Tuesday, June 3, 2014

羅德島前州長站台支持馮偉杰參選羅德島州長


羅德島州首名參選州長的華裔候選人馮偉杰,昨(廿八)日傳出前州長林肯雅門(Lincoln Almond)站台支持的喜訊。
林肯雅門(Lincoln Almond)昨日站在羅州州政府大廳的台階上,稱許馮偉杰擔任市長時的政績,指出那是他決定支持馮偉杰的重要因素。
他說,那都和經濟有關,要讓人們有工作,是就業問題,而這個人(馮偉杰)就致力於創造工作機會,在克蘭斯頓市(Cranston)市做到了。他強調,“這不是花言巧語的空話,我真的很高興支持他當羅德島州長”。
            林肯雅門還借機會批評另一名羅德島州州長候選人Ken Block的競選許諾,要刪減十億元的州政府預算,稱那是典型政客的花言巧語。
            林肯雅門的支持,是馮偉杰在最近數週獲得的支持中最新的一個。其他的背書支持包括中城(Middletown)及東格林威治(East Greenwich)共和黨鎮委員會,羅德島州的共和黨全國黨委會代表Carol Mumford,以及Steven Frias,克蘭斯頓(Cranston),納拉甘西特(Narragansett),新港(Newport,夕丘(Scituate),以及溫莎基(Woonsocket等五地的共和黨委員會主席及會員,日前還聚會分享促使他們支持馮偉杰的個人經驗。
            馮偉杰昨日推出的首支宣傳路影片,也在強調他是個有政績為証的改革者之餘,也指出他有為克蘭斯頓市帶來一千個工作機會的記錄。他的政績還包括降低了退休金的費用,刪減了政府支出,連續三年在不加稅之下都能平衡預算等。
            馮偉杰的競選陣營日前向外公佈了他參選以來的籌款成績,截至今年三月三十一日紙,已達五十一萬一千餘元。

Dear Friends,

I am very proud to have the endorsement of former Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Almond, who for eight years presided over our state budget and brought more than 40,000 private sector jobs into the state.

I appreciate Governor Almond's praise for my accomplishments in the City of Cranston, including spending cuts, creating more than 1,000 new jobs, and balancing budgets without raising taxes.  Under Governor Almond, Rhode Island had a strong economy and low unemployment and he shares my confidence that as Governor, I can do the same for our state.

Governor Almond also looked at the outlandish promises from my opponent and exposed Ken Block's plan as the "Empty Rhetoric of a Typical Politician."  Don't be fooled by Mr. Block's vague and empty promises.

Instead, please consider my accomplishments and imagine what this type of leadership could do for the State of Rhode Island.

Please take a look at Governor Almond's own words.


Thank you,

AllanFung
Allan Fung




_________________________

BY LINCOLN ALMOND

Ken Block has some explaining to do.

When he first announced his candidacy for governor last fall, Ken Block proudly declared he had a plan to save $1 billion. At first, he gave the impression that his plan would save $1 billion annually from the state budget. Then he clarified that it would be $1 billion in savings in four years. Then he further corrected the misimpression he created that the money he was proclaiming to save would come entirely from the state budget.

In fact, on a recent Sunday news program, Block said about a third of the savings over four years would come from the budget. But he has never explained how he would reduce state spending. And don't bother visiting his website for answers. I did, and they are not there.

I know the state budget. During my years as governor, though unemployment was low and the economy was strong, funding essential services of government was always a challenge. One billion dollars is a lot of money. Ken Block's simple explanation of saving a third of a billion dollars to "fix" the state's unemployment insurance program, a third of a billion dollars to "fix" its temporary disability insurance program, and a third of a billion dollars from undeclared cuts in its budget may be a great campaign slogan. When Herman Cain ran for president in 2012, he, too, had a great slogan: "9, 9, 9" - but we learned fast how flawed his math was.

Mr. Block, Rhode Island voters do not need empty rhetoric from a typical politician.

In the 2010 gubernatorial campaign, Block, then the Moderate Party candidate, claimed to have played a key role in saving the State of Texas's taxpayers $1 billion through welfare fraud detection. Although Journal's PolitiFact found that the computer system developed by Block's firm contributed to the $1 billion saved over 15 years, it also cited Texas officials who disputed his claim of how significant a role he or his company played in the savings that occurred in the Texas budget.

After losing the 2010 governor's race, capturing only 6.5 percent of the vote, he began working with the Chafee administration to do for Rhode Island what he claimed he did for Texas - root out Medicaid fraud and abuse. In fact, he estimated that our state could save between $100 million to $250 million a year. His 16-page report was presented to Governor Chafee in 2013. Those estimated savings have never been realized. Just more empty rhetoric from a typical politician.

It all comes down to credibility. Voters need to have confidence in their elected leaders. I, and many other governors, have recognized the power of the bully pulpit that the office of governor bestows. A candidate seeking the state's top office needs to be honest, forthright and open, not dodging reporters' questions, as Block tends to do.

The next governor needs to have the experience, leadership and vision to move our state forward. Last summer I started meeting with Cranston Mayor Allan Fung as he explored the possibility of running for governor. I was impressed with his understanding of the issues facing our state. Mayor Fung's record speaks for itself: more than 1,000 jobs have been created in Cranston in his years as mayor, and many new companies, including the world headquarters of Alex and Ani, have chosen Cranston because of the city's pro-business environment.

Mayor Fung respectfully and successfully negotiated with his local unions to achieve pension reform, resulting in significant savings to the taxpayers. And for the third year, the mayor has presented a budget with no tax increases, while continuing to provide the services his constituents deserve.

The next governor will take office on Jan. 6, 2015. It is a job with enormous responsibilities. We can't afford to have a governor who needs on-the-job training. We do not need another governor who intends to run state government as if it is a business. In the past, our state has elected governors who did not have any government experience; the results were mixed.

Rhode Island does not need another typical politician with empty rhetoric. We need a governor who has a record of proven accomplishments, who has a vision of putting people back to work, and who can get things done. That is why I am supporting Mayor Allan Fung to be the next governor of the State of Rhode Island.


Lincoln Almond, a Republican, served as governor of Rhode Island from 1995 to 2003.
_________________________

You can also find Governor Almond's op-ed on-line here.
 

20th International Association of Intercultural Communication Studies (IAICS) Conference will be in RI from August

20th  International Association of Intercultural Communication Studies (IAICS) Conference

Enhancing Global Community, Resilience and Sustainability Through Intercultural Communication


July 31 – August 3, 2014
Providence RI

AUGUST 1 Keynote Speaker:  DAVID BELLOS

Professor of French and Comparative Literature and Director of the Program in Translation and Intercultural Communication, Princeton University
David Bellos is an internationally recognized and award-winning expert on translation.  He won the first Man Booker International Prize for translation in 2005 for his translations of works by Albanian author Ismail Kadare,  despite not speaking Albanian; the translations were done from previous French translations. Bellos has written a number of award-winning literary biographies and an introduction to translation studies,  Is That a Fish in Your Ear? Translation and The Meaning of Everything (2011).

AUGUST 2 Keynote Speaker: LLELLWYN KING

Nationally-recognized journalist and energy expert
Llewellyn King was born and educated in Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. At age 16, he began his career as a journalist and worked as a correspondent in Africa for Time magazine, among other international news organizations. In the late 1950s, he moved to London, where he wrote for a number of Fleet Street newspapers, the British Broadcasting Corporation and Independent Television Network. In 1963, he moved to New York City and worked for The New York Herald Tribune. Two years later, he started the first women’s liberation magazine, Women Now. Moving to the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. area in the late 1960s, he worked for The Baltimore News American, The Washington Daily News and The Washington Post. In 1973, after working as Washington editor of McGraw-Hill’sNucleonics Week, he started The Weekly Energy Report, which became The Energy Daily. In addition to The Energy Daily, King Publishing Group and King Communications Group newsletters now include: Defense Week, Space & Missile Defense Report, Navy News & Undersea Technology, New Technology Week and White House Weekly. In recent years, they have won top awards from the National Press Club and the Newsletter Publishers Association. King’s “Capital Diary” column inWhite House Weekly is often cited in major media, including The Washington Times, NBC’s “Meet the Press” and “The McLaughlin Group.” King is the host of “White House Chronicle,” which airs on public and cable television in Washington, D.C.

  1. IAICS-2014 Conference website:

http://harrington.uri.edu/iaics/iaics-conference/


2. Free access to ICS online:

http://www.uri.edu/iaics/content/index.php


3, CMR special issue on "Managing Language and Cultural Challenges in Cross-border Deal-making"

http://www.chinamediaresearch.net/


4. Call for Submissions on "Sustainability, Resilience, and Global Communication"  (see attached)


************************************************
Guo-Ming Chen, Professor
IAICS Executive Director/CMR Co-Editor
Department of Communication Studies
University of Rhode Island
10 Lippitt Road, 310 Davis Hall
Kingston, RI 02881, USA
Tel: 401-874-4731/Fax: 401-874-4722
URL: http://www.uri.edu/personal/gmchen/
URL: http://www.uri.edu/iaics/
URL: http://www.chinamediaresearch.net/