relationship between diet quality and diet cost, the Department of Agriculture is trying to come up with a healthy diet that costs $100 a week for a family of four. "But once you put the cost constraint in, you are pretty much driven toward mayonnaise, crackers, white bread, ground turkey, Kool-Aid, sugar, inexpensive things," Drewnowski said.
Eric Boost, Agriculture's undersecretary for food, nutrition and consumer services, told the House Government Reform Subcommittee on Human Rights and Wellness in September that the department's Food Stamp Nutrition Education program was aimed at curbing obesity. The goal is to increase the likelihood that all food stamp recipients make healthy food choices within their limited budgets and choose active lifestyles consistent with the department's dietary guidelines and the food guide pyramid.
"We are working very aggressively to make sure the recipients of the assistance programs have access to healthy choices," Suanne Buggy, spokeswoman for the department's Food and Nutrition Services, said in an interview.
While the program does not prohibit poor people from making bad food choices with their food stamp allotment, it does prohibit buying anything other than food. The program's goal is only to educate and encourage recipients to buy healthy foods.
"If they want to buy soda and chips we can't tell them not to," said Laura Arms, the food stamps program manager in Boston. "It's still America. We can't dictate what food they can buy."
Trust for America's Health believes differently. Segal said that 17 states and the District of Columbia have enacted a snack tax to try to discourage consumption of food low in nutrients. Eleven states have passed legislation that limit obesity-related lawsuits so that people cannot sue McDonald's or other food chains for their obesity. A few states and communities have tried to improve access to low-cost, nutritious food in low-income areas. Massachusetts has done none of these things, according to Segal.
So, while some states are taking steps to curb obesity, Massachusetts, a leader in prohibiting smoking in public places and placing high taxes on cigarettes, remains a few steps behind on this deadly health problem.
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eRumors Running Rampant on the Internet
WASHINGTON, Nov. 11 -With the invention of the Internet comes eRumors-electronic scuttlebutt that multiplies exponentially with the help of quick taps on the computer's mouse.
Rumor and urban legend are far older than the information revolution, but the high-speed performance of the World Wide Web makes it incredibly easy, not to mention fast, to spread rumors across not only a state but also the nation, if not the globe. Within minutes, rumors can fly from New York to California, Texas to Michigan, Kansas to Massachusetts. The rumors can then fall dormant, only to be recycled year after year, even if they lack timeliness or accuracy. And, of course, sometimes the rumors are true.
But ways to combat the spread of online gossip have also cropped up, as web sites have popped up that track and truth-test email exaggerations and fabrications.
One such site is www.truthorfiction.com , which former broadcaster Richard Buhler created in 1998. The Website's stated intention is "to provide Internet users with a quick and easy way to check out the accuracy of forwarded e-mails."
Another site intended to measure the accuracy of mass-forwarded e-mail messages is www.snopes.com . Barbara and David Mikkelson, who own and operate the site, write on their Web page: "Unlike the plethora of anonymous individuals who create and send the unsigned, unsourced e-mail messages that are forwarded all over the Internet, we show our work. The research materials we've used in the preparation of any particular page are listed in the bibliography displayed at the bottom of that page so that readers who wish to verify the validity of our information may check those sources for themselves."
Neither site has lacked for work.
Both Snopes.com and Truthorfiction.com strike down the validity of a widespread military draft e-mail rumor. In the months before the Nov. 2 elections, an e-mail circulating on the Internet stated that on June 15, 2005, a mandatory draft would begin. "The administration is quietly trying to get these bills passed now, while the public's attention is on the elections, so our action on this is needed immediately," the e-mail said.
The email, however, has no signature, no one to contact to question its contents.
While the e-mail accurately real congressional bills that propose a draft, it did not note out that the bills had been buried in committees since 2003 and that Congress is highly unlikely to approve such legislation, as bothwww.snopes.com and www.truthorfiction.com stated.
Many times these forwarded e-mail messages cause a flood of people to contact their congressmen stating their opposition.
"Upon receiving calls, letters and/or e-mails, we research their context and content," Congressman John F. Tierney, Salem-D, said on Wednesday. "As to the context, we assess whether the mass e-mails are based on a hoax-such as the supposed bill "602p" which allegedly called for a 5-cent per e-mail tax. "
Snopes.com and truthorfiction.com both declared this rumor false, with truthorfiction.com adding, "This as not just a rumor, but a hoax, an intentional e-mail of misinformation."
Similarly, both sites have looked into a controversial mass-forwarded e-mail involving the appointment and re-appointment of Dr. David Hager, a Kentucky obstetrician who opposes abortion, refused birth control pills to unmarried women and purportedly favors prayer and Scripture reading to cure menstrual pain, to the Food and Drug Administration's Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee.
In the fall of 2002, Hager's name was the subject of a widely-circulated, well-written, anonymous e-mail that outlined his positions. The aim of the e-mail was to keep Hager from serving on a committee that decides matters concerning birth control, fertility drugs and over-the-counter abortion drugs.
The message, which appears on the Web sites of the Society for Women's Health Research and the Coalition of Labor Union Women, asserts that "Hager's track record of using religious beliefs to guide his medical decision-making makes him a dangerous and inappropriate candidate to serve as chair of this committee."
Erin Rowland, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, said her organization regularly receives the e-mail. "It started in 2002 when Dr. Hager was first rumored to be the new appointment to the FDA's Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee. He was [subsequently] nominated to be the chair," Rowland said.
Rowland said she thought the e-mail was successful because Hager's nomination as chairman was withdrawn, although he still serves on the committee.
When Hager was up for re-appointment to the committee in June 2004, the e-mail resurfaced in hundreds of e-mail inboxes.
Hager, who said in an interview on Wednesday that his life had been threatened as a result of the attacks made in the e-mail message, added: "What people believe is what they see on the Internet and hear in the media. I think people need to do more research when they come across these things."
But Buhler, who has studied rumors for 30 years, said he was able to verify the email's assertions Hager's beliefs about birth control by using "a communication sent to us by Dr. Hager in 2003, when we inquired."
Hager said of the e-mail attacks, "It's not something that you try to go out and defend yourself on."
While Truthorfiction.com and Snopes.com both stamped this mass forwarded e-mail as true, they were able to explain the nuances not elaborated on in the e-mail. Both stated that Hager said he does prescribe birth control pills to unmarried females and that he does not prescribe prayer and Scripture reading to females suffering from menstruation.
Buhler writes on his Web site that the Internet has been both the best and worst thing that has happened to rumors. Because of the rapid and rampant growth of rumors circulated through the Internet, he said the public is hearing and passing on more false rumors than ever. But there is also more information available to deflate false rumors.
"We've all had the experience of forwarding what we thought was a timely, interesting, funny or alarming e-mail, then feeling the sting of five or six replies telling us the story is hogwash," Buhler wrote onwww.truthorfiction.com .
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Tierney Bemoans GOP Majority in Congress
WASHINGTON, Nov. 4-Despite Republican gains in both the House and the Senate, Congressman John Tierney, D-Salem, expressed confidence that locally much would remain the same.
Nationally, however, the GOP's "radical right agenda," he said, would hamper any legislative success. The new Congress that convenes in January will have 232 Republicans and 202 Democrats, with one independent who generally votes with the Democrats. In the Senate, Democrats lost four seats, leaving the chamber with 44 Democrats, 55 Republicans and one Democratic-leaning independent.
"On local issues, there shouldn't be much difference at all," Tierney said on Thursday about the enlarged Republican majority in Congress. "We've been very successful" in providing for the Sixth District, said the Salem Democrat, who was re-elected Tuesday night by 70 percent of his district's voters.
Tierney cited success in securing funds for many areas in the Sixth District, including more than a million dollars a year for the Essex National Heritage Area, technology funding for local colleges and financial support for the highways and Coast Guard in the district.
Nationally, however, Tierney expressed concern over the GOP majority in both the Senate and the House. Republicans in the House, Tierney said, will continue to set the radical right agenda, as it has since it won control in 1994. Likewise, Democrats will continue to play spoilers until they regain a majority.
"If past experience or past behavior indicates future action, [the Republicans] are going to want to behave in a bipartisan manner," said Roger Robins, professor of political science at Marymount College in Palos Verdes, Calif. "Already they're turning their attention to the next set of agenda, in particular domestic agenda."
Robins, an independent who voted for Kerry and is "heartbroken" he lost, warned: "If you're in the Northeast or out West, expect a beating. I think they sense that they've got us on the run. It's not going to be easy. We shouldn't try to imagine that it will be."
Tierney said that "this House doesn't value debate or compromise." The current GOP leadership, he said, runs the House through a combination of bad legislation, stalled legislation and inaction.
"You're going to have bad legislation, like the prescription drug bill," he said, where the Republican leadership "twists the arms" of rank-and-file Republicans to vote along party lines.
Stalled legislation comes about, he said, "because the House is so radically right that the Senate doesn't even accept it." The Senate needs at least 60 votes to push through legislation without risk of Democratic filibusters. The House does not have an equivalent method to impede legislation. It needs only a simple majority to pass a bill.
Other bills that have failed in their purpose need to be reworked, Tierney said. The No Child Left Behind law, co-sponsored by Senator Edward M. Kennedy, "needs to be revisited," but nothing has been done to improve the statute, which demands higher education standards for students but lacks enough federal funds to work properly. Democratic members of Congress not only face a stronger GOP majority, but also are challenged by a greater number of conservative Republicans from the South and other Republican-leaning states, like Texas, where House Majority Leader Tom DeLay led a successful move to redistrict five Democratic-leaning districts into Republican ones..
Tierney said "it would be consistent" for the Republican House members to attempt to push through a radical right agenda. Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., said in a press release, "I am looking forward to working with President Bush and with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist [R-Tenn], to enact our common-sense agenda."
Robert Speel, an associate professor of political science at Pennsylvania State University at Erie, suggested that "Republican control of the entire federal government will mean that the political beliefs and values of Northeasterners, particularly liberals, are not going to have much influence in Washington, at least for the next two years."
"In the past, New England and its political allies have had more people and therefore been able to outvote the South," Speel said. "Unfortunately for New Englanders, the reverse is now true. Northern and West Coast Democrats have to somehow figure out a way to get voters who vote based on traditional cultural values to support a Democrat who will probably hold more liberal views on cultural issues."
As far as criticism about the Democratic Party's failure to connect with cultural or religious values, Tierney said, "We've made a good connection with people who vote for us." The people of Massachusetts and the people in the Sixth District, he said, "know that we have strong values."
In other parts of the country, however, Tierney said he believes the personal connection between Democratic politicians and their constituents is going to become more of an issue. He also said he believes in a "strong need of separation of church and state," adding that "the way things seem to be going it looks like it's going to be difficult at times."
Tierney said the increased Senate Republican majority means it is "more possible" that President Bush could appoint a conservative justice to the Supreme Court. And Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist would be far less dependent on the votes of moderate Republicans from the Northeast to pass legislation, he added..
"Whether or not the Senate can do anything remains to be seen," he said.
During President Bush's first term, Democratic senators filibustered judicial nominations. "This is when Ted Kennedy and John Kerry's stature comes into play," Tierney said about future nominations.
"The only national political arena in which northern liberals may be able to have some political input is the U.S. Senate," Penn State's Speel said. "My assumption is that Ted Kennedy and perhaps John Kerry will lead filibusters against some of President Bush's judicial appointments and against any attempts to privatize Social Security."
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Red Sox Wagers in the Capitol
WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 -Red Sox Nation has arrived in the nation's Capital.
The Boston Red Sox are in the World Series and Johnny "Jesus" Damon, David Ortiz, Curt Schilling, Pedro Martinez and, yes, even Derek Lowe and Mark Bellhorn have been the saviors of those undying Red Sox supporters in the nation's capital-where right now Red Sox fanatics appear to far outweigh those newfound Washington Senators' fans. The plentiful Boston T-shirts and hats around Washington typically generate friendly "go Sox!" cheers from one stranger to another.
Congressman John F. Tierney, a life-long Red Sox supporter, is among those Washington inhabitants infected with Red Sox fever. So sure is Tierney of a World Series win that he has wagered some creamy New England clam chowder and Samuel Adams beer with fellow Democratic Congressman William Lacy Clay Jr. of St. Louis. Clay is betting Budweiser and some greasy White Castle burgers, a chain primarily found in the Midwest, that his city's Cardinals will win.
This wager on the Red Sox is the first Tierney has made since he was elected in 1996. The Salem Democrat, like most Red Sox fans, said he has been waiting since 1986 to see the Sox in the World Series again and hopes that they will win this time around.
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino has engaged in a similarly friendly wager with St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay. If the Cardinals win, Menino has to treat Slay to a seafood dinner and a Boston cream pie; if the Sox win, Slay must pay up with toasted raviolis and Anheuser-Busch products, according to Sports Illustrated.
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O’Malley Struggles to Find Financial Backers
WASHINGTON, Oct. 20 - With the election only days away, Democratic Rep. John F. Tierney's enormous financial war chest looms large over Republican challenger Stephen P. O'Malley's scant $2,400 cash on hand.
The Sixth District Salem Democrat has cash on hand of $887,958, with political action committees donating 28 percent of all receipts and nearly 3,000 individuals contributing 70 percent, according to his Oct. 15 campaign filing with the Federal Election Commission.
O'Malley, however, has received contributions from only 51 individuals, according to his FEC filing. Only 12 of them contributed in September, leaving O'Malley with only $2,400 cash on hand and an opponent who far outweighs his financial capability.
O'Malley recognizes the disparity in campaign finances. "There's no doubt I'm up against a political machine. Tierney has the backing and the support of all the special-interest groups and has already spent more than $300,000, according to the FEC," O'Malley said in an interview on Wednesday. "Campaigns shouldn't be about money."
With optimistic assurance, O'Malley added: "It doesn't cost any money to talk to people, to go to parades. We're getting our message out any way we can."
Through Sept. 30, Tierney, who won two years ago with 68 percent of the vote, received contributions of $662,497 to O'Malley's $44,291; the Democrat spent $334,039 to the Republican's $41,889.
This trend of incumbents accumulating substantially more money from interest groups, lobbyists and wealthy individuals than challengers has become stronger in the last few elections, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan, non-profit research group. In the 2002 House elections, for example, incumbents raised nearly $900,000 on average, while challengers raised only about $200,000.
As a result, in the last three elections, House challengers have lost to incumbents an average of 97 percent of the time. Of the 435 seats at stake in the House, only 4 incumbents were unseated in the 2002 elections. Today, a challenger would have to spend at least $500,000 to have a chance at beating an incumbent, according to opensecrets.org, the Website of the Center for Responsive Politics.
For O'Malley, these statistics and numbers become even more daunting in the context of political donations in Massachusetts. In the previous two election cycles, Democratic candidates received nearly twice as much money as Republicans, according to opensecrets.org.
The demographics of Massachusetts - the number of higher-education schools, the predominance of health care and social services industries as well as strong union membership - lean more Democratic than Republican, according to the Harvard Political Review.
Still, Massachusetts voters have elected Republican governors since 1991 and, according to some political experts, believe in the need for political balance in the legislative system.
Republican town and city committees in the Sixth District have little money to give the party's candidates, as evidenced by the Republican Town Committee in O'Malley's hometown of Nahant sending him a check for only $250, according to the chairwoman, Jayne Solimine.
"Without the money to buy the ads, the burden is really on the candidate to make the personal appearances," Solimine said. "I think he's very persuasive when you hear him speak. It's a productive thing for him to do. But I'd sure like to see him raise more money."
The Massachusetts State Republican Committee is also strapped for cash.
"If we emptied our treasury and gave it to O'Malley it wouldn't even make a difference," said Stephen Zykofsky, Republican state committeeman for the third Essex district. "Because of gerrymandering and interest groups, the incumbent has the power of incumbency, and that power is very strong."
"In this state it costs a good $1.1 million if you're going to have any chance of mounting a successful challenge," Zykofsky continued. "You cannot run for Congress and expect the state party to write a check and you're on your way."
While the state committee has raised millions of dollars, according to Zykofsky, it will be donating money solely to the state legislative races in the belief that Republican Gov. Mitt Romney would be better able to complete his programs with more Republican state legislators.
"The situation was so bad. We had to start somewhere to turn the situation around. So [the state committee] decided to concentrate on the state legislature. And that's where all the money has gone," said Zykofsky, who said he remains grateful to O'Malley for giving Republicans a voice in the Sixth District.
The executive director of the Massachusetts State Republican Party, Tim O'Brien, agreed that "it's an uphill battle anytime you face an entrenched incumbent" but maintained that the seat is still winnable for the Nahant challenger despite his lack of funds.
"A lot of time we take our lead from Washington," O'Brien said. "We look at cash on hand, numbers and polling numbers." O'Brien said they haven't ruled out donating to O'Malley's campaign.
O'Malley, expressing gratitude for the support and endorsements of Romney, Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey and State Republican Party chairman Darrel Crate, said, "I am disappointed that the Massachusetts State Republican Party has not seen fit to taking a more active role in contributing to my campaign."
On the national level, the Republican National Congressional Committee sets priorities to determine which candidates will receive financial contributions.
"Our first obligation is to support Republican incumbents," said Bo Harmon, a committee spokesman. "Our next priority is to open seats, when we feel like we have the best chance of winning. And then third to support Republican challengers."While the committee helps all Republican candidates on issues and campaign platforms, he said, it donates money only to "candidates who have been able to get a great deal of support in the community," both financially and otherwise. Since O'Malley lacks financial backing from the community, he is not a prime contribution target for the committee.
"Our focus is to win campaigns where we feel like we have the best chance, and it doesn't matter if it's in Massachusetts or Texas," Harmon said. "Where we see we have a chance of winning, we're going to do whatever we can to make that happen."
This determination to donate only to potential winners leaves candidates like O'Malley to fend for themselves. As it stands, with his paltry financial contributions and the high rate of incumbents' keeping their seats, O'Malley's chances of mounting a successful campaign against Tierney look bleak.
Nonetheless, O'Malley said, "We know that the voters who hear my message on Nov. 2 will vote for change in the Sixth District." But regardless of the outcome, in the words of Zykofsky, O'Malley's running "is a great thing for democracy."
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CDC Proposes Plan to Combat the Flu Vaccine Shortage
WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 -- Responding to the loss of half the nation's expected flu vaccine supply, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Aventis Pasteur, a vaccine manufacturer, announced Tuesday that 7.7 million doses of vaccines not yet sold would be allocated to the high-risk population in two phases based on need. Regardless of the reallocation, however, some of the high-risk population may go without a vaccine this year.
Last week, Chiron, the influenza manufacturer from which Massachusetts purchased 73 percent of its supply, informed the United States it could not release the purchased vaccines because of regulatory action taken by the United Kingdom, where the vaccine is manufactured.
While Massachusetts planned to have 630,000 doses of flu vaccine, only about 80,000 doses have been received, leaving the state with about 13 percent of the requested vaccines. The Gloucester Board of Health does not have any flu vaccine at this time, and when it does become available it will be administered to those in most need according to the guidelines of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
"It's been a challenging week for all of us," said CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding, who laid out a plan to best combat the shortage. Working with Aventis Pasteur, the only other flu vaccine manufacturer licensed by the Food and Drug Administration to distribute the medicine in the United States, the CDC intends to target the high-risk population -children, seniors, pregnant women and those with chronic diseases-and to direct the diminished supply to states that have yet to receive any flu vaccine supply and to Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers
"The overall goal of this is to target the vaccine that we do have to the people who will get the most benefit from that vaccine and to do it in a way that is fair and equitable to the greatest number of people across our country," Gerberding said.
Gerberding estimates that about 42 million to 50 million people meet the high-risk criteria. "There may be some people who may not get a vaccine that really need it," she said.
Aventis Pasteur, located in Pennsylvania, has about 3.2 million extra doses to distribute to high-risk groups across the nation. The CDC is working with the company to create a "comprehensive picture of who needs it, where they are and where the vaccine is," Gerberding said.
The CDC has stockpiled about 4.5 million doses that it will distribute in a second phase once geographical gaps are determined. With the help of pharmacies, grocery stores and health clinics, the CDC will be able to track where flu activity is heating up and allocate these remaining vaccines.
"This is a short-term solution," Rep. John Tierney, D-Salem, said on Tuesday. "We need to have a much larger perspective on this." Tierney questioned why the government has only two flu vaccine manufacturers under contract and urged that the FDA, the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Health and Human Services do more to solve this problem. "We need to think on a larger perspective on how we're going to resolve the shortage of manufacturers."
Gerberding said the shortage of manufacturers was an economic problem, noting that if there was "profit to be made they would be in the market." She also said the CDC wants safe vaccines and manufacturers must follow the "strict FDA criteria" to be licensed.
Until there are more manufacturers or more availability of the vaccine, however, Gerberding said she is relying on people to "step aside" to save the vaccines for those at higher risk, and on the health care providers to use the "honor code" to stop price-gouging activities.
Additionally, like the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the Gloucester Board of Health, she reminded people to "stay at home if you're sick" and to use "common-sense methods of hygiene like covering your nose and mouth when you sneeze or cough."
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Tierney: House GOP Falls Short on Intelligence Reform
WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 - Congressman John Tierney yesterday criticized the intelligence reform bill crafted by House Republicans, saying it falls far short of changes recommended by the Sept. 11 commission in July."
There is no reason why Congress should be debating legislation that fails in too many ways to reflect the bipartisan work of the Sept. 11 commission and the wishes of the 9/11 families," Tierney said. The families of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, he said, did not want the commission's recommendations caught up in partisan politics.
Tierney said the House bill, scheduled to be considered today, would leave the nation's new intelligence director with no budget authority and little oversight over Defense Department intelligence groups.
The Salem Democrat said the bill also fails to free radio frequencies for first responders and does nothing to improve protection of water supplies, transportation networks and industrial facilities - all potential terror targets.
House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., introduced the 335-page bill on Sept. 24. The House bill was written with only Republican input, while the Senate version was a bipartisan effort led by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Joe Lieberman, D-Conn.
Tierney said he and other House members, including some Republicans, support the Senate bill, which he said succeeds in addressing the major recommendations of the Sept. 11 commission.
Lawmakers are under pressure to pass intelligence reform legislation by the end of the 108th Congress, which is scheduled to adjourn Friday.
Tierney said House Republicans designed a bill they knew would not pass.
Tierney said the House bill would not provide more money for first-responders based on assessments of risks and vulnerability to terrorism. Areas like Everett, which has an onshore liquefied natural gas facility, and Boston, a major urban center, are at higher risk than others, he said.
The Senate bill would base grants on risk and vulnerability.
"We need to prioritize what are more at risk - and establish standards for the private sector," said Tierney, who co-sponsored a separate bill with Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., that deals with assessing risk.
Hastert, however, said in a press release Tuesday that the House bill "streamlines the process for first-responders with smarter and faster funding. It does so in a way that is cost-effective and puts money where it's needed most - at the local level."
Unlike the Senate bill, Tierney said, the House bill lacks any incentive for intelligence agencies to share information, which the congressman called a critical factor in getting to the heart of terrorism. The failure of the FBI and the CIA to share vital pieces of information has been blamed in part for allowing the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The Republican House bill "just avoids that subject," Tierney said.
The House bill would give the president the right to reorganize the intelligence agencies and send the plan to Congress for an up-or-down vote. The measure lacks any language on restructuring the treatment of intelligence legislation or oversight, according to Tierney.
"Congressional oversight is very important," he said.
Tierney said that these provisions reflect a lack of "respect and understanding" of the bipartisan recommendations of the Sept. 11 Commission.
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, said the House bill is better than the Senate's.
"What we did is make Americans safer," he said. "We didn't rubber stamp it, we didn't play politics, we didn't play to the election or to any media. We actually read the report. There's nothing in this bill that is not addressed by the Sept. 11 commission's report or in its recommendations."
While the bipartisan legislation is successfully making its way through the Senate, the House will be considering its version of intelligence reform today, with a final vote predicted for late tomorrow night.
Proponents Speak Up for LNG
WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 - "Because we're the oldest fishing port in the United States, we're very vocal and proud and full of legend and lore and romance of the sea, but we shouldn't be scared of this hypothetical monster," Gloucester fishing Captain Lyle R. Chamberlain said about the $200 million liquefied natural gas unloading facility proposed for 12 miles off Gloucester's shore. "If we want to bury our heads in the sand, then shame on us. I say let's capitalize on this opportunity that's on our doorstep."
Chamberlain, 58 and a Gloucester fisherman since 1964, said he and hundreds of other people, from fishermen to taxi drivers to hotel and restaurant owners, favor the facility.
Chamberlain, who described himself as deeply concerned about conservation and preservation of the ocean, said the facility would offer a great economic opportunity for the people of Gloucester.
"We have to look into the future and the viability of our community," Chamberlain said. "This is definitely the energy of the future, so let's be a part of something that is inevitably going to happen." He also predicted that such facilities will eventually end up off the coasts of Maine, Connecticut, or Rhode Island and that Gloucester would lose the economic boost they could create.
The Gloucester Fishermen's Wives Association, on the other hand, argues that the proposed facility would "disrupt the ecosystem." But Chamberlain called the association "a very small group that claims to represent an industry in a region, when they only represent a limited amount of people. The Fishermen's Wives have never represented any of my views, and I've been a fisherman since 1964."
Kathleen Eisbrenner, president of Texas-based Excelerate Energy LLC, which intends to build and operate the facility, said she welcomes an open dialogue and suggestions for new and better ideas on how to promote the project, which she said would bring a unique opportunity to Gloucester.
The company hopes to be able to handle as much as 400 million cubic feet per day at the facility.
"So far our project is just a picture on a map," Eisbrenner said in an interview. In the next three months, however, the company expects to have a report documenting the safety of the project, she said. The company's first such facility is under construction in the Gulf of Mexico, 116 miles off the Louisiana coast.
Resistance to construction of these facilities on land has increased in recent years, because of safety fears, including the possibility of terrorist attacks. Some advocates say offshore facilities are safer because they are farther away from large populations.
Chamberlain, who said he was "disgusted" with what he called an outdated movie the Fishermen's Wives showed to document the evils of liquefied natural gas, agrees with Eisbrenner that an open, informed dialogue is necessary. "I'll be the first to say if this isn't intelligent, but I'm not going to be a doubting Thomas," he said. Opponents say the facility could harm the Gloucester fishing industry, and they warn of the danger of a gas leak or a terrorist attack on the facility that could cause an explosion harmful to the community.
"Our intention from day one was to involve everyone interested in weighing in," Eisbrenner said. "I welcome the opportunity to continue the dialogue with everyone involved, including the fishermen."
Eisbrenner said the location, which she called "ideal," would avoid two state marine sanctuaries, the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary and two shipping lanes. The facility would connect to the already existing HubLine, a 35-mile link, most of it under water, connecting two natural gas pipelines that supply the fuel to the Northeast. It was put in service last November.
The environment is nearly identical to that of the company's first offshore project in the Gulf, according to Eisbrenner, who said the water depths and tides of each location mirror each other despite the differing distance offshore.
The Gulf terminal is set to be completed by the end of this year, while the Gloucester project is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2006, if all goes according to Eisbrenner's plan. "The people of Gloucester will have a year and half to watch and learn from the offshore terminal in the Gulf," she said.
Despite the negative press about the Massachusetts project, Eisbrenner said, "I have personally received about six to eight personal letters from fishermen in the area offering support and willingness to go out and be proponents for the cause." Captain Chamberlain was one of those fishermen.
As to the possibility of an explosion, Eisbrenner noted that liquefied natural gas is chilled to 260 degrees below zero, shrinking the liquid to 1/600 of its volume as vapor and allowing it to be more easily and thus more economically transportable. If a container leaked, she said, "the gas would leak or pour out and the water would naturally heat it up and it would most likely dissipate into the air."
Flammability, Eisbrenner explained, can only occur with an exact ratio of oxygen to methane. "Methane, the main component of LNG, burns in gas-to-air ratios between five to 15 percent," according to a Congressional Research Service report last May.
Eric Dawicki, president of the Northeast Maritime Institute, a college specializing in marine activities, said fears regarding liquefied natural gas are overblown. "Whoever thinks liquefied natural gas explodes is creating a false sense of fear," said Dawicki, an expert on liquefied natural gas. "It is probably the safest fuel source we could use in the U.S."
If a leak were to occur, Dawicki said, the only chance for an explosion would be if there was no wind at all. In Gloucester, he added, the chance of zero wind in combination with a catastrophic leak is "probably one in a billion."
Moreover, the containers are designed to protect against such leaks she said, and have been successful in the several safety tests Excelerate has conducted. Unlike the Exxon Valdez's disastrous oil spill in Alaska in 1989, the liquefied natural gas tankers are double-hulled, making them "more robust and less prone to accidental spills," according to the Congressional Research Service report.
The report also acknowledged, however, that some experts question the suggestions by federal regulatory agencies that the risks are significant but not as serious as widely believed. In addition, the report noted that some experts say that a large fire on top of the water is the most serious liquefied natural gas hazard, although an Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory concluded in 1998 that "transitions caused by mixing LNG and water are not violent." Dawicki agreed that the gas "truly dissipates into the atmosphere" and "no gas cloud would hover over the city."
Patrick H. Wood III, chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, noted at a briefing in April that "in the past 40 years, there have been more than 33,000 LNG ship voyages without any significant accident or cargo spillage."
Regardless of the safety of such facilities, the need for an alternative form of energy is strong. By 2010, at least two LNG plants proposed for New England and Canada must be built to ensure New England of adequate supplies of gas for heating and power generation, Wood III said on Sept. 13 at a conference on New England power issues.
Congressman John Tierney, however, disagreed with Wood's statement. " He's premature in making that kind of assessment , " Tierney said in an interview. "Wood has no solid basis or facts to make that kind of assessment." Tierney said he listened to Wood's testimony before the House's Energy Policy Subcommittee, of which Tierney is the ranking member, and concluded that Wood has not considered a lot of factors, including other possible energy sources and other areas that could service New England. Tierney continued to insist that nothing would happen in Cape Ann or anywhere until more information is gathered about the safety of and need for liquefied natural gas. He said he is still pressing the Department of Energy to research fossil fuels needs in various areas of the United States as well as alternative energy sources. Tierney said he and his committee are laying out for the Department of Energy the research that needs to be done before approving more liquefied natural gas facilities. "No decisions will be made until that is done," said Tierney.
But others argued that there is no time to wait.
"The U.S. absolutely needs liquefied natural gas to be introduced into its energy policy," Dawicki said. He noted that fossil fuels are disappearing and argued that the idea that the United States needs to be dependent on the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Saudi Arabia is unnecessary when enough natural gas exists in the U.S. to provide 80 percent of the energy supply.
"The rising gas prices affect people's overall budgets," Eisbrenner said. "By diversifying natural gas we'll be able to bring down the cost of gas and electricity. This will help keep the U.S. competitive and also bring a unique opportunity to Gloucester."
Not only would Gloucester be spared the transportation costs of natural gas, Eisbrenner said, but the facility could also open a new economic opportunity for Cape Ann.
"There is actually a very unique opportunity for Gloucester seamen to take a leading role in providing needed support services to our Northeast Gateway activities," she said. "In the Gulf of Mexico, we have contracted with a marine-based shipping firm, which has built its activity and reputation on serving the offshore energy industry."
If offshore energy grows in importance in New England, Eisbrenner added, the new facility could enable Gloucester seamen to develop a very important new line of services. If the terminal succeeds, Chamberlain believes it would result in well-paying jobs that include medical benefits and pensions. "At one time," he said, "we were able to fish 365 days of the year. Now, on average its 56 days. These fishermen may be able to get four to five months a year with high pay with this facility while they're not fishing. We shouldn't shy away from this. We should take a look at it and see what it's all about."
Naval Nominee Named
WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 - A few years back, Jonathan from Lynn desperately wanted to go to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, so he applied to be nominated by Rep. John F. Tierney (D-Mass.).
Tierney recalled that Jonathan, whose last name he does not remember, was big and strong and had excelled in high school football. He was also a member of his high school ROTC.
Tierney nominated Jonathan and Annapolis did give him an appointment. After a few days at the demanding academy, where for the first time he faced students with more brawn and strength than he had, Tierney said Jonathan told him, "Wow! This is hard!"
Jonathan was not alone in his sharp awakening to the rigorous demands of U.S. Service Academies. Army First Lt. Grant Rowland, from Lynnfield, participated in the nomination process and graduated from West Point in 2001.
"The first few months at West Point were the most challenging months," Rowland said before pausing, sighing and completing his sentence, "I've ever had."
"You can't really expect what you're going into," he added. "People tell you and you read about it. But you can never really understand it. It's an experience unto itself."
Although the first year is very tough, Tierney said he can tell the students learn to like the hard work. "Keep your sense of humor and don't take yourself too seriously is all I can say," said Rowland.
Throughout the sixth district applicants nominated to U.S. Service Academies by Tierney and his nominating committees have an outstanding record of appointments, Tierney said in an interview Thursday. In West Point alone, 4000 applicants are nominated by their Congressmen, Senators, or the Vice President. Out of that pool of 4000, 37.5% receive offers and 30% accept.
"I am proud that we have managed to spread this success around the district so every school in every corner of the district has the opportunity to participate," said Tierney about the diverse applicant pool from Newburyport to Lynn.
There has, however, been a decline in candidates since the war in Iraq, Tierney noted. He had no comment as to why there has been a decline but said his committee has continued to reach out to communities.
Although Tierney voted against the use of force in Iraq in 2002, he said he has no problem appointing students to the military as he believes the country needs a military full of strong, able people.
However, he said he hoped that in the future the president and congress will make the "right decision" and only go to war when the danger is imminent and threatening.
Rowland, who served in Iraq from April to August of 2003, said of the decline, "I can understand why there would be a decline but having been over there I don't think there is any need to be worried about it because you don't know where you're going to be in four years when you graduate anyway."
Maj. William Smith, the executive officer of admissions at West Point, agreed that the numbers have declined since the war in Iraq, although they are still higher than before the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
"Since the 9/11 attacks the number of applicants have very much increased," said Smith. "Young people were taken up with patriotism and the feeling that it was their responsibility to do something. That rate has declined somewhat since then but is still higher than it was three years ago."
To be eligible to attend one of the four service academies students must be U.S. citizens between 17 and 22 with no child support obligations. Among those who can nominate are members of Congress like Tierney.
Tierney's office will send an application to anyone who requests one. Candidates must return the application by Nov. 1, along with three letters of recommendation and a photo for the academy. In addition, applicants should have outstanding participation and performance in both athletic and non-athletic activities, and must be in the top 40 percent of their class. SAT scores should be at least a 550 verbal and 540 math, or a 24 English, 25 Math, 22 Reading, 25 Science Reasoning on the ACT.
A panel of 15 volunteers, most with military experience, reviews the applications and conducts interviews with the applicants. After some deliberation, the committee determines a list of candidates. From that list, Tierney said he nominates up to 10 applicants for each of the four academies and submits the resulting lists to the academies for the final appointments.
"Really try to represent yourself as thoroughly and honestly as possible on the application," advised Rowland, who served in Iraq from April 2003 through August 2003.
He also said that candidates should "use the application to set yourself apart from other candidates." Leadership roles in athletics, student council and other extra-curricular activities are ways to stand out from other applicants, said Rowland.
"We have a great record," said Tierney. "We land four appointments without fail." In most instances the academies often come back to the sixth district for more qualified candidates, said Tierney. The district fills quite a few spots, said Tierney who gave some credit to the committee for the great job it does in selecting the candidates. Tierney said he believes the academy respects the work he and his committee do and the hard working applicants they nominate. "We're proud of that," he said.
For those applicants who do not receive a nomination, Tierney said there are other options. Every year Tierney schedules Academy Night throughout the district. In addition to inviting representatives from the four academies, representatives from Mass Maritime, Maine Maritime, military prep schools, the ROTC and officer candidate schools are invited, said Tierney.
"We try to show them other options," said Tierney, citing the possibility of going to a military prep school to strengthen a candidate's application.
Rowland said he met a lot of classmates who initially were not appointed but, instead, attended West Point Prep School. Several students were appointed by West Point after attending the prep school, according to Rowland.
"As long as there is a real desire to go to West Point and the students are applying for themselves and not for the community, family members or friends," said Rowland, "eventually they should get appointed."
