#daniel weeks

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Genetica e SM: la possibile connessione duramente confutata

Genetica e SM: la possibile connessione duramente confutata

Torniamo a parlare di genetica e Sclerosi Multipla. Lo scorso 9 Settembre ho letto un articolo in esclusiva sul sito STAT (statnews.com) dal titolo “Bold claim of multiple sclerosis gene discovery comes under withering attack”(L’ardita affermazione della scoperta di un gene legato alla SM è sotto attacco fulminante). Tale articolo che fa chiarezza sulla vicenda, ha catturato la mia attenzione,…

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Weeks Renews Call on Executive Councilor Wheeler To debate

Nashua, NH – With less than three months to go until Election Day November 8th, Democratic candidate for Executive Council and good-government reformer Dan Weeks issued another call on incumbent Councilor Dave Wheeler to commit to a series of fall debates across District 5.

In a letter Weeks delivered to Wheeler at the August 3rd meeting of the Governor and Council in Nashua, Weeks formally requested Wheeler “work with me on arranging for a series of debates… to provide direct and substantive access to our positions on the issues to voters.” Wheeler has yet to reply to the letter.

“More than a week has passed since I handed my opponent a letter respectfully requesting he join with me in planning five or more debates,” Weeks said. “I believe that anyone who seeks the people’s trust owes it to the voters to stand up in public, answer tough questions, and defend his positions alongside his opponent. As a 15-year advocate for transparent and accountable governance, I am ready to do my part by addressing the voters directly – not through speeches and soundbites at a forum but in a real debate. I’m counting on Councilor Wheeler to join me in this most basic democratic act.”

The call for debates is not the first time Wheeler has refused to return letters or calls from Weeks, a longtime District 5 resident, or other constituents. Since entering the race in March, Weeks has called upon Wheeler to address questions and concerns from constituents over commuter rail, alternative energy, women’s health contracts, and racist and xenophobic statements made by Donald Trump after Wheeler was the senior-most elected official to attend the Republican presidential nominee’s June address in New Hampshire. All Weeks’ requests to-date have gone unanswered.

“While I don’t always expect a politician to answer questions from his opponent in an election, there is simply no excuse for an elected representative to systematically ignore his constituents’ pleas,” Weeks said. “As I visit the District’s 33 towns meeting voters and hearing their concerns, I am repeatedly told by ordinary citizens that Wheeler never returned their calls. That is unacceptable.”

Weeks concluded, “I seriously doubt that my opponent has no opinion on the matters voters raise, but voters have a right to know where he stands. That’s why debates are so important. I am ready and waiting to work with my opponent on finding dates and nonpartisan venues throughout District 5 where we can respectfully debate the issues facing our great state.”

Weeks Renews Call on Executive Councilor Wheeler To debate was originally published on NH Labor News

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Daniel Weeks organizes Trump Protest, calls on GOP leaders to say #NotInNH

Weeks, who is married to a South African immigrant, highlights Trump’s hateful rhetoric of immigrants as a “personal reason” he opposes Donald Trump.

NASHUA, NH – Dan Weeks, the former Executive Director of Open Democracy and leader of NH Rebellion, is calling on concerned citizens of all stripes to peacefully protest Donald Trump’s upcoming New Hampshire event and urging other NH leaders to join in denouncing the Republican nominee. Trump is scheduled to address supporters at Windham High School this Saturday at 8pm; the protest will begin at 6:30pm outside the school.

Donald Trump has come under increased fire from veterans organizations and national Republican leaders in recent days since his open feud with Gold Star parents Khizr and Ghazala Khan after the Democratic National Convention. The Republican standard-bearer continues to stand by his calls for mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, statements condemning women and people of color, and his Constitutionally-suspect proposal to a ban Muslim immigrants from entering the United States. He has also drawn widespread public support from white supremacist leaders.  

“This isn’t just about the principles of a democratic and inclusive society — it’s also personal,” Weeks said. “Although my ancestors came to America long before Donald Trump’s, my wife emigrated from South Africa and our American-born children are considered black. I owe it to them to help ensure that the country and state I love welcome, rather than demonize, diversity. It’s good for society, good for our economy, and it’s the right thing to do.”

Weeks, a candidate for Executive Council in District 5 nearby Windham, also renewed his call on his opponent, incumbent Councilor David Wheeler, to denounce Donald Trump after Wheeler was the senior-most New Hampshire Republican  to attend Trump’s last event in state. Wheeler has not responded to the call, nor a recent call from Weeks to engage in public debates.

“Although I am a Democrat personally engaged in a partisan election, I applaud the many Republicans who have already stood to their nominee’s divisive and hate-filled rhetoric,” Weeks concluded. “The Republican party into which I was born, the party of Lincoln, would never tolerate a person with such views and temperament in the White House, and nor should my opponent. It’s not the New Hampshire way.” 

The peaceful protest is open to the public and will start at 6:30pm outside the Trump rally at Windham High School, 64 London Bridge Rd in Windham, NH.

Daniel Weeks organizes Trump Protest, calls on GOP leaders to say #NotInNH was originally published on NH Labor News

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Dan Weeks Reports Record Small Donations And Early Fundraising In Voluntary Disclosure

Reformer-turned-candidate voluntarily limits and discloses campaign contributions, urges opponent to do the same 

Nashua, NH – Executive Council candidate and government reform advocate Dan Weeks announced Thursday that his campaign raised 657 individual donations totaling $107,323 from March through June, while rejecting corporate contributions and capping all donations far below the legal limit. 

The report, which also showed a majority of campaign contributions were made in amounts of $50 or less and 78% in amounts of $100 or less, was delivered as a voluntary end-of-quarter disclosure to the NH Secretary of State; candidates are not required to disclose their finances until late August, just days before the September 13th primary. Both the number of donations and total amount raised are records for the first 100 days of a NH Executive Council campaign, according to past election reports filed with the Secretary of State.

Report Summary, March-June 2016 (campaign to-date)

Donation Size

Donations Count

Percent of Donations

$50 or less

338

51.4%

$100 or less

511

77.8%

$250 or less

570

86.8%

$500 or less

613

93.3%

Total Donations

657

100%

Total Amount

$107,323

100%

“When I launched my campaign this spring, I asked the voters of District 5 to join me in practicing a different kind of politics, free from undue influence of big money contributors,” Weeks said. “Although we have a long way to go to transform our broken political system, I am honored that thousands of my fellow citizens have stepped forward already – as small donors, ballot petition signers, or volunteers – to make this a people-powered campaign. I believe today’s fundraising report, showing record small donations and not a dime in corporate support, is evidence that voters value democracy and want candidates who practice it in their campaigns.”

Weeks, who stepped down in March as Executive Director of the nonpartisan government watchdog group Open Democracy, has long advocated for increased transparency and campaign finance reform. Among his reform proposals, reiterated in a letter to Secretary of State Bill Gardner today, are capping contributions to state candidates at $1,000 for the primary and general elections by removing the political committee loophole (whereby candidates may accept up to $5,000 per contributor prior to filing their candidacy); prohibiting direct corporate contributions to campaigns; requiring all state candidates with receipts over $500 to file their fundraising reports online on a minimum quarterly basis; and enacting citizen funded elections via voucher or matching funds for qualifying candidates who voluntarily accept only small donations. Weeks has sought to voluntarily model these reforms in his campaign. 

“Strengthening democracy and stopping big money politics has been the central focus of my professional life since attending high school here in District 5 and meeting Granny D,” Weeks said. “Although more work needs to be done at the legislative level to increase disclosure and implement citizen-funded elections, I believe that candidates can and must ‘walk the talk’ by voluntarily capping and disclosing their donations, and saying no to corporate support. That’s what I have done, and will continue to do, throughout my campaign. I urge my opponent to do the same.”

Dan Weeks Reports Record Small Donations And Early Fundraising In Voluntary Disclosure was originally published on NH Labor News

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Dan Weeks Completes 33-Town “Handshake Day” Tour of District 5

243-mile, 15-Hour Tour Highlights Executive Council Candidate’s Commitment to Public Service

Dan meets with locals at the Hollis Diner

NASHUA – On National Handshake Day, Thursday, June 30th, Executive Council candidate and Open Democracy leader Dan Weeks traveled 243 miles over 15 consecutive hours visiting all 33 towns in District 5. The #HandshakeDan tour, a first in Executive Council politics, featured hundreds of handshakes and countless conversations with Democrats, Republicans, and Independents about issues of concern in the fall election. 

“Although I’m proud of my New Hampshire heritage and was fortunate to grow up here in District 5, I cannot take my prior knowledge of the towns and their people for granted,” said Weeks, whose family roots go back to the first generation of English settlers in Portsmouth and Lancaster, NH. “As a candidate and public servant, my job is to reach out to my constituents, listen to their concerns, and faithfully represent their interests in Concord. This tour is just one of many ways I am working to earn the people’s trust.”

Weeks began the day at 7am by serving breakfast at the Nashua Soup Kitchen and Shelter, where he regularly volunteers. He then met with Nashua First Lady Vicki Donchess and other supporters in front of Nashua City Hall to launch his Handshake Day tour. The day-long tour took Weeks and campaign assistant Julia Murray and Abby Scheetz to numerous town halls, diners, libraries, country stores, farms, and police and fire stations where the candidate shook hands with citizens and asked what issues matter most to them in the upcoming election. Weeks was greeted at several stops by campaign supporters with signs and $5 donations, who were tracking the tour online in real time. A full itinerary and GPS tracker are available at www.danielweeks.com/handshakedan. 

“More than anything else, I want to know that my elected officials are representing me, that they’ll listen to what I have to say and return my call,” said Catherine Sofitikis, a resident of Nashua who met Weeks yesterday outside Nashua City Hall with her dog. “Dan knows this District like the back of his hand and will stop at nothing to hear what other people have to say, even people he doesn’t agree with. He is setting a positive example of how campaigns should be run.”

Weeks recently drew attention for his unprecedented #DanOnBallot petition campaign, in which he and his many volunteers collected nearly 700 petition signatures from voters in every District 5 town to support his candidacy – a grassroots alternative to the standard practice of candidates paying a fee to appear on the ballot.

“I have dedicated my life to making government more open and accountable to the needs of ordinary citizens, instead of wealthy special interests,” said Weeks, who recently stepped down as Executive Director of Open Democracy and the NH Rebellion. In these times of deep-seated political division, public service demands we shake hands with allies and adversaries alike and work to build trusting relationships across the aisle to get things done,” Weeks concluded. “I encourage my opponent to join me in visiting every District 5 town during this campaign and openly debating the important matters facing our district and state.”

Click Here to see more pictures from #HandshakeDan tour. 

  For more information on Weeks’ campaign and the #HandshakeDan tour, visit www.danielweeks.com/handshakedan.  

Dan Weeks Completes 33-Town “Handshake Day” Tour of District 5 was originally published on NH Labor News

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Granite Staters Rejoice As Planned Parenthood Funding Is Restored.

Image courtesy of Planned Parenthood Action Fund

Thousands of Granite Staters are rejoicing today as the New Hampshire Executive Council voted 3-2 to restore funding to Planned Parenthood.

Going into the vote, Councilors Colin Van Ostern and Chris Pappas were firmly supporting restoring the funding as they also voted against defunding Planned Parenthood last year. On the other side, Councilors David Wheeler and Joe Kenny were staunchly against it.

This left Councilor Chris Sununu to cast the truly deciding vote.

Ahead of the vote, more than 1,500 voters signed a petition urging the Executive Council to fund Planned Parenthood and a crowd of Planned Parenthood New Hampshire Action Fund supporters watched as the vote took place.

To the surprise of many, Chris Sununu voted “yes” to approving the contract, restoring funding to Planned Parenthood.

Sununu said in a statement after the vote that he originally voted against funding of Planned Parenthood last year because they “under investigation.” He said that now that Planned Parenthood has been cleared of any wrongdoing, “they should be treated like any other organization that comes before the council.”

Image curtesy of Planned Parenthood Action Fund

“Today’s vote is a victory for women in New Hampshire,” said Jennifer Frizzell, Vice President of Public Policy for Planned Parenthood New Hampshire Action Fund. “Restored funding to PPNNE will increase Granite Staters’ access to birth control, cancer screenings, and STI testing and treatment. We are pleased that a bipartisan majority of the Council listened to their constituents and the majority of New Hampshire voters and chose to reverse course from last year’s vote. Blocking access to health care at Planned Parenthood threatened the wellbeing of Granite State citizens.”

“Finally, after nearly a year of New Hampshire women having less access to birth control, cancer screenings, and annual exams, today’s vote was a big win for the people of our state,” said Executive Councilor and Democratic candidate for Governor, Colin Van Ostern. “I’m proud of the thousands across New Hampshire who brought the grassroots pressure needed to flip this vote, and I promise to keep fighting — and to keep winning — for better access to health care for women and families every day.”

“Today’s vote was a victory for the thousands of women and men who receive care at Planned Parenthood health centers across the state,” said Executive Councilor Chris Pappas. “I’m hopeful we’ve put the divisive politics of the past behind us and will keep ideology out of the Council chamber on women’s health.”

“We must always promote health and economic security in our communities, and I will continue to speak up for the thousands Granite Staters who depend on basic access to life-saving health care,” added Pappas.

“Today’s vote is a critically important step forward for the health and economic well-being of thousands of Granite Staters,” said Governor Maggie Hassan.

“The fundamental right of women to access health care is essential to the economic security and vitality of our families, and Planned Parenthood of Northern New England provides critical primary and preventive health care services to thousands of New Hampshire women, including cancer screenings, birth control and STD testing. This contract reflects our bipartisan agreement with the legislature to fund these critical family planning services through the budget this biennium, and I am pleased by today’s vote to support access to these critical health services for women and families across the state,” added Hassan.

Image courtesy of Planned Parenthood Action Fund

“It’s troubling that women’s access to reproductive health care is still the subject of ideological and political attacks, and we must not let up in our fight to ensure that women and families have access to the important health services that are essential to the economic security and vitality of our families,” Hassan concluded.

“This is an important victory for the women and families of New Hampshire,” said Senator Jeanne Shaheen. “Despite threats and intimidation, Planned Parenthood of New England provides critical health care services to almost 13,000 women in the Granite State. Many of these women rely on the full range of health services offered at Planned Parenthood to get the care they need. Women in every part of our state deserve access to affordable reproductive health services and vital preventive care. After last year’s destructive vote to defund Planned Parenthood, I’m very relieved that the New Hampshire Executive Council has voted to right a wrong and prioritize women’s health.”

Some of the Democratic candidates for Executive Council used this opportunity to highlight the differences between themselves and their Executive Councilor opponents.

“Quality, affordable health care is the building block of a successful life and should never be subject to partisan politics,” said Dan Weeks, former Executive Director of Open Democracy and Democratic candidate for Executive Council in District 5. “I congratulate Republican Councilor Chris Sununu on joining Democratic Councilors Chris Pappas and Colin Van Ostern to return our state to its longstanding bipartisan tradition of investing in women’s health, even as my opponent Councilor Wheeler decided to again prioritize his personal ideology over the needs and wishes of his constituents. If I am elected Councilor in District 5, I will ensure that New Hampshire continues the vital tradition of supporting women’s health.”

“If our goal is protecting women’s health, reducing abortions and teenage pregnancies, and saving taxpayer money, this contract is a no-brainer,” Weeks said. “My opponent espouses a ‘pro-life’ and ‘fiscally-conservative’ position but his actions do not appear to bear it out, nor do they represent the wishes of his constituents. I urge Councilor Wheeler to stop playing politics with women’s health through his rejection of routine Planned Parenthood contracts and other gender-equity reforms.”

“Women shouldn’t have to beg those in power to place their needs before partisan political considerations,” said Beth Roth, candidate for Executive Council in District 3 seeking to succeed Chris Sununu. “Councilor Sununu made a reckless, foolish choice last year in voting down the Planned Parenthood contract. He made critical health care services inaccessible to thousands of women in New Hampshire.”

“Now that he’s felt political pressure from people in his district and around the state, he made the political calculation it is expedient to approve the contract. I applaud the fact he found it in his heart to reinstate these services, but NH women have the right to expect better from their Councilor. This kind of power politics has no place in a body such as the Executive Council, and underscores the reason I chose to seek the seat Councilor Sununu is vacating. We need people on the Executive Council who are serious about governance and understand what real New Hampshire women and families are going through,” Roth concluded.

Granite Staters Rejoice As Planned Parenthood Funding Is Restored. was originally published on NH Labor News

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Dan Weeks Announces Historic Ballot Petition Campaign

Executive Council candidate sets out to collect ten-times the required petitions to earn — not buy — ballot access

Click here to sign the petition

Dan Weeks (red hat) talks with a few supporters at the kickoff to his ballot petition campaign in Nashua.

NASHUA, NH – One month before the official candidate filing deadline in New Hampshire, District 5 Executive Council candidate Dan Weeks announced an unprecedented ballot petition campaign to engage at least 500 new and registered voters in the democratic process. Weeks and his supporters officially launched the #DanOnBallot petition drive today at a gathering in Nashua.  A series of petition drives are scheduled across District 5 before the June 10th filing deadline.

“I consider it an immense honor to appear on the ballot and be considered by my fellow citizens for the Executive Council,” said Dan Weeks, a 12th generation Granite Stater and former Executive Director of the nonpartisan grassroots organization Open Democracy. “I intend to earn, not buy, that honor by collecting at least 500 petitions from voters in every District 5 town–ten times the legal requirement–and hearing the concerns of ordinary people in the process.”

Under state law (RSA 655), candidates for Executive Council, New Hampshire’s second-highest state office, must qualify to appear on the primary ballot by paying a $25 fee to the Secretary of State or submitting ballot petitions from 50 registered voters in the district. Third-party candidates face far steeper requirements to appear on the general election ballot.

According to the Secretary of State’s office, the vast majority of Democratic and Republican candidates qualify by paying the filing fee rather than undertaking the more cumbersome process of collecting ballot petitions. There are no other reported cases of state candidates mounting large-scale primary ballot campaigns when they are permitted to write a check.

“Since my student days at ConVal High School here in District 5, I have made it my mission to educate and engage fellow citizens in the democratic process, especially young and low-income people who feel alienated from politics,” Weeks said. “Like the service projects and community conversations we are holding across the district, this petition drive is a chance to ‘walk the talk’ and build a truly people-powered campaign.”

After Weeks launched the #DanOnBallot petition drive today, Weeks and his supporters will then fan out across downtown Nashua to collect signatures — the first in a series of petition drives scheduled across District 5 before the filing deadline on June 10th.

Anyone is welcome to sign and show their support for Weeks’s unprecedented ballot petition however only those from NH’s District 5 Executive Council will be considered valid for the Secretary of State.

Citizens interested in signing a ballot petition or joining the Weeks campaign’s ballot initiative can contact [email protected] or visit www.danielweeks.com/petition.  

Dan Weeks Announces Historic Ballot Petition Campaign was originally published on NH Labor News

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Daniel Weeks: Time To Put New Hampshire Back On (The) Track

Daniel Weeks

Sixty years ago, America embarked upon the “greatest public works project in the history of the world.”  The Interstate Highway System did not simply move people from A to B. It knitted our population centers together, facilitated untold commerce and economic development, and generated hundreds of thousands of jobs.

My great-grandfather Sinclair Weeks, a conservative businessman from New Hampshire, was charged with implementing the Interstate Highway System as Secretary of Commerce under President Eisenhower. Although few men of his generation were more committed to the principles of American free enterprise than he, Secretary Weeks, a lifelong Republican, recognized that private enterprise and public investment went hand-in-hand. No private business would ever undertake a project of such magnitude, in which the costs were concentrated and benefits diffuse, for it could never mobilize the necessary resources or justify the arrangement to shareholders. That was the job of government acting as a democratic embodiment of the public will.

The lesson is simple: It is the business of American business to responsibly and ethically advance the bottom line. It is the business of democratic governments to make the smart investments in infrastructure, education, public health, and more that lay the very foundation for economic growth – not just sixty years ago but today. When public and private sectors do their job, people thrive.

That is sadly not the case with the New Hampshire legislature and Executive Council today. Following the House’s lead, the NH Senate is poised to block the biggest investment in infrastructure development and economic growth for the state in a generation: commuter rail. In spite of near-unanimous private-sector support and the approval of 74% of Granite Staters, Republicans in the legislature and Executive Council appear determined to reject $4 million in federal funds to enter the development phase of the Capitol Rail Corridor, as recommended by the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Governor in the Ten Year Transportation Improvement Plan. No state taxpayer funds are in question at this stage.

Consider the costs and benefits of the rail proposal for our state. According to the Capitol Rail Corridor Study, a detailed analysis conducted over two years by the NH Rail Transit Authority under DOT, extending the Lowell-Boston rail line to Nashua, Manchester airport, and downtown Manchester would cost the state between $5-$10 million per year or approximately one-tenth of one percent of the state budget. In return for that investment, New Hampshire would leverage hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funds and spur the development of 3,620 rail and real estate construction jobs, 5,600 permanent jobs, 3,600 new residential units, and nearly 2 million square feet and $750 million worth of new commercial development by 2030.

The mandate from New Hampshire businesses could not be more clear. Facing a rapidly-aging population and increasing out-migration of our youth, the state’s leading Chambers of Commerce and businesses large and small have called for commuter rail to help fill vacant jobs and spur economic growth. Their voices, and those of the vast majority of residents across the state who support the project, should not be disregarded by the legislature and Executive Council.

The Capitol Corridor rail proposal is also about preserving New Hampshire’s vaunted quality of life. For the tens of thousands of Granite Staters who make the daily commute for work into Massachusetts, and thousands more Massachusetts residents who commute into southern New Hampshire, rail would provide a convenient, cost-effective, and environmentally-sustainable alternative to the region’s congested highways. And with half the state’s population residing in the Greater Manchester-Nashua region, rail would serve an estimated 700,000 weekday commuters per year.

A project of such magnitude requires careful thought and planning to ensure that precious public resources are well spent. That is why the state legislature is not being asked to commit to rail as yet. Rather, the proposal now before the Senate in the Ten Year Transportation Plan and HB 2016 is for project development alone, including financial planning, preliminary engineering, and environmental permitting required to leverage federal funds.

For the sake of our state’s economic and environmental health, our evolving work force, and our quality of life, I urge Republicans in Concord to return to their party’s proud tradition of infrastructure investment and accept the $4 million in non-state funding for the Capitol Corridor. Together, we can put New Hampshire back on (the) track. Daniel Weeks, a 12th generation Granite Stater, is the former Executive Director of Open Democracy and a candidate for Executive Council in District 5.

  Daniel Weeks: Time To Put New Hampshire Back On (The) Track was originally published on NH Labor News