AR Ethics Commission investigating Daniels

LITTLE ROCK (AP - 10/7/06) - The Arkansas Ethics Commission is investigating a complaint against Secretary of State Charlie Daniels that claims a voter guide produced by his office includes an endorsement of Daniels' re-election on the back page. In a letter dated Aug. 2, Graham Sloan, executive director of the commission, told Jim Parsons of Bella Vista the commission would investigate whether the voter's guide violates state law. Parsons provided a copy of the letter to The Associated Press. The Ethics Commission did not comment on whether a complaint was been filed and Sloan would not confirm that he sent the letter.
Vote for Jim Lagrone for Secretary of State

A Matter of Trust

"A Matter of Trust: Asa On Beebe's Credibility Problem" by Asa Hutchinson, Guest Column, Arkansas Times (8/3/06):

On a full range of issues - from taxes to education to the question of life - Mr. Beebe has been evasive, vague and less than forthright with the voters of Arkansas. At times, he seems to be outright contradictory, saying one thing to one group and another thing to another group if he thinks it will win him votes. ... When the Arkansas Times revealed that Mr. Beebe had met with an organization of gay Democrats, behind closed doors, and promised to support gay foster parenting, Mr. Beebe subsequently denied it. ...

These are not the actions of a leader who remains true to his supporters or to his promises. And it's a pattern that has emerged again and again .... For instance, both my opponent and I claim that we want to eliminate the grocery tax. Mr. Beebe had 20 years to take action, and it never got done. Just a few years ago, he campaigned to keep this very tax on the books. Why the election-year shift? And can we truly expect Mr. Beebe to hold true to this election-year commitment if elected?

... my opponent ... falsely asserted that I had opposed the minimum wage increase in Arkansas. Mr. Beebe knows this is patently false, and yet he sent out a mass mailing to thousands of Arkansas voters to try to deceive them about my record. One thing that distinguishes me from my opponent is that I will not make certain promises to one segment of the community, and then make conflicting promises to others. I will not dodge and attempt to hide my positions. I will not make policy to please this special interest or that powerful lobbyist. My door will always be open, and I will govern based on my campaign promises as well as the views, advice and suggestions of all Arkansans. That?s the type of governor Arkansas deserves, and the type I intend to be. Asa for Governor

Gunner Delay Blasts Opponent

Republican Attorney General candidate Gunner Delay blasted his Democratic opponent Dustin McDaniel on gun rights Wednesday during a campaign stop in Mountain Home. ... Delay pointed to McDaniel's involvement as an attorney in a lawsuit against Remington Arms filed on behalf of victims of the 1998 Jonesboro Westside shooting that resulted in the deaths of four students and one teacher. ...

The lawsuit alleged that teaching a child to use a gun is antisocial and dysfunctional, and the gun used in the shootings didn't have a trigger lock which made it defective, Delay said. "I think it's very dangerous to think this way," Delay said. "That's the way Ted Kennedy thinks. That's the way John Kerry thinks. That's not the way we think in Arkansas." [The Baxter Bulletin 8/4/06]

Illegal Immigration Could Cost Taxpayers Trillions

10News.com (San Diego, CA) : 8/2/2006 Excerpt: Future costs for illegal immigrants in the United States will reach a half a trillion dollars, a Heritage Foundation researcher said Wednesday at congressional hearing in San Diego.

The influx of illegal immigrants has effectively "imported about 10 million high school dropouts into the United States," said Robert Rector, a senior research fellow in welfare and family issues for the Washington, D.C. based think tank. The National Academy of Sciences estimated that each immigrant will result in a $100,000 net annual cost to taxpayers. Rector said once illegal immigrants become citizens they can bring family members into the country, straining education and health care budgets. "This Senate bill will become the largest expansion of the welfare system in 30 years and it's the wrong thing to do."

Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., the committee's chairman, said hospitals in the Southwestern U.S. are losing $190 million annually per year for uncompensated health care from illegal immigrants.
Nineteen percent of federal inmates are not citizens..

Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich said illegal immigration tears at the moral and economic fabric of the country. ... 12 percent of the 10.2 million residents of Los Angeles County are illegal immigrants. Thirty percent of public health patients in the county are illegal immigrants, he testified.

Holt's Stand on Prenatal & Emergency Care for Non-Citizens

Extract from Senator Jim Holt Press Release 8/2/06: The state Dept of Health & Human Services has just asked for $316 million more in state funding, a 20% increase in the state's share of the Medicaid program. The prenatal care for illegal immigrants that was grossly underestimated is paid from the Medicaid program. Arkansas is already 4th in the nation in the percent of income paid in all taxes. How many more taxes can Arkansas stand? ''Arkansas is one of only nine states that have implemented prenatal care. There is a reason for that. It lays a heavy burden on the taxpayers, and most states ... can't afford it. Arkansas is the 49th in per capita income and we can't afford it ...,''

... Holt's opponent, criticized Holt's proposal to bar illegal aliens from receiving state services that aren't federally mandated ... "If Colorado, being a much richer state than Arkansas, can't afford to pay these benefits, how can Arkansas?" ... Virginia ... signed a similar law... Other states are ... putting initiatives on the ballot, like the one filed in ... the state of Washington to deny benefits to non citizens.

... Holt has never ...disapproved of giving emergency treatment ...in an emergency situation. ... Holt does object to prenatal care that is not of an emergency nature because prenatal care is not provided for the majority of Arkansas citizens, and the program was enacted without federal or state legislative debate. ... numerous Arkansas families now struggling to pay for prenatal care and delivery, causing great stress and strain on their budgets. ... Rewarding people who have entered the country illegally with the provision of taxpayer services, particularly when our legal residents are doing without .... Arkansas is now ranked 4th in the nation in the amount of total taxes paid per our income, and the tax burden on many of our middle and low income families is unbearable.

... A federal regulation ..., allowed States to ... provide health coverage for prenatal care and delivery to mothers and their unborn children despite the federal law that banned non-citizens from receiving Medicaid. ... regardless of the mother's immigration status ... Ironically, our government allows mothers to receive taxpayer prenatal care but then would allow those same mothers to abort the child before delivery. ... US press release said Arkansas would provide prenatal care to 1,000 women, but about 5, 832 women enrolled the first year, and 8, 748 enrolled through April 30 this year. ...

Holt is very concerned that the citizens' rights were purposely circumvented .... "In 2005..., the House quickly passed a bill, ... to give scholarships and instate tuition to non-citizens. However, the bill died in the Senate when the people learned about it, the facts were determined, and the people made their wishes known to the Senators. ... if prenatal care had been opened up for full discussion and debate and voted on by the legislative representatives of the people, it probably would never have been implemented at the federal or the state level. I have never said we should deny anyone prenatal care; I am just saying they should have to pay for it just as the ordinary Arkansas citizen does."

Stand Against the Unfair Death Tax

Family-owned small businesses are taxed enough. They do not need to be double taxed when the business passes on to the next generation. This week, the Senate is taking up a bill to end the unfair death tax. Earlier this year, a minority of Democrat senators blocked putting the death tax on the road to extinction. This is the last chance to stand up for economic growth, small businesses, and family farms burdened by the unfair death tax.

Ending the death tax is a matter of basic fairness. No one should be taxed twice and death should not be an excuse for the government to take your money away. Congress passed and the President signed death tax relief, but if nothing is done, the death tax returns at full force in 2010, resulting in a massive tax increase on family-owned small businesses. These same businesses often cannot survive into a second generation because of the death tax. This is an issue that affects us all. Just do the math. Sixty-one percent of small business owners say that the death tax limits their growth - and small businesses create two out of every three of the new jobs in America.

This Democrat obstruction threatens job creation. Call Senator Mark Pryor at 202-224-2353 and Senator Blanche Lincoln at 202-224-4843 and urge them to take a stand for fairness and economic growth - and end the death tax. [Ken Mehlman, Chairman, Republican National Committee 8/2/06]

Does Character Matter?

The above question is asked by Kerby Anderson (Point of View). He says, "We were told during the Clinton administration that character wasn't a big issue, but I think we found out that it was. And when we examine the difference in character between George Washington and Benedict Arnold, the contrast could not be more pronounced. Ultimately, character is the basis for everything we do. Without good character, based upon God's Word, people break laws and exhibit behavior that is contrary to the Bible." [Read more - must register (free) to read article - also visit Government and Politics articles] What to you think - Are we as a nation facing a crisis of character? Post your comment!

25 Federal Prosecutors Assigned to Border States

The United States Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Homeland Security (DHS) announced yesterday (7/31/06) additional resources to enhance the enforcement of immigration laws and border security along the Southwest border. The DOJ will add 20 Assistant US Attorneys (AUSA) to the five federal law enforcement districts along the border: the Southern District of Texas, the Western District of Texas, the District of Arizona, the District of New Mexico and the Southern District of California. DOJ?s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Program will provide funding for five new AUSAs ? one in each of the federal districts along the border ? to prosecute drug trafficking organizations responsible for smuggling illegal narcotics across the Southwest border. In addition to the 25 new prosecutors, in the coming months the DHS will also identify several attorneys who will be designated as Special AUSAs to prosecute immigration offenses along the Southwest border. Let's Hope this happens! Read More