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, March 29, 2008
Alan Keyes Breaks Word & Ranks With GOP
Alan Keyes who has continually identified himself as a Republican, filed as a Republican in various primaries, and "fished" in GOP waters, has allegedly departed the Republican Party. He is now looking to the Constitution Party. On Tuesday evening, April 15, in Hazleton, PA, Alan Keyes will be holding a major press conference to lay out why he is leaving the party he has belonged to and supported his entire adult life.
It is unfortunate, that Alan Keyes efforts may now draw voters away from the GOP nominee which could aid in electing the liberal democrat nominee as president. When he began his race, he said he was running as a Republican and would always be a Republicans. However, since entered too late in the GOP primary and was rebuffed for the GOP nomination, he evidently has now been courted by the weaker Constitution Party. Some believe, he may have planned on this move in advance of his late entry into the GOP primary with no intent to ever bee the GOP nominee. Tags:Alan Keyes, Election 2008To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Jim Holt Seeks Support for Arkansas Adoption & Foster Care Act
Jim Holt, Former Arkansas State Senator: Things are going extremely well and my family and I have been enjoying a much, needed rest. After eight races in six years and 13 opponents, election season is upon us again. I've wanted to personally thank you for all your support all these years. Thanks to your help, the cause was victorious in six races over 11 opponents. But the battle of freedom and ideas continues to wage in the public arena.
That's why I'm writing you this letter. This year, Arkansas is blessed to have a group pushing a ballot initiative that will make it illegal for people who are unmarried and cohabitating to adopt children or be foster parents. I cosponsored the original bill, in the state legislature in 2001 and then coauthored the bill in 2005 in the Senate with Rep. Bob Adams carrying it in the House.
This issue is dear to my heart because it will prohibit homosexuals from adopting children or being foster parents. I know you will find this hard to believe, but currently in good-old Arkansas homosexuals are allowed to adopt children! That's why this Arkansas Adoption & Foster Care Act is so important. So please contact Family Council of Arkansas at 501-375-7000 and tell them you want to sign it and support it. Tags:adoption, Arkansas, foster care, homosexuals, Jim HoltTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
by Andrew Malcolm and Mark Silva, Los Angeles Times: Sen. Barack Obama went after the "We're not paying enough taxes to the government" vote today during a television interview in New York. . . . Maria Bartiromo on CNBC's "Closing Bell" asked, "Who should pay more and who should pay less?" Predictably, the politician chose to talk about who would benefit from his higher tax plan, not who would get socked the hardest. But from his answers it sounds like the "wealthy" in his mind are those making more than $75,000. " I would not increase taxes for middle class Americans and in fact I want to.... provide a tax cut for people who are making $75,000 a year or less,'' he said. "For those folks, I want an offset on the payroll tax that would be worth as much as $1,000 for a family . . . [Read More]
by Mark Moore, Arkansas Watch: Families are hurting in Arkansas, but our state government is sitting on piles of extra money- this year alone they have collected $127 million more than they estimated they would. In addition, the natural gas industry is about to take off in the natural state, and it is bringing more jobs and more dollars and more economic activity with it. A U of A study indicates that an expanding gas industry will generate an additional $1.8 BILLION tax dollars for state government over the next five years, even without a tax rate increase.
State government is raking in money left and right, and the future looks even better for them. Increased economic activity from the coming natural gas boom will mean increased fuel tax revenues, increased sales tax revenues, increased income tax revenues, and increased property tax revenues (to the tune of $1.8 billion more over then next five years, even if they don't raise any tax rates). That is a lot of money for schools and roads and everybody else in the state with their hand out. Still, it does not appear to be enough for Governor Mike Beebe and the Arkansas legislature. They are about to call a special session to do what? RAISE TAXES! . . .
So with all of that bonanza of dollars flowing in, how much of it does Governor Mike Beebe and your Arkansas legislature want to share with you? Why actually, none. They want to spend it all themselves without giving a single penny of tax relief to any Arkansas family . . . [Read More]Tags:Arkansas, excessive taxation, family, increased taxes, taxes, Mark Moore, Arkansas WatchTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
by Phyllis Schlafly: The U.S. Navy gave Ronald Reagan a dramatic 25th anniversary gift on February 21. A Navy missile raced into outer space and destroyed an orbiting satellite, thereby providing new proof of the vision President Reagan proclaimed in his then-sensational televised address on March 23, 1983. While the Navy SM-3 missile didn't knock down an incoming nuclear missile, the direct hit on a satellite proved again that our anti-missile technology is mature and reliable, and that an effective anti-missile system is within our grasp. Traveling at 6,000 miles per hour after being launched from a cruiser in the Pacific, the SM-3 missile was even more accurate than anyone had predicted because it struck precisely at the satellite's dangerous fuel tank. The successful kill of the satellite also confirmed the ability of the SM-3 to intercept at a higher elevation than had ever been tested before. It revalidated the Bush Administration's expenditure of $10 billion a year on anti-missile defenses. . . .
The whole disarmament/pacifist crowd attacked Reagan unmercifully for his determination to defend America with defensive as well as offensive weapons. Ted Kennedy led the pack by . . . claiming an anti-missile system can't work because it requires hitting a bullet with a bullet. This new test should finally put to rest the false claims that it won't work.
Now, with the benefit of hindsight, we know that it was Reagan's determination to push forward with what became known as his Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) that won the Cold War. SDI was the centerpiece of his strategy. At the Geneva and Reykjavik Summits, Mikhail Gorbachev offered every carrot and stick in his arsenal to persuade or intimidate Reagan into abandoning SDI. When Reagan refused, Gorbachev realized . . . the Soviets could not compete with the U.S. military-economic powerhouse. Reagan's SDI, so courageously proposed in 1983, ultimately enabled him to defeat the Evil Empire without firing a shot. We know the system works, and it's just as necessary in the post-9/11 world . . . [Read More] Tags:Phyllis Schlafly, Ronald Reagan, SDI, Strategic Defense InitiativeTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Tony Perkins, Family Research Council: Common sense has finally prevailed in California, the site of one of the nation's most disgraceful court rulings in at least a decade. The Second District Court of Appeals, which shocked Americans by banning homeschooling by any parent without a teaching license, has vacated its decision. The court has agreed to rehear the case later this spring and is soliciting briefs from various state officials, teacher unions, and the Los Angeles Unified School District. For weeks, the three-judge panel received blistering criticism from state leaders, pro-family organizations like FRC, and hundreds of thousands of American families. In the hands of an activist court, what began as a simple child welfare case turned into an indictment of the entire homeschooling movement. Even Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) denounced the ruling, saying, "Parents should not be penalized for acting in the best interests of their children's education. This outrageous ruling must be overturned by the courts, and, if the courts don't protect parents' rights, then, as elected officials, we will." The judges' retraction is a testament to the power of the public's response. It still counts! See Also:California homeschoolers safe ... for nowTags:California, FRC, home school, homeschoolers, Tony Perkins, U.S. District CourtTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Bill Smith, ARRA Editor: In the past, we have posted some of the exceptional videos that address illegal immigration and are developed by Jake and MJ at Blogs For Borders. We hope you have taken the opportunity to visit one of their sites. If not, then visit Freedom Folks. Their latest Blogs4Borders video release is in the upper right corner.
If you are a blogger, there is a Blogs For Borders blogroll. Also there is the new Blogs For Borders FaceBook Group. The video referenced above is also posted on this new Blogs For Borders Group. If you are on FaceBook and are concerned about American sovereignty, border security and a sane immigration policy then please join their new group. If you are not on FaceBook why not? As I learned, it is not just for youngsters. I even belong to 64 groups. Your welcome to visit My FaceBook account. Tags:Bill Smith, Blogs for Borders, FaceBook, political videoTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
The ARRA News Service will be represented at SamSphere Chicago 2008 this weekend. As identified by Jenn Sierra at Fort Hard Knox: "In some ways, this is a “right” counter to groups on the left. But mostly, it will be an opportunity for (mostly state level) bloggers to share ideas, and network." The host of the event, Sam Adams Alliance, defines SamSphere as:
. . . a new media forum where bloggers and e-activists from across the country can gather together to network and share ideas. Samsphere will be specifically geared toward bloggers and e-activists who focus on local and state-level politics, and who are dedicated to the principles of individual freedom and limited government.
Confirmed "right-minded" bloggers (Broken /expired links removed 12/31/2014 & 2016) Blogger's Name*Blog*Blog Region Erick Erickson * RedState * National
Allen Fuller * Flat Creek Management * National
John Fund * Wall Street Journal (formerly - now National Review) * National
Stephen Moore *Founder of the Club for Growth & Free Enterprise Fund - Now at the Wall Street Journal (formerly - now at the Heritage Foundation & Freedom Works) * National
Brad Jones * Face the State * National
Jenn Sierra * Fort Hard Knox * National
Erik Telford * Americans for Prosperity * National - Now President, The Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity
E.M. Zanotti * American Princess * National
Dr. Bill Smith * ARRA News Service * Arkansas - Now National
Ben DeGrow * Mount Virtus * Colorado
Mark Johnson * ILGOPnet * Illinois
Doug Welch * Stix * Illinois
Bob Weeks * Wichita Liberty * Kansas
Earl Glynn * Kansas Meadowlark * Kansas
Jeff Blanco * Louisiana Conservative * Louisiana
Lance Dutson * Maine Web Report * Maine
Jack McHugh * Mackinac Center * Michigan
Chet Zarko * Outside Lansing * Michigan
Jim Hoft * Gateway Pundit * Missouri
Craig Sprout * Montana Politics * Montana
Chuck Muth * Muth’s Truths * Nevada
Skip Murphy * Granite Grok * New Hampshire
Mario Burgos * Mario Burgos * New Mexico
Maggie Thurber * Thurber’s Thoughts * Ohio
Chris Arps * Oklahoma Political News Service * Oklahoma
Trent Siebert * Tennessee Policy Institute * Tennessee
Leslie Carbone * Leslie Carbone * Virginia
Don Ward * Sound Politics * Washington
Fred Dooley * Real Debate Wisconsin * Wisconsin
Tristen Cramer * Haemet * Wyoming
Chad Everson * Grizzly Groundswell * Minnesota
Steve Sibson * Sibby Online * South Dakota
Confirmed Sam Adams Alliance Staff / bloggers: Nic Hall * Nicky Cheese * Illinois (currently in Texas)
Bob Costello * Cozcommunio * Illinois
John Tsarpalas * Tsarchats * Illinois
Ken Marrero * Blue Collar Muse * Tennessee
Eric Odom * Eric Odom * Illinois
Mike Van Winkle * A Chicago Blog * Illinois
Micheal Tams * American Federalist * Illinois
Jodi Bridges * Thirty Something * Illinois
Lennie Jarratt * Open Source Activism * Illinois
Drew Veeneman * Trenches of Democracy * Illinois Tags:Alliance Defense Fund, bloggers, Chicago, individual freedom, limited government, right-minded, Sam Adams, SamSphereTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
H/T to NewsBusters: Hillary Speaks from the past and judges herself and Bill: Tags:Hillary Clinton, News Busters, political video, PoliticsTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!t>
"Saddam Hussein's intelligence agency secretly financed a trip to Iraq for three U.S. lawmakers during the run-up to the U.S.-led invasion, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. An indictment unsealed in Detroit accuses Muthanna Al-Hanooti, a member of a Michigan nonprofit group, of arranging for three members of Congress to travel to Iraq in October 2002 at the behest of Saddam's regime. Prosecutors say Iraqi intelligence officials paid for the trip through an intermediary."
Why is it that Democrats seemingly love to embrace our enemies? One local version of this story conveniently left out the fact that these are anti-war Democrats we're talking about. There is this stereotype that liberals are freeloader types. United States congressmen have money, and at any given opportunity, don't hesitate to give the American people the privilege of footing their bills.
Then again, if they (or we) pay for such a trip, there will be some kind of paper trail. But if someone else pays for it, we may not know about it, that is, until someone gets indicted. Why would United States congressmen go on a junket to a country they know we're about to be in a military conflict with? Did they go to negotiate? Were they going to volunteer to become human shields? They were criticized for going. "Oklahoma Sen. Don Nickles, the second-ranking Senate Republican at the time, said the Democrats 'sound somewhat like spokespersons for the Iraqi government.'"
Oh, by the way, the congressmen were Jim McDermott of Washington, David Bonior of Michigan and Mike Thompson of California, and there's no proof to date that they knew their trip was courtesy of Saddam Hussein. Now this is only me, but if someone were paying for my trip half way around the world, I think I would know who was paying for it. That is, unless getting international trips paid for is so common, no one asks. It always amazes me how the congressmen and senators declare themselves brilliant enough to impose legislation that sometimes has serious effects on our lives, yet when there is any hint of malfeasance on their part, nobody knows nothing . . . [Read More] Tags:Bob Parks, congressmen, Democrats, Iraq, junket, three stooges, US CongressTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
by Alexander Bolton, The Hill: Republican senators with millions of dollars in their campaign accounts have given little or nothing to the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), despite its desperate pleas for cash funds. Fewer than 10 Senate Republicans met goals . . . GOP senators were asked to contribute $100,000 from their campaign accounts or recruit four major donors for the event. . . . Republican Sens. Arlen Specter (PA), Jim Bunning (KY), Richard Lugar (IN), Pete Domenici (NM), Lisa Murkowski (AK), Olympia Snowe (ME), Tom Coburn (OK), and Larry Craig (ID) have given nothing to the NRSC . . . These lawmakers have kept their wallets shut despite having millions and not facing reelection this year. Specter, for example, reported $4.2 million in his war chest. Lugar has $2.2 million in his account. Domenici has $840,000 and has announced his retirement. . . . Sen. Richard Shelby (AL), who occupies a lucrative fundraising position as ranking Republican on the Banking Committee, has nearly $13 million in his reelection fund. Yet he has given only $15,000 from his leadership PAC to the NRSC. Some lawmakers say there is plenty of time to give money to the committee before Senate races reach full intensity . . . [Read More] Tags:fund raising, GOP, NRSCTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Porker of the Month: Senators Who Voted Against Earmark Moratorium
For protecting their personal pet projects at the expense of the national interest, Citizens Against Government Waste has named all 71 senators who voted against a year-long earmark moratorium as its March 2008 Porkers of the Month. An amendment was offered by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) would have established this moritorim. It had 14 bipartisan co-sponsors including all three presidential candidates. As Sen. DeMint has said, “The earmark process allows politicians to fund pet projects based on political power instead of merit. Earmarks are rarely subject to public hearings or oversight, and they invite the kind of corruption that has sent lawmakers to jail.” In addition to inviting fraudulent behavior, earmarking diverts lawmakers’ attention from important national business, like saving Medicare and Social Security for future generations. Many congressional offices have one or more staffers dedicated solely to procuring earmarks . . . [Read More] Tags:CAGW, Citizens Against Government Waste, Congressional Pork, earmarks, porker of the month, SenatorsTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Hunter Announce as GOP Candidates for State Offices
Former State Senator Gary Hunter of Mountain Home announced he will be a Republican candidate for State Representative District 81: Hunter, 59, has been a resident of Mountain Home for 24 years. He served in the Senate for eight years and during that time served as chairman of the Senate Retirement Committee and chairman of the Audit Subcommittee. He also held seats on the Budget, Insurance and Commerce, Children and Youth, and Transportation committees. While in the Senate, Hunter sponsored legislation to protect the citizen's right to bear arms, protect traditional family values, and to support veterans and teachers of the Twin Lakes Area. If elected, Hunter said he will favor legislation or a Castle Doctrine that empowers citizens to use deadly force in defending homes and businesses.
As Senator, Hunter obtained capital-improvement funds for Arkansas State University Mountain Home, CARTI, the Roundup Club, Baxter Rural Fire Departments and the Christian Clinic. Prior to his service in the Senate, Hunter was a member of the Baxter County Quorum Court, where he served as chairman of the Budget and Building committees. On the Budget Committee, Hunter says he was responsible for the establishment of an Emergency Reserve Contingency Fund . . . [Read More] Tags:Arkansas, Baxter County, Gary Hunter, republican candidatesTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
The Foundry, Morning Bell: The Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees released their annual financial reviewyesterday, finding that over the next 75 years the two programs have promised to pay out $42.9 trillion more in benefits then they have scheduled to take in. Numbers this large and time frames that long can make the problem seem unreal, but the threat to our nation’s financial health is real and imminent. Consider:
Medicare’s hospital insurance trust fund will pay out more in benefits than it received in taxes and other dedicated revenue this year.
Within the next five years, general revenue transfers are expected to constitute the largest single source of income to the Medicare program.
Medicare’s annual costs are already 3.2% of GDP and will be 11% of GDP by 2082.
Social Security will begin to pay more in benefits than it receives in taxes in 2017.
Starting in 2010, the roughly $80 billion in annual Social Security surplus that Congress currently spends every year will begin to shrink. From that point on, Congress will have to replace that revenue stream with higher taxes or reduce overall spending.
In just 12 years, today’s $80 billion annual Social Security surplus will turn into a $75 billion annual deficit — a $150 billion swing.
Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson said yesterday, “The facts are clear: the sooner Social Security and Medicare are reformed, the fairer reform will be to future generations.” . . . [Read More]Tags:crisis, medicare, Morning Bell, social security, The FoundryTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
by Frank Newport, Gallup Poll: A sizable proportion of Democrats would vote for John McCain next November if he is matched against the candidate they do not support for the Democratic nomination. This is particularly true for Hillary Clinton supporters, more than a quarter of whom currently say they would vote for McCain if Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee.
Clinton supporters who would vote for McCain over Obama = 28%
Obama supporters who would vote for McCain over Clinton = 19%
The data suggest that the continuing and sometimes fractious Democratic nomination fight could have a negative impact for the Democratic Party in next November's election. A not insignificant percentage of both Obama and Clinton supporters currently say they would vote for McCain if he ends up running against the candidate they do not support . . . [Read More] Tags:Democrats, Election 2008, Gallup Poll, John McCain, votersTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
by Jason Gluck, Foreign Policy: We’ve been hearing for months that the U.S. troop surge has been a security success and a political failure. But with little media fanfare, Iraqis may have just found the key to resolving their differences: old-fashioned politics. . . . Amid the recriminations for the lack of political progress, few seem to have noticed what may have been a watershed moment for Iraqi democracy. Indeed, February 13, 2008, might someday be remembered as the day Iraq’s political class finally showed itself capable of compromise and accommodation.
On February 13 the Iraqi parliament simultaneously passed three new laws: one that sets the relationship between the central and provincial governments, a second giving amnesty to thousands of detainees, and a third setting the 2008 national budget. Each piece of legislation is important in its own right, but how the overall compromise came about may prove even more significant than the laws themselves . . . [Read More] Tags:Iraq, Political ProgressTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Bloomberg.com: Former first lady Nancy Reagan endorsed Arizona Senator John McCain's presidential campaign in a move McCain said would encourage conservative Republicans to rally around his bid. Reagan called McCain a "good friend for over 30 years'' who is well prepared to become commander in chief. McCain, 71, was a prisoner of war in Vietnam for over five years after his aircraft was shot down over Hanoi in 1967.
"My husband and I first came to know him as a returning Vietnam War POW and were impressed by the courage he had shown through his terrible ordeal,'' Reagan said today in a statement released by the campaign and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Foundation. I believe John's record and experience have prepared him well to be our next president."
McCain accepted Nancy Reagan's endorsement in the driveway of her Bel Air home in California. He thanked her for support and the "most gracious hospitality" she and her late husband extended to him and other POWs after the Vietnam War. "Obviously, this is an important, most important, expression of confidence," McCain said, speaking to reporters and a group of television cameras. . . . [Read More] Tags:Election 2008, endorsement, John McCain, Nancy Reagan, presidential candidateTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Letter to the Editor by Richard Hughes, IV: I have tried long enough to restrain myself as I have watched the leadership of the Republican Party of Arkansas send the wrong messages, run the wrong candidates and generally take the party in the wrong direction, while blame is placed on the wrong people, so I have sounded off in a Letter to the Editor which I have provided to the ARRA News Service:
LITTLE ROCK — GOP behavior obstructionist Some Republicans whine about our state party’s lack of success-no constitutional officers, no substantial legislative gains, only one GOP member of Congress. A predominant reason attributed to our party’s shortcomings is Mike Huckabee, specifically that “his people” drained the party financially. However, the party was clearly on its feet well before Huckabee left office.
Our late lieutenant governor and GOP chairman, Win Rockefeller, deserves substantial credit for our party’s past greatness. He lit optimism in its fold, leaving it with no debt and roughly $400,000 in the bank. Win made us proud to be Republican, opening every meeting with an all-together-now chant of his motto for the party, “Representing the views and values of everyday Arkansans.”
As for the party’s current status, past GOP chairman Sheffield Nelson put it best recently when denouncing current chairman Dennis Milligan’s unreasonable treatment of the current governor’s severance tax proposal, saying it makes us look like obstructionists and “aginners.” “Aginner” is the exact word I have been searching for to describe some factions of our party.
Passing on an opportunity to demonstrate leadership, the chairman issued his arbitrary default response. Such is foolish considering that the deal resulted from cooperation between Nelson, industry leaders and the governor. These and recent similar actions imply that our party is automatically against everything, including recruitment of decent candidates (or, lately, any candidates) for statewide and congressional offices.
Tags:Arkansas, Arkansas Republican Party, GOP, Richard Hughes, RPATo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Arkansas Jack's Wisdom On the Special Session to Raise Taxes
Bill Smith, ARRA Editor: Although I prefer a more perfect conservative world of less government interference, less taxes, etc.. I'm forced to face reality. For example, I backed a extremely conservative GOP candidate, then a conservative second candidate, and now I am supporting the presumptive conservative GOP nominee because the alternative is unthinkable. Even in Arkansas, conservatives are forced to adjust as situations change. But what about the GOP leadership having the moxie to know how to play the game to its best advantage? Arkansas Jack at the Banana Republic of Arkansas, addresses two perspectives related to the upcoming special session called by the Arkansas Gov. Beebe to increase the severance tax on natural gas wells.
First, Arkansas Jack highlighted the Arkansas Constitution and asked an important question: What is the Emergency:
Constitution Of The State Of Arkansas Of 1874. Article 5. Legislative Department. § 38. Taxes - Increase - Approval by electors.§ 2. None of the rates for property, excise, privilege or personal taxes, now levied shall be increased by the General Assembly except after the approval of the qualified electors voting thereon at an election, or in case of emergency, by the votes of three-fourths of the members elected to each House of the General Assembly. [As added to Art. 5 by Const. Amend. 19.]
If we have any lawyers out there, what constitutes an emergency in Arkansas? Is there something I am missing here? Does Governor Beebe have the authority to determine what is a state of emergency? Does he have to formally declare an emergency?
Seems to me that Arkansas Jack question deserved an answer. Maybe instead of just being against the severance tax, the GOP leadership should have raised this issue. Even if the minority Republican Party cannot control the political game, at least the GOP leadership can get out the rule book make sure that everyone follows the rules or at least make it clear to the public when the Democrat majority party is not following the rules which they historically established for the game.
Now the reality, with the governor calling a special session to raise taxes without a state of emergency, what is being done to stop it? Answer - nothing! I guess can we can expect future special sessions to raise non-emergency taxes. Obviously, the governor will never call a special section to cut taxes (remember the food tax that still need to be completely eliminated). Interesting that the governor determined it wasn't important enough to call a special session to stop kids of any age from getting married but now he considers it critically important to call a special session to increase the severance tax which could have waited until the next session. He appears to have feared the result of a vote by Arkansans on a potential amendment
Now accepting the realty that the special session is going forward, Arkansas Jack in The French Army has Invaded offers some practical advice:
. . . A piece of advice for those serving in the general assembly, offer some choices. Make the Democrat and Rino's vote against reducing some taxes when they (Democrats and Rino’s) want to raise them. Don’t just let them (Democrats and Rino’s) raise the tax with out calling them on it. People want to know why we Republicans can’t win elections. We don’t offer voters a real choice; we are just a bunch of “ginners”. We need to give the voters a clear plan and also show them what Democrats (and Rino’s) really want (a bigger government).
Republican should stand for smaller more efficient government, less taxes and public safety. We know the battle to raise the severance tax is over so change the debate. Make them vote against eliminating some other tax. The Speaker of the House has already floated the idea. Someone pick up the ball and run with it. ... [Read More]
AMEN Brother! Suggest you contact your state legislators and share Arkansas Jack's recommendation. Why waste a special session just raising taxes?Tags:Arkansas, increased taxes, Mike Beebe, severance tax, special session, Bill SmithTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Star Parker. GOPUSA: Hillary Rodham Clinton has reason to be a happy camper. Over recent days, for the first time in months, she has moved significantly ahead of Barack Obama in Gallup's national polling. And, defying Milton Friedman's famous dictum that there is no such thing as a free lunch, she's made these gains at no cost.
Clinton has remained quietly on the sidelines, smirking like a Cheshire cat, as Republican commentators have done all her work for her. They've dragged out the tapes of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and have helped sully what everyone thought was Obama's picture-perfect and Teflon-coated image. Why, after all, should the New York senator bear the costs of attacking Obama and his controversial pastor, further alienating black voters she so desperately wants back, when Republicans have been more than happy to do this work for her? . . .
Sure, Wright's inflammatory sermons, and Obama's longtime association with this man, is important news. But the real story for Republicans is that, for practical considerations, there's no difference between the two left-wing, big-government-loving, morally relativist candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination. This is what Sen. John McCain of Arizona and the Republican Party should be running against, regardless of who it turns out to be . . . [Read More]Tags:GOP, GOPUSA, Politics, presidential candidates, Republicans, Star ParkerTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Guard presence on Mexican border to end this summer
by Arthur H. Rotstein, AP (El Paso Times):A program that has rotated thousands of National Guardsmen along the Mexican border to augment U.S. Border Patrol agents comes to a close in four months, despite calls by at least one border governor to extend the Guard's mission. Operation Jump Start began in mid-2006, deploying up to 6,000 troops at a time during the first 12 months in non-enforcement roles that freed up Border Patrol agents for front-line duty . . . [Read More]ARRA Note:On July 26, 2007, We reported that this would happen. Tags:Arizona, border control, Border Patrol, Mexican Border Issues, National GuardTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Israel National News: Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama is currently hiding his anti-Israel views in order to get elected, according to a well-known anti-Israel activist. The activist, Ali Abunimah, claimed to know Obama well and to have met him on numerous occasions at pro-Palestinian events in Chicago.In an article he penned for the anti-Israeli website Electronic Intifada, Abunimah wrote: "The last time I spoke to Obama was in the winter of 2004 at a gathering in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. He was in the midst of a primary campaign to secure the Democratic nomination for the United States Senate seat he now occupies . . . [Read More] Tags:anti-Israel, Barack Obama, Election 2008, presidential candidatesTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Gary Bauer: We've focused a lot in the past week on Senator Barack Obama's credibility, but we haven't forgotten about Hillary. It's not breaking news to say that politicians often exaggerate, but here is an example of Hillary's disconnect from reality. For the past few weeks, she's told campaign audiences that she faced down death during a visit to Bosnia when she was First Lady. To hear Hillary tell it, her plane "landed under sniper fire," the formal greeting ceremony was scrubbed and "instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base."
This is all part of her attempt to portray herself as tough, "ready on day one" and experienced enough to be commander-in-chief. But now several folks who attended the trip with her are all saying that the scene Hillary has been describing didn't happen. According to the Washington Post, "A review of nearly 100 news accounts of her visit shows that not a single newspaper or television station reported any security threat to the First Lady."
John Pomfret, a reporter who covered the trip, said, "As a former AP wire service hack, I can safely say that it would have been in my lead had anything like that happened." In fact, pictures taken of the event on the tarmac show Hillary and Chelsea, surrounded by smiling dignitaries, bending over to kiss a small girl who had just finished reading a poem. The comedian Sinbad, who was on the trip with Mrs. Clinton, along with singer Sheryl Crow, told the Post, "I think the only 'red-phone' moment was: 'Do we eat here or at the next place.' What kind of president [referring to then-President Bill Clinton] would say, 'Hey man, I can't go 'cause I might get shot so I'm going to send my wife. Oh, and take a guitar player and a comedian with you.'" Tags:Democrat, Gary Bauer, Hillary ClintonTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
by David Paul Kuhn and Charles Mahtesian, Politico: At a time when the GOP presidential nominee will need more assistance than ever, a number of state Republican parties are struggling through troubled times, suffering from internal strife, poor fundraising, onerous debt, scandal or voting trends that are conspiring to relegate the local branches of the party to near-irrelevance. In some of the largest, smallest, reddest and bluest states in the nation, many state Republican organizations are still reeling in the aftermath of the devastating 2006 election cycle, raising questions about how much grassroots help the state parties will be able to deliver to presumptive GOP nominee John McCain. . . .
In Arkansas, where Republicans lost the governorship in 2006 and are outnumbered in the state House and Senate by 3-1 margins, state GOP Chairman Dennis Milligan said he is facing defections and malaise. “Independent conservative individuals just said they were fed up and they said there is no difference [between the two parties],” Milligan said. “We have sent out the message that we are now different. We know it did not fall down in one day and it won’t be rebuilt in one day.” . . . [Read More]Tags:Arkansas, Dennis Milligan, GOP, RepublicanTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Washington Post - Ed Stoddard, Reuters: John McCain's Phoenix pastor, Dan Yeary, is a folksy patriotic Southern Baptist who opposes abortion and believes homosexuality to be a biblical sin, but says Christians have an obligation to love such sinners. That puts Yeary, who heads the church attended for the past 15 years by the Republican presidential candidate firmly in the U.S. Southern Baptist mainstream, and in line with the Republican Party. . . .
Yeary, pastor for the 7,000-member North Phoenix Baptist Church, professes little interest in politics and prefers to focus on preaching and spiritual guidance. But McCain's affiliation with Yeary will do him no harm in wooing support from the key Republican base of evangelical Christians. "John and I are friends, he has called on me to minister to the family in times of challenge and difficulty," he told Reuters in a telephone interview. . . .
John and I are having continual dialogue about his spiritual pursuits," Yeary said. In an interview last year with . . . on-line Catholic forum devoted to issues of faith, McCain said he liked Yeary's "message of reconciliation and redemption which I'm a great believer in. And so I began attending North Phoenix Baptist church and I'm grateful for the spiritual advice and counsel that I continue to get from Pastor Dan Yeary."
The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay. Then go quickly and tell His disciples: 'He has risen from the dead ... -- The Bible, Matthew 28:5-7 (NIV)
by Bill Smith, ARRA Editor: The ARRA Editorial Staff wishes all of you who have helped us with resource information and all of our readers a very Happy and Blessed Easter. We are truly blessed in that "the Innocent" - Jesus Christ - voluntarily gave Himself to be our substitute and was sacrificed as an atonement for our sins. He then also overcame hell and the grave and He rose from the dead. Christ is risen. He is risen, indeed! Tags:2008, Arkansas Republican Assembly, ARRA News Service, Easter, Jesus Christ, Bible, To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
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