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, April 26, 2008
North Carolina GOP Takes on Liberals
Bill Smith, ARRA Editor: The North Carolina GOP released the below ad taking on the liberal positions of candidates in their state who align with the beliefs of Barrack Obama and his associates. This ad entitled "Extreme" opposes Bev Perdue and Richard Moore for Governor. While the ad has been opposed by John McCain and others, the ad has nothing to do with John McCain or his campaign.
N.C. Republicans are not being clones for presidential campaigns or the RNC. Look at the results! North Carolina Republicans are in the forefront of the news. The ad, which speaks the truth trying to be ignored by the liberal media, is helping the North Carolina Republican Party raise large amounts of money. Everyone is pay attention. And the N.C. GOP is showing other state republican parties how to raise big money!
North Carolina Republicans comprehend that their back yards are truly the front lines and their efforts help all conservatives. They understand that to rally support in opposing advancing liberalism, you cannot continue to go along with the moderate agenda of others. Personally, I like their "elephant stampede ad." Running over a few liberals and an occasional RINO is okay be me. It helps to keep the political landscaped a little more balanced.
GOP state parties would do good to recognize that they are not going anywhere by sitting idle by waiting for crumbs of approved information or for money from either the RNC or national candidates. It would be good for state parties to recruit local party activists to work their behalf while keeping out of their party leadership those that have agenda to obtain from candidates future political positions in the RNC, Washington, D.C. or their state government.
The N.C. GOP political ad "Extreme" evidence a truth known to active conservatives and liberals alike. Today's local and state elected leaders will be the national leaders in the future. Liberals beget liberals. Conservatives beget conservatives. Rinos align more with liberals than with conservatives. And with these thoughts in mind, consider . . . "Extreme"
Tags:conservatives, GOP, liberals, North Carolina, political video, Politics, Republican, RINO, Election 2008To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Hucakbee Supports McCain Against "Hillary R. Obama"
Former rival Mike Huckabee campaigned together with Sen. John McCain on Friday. Per the AP:
Huckabee joked that they were so civil as opponents they don't have to "unsay" any bad things. McCain said that early in the GOP campaign, they had a lot of time to get to know each other when both were dismissed as the longest of long shots. Chatting with reporters on the Straight Talk Express campaign bus, McCain recalled the days when they were relegated to the most distant ends of the podium in the early Republican debates, drawing few questions from the moderators. "Governor Huckabee and I had lots of time to chat with each other," McCain laughed. "We became friends on the campaign trail."
Asked about McCain's support among social conservatives, Huckabee believed they would rally around McCain because the stakes are so high. Huckabee identified the most Republican voters are worried about "Hillary R. Obama." McCain and Huckabee were together with their wives and attended a closed GOP fundraiser and visited a men's leadership class at Arkansas Baptist College, a traditionally black private college. McCain's visited the college as part of his "time for action" tour because the college is an example of a success story to be celebrated. Note also:Arkansas: McCain Leads Clinton, Overwhelms Obama[Photos via egopnews.com] Tags:Arkansas, Election 2008, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, presidential candidate, RepublicanTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Bill Smith, ARRA Editor: Many years ago, I had the wonderful opportunity while serving our county to live in Montana. The words "Big Sky Country" not only expresses the natural aspects of the state but it also expresses a sense of freedom. With a "Big Sky," there is lots of space for people to live, to do and to speaks as they wish. Today, I send a "Big Sky"Hat tip to Craig Sprout, of Montana Politicsfor offering Congressman Denny Rehberg a place to post comments on the important legislation to protect bloggers (H.R. 5699, the Blogger Protection Act of 2008).
Bloggers are on the cutting edge of stories in their communities. The majority of bloggers are not beholden to a group or an employer who has the power to limit what they can do and say. If it weren't for the freedom that bloggers have, many of today's "dead tree" print reporters would not have a place to go to garner material for their stories. It is critical in a free society, that bloggers, along with other media types, be able to share thoughts, opinion, ideas, etc. freely. Our forefathers risked everything . Out freedoms were extended to us by their labors and service in casting off tyranny for a free Republic. We should not now or in the future fear of our governments (at all levels) attempts to limit our free speech. We are not like the Canadians, who having remained under the control of the crown were never granted a right to "free speech." While Canadian bloggers face criticism and control by their government agencies, in the United States, bloggers still have free speech. Unfortunately, some are trying to remove or limit this freedom.
As detailed by Congressman Rehberg:
A 2007 report (pdf) found that, in 2006, almost one out of three Americans – more than 60 million people – used the Internet to get political news and information and to discuss campaign races. Over half of Internet users say that they use it because of the amount of information and perspectives that are available – something not easily or cheaply available through more traditional forms of media.
. . . . Whether I agree with them or not, it’s always important to remember that these blogs are . . . the Voice of the People. It’s important we protect that freedom. One way I’m doing this is by supporting H.R. 5699, the Blogger Protection Act of 2008, a bill which would protect . . .. bloggers from the unnecessary intrusion of Washington, DC bureaucrats. In 2002, Congress passed Campaign Finance Reform which some opponents feared would curb free speech. While the bill didn’t specifically mention regulation of the Internet, the law of unintended consequences resulted in a 2004 Federal Court ruling (pdf) which ordered the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to begin regulating speech on the Internet. . . . .As a result, bloggers faced a threat of FEC investigations which would have resulted in a public disclosure requirement and expensive litigation, providing hindrance to the work you all do.
Thankfully, in 2006, at the urgent request of Congress, the FEC passed a rule (pdf) exempting blogs and their authors from this destructive intrusion of federal authority. We argued the Internet is unique because the consumer, not the producer, decides what’s worth reading. Unlike traditional media, speech on the Internet is not constrained by scarcity of space and production. Internet content is only as effective as the choices of the audience to view it. Exempting Internet speech from FEC regulation was right thing to do, but the fight isn’t over. As easily as this rule was created in 2006, it can be removed by a new Administration. That’s why the Blogger Protection Act is necessary. . . . [Complete Article]
In the Senate: The Senate recessed yesterday until Monday at 2 PM. They are then expected to vote at 5:30 on cloture on the motion to proceed to the FAA reauthorization bill (H.R. 2881). Yesterday, an amendment by Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) to the veterans’ bill (S. 1315) that would have taken money the bill will spend on pensions for Filipino veterans and used it for U.S. veterans wasdefeated. The Senate subsequently passed the veterans’ bill and later passed the Genetic Nondiscrimination Act (H.R. 493). The Senate passed with unanimous consent a bill (H.R. 4286) co-authored by Sens. Mitch McConnell and Diane Feinstein to award Burmese democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi with the Congressional Gold Medal. Also passed by unanimous consent was a resolution honoring the 60th anniversary of Israel’s independence (H. Con. Res. 322).
Senate Democrats again felt the need to take aside time yesterday afternoon to accuse Republicans of “filibustering” numerous pieces of legislation, despite the fact that two bills had passed just before that. Earlier in the week, DSCC Chair Chuck Schumer told reporters that Republicans filibustered “the bill implementing the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission; the intelligence authorization bill; the court security bill; the water resources bill; the Clean Energy Act; the CHIP reauthorization; the economic stimulus package; the CPSC overhaul bill; the highway technical corrections bill; and just yesterday, the veterans health bill.” Of course, Schumer neglected to mention that every single one of those bills has passed the Senate, and most have become law.
In the House: House Democrats are blocking two vital pieces of legislation: revisions to FISA that the intelligence community has needed for over a year and the Colombia Free Trade Agreement. Granted, Democrats in the House are busy… they’re squabbling with each other over how to handle the supplemental funding bill for Iraq and Afghanistan. Roll Call reported yesterday, that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is beginning to put together a plan to address the conflicting demands of her caucus: “
That still-developing strategy involves advancing three separate legislative vehicles: one to exclusively provide emergency funding for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan; another aimed at stimulating the economy through a mix of domestic spending measures; and potentially, a third that would advance some sort of language on troop withdrawals. . . . Such a strategy would at least theoretically address the conundrum faced by House leaders: how to pass a war spending bill when anti-war Democrats oppose any new funds without a change in Iraq policy. Further complicating matters, fiscally conservative Democrats could oppose a supplemental that is too heavily laden with domestic spending items and does not have to abide by pay-as-you-go budget rules.”
CQ Today notes an interesting statement by anti-war appropriator Jim Moran (D-VA). Moran is apparently interested in a flexible bridge fund for the war into 2009 which could “allow the next president upon taking office to shift large amounts of money away from Iraq to Afghanistan or pay for troop withdrawals." [Note" There are no links to Roll Call & CQ Today items because they are subscriptions services.] Tags:FISA, Colombia Free Trade, Genetic Nondiscrimination Act, US Congress, US House, US Senate, Washington D.C.To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Hat Tip to Orlando at FHK: Nancy Pelosi was caught fictionalizing a verse in the Bible. The verse, it turns out, does not exist. As CNS News reports:
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is fond of quoting a particular passage of Scripture. The quote, however, does not appear in the Bible and is "fictional," according to biblical scholars.
In her April 22 Earth Day news release, Pelosi said, "The Bible tells us in the Old Testament, ‘To minister to the needs of God’s creation is an act of worship. To ignore those needs is to dishonor the God who made us.’ On this Earth Day, and every day, let us pledge to our children, and our children’s children, that they will have clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, and the opportunity to experience the wonders of nature."
More, on Malkin: Nancy Pelosi’s Lost Biblical verseTags:Bible, Earth Day, liar, liberal, Nancy PelosiTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
As Senator John McCain makes his way to Arkansas tomorrow to talk about the real issues facing voters in this state and nationwide, the Democrat Party of Arkansas is attempting to mislead voters about his record, character, and policies. Ironically, the Democrat Party still hasn’t determined which liberal Senator they plan to nominate for November, and voters still have plenty of unanswered questions about their candidates’ records on the issues:
Tags:Arkansas, Barack Obama, Democrats, John McCainTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Pete Kirkham, Executive Director, NRCC: The Democrat Party is very nervous these days. DNC Chairman Howard Dean was on CNN last week, insisting that the 300 uncommitted superdelegates make up their minds and rally around one candidate, lest the wounds and divisions between the campaigns of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton prove too deep to heal.
An increasingly firm Howard Dean told CNN again Thursday that he needs superdelegates to say who they're for -- and "I need them to say who they're for starting now. . . . 'We cannot give up two or three months of active campaigning and healing time,' the Democratic National Committee Chairman told CNN's Wolf Blitzer. 'We've got to know who our nominee is.'" (CNN, April 17, 2008)
Of course, we know what Dean really means (but won't say) is that he wants those superdelegates to rally around Obama so they can push Hillary off the stage and avoid a complete catastrophe at their national convention in Denver. But that won't be so easy, thanks to Obama's repeated statements that people seek refuge in religion only after Washington has failed to meet their needs, or that they cling to their guns because government has let them down. Elitist beliefs like Obama's are scaring away moderate Democrats in conservative congressional districts.
For all the hype about Obamamania, one thing remains true: America is not a left-of center country. We are a right-of center country that values tradition, religion, and all the rights bestowed upon us by the Constitution -- yes, Obama, even the 2nd Amendment. Stuart Rothenberg, a non-partisan political analyst who evaluates congressional races around the country has this to say about the Obama effect in congressional races this year:
"...Obama may not be the asset that he was once regarded by House Democrats. True, he will likely bring out younger voters and attract more independents than his New York opponent, but he's well on his way to being tagged a liberal, and that will undermine him as an asset for his party.
"Obama's great mistake was not in calling some small-town voters 'bitter.' Instead, it was in treating support for gun control and religion as negatives, as well as in equating 'anti-immigrant sentiment' and support for trade with religion.
"Obama's comments ought to worry Southern and rural Democrats about what their party's attitude might be toward them if and when the party elects a president in November. So long as Democrats have been focused on winning majorities, party leaders have been tolerant of their conservative Democratic colleagues. That could well change if Obama finds himself in the Oval Office." (Roll Call, April 17, 2008)
It doesn't matter who Democrats choose as their presidential nominee. Obama and Hillary are both out of touch with middle-class families in America. There is too much at stake in this campaign to fall behind now. The future of our economy, our quality of life and our national security all depend on the outcome of the 2008 elections.
Republicans have a fighting chance this election year to reclaim House seats that went Democrat in 2006. Unless we defeat them, the radical liberal Democrats will continue to raise your taxes, give amnesty to illegal immigrants, initiate a government takeover of health care, roll-back welfare reform, and push for passage of their entire special interest dictated laundry list of left-wing programs. But in order to regain our Republican territory back, the candidates need supporters and workers - they need Your help! Tags:Barack Obama, elitism, NRCC, US HouseTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Bill Smith, ARRA Editor: Yesterday, being at the Little Rock Capitol, I could not participate in a discussion with Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) who met by conference call with a group of bloggers to share about the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Act and the House leadership's decision to prevent an up-and-down vote on the agreement. However, I am thankful that Carter Wood from the Nat'l Assoc. of Manufacturers posted the following summary and audio on the meeting:
Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) traveled to Colombia in March, where he found a country more peaceful than in years past, growing economically, and embracing progress. . . . Alvaro Uribe is an impressive leader, an ally, and a man working to protect union leaders. The opportunities for U.S. exports to Colombia are impressive. And the Colombia FTA is a great deal for the United States, since Colombia already exports to the U.S. duty free under the Andean Trade Preference Act. Corker expressed strong sentiments about the politics that have disrupted the agreement's consideration in Congress, the unions demanding allegiance just as they did with the Employee Free Choice Act, or card check.
Sen Bob Corker (extract of comments): Let me just say bottom line, I’ve never seen anything that’s just so brazenly a genuflect, if you will, by House leadership to unions. Card check, to me, it’s hard for me to believe that people really believe in this country that card check is a good thing, where basically union leaders go out and one on one should pick people off to bring a union into existence in companies. I’ve experienced first hand some of those types of tactics. Years ago, as a young man, I was a card-carrying union member. And again, it’s hard for me to see…it’s hard for me understand the tremendous tilt that this leadership has toward the unions. But this Colombia free trade agreement is absolutely inflicting pain on the very people that are being represented.
Today, per the Andean free trade preference agreement, Colombia can ship goods into our country tariff-free, for the most part. Very few things have tariffs on them. This agreement would allow us, our employees, our companies, our workers here in America to ship goods to Colombia tariff-free.
This is solely, solely bowing to union pressure. To me it’s an embarrassment to our country. This president has been our friend; Colombia as a country has been our friend in a part of the world where we need friends, where we need people who care about democracy, who care about freedom, who care about commerce, who want to be stable contributors, if you will, to the world. He has done that, and here we are, holding him hostage, holding their country hostage, holding our workers in this country hostage to the fact that the AFL-CIO and other unions are trying to lever this to some other end. I really mean it. I have never seen anything so blatant, so blatant of nothing, if you will, of kowtowing to union officials in our country.
If the House members are allowed to vote their conscience, Corker said, he's convinced the measure would pass by a large margin, just as it would in the Senate. . .[Meeting:MP3 Audio]
Tags:Bob Corker, Card Check, civil unions, Columbia, Free Trade, Senator, Shop Floor, Tennessee, union activismTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
On The Floor: Yesterday, the Senate failed to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to the Ledbetter bill (H.R. 2831) which would have removed the statute of limitations on wage discrimination lawsuits and therefore promoted a boom for trial layers to file more law suits.
The Senate reconvened at 9:30 AM today. They will resume consideration of the veterans’ bill (S. 1315). Around noon, the Senate is expected to vote on a substitute amendment offered by Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), ranking member on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee. The Burr amendment would take $221 million over ten years that the original bill would spend on pensions for Filipino veterans and put it to use for U.S. veterans. After voting on the Burr amendment, the Senate will vote on final passage of the bill. The Senate will then begin consideration of the Genetic Nondiscrimination Act (H.R. 493). Following two hours of debate, the Senate is expected to vote on final passage of the bill.
From Senate & News Sources: Pressure continues on House Democrats over the Colombia Free Trade Agreement. Earlier this week, President Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Harper, and Mexican President Calderon were all critical of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s maneuver to freeze the Colombia agreement. Yesterday, Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) expressed his frustration with House Democrats’ bowing to union pressure on this issue. This afternoon, Republican Leaders: Sen. Mitch McConnell, Rep. John Boehner, Rep. Roy Blunt, Sec. of Commerce Carlos Guitierrez and other GOP ranking members will hold a press conference to criticize House Democrats for blocking the Colombia pact. Politico reports that Pelosi told Boehner that she prefers to hold the trade deal hostage for a big-spending economic stimulus bill.
Meanwhile, Roll Call reports today that Senate Democrats have decided to use the schedule to push issues demanded by the Democrats’ left-wing base: “Democrats . . . are pushing bills favored by gay groups, women’s organizations and labor unions while denouncing insurance companies.” Yesterday’s vote on the Ledbetter bill was being pushed by liberal women’s groups, unions, and trial lawyers. When the bill failed to get 60 votes, the Senate Democrats' campaign arm quickly issued news releases attacking Republicans up for re-election.
Of course, Democrats are not justfollowing liberal groups’ lead on domestic issues. Senate Democrats have recently been trying to claim that the war in Iraq has something to do with the economic slowdown which even MoveOn.org called “political dynamite” in a fundraising email. DSCC Chair Chuck Schumer has held partisan hearings in an effort to to falsely link economic troubles to spending in Iraq. However, when it comes to funding the war, Democrats can’t seem to figure out what they’re doing. Roll Call and Politico both report on different factions pulling House Democrat leadership in a number of competing directions. Clearly, political considerations are driving Democrats on all of these issues. In contrast, Republicans simply want to stand by our allies in Colombia and Iraq and fund our troops without loading up on domestic spending. Tags:Columbia, Democrats, Free Trade, liberal activists, liberalism, Republican, US Congress, US House, US Senate, Washington D.C.To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
With the return of Former President Jimmy Carter from his "citizen" visit to the Middle East, we surveyed some people for their reaction to Carter visiting with terrorist groups and supporters. A significant number said, Carter is a . . . Tags:Jimmy Carter, Middle East, tourTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Did you notice the breaking news today?According to various reports, Sam’s Club and Costco stores are taking steps to limit the amount of rice and possibly other products that consumers can buy as food prices are spiking worldwide. Another article reported that Japan has virtually run out of butter! Food riots are popping up all over the world. Some officials are calling it the “Silent Tsunami.” As usual, government isn’t the solution, but it is a big part of the problem—especially environmental mandates in Europe and America related to bio-fuels, particularly ethanol, which converts corn into gasoline. The global food crisis is so bad, the Associated Press reported, that U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon “warned Sunday that the world must urgently increase food production to ease skyrocketing prices…”
Did you get that? To bring prices down, we must increase production. Surely he meant to say we should raise taxes on food producers. What about immediate investigations of Kraft and Nestle? Shouldn’t we just tell people they must control their demand and cut back on food consumption? Of course, I’m being sarcastic, and hunger is no laughing matter. But neither is America’s energy crisis, and the solution is the same: We must increase production. Government bureaucrats and liberal activists need to get out of the way and let common sense and free markets work. We must stop turning food into fuel, encourage domestic production of oil and natural gas and permit the construction of new refineries and power plants.
I’m pleased to report that House Republicans are taking on the Democrats with a new web video that highlights Nancy Pelosi’s 2006 promise to lower gas prices if Democrats were given control of Congress. Well, they won, Pelosi is Speaker of the House and gas prices are higher than ever. Liberal solutions don’t work!
Tags:broken promises, Democrats, food riots, Gary Bauer, gas prices, liberalism, Nancy Pelosi, United NationsTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
On The Floor: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has again demonstrated Democrats’ mismanagement of the Senate. Democrats began this week pushing to use the veterans’ bill to extend benefits to Filipino citizens who fought in the U.S. Army in World War II. Republicans had no problem with most of the bill, but preferred the money to be used for Filipino vets to be spent on American vets. Note Yesterday's post on this topic. Yesterday, the Senate did vote94-0 to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to the veterans’ bill, S. 1315.Reid complained that Republicans were stalling a veterans benefits package and then decided to postpone the start of the debate and delay the start of theSenate today until 5 p.m. in order to accommodate the schedules of his Senetors Obama and Clinton. Senate will reconvene at 5 PM today and resume consideration of the motion to proceed to H.R. 2831, the Ledbetter bill. At 6 PM, senators will vote on cloture on the motion to proceed to the Ledbetter bill.
Apparently, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton would like to cast their symbolic votes for the Ledbetter bill, but Reid was faced with a dilemma: under Senate rules, a cloture vote on the Ledbetter bill would have to come one hour after the Senate reconvened today, but Clinton and Obama have campaign events during the day. So Republicans refused to allow a delay on the vote, “angered by Reid’s days-long procedural message assault,” which resulted in Reid’s decision to leave the Senate shuttered until 5 PM.
From Senate & News Sources: With regard to the bill to reverse last year’s Ledbetter v. Goodyear Supreme Court decision. The White House said, “this legislation effectively eliminates any time requirement for filing a claim involving compensation discrimination. Allegations from 30 years ago or more could be resurrected and filed in federal courts.” However, this bill is important to a number of powerful Democrat constituencies, including unions, women’s organizations, and others. As Roll Call notes, “While [Ledbetter] is a popular measure with Democrats and liberal interest groups, Republicans have more than enough votes to block it Wednesday, making the vote a largely symbolic one.” Tags:civil unions, Democrats, Filipino, US Congress, US Senate, veterans, Washington D.C.To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
by Grover Norquist, Americans for Tax ReformTaxpayer Protection Pledge) would stifle investment, and the domestic energy it produces. One chief target of the left is the destruction of Section 199 of the tax code, which would chase away capital now being invested here at home by America's oil and natural gas producers. The right way to promote the use of alternative energy is not limiting access to new domestic energy sources of oil and natural gas, or imposing new taxes on the U.S. oil and gas industry. Such an approach will not help supply stable and affordable energy to satisfy the demands of American families, especially at a time when Americans are already struggling in today's economic slowdown. What it will do is help push the economy over the precipice into deep recession by driving up the costs of driving our cars, heating our homes and creating jobs.
In addition, raising taxes on domestic energy makes U.S. oil and natural gas exploration projects less competitive globally, discouraging new U.S. production and increasing our reliance on imported oil. As if that weren't damaging enough, almost all large oil and gas companies are publicly-traded entities, whose shares are owned by millions of investors through their 401(k) plans, IRAs and pension funds. Taxing away the retirement earnings of these millions of Americans won't help anyone except the taxman. Take Action Now: Tell your member of Congress to oppose energy tax hikes! Tags:Americans for Tax Reform, ATR, energy tax, Grover Norquist, tax increases To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
A coalition of American Muslim groups is demanding that Sen. John McCain stop using the adjective “Islamic” to describe terrorists and extremist enemies of the United States.
Muneer Fareed, who heads the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), told The Washington Times that his group is beginning a campaign to persuade Mr. McCain to rephrase his descriptions of the enemy[…]
Steve Schmidt, a former Bush White House aide who is now a McCain media strategist, told The Times that the use of the word is appropriate and that the candidate will continue to define the enemy that way.
Anyone else think that Obama would have folded like a cheap Armani suit to the groups? Not that BHO would ever say it in the first place.
Tags:Islamic, Islamic terrorist, John McCain, Muslim, terroristTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Report Uncovers Hidden Cost of Illegal Immigration
by Phyllis Schlafly, Eagle Forum: Are you having a hard time paying your bills, making your mortgage payments, or putting your kids through college? You need to know how much of your hard-earned income the government is skimming off and diverting into handouts to immigrants and illegal immigrants. You can read the depressing details in the new 70-page document called "The Economic and Fiscal Impact of Immigration" by Edwin S. Rubenstein. . . . Big Brother hasn't told you this bad news, perhaps because the government doesn't want you to know why your paychecks are shortchanged . . .
The financial burden immigrants impose on education starts with the 3.8 million K-12 students enrolled in more-expensive classes for the non-English-speaking. . . the total amounts toan estimated $1,030 per pupil, or $3.9 billion. Of the 48.4 million public-school children, pre-K through 12th grade, 9.2 million or 19% are immigrants or the children of immigrants. In the next few years, immigration will account for virtually all the increase in public school spending.
. . . $1.5 billion cost of incarcerating 267,000 criminal aliens in federal prisons. That's not the worst of it; prison capacity is limited, so 80,000 to 100,000 other criminal aliens have been prematurely released to prowl our streets. Criminals also impose heavy private costs on their victims. . . . the losses of income and property, hospital bills and emotional suffering at $1.6 million per assault- or property-crime offender.
. . . Earned Income Tax Credit . . . gives an average cash payment of $1,700 per year to 25% of immigrant households.The emergency medical treatment given free to illegal immigrants is another enormous cost, causing some hospitals and emergency rooms to close. Emergency means any complaint from hangovers to hangnails, gunshot wounds to AIDS. . . . 24.2% of immigrant households receive Medicaid, . . Hispanics account for 19.2% of Medicaid enrollment, while they are 13.7% of the U.S. population . . .
The Interior Dept spends millions of dollars to clean up the mountains of trash discarded by illegal immigrants crossing [borders] . . . Another cost . . . immigrant workers depress the wages received by native-born Americans, and that causes a $100 billion shortfall in federal tax revenue. Harvard Univ Professor George Borjas found that each 10% increase in the U.S. labor force from immigration reduces wages of native-born Americans by 5.25%.
Some liberals are trying to tell us to fight a recession by bringing in more immigrants, but that would only raid the pockets of U.S. taxpayers to support more millions of non-taxpayers. It's hard to say which is more outrageous: the diversion of Americans' personal income into cash handouts to foreigners, or the federal government's policy of concealing the fiscal impact of immigration. The bottom line, which you need to know for your own bottom line, is that U.S. taxpayers are giving more than $9,000 a year in cash or benefits to each immigrant, a third of whom are in the country illegally. That's $36,000 for each immigrant household of four. Because the U.S. has 37 million immigrants, legal and illegal, the national cost was more than $346 billion last year, which was twice our fiscal deficit. . . [Read More] Tags:economic cost, illegal aliens, illegal immigration, Phyllis SchlaflyTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
100% Preventable! Americans continue to pay the bloody price for open borders! When will the madness end?
Tags:amnesty, Barack Obama, Blogs for Borders, deportation, Hillary Clinton, illegal immigration, jobs, open borders, videoTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Tony Perkins, Washington Update: An estimated billion people are celebrating Earth Day around the world, but few seem to understand its true motivation. Today isn't just another reminder to use recycled paper or drive energy-efficient cars. It's a calculated attack on the sanctity of human life. Population control is inextricably linked to the environmental and abortion movements. For years, the Sierra Club and other green militants have said that the best way to consume fewer resources is to have fewer children. Their own website says, "Talk to your decision-makers and demand an increase of funding for voluntary family planning programs and access to comprehensive sex education for young people." Last year, Optimum Population Trust released a paper that was even less subtle. It claimed that children are "bad for the planet" and called on nations to reduce the global population by five billion--which would only be possible by forced abortion and sterilization. And how could we forget Barry Walters? The Australian professor published an article last year advocating a "baby tax" for every couple with more than two children. The crisis du jour is global warming, but even that is just another excuse to fund "Planet" Parenthood and similar groups. Stewardship of God's creation is the responsibility of every Christian. But we must realize that there's a greater threat to the environment than climate change or scarce resources--and that's the threat of environmental extremism that elevates the planet above people. See Also:Children 'bad for planet'Tags:Earth Day, global warming, Tony Perkins, Washington UpdateTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
On the Floor:The Senate loves wasting time: They began at 10 AM and will recess between 12:15 and 2:30 PM for weekly policy lunches. Then the Senate will again recess from 3:30-4:30 PM for the unveiling of former Sen. Tom Daschle’s (D-SD) official portrait. Senators get paid by us to do this! Wonder who paid for the portrait that we are paying 100 Senators 1 hour to look at. Oh yes, two Democrat Senators are in Pennsylvania today where we pay them to run for President.
The Senators present after the picture hanging will continue consideration of the motion to proceed to a bill which would extend pension benefits to Filipino citizens who fought in the U.S. Army in World War II (S. 1315) Note: to extend benefits to means "take away money from" benefits for American vets" to fund bureaucrats administering a program allegedly for WWII Filipino adult citizens (vets) who fought 63 years ago with American forces to retake their own country. The life expectancy of a male Filipino born in 1955(10 years after the war) was only 46 years. It was less for those males born between 1920-1928 years (the average birth years for a Filipino serving with American forces). In 2000, the average life expectancy for males was 64.65 years. As of 1988 records, there was less than 1.5 % of the population who were males over 65 years (1,232,813). And the very few of these could have served during WWII. Most were children (not men).
Give us a break, the administrative cost of this program will probably exceed the amount of money going to those still living. We invested enough blood already and billions of dollars in the Republic of the Philippines, a country that asked us to leave. A cloture vote on the motion to proceed is scheduled for noon.
As expected, yesterday, Sen. Reid filed cloture on the motion to proceed to a bill to reverse last year’s Ledbetter v. Goodyear Supreme Court decision (H.R. 2831). A cloture vote could come tomorrow. According to the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), “H.R. 2831 would reverse Ledbetter, effectively eliminating the statute of limitations for filing discrimination claims.” NAM also warned that “employers would be forced to defend against an avalanche of decades-old, frivolous claims if Ledbetter were to be reversed.”
While Senate Democrats have decided to spend time on the floor this week on benefits Filipino vets and reversing a Supreme Court decision to open up a floodgate for pay discrimination lawsuits against employers, behind the scenes, the next crucial legislative battle over Iraq funding is shaping up.
In the House & the News: The scuttlebutt is that House Democrats will meet today to discuss how they want to handle the supplemental funding bill for Iraq and Afghanistan. Roll Call reports that House Democrats face the tug of different factions on the supplemental: some Democrats want domestic spending added to the bill, but Blue Dogs want PAYGO to apply to such spending; anti-war Democrats want a timetable for withdrawal, but Majority Leader Steny Hoyer would prefer to leave that out this time around. Roll Call writes, “Acknowledging that withdrawal dates are a dead end, Democrats said they will focus on proposals tailored to address all three of their concerns: that military readiness has deteriorated during the Iraq War, that the domestic economic downturn has a direct relation to the hundreds of billions of dollars spent on the conflict and that U.S. national security has suffered because of the war.”
However, the head of the House Democrats’ campaign arm, the DCCC, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), told The Hill, “I would expect the House to pass legislation similar to that which we passed in the past … a date for the redeployment of the majority of U.S. combat forces.” Don't you just like the euphemism used by Democrats: "redeployment"! Ideally, Congress would pass a supplemental funding bill that did not try to micromanage troops in Iraq and was not a vehicle for massive domestic spending increases. Unfortunately, as related above, that doesn’t fit in to the Democrats’ various political calculations. We will have to wait to see how they plan to once again "pull the rug out from under" supporting troops funding. Tags:Filipino, military funding, US Congress, US House, US Senate, veterans, Washington D.C.To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Want to talk about really inconvenient truths? Well, despite Nobel Laureate Al Gore's massive campaign to scare the world into thinking the planet is facing imminent doom at the hands of global warming, Americans don't seem to be buying it.
In fact, a new Gallup poll released . . . revealed, "a little more than a third say they worry about [global warming] a great deal, a percentage that is roughly the same as the one Gallup measured 19 years ago."
Hehehehehe. Here are the exquisitely delicious details:
. . . Despite the enormous attention paid to global warming over the past several years, the average American is in some ways no more worried about it than in years past. . . . But the American public is more worried about a series of other environmental concerns than about global warming, and there has been no consistent upward trend on worry about global warming going back for two decades. Additionally, only a little more than a third of Americans say that immediate, drastic action is needed in order to maintain life as we know it on the planet. . . .
The fact that a majority of Americans don't believe global warming will pose a threat to them in their lifetimes makes it perhaps less surprising to find that significantly less than a majority of Americans say they worry a great deal about it. In fact, worry about global warming is low on a list of 12 environmental problems that Gallup asks about in the Environment surveys. . . .
the percentage of Americans who worry a great deal about global warming is no higher now than it was 19 years ago. And the percentage who do worry a great deal -- 37% -- is still well less than a majority, and in fact lower than the percentage who worry a great deal about such environmental issues as pollution of drinking water, pollution of lakes and reservoirs, and toxic waste in the soil. . . [More of Noel Sheppards' comments on the Gallup Poll on Global Warming]
Tags:Al Gore, Gallup Poll, global warming, News Busters, Noel SheppardTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
On this day in 1871, the Republican-controlled 42nd Congress passed and the Republican President, Ulysses Grant, signed into law the Ku Klux Klan Act. The law banned the KKK and other Democrat terrorist organizations. President Grant then deployed federal troops to crush a Klan uprising in South Carolina.
Eleven years later, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned most provisions of the Act. Though legalized, this original version of the Ku Klux Klan faded. Why? Because as Democrats regained control over southern state governments, they could oppress African-Americans openly without need of white sheets.Tags:Arkansas, Democrats, James Hinds, KKK, Ku Klux KlanTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
by Gary L. Bauer, Campaign for Working Families: Few current or former members of the U.S. Senate are as admired by conservatives for their courage on values issues as former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum. Few current or former members of the United States Senate were more vociferous in their opposition to John McCain than former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum. Yet today, the Philadelphia Inquirer published a stellar op-ed by former Senator Santorum entitled, “Why Conservatives Should Support McCain.” Here are some excerpts...:
Of all the issues confronting the United States today, none is more important than our nation’s security. Although these issues don’t dominate our news as they once did, we cannot forget that without a safe and secure country, all other issues don’t matter.
McCain is clearly the candidate with the capacity, judgment, experience and will to confront America’s enemies. He’s served our country honorably – heroically – in war. I served eight years with him on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and I can assure you he knows our military...
The most important social issue is life. …In the end, with the exception of embryonic stem-cell funding, he [McCain] always voted for life and stood for the culture of life. In short, he’s been a reliable vote on life issues, which are critical to conservatives...
On judges, McCain has repeatedly made clear that he will, as his Web site states, “only nominate judges who understand that their role is to faithfully apply the law as written, not impose their opinions through judicial fiat.” Sounds good to me...
Those conservatives who still question whether they can support McCain should remember this: The next president will make more than 2,700 political appointments, those who really set policy, across the bureaucracy of our government. I, for one, will sleep better at 3 a.m. if Republicans are in the cabinet and in White House positions that make so many critical decisions. The idea of “Attorney General John Edwards” and “Energy Secretary Al Gore” should cause some sleepless nights for Republicans or conservatives – and those in a U.S. manufacturing sector now struggling to stay afloat.
That Senator Rick Santorum has written this column is more evidence that conservatives are indeed closing ranks, as I suggested in my Friday report. Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee have endorsed John McCain, and they are raising money for him. National Right to Life has endorsed John McCain, citing his “solid voting record against abortion” and his votes to confirm conservative judges.
I’m thankful more and more conservatives are coming to realize what I did two months ago -- that John McCain would not only be the Republican nominee, but that he is “our last, best hope” to prevent a national nightmare in November: the election of Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. And here’s something else to consider: Yesterday, Justice John Paul Stevens, one of the Supreme Court’s most liberal members, celebrated his 88th birthday. Those conservatives still sitting on the sidelines ought to think about which candidate -- Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama or John McCain -- they would prefer to have in the White House making nominations to the Supreme Court! Tags:conservatives, Election 2008, Gary Bauer, John Mccain, Rick SantorumTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
WorldNetDaily: Mychal Massie, the chief of the nonprofit and nonpartisan Project 21 and a columnist for WorldNetDaily, is renewing his call to President Bush to pardon two former U.S. Border Patrol agents who were convicted and jailed for shooting at a fleeing drug smuggler. The call from Massie, whose Project 21 has been a leading voice of the African-American community for nearly two decades, follows a guilty plea from Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila, the smuggler in the case involving agents Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos.
Aldrete-Davila pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court in El Paso, Texas, to drug smuggling and is to be sentenced in July. Compean and Ramos are serving prison terms for shooting at the smuggler while he was running back to Mexico in 2005, Massie's statement noted. Aldrete-Davila conspired to smuggle marijuana into the U.S. twice after he was granted immunity to testify against the agents . . . [Read More] Tags:border guards, drug smuggler, Ignacio Ramos, Jose Compean, pardonTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Louisiana courthouse's lone Jesus painting deemed unconstitutional
by Michael Kunzelman, AP: Displaying a portrait of Jesus in the foyer of a Louisiana courthouse is unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled this week, siding with civil libertarians who sued over the display. But inserting Jesus within a group portrait of historic figures at the courthouse is permissible, the judge said.
. . . U.S. District Judge Ivan Lemelle awarded "nominal" damages plus attorneys' fees and costs to the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana in its case against Slidell City Court, Judge James Lamz and St. Tammany Parish, which partially finances the court. Lemelle said during a hearing last September that he would have ordered court officials to remove the Jesus icon if they hadn't already expanded the display to include portraits of other historic "lawgivers," including Moses, Charlemagne and Napoleon Bonaparte. His ruling this week echoes . . . that the expanded display is constitutional because a reasonable observer wouldn't see it as sending a religious message . . . [Read More] Tags:Jesus Christ, legal ruling, Louisiana, Louisiana courthouse, Jesus painting, unconstitutional, 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: Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel's independence to decide fairly on ballot initiatives has been called into question. Keep Arkansas Legal has questioned Dustin McDaniel's ability to decide the fate of Secure Arkansas' Illegal Immigration Ballot Initiative because of McDaniel received campaign contributions from opponents of the initiative.
Keep Arkansas Legal researched Attorney General Dustin McDaniel's campaign filings and found that over $36,000 has been contributed to him by individuals directly related to The Arkansas Friendship Coalition, a group opposed to Secure Arkansas' ballot initiative concerning state-funded benefits provided to illegal aliens. The head of the Arkansas Friendship Coalition, Steve Copley, said his group intends to fight the measure proposed by Secure Arkansas, according to the Associated Press.
"Our findings raise serious questions about the impartiality of our Attorney General since he has received over $36,000 from members of a group that is directly and actively opposed to a measure he is deciding on," said Kenny Wallis, President of Keep Arkansas Legal. "$36,000 is a lot of money by any standard in politics, and Arkansas law gives the Attorney General total control of the process of approving a ballot initiative for placement on the ballot." Wallis went on to say, " Arkansas voters deserve to know who might be influencing the Attorney General's decision on an issue as important as their right to vote on a ballot measure concerning illegal immigration. $36,000 is a lot of influence, and voters should know that."
Donors Directly Associated with the Friendship Coalition: Stephen Copley $250, 5/6/07; Archie Schaffer $500, 4/30/07; Tyson Foods $4,000, 6/27/06 & 5/11/07; Don Tyson $2,000, 4/30/07; John Tyson $2,000, 4/30/07; 4/30/07; Graham Catlett $4,000, 9/14/06 & 5/6/07; Catlett & Stodola $4,000, 9/14/06 & 5/6/07; Catlett Inc. $4,000, 9/14/06 & 5/6/07; Meredith Catlett $6,000, 7/24/06, 9/14/06 & 5/6/07; Catlett Tower Partnership $4,000, 7/24/06 & 9/14/06; Alltel State EMPAC $4,000; 7/6/06 & 5/4/2007; Ruth Shepherd $50, 3/3/07; Wharf Restaurant, (Cajun’s Wharf) owned by Mary Beth Ringgold $500, 9/14/06; H.R. (Randy) Wilbourn $1,000, 9/6/06 & 10/18/06. Total: $36,300
Donors Indirectly Associated with the Friendship Coalition that we could find: Better Roads PAC $4000, 5/21/2007, Debbie Hall, member of the Associated General Contractors with Tommy Fish; Construction Industry Leadership PAC $2000, 5/21/2007, Debbie Hall member; Arkansas Asphalt & Pavement $250, 5/6/07, Director Mark Lamberth is a past president of Associated General Contractors. Total: $6,250. Sources: Dustin McDaniel Campaign filing reports . . .[Read More]
Secure ArkansasChair, Jeannie Burlsworth, said that they put forth the ballot initiative as a response to the lack of action on the part of the U.S. Congress and Arkansas State Legislature. "This is a burden to the Arkansas taxpayers," Burlsworth said. "It is not fair to provide state benefits to illegal aliens, at the expense of hard working Arkansas families. There are those who have voiced their unwillingness to spend state and local tax dollars to enforce immigration laws, but they seem perfectly willing to force taxpayers to subsidize illegal immigration."
The initiative would require the state and local government to verify the lawful presence in the United States of any person 14 years or older who applies for a federal, state, or local public benefit. Benefits that would require proof of legal presence include; applications for business licenses, in-state college tuition, and scholarships. The initiative would further require government agencies to document the types and dollar amounts of benefits provided to persons who are found to be in the United States unlawfully and submit an annual report of the provided benefits and costs.
According to a 2007 bipartisan interim report, state agencies such as the Department of Finance and Administration, Department of Labor, and others do not track or report costs incurred by the state from illegal immigrants. In addition the report, the annual costs from illegal immigration that were able to be estimated included $78 million for education, $16 million for health services, and $271 million in wire transfers from Arkansas' illegal aliens to other countries. "These numbers are highly underestimated. We just don't know what the real cost is to Arkansas' tax payers. It could easily be well over $200 million per year or more. The numbers are skewed and the assistance received is not accurately tracked," Burlsworth said. "No agency could properly tell us what the actual cost to the Arkansas taxpayer is because no distinction is made between legal and illegal immigrants in their documentation."
In addition, the initiative clearly exempts from the verification process any purpose for which lawful presence in the United States is not restricted by law; assistance for health care items and services that are necessary for emergency medical treatment; short-term in-kind and non-cash emergency disaster relief; immunizations and treatment of communicable diseases; programs and services such as soup kitchens, crisis counseling, and short-term shelters specified by the United States Attorney General; prenatal care and enrollment in public schools.
You may well ask what are the people behind the "Arkansas Friendship Coalition" afraid of? Why is transparency so troubling? "Secure Arkansas calls on our fellow citizens to hold our government to account on the issue of illegal immigration." said Burlsworth. The Secure Arkansas ballot initiative is simply asking Arkansas State and local agencies to be responsible in their duties before they transfer "our money" to another person by verifying that they have a lawful presence in the United States if they are 14 years or older when they apply for a federal, state, or local public benefit. Note, no one is trying to go out and find illegal aliens. Arkansans are concerned with the lack of oversight and transparency. Too many "illegal aliens" are consuming the taxes and benefits established for legal Arkansans. The initiative therefore establishes transparency by requiring government agencies to document the types and dollar amounts of benefits provided to persons who are found to be in the United States unlawfully and to submit an annual report of the provided benefits and costs.
I encourage all readers even those outside of Arkansas who are tired of their money and benefits being provided to "illegal aliens" by their government agencies to 1) let AG Dustin McDanielyour opinion, 2) share with others about our struggle because the lack of government transparency exists at many levels in other states, and 3) leave your opinions and comments. In closing, I am making an exception to our editorial policy and I am actually going to, in print media terms, "shout" a Recommendation to Attorney General Dustin McDaniel:
LET THE CITIZENS OF ARKANSAS DECIDE! DEMONSTRATE THAT YOU ARE NOT CONTROLLED BY PEOPLE OR GROUPS WHO ARE BENEFITING FROM THE USE ILLEGAL ALIENS IN ARKANSAS. APPROVE THE TITLE AND ALLOW SECURE ARKANSAS TO GATHER THE REQUIRED PETITION SIGNATURES. YOU HAVE ALREADY APPROVED THE STATE LOTTERY INITIATIVE EVEN THOUGH IT HAD BEEN DEFEATED PREVIOUSLY BOTH BY ARKANSANS AND AGAIN IN THE LAST CONGRESSIONAL SESSION BY ELECTED OFFICIAL. THEREFORE, BEING UNBIASED, YOU SHOULD DO NO LESS THAN TO ALLOW ARKANSANS TO EXPRESS THEIR POSITION ON THIS BALLOT INITIATIVE THAT ADDRESSES TRANSPARENCY IN GOVERNMENT WITH REGARD TO USE OF GOVERNMENT FUNDS FOR LEGAL RESIDENTS. APPROVE THE SECURE ARKANSAS BALLOT INITIATIVE AND LET LEGAL ARKANSANS VOTERS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO GATHER SIGNATURES AND TO VOTE ON THIS ISSUE!
Tags:Arkansas, Attorney General, benefits, Dustin McDaniel, government transparency, illegal aliens, illegal immigrants, Keep Arkansas Legal, public money, Secure Arkansas, transparencyTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
On The Floor: Senate reconvenes at 3 PM today. Instead of working on a supplemental troop funding bill, confirming judicial nominees, or passing the Colombia FTA, the Senate is set to take up an obscure veterans’ bill and a bill that would be a boon for trial lawyers. Reid is expected today to file cloture on the motion to proceed to a bill to reverse last year’s Ledbetter v. Goodyear Supreme Court decision (H.R. 2831). The bill would essentially remove the statute of limitations on lawsuits over wage discrimination, a clear boon for trial lawyers. When the bill passed the House last summer, House Republican Leader John Boehner described it as “a huge giveaway to [House Democrats’] loyal contributors in the trial lawyer lobby.” The White House has threatened to veto the legislation.
With respect to the delay passage of the veterans’ bill which is mostly unobjectionable and should have already have passed by Congress, Democrats have now insisted on a provision that would take money from veterans’ services in the U.S. and award pensions to Filipino veterans living in the Philippines. Tomorrow at noon, a cloture vote on the motion to proceed to a bill which would extend pension benefits to Filipino citizens who fought in the U.S. Army in World War II (S. 1315). The inclusion of this provision is certain to make passage of the bill contentious.
From News Sources: When one considers why is little getting done in the Senate, the above examples of Democrats "handling things" present good examples. Another factor in Democrats’ inability to get much done is their continuing failure to meet deadlines. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND) told CQ Today in terms of passing a budget in the next couple of weeks, “I never get hung up on a specific deadline because I just don’t think that’s useful around here.” Indeed, Democrats have missed deadlines to renew FISA revisions in February, to pass an AMT fix without causing delays at the IRS by December, to complete work on the farm bill in November, and to pass appropriations bills by October, to name just a few.
When Democrats go looking for whom to blame for their lack of Congressional accomplishments, they would do well to consider their own gross mismanagement: making bills contentious that have no need to be, an ongoing desire to pander to their powerful supporters, and an inability to get anything done on time.
With regard to Pelosi's bungling in the House, The Washington Post ran a good editorial Saturday that demolishes the Democrats’ flimsy arguments against the Colombia Free Trade Agreement. The Post dismisses complaints about Colombia being a dangerous place for trade unionists, showing that such concerns don’t match the evidence. The editorial goes on to discuss importance of Colombia as a bulwark against Venezuela and concludes, “That U.S. unions, human rights groups and now Democrats would focus their criticism and advocacy on the former, to the benefit of the latter, shows how far they have departed from their own declared principles.” Tags:Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Columbia, failed leadership, Free Trade, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, trial lawyers, US Congress, US House, US Senate, veterans, Washington D.C.To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
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Bill Smith, ARRA Editor: The North Carolina GOP released the below ad taking on the liberal positions of candidates in their state who align with the beliefs of Barrack Obama and his associates. This ad entitled "Extreme" opposes Bev Perdue and Richard Moore for Governor. While the ad has been opposed by John McCain and others, the ad has nothing to do with John McCain or his campaign.
