A Muslim convert is in custody after authorities say he planned to set off hand grenades in a crowded Illinois shopping mall on Dec. 22 as part of a plan to wage 'violent jihad' against U.S. citizens. Officials said Shareef planned to set off four hand grenades in garbage cans at the CherryVale shopping mall in Rockford, about 90 miles northwest of Chicago. Other potential targets he was allegedly eyeing included government facilities such as courthouses and City Hall, authorities said. Read More

GOP Pushes Tax Cuts & Trade Bill Through Congress in Final

In its last hours of GOP control, Congress passed a raft of bills big and small, most significantly a sweeping bill reviving expired tax breaks, extending trade benefits for developing countries and protecting doctors from a big cut in Medicare payments.

The sweeping votes reflected widespread bipartisan support for extending expired tax breaks, including the research and development tax credit for businesses, sales tax deductions for people in states without income taxes, the tax deduction on college tuition, a tax credit for hiring welfare recipients and others facing difficulties finding jobs and tax credits for alternative energy producers and purchases of solar energy equipment by homeowners and businesses. Read More

Bush Still Calls Shots on War

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Call President Bush a lame duck, a weakened leader, a disappointed president whose party lost control of Congress - and the decider when it comes to a new approach in Iraq. After all the studies and recommendations and talk, the president will call the shots.
Members of Congress can complain and investigate, yet there is little they can do to change Iraq policy short of cutting off funds. Regardless of Bush's diminished state, the ball is in his court. While Congress can declare war, the president, after all, is the one who moves troops. By TOM RAUM on 12/9/06

Panel Blasts Hastert in Foley Scandal

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republican lawmakers and aides failed for a decade to protect male pages from sexual come-ons by former Rep. Mark Foley - once described as a "ticking time bomb" - but they broke no rules and should not be punished, the House ethics committee concluded Friday.... By LARRY MARGASAK on 12/8/2006

McKinney Introduces Bill to Impeach Bush

In what was likely her final legislative act in Congress, outgoing Georgia Rep. Cynthia McKinney introduced a bill Friday to impeach President Bush.
The legislation has no chance of passing and serves as a symbolic parting shot not only at Bush but also at Democratic leaders. Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has made clear that she will not entertain proposals to sanction Bush and has warned the liberal wing of her party against making political hay of impeachment. McKinney, a Democrat who drew national headlines in March when she struck a Capitol police officer Read More

H.R. 6099, Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act Not Passed

Today, H.R. 6099, Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act was not passed and may be dead for this congressional year. If passed, H.R. 6099 would have required that women considering an abortion 20 weeks or more after fertilization be informed of the pain their child would feel during the lethal procedure so they may request anesthesia in order to reduce or eliminate the child's pain. The bill would not require anesthesia; it would, however, protect a doctor's right to inform the woman of any risks to her according to the doctor's own best medical judgment.

On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Failed by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 250 - 162 (Roll no. 526). It is questionable that the bill will be voted on again to bring the bill to a vote or if done to see the such action in time for the Senate to act on the bill. For Arkansas, the only good news on this failed situation is that all four of our Arkansas Congressmen voted in support to suspend the rules and pass the bill. Review the actions & Roll Call vote

Bolton's Departure Leaves Security Gap

The resignation of John Bolton as our nation’s United Nations Ambassador leaves a significant hole in our nation’s national security efforts and our war on Islamic terrorism. The tragedy of Bolton’s resignation may not be felt immediately, but his loss is America’s loss—and a blow to our safety. Having a compromising, weak globalist in this important UN post will do untold damage to our nation for years to come. Read More

Lauer Pleads with Gore to "Save the Planet"

On Wednesday's Today, Matt Lauer pressed Al Gore to run for President so he "could be in a position to save the planet." He siad "If you (Gore) were to run for President you could take this issue to the next level, even during just a campaign. And if you were fortunate enough to win the presidency you'd sit in the most powerful office in the free world with a real chance to make, you could be in a position to save the plane..." Read More & See & Hear the Bias

Matt Lauer is getting greener by the minute. Fresh off his promotion of Al Gore, the Today co-host turned to noted environmental activist/actor Leonardo DiCaprio to plug his latest enviro-flick. Read More

Dec. 7th - A Day to Remember & Pray for Our Military

On 7 Dec. 1941, an enemy raid on Pearl Harbor was one of the great defining moments in history. A single carefully-planned and well-executed stroke caught America unprepared and abruptly brought the United States into the Second World War as a full combatant.

On 11 Sept. 2001, an enemy raid on New York and the Pentagon was a defining moment in history. A series of carefully-planned and well executed stokes caught America unprepared and abrubtly brought the United States into the War against Terrorismas but with a country full fo reserved citizens willing to pay the price.

But the military and those citizens willing to join their fellow citizens launched a worth effort to combat the enemy. They also find time to pray and to reflect. May we who are not directly in harms way do the same as we remember these men and women in combat today on theis day fo rememberance. "Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. Amen."

State Republicans to Meet to Elect Leaders: Huckabee wants Baker to Stay at Helm

The Republican Party of Arkansas (RPA) State Committee to meet Saturday, December 9, in Little Rock, Arkansas at the Statehouse Convention Center. Leadership positions for the next two years will be selected at this meeting.

State Senator Gilbert Baker (Conway) has served as Chairman of the RPA since December 2004. During this same period the Republican party has lost all elections for State offices which will be controlled 100% by Democrats in January and it lost AR senate and house races considered critical for 2007-2008.

Governor Huckabee is encouraging the RPA delegates to re-elect Baker. Huckabee said in a RPA meeting notice, "Gilbert has provided steady leadership for our party. Moving forward, it is imperative that we have some level of consistency and continuity within our leadership to ensure that we are vibrant for the 2008 election cycle. In talking with Gilbert, he does understand the needs we have as a party and the hurdles we face. I, also, believe Gilbert's fundraising abilities and ability to unite people will be critical to moving our party forward." Other potential candidates for Chairman were not identified by the RPA meeting notice.

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Tags: Arkansas, Mike Huckabee

Huckabee: Hispanics Offer U.S. 'Second Chance'

Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said Wednesday the nation is being given a chance to make up for past racism by the way it handles the influx of Hispanics. Huckabee, a Republican who is considering a run for president in 2008, said Arkansas has made progress on racial justice and has a fresh opportunity to do the right thing in the way it welcomes the growing Hispanic population. Read More

Editor Note: What does past racism have to do with dealing with the influx of illegal aliens? Check out: White Guilt: How Blacks and Whites Together Destroyed the Promise of the Civil Rights Era

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Tags: Arkansas, Mike Huckabee

CBS Ambuses First Lady Laura Bush

If you missed this piece of biased media, last Thursday, for the second consecutive year, CBS via its Early Show, co-host Hannah Storm seized upon the opportunity to view the White House Christmas decorations as an opportunity to ambush First Lady Laura Bush with questions about Iraq. However, when CBS interviewed First Lady and Senator-elect Hillary Clinton in 2000, Jane Clayson ignored policy questions and instead highlighted Mrs. Clinton's accomplishments and inquired about Mrs. Clinton's favorite Christmas traditions. Read Posting by Michael Rule, 11/30.06 on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org

Brownback: Energize GOP Base

Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback billed himself as a "full-scale conservative" Tuesday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa as he courted activists in the state where precinct caucuses have traditionally kicked off the presidential nominating season.
Brownback said the lessons Republicans should take from the November elections in which Democrats won both houses of Congress is that that they face enormous trouble when the party's conservative base isn't energized. "Our ideas weren't repudiated, our execution was," said Brownback. "Our base was lethargic because of too much spending and the Washington corruption cases." Read more by by By Mike Glover (AP) 12/5/2006

North American "Union" & NAFTA "superhighway"

Many people are asking if America is truly heading toward a North American "Union" and if a NAFTA "superhighway" is being built. In light of a changing political climate even more in favor of open borders and globalism, a special resource page on this topic and an audio has been prepared. It is time for everyone to learn the facts and have access to the sources of information. An audio overview is also provided with the resource links by Grassroots.org. --Read More

Idle Thoughts Shared by Our Readers

Three Things to think about:

COWS: Is it just me, or does anyone else find it amazing that our government can track a cow born in Canada almost three years ago, right to the stall where she sleeps in the state of Washington and they tracked her calves to their stalls? But they are unable to locate 11 million illegal aliens wandering around our country. Maybe we should give them all a cow. [Read more about Government & Economics 'Udderly" Defined Using Cows]

THE CONSTITUTION: They keep talking about drafting a Constitution forIraq. Why don't we just give them ours? It was written by a lot of really smart guys, it's worked for over 200 years and we're not using it anymore.

TEN COMMANDMENTS: The real reason that we can't have the Ten Commandments in a courthouse........You cannot post "Thou Shalt Not Steal," "Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery" and "Thou Shall Not Lie" in a building full of lawyers, judges and politicians -- it creates a hostile work environment.

John Bolton's Resignation Leaves Gap In National Security Efforts

The resignation of John Bolton as our nation's United Nations Ambassador leaves a significant hole in our nation's national security efforts and our war on Islamic terrorism. John Bolton was hated by liberals because he refused to kowtow to the U.N.'s anti-American leadership, and he wanted to protect American interests at the United Nations. He was aggressively seeking to reform this corrupt international body. Bolton, for example, was trying to keep nations that abuse human rights from serving on the U.N.'s Human Rights Council. Bolton was also insisting on great accountability at the U.N. over how money is spent on various international projects. The United States pays 22% of the total U.N. budget. Read More

Brownback Moves Toward White House Bid

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- After taking the first step in a presidential bid on Monday, Sen. Sam Brownback said he would start a 10-state tour with a traditional stop in Iowa. ... Brownback, 50, says his deep faith in God guides his well-known opposition to abortion, gay marriage and embryonic stem-cell research. He pledged to make "issues of life," fiscal restraint and tax reform key components of his effort to woo supporters. But his faith also leads him to tackle social injustice around the world. He's spearheaded legislation to fight genocide in Sudan and clamp down on human slave trafficking. Last week, he took an AIDS test with a potential White House rival on the Democratic side - Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois - to encourage others to be tested. Read more by By SAM HANANEL Associated Press Writer

Clinton Hires National Fundraiser

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has made several key staff hires for her likely presidential bid and in her outreach to New York Democrats convinced at least one she soon would become a candidate for President.... Read more by BETH FOUHY on 12/4/2006

Congressmen Want House to Probe Conviction of Border Patrol Agents

Republican congressmen are calling on House Judiciary Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) to hold an immediate hearing on two U.S. Border Patrol agents who were convicted and sentenced to 11 to 12 years for shooting a Mexican drug smuggler. CNSNews.com 12/4/06