Washington Business and Technology Institute - PPAA18 (Pan Pacific and Asian American Forum)

PPAA18 ***** Sunday, May 9, 2004 #First Edition *****
Washington Business and Technology Institute (WBTI)
http://communitylink.reviewjournal.com/lvrj/wbti
Advisory Board: Governor Kenny Guinn, Chairman; U. S. Senators Harry Reid and John Ensign, Vice Chairmen; U. S. Representatives James Gibbons and Shelley Berkley, and Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, Executive Directors.
U. S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao
Chairperson
Dr. Tony T. Lei
President
District Judges Mark Denton and Valorie Vega
Vice Presidents
Dr. William N. Thompson
Director of Public Administration Institution
Dr. E. Lee Bernick and Dr. G. Keong Leong
Deans of Graduate School of Business and Public Administration
Dr. Sue Fawn Chung
Director of Culture Institution
Justice of the Supreme Court William Maupin, Attorney General Brian Sandoval, and District Judge Stewart Bell, Honorary Chairmen of Clark County District Attorney and Police Civil Commission (CCDAPCC)
District Attorney David Roger and Clark County Sheriff Bill Young
Chairmen of CCDAPCC
(702) 255-9058
*It's our pleasure to pay a tribute to the above officials who dedicate to the civic and community service spects of our organization in an honorary or adjunct capacity.
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America: often bad, but usually great;
and why petitioners arrested
By JOHN BRUMMETT, LVRJ's Editorial, and PAI*1
This article and the editorial have been seclected from Las Vegas Review Journal by Public Administration Institution (PAI) to post on the website of Washington Business and Technology Institute (WBTI). As usually stated at the bottom of the Editorials of LVRJ, please remind that "The views expressed above are those of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. All other opions expressed on the Opinion and Commentary pages are those of the individual artist or author indicated."*2 Through the courtesy of Las Vegas Review Journal, we did the post early in the morning of the same day on May 9, 2004:
Sunday, May 09, 2004
Copyright @ Las Vegas Review-Journal
JOHN BRUMMETT: America: often bad, but usually great*3
By JOHN BRUMMETT and LVRJ's Editorial
SPECIAL TO THE REVIEW-JOURNAL
"Ain't that America, for you and me. Ain't that America, we're something to see, baby."
-- John Mellencamp, rocker from Indiana, in his hit song "Pink Houses."
America is not always good, but almost always is great. It's been that way from the start. And so it was last week.*4
We were bad enough to found a country that permitted slavery, but great enough to tear ourselves apart and sacrifice nearly an entire male generation to end it.
We were bad enough in some states to allow only male taxpayers to vote, but great enough to amend our supreme law to let everyone have a say, except, perhaps, a recent few in Florida.
We were bad enough to impose our own apartheid, but great enough to change our laws and begin, if only begin, to change our ways.
We were bad enough to choose to fight and prolong a tragically mistaken war in Southeast Asia, but great enough to defeat Soviet communism otherwise by a better humanity.
Then there were the events of just last week.
We were bad enough to inflict Iraqis with prisons in which our military personnel debased and abused them to a repulsively inhumane extent, and with a military culture that didn't forbid such atrocities and might actually have implicitly condoned them. But we were good enough to apply the freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution and tell on ourselves for these outrages through a brave and vigilant media.
It was American television, that seldom uplifting medium, that dared on the program "60 Minutes II" to show the horrible pictures. It was a fabled American investigative journalist, Seymour Hersh in The New Yorker, who advanced the story with a disturbing piece last week.
Now it's the American Congress that recoils and demands hearings and explanations, mostly because the American people simply will not stand for an association with this kind of thing. The American identity is with the general greatness, not with the specific badness. That's why so many Americans can't understand why they're hated.
We were bad enough -- in this case, arrogant enough -- to go across the world and invade a country to liberate it from its own heritage and culture and lay what we assumed would be the foundation for that country's self-resurrection in the image of our own form of freedom and democracy. It's as if we thought freedom and democracy were the 11th and 12th holy commandments.
Now we find ourselves pretty much conceding any notion of a free and democratic state in Iraq, emphasizing instead simply a workable and less deadly one. For a couple of days we appeared ready to install in Fallujah a henchman who formerly worked for the very corrupt despot we removed.
We seem to have settled on something from the Afghanistan model. That is to say we seek a country that is sectionalized, ruled in territories by war lords, but at least with order if not law. The central national government would be largely nominal, but at least friendly to us and not a front for religious lunatics who plot to destroy us.
But through all that we were great enough not to do what a lot of people would do after invading a foreign land, ousting and capturing its corrupt despot and assuming day-to-day management. By that I mean raise your flag and declare your territory, if not your 51st state.
Yes, we're bad at times, even evil, and arrogant and smug most of the others. But we go out of our way only to make a mess, not to conquer, and to avoid what we could always do in a few hours, which is incinerate everybody.*5
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Sunday, May 09, 2004
Copyright @ Las Vegas Review-Journal
EDITORIAL: Petitioners arrested*6
Janine Hansen, an activist with the anti-tax group Nevadans for Sound Government, was arrested and jailed Thursday night while gathering signatures on two petitions at the Regional Transportation Center in Reno.*7
The petitions seek to repeal the $833 million in tax increases approved by the 2003 Legislature and to require enforcement of the long-flouted constitutional provision which bars government employees from serving in the state Legislature.
Ms. Hansen's arrest comes on the heels of a complaint filed Monday with Las Vegas police and Secretary of State Dean Heller by Ms. Hansen's brother, Christopher Hansen, contending two Nevada Highway Patrol officers, several Department of Motor Vehicles employees, officials with UNLV, and others have prevented the petitioners from collecting signatures.
Secretary of State Heller, the state's chief election officer, issued an order last fall confirming the right of citizens to gather signatures without giving advance notice at government offices. Greg Bortolin, Gov. Kenny Guinn's spokesman, contended April 30 that state officials "in no way will impede" petition gathering efforts.
Indeed, citizens have every right to seek petition signatures on public property at any time, place and manner that doesn't create a hazard or substantially block the flow of traffic. So why are these people being harassed, and even jailed?
In America, the right of the citizens to petition for a redress of grievances is constitutionally protected. That means it's the highest law of the land.
You remember the Constitution, don't you, officers? It's that faded old document that charges you with protecting our liberties -- the reason citizens fund your paychecks.*8
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References
*1. John Brummett is an award-winning columnist and reporter for the Arkansas News Bureau in Little Rock and author of "High Wire," a book about Bill Clinton's first year as president. His e-mail address is jbrummett@arkansasnews.com. PAI is the initial of Public Administration Institution of Wasington Business and Technology Institute (WBTI).
*2. LVRJ. 'America: often bad, but usually great,' "Las Vegas Review-Journal," (May 9, 2004), Las Vegas, Nevada: reviewjournal.com.
*3. Ibid. JOHN BRUMMETT Commentary.
*4. LVRJ. Ibid.
*5. Ibid.
*6. Vogel, Ed. 'Activist jailed for circulating tax petitions
--- Police arrest pair seeking signatures for vote to challenge legislative action,' "Las Vegas Review-Journal," (May 8, 2004), Las Vegas, Nevada: reviewjournal.com.
*7. Ibid.
*8. Ibid.

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PPAA18 ***** 2:37 p. m., Friday, May 7, 2004 #First Edition *****
Washington Business and Technology Institute (WBTI)
http://communitylink.reviewjournal.com/lvrj/wbti
Advisory Board: Governor Kenny Guinn, Chairman; U. S. Senators Harry Reid and John Ensign, Vice Chairmen; U. S. Representatives James Gibbons and Shelley Berkley, and Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, Executive Directors.
U. S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao
Chairperson
Dr. Tony T. Lei
President
District Judges Mark Denton and Valorie Vega
Vice Presidents
Dr. William N. Thompson
Director of Public Administration Institution
Dr. E. Lee Bernick and Dr. G. Keong Leong
Deans of Graduate School of Business and Public Administration
Dr. Sue Fawn Chung
Director of Culture Institution
Justice of the Supreme Court William Maupin, Attorney General Brian Sandoval, and District Judge Stewart Bell, Honorary Chairmen of Clark County District Attorney and Police Civil Commission (CCDAPCC)
District Attorney David Roger and Clark County Sheriff Bill Young
Chairmen of CCDAPCC
(702) 255-9058
*It's our pleasure to pay a tribute to the above officials who dedicate to the civic and community service spects of our organization in an honorary or adjunct capacity.
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U. S. Senator Harry Reid fights for our people and country
By GSBPA of WBTI*1
Assistant Democratic Leader of the U. S. Senate and Senator Harry Reid has made a difference for Nevada. From humble beginnings in the tiny town of Searchlight, Nevada to the second highest ranking Democrat in the United States Senate, he has distinguished himself as a fighter for Nevadans and all American families in the corridors of power in Washington, D. C..
"Recognizing his trajectory in public service, the Las Vegas Sun said Reid 'has gone from underdog to Senate's top dog.' Parade Magazine, the nation's largest weekly identified Senator Reid as one of a handful of leaders in Washington who possess 'integrity and guts.' *2
"Since Nevadans elected him to the Senate in 1986, Harry Reid has developed a reputation as a consensus builder and an accomplished legislator. Even his Republican colleagues praise his reasoned, balanced approach. After Nevadans sent Harry Reid to the Senate for a third term in 1998, he was elected by his colleagues to serve as the Assistant Democratic Leader, also known as the Democratic 'Whip.' Reid provides valuable leadership to the U.S. Senate by guiding legislation through the Senate and securing the votes to pass key measures. The respected Washington publication National Journal observed that 'Senator Reid has quietly elevated a long dormant post.'
"In fact, Harry Reid has earned the trust of both Democrats and Republicans, and his reputation for integrity and fairness has given the small state of Nevada a strong voice in Congress." *3
Since entering the Senate in 1986, Senator Reid has assembled an impressive legislative and leadership record for the people of Nevada. Senator Reid has consistently fought for the rights and interests of children, families, and workers. In education, he has worked to reverse Nevada's school dropout rate by sponsoring legislation to establish a national program for dropout prevention. He has fought to bring much-needed funding for construction of schools and for hiring more qualified teachers in Nevada. In health care, Harry Reid has fought for the Patient's Bill of Rights as well as increased funding for cancer research, suicide prevention, and mental health initiatives. Harry has also fought for issues concerning senior citizens, including prescription drug coverage, long term care, and Social Security.
"Working hard to protect Nevada's environment, Senator Reid has established programs to preserve clean air and water, especially in Nevada's treasured Lake Tahoe. In addition, Senator Reid has fought vigorously and successfully to keep nuclear waste out of Nevada. Citizens of Nevada benefit each day from the transportation funds Senator Reid fought to provide. Taken together, the work and achievements of Senator Reid have changed the face of Nevada for the better." *4
On October 22, 2000, U. S. Senator Harry Reid received the "Outstanding Democrat of the Decade" 1990's Award from the Paradise Democratic Club of Las Vegas (PDCLV) at the Skyview Room of the Bally's Casino and Hotel, Las Vegas. In the Program, the National Anthem was sung by Rose McKinny James. The Event was chaired by the President of PDCLV, John Ponticello. He introduced participants of all the elected officers, leaders of unions, persons campaigned for public service, among others. The Keynote Speaker was Senator Harry Reid. Special Speakers were U. S. Senator Richard Bryan, U. S. Congresswoman Shelley Berkley, and U. S. Senate Candidate Ed Bernstein. Comments were offered by Rory Reid, Nevada State Democratic Party Chairman, and Danny Thompson, Secretary/Treasurer of Nevada State AFL-CIO.
The heightlight of the Event and Party was the presentation of the Outstanding Democrat of the Decade Award to U.S. Senator Harry Reid by the President of Paradise Democratic Club of Las Vegas, John Ponticello. U. S. Senator Reid graduated from Utah State University in 1961. He received Juris Doctor degree from George Washington University. On April 10, 1998, he was honored as Advisor and Vice Chairman of the Advisory Board of Washington Business and Technology Institute.*5
"Asian Pacific American have made profound contributions to American life, including the arts, economy, education, science, technology, politics, and sport. This community was here to help build trascontinental railroad, to serve in the Civil War, and to develop the latest Internet technology. I'm pleased to assure all you leaders of the community here today that I'll continue working to preserve and advance the heritage and value of Asian Americans. I'll put my effort to reach out and address issues of importance to the Asian American community, including the economy, education, safety, racial profiling, and hate crime, and immigration, among others. I'd like also to show my appreciation of all your accomplishments and contributions to the American way of life and your oustanding participation in the political, business , and educational processes. It's my pleasure to accept the honor as Professor of Administrative Strategies of the Graduate School of Business and Public Administration of Washington Business and Technology Institute," said Harry Reid, U. S. Senator and Assistant Democratic Leader of the Senate at Asian American Leaders Tea with United States Senator Harry Reid on May 31, 2003 at Korean Garden B. B. Q. House in Las Vegas.*6
The following is our post for Harry soon after we received the "WHIP ROUND UP" on Friday at 2:37 p. m., May 7, 2004 from the Office of the Assistant Democratic Leader of the U. S. Senate and Senator Harry Reid:
Reid for Nevada*7
VA Will Expand Veterans Health Services in Nevada
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony Principi announced Friday that the Veterans Administration will develop a Medical Center Campus in Las Vegas that will include a new hospital, nursing home and outpatient clinic. Fallon also will receive a new facility and services in Reno will be expanded. Nevada has the fastest-growing veterans population of any state, and Senator Harry Reid and the entire Congressional delegation have been urging the VA to provide more health services for veterans in the state.
Reid, Ensign Working Together to Boost Homeland Security
Senators Reid and John Ensign are working closely with Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge to meet the needs of Nevada's police, firefighters and other emergency personnel. Reid and Ensign sent a letter to Ridge this week urging him to increase Homeland Security funding for Las Vegas, citing the need for a new $40 million communications system. Reid and Ensign worked with Ridge to secure an additional $10.5 million for Homeland Security last year.
Reid Offers Plan To Reroute Helicopter Flights
Senator Reid this week sponsored a bill that would give relief to Las Vegas residents who have complained about noise from helicopter tours to the Grand Canyon. Reid's proposal, which is supported by the entire Nevada delegation, would convey 230 acres of federal land to Clark County for use as a public heliport. The land is located just south of the Henderson city limits and east of Interstate 15. Helicopter tours currently originate at McCarran International Airport, and their flight path takes them over many residential neighborhoods.
Members of the National Breast Cancer Coalition of Nevada present Senator Reid with an award for his work to prevent and cure breast cancer. State President Gail Allen is at Senator Reid's left in the black NBCC shirt.
Week in Review
Senate Makes Progress on FSC/ETI Bill - The Senate this week worked on a measure to repeal the foreign sales corporation/extraterritorial income tax break, approving several amendments. On a 52-47 vote, an amendment was approved that protects the rights of American workers to receive overtime pay when they work more than 40 hours a week. Another amendment will provide up to $2 billion in federal bonds to redevelop environmental "brownfield" areas. Senate leaders are still trying to reach an agreement that would allow the bill to move forward after a vote on an amendment to extend unemployment benefits for up to 1.5 million workers.
Senate Approves New Ambassador to Iraq- The President's nominee as U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, John Negroponte, was overwhelming approved by the Senate on Thursday (95 to 3). Ambassador Negroponte, who is the current U.S. Representative to the United Nations, is scheduled to report to Iraq at the end of June. He will oversee the United States' single largest embassy of 3000 persons.
Defense Secretary Rumsfeld Faces Senate Panel- Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Friday, responding to questions about the abuse of Iraqi prisoners. Rumsfeld announced the formation of a special investigative commission to examine the allegations and warned the panel that there are more graphic pictures of prisoner abuse yet to be disclosed.*8
INSIDER'S CALENDAR
The Senate will convene Monday, May 10, at 2:00 p.m., with a period of morning business.
The Senate is expected to resume consideration of the FSC-ETI legislation. Cloture was filed on the bill, and if no further agreement is reached, this vote will occur on Tuesday.
In addition, the Senate is expected to vote on an Iraq prisoner resolution at approximately 5:30 p.m. on Monday.
During the remainder of the week, the Senate is expected to consider the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Reauthorization bill.
Reid's Words
I am delighted the Veterans Administration will develop a Medical Center Campus in Las Vegas that will include a new hospital, nursing home and outpatient clinic. Our veterans in southern Nevada are finally going to get the kind of care they deserve.*9
http://reid.senate.gov Fax: (202) 228-7362 Phone: (202) 224 - 2158
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References
*1. GSBPA is the initial of Graduate School of Business and Public Administration (GSBPA) of Washington Business and Technology Institute (WBTI).
*2. Office of the Assistant Democratic Leader. 'Meet U. S. Senator Harry Reid,' "A search from yahoo.com at Yahoo!" Washington, D. C.: Office of the Assistant Democratic Leader Harry Reid.
*3. Ibid.
*4. Ibid.
*5. PAI of WBTI. 'Outstanding Democrat of the year 2003 -- Assembly Majority Leader Barbara Burckley,' "Newsbrief of WBTI," (March 2, 2004), Las Vegas, Nevada: WBTI.
*6. GSBPA of WBTI. 'U. S. Senator Harry Reid fights for oue people,' "PPAA18 of WBTI," (March 26, 2004), Las Vegas, Nevada: WBTI.
*7. Office of the Assistant Democratic Leader. 'WHIP ROUND UP,' "An e-mail to Dr. Tony Lei from the Office of U. S. Senator Harry Reid," (May 7, 2004), Washington, D. C.: Office of the Assistant Democratic Leader Harry Reid.
*8. Ibid.
*9. Ibid.

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