DFA Training in Pittsburgh

The DFA (Democracy for America) Training Academy is coming to Pittsburgh this summer. It is aimed at political activists and not at candidates per se. Topics covered include get out the vote, fundraising, communications and more. Typically training is over a weekend. More details and registration info are available.

House Republicans and Health Care

Robocall strikes again! Today it was the PA House Republicans calling to tell me that Gov. Rendell wants to raise my taxes and let bureaucrats make my medical decisions. The GOP, they tell me, has a plan that won't raise taxes and keeps our doctors in Pennsylvania but the governor won't let it even come up for a vote. The nice lady recording the message suggests I call my state rep and tell them to keep politics out of health care.

That last part really got me. Someone calls me with rabid partisan rhetoric and tells me to keep politics out of the matter? Uh, lady, look in a mirror.

If any tax dollars went into preparing or distributing that message I'd like my money back, please. Those caucus accounts really need to be sliced, diced, and reduced or cut off altogether. If that isn't going to happen (or even if it is), let's make the spending on those accounts public so we can all see where the money is going.

PA House Scholarship

Who says your government isn't working for you? This is especially true for high school seniors. Check out the PA House Scholarship:

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives’ Scholarship Program is open to all college-bound high school seniors who plan to attend a Pennsylvania college, university or career school.

The program is independently administered by The Foundation for Enhancing Communities (TFEC)and is not affiliated with any political party.

Two scholarships are awarded per year and can be renewed for up to four years of college. The award consists of the value of one semester of tuition at a State System of Higher Education school (approximately $2,500), but scholarship recipients may attend any Pennsylvania public or private post-secondary institution. Students may also be eligible to receive matching funds from SAGE Scholars, Inc. (Savings and Growth for Education) and the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency’s (PHEAA) PATH Program.

Recipients’ names are automatically submitted to PHEAA, and a matching award may be granted based upon remaining financial need. The House program is funded by private, tax-deductible donations, including gifts from former and current House members, as well as proceeds from House-sponsored events. (h/t me/bl)

More Congressional Race Updates

Things are starting to heat up. There are now Republican challengers in the 7th and 8th congressional challengers. According to the Inky (and a number of other sources) Thomas Manion will take on Patrick Murphy and Wendell Craig Williams will try to unseat Joe Sestak. (See “Father of fallen Marine to seek office,” by Larry King 12/16, and “Delco GOP picks Gulf vet to face Sestak,” by Mari A. Schaefer 12/16)

Josh Drobnyk is reporting that Sen. Bob Casey’s brother, Chris Casey, has decided not to run for the 6th congressional district against Republican Jim Gerlach.

My three guesses on who would be next to endorse Republican Dan Meuser were incorrect. Don Ely has decided not to challenge 10th district Rep. Chris Carney himself and is endorsing Meuser. This race was briefly outlined in The Politico (“Polls show Carney in strong position for reelection,” by Josh Kraushaar 1/11

Off Topic: My Inner Betsy Ross

Over the holidays I got back in touch with my inner Betsy Ross and dusted off the trusty household Kenmore sewing machine. It was one of the first things I bought after graduating from college, to replace the hand-me-down that was on its last legs. The kids had demolished the pillows on the sofa so I made new ones. But my true seamstressy love is quilting. I got out some of my quilting magazines and my fabric totes to see what went with what. A nine patch with boat and water themed fabric? A window pane pattern with jungle prints? Something with Krazy Kats in contrasting colors? Or something else entirely? In the end I went with trains and wild animals instead of marina, kats, or florals. A Halloween print lap robe I decided to tie and not quilt. The jungle print will be a single bed size and the top is almost done. The train prints, probably a full size, is almost all cut out and coming together in a much funkier way than originally envisioned. These things are organic and often change in the process. They are never error free and that can make them all the more interesting. The wonky block marks goes at the head of the bed. The extra border strip on the back marks the side. There is a story behind them all; I wish I had more time for sewing.

Update on Reform

The state legislature returns to session this week with an ambitious agenda, including some items still on their plate from last year:

Still unresolved from 2007 is a bill overhauling Pennsylvania's Sputnik-era Right-to-Know law; as well as a ban on most public smoking, and components of Rendell's second-term energy conservation and healthcare reform plans.

Source: John Micek, "State lawmakers return to overstuffed agenda," Morning Call 1/14/08

Reform measures are still a priority for some state representatives. Josh Shapiro (D-153) posted a note on the state party website at the end of last November that says in part:

Reform is continuing in Harrisburg. To date we have passed more than 30 reforms in the House to make more openness and transparency in the process. Next week we will continue our debate on the state’s open records law. Coming up are serious conversations on campaign finance reform and reducing the cost of government -- two proposals that I authored. Put in perspective of the lack of reform in the last 30 years, reform today is moving at a quick pace, but we must accomplish a lot more.

With the real impact reformers have had on elections over the last few years, lawmakers in Harrisburg are not trying to read the tea leaves of past elections to look for permission to stop working for reform. The men and women I’m working with every day on reform are committed to the cause. We cannot and will not let cynical observers dissuade us from doing what is right.

Bryan Lentz (D 161) published an op ed piece in the Inky on a similar topic recently. It is also posted on his website and begins:

When I was a prosecutor, I followed a simple formula when it came to sharing information with the defense: whether the information hurt my case or not, I turned it over. In our system of public justice, the district attorney’s case file had to be an open book.

The same is true of our state government. With more than $26 billion of public money being spent every year, it is important that our public records be truly public. For years in Pennsylvania, accessing public records – particularly the expenditures of the legislature – has been a difficult process. In most cases, the individual citizen had to prove to the government why he or she had a right to see a public record. The result has been an increasing distrust of our government and a skepticism surrounding the motives of our political leaders.

Recently, the state House of Representatives took a major step toward opening up our government. In late November, the Senate sent an open-records bill to the House (S.B. 1) which contained numerous exceptions and loopholes. The Democratic majority in the House strengthened this bill and passed a law which has the potential to make Pennsylvania a leader in open government.

I was disappointed in the results of the leadership election (new wine, old wineskins, not a good idea) and hope that more reforms can be passed.

Upcoming Deadline for Political Directory

The deadline is coming up for the 2008 Political Pages:

The Political Pages directory is a comprehensive directory of political and public affairs consultants, political products and services, and lobbyists. Candidates, elected officials, campaign managers, PAC directors, association executives and party executives all use this directory as one of their most important resources.

I was surprised to see one of the categories is "blogs." Interesting.

Checking On Health Care

As a people we like solutions that are BIG, BOLD, and JAZZY!!! Alas, all to often they are mundane, simple, and require a little effort on our part. (My favorite Thomas Edison quote: "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.")

Case in point, Gov. Ed Rendell's Prescription for Pennsylvania (81 page pdf). One of his initiatives is to reduce hospital acquired infections. Here is an excerpt from the state's website:

The second initiative focuses on improving patient safety and containing costs by eliminating hospital- and health-facility-acquired infections. The Governor noted that most hospital-acquired infections are avoidable. In Pennsylvania, however, the number of hospital infections reported last year was 19,154, which led to nearly 2,500 deaths and more than $3.5 billion in hospital charges.

One example of a hospital- and health-facility-acquired infection specifically addressed in the Prescription for Pennsylvania is MRSA, a type of drug-resistant bacteria that is commonly carried inactive on the skin but can be deadly if it is introduced into the bloodstream. In 2004, there were 13,722 hospitalizations in Pennsylvania in which the patient had an MRSA infection – a rate of 7.4 per every 1,000 inpatient hospitalizations. Data shows that 8.9 percent of those patients, or 1,221 people, died as a result of contracting MRSA.

MRSA can be virtually eliminated from health centers through simple patient-safety procedures. Groundbreaking work by Pennsylvania’s veteran’s administration hospitals has resulted in the near elimination of MRSA infections in those facilities.

The legislation introduced that pertains to this effort is SB 968. A simple explanation is offered, in addition to the full text of the bill. It was signed by the governor on July 20, 2007.

There are, however, even simpler ways of controlling hospital acquired infections. This past December 10's issue of the New Yorker included an article, "The Checklist," by Atul Gawande, that discussed the amazing success of having emergency room medical staff use checklists when treating patients. Yes, a piece of paper, a clipboard, and a pencil. Pilots use checklists, why can't doctors and nurses? (Top item: wash hands).

Here was the result of a pilot project that used checklist for putting lines in patients:

The results were so dramatic that they weren’t sure whether to believe them: the ten-day line-infection rate went from eleven per cent to zero. So they followed patients for fifteen more months. Only two line infections occurred during the entire period. They calculated that, in this one hospital, the checklist had prevented forty-three infections and eight deaths, and saved two million dollars in costs.

In another study:

In December, 2006, the Keystone Initiative published its findings in a landmark article in The New England Journal of Medicine. Within the first three months of the project, the infection rate in Michigan’s I.C.U.s decreased by sixty-six per cent. The typical I.C.U.—including the ones at Sinai-Grace Hospital—cut its quarterly infection rate to zero. Michigan’s infection rates fell so low that its average I.C.U. outperformed ninety per cent of I.C.U.s nationwide. In the Keystone Initiative’s first eighteen months, the hospitals saved an estimated hundred and seventy-five million dollars in costs and more than fifteen hundred lives. The successes have been sustained for almost four years—all because of a stupid little checklist.

And the cost?

I asked him how much it would cost for him to do for the whole country what he did for Michigan. About two million dollars, he said, maybe three, mostly for the technical work of signing up hospitals to participate state by state and coördinating a database to track the results. He’s already devised a plan to do it in all of Spain for less.

Unfortunately, in the time-honored fashion of bureaucracies everywhere, the program has been shut down because it is impossible to get the informed consent of all patients and doctors participating. Gawande outlines the problem in a Dec. 30th New York Times op-ed, "A Lifesaving Checklist," and suggests Congress step in.

This is the sort of thing that, if widely implemented, say in a state or commonwealth, could make a huge difference for a small amount of money.

I hope the informed consent issues can be worked out (let it be known that I formally grant my consent for a nurse to make sure a doctor has clean hands before treating me) and that the gov's folks take note of the possibilities inherent in mandatory medical checklists.

Grant Writing Workshops

In her continuing series of workshops on practical matters, Rep. Allyson Schwartz is sponsoring a some how-to's on grant writing. Small non-profits don't usually have full-time grant writers on hand and depend on volunteers. I've been to one or two workshops like this and wrestled with more than a few grant applications in my day (the most important rule: Follow. The. Instructions.)

These would be well worth the time of anyone interested in the topic.

General description, place and time below, registration and other information available on the congresswoman's website:

Thousands of Philadelphia area nonprofits compete every year for funding in order to support their organization’s programs and services. For many nonprofits, particularly small organizations, grant applications can be a source of much anxiety.

To provide local nonprofits with a better understanding of how to develop a successful grant proposal, Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz is hosting a half-day grant workshop, “The Nuts and Bolts of Developing a Successful Proposal.” Workshops are scheduled for January 23 and January 24 in Horsham and Philadelphia.

The Nuts and Bolts of Developing a Successful Proposal

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

8:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Horsham Township Community Center
1025 Horsham Road
Horsham, PA 19044

Thursday, January 24, 2008

8:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

CORA Services, Inc.
8540 Verree Road
Philadelphia, PA 19111

NOTE: These are the same workshop, offered in different locations.

The agenda for the workshops includes a comprehensive overview of the basic components of a successful grant proposal, how to tailor a grant proposal to a funding source, what grant reviewers look for in proposals, and an introduction to each local Foundation Center’s resources. Each workshop will include plenty of time for questions. A complimentary continental breakfast and lunch will be provided.

Workshops are targeted to staff, board members and volunteers of local nonprofits, as well as to those seeking to start up nonprofits. The workshops are a follow up on the highly successful nonprofit workshops hosted by Schwartz in June 2007 that attracted nearly 150 participants.

6th Congressional District Update

John at the Pennsylvania Progressive and Brett from Pennsyltucky Politics have been posting reports from the state Democratic convention.

Among John's reports are that Bob Roggio is tossing his hat in the ring for the Democratic candidacy in the 6th congressional district. Roggio has set up a campaign website, http://www.bobroggioforcongress.com/; though it remains skeletal at the moment, with only a biography and an email address.

He also reports that former state senator Bob Rovner is on the verge of running. I note that rovnerforcongress, bobrovnerforcongress, and bobrovner web addresses are all parked. That means something, though I'm not certain what.

While Keystone Politics has reported Mike Leibowitz as a certain candidate I have not been able to locate any potential web addresses for him. In his 2006 primary run he used www.mike06.com. Good choice, that last name is easily misspelled. However, www.mike08.com is being used by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Hmmm, wonder what that means.

PA in the WSJ

This is a list of articles regarding Pennsylvania in this week's Wall Street Journal. Chances are I missed something, but these are the articles that caught my eye.

It should be noted that I routinely do not read the editorials in the WSJ. So any discussions of the state, its elected officials, businesses, or citizens, in editorials will not be mentioned here.


Either it was an exceptionally slow week for the commonwealth in the WSJ this week or I was exceptionally sloppy in looking. Very little to report.

PA Politicians

He’s not currently in politics but once (and future?) Philadelphia District Attorney candidate and, until recently, the city’s inspector general, gets a brief mention (and a woodcut of the man himself smiling) on 1/11. [Update, I forgot to mention his name, Seth Williams.] It notes his joining law firm Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young. That makes two people now that I have actually spoken to (in this case very briefly at an event a year or two ago) who have appeared in the WSJ as woodcuts.


PA Businesses

Sue Meier at Allegheny County’s Landmark Home Healthcare is quoted in “Finding day care – for your parents,” by Jeff D. Opdyke (1/10)

Brief mention of Exton’s Isolagen, Inc. on 1/11


Other PA

Heather Shenk an audiologist in Lancaster is quoted in “Clearing wax buildup with a candle in the ear,” by Laura Johannes (1/08)

Other Interesting Tidbits

In “Clinton’s primary win resonates with women,” by Carol Hymowitz, Katherine Rosman and Amy Merrick (1/10) we find this paragraph:

In New Hampshire, Mrs. Clinton scored best with women who had lower incomes and less education as opposed to highly-paid, educated women. Half of women who earn between $15,000 and $30,000 voted for her, compared to 39% for Mr. Obama. Just 31% of women with post-graduate degress voted for Mrs. Clinton, however, compared to 43% for Mr. Obama. Mrs. Clinton also did well with women who are single, separated, divorced or widowed, carrying single women by 17 points in New Hampshire while Sen. Obama carried them in Iowa by 13 points.

Congressional Race Updates

Two updates in Pennsylvania congressional races.

Dan Meuser, who is among the horde of Republicans trying to unseat Chris Carney, freshman Democrat in the 10th congressional district, is announcing that he has been endorsed by Hazelton mayor Lou Barletta. Meuser was previously endorsed by former Sen. Rick Santorum. One wonders who will be next: Grover Norquist? Ralph Reed? Daryl Metcalfe?

Closer to home, Keystone Politics is reporting that Democrat Mike Leibowitz will take a second run at the 6th congressional district. Leibowitz did not do well in the 2006 primary against Lois Murphy but she had greater name recognition. Leibowitz is young, 20 29 or 30, and has a law degree but instead of practicing law owns a firm that works on historic houses. His 2006 campaign is still filing FEC reports as there is an unpaid loan of around $8600, from the candidate himself.

According to a 2006 press release:

He has twice served on the Lower Merion School District Community Advisory Committee and currently serves as an officer of the Haverford Civic Association. Leibowitz attended American University in Washington, DC where he received a BA in economics and Villanova University School of Law in Villanova, Pennsylvania where he received his JD.

Pennsylvania Avenue is reporting that Democrats continue to court other candidates as well.

If 2006 was the year of the veteran candidate (Patrick Murphy, Joe Sestak), this must be the year of the historic house rehab candidate. In addition to Leibowitz, we have Bruce Slater, who is running in the 19th 16th district.

Money Talks

Or at least mine did today. This morning was hectic and I was out the door without breakfast so a bagel stop along the way was in order. One of the one dollar bills in my change was stamped google ronpaul. Two lines, google above ronpaul. It was a large, thick font, with kind of an edgy gothic look to it. The letters were all lower case. Each line was maybe one half inch tall.

I passed it long to someone else later in the day. She noticed the slogan and said "that's not happening." As a word of mouth marketing tool, though, it is on the inexpensive side. Just give followers a stamp and an ink pad and ask them to stamp every bill that passes through their hands.

Military Matters III: Disabled Vets Tax Exemption

According to the Disabled Veterans Real Estate Tax Exemption Program, veterans in Pennsylvania who have been declared 100% disabled and met other criteria are exempt from paying real estate tax. Recent changes in the program have made additional veterans eligible so applications have increased, as has the time it takes to process requests. Some veterans have been waiting for more than six months. That seems like a long time, especially considering that cases are reviewed for eligibility every five years.

Military Matters II: Support the Troops Update

Before the holidays I wrote a post about www.anysoldier.com, which will let you get in touch with servicemen and women in the field, Iraq and Afghanistan. A group one of the kids is in prepared care packages and we mailed them off. So far we've received two notes in reply. One specifically mentioned how much she enjoyed getting pictures the kids had drawn. It doesn't have to be expensive. It doesn't have to be long. Just send someone a note or ask your church or synagogue or neighborhood youth group to consider sending letters or pictures.

On a related matter, you may be aware that it is Girl Scout cookie time. You may not know that if you don't like or can't eat the cookies yourself, you can purchase a box (or more) that will be shipped to soldiers overseas, via Operation Taste of Home.

Military Matters I: Veterans Cemetery Update

Those trying to keep up with the proposed veterans' cemetery in Bucks County will have to wait until the end of the month (no specific date set) to hear the next decision in the saga. Theresa Katalinas in "Judge defers Melsky decision," Bucks County Courier Times (1/04) gives a good history of the project. Even so, all of the twists and turns escape me. I would just like to see this settled and the cemetery open this year if possible.

Swearing and Swearing In

Those who keep up with local happenings will know that Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter (gosh that sounds wonderful) help an open house at City Hall this evening. This is a tremendous harbinger of things to come.

In other inaugural news, primarily from PhillyBurbs:

As they had said they would, Jim Matthews (R) and Joe Hoeffel(D) elected themselves chair and vice chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners. It is the first time since the late 1800's that a Democrat has been either chair or vice chair. The other Republican elected commissioner, former District Attorney Bruce Castor, lost this round of musical chairs. (See "A Done Deal," by Jacob Fenton, the Intelligencer 1/08; GrassrootsPA has links to articles on this from the Inky and the Morning Call).

Det Ansinn, whose path I have crossed a time or two and gives every impression of being organized, strategic, and an all around nice guy, has been appointed President of the Doylestown Council. (See "Dems assume council control," by Christine Kristoric, the Intelligencer 1/08).

A Seth Williams Update

According to Jeff Shields at Heard in the Hall, outgoing Philadelphia Inspector General will be taking a job at local law firm Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young. Other politicos at the firm include John R. Saler, Josh Shapiro, and Herb Vederman.

O'Bama's Irish Luck

Last August Congressman Patrick Murphy (D-08) announced his support for presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama.

Not content with an announcement Murphy has been working the streets. He was in Iowa before the caucus and since then has been knocking on doors in New Hampshire.

On Tuesday we will see if the Pennsylvania Irish Luck holds out.

Sources:

Hellyer, Joan, "Bucks Democrats to campaign for Obama in NH," Bucks County Courier Times 1/04

Scheid, Brian, "Guide to presidential selection process," Bucks County Courier Times 1/05

This Saturday is Dinner Day

Reading through the January / February 2008 issue of Cooking Light I found a wonderful article, "Dinner Day" by Jeffery Lindenmuth on Invited Your Neighbor to Dinner Day, designated since 2002 as the second Saturday in January. I had no idea. The article doesn't appear to be online, but it might be worth checking at your local library or borrowing a friend's copy (or, heck, just buying the issue) as it offers some suggestions on what to cook if you decide to celebrate.

There is an official Dinner Day website www.dinnerday.com. According to the background page:

Invite Your Neighbor to Dinner Day was born from the desire to develop a task that every American could easily accomplish. For one day out of the year, neighbors invite other not-so-familiar neighbors to have dinner with them, and eventually, friendships are formed to increase the strength of our communities. It seems simple, yet remarkably profound. These small gestures can directly influence individuals to make a difference in their own lives, while improving communities, and initiating a ripple of trust across the nation.

State Rep. Greg Vitali and then State Rep. Charles McIlhinny introduced the resolution to the house in 2002.

Cool idea.