News Blog for social, fiscal & national security conservatives who believe in God, family & the USA. Upholding the rights granted by God & guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, traditional family values, "republican" principles / ideals, transparent & limited "smaller" government, free markets, lower taxes, due process of law, liberty & individual freedom. Content approval rests with the ARRA News Service Editor. Opinions are those of the authors. While varied positions are reported, beliefs & principles remain fixed. No revenue is generated for or by this "Blog" - no paid ads - no payments for articles.Fair Use Doctrine is posted & used. Blogger/Editor/Founder: Bill Smith, Ph.D. [aka: OzarkGuru & 2010 AFP National Blogger of the Year] Contact: editor@arranewsservice.com (Pub. Since July, 2006)Home PageFollow @arra
One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics
is that you end up being governed by your inferiors. -- Plato
(429-347 BC)
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Top Ten Tony Snow Exchanges With Helen Thomas
There’s no way you can remember Snow’s service to this country without revisiting his edgy exchanges with Helen Thomas. Here then are the Top Ten Tony Snow / Helen Thomas moments from his White House press briefings: Tony: I’ll call on you next, Helen. Go ahead. Helen: Does the White House and the President share that same gut feeling? Tony: I don’t want to try to get into gastrointestinal descriptions. [Read More - Complements of Extreme Mortman]
Helen Thomas - Senior Octogenarian What questions will you be asking at 87?
Tags:Helen Thomas, political humor, Tony SnowTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Senate Durbin Amnesty Amendment Would Give Amnesy & In-State Tuition to Illegals -
Eagle Forum: Summer is over and the grassroots victory on immigration seems like a distant memory to some Senators. The open borders crowd failed to push through their grand amnesty and now they are trying to do it piecemeal. Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) will offer an amendment (S. Amdt. 2237) to the Defense Authorization bill (H.R. 1585) next week that would grant amnesty to illegal aliens who came here before age 16 and have lived here at least five years. Though supporters claim this bill is “for the children,” adults are eligible as well. Aliens aged 30, 40, or 65 are eligible as long as they meet the amnesty requirements and their “initial” illegal entry was before they were 16.
The bill sets “no numerical limit” on the number of illegal aliens who can apply for the amnesty. Conservative estimates, including those published by the Migration Policy Institute, put the number of those granted amnesty to at least 1 million people. The bill will also grant in-state college tuition to illegal aliens.In addition to reduced tuition fees, which millions of U.S. citizens are not afforded, this bill also allows federal aid in the form of loans and work-study to help subsidize tuition for illegal aliens.
Congress and the Administration should continue focusing on enforcement. Adding in any kind of amnesty will immediately shift the focus of Homeland Security to processing the amnesty, instead of beefing up enforcement. Senators are expecting they can push this amnesty through without you noticing. Prove them wrong! Just because your senator voted correctly on the grand amnesty, doesn’t mean they will vote correctly this time. Be sure to call and get your friends and family to call as well. Call your Senators Today! Tell them to vote NO on the Durbin DREAM Act Amnesty! Capitol Switchboard: (202)-224-3121Tags:amnesty, Dream Act, Eagle Forum, illegal aliens, illegal immigrants, tuitionTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
ARRA Editor's Comment: At this point in the primary Republican Campaign process, ARRA does not print campaign ads "unless there is something unique or special." The above ads fits this requirement. They contain statements about the Democrat's lack of leadership in condemning the "drive by" character assignation attempt of Character of General David Petraeus. Rudy's campaign staff gets a thumbs up on this ad! Thanks to Susan Duclos at Wake Up America for the lead on this story.
Tags:Democrats, Election 2008, General David Petraeus, Hillary Clinton, presidential candidate, Republican, Rudy GiulianiTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
CBS News: Arizona Senator John McCain has taken criticism of anti-war group MoveOn.org to a whole new level: . . . McCain has begun carrying a blown-up, laminated poster of the MoveOn ad to his campaign stops. . . . “It’s disgraceful, it’s got to be retracted and condemned by the Democrats, and MoveOn.org ought to be thrown out of this country.” . . . Today, the McCain campaign clarified the senator’s comments for CBS News. “Senator McCain, like most Americans, is appalled by the MoveOn.org ad. Last night he expressed his outrage in words that did not convey his intended meaning. What he meant to say was that MoveOn's smear of General Petraeus' character should have no place in the American political debate.” . . . [Read More] ARRA Comment: Sen. McCain was very clear and represented a majority of American's view on "the org" that attacked General David Petraeus - in a time of war - calling him a liar before he even gave his report to the public. McCain's Campaign staff did not need to add their interpretation of what they believed McCain "meant to say." Tags:Election 2008, General David Petraeus, John Mccain, Moveon.org, presidential candidate, RepublicanTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
American Truckers at War has gone to great lengths to inform folks about the debacle of Mexican trucks coming to the USA. The following video shares thoughts from an American trucker on the Mexican truck pilot program. It's both sad and funny too, sad because it's true, and funny if you have ANY knowledge of the trucking industry. Viewer Caution -- Trucker Language -- Although honest a couple words may not be suitable for young children! . . .
Tags:American workers, Mexican trucks, videoTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Alan Keyes announces As Republican Candidate for President! -- Will appear in Values Voter Debate Sept. 17
On Friday, Sept. 14, Alan Keyes filed a Statement of Candidacy (Form 2) with the Federal Election Commission--thus officially announcing as a Republican candidate for President of the United States. This marks Keyes' third, and most ambitious, run for the White House. He indicated he plans to change the political paradigm, which he said is controlled by elites who reject the foundations of the American political system, including respect for the existence and authority of God. . . .
The former Reagan diplomat, a Harvard-educated constitutional scholar, and a conservative political activist. Keyes served in the U.S. Foreign Service, was appointed Ambassador to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations by President Ronald Reagan, and served as Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs from 1985 to 1987. He previously Ran for president in 1996 and 2000. During the 1996 race, he was widely credited with forcing abortion to the center of public policy debate. In 2000, he was acknowledged by commentators at Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN as the winner of the Republican presidential primary debates. In that election, he continued his prior focus on America's moral crisis, and also made abolishing the income tax a serious question for policy-makers. . . . [Read More]See also:Hear Alan's announcement in MP3 Tags:Alan Keyes, Election 2008, presidential candidate, RepublicanTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
by Phyllis Schlafly: It's now leaking out that there was more going on than met the eye at the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) Summit in Montebello, Canada in August. The three amigos, Bush, Harper and Calderon, finalized and released the "North American Plan for Avian & Pandemic Influenza." The "Plan" (that's what they call it, with a capital P) is to use the excuse of a major flu epidemic to shift powers from U.S. legislatures to unelected, unaccountable "North American" bureaucrats. . . . [Read More] Tags:pandemic, Phyllis Schlafly, Security and Prosperity Partnership, SPPTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Tony Perkins, Washington Update, FRC: At his last official news briefing yesterday, White House Press Secretary Tony Snow left his post the same way he entered it -- smiling. For the last 16 months, the former Fox News talk show host has been at home in these briefings, which often seemed more like an extension of his television program than official White House forums. There's no denying that Tony brought larger-than-life personality to the administration, but he also brought an intimate understanding of the press to a job that rarely wins over more admirers than critics. Yet that's exactly what Tony has done, becoming a favorite of the media and Americans alike--all of whom respected how adeptly he handled reporters and transformed the Press Office into a lively--and often entertaining--media debate. Although Tony says his reasons for leaving are financial, not physical, we continue to lift up the Snow family in prayer as he tackles cancer with the same feistiness that he takes on the media. He will be missed, not only by President Bush, but by all of us who benefited from the levity, clarity, and optimism he brought to one of the most difficult jobs in Washington. See also:Snow Relishes Final Joust With Reporters Tags:FRC, Tony Perkins, Tony Snow, White HouseTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
McCain: “My presidency will be al Qaeda’s worst nightmare”
by Seattle: Senator John McCain, R-Arizona, campaigned Friday in the Los Angeles area. In a statement, McCain said, “Osama bin Laden and his henchmen must be hunted down - and as president, I will. Al Qaeda terrorists and the violent, aggressive ideology they propagandize must be defeated across the globe, in Afghanistan and in Iraq, which bin Laden’s top lieutenant calls al Qaeda’s central battlefront against the United States. My presidency will be al Qaeda’s worst nightmare.” ... [Read More]
ABC News on John McCain's No Surrender Tour
Tags:Senator, US Senate,al Qaeda, Election 2008, John Mccain, presidential candidate, RepublicanTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Eagle Forum Alert: Earlier this year, Democrats attempted to pad their majority by giving certain congressional voting rights to delegates from 5 non-state territories-the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands. As we predicted, that was only the beginning. This past March, the House Democrats took a bold and unconstitutional move by passing the District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act (H.R. 1905), which passed by a vote of 241 to 177. This bill would grant full voting rights to the D.C. delegate. Now, with less than 15 legislative days left in this session of Congress, Harry Reid has decided to bring this very bill to the floor of the Senate!
Sponsored by Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT), the District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act, S. 1257, would establish full House of Representatives voting rights for the District of Columbia and add an additional seat to Utah, the next state in line to pick up a Congressional seat in reapportionment. This is an attempt to silence critics of D.C. voting rights, buying them off with a "sure Republican" seat because they know the D.C. seat will be a solid Democrat. This type of trade-off proves this is a partisan move by Democrats wanting to add a permanent Democrat vote to their tallies.
Allowing non-state delegates to vote is clearly unconstitutional! The U.S. Constitution states that the House shall be composed of "Members chosen . . . by the People of the several States," not delegates representing non-state territories. The District of Columbia is a federal city, not a state, with final governing authority resting with Congress. Just because some legislators dislike the way the Constitution was written does not give them license to rewrite it in order to accommodate their political agenda! Call your Senators and let them know that you oppose their attempt to add a few extra votes on the Democrat side from the non-state territories that don't pay taxes! The Senate will be considering this bill next week! Urge your Senators to vote NO on S. 1257! Call Your Senators Today! Capitol Switchboard: (202)-224-3121 Tags:Washington, D.C., Eagle Forum, US Constitution, voting rightsTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
MoveOn.org: Living on Borrowed Times? -- Fred Addresses MoveOn.org’s Attack on General Petraeus
Tony Perkins, FRC: It shouldn't surprise us that George Soros's MoveOn.org is taking cheap shots at the military in an anti-war ad. What should surprise us, according to today's headlines, is just how cheap those shots were. ABC news is reporting that The New York Times gave MoveOn its full-page ad, which smears a decorated Army General, for $102,000 off the going rate! As NewsBusters says, the amount Soros paid is "less than any rate listed in the New York Times schedule." Of course the irony is that MoveOn doesn't need the discount. It happens to be funded by one of the wealthiest liberals in America. The ad, which reads "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?" was published in the midst of Petraeus's testimony on the Iraq war. In it, Soros accuses the general of being "at war with the facts" and "cooking the books for the White House"--allegations that many in Congress have openly condemned. Now, of course, the buzz is less about what the ad said and more about the Times' obvious bias. For a paper that trumpets its neutrality, this incident is exposing the Times for what it is--an accessory to the political Left. If I'm wrong, and this represents the new pricing for all advocacy groups, FRC looks forward to receiving the same rate on its next full-page ad.SeeTimes Gives Lefties a Hefty Discount for 'Betray Us' Ad
Fred Thompson blasts Moveon.org and the Democrats who will not disavow the Moveon.org attack on General Petraeus. Fred Thompson: “It’s more and more apparent to me every day that the average 20 year old who is serving us in Iraq knows more about national security than many of the 20 year veterans in Congress.”
Tags:FRC, Fred Thompson, General David Petraeus, Moveon, Tony PerkinsTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Bounce Continues for Fred Thompson - Rasmussen Reports - GOP Poll for 9/12/07
Fred Thompson polling numbers have continued to rise among Republicans. To provide a reference point for changes, the second set of numbers are those reported five days ago. Rasmussen Reports: In the race for the Republican Presidential Nomination, Likely Republican Primary Voters prefer: Fred Thompson 28% [Up 6% from 9/7- 22%] Rudy Giuliani 20% [Down 5% from 9/7 - 25%] John McCain 12% [Down 1% from 9/7 - 13%] Mitt Romney 11% [Down 3% from 9/7 - 14%] Mike Huckabee remains atop the second tier at 6% [Up 1%] [See recent daily numbers] Although Giuliani polling numbers reached the lowest level of support recorded all year, data released yesterday shows that Republicans still consider Giuliani the most electable candidate. Tags:Election 2008, Fred Thompson, Rasmussen Poll, Rasmussen Reports, republican candidates, Rudy GiulianiTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Thompson Campaign Says No to Huckabee Debate Challenge
David Brody, CBN News: The Brody File has been told by Fred Thompson's campaign that he will NOT debate Mike Huckabee one on one. Huckabee had issued the debate challenge last week. Here's what Thompson's Communication Director Todd Harris just told me: “We have the greatest respect for Gov. Huckabee and respect his desire to elevate the discourse in this campaign. But there are nine people running for the GOP nomination and an arbitrary pairing of just two of them does a disservice to the voters. We will push hard for Lincoln-Douglas style debates once we get into the General Election, when there are only two candidates running.” . . . [Read More] Tags:debate, Election 2008, Fred Thompson, Mike Huckabee, presidential candidateTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Arkansas US Sen. Mark Pryor Introduces Bill On Toy Safety
Today's THV: Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR) . . . introduced legislation with Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-HI) that is intended to rebuild the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) . . . . Pryor noted many companies are taking responsible steps to test their products and restore their reputation following major recalls, and he wants to further encourage all companies to place consumer safety above their bottom line. His legislation proposes an increase in civil and criminal penalties, third party safety certification on all children’s products, an outright ban all children’s products that contain lead, an increase in public disclosure requirements by manufacturers and whistleblower protections for manufacturers’ and importers’ employees. Specifically, the legislation would: . . . . {Besides expanding CPSC} •Increase civil fines up to $250,000 per violation with a cap at $100 million.•Increase criminal penalties to 5 years in jail for those who knowingly and willingly violate product safety laws. •Require independent, third party safety certification on every children’s product that enters the U.S.. •Require manufacturers to label children’s products with tracking information to facilitate recall. •Ban the direct use of lead in all children’s products – from lunch boxes to toys. . . . [Read More] Tags:consumer protection, Mark Pryor, protecting children, Senator
by Matthew Sheffield: NewsBusters is pleased to announce the addition of “NewsBusted,” a comedy show we're releasing today. You can watch the video now over on the top right of this page. The idea for the show is really quite simple. Politics is absurd, so is the news. Why not have some laughs from it all? “NewsBusted” will air twice weekly and be available on every NewsBuster page as well as on YouTube. [Source]First Video below:
Tags:humor, political humor, video, NewsBusted, Comedy, Webcast To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
by Phyllis Schlafly: The three-nation summit at Montebello, Quebec, was held behind closed doors, well guarded behind an intimidating fence and plenty of police, but the news conference that followed on August 21 revealed more than the three heads of state had planned. President George W. Bush, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and Mexican President Felipe Calderon all refused to deny that the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) is a stepping stone toward a North American Union. The $64,000 question was posed by a Fox News reporter, Bret Baier. He asked all three heads of state, "Can you say today that this is not a prelude to a North American Union, similar to a European Union?" Their response was positively sensational. None of the three denied that SPP is leading to a North American Union. . . . [Read More] Tags:NAU, Phyllis Schlafly, Security and Prosperity Partnership, SPPTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Senate votes to kill Mexican truck project - Bush 'Open Borders' agenda dealt serious bipartisan blow
by Jerome R. Corsi: The U.S. Senate has dealt a likely death blow to the Bush administration plans to give Mexican long-haul trucking rigs free access to United States roads and highways. A bipartisan majority voted 74-24 Tuesday tonight to pass an amendment offered by Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., to remove funding from the Fiscal Year 2008 Department of Transportation appropriations bill for the Department of Transportation Mexican trucking demonstration project. . . . The Senate is now considered likely to finalize the DOT funding bill today, with the Dorgan amendment included. "Because my amendment is identical to language already included in the House-passed version of this bill," Dorgan said in the statement issued after the vote, "I expect this provision will not be altered in the House-Senate conference committee and that we have, effectively, stopped this pilot program." . . . [Read More] Tags:Mexican trucks, US Senate, George Bush, open borders, To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
ARRA: Today after 9-11, we call you attention to the following edited editorial which expresses the frustration of many Americans. The opinions are solely the author: CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Osama bin Laden urged sympathizers to join the “caravan” of martyrs as he praised one of the Sept. 11 suicide hijackers in a new video that emerged Tuesday to mark the sixth anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Al-Qaida traditionally issues a video every year on the anniversary, with the last testament of one of the 19 hijackers involved in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. This year’s video showed hijacker Waleed al-Shehri addressing the camera and warning the U.S.: “We shall come at you from your front and back, your right and left.” . . . Read:Bin Laden Wants ‘Caravan’ of Martyrs by TexasFred: . . . Until 9-11-01 happened I didn’t want to kill all Muslims just because they were Muslims, but on 9-11-01 the ultimate evil that IS Islam reared it’s ugly head and declared WAR on the USA and the world itself as far as I am concerned, it actually happened several times before 2001, going back to 1979, but most of us looked at it as less than war, I don’t know why, but we did.
To this very day, for the life of me I can’t understand HOW Islam can call itself the ‘Religion of Peace’ and commit the acts of violence and terrorism that they do, all I can think of is that Muslims MUST be the biggest bunch of moonbat hypocrites that this world has ever known, Islam is nothing more than evil incarnate. And the reason I lump ALL Muslims in to this diatribe is simply because there have been very few run of the mill, day in, day out Muslims take a stand against Islamic terrorism and voice their disgust for these actions committed in the name of their ‘Religion of Peace, uh, Hypocrisy’, and like the man said, if you’re not WITH us, you’re AGAINST us.
Don’t everyday Muslims realize how close people like Osama bin Laden are bringing them to that martyrdom they seem so eager to achieve? Is that what they want? Martyrdom? . . . We didn’t start this WAR, we didn’t go to some Islamic nation and attack them, WE WERE ATTACKED and WAR was declared by Islam against us, and you know, I’ll give the devil his due, our President started off quite well in his counter attack, I was PROUD of Bush in the early stages of the GWoT, but it appears he lost his focus on the Taliban . . . Iraq isn’t going to attack us, Islam will, and they won’t follow us here from Iraq, they are here already, in place and only God knows what the evil b------ are waiting for.
Our enemies are WORLD WIDE, anywhere Islam exists, including right here in THIS nation, Islam has declared WAR and any Muslim ------ that won’t stand and declare that Muslims are WRONG for attacking America is nothing more than another enemy, and in a WAR you kill your enemies, that’s how you WIN, you kill so many of your enemies that they no longer have the desire nor the ability to attack you, ever again.
Islamic warriors want a war, then I say we give them a WAR, not some politically correct ‘tit for tat’ BS, I say we give em a BIG honkin’ WAR, one that is so violent, so totally and terribly brutal in it’s violence and destruction that they will never raise a hand against Americans again. Does America have the guts to take that type of attack to our enemies? I have serious doubts, likely no more than half of America has the stomach for a REAL fight any more, if the numbers are that high, and the part of this nation that doesn’t have the guts to fight may well be what gets our other half killed as we try to save this nation and them in the process.
But here’s what those Americans that won’t fight Islam haven’t considered, after those of us that WILL fight the evil of Islam are gone, Islam is coming after them, and then their lives are forfeit as well if they don’t submit to the evil sect, and by the time the cowardly, roll over and take it, lefty libbers find the ---- to actually fight, it WILL be too late and America will be a distant memory. TexasFred SeeThe Unedited VersionTags:global war, Islam, Islamist, Muslim, terrorism, terrorist, TexasFredTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Bill Smith, ARRA Editor: Dear readers, Today this post is both our first and last post of the day. It will appear continually above all others. There are other posts today, but they will be below this one. Like many others, the events of Sept. 11, 2001 were both the first and last events remembered about the day. We watched with shock, grief, concern and even anger. Like many others, I could not even consider sleeping that evening. Also, like many my fellow comrades who had served as career military, we had hoped our countrymen would not experience the horrors of war. Yes - war! For those who's minds fail to grasp reality of the intent of the attack on 9-11, war was declared upon the U.S.A. by radical Islamists. Today, let us not forget the evil that continues to plague us and seeks to destroy us. We cannot appease or convert these radicals. We can only fight and destroy them before they destroy us. As we remember 9-11 with a candle, let us also not forget that we carry the candle of freedom for the rest of the world.Tags:9-11, Families, Freedom, IslamistTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Hillary vs. Huckabee? Editorial by Central Arkansas Newspaper
Editorial, The Leader:Cabot, AR - Fantasizing about a race for president against Sen. Hillary Clinton, Mike Huckabee said on ABC's . . . that he would be the Republicans’ best candidate because his record contrasted the most sharply with hers. Half of his equation could be right. Our former governor might be the GOP’s best candidate against Sen. Clinton . . . but his strength would be that he is closest to, not farthest from, Sen. Clinton on the issues and their records. Better than the others, he might carve into the middle ground of independent voters who would otherwise tilt toward the Democrat.
. . . It would be hard to separate the former Arkansas governor and the former Arkansas first lady on . . . issues, based on their Arkansas records. It was on education and health care that as Arkansas first lady she made a lasting imprint. She was the author of the higher school standards that were approved in 1983 over her husband’s imprimatur, and she worked to expand children’s health-care initiatives, founding the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families. Huckabee claims education and children’s health care as his best innovations.
So what is the contrast? You will remember that ArKids First, the great expansion of government-paid health insurance for children, was Arkansas Advocates’ suggestion to the newly sworn in Gov. Huckabee in 1996. He eagerly embraced it and calls it even today his proudest achievement. Sen. Clinton’s husband, as president, brought it about on the national level a few months afterward. We presume that Huckabee, alone among the GOP presidential candidates, favors expanding the national children’s health initiative, which Sen. Clinton and all the Democratic members of the congressional delegation favor. As governor, Huckabee sought and won a federal waiver for a plan to have the federal government - that’s you - subsidize health insurance for poor adult workers. Other Republicans, including President Bush, are opposing that remedy as creeping socialism.
Education affords the best comparison. Huckabee likes to lump the Clintons together as a unit, which is fair. So how do they stack up? Hillary’s tough school standards in 1983 forced some gradual school consolidation as school districts failed to measure up to the standards over five years. Huckabee demanded wholesale and immediate school consolidation and abolished more than 50 of them in one swoop. He wanted more than 100 other school districts consolidated but the legislature balked. Does he dare boast about that?
Taxes? Huckabee raised them considerably more in 10 years than Clinton did in 12. . . . Debt? The Clinton regime produced a small increase in general state indebtedness, to fund water projects and college construction. Huckabee accounted for bigger increase in general state debt — the kind that taxpayers are obliged to service — than all previous Arkansas governors combined.
. . . In the unlikely scenario that Huckabee and Clinton do square off in the 2008 general election, their records will be compared minutely, but Huckabee will not get to characterize or mischaracterize them with impunity. The records will be there for all to see and voters will want to see them. We think the governor’s moderate-to-liberal record would not hurt him, but he does not want Republican voters in Iowa, South Carolina and New Hampshire to get wind of it now.[Read More] TheArkansas Leader serves Lonoak, White & North Pulaski Counties of Arkansas.Tags:Arkansas, Election 2008, Hillary Clinton, Mike Huckabee, presidential candidate
Understanding Violence & Civilian Casualty Rates in Iraq
by Kirk Johnson, Ph.D.,Visiting Fellow, The Heritage Foundation: General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker have focused much of their discussion this week on population security. Indeed, civilian casualty rates are a very important measure of success in Iraq. Though some critics of U.S. Iraq strategy focus on rates of sectarian violence, broader measures present a better picture of the situation in Iraq. These broader measures show that the "surge" has been a success in reducing civilian casualties and improving overall security in Iraq. . . . the media have been keenly interested in population security measures, with a number of articles being written in advance of this week's hearings. Naturally, there will continue to be a great deal of discussion regarding population security during this week's hearings. In order to cut through the clutter, policymakers and the public at large should focus on the following three issues . . .
Policymakers and the public should focus on how the surge has improved population security in Iraq, defined broadly. Focusing only on sectarian violence misses 35 percent to 65 percent of civilian casualties nationwide and nearly all the violence in homogeneous areas of Iraq. When a broad measure of population security is used, total civilian casualties have dropped by about 20 percent between January and August 2007. Whether or not this nationwide reduction in violence will allow needed political progress in Iraq is still an open question. [Read Report][Kirk A. Johnson, served as Deputy Director for Assessments in the Joint Strategic Planning and Assessment office at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad in 2006–2007.] Tags:Heritage Foundation, Iraq, Kirk JohnsonTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Americans see 9/11 as most important event of their lives
Agence France-Presse: Six years after the September 11 attacks on the United States, most Americans view the plane hijackings that killed around 3,000 people as the most significant historical event of their lives, according to a [Zogby International] poll released Monday. Eighty-one percent of those surveyed said they see the attacks as the most significant historical even of their lifetimes, with more people on the east coast -- 90 percent -- choosing this view compared to 75 percent on the west coast . . . A full 91 percent said they believe the United States will be attacked again on US soil. [Read More]Tags:9-11, Zogby, pollTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
by Bobby Eberle: Six years ago, the lives of all Americans were changed forever when commercial airliners were turned from means of rapid, cross country transportation to weapons of mass destruction. The eyes of the nation were finally opened to the threat of terrorism, and our call to action was clear.
Now, much has been forgotten. Memorial services in honor of those lost on that terrible day are being tainted by accusations that some are "playing politics" with the event. In addition, those are the left are bent on losing the war on terror by undermining the actions of the administration at every turn. The events of September 11, 2001 brought the nation together, and the only way we can win this war is by remaining united in our efforts . . . [Read Article]Tags:9-11, 2007, Bobby Eberle To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
HSU Arrested in Colorado by FBI Rush reports "Drive-Bys Ignore Hsu Scandal"
Breaking News:Confronted with new evidence that it had ignored warnings about fundraiser Norman Hsu, Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign abruptly announced late today that it was returning $850,000 from 260 donors associated with Hsu.See:Clinton returning $850K linked to Hsu Update on Norman Hsu: Norman Hus is in Custody again after being arrested by FBI at a Colorado Hospital. Hsu, 56, was on an eastbound California Zephyr, Amtrak train, about noon when he fell ill, and Amtrak personnel took him to St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction, Colorado. Passengers reported that Hsu stripped off his shirt and shoes, appeared disoriented and had trouble opening a door, among other bizarre behaviors, witnesses on the train. The actual cause of Hsu illness after fleeing has not been made public. He was removed last Thursday by paramedics at the Grand Junction, Colo. He was in good condition when arrested by the FBI a few hours later on a federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.The warrant for his arrest remained under seal. Federal sources said last week that the FBI had opened an investigation into Hsu's fundraising activities. He was to appear before a federal magistrate-judge, pending his possible extradition back to California.
Rush Limbaugh expressed his frustration today with the Media Drive-Bys Ignoring the Hsu Scandal.To quote RUSH: Norman Hsu. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a huge scandal. It reaches into the depths of the Democrat establishment. It touches very deeply their presidential front-runner to the core, and the broadcast media have done everything possible to downplay it or ignore it. . . . Why don't we know where Norman Hsu's money came from? The guy was bankrupt just a few weeks ago. Where is his money coming from, and the people he's bundling money for, these poor Paw people, Paw family out there in California, lots of pets, no money. The mail carrier, donating 244 grand over three years to the Democrat party. How in the h- - - is this possible? Where is this money coming from? I thought that the media, the Drive-By Media, and the Democrats, were all concerned about campaign finance reform. Here we have a consistent pattern of Clinton and the Democrats taking money funneled from Asia to help fund their campaigns, people who have fled the country before they could be questioned. Hsu himself was a convicted crook. He jumped bail, he reestablished himself in New York, became a huge Democrat donor, he was on the lam for 15 years on charges in California while raising money for Democrats. He's caught. He jumps bail again. Now he's hospitalized under still-uncertain circumstances, quote, unquote. And what do the media want to talk about? Anything but Norman Hsu. Oh, no, no, can't embarrass the Clintons, can't do anything to derail that candidacy. Clinton campaign gets a couple questions thrown at them about it, no media frenzy, no persistent follow-up. (Clinton impression) "Why, I'm as surprised as I could be. Why, you coulda knocked me over with a feather when I found out that guy was on the lam." Mrs. Clinton is just as surprised with everything. She doesn't know diddly-squat about anything. And Clinton isn't alone, folks. . . . [Read More] Tags:campaign funds, FBI, Hillary Clinton, Norman Hsu, Rush Limbaugh
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by Rep. John Boozman: I appreciate the straight-forward manner by which General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker responded to our questions today. I believe their statements reflect the facts as they are on the ground in Iraq, which I observed just over two weeks ago. It is my hope that the Members who heard today’s report, as well as all Members of the House of Representatives, take their words into serious consideration as we move forward to charting out our future role in Iraq and not jump to conclusions popular with vocal special-interest groups.
I applaud today’s recommendations of troop reductions based on the surge running its course and the improving security situation in Iraq. While I remain opposed to Congress unilaterally setting a date for withdrawal, I welcome any opportunity to bring our troops home in a manner which benefits our interests and security, as well as those of our allies and the region. Continued success on the ground in Iraq will hasten the safe return of our men and women, while continued improvement in the political situation in Iraq is contingent on the success on the ground. We know this. Our allies know this. The Iraqis know this. It is in all our interests that the Congress work to craft a solution based on the reality of the situation in Iraq, and not on the political situation in Washington, in order to provide our troops with the support they need to realize this success. [Source: Boozman News] Tags:Arkansas, General David Petraeus, Iraq War, John Boozman, Representative, US House
Will Hillary And Obama Denounce And Apologize For MoveOn.org's Attack Ad Or Continue To Follow Their Lead?
RNC: Tomorrow, Gen. David Petraeus will appear before Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Barack Obama (D-IL) when he testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee and Foreign Relations Committee: "The general and the ambassador then appear Tuesday, the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, in testimony first before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and in the afternoon before the Senate Armed Services Committee..." (Thom Shanker, "The Time Has Come, The General's Here: Petraeus Preps For Testimony On Iraq," The New York Times, 9/8/07)
Liberal Group, MoveOn.org, Claimed Today In Full Page New York Times Ad That Gen. Petraeus Was "Cooking The Books" And Called Him "General Betray Us": "[Petraeus] has already come under fire from MoveOn.org which in a full page ad in Monday's New York Times dubbed him 'General Betray Us' and alleged he was 'Cooking The Books For The White House.'" (Peter Wuetherich, "Petraeus: Battle-Hardened General On The Frontlines In Iraq," Agence France Presse, 9/10/07)
Earlier this year, Hillary and Obama commended MoveOn.org at a virtual town hall meeting on Iraq: Hillary thanked MoveOn.org: "I think you have helped to change the face of American politics for the better... both online, and in the corridors of power. . . . So, although some of your members may be a little surprised to hear me say this, I am grateful for your work." (Sen. Hillary Clinton, MoveOn.org Virtual Town Hall Meeting On Iraq, 4/10/07) Obama said: "I think we have an opportunity to begin the process of restoring America's image throughout the world, so I just am looking forward to being in a partnership with all of you in making that happen." (Sen. Barack Obama, MoveOn.org Virtual Town Hall Meeting On Iraq, 4/10/07)
Hillary and Obama have used their Senate roles to court left-wing primary voters. "The democrat presidential candidates ... used their Senate roles to court likely caucus and primary voters, the overwhelming majority of whom strongly oppose the war." . . . Competition between Hillary and Obama has become "A running sideshow. . . . both the competition between Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) and Barack Obama (Ill.) and the efforts by the rest of the field . . . to push the front-runners further left." (Shailagh Murray & Dan Balz, "Democrats' Struggle To Change Course In Iraq Has Produced Much Debate, Little Action," The Washington Post, 9/10/07)
Other leading Senate Democrats have already denounced the MoveOn.org ad. . . . At tomorrow's Petraeus hearings, will Hillary and Obama denounce and apologize for MoveOn.org's attack ad or continue to follow their lead? . . . [Read More] Tags:Barack Obama, Democrats, General David Petraeus, Hillary Clinton, Moveon.org, RNCTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Democrats Urged to Denounce MoveOn.org Political Ad
by Susan Jones: Outraged Republicans say Democratic leaders should denounce the full-page newspaper ad in which MoveOn.org questioned whether it's "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?" The ad, which ran in Monday's New York Times, describes Petraeus as a "military man constantly at war with the facts" and it suggests he's doing the bidding of the White House in his progress report to Congress.
House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Monday said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), and all Democrats should denounce the MoveOn.org ad: "Democrat leaders must make a choice today: either embrace the character assassination tactics Moveon.org has leveled against the four-star general leading our troops in the fight against al Qaeda, or denounce it as disgraceful. General Petraeus and the other commanders in the U.S. Armed Services have dedicated their lives to defending the very freedom that enables Moveon.org the right to free speech. I support that right, but I find the way they have chosen to exercise it today to be disrespectful and downright reprehensible," Boehner said. ... [Read More]See also:MoveOn.org Calls Petraeus a TraitorNRSC Calls On Dems To Return MoveOn.org DonationsSOME - Dems join GOP in slamming ad attacking Petraeus Tags:Democrats, General David Petraeus, Moveon.orgTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Chuck Norris: With the 6th anniversary of 9/11 among us, as well as the imminent report on the status of the war from Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. troops in Iraq, America continues to face the fallout and frontlines of the war on terror. Despite debates over the success of surges and the truths behind 9/11, one of the most significant deliberations remains how many Americans are still in denial about the depth and breath of extremists' hatred for our nation, liberties, and way of life. Do people really think ceasing a war in Iraq will quench their fire to destroy our country?
Radical Muslims' guile existed far before 9/11, and it will be there far after an Iraqi war. In fact, it was apparent from the beginning of our nation, as seen in the Barbary Powers Conflict, a confrontation between the five Barbary nations (Tripoli, Turkey, Tunis, Algiers and Morocco) and what they considered the "Christian nations" (England, Denmark, France, Spain and the new United States). Though I am not a historian or a military strategist, I believe now is a good time to recall this 200 year-old lesson on extremist Muslim-American relations. . . [Read More] Tags:Chuck Norris, History, Islamist, radical muslumsTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
ARRA Editor: Even though the friends and members of ARRA find ourselves on the opposing side of the liberal views often espoused by Arkansas News Bureau Columnist John Brummett, today we are recommending that you read his article: The chicken waste state.
While some know us as the Razorback state, others like some Oklahomans call us the "chicken '&^%$" state." Perhaps Brummett article will help us understand. Just skip the name dropping like his mention of Oakland's Mayor Moonbeam and stick with the political aspects of chicken droppings. Brummett provides interesting insights into the influence that the poultry industry, including "chicken-manure," has on Arkansas politics or at least Arkansas politicians.Tags:Arkansas, manure, Politics
Christian Newswire: On the heels of the Democrat-controlled California State Legislature passing a bill to license "same-sex marriages," the leaders of the California campaign to fully and permanently protect marriage for one man and one woman are vowing to fight back. AB 43 by homosexual Assemblyman Mark Leno of San Francisco replaces "a man and a woman" with any "two persons" in California's marriage laws. The bill was approved 22 to 15 today (Friday, Sept. 7) by the California State Senate. All Republican senators opposed AB 43, while all but three Democrat senators supported it. The bill now goes to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for his signature or veto. . . . [Read More] Tags:California, Democrats, gay marriageTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
by Steven Ertelt: California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is coming under fire today from pro-life advocates there because of his desire to weaken the Republican Party's pro-life stance. He is asking for a new state Republican platform that removes any mention of abortion. Schwarzenegger says he prefers to focus other political issues where Republicans have more consensus, even though recent polls show Republicans are pro-life by more than a three-to-one margin. The current state platform calls for the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court case that ushered in an era of virtually unlimited abortions. The governor is calling himself "post-partisan" and says he wants to bridge the divide between Republicans and Democrat. . . . [Read More]Tags:abortion, Arnold Schwarzenegger, California, pro-life, Republican AssemblyTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
By Lou Dobbs: Mexican President Felipe Calderon Sunday demanded the United States surrender its sovereignty, abandon the rule of law and accede to Mexico's inherent supremacy.In his state of the union address to the Mexican nation, Calderon established his imperialistic imperatives: "I have said that Mexico does not stop at its border, that wherever there is a Mexican, there is Mexico. And, for this reason, the government action on behalf of our countrymen is guided by principles, for the defense and protection of their rights" Calderon protested the U.S. government's increased raids on illegal employers of illegal alien employees and work site enforcement. . . . [Read More] Tags:Mexican Government, Mexico, President Felipe Calderon, blatant hypocrisyTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
FRCAction Update: In keeping with the absurdity that Americans have come to expect from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, a three-judge panel ruled yesterday that an eight-foot tall cross in the Mojave National Preserve must be torn down, despite a congressional land transfer that protected it. The cross was erected in honor of World War I veterans 73 years ago but has endured serious legal challenges since. After several attacks by the ACLU, Congress agreed to transfer the acre of land where the cross stands to the Veterans of Foreign Wars to end the debate over whether its existence amounted to government-sponsored religion. Thursday's decision essentially overturns that land transfer and jeopardizes other symbols, such as the Mount Soledad cross. The court's actions bear an eerie resemblance to the Taliban in 2001, when militants set out to bomb two colossal Buddhist statues that had stood untouched in Afghanistan for more than a thousand years. From Sri Lanka to Germany, the global community condemned the actions as religious barbarism. Like the statues, the Mojave and Soledad crosses are monuments to America's cultural history, a symbol of our Christian heritage and a tribute to brave Americans who laid down their lives in our nation's cause. Their memories should not be besmirched. Tags:cross, FRC, Mount Soledad, California, veterans memorial cross, Ninth U.S. Circuit CourtTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
by Kenneth P. Vogel: Newt Gingrich’s aides misled a foundation into making an improper $50,000 contribution to his political group, according to a lawyer for the foundation. Gingrich’s group, American Solutions for Winning the Future, returned the check to the Colorado-based Hasan Family Foundation after determining tax laws would bar the foundation from giving to a political organization. But Ryan Call, a lawyer for the foundation, blamed Gingrich’s group for the error. American Solutions specifically assured the foundation it could make the contribution, he said, “and that wrong answer was what the family foundation relied upon” . . .Gingrich, a former House speaker mentioned as a possible Republican presidential candidate, has objected to characterizations that his group, American Solutions, is a stealth campaign committee. He asserts the group is an apolitical vehicle to develop and advance innovative policy initiatives. But legally, American Solutions is a political organization, since it’s set up under Section 527 of the IRS code, which frees it from taxes and allows it to accept unlimited contributions campaigns cannot.
. . .as a result of the situation, which was the result of a verbal pledge by a foundation representative, the foundation has instituted stricter grant-writing guidelines. It will now require groups or individuals seeking grants to submit written proposals, including documentation of their IRS tax status, which will be put to a vote of a foundation committee. . . . Call said “the foundation has been very diligent in terms of not engaging in political activity, not giving political contributions to parties or candidates . . .. It’s a strictly nonpartisan organization.” But individual members of the Hasan family have contributed more than $700,000 since 1996 to Republican politicians and committees at the national level . . . [Read More] Tags:To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
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by Steven Ertelt: California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is coming under fire today from pro-life advocates there because of his desire to weaken the Republican Party's pro-life stance. He is asking for a new state Republican platform that removes any mention of abortion. Schwarzenegger says he prefers to focus other political issues where Republicans have more consensus, even though recent polls show Republicans are pro-life by more than a three-to-one margin. The current state platform calls for the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court case that ushered in an era of virtually unlimited abortions. The governor is calling himself "post-partisan" and says he wants to bridge the divide between Republicans and Democrat. . . . 
