September 24, 2007 by Grainne.

Here’s a reminder for anyone who’s not yet registered to vote in the 5th District. This Wednesday, September 26, is the last day to register. We plan to visit some of the local colleges tomorrow and Wednesday with voter registration applications.

Information about how to register may be found here.

Information about where to vote may be found here.

As Patrick’s campaign is about a reinvigoration of democracy and drawing more people back into the political process for a “truer reflection of our will as a people,” it is not only important to register by the 26th and vote on October 16th, but also to vote for the candidate who represents true progress and who will represent our best interests.  One voter recently put it poetically, “He mightn’t be well known, but he’s one of our own.” Send Murphy to Congress!

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September 23, 2007 by Grainne.

We are grateful for the recent influx of thoughtful and articulate letters to the editor published in some of the local papers, including the Lowell Sun and Littleton Independent. 

In his letter to the Lowell Sun, Mr. Joseph Smith of Lowell praises Patrick’s “wise policies and depth of conviction.”  He also gives excellent summaries of Patrick’s positions on some of the most important issues, and encourages people to take a serious look at Patrick so that “the average citizens of the 5th District might just start a needed revolution of the politics of this country.”  Up the revolution!  Thanks, Joe, for the letter and for keeping us on our toes with your helpful comments and encouragement through the blog and otherwise.

Mr. Peter Barbella’s letter to the Littleton Independent, entitled “Once in a Blue Moon,” takes its title from Mr. Barbella’s line, “once in a blue moon, a candidate comes along whose words exude real sincerity; whose logical thinking gets your immediate attention; a candidate who shows compassion not for big business, but rather for the common man; a candidate who speaks about family strength in a believable manner; a candidate who recognizes that our past is the foundation upon which we must build our future.”  Barbella goes on to say that, in Patrick, he has found such a candidate.  He writes, “If you, like me, are tired of high society politicians who have never had to work a day of their lives; of politicians with staggering ego; of politicians who worry more about getting votes than doing the right thing, then you owe it to yourself to take a close look at independent candidate Patrick Murphy. I promise you will find a breath of fresh air.”  We couldn’t agree more.   Thanks, Mr. Barbella, for your kind and sincere words, for they have been, one might say, breaths of fresh air.

In “All 5th District Candidates Deserve Media Attention,” Joe Donlan’s letter to the editor of the Sun, Donlan makes a plea to the editor to give Patrick the press coverage that his ideas and proposals deserve.  Donlan echoes our sentiments when he writes, “I’ve been getting tired of the lack of coverage the media’s given to Patrick, because if people heard what he had to say there would be a lot of people voting for him. The party candidates haven’t said anything meaningful and yet they’re given all the press. You people have declared it a two-person race before all the debates have been heard. That’s not democratic at all.”  Many thanks to our long-time friend, stonemason extraordinaire, Joe Donlan of Dunstable.

Lastly, our own father, Daniel P. Murphy, took matters into his own hands and penned a letter to the Sun in response to Evan Lehmann’s front-page Lowell Sun article entitled, “No Money?  No Problem, Says Independent Murphy.”  While our father was pleased, as were we, with the well-written and, overall, wise piece, he challenges Lehmann’s reliance on politically-entrenched lobbyist Craig Holman and Brookings-institutionalized “congressional scholar” Tom Mann for their cynical gauge on Patrick’s prospects.  Thanks to Mr. Lehmann for his piece, and thanks to Dan Sr. for leaving no stone unturned. 

Thanks again to all, including the editors of the Littleton Independent and Lowell Sun, for spreading the good word.

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September 23, 2007 by Grainne.

Patrick and I dropped by the Bolton Fair in Lancaster late Saturday afternoon.  Many were out enjoying the fine weather and entertainment, and we were happy to meet some of the local residents, both at the fair and later when we canvassed some of the neighborhoods in Bolton.    

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September 22, 2007 by Grainne.

 (You may click the thumbnail photos for larger images.)

The Merrimack Valley Food Bank’s (MVFB) food drive today was a considerable success.  Along with several other Lowell residents, Patrick and members of his campaign participated in the MVFB’s food drive by dropping off grocery bags at residences in the Highlands section of Lowell throughout this past week and collecting the bags of food donated today.

We are truly grateful for the participation of the residents of the Highlands — please accept our sincere thanks for taking the time to donate to this most worthy of causes in a very tangible way.  We also wish to thank the MVFB for the opportunity to participate and for its inspiring efforts in providing nutritious food and personal care items to emergency feeding programs serving the low-income, homeless and hungry. 

Special thanks to the MVFB’s Executive Director, Amy Pessia, for narrating a wonderfully informative tour of the Merrimack Valley Food Bank, an impressive facility that takes a great deal of talent and coordination to run.  Amy, Tammy, Bob and all of the other dedicated staff and volunteers at MVFB deserve high praise for their tremendous work. 

For anyone who may have missed the food drive or would like to volunteer or donate goods or money, you can always contact the MVFB and help out in any number of ways.  Please remember, too, that you may also donate to the MVFB through our website here; this would not only help the MVFB, but also it would help us in our quest to prove that there are far better ways to spend money than on political campaigns (where it serves merely to corrupt, disrupt and distract).

Many thanks again to everyone involved!

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September 21, 2007 by Dan.

Yes, Patrick has a vision for “tomorrow” which includes a system of single-payer health care, a better system of educating, fair trading, peace in Iraq, peace in Darfur and more, but his immediate plans involve the Bolton Fair, Groton Fest, and collecting goods for the Merrimack Valley Food Bank in the Highlands.  We hope to meet as many people as possible.

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September 20, 2007 by patrick.

Sticks and stones
may break our bones,
but words alone
will never help us.

Having read the Lowell Sun’s article “War of Words,” I am struck by the aptness of the title. The real debate on health care should not be about words, but substantive ideas that can create positive change in the lives of our people.

Jim Ogonowski states in the article that he opposes renewing S-CHIP (State Children’s Health Insurance Program) because of what he claims to be “another form of amnesty” for illegal immigrants. This is, of course, another form of demagoguery, of appealing to the worst in us with false arguments. Any student of law learns quite quickly that a crime requires two elements: actus reus, the “guilty act” itself and mens rea, the “guilty mind,” or knowing intent to commit a crime. It cannot be said that immigrant children or children of immigrants meet these criteria, and to call them criminal or illegal is as ridiculous as the non-policy which Jim offers to solve the problem of health care in this country. After all, on the question of quality health care and how we ensure that all Americans have access to it, Jim still has no answer.

Niki Tsongas, on the other hand, defines the choice “for voters who want to see change and progress in Washington” not in terms of the health care plan she proposes, but in terms of her Republican counterpart. Also short on details, she has said that she would support a Massachusetts style system of mandated coverage nationally. As a candidate who touts her membership on the board of a health care plan—one which will benefit from the state’s new law—and as a recipient of significant contributions from the health care industry, Niki naturally believes that the industry should play a role in determining, on the basis of profits, who receives care in this country. This is precisely what is wrong with the system and why there is not a system of universal health insurance. Moreover, it is disingenuous to claim the Massachusetts plan is “universal” when at least 60,000 people in the state will remain uncovered because they do not qualify for government subsidies and find that the costs of mandated plans are prohibitive.

I am the only candidate in this race who has proposed a truly universal system of health care which would cover not only the current uninsured, but also raise the level and quality of care for the millions of underinsured. In this improvement and expansion of Medicare for all, the government would simply become the insurer—the “single-payer”—replacing the fragmented system of for-profit insurance companies, but preserving the current delivery system of private health care. In other words, patients would be free to choose their own doctors and hospitals. Gone would be denial of payment because of “pre-existing conditions” or less extensive coverage, and the hassle and complexity of a patient’s bills, which would be paid by the government rather than insurance companies. Using the bargaining leverage of the government, easing health risks among the entire population, and focusing on the long-term wellness of patients, the system would keep costs down more effectively and simply than any other. From the profit-making insurance industry which may raise premiums, co-pays and deductibles as they have each year and deny or limit coverage to patients without appeal, power will shift back to individual citizens themselves who may now hold our insurer—the government—accountable to our will as a people.

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September 15, 2007 by Dan.

We are pleased to announce that Patrick’s candidacy for Congress is the first to meet the criteria of the Principles for Politics organization, since its inception in 2005–a sad commentary on politics in this country, but good news for the people of the 5th District. Patrick’s website has now been linked there, and we thank its administrators for their support, but more importantly, for their vision of principled politics–a vision that excludes the undue influence of political contributions in campaigns and that reinforces the notion that a candidate’s solutions and policies be based upon basic principles and not just fitted and tailored to the current political climate.

As you may already know, Patrick’s fundraising efforts have been delegated to me, and are, in fact, focused on raising money for charitable organizations in the area. If you support Patrick’s principled positions, and you want to show your support but can’t find a donate button on our website or our blog (the ones you normally see flashing prominently on candidates’ homepages), please volunteer for campaign activities or donate to one of Patrick’s chosen charities and feel good at the same time.

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September 15, 2007 by patrick.

The Merrimack Valley Food Bank, Inc. will begin a week-long Neighborhood Food Drive today September 15th.

The organization has announced: “At this time, the Food Bank, as well as most of our member agencies, struggle to keep enough non-perishable food on their shelves to feed the neediest populations in Greater Lowell, the Merrimack Valley, North Shore and Southern New Hampshire. The Pantry Raid helps us replenish items here at the Food Bank until the generous holiday donations arrive.”

“You may volunteer in the following ways:

Between Saturday, September 15th and Thursday, September 20th (may be done in the evening and on the weekend) Distribute empty bags, with flyers attached, to homes in the Highlands and Belvidere sections of Lowell (maps will be provided)

Saturday, September 22nd, between 9:00am–1:00pm. Pick up full bags from the homes that you distributed the empty bags to and deliver them to our food bank truck (located in strategic locations in the neighborhoods)”

“If you are unable to participate in this event, then consider conducting a food drive at your place of work, worship or at an upcoming celebration with family and friends. During the holiday seasons we appreciate receiving donations (beginning in September) of frozen turkeys, canned or frozen hams and all the fixings for a nice Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. Call us and we’ll email you a Holiday Flyer with suggested items to post at work or where you worship. ”

You may call (978) 454-7272 or visit the Merrimack Valley Food Bank’s website at www.mvfb.org.

Also, to contribute to this organization, please click on the Charity - FirstGiving link above. Thank you for any support.

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September 14, 2007 by Dan.

We were disappointed to hear that a debate to which all candidates were invited by Congregation Beth Elohim in Acton, MA has been cancelled. Why? Because Patrick was the only candidate who replied to the invitation, confirming that he would attend. The debate, which would have been held on the morning of Sunday, September 16, would have been an opportunity for the candidates to discuss the three questions proposed in advance by the congregation, at least two of which have not been discussed in any of the previous debates held in this election.

Patrick was particularly looking forward to answering the first question on “The Congressional Image” and how to change it. We think that the first step toward changing the “Congressional Image” should be accepting any opportunity to meet with and speak to the members of one’s community and engaging in, not shying away from, true debate. The Lowell Sun recently published an article on the warring between the Tsongas and Ogonowski campaigns over how many debates should be held and when and where to hold them. If a candidate has a good message that she or he truly wishes to be heard, shouldn’t she or he be fighting for more debates, not fewer? We certainly believe so.

We wish to thank the Congregation Beth Elohim for attempting to organize what could have been an informative debate.

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September 14, 2007 by Dan.

We are starting a new series of questions and answers about Patrick and his campaign. If you think of a question that you would like answered, please email us using the “Contribute an Idea” link on our main webpage. We will take up your questions in our next edition.

1) Rhetorical puzzle:

Why is it that people are always decrying the lack of participation in politics and, in particular, the complacency of young people, and yet. And yet when a truly intelligent, capable young person comes along with good ideas of his own, energy, a vision for the future, and the ability to inspire greater political involvement — someone who challenges us to think in-depth about the issues and not just accept the meaningless surface talk that is unfortunately considered “debate” in this country — they try to shut him down and silence him?

Continued with more questions and answers… Read the rest of this entry »

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