HIGHLANDS, September 28) – Republican congressional challenger Anna Little – responding to further news reports indicating that Congress will likely recess without first holding a vote on whether or not to extend the current tax rates – today urged voters in New Jersey’s 6th Congressional District to hold her opponent, 22-year liberal incumbent Frank Pallone, accountable.
“Congress is being run by an irresponsible majority right now,” said Little. “There’s just no other way to say it. And Frank Pallone is a huge part of the problem.
“This year, for the first time since the Budget Act was passed in 1974, Congress didn’t even pass a budget,” continued Little. “And now, it appears the liberals who run the Congress are planning to go home to campaign before they pass a bill to extend the current tax rates.”
“If they don’t pass a bill to extend the current tax rates, New Year’s Day is going to bring with it the biggest tax hike in American history – all because the liberals who run the Congress are more concerned with keeping their own jobs than they are with helping their constituents create jobs for themselves and their communities.”
“I cannot think of anything that would be more irresponsible,” said Little. “Yet, shockingly, that appears to be precisely what they’re going to do.”
“The ability to hold our elected leaders accountable with regularly scheduled elections is one of the hallmarks of American democracy,” Little continued. “But that only works if our elected leaders actually vote BEFORE the elections on crucial issues. By waiting until after the election to engage in significant legislative action, our elected leaders are in essence hiding from the public. That’s just wrong, and it’s just one more reason we need to change Washington.”
“But the simple fact is, you cannot change Washington without changing the people in Washington.”
“The good news is, there’s an election in 35 days. And then the people will have a chance to make their voice heard!”
(HIGHLANDS, September 24) – Republican congressional challenger Anna Little – responding to the release yesterday of House Republicans’ “Pledge to America” – today praised the document as a “governing agenda that will take power away from Washington and put it back in the hands of the people, where it belongs.”
“For too long, too many decisions have been made in Washington by political elites who don’t seem to care what the American people think,” said Little. “Every decision that’s made in Washington is a decision that’s not made by individual American citizens – and when you add to that the fact that Washington elites don’t seem to be paying attention to what the country wants, you just make the problem worse. That’s not what our Founders wanted for us, and that’s why the ‘Pledge to America’ is not just a governing agenda that will take power away from Washington and put it back in the hands of the people, where it belongs, it’s a modern-day restatement of the principles on which our nation was established.
“It’s not surprising, when you stop to consider that the ‘Pledge to America’ was created by actually listening to the people,” Little continued, “and therein lies its strength. The agenda laid out in the Pledge is an agenda that will respond to America’s demand for lower taxes, spending cuts, and reforming the way Washington works.
“If Washington elites – like my opponent, Frank Pallone – would spend more time listening to the people than to each other, they’d be a lot better off. And if they actually had faith in the American people, we’d all be a lot better off.
“Our campaign has garnered national attention because of our ability to mobilize grass-roots volunteers. And when the reporters ask what’s our ‘secret’ for getting them to come out and do the hard work, I explain very simply that there’s really no secret at all – people everywhere will help if you just listen to them, and respond to their needs. They’re coming out to help our campaign because they know that in doing so, they’re actually helping build a brighter future for themselves and their families.
“The simple fact is, you cannot change Washington without changing the people in Washington.
“The good news is, there’s an election in 39 days. And then the people will have a chance to make their voice heard!”
Today is GOP CD-6 candidate, Highlands Mayor Anna Little’s birthday.
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Friends, family and supporters will be gathering at Bahr’s Landing in Highlands this evening from 7-11 to celebrate.
The event is not a fundraiser, though I suspect if you bring your checkbook and would like to make a contribution to Little’s congressional campaign that somebody there will accept it. Ray and Jay Cosgrove are setting up a buffet dinner for $25 per person including their newest menu item, Clams Anna Little. You can also order off their fabulous menu.
All are welcome. If you are planning to attend please respond to [email protected] .
Respond early. If the response is enormous as expected, Wayne Pomanowski will be spending the afternoon digging clams
The United States of America, also known as the “Land of the Free” and the “Home of the Brave”, is also home to many churches, mosques, synagogues, and temples representing almost every religion existing in the modern world. No other country has principled itself so strongly upon tolerance of religious differences, and the right to worship in the manner of one’s choosing. We even offer asylum to foreign persons who are persecuted because of their faith or political beliefs, permitting them safe refuge within the United States where they can freely practice their religion and fully and openly express their beliefs. There can be no doubt that freedom of religion is respected here.
The attack in New York City on 9.11.01 was an act of war; neither by a nation nor any particular faith, but by a radical network of terrorists who claim “Islamic Jihad” as the moral basis for the destruction of the American way of life. As a phoenix rises from its ashes, Americans lifted each other from the dust of the collapsed buildings and helped each other walk to safety. American flags were erected, hung and worn as clothing by everyone as proof that the United States of America remained strong. Donations of emergency items, food and water for rescue workers, and medical supplies were shipped from the Highlands Borough staging area to NY City.
My family and countless others in Congressional District 6 were deeply affected by what transpired on the morning of September 11, 2001. Many of us have pledged that “We will never forget” that fateful day and the lives lost. May we also never forget the patriotism and natural impulse we felt to care for each other. In Highlands, volunteers lined the streets, one person per vehicle, offering rides to all who exited the ferries. The “Highlands Heroes” (First Aid, Fire Department, Police, Borough Employees and Elected Mayor and Council) were the first triage unit and evacuation point from New York City. Many evacuees did not even know where they were.
My husband exited a ferry some time before 2pm on 9.11.01 shocked that after he directed traffic to keep intersections clear for First Responders to get to the towers, most of those he helped to enter the buildings died in their collapse. To this day he will not describe the horrors he witnessed as people jumped from the buildings, and landed on roof tops, lamp posts, or the pavement. He refuses to mention the countless cars parked in ferry parking lots in Highlands, covered with dust, left for days before they were claimed by grieving family members, or towed away. He cannot forget his life flashing before his eyes with thoughts of his young children as he handed out masks from a floating hospital to asthma sufferers while a cloud of dust engulfed him, not once but twice. He is grateful it was not a nuclear device, this time. One of the many walking wounded who still suffer from this event, he and many others will continue to suffer for the rest of their lives.
Our family is blessed because my husband came home that day alive and physically unharmed. How many families were broken by the death of a loved one who expired trapped in the collapsing towers or while trying to rescue someone on that fateful day? Everyone remembers where he or she was and what we were doing when the planes hit the towers, the Pentagon, the field in Pennsylvania. The last words of a brave citizen “Let’s Roll” are burned forever in our minds as an example of the inextinguishable American Spirit.
Just because it is legally possible for a Mosque to be built near “Ground Zero”, the former site of the World Trade Towers and the earthly grave of those who perished in the 9.11.01 attack does not mean such a building should be there. The freedom to do this does not make the action morally sensitive or correct. The profound nature of what occurred at “Ground Zero” and the great sacrifices made by honorable Americans on that day merit respect and reverence. The religious symbol co-opted by the Jihadist terrorists responsible for the modern act of war would be out of place and inappropriate at “Ground Zero”. Thoughts of it have already stirred anger, grief and resentment. It does not promote peace and tolerance in the hearts of fellow Americans. Located on that site I propose that it never will.
I call upon Americans of all faiths to bond together once again in the face of our “Jihadist” enemy, who would use our freedoms and our perceived religious differences to defeat us and extinguish the American way of life. Full disclosure of financial records disproving any connection with Jihadist terrorists would demonstrate sensitivity to those who still suffer and respect for those who perished on 9.11.01. In America, despite our differences, we share a pride and national spirit which is our inextinguishable strength.
If and when any development occurs at or near “Ground Zero”, I urge all parties to be sensitive and respectful to each other, appropriate in planning, with open dialogue and compromise which promotes peace and unity among Americans of all nationalities and faiths. Mutual respect, unity in spirit and compromise are the antithesis to the terror imposed by our enemy. We must not give in to terror. We must not live in fear. Our enemy will use our differences to divide us. Only united as fellow Americans can we prevail.
