Five Ways to Lower Gasoline Prices

The Heritage Foundation: We can lower gas prices in these five ways: 1) Understand the cause of high prices 2) End domestic drilling restrictions 3) Allow refineries and nuclear plants 4) End expensive and wasteful mandates 5) Let the free market develop energy alternatives

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Tags: domestic drilling, free market, gas prices, Heritage Foundation, nuclear energy, refineries, solutions To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Reconquista Aztlan Separatist Speech

William Gheen, Americans for Legal Immigration: Ron Gochez rallies a group of student protesters advocating illegal immigration into America as forming a "Northern Front" of revolution against 'racist' whites and capitalism.This video is being show to evidence the growing separatist movement in America. If you are disturbed after hearing this video, you should be. The LaRaza & Aztlan movement cannot be ignored.

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Tags: ALIPAC, Aztlan, illegal immigration, news, Politics, Reconquista, Ron Gochez, speech To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Today in Washington D. C. - May 7, 2008

On The Floor: Senate reconvened at 9:30 AM today. After an hour of morning business, the Senate will resume post-cloture consideration of the motion to proceed to the flood insurance bill (S. 2284). Yesterday, a motion to invoke cloture on the Rockefeller substitute amendment to the FAA reauthorization bill (H.R. 2881) failed, because Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid block amendments to the bill. Reid has taken this negative action more than any other majority leader. The FAA bill was set aside and the Senate then voted to move to the flood insurance bill. The Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to hold a markup on the Iraq and Afghanistan supplemental appropriations bill on Thursday.

From Senate & News Sources: Senate Democrats are expected to finally unveil their energy proposal today, though they haven’t said much about what it will include. One idea that has been circulating is withholding arms sales to OPEC nations unless they increase their oil production. The Wall Street Journal cannot believe how absurd it is for Democrats who oppose increasing domestic oil production to demand outsourcing it to the Persian Gulf:

“Charles Schumer, Byron Dorgan, Bernie Sanders, Bob Casey and Mary Landrieu are demanding that President Bush tell OPEC nations to increase their oil supplies or risk losing arms deals with the United States. The Senators say U.S. consumers need the price relief that only increased oil production can bring. Yes, that Senator Schumer and that Senator Dorgan, both of whom voted against increasing U.S. oil production because they couldn't abide drilling across 1% of Alaska's wilderness. Yes, that Senator Casey, who has called for mandatory reductions in emissions of carbon dioxide. . . . All of these Senate Democrats are willing to accept greater carbon emissions, as long as we can also outsource jobs in the petroleum industry to Middle Eastern dictatorships.”

Meanwhile, CQ Today reports that House Democrats have finally put together a supplemental war funding bill and are planning on bringing it to the floor Thursday. Democrat leaders have devised a three-step plan for the bill which will supposedly allow House members to vote for things they like and things they dislike while still passing the bill. The House will first vote on the actual war funding, then on an amendment calling for premature troop withdrawals from Iraq, and then on an amendment adding billions in domestic spending. However, many Democrats are displeased with the bill, especially Blue Dogs who dislike the extra domestic spending that Democrat leaders plan to tack on without paying for. Even more spending is expected to be piled on when Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd (D-WV) holds a markup on the bill Thursday.

CQ details the numerous bad war policy ideas from anti-war Democrats that are expected to be in the second amendment: “The second amendment, a litany of war-policy provisions which includes a non-binding ‘goal’ of redeploying combat troops from Iraq within 18 months, is also expected to pass . . . . [It] also will include several policy riders that have failed before, including a prohibition on deploying troops that are not combat ready or that have not spent time at home equal to their battlefield deployments; a ban against interrogation techniques not found in the latest Army Field Manual . . . .”

In other news, Republicans continue to press House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to allow a vote on the Colombia Free Trade Agreement. Today, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said, “According to an estimate by the Department of Commerce, U.S. goods entering Colombia have been weighted down with more than $1 billion in tariffs since the Colombia Free Trade Agreement was signed. One billion dollars. This is a heavy burden to place on U.S. workers and the businesses they work for.” Sens. Kit Bond (R-MO), John Cornyn (R-TX), and Mel Martinez (R-FL) also spoke on the need to pass the Colombia pact. At the same time President Bush hosted House Republicans at the White House and again called for a vote on the Colombia agreement.

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Tags: Columbia, FAA, flood insurance, Free Trade, Iraq War, military funding, 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!

Breaking News - Secure Arkansas Ballot Initiative Approved

Breaking News from the Secure Arkansas Director Jeannie Burlsworth, "I have just received word that our Secure Arkansas ballot initiative has been approved by the Attorney General. Yea!!!" Betty Manz of Secure Arkansas added:

We are excited. All who are on fire for our cause to go to the SecureArkansas.com website and sign up to volunteer to get petitions. The requirement is approximately 62,000 signatures by July 7, so in reality we need between 80 and 100 thousand to make up for any that are disallowed. The time to get them is very short, so we need to recruit, recruit, recruit. Can't get too many volunteers for this. Please let everyone now. Our chairman, Jeannie Burlsworth, has a great powerpoint presentation she will do for meetings and she will go anywhere in Arkansas. She is working very hard, focusing on recruitment and her telephone number is 501-765-3325.

The states all around us have tightened up their laws and this will make Arkansas a sanctuary state if we don't do something. Think of that. This is something of an emergency.

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Tags: Arkansas, ballot initiatives, government transparency, illegal aliens, illegal immigrants, illegal immigration, petitions, public money, Secure Arkansas To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Ben Stein Provokes the Liberals' Wrath

by Phyllis Schlafly: Ben Stein is known to many as an actor on Comedy Central. But the funniest part about his latest movie called "Expelled" is not any clever lines spoken by Stein but the hysterical way the liberals are trying to discourage people from seeing it. Stein's critics don't effectively refute anything in "Expelled"; they just use epithets to ridicule it and hope they can make it go away. However, it won't go away; even Scientific American, which labeled the movie "shameful," concedes that it cannot be ignored.

The movie is about how scientists who dare to criticize Darwinism or discuss the contrary theory called Intelligent Design (ID) are expelled, fired, denied tenure, blacklisted, and bitterly denounced. Academic freedom doesn't extend to this issue. The message of Stein's critics comes through loud and clear. They don't want anybody to challenge Darwinian orthodoxy or suggest that Intelligent Design might be an explanation of the origin of life. . . . [Read More]

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Tags: Ben Stein, Expelled, liberals, Phyllis Schlafly To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Sen. Blanche Lincoln Asked to Join Shopper at Local Grocery

Bill Smith, ARRA Editor: Like most Americans, Arkansans are feeling the pain of both gas prices and food prices. Renee Taylor of Bradley County, Arkansas felt the pain as well but she is national writer and took to her keyboard to express her frustration in ‘Free Food’ Puts a Bad Taste in My Mouth' published today in Family Security Matters . Renee started by addressing President Bush announcement last week calling on Congress for an additional $770 million in international “food aid.” Renee said, "I had just returned from a trip to the grocery store and was feeling less than charitable upon hearing that he wanted to give more aid to countries (such as the terrorist, America-hating states of Somalia and the Sudan) that we have been “feeding” for over 50 years."

But most interesting in Renee's article was her call to U. S. Sen. Lincoln's office:

This week, I called the office of my senator, Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), to invite her to join me at the local grocery store. Ours is not a family on government assistance – we do not get that little food stamp card each month, nor can we go to the local welfare office with our electric bill to have it paid. Our children do not wear $100 sneakers and we do not carry expensive cell phones. We do not live in government-funded housing and our children do not receive “free” breakfast and lunch at the local government-funded school.

I wanted Washington, represented by Sen. Lincoln, to enter the reality of the middle class American – the one who pays $2 for a loaf of bread and $10 for a gallon of cooking oil in cash; the family who buys staples such as flour and cornmeal, fruits and vegetables to cook healthy meals rather than “prepared” foods that contain the high fats and calories that are quickly becoming staples of the American diet. I wanted Sen. Lincoln to stand with me in line as those with “food stamp cards” use them to pay for junk food and sodas. I wanted her to explain to me why the apparently able-bodied person in front of me is purchasing items on government assistance that many working Americans can ill afford. But I won’t hold my breath that Sen. Lincoln will take me up on the offer.

Hopefully readers will be encouraged to call and invite their U.S. Senators and Representative to shop with them. Let's invite them to reality and into our local grocery stores. Maybe then they will stop their "do nothing" arrogance. It is time for action not more inept statements asking taxpayers to conserve, drive less, turn down the lights, etc. While liberal officials call for taxpayers to do with less, they push their "pork barrel" spending and give our hard earned money away to others. I commend Renee Taylor's article to you and close with her words:

This American housewife is fed up – not with working hard to pay the grocery bill and the gas to get there – but with the Socialist, global policies that have put us in this position and the elitist, inept politicians who continue to expand them. All this free food is leaving a bad taste in my mouth. . . . [Read Complete Article]

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Tags: Family Security Matters, food prices, gas prices, government programs, government waste, Blanche Lincoln To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Why Is Congress Doubling Down on Mortgage Mess?

The Foundry, Morning Bell: The United States likes to think of itself as a model of free markets. Unfortunately, in far too many sectors of the economy the reality is that the federal government already plays a huge role. Housing is a perfect example. The two Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSE) created to help the feds muck around in the housing market, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, already dominate the mortgage industry, handling more than 80% of all mortgages bought by investors in the first quarter of 2008. At the urging of politicians determined to increase homeownership rates, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has increased the number of exotic mortgages in its portfolio from 2% in 2000 to 35% in 2007.

Don’t let anybody fool you, federal market intervention is at the core of the nation’s mortgage meltdown and the bottom lines of the government entities doing the intervening reflect it. If current mortgage default rates continue, the FHA will face a $1.4 billion deficit in 2009 and Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae already racked up $9 billion in mortgage-related losses last year and have another $19.9 billion in unrealized losses still on their books. So what are lawmakers doing in the face of these federal government failures? Like a degenerate gambler, Congress is on the brink of taking taxpayer money and doubling down. . . . Gamblers always seem to take bigger risks when they are playing with house money. Do the American taxpayers really want Congress playing this fast and loose with the U.S. treasury? . . . [Read More]

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Tags: gambling, Heritage Foundation, Morning Bell, mortgage default, mortgages, The Foundry, US Congress To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Voter Fraud Watch

by Gary Bauer, Campaign for Working Families: Back in 2006, liberal activist group ACORN was busted for voter fraud when its Washington State affiliate submitted 1,800 new voter registration forms, 1794 of which were total fakes. Apparently, ACORN workers simply invented Social Security numbers and took names from the phone book in what the Washington Secretary of State called the “worst case of election fraud in our state’s history.”

Last week, the United States Supreme Court ruled that states can require voters to produce photo I.D. before voting. Predictably, ACORN was aghast at the decision, calling it “One more strike against the basic right to vote…that further disenfranchises people of color and low income Americans.” That’s a bold remark given that if photo I.D. requirements had been in effect in Washington State two years ago, ACORN’s fraud scandal would never have happened. It’s also very revealing, since all citizens have photo I.D.s, and the only people who don’t are illegal aliens, who are, by definition, not allowed to vote. The only ones disenfranchised by the photo I.D. requirement are those who should NOT be voting anyway.

Even with the new Supreme Court ruling, this year’s election may be tainted with voter fraud. Women’s Voices Women Vote, a liberal Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit voter outreach group that targets unmarried women is receiving criticism in seven states for possible fraudulent voter registration practices. Mailings and phone calls from the group have confused thousands of primary voters. Arizona’s Secretary of State called the group’s mailings “misleading and deceptive” for suggesting that voters were legally required to send back the enclosed registration forms. And North Carolina voters last week received automated messages from the group informing them to expect a voter registration packet in the mail, nearly two weeks after the mail-in-voter registration deadline for the Tar Heel state’s presidential primary. Women’s Voices Women’s Vote spokespeople say the group is working hard to correct these missteps. But something tells me that in an election that may be the most important in a generation, we have not heard the last of these types of voter fraud scandals.

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Tags: ACORN, Arizona, Gary Bauer, North Carolina, photo id, US Supreme Court, voter fraud, Washington To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

McCain Courts Judicial Conservatives

Tony Perkins, FRC: Visiting Wake Forest University today, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) delivered a pointed speech about the disarray of U.S. courts and the type of judicial nominees he would support if elected President. Affirming his intent to nominate strict constructionists, McCain told the crowd that "...the duties and boundaries of the Constitution are not just a set of helpful suggestions. They are not just guidelines to be observed when it's convenient and loosely interpreted when it isn't." Frustrated by the "presumption" of federal judges to resolve policy questions "that should be decided democratically," McCain pledged to nominate judges in the mold of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts. "In federal and state courts... there are still men and women who understand the proper role of our judiciary. And I intend to find them and promote them... My nominees will understand that there are clear limits to the scope of judicial power," McCain said. He criticized his colleagues in the Senate for making time to pass exorbitant earmarks but relegating judicial nomination hearings to the bottom of their to-do lists. The Democratically controlled Senate views the judiciary as a tool for dictating social policy. If Congress doesn't have the votes to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act, its liberal allies will find a judge to declare it unconstitutional. Their hopes are ultimately pinned on a President, who, they hope, will nominate judicial activists to reshape the social landscape of America. We applaud Sen. McCain for pledging to make every federal court "a refuge from abuses of power, and not the source." See Also: McCain Criticizes 'Activist Judges'

CLICK HERE TO SIGN THIS PETITION!

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Tags: Activist Judges, Election 2008, John Mccain, Judges, Tony Perkins To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Today in Washington D. C. - May 6, 2008

On The Floor: The Senate reconvened at 10 AM today. Resumes consideration of the FAA reauthorization bill (H.R. 2881). A cloture vote on the Rockefeller substitute amendment is scheduled for 2:30 PM. Reid blocked Republicans from offering amendments. Reid’s move may prevent him from getting cloture on the bill today. If cloture is not invoked, the Senate is expected to turn to a cloture vote on the motion to proceed to a flood insurance bill (S. 2284). The Senate Appropriations Committee may hold a markup on the Iraq and Afghanistan supplemental appropriations bill on Thursday.

From Senate & News Sources: Only Republicans have addressed the high gas prices with their proposals designed to tackle the issue of oil supply. The importance of looking at the supply side of oil prices is vividly illustrated by three news stories today. The Washington Post: “Adam Sieminski, chief oil economist at Deutsche Bank, said declines in oil output in the United States and Europe and a slowdown in the growth of oil production in Russia were making it hard for world supplies to keep pace with rising consumption.” The AP reports, “Supply outages or potential threats to supply emerged in Iran and Nigeria over the weekend and from Iraq on Monday; events in all three nations have caused prices to spike many times in recent months.” And Bloomberg notes, “‘There are bad news coming out everyday on the supply side, it’s a scary picture right now,’ said Jonathan Kornafel, the director for Asia at Hudson Capital Energy in Singapore.”

Democrats have repeatedly blocked commonsense solutions to increase domestic oil supplies, often saying it is important to invest in alternative fuels instead. Many bills have passed to do just that, and there is no reason both cannot be done at the same time. Further, it is disappointing to hear Democrats complain about oil that would not be ready for 10 years in the case of ANWR, only to see their solutions consist mostly of much longer term ideas for new technologies. After weeks of infighting over differences among themselves on a supplemental funding bill for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, Democrats appear ready to move forward with a bill in the House. Of course, this is without going through the regular committee process, something Democrats promised they would not do in 2006, as detailed by Politico.

With regard to troop funding, House Democrats seem more interested in playing politics with this bill, then getting the funds to our troops. The New York Times reports that although “[President] Bush has steadily insisted he would not approve any legislation that exceeds his spending request for the war, sets any withdrawal deadlines or adds domestic money he opposes like the unemployment benefits,” House Democrats are preparing a bill with all three of these items.

Including these measures in the bill will only serve to delay the war funding needed by the Pentagon, since the withdrawal provisions in particular will not survive in the Senate and the added spending could result in a veto. Admiral Michael Mullen, JCS Chairman has said that the military needs this funding “very badly before the Memorial Day recess. . . . We stop paying soldiers on the 15th of June and we have precious little flexibility with respect to that.” However, Sen. Harry Reid responds, “I think we’ll do our best to finish this before the Memorial Day break, but if we don’t, it’s no big deal.” No big deal? Some days it’s difficult not to be taken aback by Reid's cavalier attitude towards funding our troops and by the Democrats demonstrated delays and political posturing.

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Tags: FAA bill, gas prices, troop funding, 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!

Sebastian County Offers Arkansas GOP Hope

Bill Smith, ARRA Editor: Two young republicans running for Sebastian County House District 64 seat offer hope to the future of the Arkansas Republican Party. One is 30 year old, Stephanie Malone, an advertising executive. She grew up in the politically active family that includes her uncle U. S. Rep. John Boozman and her aunt Vickey Boozman who is also running for a state House seat.

The other is Brandon Woodrome, age 20; younger but very conservative. State representatives have to be at least 21 when they take office. Woodrome turns 21 on Sept. 9. If he wins, he would take office in January. When shares his ideas, Woodrome says his experience is an example of why government needs changing. He grew up in a family that depended on food stamps, subsidized housing, “and every program touted by liberals as humanitarian.” Woodrome said such programs destroyed his family, taking away his parents’ incentive to the point that the state terminated their parental rights and he became a foster child during his teen years.

Woodrome was married at 17 and has a 6-month old son. He is a manager at a construction company and has worked for the same boss since age 15. Brandon believes Medicaid, Medicare, food stamps and Social Security should end. He believes that if those programs didn’t exist, churches and community organizations would take a greater role in caring for society’s needy, as they did before the programs started. He realizes these are federal programs, but has made them part of his broader state to distinguish his positions. Woodrow said “The other candidates in this race have their political theory because it is a political theory. They haven’t seen the evils I’ve seen. It’s not just right or left to me. It’s right or wrong.” He said "his brand of conservatism was earned the hard way."

On illegal immigration, Woodrome says local law enforcement officers should be able to ask everyone for proof of citizenship. Officers should be able to check the legal status of any person charged with a felony, driving while intoxicated, or booked into jail. He said the state should adopt a law similar to one approved in Oklahoma which prohibits the government from providing driver’s licenses or public benefits without proof of legal status. He said, "The state should punish people who hire or harbor illegal aliens." Malone said she wouldn’t go as far as Woodrome, though she agrees the state should penalize employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens.

On taxes, Woodrome was disappointed that Gov. Beebe didn’t propose reductions in government spending while reducing the grocery tax in 2007. Woodrome said income taxes should be cut. Malone said she would support getting rid of the remaining 3% of state sales tax on groceries. Malone said her top priority would be economic development. Woodrome said his top priority would be protecting Arkansans by sponsoring immigration legislation. Both opposed the establishment of a state lottery and favored the proposed initiated act that would ban unmarried, cohabiting couples from adopting or serving as foster parents.

The Arkansas Republican Party has hope for its future if it puts forth more candidates like Woodrome and Malone. The RPA and local party should welcome the loser, should put them to work and should encourage them to run for other position. See More on These Candidates: Diverse histories lead two to ballot

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Tags: Arkansas, GOP, Republican Party of Arkansas, RPA, Sebastian County To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

States Legalize a Woman's Right to Know

CitizenLink: States are passing laws allowing women to see the pre-born child in their womb and decreasing the number of abortions in the process.

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Tags: abortion, CitizenLink, pregnant women, right to know, Stuart Shepard, ultrasound To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Arkansas Democrat Tells Members to Stop Helping GOP

KUAR FM89: Stung by two fundraisers for Republicans hosted by Democratic lawmakers, Democratic Party of Arkansas Chairman Bill Gwatney said Monday he mailed the letter on behalf of activists concerned about party members supporting GOP legislators."Our party faithful do not understand why the Democrats that they have worked to elect would support a Republican," Gwatney wrote in the April 23 letter to the state's Democratic constitutional officers, legislators and congressional delegation. . . .

In the two-page letter, he cites the Little Rock fundraiser for Republican Rep. Bryan King of Green Forest and another fundraiser last year for Sen. Gilbert Baker, the former chairman of the state GOP, hosted by outgoing Senate President Jack Critcher, D-Batesville, and incoming Senate President Bob Johnson, D-Bigelow. Gwatney doesn't mention any of the Democratic lawmakers by name in the letter. . . . [Read More] ARRA Comment: Were these conservative Democrats who aiding the Republicans and if so have they noted their party's departure from their grandparent's beliefs. Or, were they helping RINOs. I guess we will have to watch and see. However, it is nice to learn that democrat activists (whoever they are) are upset.

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Tags: Arkansas, Democrats, Politics, Republicans To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Early Voting in Arkansas Preferential Primary Begins Today

Early voting began today for the May 20th Preferential Primaries and Non Partisan Judicial General Election. Secretary of State Charlie Daniels said, "Early voting will be available statewide from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday through 5 p.m. on May 19, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays." Each county will provide at least one early voting location, usually at the county courthouse, and some will offer additional locations. Voters who participate in the elections will have a choice of three ballots: Democratic, Republican, or nonpartisan judicial. However, nonpartisan judicial races will also be listed on the partisan ballots. Daniels identified that voters may vote in any party’s primary without regard to how, or if, they voted in the Feb. 5 presidential preferential primary.

Daniels says he's not expecting the high voter interest that the state saw in the February Fifth primary, which featured a 35% voter turnout. About 70,000 of the more than 544,00 voters who cast a ballot in February did so through early voting. Daniels says that with few high-profile races capturing the state's attention, he doubts the turnout among the state's roughly 1.6 million voters will be as high. The election will also feature three races for seats on the Arkansas Court of Appeals and based on filings as least 20 races for Arkansas District Circuit Judge.

Tight legislative races may be hard to find. Of 118 legislative seats that are on the ballot this year, there are only 18 contested Democratic primaries and 9 Republican contests. Turnout may also be affected by the lack of any contested primaries for the state's four incumbent congressmen and the U.S. Senate seat held by Mark Pryor, who didn't draw any major party opponents for the primary or general election. In few counties will primaries draw attention for local county offices.

Among the high-profile primary contests are Senate District 33, which pits Sen. Joyce Elliott, D-Little Rock, against former state Rep. Joyce Elliott, D-Little Rock. Sen. Jim Luker, D-Wynne, also faces a primary fight in the Democratic primary from Rep. Denny Sumpter, D-West Memphis. State House District 99, which includes Benton County, features a Republican primary fight between Vickey Boozman, the widow of former state Health Director Fay Boozman, and Tim Summers, who sits on the county's quorum court.

House District 29, which includes Saline County, will feature primary contests on both sides. Scott Smith, a senior managing partner of SKB Partners in Bryant and Mike Beckwith, a Benton business owner, are competing for the Democratic nomination in the district. The Republican contest features University of Arkansas at Little Rock political scientist Ann Clemmer, Acxiom Corp. analyst J. Brett Hooton and former Bryant City Council member Bud Lidzy.

State House District 81 in Baxter County, has a hotly contested primary fight between former quorum court member and former state senator and business owner Gary Hunter of Mountain Home and a senior district representative for former Congressmen Tim and Asa Hutchinson for and Arkansas State Univ Mountain Home associate chancellor Karen Hopper of Lakeview. It is anticipated that many Democrats and Independents will vote in the Republican primary because of the Hunter-Hopper race. In Nov., the winner will face both a Democrat and Independent candidate. The seat was previously held by Johnny Key who wins without opposition the District 1 Arkansas Senate seat.

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Tags: Arkansas, early voting, nonjudicial election, preferential primary, primary, Secretary of State, voting To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

The Price of Gas Versus Printer Ink

Hat Tip to Stix: Think a gallon of gas is expensive? All these examples do NOT imply that gasoline is cheap; it just illustrates how outrageous some prices are.... You will be really shocked by the last one! (At least, I was...)

This makes one think, and also puts things in perspective:
Diet Snapple 16 oz $1.29 . $10.32 per gallon
Lipton Ice Tea 16 oz $1.19 ........$9.52 per gallon
Gatorade 20 oz $1.59 ... $10.17 per gallon
Ocean Spray 16 oz $1.25 ........ $10.00 per gallon
Brake Fluid 12 oz $3.15 ..... $33.60 per gallon
Vick's Nyquil 6 oz $8.35 .. $178.13 per gallon
Pepto Bismol 4 oz $3.85 .. $123.20 per gallon
Whiteout 7 oz $1.39 .... . $25.42 per gallon
Scope 1.5 oz $0.99 ...$84.48 per gallo

And this is the REAL KICKER... Evian water 9 oz $1.49..$21.19 per gallon! $21.19 for WATER and the buyers don't even know the source (Evian spelled backwards is Naive)

Ever wonder why printers are so cheap? So they hcan ave you hooked for the ink.
Someone calculated the cost of the ink at (you won't believe it....but it is true....)
$5,200 a gal. (five thousand two hundred dollars)

So, the next time you're at the pump, be glad your car doesn't run on water, Scope, or Whiteout, Pepto Bismol, Nyquil or God forbid, Printer Ink!

Just a little humor to help ease the pain of your next trip to the pump.
And - If you don't pass this along to at least one person, your muffler will fall off!!
Okay, your muffler won't really fall off . . . but, you might run out of toilet paper.

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Tags: gas prices, humor To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Today in Washington D. C. - May 5, 2008

On The Floor: The Senate is OUT TO A LONG LUNCH!! They will reconvene tomorrow at 10 AM Tuesday. They are scheduled to do little under the Democrat leadership. May resume consideration of the FAA reauthorization bill (H.R. 2881). A cloture vote on the Rockefeller substitute amendment is scheduled for on Tuesday afternoon. As previously reported, Harry Reid blocked Republicans from offering amendments. The House has a full plate of generally non-controversial bills such as a resolution celebrating Mother’s Day. Wow, let's debate this one. Some people had bad mothers and in the future, clones ("test tube" democrats) may not have mothers.

From News Sources: As in April, the Democrat leadership continue their same do nothing actions - hoping for a democrat president in January, 2009. Can you believe we pay these people? However, they are squabbling over the supplemental war funding bill behind the scenes. Last week, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) insisted that the supplemental bill would be ready for the House floor this week, but Roll Call reports that plans are still up in the air as Democrats fight amongst themselves. Leadership is butting heads with appropriators who aren’t happy with plans to bypass the committee process, anti-war members are demanding a vote on timetables for withdrawal from Iraq, Blue Dogs want spending offsets, and a large number of Democrats want a chance to load the bill up with domestic projects, despite President Bush’s threat to veto such a bill.

As Democrats bicker, JCS Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen warns Congress that the Pentagon can’t afford to wait on war funds. Democrats initially pledged to have the supplemental bill completed by Memorial Day, but according to Roll Call today, “The competing pressures prompted Reid and . . . Hoyer . . . last week to push back the timetables for the measure, with Reid hinting that it might not get done before Congress leaves town for a one-week recess on May 23. Hoyer said the bill might not come to the House floor this week as previously expected . . . .” Will DOD be forced again to send out pink slips to some employees because Congress did not gotten war funding passed in a timely fashion? National Review Online has the right idea on the supplemental in an editorial today: “Pass It Clean. Pass It Now.”

At home, Americans are most concerned about gas prices. Last week, Senate Republicans introduced the American Energy Production Act to begin to increase domestic energy supplies. Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM), Energy and Natural Resources Committeeman has argued for some time that we’re paying the price for a lack of production in the U.S. The Wall Street Journal echoed “[The bill] has the potential to increase domestic production enough to keep America running for five years with no foreign imports. With the world price of oil at $116 a barrel, if not now, when?”

The Democrtats pending enengy plan appears to be to punish the golden goose who provided our oil from around the globe. They are loudly demanding that oil companies be punished for their profits. Senate Democrats scheduled a press conference for last Friday but postponed it -- another instance where Democrats cannot get their act together. If they want to punish our major industries, imagine their fairy tale antics moving next to punishing Americans for breathing -- you know, letting out all that dangerous carbon dioxide (with an exclusion for Capitol Hill).

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Tags: gas prices, gasoline, military funding, oil, 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!

Garfield on Gas & Oil Prices - Message for Washington

This in from one of our readers, Debbie:

A lot of folks can't understand how we came to have an oil shortage here in our country.
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Well, there's a very simple answer.
Nobody bothered to check the oil.
We just didn't know we were getting low.
The reason for that is purely geographical.
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Our OIL is located in : ALASKA, Utah, Coastal Florida, Wyoming, Coastal Louisiana, Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania .

Our dipsticks are located in DC!

Any Questions? NO?. . . Didn't think so!

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Tags: Garfield, gas prices, oil, oil prices, oil reserves, POTUS, Washington D.C., political humor, satire To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

GO DEMOCRATS

This in from one of our readers, Susan: I agree wholeheartedly with Sen. Hillary Clinton when she insinuates that Sen. Barack Obama is not qualified or capable of running this country, and I agree wholeheartedly with Sen Barack Obama when he insinuates that Sen. Hillary Clinton is not qualified or capable of running this country.

So, for the first time that I can recall, I am in total agreement with the Democratic Party.

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Tags: Barack Obama, Democrats, Hillary Clinton, political humor To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

McCain's Heathcare Solutions Ad

John McCain is committed to lowering health care costs for Americans.
     

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Tags: Election 2008, Health Care Reform, healthcare, John McCain, medical costs, presidential candidate, solutions, TV, video To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

43 Illegals Arrested in Arkansas

Keep Arkansas Legal reported that on Wednesday, Federal agents arrested 24 suspected illegal immigrants working on a construction project near the Little Rock National Airport, but not inside the airport's secured areas, officials said Wednesday. Agents raided a construction project at the site of Supermarine, a company that provides fuel and supplies to corporate and private aircraft. A spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at New Orleans, said the raid came as local police served an arrest warrant on a U.S. citizen facing a drunken-driving charge. ICE got a tip that illegal immigrants worked for that contractor, and the agency decided to carry out a raid at the same time as local officers went to the site.

The raid came as part of ICE's effort to target illegal immigrants with access to critical areas like airports, military installations and nuclear power plants. However, the construction site is outside of the secured areas where the runways and terminal sit, said airport spokeswoman T.J. Williams. Of those arrested, 23 were Mexican nationals and one man from Peru. Wednesday's raid comes two weeks after an immigration raid on a north Arkansas poultry plant. Agents arrested 21 suspected illegal immigrants at Pilgrim's Pride plant in Batesville, Arkansas as part of a nationwide sweep against workers using illegally obtained Social Security numbers and driver's licenses.

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Tags: Arkansas, arrests, Batesville, ICE, illegal aliens, illegal immigrants, Keep Arkansas Legal, Little Rock To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Obama's Top 10 Fabrications

#10: Obama Was A Constitutional Law Professor: At Fundraiser, Obama claimed: “‘I was a constitutional law professor, which means unlike the current president I actually respect the Constitution.” (Brendan Farrington, “Obama: Bush Fails To Respect The Constitution,” The Associated Press, 3/30/07) On the University Of Chicago Law School website, Obama is listed as a “Senior Lecturer In Law (On Leave of Absence).”(Accessed 3/30/07)

Obama Made This False Claim In His 2004 Senate Race. “Several direct-mail pieces issued for Obama's primary [Senate] campaign said he was a law professor at the University of Chicago. He is not. He is a senior lecturer (now on leave) at the school. In academia, there is a vast difference between the two titles. Details matter.” (Lynn Sweet, “Obama's Book: What's Real, What's Not” Chicago Sun-Times, 8/8/04)

#9: Obama’s Parents “Got Together” Because Of The 1965 Selma March: In his Selma speech, Obama said his parents “got together” and he was born as a result of the Selma March. Obama: “Because some folks were willing to march across a bridge. So they got together and Barack Obama, Jr. was born. So don’t tell me I don’t have a claim on Selma, Alabama.” (Senator Barack Obama, Remarks At Brown Chapel AME Church, Selma, AL, 3/4/07) “Earlier In The Day At A Prayer Breakfast, The Illinois Democrat Said: ‘If It Hadn't Been For Selma, I Wouldn’t Be Here.’” (Anne E. Kornblut and Peter Whoriskey, “Clinton, Obama Link Selma March To Present,” The Washington Post, 3/5/07) But Obama Was Born In 1961, 4 YEARS BEFORE The 1965 Selma March. “Barack Obama was born in Hawaii on August 4th, 1961.” (Obama For America, Accessed 3/6/07; Anne E. Kornblut & Peter Whoriskey, “Clinton, Obama Link Selma March To Present,” The Washington Post, 3/5/07)

#8: Obama Was Fluent In Indonesian As A Child: “Obama has claimed on numerous occasions to have become fluent in Indonesian in six months. Yet those who knew him disputed that during recent interviews. Israella Pareira Darmawan, Obama's 1st-grade teacher, said she attempted to help him learn the Indonesian language by going over pronunciation and vowel sounds. He struggled greatly with the foreign language, she said, and with his studies as a result.” (Kirsten Scharnberg and Kim Barker, “The Not-So-Simple Story Of Barack Obama's Youth,” Chicago Tribune, 3/25/07)

#7: Obama Mistakenly Received A Letter From A Company In Which He Owned Stock: “Obama said at some point in Fall 2005 he got a stockholder letter. He said he believes it was from AVI or Skyterra, but he couldn't remember which company.” (Nedra Pickler, “Obama Unaware Of Investment Conflicts,” The AP, 3/7/07) According to SEC records, SkyTerra did not send investors its SEC proxy forms in Fall 2005. “The origin of the shareholder update Obama referred to remains unclear. SkyTerra, like many public companies, sends investors copies of its Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proxy forms, also known as 14As, but none were issued during the fall of 2005, according to SEC records.” (Elana Schor, “2008 And Counting: Sen. Obama Pivots After Bad Press,” The Hill, 3/8/07) Michael Hubbard, AVI Investor-Relations Director: AVI generally sends mailings to shareholders or institutional investors that proactively request them or sign up for e-mail lists. It doesn’t sound like anything we would have sent out. (Elana Schor, “2008 And Counting: Sen. Obama Pivots After Bad Press,” The Hill, 3/8/07)

#6: Obama’s Campaign Only Had “Very Attenuated” Ties To The “1984” Ad Creator: Obama suggested that “1984” ad creator Phil De Vellis was the wquivalent of a contract employee and therefore could not be held responsible for his conduct. “Thursday, Obama said of de Vellis that his campaign had no way of knowing who this person was.’ ‘If I have a phone contract with Verizon and an employee of a phone company does something that you know … we're not responsible for that,’ Obama said.” (Jake Tapper and Jonathan Greenberger, “Anti-Clinton Ad Maker Lived With Obama Senate Staffer,” ABC News, 3/23/07)

De Vellis is an employee of Blue State Digital, a computer firm consulting for Obama. “Obama's campaign says it had no role in creating or posting the ad. But Wednesday, democratic operative Philip de Vellis took credit for the ad. It turned out that he worked for Blue State Digital, a computer firm that is among Obama's consultants. . . . On Thursday, an earlier e-mail surfaced in which De Vellis boasted to numerous people about his role in the creation of a web page, My.BarackObama.Com, a site designed by Blue State Digital.”(Dan Morain, “Ad Creator Claimed Role In Obama Campaign,” Los Angeles Times, 3/23/07)

Joe Rospars, Co-Founder of Blue State Digital, is now Obama’s Director of New Media. “Blue State helped design Obama's Web site, and one of the firm's founding members, Joe Rospars, took a leave from the company to work as Obama's director of new media.” (Jim Kuhnhenn, “Anti-Clinton Ad Puts Spotlight On Obama,” The Associated Press, 3/23/07) “The press secretary for Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., recently lived with the creator of the scathingly satirical YouTube video ad that attacked Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., a revelation that seems to undermine the senator's claim that he and his campaign had only ‘very attenuated’ ties with the ad's creator.” (Jake Tapper and Jonathan Greenberger, “Anti-Clinton Ad Maker Lived With Obama Senate Staffer,” ABC News, 3/23/07)

#5: Obama’s Campaign Didn’t Have The “Technical Capacity” To Produce The “1984” Ad: Obama cliamed: “But it's not something that we had anything to do with or were aware of and that frankly, given what it looks like, we don't have the technical capacity to create something like that.” (CNN’s “Larry King Live,” 3/24/07) But the creator admitted all it took was a “Sunday Afternoon” on his Mac. Phillip de Vellis: “I made the ad on a Sunday afternoon in my apartment using my personal equipment (a Mac and some software), uploaded it to YouTube, and sent links around to blogs.” (The Huffington Post, “I Made the "Vote Different" Ad,” Posted By Phil De Vellis, 3/21/07)

#4: Obama’s Campaign Claimed His High School Friend Tried To Extort Money From Them: “According to the Obama campaign, [Obama’s Punahou classmate Keith] Kakugawa explicitly raised the possibility that he could make up false stories about Obama, implying he would do so if the campaign did not give him money.” (Maurice Possley, Kirsten Scharnberg & Ray Gibson, “An Old Friend's Troublesome Return,” Chicago Tribune, 3/25/07)

Kakugawa was “infuriated” by the charge and flatly denied it. “That allegation infuriated Kakugawa, prompting him to speak to the Tribune after repeatedly refusing to do so. ‘You must understand, I am not an extortionist,’ he said in a telephone interview from Los Angeles, where he is living out of a car with an acquaintance after being released from a California prison on March 10. ‘Listen, I'm homeless. ... I ask everyone I know for money.’ . . . Kakugawa wouldn't discuss his school days with Obama other than to say he considered the Senator ‘A Brother’ and ‘wouldn't so a damn thing to ever hurt his campaign.’” (Maurice Possley, et al, “An Old Friend's Troublesome Return,” Chicago Tribune, 3/25/07)

#3: Obama Places Himself In The Central Role In The Altgeld Gardens Asbestos Campaign: Obama “Unfairly Omits Others Responsible For The Successes Of The Asbestos Campaign.” “And though most memoirs place their authors at the center of events, critics of Dreams From My Father say the book unfairly omits others responsible for the successes of the asbestos campaign, an event that Obama portrays as central to his maturation as a political leader. . . . They say Obama did not play the singular role in the asbestos episode that he portrays in the best-selling memoir ‘Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance.’ Credit for pushing officials to deal with the cancer-causing substance, according to interviews and news accounts from that period, also goes to a well-known preexisting group at Altgeld Gardens and to a local newspaper called the Chicago Reporter. Obama does not mention either one in his book.”(Peter Wallsten, “Obama Memoir Left Out Credits For Activism, Critics Say,” Los Angeles Times, 2/19/07)

#2: Obama Had Heated Discussions With A High School Friend Named “Ray” About Racial Issues: The Real “Ray” Says It Never Happened. “In his best-selling autobiography, ‘Dreams from My Father,’ Obama describes having heated conversations about racism with another black student, ‘Ray.’ The real Ray, Keith Kakugawa . . . said he does recall long, soulful talks with the young Obama and that his friend confided his longing and loneliness. But those talks, Kakugawa said, were not about race. ‘Not even close’ . . . The handful of black students who attended Punahou School in Hawaii, for instance, say they struggled mightily with issues of race and racism there. But absent from those discussions, they say, was another student then known as Barry Obama.” (Kirsten Scharnberg and Kim Barker, “The Not-So-Simple Story Of Barack Obama's Youth,” Chicago Tribune, 3/25/07)

#1: Seeing A Photograph In Life Or Ebony Magazine Changed Obama’s Life: “Then there's the copy of Life magazine that Obama presents as his racial awakening at age 9. In it, he wrote, was an article and two accompanying photographs of an African-American man physically and mentally scarred by his efforts to lighten his skin. In fact, the Life article and the photographs don't exist, say the magazine's own historians. . . . When asked about the discrepancy, Obama said in a recent interview, ‘It might have been an Ebony or it might have been ... who knows what it was?’ (At the request of the Tribune, archivists at Ebony searched their catalog of past articles, none of which matched what Obama recalled.)” (Kirsten Scharnberg and Kim Barker, “The Not-So-Simple Story of Barack Obama's Youth,” Chicago Tribune, 3/25/07) [Source: RNC 5/4/07]

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Tags: Barack Obama, Democrat, Election 2008, fabrications, lies, Top 10 Reasons To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

The Call of the Entrepreneur

The following trailer for a new documentary being released by the Acton Institute that focuses on the stories of three entrepreneurs. A study of the call to create wealth and the benefit of business and free markets to society. Check information about premieres and related materials.

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Tags: banking, business, China, documentary, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, farming, Hong Kong, market, New York, video To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

The Audacity of Barack Hussein Obama’s Hope

by Mark R. Taylor, Family Security Matters: Our country is stuck in a quagmire. Unrelenting terrorism and violence mean families are held hostage in their own homes as gun-toting thugs sweep neighborhoods. The collateral damage is staggering. Twenty shootings in government-run schools have left innocent children dead. With 336 confirmed shootings in three and a half short months, we should ask for an immediate withdrawal of all law enforcement and first responders because they seem to do not much good, and there is a pervasive sense that we have lost. Perhaps America should echo the words of Barack Hussein Obama regarding Iraq. Pull our forces out – now. Chicago is too dangerous, too far gone to save.

Not even the bigoted Rev. Jeremiah Wright, whose well-armed body guards come courtesy of Louis Farrakhan’s racist organization, the Nation of Islam, wants to live among the thieves, thugs and murderers, as he builds his multi-million dollar mansion in an upscale white neighborhood, while Chicago’s South Side becomes a haven for gangland terrorism.

And Barack Hussein Obama? His elitist answer is more gun control in a city with some of the most restrictive gun control laws in the country. Does he honestly believe that the terrorism and mayhem is caused by law-abiding gun owners who fill out the paperwork, go through the background checks and pay the fees to own a gun? Is he so isolated from the reality of his own home town that he doesn’t believe the guns on the streets are bought and sold by drug dealers and other criminals? . . . [Read More]

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Tags: Barack Obama, Election 2008, elitism, Family Security Matters, gun control To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

OK Unemployment Rate Plummets as Illegals Flee

Hat tip to Mark Moore, Arkansas Watch:

Prospects are looking brighter for legal citizens of Oklahoma.
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World Net Daily is reporting that neighboring Oklahoma's unemployment rate has dropped to 3.1 percent. That is about a 25% drop from figures last year before groundbreaking legislation was put in place in that state which led many illegal aliens to self-deport. Unemployment is 5.1 percent and rising nation wide. This data suggests that employers who had been using illegals have been forced by market conditions to offer work to legal residents. Since those residents are liable to spend their money locally rather than wire their savings to Mexico, you can expect even more economic benefits to the Sooner state in the future.

The reason for the self-deportation is clearly a result of Oklahoma's new state law. "The bottom line is illegal aliens will not come here if there are no jobs waiting for them," an Oklahoma official told WND. "They will not stay here if there is no government subsidy, and they certainly won't stay here if they know that if they ever encounter our state and local law enforcement officers, they will be physically detained until they are deported."

Mark Moore adds: It is a pity that our own Governor Mike Beebe continues to insist, in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, that the presence of illegal aliens in our state is strictly a federal issue and that there is little that the state can or should do. I will continue to believe that Governor Beebe is in the pocket of the poultry industry (and others who lean heavily on illegal aliens) because the evidence screams that he is every time the issue comes up.

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Tags: Arkansas Animal Producer's Association, illegal aliens, Mark Moore, Oklahoma, unemployment rate To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

The Really Inconvenient Truths

Cord Blomquist, Online Editor, Competitive Enterprise Institute, provided some interesting sources of information this week:
The Really Inconvenient Truths - CEI Senior Fellow Iain Murray has been promoting his book The Really Inconvenient Truths: Seven Environmental Catastrophes Liberals Don’t Want You to Know About – Because They Helped Cause Them with a series of articles and short videos. This is the book that reveals that not only does the Green emperor have no clothes, but he is a tyrant who starves his people and burns their land. Iain also shows that the traditional tools we have used against over-mighty tyrants – property rights, the rule of law, oversight and accountability – are actually essential to environmental protection. Visit the American Spectator to read a summary of the The Really Inconvenient Truths. You can also get the chapter on ethanol for free at the official website for the book.

Hello Nurses! When monopolists clash, ugly things happen—at least in the case of organized labor. Two unions have been trying to organize the same group of nurses, with fireworks flying. Ivan Osorio has the story at OpenMarket.org.

Racial-Quota Mandates - The American Bar Association is continually threatening to pull the accreditation of George Mason University Law School for failing to adopt illegal racial quotas in admissions. More from Hans Bader at OpenMarket.org.

Drill for Oil to Save the Environment - Ethanol production is far worse for the environment than drilling for oil in Alaska’s Arctic tundra, yet Congress promotes ethanol subsidies to reduce our reliance on foreign oil, even as it blocks drilling in the Arctic and the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts that would do far more to reduce our reliance on foreign oil. Star blogger Hans Bader has more at OpenMarket.org.

Don't Judge Me by the Content of My DNA! The Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act (GINA) bans insurers and employers from taking genetic information into account. The Economist blog suggests it could doom private individual insurance in the future. CEI's Hans Bader has criticized the GINA bill in the National Law Journal for lacking a “direct threat” exception.

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Tags: CEI, Competitive Enterprise Institute, DNA, ethanol, Inconvenient Truth, labor unions, nurses, oil drilling, racial quotas To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

State monitors to watch St. Francis County vote

by Michael, Wickline, Arkansas Democrat Gazette: The state Board of Election Commissioners on Wednesday ordered a board staff member and board-certified election monitors to watch the May 20 election in St. Francis County. . . . The action comes nearly two weeks after a state Senate committee . . . agreed to ask the Arkansas State Police and the board to monitor all elections in St. Francis County until convinced election officials follow state law for elections, handling ballots and counting votes. . . .

"I have had so many complaints it’s unbelievable from both sides of St. Francis County about those elections not being fair,” said Willett, former chairman of the state Democratic Party. He said he wants the board to do its part to clean up “this mess” in St. Francis County. Board Chairman Charlie Daniels of Bryant, who is secretary of state, agreed with Willett’s recommendation. Willett said he lacks confidence in St. Francis Election Commissioner Chairman Frederick Freeman, who also is chairman of the county’s Democratic Party. . . .

As for Willett saying he has no confidence in Freeman, Freeman said that’s a good example of why Willett is a former party chairman. Willett makes uninformed comments and decisions, Freeman said. “I would have thought by now he would have learned that he needs to sweep around his own front door before he tries to sweep around mine,” he said. Last year Willett, a former aide to U. S. Rep. Marion Berry and U. S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, resigned as chairman of the state Democratic Party, which he headed more than two years. He resigned after he registered as a lobbyist in a move that surprised Gov. Mike Beebe, a Democrat. . . .

The [Arkansas] Senate panel said “flagrant” fraud and irregularities existed in the Senate District 16 runoff but that there was no evidence that Crumbly personally committed any. They agreed to ask the U. S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas to investigate. . . . [Read More]

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Tags: Arkansas, Democrats, election fraud, election reform, Fredrick Freeman, Jason Willett, voter fraud To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

RedState's Veepstakes Rules for McCain

by Dan McLaughlin, RedState: The hottest topic in Republican circles, ever since John McCain iced the nomination, is who he should pick as his running mate. There are many interesting names floated, and McCain will have good reason to make a show of talking to a bunch of candidates for the job, as a way of courting different groups and party leaders and feeling out people who might end up with other jobs in his Administration.

But realistically, there are a number of constraints on what kind of candidate McCain can or should pick. The Vice Presidency isn't like other appointments, since he or she is independently elected and can't be fired. And McCain's choice will be of particular significance for a few reasons. First, because of his age, voters will want more assurance than usual that his running mate is ready to step into the job at a moment's notice. Second, also because of McCain's age, he's seen as less likely to serve two terms; his running mate, win or lose in 2008, will have a leg up to be the heir apparent in 2012. And third, many conservatives are unhappy with McCain as the party leader, and want to see that the moderates have not taken permanent control of the party.

Let's start with the Don'ts . . .
1. No Senators . . .
2. No Bushies . . .
3. No Old Retired Guys . . .
4. No Rookies . . .
5. No Novice Politicians . . .
6. No Pro-Choicers . . .
7. No Iraq War Opponents . . .
8. No Democrats . . .
9. No Closeted Gays . . .
10. No Lobbyists . . .
11. No 2006 Losers . . .
12. No Perennial Short-Listers . . .
13. No New Mothers . . .
14. No Dynasties . . .
15. No Affirmative Action Candidates . . .

Now, the Do's - none of these are as litmus-test critical as the Don'ts, but they are also important . . .
1. Executive Experience . . .
2. Outside the Beltway . . .
3. Swing Stater . . .
4. Yes, It's The Economy . . .
[Read Dan McLaughlin's rationale for the above dos and dont's]
Who do you think satisfies or is out as a choice based on the above criteria?

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Tags: Election 2008, John McCain, RedState, Republican, vice president To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

MO Gov. Blunt Implements Pro-Life Programs

In Missouri, Gov. Matt Blunt's (R) leads in implementing a new program that promotes abortion alternatives with a revolutionary new toll-free hotline: 1-800-AID-U-171. An expectant mom is instantly with a menu of services, including medical care, housing, child care, substance abuse treatment, job training, parenting classes, and education options. The assistance is available to women with incomes up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level and the services are provided at more than 35 locations across the state. Help from the state also includes prenatal care, infant care and adoption support.

"I believe we have an obligation to support expectant mothers and protect the sanctity and dignity of human life," Blunt said. Last year, after the legislature approved the new program, Gov. Blunt signed legislation placing Missouri’s Alternatives to Abortion Program in statute to help ensure ongoing support to organizations that help meet the needs of pregnant women and new mothers. This program is a model for other states that want to support women with easy and confidential alternatives to abortion. See also: Missouri Governor Implements New Program Promoting Abortion Alternatives

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Tags: abortion, Missouri, pregnant women, pro-life To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Green, White, Red and Black

CitizenLink: In his Stoplight video commentary, Stuart Shepard explains how this past winter's weather didn't follow the script written by global warming alarmists.

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Today in Washington D. C. - May 2, 2008

The Senate: No votes are scheduled until Tuesday. Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Reid filed for cloture on the FAA reauthorization bill (H.R. 2881) and the Rockefeller substitute amendment. A cloture vote on the substitute is scheduled for 2:30 PM on Tuesday. Reid has filled the amendment tree on the FAA bill effectively blocking Republicans from offering amendments.

From Senate & News Sources: At a press conference yesterday, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee ranking member Pete Domenici (R-NM), Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, and ten other GOP senators unveiled Republican energy proposals to increase domestic oil production and help lower gas prices. The GOP bill would allow oil exploration in the Outer Continental Shelf and oil and gas drilling in 2,000 acres of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. Reuters listed other major provisions of the bill:- Allow states to petition the federal government to allow oil drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts;
- Suspend filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for 180 days;
- Require production of 6 billion gallons of coal-derived transport fuels by 2022;
- Repeal a 1-year moratorium on drilling in oil shale regions in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah;
- Repeal previous legislation prohibiting federal agencies from using alternative fuels that emit more greenhouse gases than conventional sources, which has been viewed as a de facto ban on U.S. government use of fuels refined from the Canadian oil sands.Senate Democrats are set to present their energy proposals today. In stark contrast to Republicans, the Democrats appear to have no plans to increase domestic energy supplies. Instead, their plan revolves around scapegoating and punishing oil companies. CongressDaily reports, “Democrats have proposed making price gouging a federal crime; allowing the United States to sue OPEC for manipulating crude oil prices; and repealing billions in tax incentives for oil and gas companies.”

Democrats’ historic mismanagement of Congress continues unabated. After denying Republicans the ability to offer amendments on the FAA bill, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid filed cloture, forcing a premature vote on a bill that Democrats loaded up with controversial unrelated provisions. The cloture motion is likely to fail; Republicans would prefer to debate the bill and improve it. Reid has repeatedly claimed this is a GOP filibuster, but in fact it is Reid’s heavy-handed and erratic approach to legislating that results in much wasted time and stalled bills. A senate staff member expressed, "It’s really quite galling to hear the denunciations of Republicans over this Congress’ lack of accomplishments when Democrats have so badly mismanaged things from the very beginning."

In the House: Mismanagement is not limited to the Senate. Politico reports that the House left for the weekend without approving an extension of the Higher Education Act thereby allowing it to expire. CQ Today reports that House Democrats may not move any regular appropriations bills this year. CQ Today and the AP both detail Democrats’ continuing struggle to produce a supplemental war funding bill that can satisfy the competing demands of their members. Leadership, appropriators, Blue Dogs, and anti-war members are all at odds over various aspects of the bill ranging from procedure to spending to troop withdrawal provisions.

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Tags: drilling, energy, gasoline, natural gas, oil, 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!

Brown Bag - The Case for Colombia Trade Agreement

Under Secretary for International Trade Christopher Padilla uses a grocery bag to share the reasons for the approval of the Free Trade Agreement with Colombia which is held up in the U.S. House by Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Ninety-two percent of all Colombian products come into the United States today and pay absolutely no tariffs -- they enter our market for free. It has been that way for 16 years. However, U.S. manufacturers must pay tariffs to Columbia for goods they sell to Columbia thereby reducing profits for their companies and reducing potential benefits for their employees. Examples of American exports to Columbia and the tariffs imposed on American goods: Apples (15%), Farm Equipment (10-15%), Fertilizer (15%), soft drinks (Pepsi, Coke, etc. - 20%).

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Tags: Christopher Padilla, Columbia, Economics, exports, food, Free Trade, FTA, grocery tax, import, Nancy Pelosi, the economy, United States To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Today - National Day of Prayer [Video]

National Day Of Prayer May 1 2008

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