Stepp Against Nuclear Weapons-building for India

Kenneth Stepp (above) today noted that the Bush-Cheney Republican Administration is supporting more nuclear weapons capacity for India. Recently, while in India, Republican President George W. Bush made a deal with India, allowing India to import nuclear fuel and technology despite its nuclear weapons-building. Assisting India's nuclear weapons ambitions ought not to be Mr. Bush's gift to India. India has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, but America has. In doing so, America promised not to help other nations with their nuclear-weapons tinkering. It also pioneered the reinforcing principle that only countries that have all their nuclear facilities under international safeguards (India doesn't now and won't in the future) should benefit from trade in civilian nuclear technology. The rules had started to bite: India was running short of supplies of uranium for both civilian and military purposes. When Congress is asked to change America's anti-proliferation laws, it should say "No." Republican Representative Hal Rogers did stand with Republican President Bush and say "Yes" to India importing nuclear fuel and technology despite its nuclear weapons-building, but Kenneth Stepp says "No" to India importing nuclear fuel and technology despite its nuclear weapons-building. As noted in the July 31 Lexington Herald-Leader Hal Rogers voted for the House Bill which carried, and which approved Wednesday an administration plan to sell U.S. nuclear technology and fuel to India for civilian purposes even though India has not signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty; that bill does not require ratification of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty by India, but merely requires India to separate civilian and military nuclear programs, open its civilian program to international inspection and restrict nuclear exports; Kenneth Stepp would have voted "NO" on that bill and would now allow selling U.S. nuclear technology and fuel to India, until India ratifies the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Hal Rogers voted to defeat, and helped defeat Wednesday a bid to block a new U.S. nuclear deal with India until India declares support for U.S. efforts in the United Nations to prevent Iran from acquiring weapons of mass destruction; Kenneth Stepp would have voted for that bid. Vote for Kenneth Stepp for U.S. House, Dist. 5, Kentucky, Democrat.

Bible Reading

Kenneth Stepp completed reading the New Testament of the Bible this week, and intends to read the Old Testament (the Jewish Bible) next. The best way is to get a recent English translation and read the short books first (i.e. 1 John, 2 John, Jude, Malachi, and Micah), and save the long books (Isaiah, Hebrews) for last. The old Testament (the Jewish Bible) observes, "Then after I have poured out my rains again, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams. Your young men will see visions. In those days, I will pour out my Spirit even on servants, men and women alike. I will cause wonders in the heavens and on the earth--blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon will turn bloodred before that great and terrible day of the Lord arrives. And nyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. There will be people on Mount Zion in Jerusalem who escape just as the Lord has said. These will be among the survivors whom the Lord has called." Joel 2:28-32.

November race predicted very close.

To see how close the November general election is predicted, please click: http://californianintexas.blogspot.com/ and that blogspot predicts the Democrats will be one vote short in each House of Congress. She predicts 218 Republicans and 217 Democrats in the new House of Representatives to be sworn in in Washington DC in January. She also predicts 50 Republican U.S. Senators, and 49 Democratic U.S. Senators, and one Independent--which makes a Republican majority since Dick Cheney gets to be the tie breaker, and cast the deciding vote as Vice President every time the U.S. Senate has a tie vote. Folks, it's not as bad as it seems. You still have three months until the general election, and the Democrats might pick up one more Congressman and one more Senator. Vote Democratic! Vote for Kenneth Stepp to the U.S. House, KY-5, because that is a vote for a Democratic majority in the U.S. House of Representatives!

We are 100+ Democratic Congressional Candidates.

We are 100+ Democratic Congressional Candidates and staff who form the "November Victory" listserv. We've organized ourselves to share experiences of running for office We are all Congressional candidates and staff, from the grassroots.Jerry McNerney, in his second run for the CA-11, who this week was endorsed by Pete McCloskey and Tom Benigno, the Republican challengers to Richard Pombo, and who defeated the DCCC's Steve Filson in the primary, is one of us. Christine Cegalis, who ran against Henry Hyde in the last cycle and who was defeated by the DCCC's Tammy Duckworth in her second run for the seat opened by Henry Hyde's retirement, is one of us.We will be meeting in St. Louis in the middle of August and we need to cover Paul Hackett's expenses to keynote our conference. We need to cover some of the expenses of our candidates coming to St. Louis. We need to cover the cost of getting experienced campaign staffers to organize and present workshops on September-to-November operational art. We need to cover the communications cost to get earned media coverage in St. Louis to where it will do the most good, in a hundred local print outlets.We need to raise $30,000 in three weeks, and we've come to you, the grassroots, because we think that you are collectively the Democratic Reform movement. We think that you, collectively, can't stand leaving more than a hundred Congressional districts, even those that are deep red, uncontested. We also need to obtain 300 volunteers in six weeks, and we've come to you because you are the Democratic Reform campaign staff pool. We want your help drafting the willing to serve in some capacity in nearly 100 Congressional campaigns.To make a contribution please click on the following link
DCCPAC » Contribute
To volunteer for our Candidates, please send an email to
UnitedDems@aol.com
DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES NEED YOUR HELP TO WIN A MAJORITY IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Voter/Consumer Research

Voter/Consumer Research reports: ". . . we conducted a survey of Kentucky voters between June 25 and June 29. We conducted 500 interviews with a statewide sample; . . . . *** "On the generic head to head Republicans trail by 12% (42% say they will vote for Democrats, while only 30% say they will vote for Republicans). For the sake of comparison, nationally Republicans trail Democrats in the generic vote for Congress by 9%."

Volunteers.

Volunteers wanted. I would like you to volunteer to help the Kenneth Stepp for U.S. House, KY-05 campaign. We have a regular Democratic organization that is organizing volunteers to help with Democratic campaigns for this fall election. Please punch the following, and be a volunteer:

http://www.democracyforamerica.com/membershipdrive

Invite your friends
Have you noticed what's happening at DFA-Link?
We have grown to over 26,000 active members nationwide.
There are DFA groups in 417 of the 435 congressional districts in the country.
Almost 50 new events are created every day.
Over 600 candidates have applied for your support.
Together, we're building the most extensive network of progressive activists in the country. But we can't stop now. There are just 108 days left until November 7th. Now more then ever we need to bring new members into the DFA-Link community and get them active. Please take a minute and invite your friends to join DFA-Link today:
http://www.democracyforamerica.com/membershipdrive Kenneth Stepp

We are predicted at one short vote, next Congress.

If you punch http://californianintexas.blogspot.com/ you will see that blogger predicts we will be one short vote in the U.S. House for Democratic leadership next January. Vote for Kenneth Stepp. Putting Kenneth Stepp in the U.S. House by that prediction will mean all Democratic leadership for the U.S. House of Representatives. Kenneth Stepp, the Democratic candidate, U.S. House, KY-5.

Back on Again--Hal for Governor.

Today the Hal Rogers for Governor website is back up again. You can look at it by punching: http://www.halforgovernor.com/

More on the Hal Rogers for Governor boomlet.

The following story with kentucky.com website of the Lexington Herald Leader was Posted on Tue, Jul. 18, 2006
"Rogers-for-governor site dismantled
"FRANKFORT -- A day after launching a Web page aimed at drafting Republican Congressman Hal Rogers into the 2007 governor's race, the anonymous creator of the site removed it today from cyberspace.
"The site, www.halforgovernor.com, first appeared Monday. It was hosted through an Arizona-based company, Domains by Proxy, which allows the site's designer to remain anonymous.
"Rogers' spokeswoman Leslie Cupp said Monday that neither the congressman nor his staff was responsible for the site or aware of its existence until sometime on Monday.
"When asked today whether Rogers or the staff were involved in the site being taken down, she replied, "No."
"The site said Rogers would make a "fine" governor and would be best suited to tackle the challenges of Frankfort.
"Word spread about the site through several blogs and was reported by the Herald-Leader."
Kenneth Stepp remains neutral in any Republican Primary between Hal Rogers and Ernie Fletcher. Kenneth Stepp.

Speculation about Hal Rogers vs. Ernie Fletcher

Speculation abounds about next years' Kentucky Republican governor's Republican primary.
The following article appeared in the July 18 Lexington Herald-Leader:
"Web site promoting Rogers joins gubernatorial fray
"Associated Press
"FRANKFORT, Ky. - A Web page promoting U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers for governor has popped up on the Internet, the second such page promoting a Republican alternative to Gov. Ernie Fletcher to go up in recent weeks.
"The anonymously created site, http://www.halforgovernor.com, touts the Republican from Somerset as an alternative to Fletcher in 2007, saying the incumbent cannot win re-election. Rogers has the "credentials, the integrity and the vision to bring bold change and cutting innovation to our commonwealth," the page boasts.
Leslie Cupp, Rogers' spokeswoman, said in a written statement that the congressman's staff was unaware of the page.
"No one associated with U.S. Rep. Rogers' office has any connection to this Web site," she said. "We saw it today for the first time and have no idea who created the site."
"A similar site, http://www.draftnapier.com, promoting state Rep. Lonnie Napier, R-Lancaster, went online last week.
"The Rogers Web site is hosted through Domains By Proxy, an Arizona-based company that registers sites without disclosing their customers' information. Company spokesman Nick Fuller said he couldn't provide any information about the Rogers site.
"The "Draft Hal Rogers for Gov." Web page criticizes Fletcher for making promises in 2003 to "clean up Frankfort" but ending up indicted on charges that he illegally manipulated the state's merit system hiring process.
"But nearly four years later, all we have is more of the same, with mismanagement and catering to special interests and political insiders," the site says in white lettering with a blue background.
Fletcher, a fellow Republican, has pledged to seek re-election next year. He is scheduled to face trial Nov. 8 on three misdemeanor charges stemming from the state hiring probe."
Information from: Lexington Herald-Leader, http://www.kentucky.com
Kenneth Stepp remains neutral concerning any Republican Primary contest for Kentucky governor between Hal Rogers and Ernie Fletcher.

Three States again.

Kenneth Stepp was in three states again this past Sunday July 16. I started from the National Forest parking lot in Kentucky, walked through the Cumberland Gap, walked along the Daniel Boone Trail (yes, there are still things named after Daniel Boone) in Virginia, returned along the same path, and walked along the new boardwalk into Cumberland Gap, Tennessee. From Cumberland Gap, Tennessee, Wilma, Carson, Conrad and I crossed the parking lot back into that sliver of Virginia, visited the iron furnace (which looks like a Mayan pyramid), walked up the mountain through Cumberland Gap and back into Kentucky, and then rode back home to Barbourville. It's 101 out today, so I hope you got out over the weekend. Kenneth Stepp.

Your candidate made it to three states this past Sunday.

I hope you have enjoyed our Federal and our State Parks. That was what I was doing on this past Sunday. The picture was taken this past Sunday by Wilma Stepp, and shows Kenneth Stepp with feet firmly planted in Kentucky, one hand in Tennessee, and the other hand in Virginia. That's on the top of the ridge, about midway between Middlesboro, in the Fifth District of Kentucky, and Cumberland Gap, Tennessee. I did make it to this corner of the District, and I have this picture taken by Wilma Stepp to prove it. There's a lot of good hiking trails in the Kentucky Fifth District. You can follow the path of Daniel Boone and the early explorers and settlers across Cumberland gap. Pine Mountain State Park has some nice ridge-top hiking trails. At Cumberland Falls, you have several great mountain hiking trails. Another hiking area that is a favorite of ours is the Natural Bridge State Park. When I'm visiting my in-laws in rural Clay County, like I'm doing tonight, I often enjoy walking up in the holler. It's not as rustic as the State Parks, and the narrow-lane road is paved, but a walk up the holler is one of the pleasures of living in Eastern Kentucky.
On the political side, I was checking a political blogspot Blue in Texas tonight, and they are predicting a real cliffhanger in the November elections. They predict we will end up one short in the House and that Dick Cheney will be voting as a tie-breaker in the Senate. The Blue in Texas blogspot prediction for next January is, for the U.S. House of Representatives 218 Republicans and 217 Democrats; and for the U.S. Senate 50 Republicans, 49 Democrats, and 1 Independent. That blogspot had also predicted Hal Rogers to win. So that means, that if you Democratic-majority Kentucky Fifth District re-elect Hal Rogers (like all the pundits expect you to do), you have 218 Republicans and 217 Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives, and the Majority Leader, the Speaker of the House, all the Committee Chairmen, and all the Subcommittee Chairmen, and all the Committee majorities, and all the Subcommittee majorities will be Republicans. That also means that if you elect, as I am requesting you to do, Kenneth Stepp to the U.S. House KY-5, you will have 218 Democrats and 217 Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives, and the Majority Leader, the Speaker of the House, all the Committee Chairmen, all the Subcommittee Chairmen, all the Committee majorities, and all the Subcommittee majorities will be Democrats. It's your choice, two more years of Republican mismanagement, ineptness and incompetence; or two years of a Democratic majority in the U.S. House of Representatives acting as a check and a balance on the foreign military adventures, warrantless wiretapping, tax breaks for the extremely wealthy, and cuts in welfare and social service benefits of the Republican Bush-Cheney Administration. Vote for Kenneth Stepp in November, he is a Democrat and he will vote for the common people when he is your Congressman.

Lifted from BlueGrassReport.

I usually don't lift things from other blog spots, but the Kenneth Stepp/Mr. Rogers race was mentioned on BlueGrassReport comments, and I pass them on to you for what they are worth.
"Mr. Stepp:I wish you well. I am in the 3rd CD, so I can not vote for you, but I would "if" I could. Your "If" essay above reminds me of a few lines from Shakespeare's play "As You Like It."
Late in the play, in Act V, Touchstone, my favorite character in that work, has a short speech on "If" which concludes "much virtue in If." Indeed, there is.
"Mr. MNIFOS (for short):I will not take issue with any of your comments except to say that Mr. Perkins the Younger could have chosen anywhere in the Commonwealth's 120 counties to live, to fulfill the Constitutional requirement of residency to hold the office he held in the Congress.
"Posted by: jaytn Friday, July 07, 2006 at 08:10 AM
"Mr. MNIFOS,
Carl Perkins was a great Congressman who gave a damn about the people of his district and if you accuse him of being one of the authors of the War on Poverty, he's guilty as charged. I grew up in Knott County and remember going to school with children who had rickets and other diseases of malnutrition. At the time Appalachia was in a crisis situation. It was a national shame. After two centuries of providing coal to heat homes and run industry all over the country, all Eastern Kentucky had to show for that wealth was a bunch of hungry children. So if it took a little Roosveltian redistribution of wealth to feed those kids and improve their education, then God bless Carl Perkins.
So what's your deal? You're either someone outside of Eastern Kentucky who's bought into the stereotype of mountian people that's done nothing but keep good jobs out of the area, or are you some coal operator with some ill-gotten wealth you're trying to protect. Carl Perkins was an honorable hard-working man who spent his career trying to lift up the lives of the people of Eastern Kentucky. You should do half as much, but I'm guessing from the bile you spread here, reaching out to you fellow man is pretty low on your list. As for name recognition--did you know a percentage of enlightened Republicans thought they were voting for George HW Bush in the last two presidential elections? Plus dogging Chris Perkins says more about you than Chris or the people of EK. Chris was a sad story and many were disappointed he could not fill his father's shoes. The same thing could be said about the current resident of the White House.
"If a man of your obvious class is an example of the typical Rogers voter, I would urge all BR readers donate to the Kenneth Stepp campaign as soon a possible.
"Posted by: Nick Stump Friday, July 07, 2006 at 02:41 PM
"Thanks, Nick. That was a pretty nice thing you said about people contributing to the Kenneth Stepp campaign. I'd like to see you when you are in the Fifth District--maybe on your trip to Harlan. Please keep me advised of your schedule. Kenneth Stepp. The Democratic Candidate for Congress, KY-05.
"Posted by: Kenneth Stepp Friday, July 07, 2006 at 06:45 PM"

You have a Happy Fourth of July.

We will all be celebrating the Fourth of July, Independence Day this weekend and also on Tuesday, July 4. I hope to be at the London fireworks tonight, Sat. July 1, at College Park in London, Kentucky, at approx. sundown. On Tuesday, July 4, I hope to be at the car show in Barbourville that afternoon, and then at the fireworks at Brickyard Park that evening. If you punch: http://capwiz.com/lcv/dbq/vote_info/?command=results&sort=District&lvl=C&bzip=&azip=40906&x=13&y=10 you will see that Hal Rogers has received a zero percentage rating for his votes on environmental matters. I hope you have a happy and safe Fourth of July and Independence Day celebrations.
If you want to hear my radio interview with QNN please punch:
http://www.qualitynewsnetwork.com/2006intv.htm#Kentucky and then go to
Kentucky and then punch Kenneth Stepp. If you want to watch the Democratic Primary candidates debate between me and James Tapley, punch http://www.wkma.org/election/primary06_forums.htm and then punch Democrats Fifth District.