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SENECA FALLS Town Democrats nominated two incumbents and an outspoken foe of the Seneca Meadows Landfill as candidates for the fall town election.

Doug Avery of Cayuga Street was nominated for one of two town board seats to be elected this November. He will join incumbent Democrat David DeLelys in running for the two seats on the five-member board. Avery is a retired music and drama teacher at Mynderse Academy.

The two Democrats will oppose incumbent Republican Tom Ruzicka and former board member Steven Turkett.

Avery is president of the Seneca Falls Environmental Action Committee and has spoken frequently against the ongoing odor and other issues at the landfill, in favor of Local Law 3 of 2016 that would require the landfill to close by Dec. 31, 2025, in opposition to Local Law 2 of 2017, which rescinded Local Law 3 and in opposition to a renewal of the landfills state operating permit.

DeLelys voted for Local Law 3 and against Local Law 2.

Democrats also tabbed incumbent Town Justice Sean Laquidari to seek a second, four-year term. He is one of two town justices running this year. The caucus did not put up an opponent for incumbent Republican Town Justice Chuck Lafler.

Democrats in Waterloo, Fayette, Varick and Lodi also select their candidates at a caucus.

Waterloo Democrats do not have a date set yet, but party Chairman Ted Young said it would likely be next week. Up for election this year in Waterloo are two town board seats, supervisor, town clerk, highway superintendent.

In Fayette, Democrats will caucus at 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 28, at the home of Supervisor Cindy Lorenzetti, 4144 High Banks Road. Lorenzetti said she will seek the party nod for another term.

Democrats will also look to nominate candidates for two town board seats, now held by Republicans Coreen Lowry and James Johnson; for town justice, town clerk and highway superintendent, a position held by Republican Bill Trout. Lorenzetti said there may be an effort to cross endorse Trout.

In Varick, Democrats will meet at 7 p.m. Aug. 29 at the home of board member Kathleen Russo, who is also Democratic Party chairwoman. Her home is at 5280 Route 89.

Positions to be elected this fall are two town board seats, including Russos seat, and town justice.

Lodi Democrats will meet in caucus at 7 p.m. Sept. 13, at the Lodi Firehouse on Route 414, to nominate candidates for two Town Board seats.

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Seneca Falls Democrats nominate candidates - Finger Lakes Times

WASHINGTON From the second floor of the Democratic Partys headquarters near the Capitol, the campaign arm of House Democrats just announced almost double congressional Republicans fundraising haul last month the third month in a row in which they beat their GOP counterparts.

But one floor up, where the Democratic National Committee sits, the news was disappointing. The party posted its worst July performance in a decade.

Fundraising has been sluggish all year at the DNC, as the Republican National Committee has been eager to point out in press releases and jeers at a recent softball game between the party staffs. The RNC raised $86.5 million so far this year and has $47.1 million in the bank, compared to the DNCs $41.9 million fundraising haul and $6.9 million in the bank, offset by $3.4 million in debt.

But the DNCs fundraising struggles make it the exception, not the norm, of Democratic groups in the Trump era, many of which have been inundated by donations from the energized liberal base.

On one hand, thats grounds for relief among Democrats, who survey the big picture and conclude their causes and candidates if not their official national party will have plenty of money heading into the 2018 midterm elections and beyond. But on the other hand, it underscores that the challenges facing the DNC are endemic to the national party and severe enough to prevent its boat from being lifted in the rising tide of cash.

If there's a lag in the DNC's fundraising I think it's because [Chairman] Tom Perez is getting better known and there was a lot of fallout from all of the stuff involving the DNC in 2016, the Bernie Sanders stuff and all that, said former DNC Chair and Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell. So I think Democratic givers have been focusing more on congressional and senatorial campaign committees and a lot of the super PACs.

Related: Democrats Could Win 50 House Seats. Heres How

Several Democratic donors, who asked for anonymity to speak candidly, said theyre staying away from the national party, at least for now, because theyre not confident Perez has brought the organization back up to speed and think their money can have a bigger impact elsewhere.

The DNC still needs to communicate what its value-add is, said South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigeig, who unsuccessfully ran for DNC chair. I do think there are some problems in our fundraising.

Donors have more options than ever now for where to invest their money, Buttigeig said, so its not obvious how much of it needs go through the particular piping of the DNC."

The DNC has acknowledged they have rebuilding to do and that the partys brand has been damaged after years of neglect and controversies, including its hacked emails which led to top donor's personal information being posted online and its handling of the presidential primary process last year. Staffing had reached an all-time low when Perez took over about six months ago, and a new finance director and CEO didnt start until earlier this summer.

Still, officials say theyre now on track to raise about what they raised in 2013 and 2015, the last two off-years before an election.

While were still focused on building up our team and hiring fundraising staff, were witnessing robust grassroots enthusiasm with a majority of our contributions coming from small-dollar contributions, said DNC spokesperson Michael Tyler. Were confident that our team will raise the resources needed as we head into 2018 and beyond.

Still, some Democrats patience is running thin with each new month that brings more underwhelming news, especially while theres plenty of money finding its way to other Democratic groups.

DNC Chair Tom Perez (L) hugs Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) as he introduces him to speak during their "Come Together and Fight Back" tour at the James L Knight Center on April 19, 2017 in Miami, Florida. Joe Raedle / Getty Images

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee

And ActBlue, the online campaign finance clearing house for dozens of Democratic candidates,

Others donors, meanwhile, like members of the powerful Democracy Alliance, are turning more attention than ever to the states, where Democrats have been virtually hollowed out.

Big donors like Perez, but after spending most of his career removed from politics in the federal bureaucracy, he doesnt have the years-long relationship with donors predecessors like current Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe enjoyed.

And the grassroots donors who contribute smaller amounts online may be more interested in giving to individual candidates, with Georgia Democrat Jon Ossoff raising more than any congressional candidate

[W]ithout a positive context, the overall picture one gets from the DNCs emails is of a directionless, reflexive party that fails to ask Democratic supporters to do more than oppose Republicans, Michael Whitney, who helped run Sanders online fundraising efforts last year, wrote in

Howard Dean is often considered the gold standard Democratic Party chairman. He took over at a low moment in the partys history, similar to now, before helping it win back the House and Senate in the 2006 midterms. But he, too, faced

This year's fundraising windfall for Democrats has not been uniform. The Republican Governors Association has a solid

But when it comes, it can come big.

With all the competition, the DNCs share will likely never be as big as it once was.

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DNC Struggles to Cash In on Anti-Trump Fervor - NBCNews.com

YUMA, Ariz. (AP) -- Fresh off a speech on Afghanistan that moved him in a different direction from many of his core voters, President Donald Trump is highlighting his pledge to combat illegal immigration by visiting a Marine Corps base along the U.S.-Mexico border Tuesday and inspecting a Predator drone used to patrol the region.

Trump also scheduled a nighttime rally in Phoenix, which left local officials concerned that emotions may run hot among those inside and outside of the hall so soon after Trump blamed "both sides" for violence at a rally organized by white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia.

One potential flashpoint was extinguished when the White House ruled out a pardon, at least for now, for former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Trump told Fox News in a recent interview that he was considering issuing a pardon for Arpaio, who awaits sentencing after his conviction in federal court of disobeying court orders to stop his immigration patrols.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said a pardon was off the table for the time being.

"There will be no discussion of that today at any point, and no action will be taken on that front at any point today," Sanders told reporters traveling with Trump.

Trump's first stop was a Marine Corps base in Yuma that is a hub of operations for the U.S. Border Patrol. He planned to inspect equipment used on the southern border, including the drone and other aircraft.

Administration officials briefing reporters on the trip said the area had seen a 46 percent drop in apprehensions of people attempting to illegally enter the U.S. between Jan. 1 and July 31, compared with the same period in 2016. None of the officials would agree to be identified by name.

In fact, immigrant traffic around Yuma has dramatically slowed over the past dozen years. Once a hotbed for illegal immigration, the Border Patrol sector covering Yuma now ranks among the lowest in the Southwest for apprehensions and drug seizures.

There were some 138,000 apprehensions in 2005. The number had dropped to 14,000 by last year.

Trump is trying to shift the focus to his core campaign theme of getting tough on immigration after rankling some of his most loyal supporters with his decision, announced Monday, to maintain to a U.S. military presence in Afghanistan. They also were unhappy about the recent ouster of conservative Steve Bannon as White House chief strategist.

Bannon had made it his mission to remind Trump of what his most fervent supporters want from his presidency, and some conservative strategists have openly worried that without Bannon around, Trump will be too influenced by establishment Republicans on issues such as Afghanistan policy.

Democratic leaders and other Trump opponents planned protests and marches outside the Phoenix convention center to criticize the president's immigration policies and his comments about Charlottesville. Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton had asked Trump to postpone the rally to allow time for national healing after one woman was killed during the clashes in Charlottesville.

Gov. Doug Ducey, a Trump supporter, was expected to greet Trump upon his arrival in Phoenix, but will not attend the rally to focus on safety needs, his spokesman said.

Vice President Mike Pence, asked about the rally by Fox News Channel on Tuesday, said Trump will be "completely focused" on his agenda for the country.

"He's also going to call on the Congress to get ready to come back when they arrive on Sept. 5th and go straight to work to make America safe again, make America prosperous again, and in his words, to make America great again," said Pence. He was flying separately to Phoenix to introduce Trump at the rally.

Neither of Arizona's two republican senators planned to appear with Trump while he is in the state.

Republican Sen. Jeff Flake, a conservative, has been a frequent target of Trump's wrath. The president tweeted last week: "Great to see that Dr. Kelli Ward is running against Flake Jeff Flake, who is WEAK on borders, crime and a non-factor in Senate. He's toxic!" Flake has been on tour promoting his book that says the Republican Party's embrace of Trump has left conservatism withering.

Ward planned to attend Trump's rally, sparking talk that the president could take the politically extraordinary step of endorsing her from the stage over an incumbent Republican senator.

In a modest but telling swipe at Ward and, by extension, at Trump, the Senate Leadership Fund, a political committee closely aligned with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, is spending $10,000 on digital ads that say of her, "Not conservative, just crazy ideas."

Arizona's other senator, John McCain, is undergoing treatment for an aggressive form of brain cancer. Trump has been critical of McCain for voting against a Republican health care bill

Excerpt from:
President Trump addresses immigration reform in Arizona - FOX 5 DC

Two different cases raising similar issues about advocating suicide may shape US policy for years to come. In Massachusetts, Michelle Carter was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for urging her friend Conrad Roy not to abandon his plan to kill himself by inhaling carbon monoxide: Get back in that car! she texted, and he did. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has already ruled that prosecuting her for involuntary manslaughter was permissible, even though she was not on the scene. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court was careful to insist that its holding did not criminalize assisting the suicide of a person with a terminal illness:

It is important to articulate what this case is not about. It is not about a person seeking to ameliorate the anguish of someone coping with a terminal illness and questioning the value of life. Nor is it about a person offering support, comfort and even assistance to a mature adult who, confronted with such circumstances, has decided to end his or her life.

And now the case of Final Exit v. Minnesota is before the Supreme Court, with Final Exit asking the Supreme Court to take the case and overturn its conviction for assisting the suicide of Doreen Dunn on First Amendment grounds. Notably, no individual was convicted in that case: the medical director was given use immunity to testify against the organization, which was found guilty of the crime, and was fined $30,000.

Final Exit was convicted under an interpretation of the assisted suicide law first outlined in a different case, Minnesota v. Melchert-Dinkel. In that case, the Minnesota Supreme Court held that advising or encouraging an individual to commit suicide was protected First Amendment activity, but assisting suicide, including enabling suicide by instructing a specific person how to do it, could be criminalized. Mr. Melchert-Dinkel struck a deal with prosecutors, and therefore never appealed his conviction.

Final Exit has asked the Supreme Court whether Minnesotas criminal prohibition of speech that enables a suicide violates the First Amendment. The Supreme Court has not yet decided whether to accept the case.

Both the Carter case and the Final Exit case involve the issue of the limits of criminalizing speech, and in both cases, the defendants foresaw and even intended that the people with whom they were communicating would die. There are several noteworthy distinctions between the two cases. In the first place, Conrad Roys competence to make the decision to die was (at least on the face of the court decisions) far more questionable than that of Ms. Dunn in Minnesota. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court put great emphasis on his vulnerability and fragility. Relatedly, and crucially, Conrad Roy was wavering, and Michelle Carter put her thumbindeed, her entire fiston the pro-suicide scale. First amendment purists might say this makes no difference, and indeed criminalizing her speech constitutes viewpoint discrimination, the worst kind of First Amendment violation. Criminal lawyers, on the other hand, might argue that Roys ambivalence provides support for the contention that Ms. Carter caused his suicide. Final Exit argues that they did not coerce or pressure Ms. Deen; they provided information and comfort and support, but not persuasion.

Whether suicide or assisted suicide, this issue is not only about speech, but also fundamentally about individual agency. Promoting the agency of competent individuals is good, even if they make decisions that we would not make. Overriding a persons will, whether by keeping him or her tethered to a life-support machine or haranguing him to get back in the car and die, is different from assisting him or her to implement a decision made thoughtfully and carefully.

Given Justice Gorsuchs interest in and familiarity with the assisted suicide, and his announcement of his perspective through books and articles, it will be interesting to see whether the Court accepts the Final Exit case. Michelle Carters lawyers have promised to appeal on the issue of whether her texts and communications with Conrad Roy constituted protected speech, although the 2016 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision appears to have largely foreclosed that avenue of appeal. As more states legalize assisted suicide, this issue will continue to recur, and these early rulings have the potential to shape policy around the country.

Featured image credit: Lady Justice by jessica45. CC0 public domain via Pixabay.

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Is advocating suicide a crime under the First Amendment? - OUPblog (blog)

First Amendment is a fundamental building block of our society

Editor:

In a letter recently published in your paper, a writer indicates that she wont lose sleep if a Christian must bake a cake or a church is denied participation in a government grant program. I disagree. Both examples are taken from court cases focused on religious liberty and First Amendment freedoms in this country. In addition to affirming the free exercise of religion, the rights outlined in the First Amendment serve as fundamental building blocks of our society and a protection against government censorship and punishment. Combined with other ideals contained in our countrys founding documents, such as the truth that we are all created equal, the rights contained in the First Amendment provide protections for minority groups and demand that we reject racial bigotry, anti-Semitism and hatred in all forms. In the current state of our country, I cant think of anything more important.

Jon Terry

Petoskey

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Letter First Amendment is a fundamental building block of our society - Petoskey News-Review