Ongoing Democrat Obstructionism

By an Unnamed Senate Source: Though Democrats have become enamored with accusing Republicans of “obstructionism,” three editorials rightly examine the ongoing Democrat obstruction of domestic energy production, qualified judicial nominees, and the Colombia Free Trade Agreement.

National Review Online once again urges Congress to allow more drilling for domestic oil supplies, writing, “Superior U.S. technology has made it possible to drill in the environmentally sensitive areas off our coasts with minimal disturbance to the surrounding ecosystem. . . . With oil nearing $130 a barrel, there are no good arguments left for keeping this supply off the market. If members of Congress really care about helping Americans who are sacrificing in the wake of high gas prices, the best thing they can do is just get out of the way.”

NRO also notes, “Critics of proposals to open these areas for business argue that they will take up to 10 years to bring any new supplies online. Of course, they were using this same argument 10 years ago, and if they hadn’t prevailed then the U.S. would be less dependent on foreign oil today.” Unfortunately, Democrats yet again voted to block developing domestic energy sources earlier this month.

The Examiner expresses frustration over the “foot dragging on President Bush’s judicial nominees.” The editorial takes Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Pat Leahy (D-VT) to task, saying “he is becoming infamous for ignoring his own stated standards for judicial nominations.” So far, the Senate has confirmed only 2 circuit court nominees this year, certainly not on pace to get the 15 judges that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has said would be satisfactory.

Finally, Los Angeles Times points out the efforts that Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has gone to in order to satisfy Congressional Democrats, only to watch them move the goalposts. The LA Times also reminds its readers, “the trade pact would boost jobs in both the U.S. and Colombia during an economic downturn and cement Colombia as a firm U.S. ally in a region teeming with anti-American sentiment.” The editorial concludes, “It looks increasingly as though the real reason Democratic leaders won’t vote on the Colombia deal is that they don’t want to alienate their organized-labor backers during an election year.”

The next time Democrats in Congress feel like inveighing against “obstruction,” they might want to consider their own record.

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Tags: Columbia, Democrats, domestic drilling, Free Trade, gasoline prices, judicial appointments, obstructionism, oil To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Lady Collects Signatures on Secure Arkansas Ballot Initiative Harassed by Postal Official

Update: Postal Official Wrong, USPO Apologizes - See: Secure Arkansas Advocates Receive Apology From U.S. Post Office -- Bob Hester, State Director, Arkansas Family Coalition: Headline and excerpts from Jonesboro Sun story below were on the on front page, May 28 about a lady who was collecting signatures for the Secure Arkansas Ballot Initiative (often referred to as the "illegal alien ballot initiative"). The lady is a supporter of our organization, Arkansas Family Coalition, and we know her well. Isn't it strange that illegal aliens can march in our streets in Arkansas and demand rights and privileges, disrupting the public in various ways, without fear of intervention by the law? Yet, the police are called (and three police cars dispatched to the scene) when one single U.S. Arkansas citizen collects signatures for the people's ballot initiative (even after she obtained permission to be there.) Just what would be the police response if we called and asked them to remove those here unlawfully from our streets when the illegal aliens are marching and protesting. An interesting note: Out of hundreds who have been approached and eligible to sign the petition , the lady in the story below and another lady reported no more than five people refused to sign it.

Below are excerpts from the story:

"A Jonesboro woman collecting signatures for a petition said Tuesday she was wrongly ordered off U.S. Postal Services property downtown. Cora Jean Liles of Secure Arkansas said she was at the U.S. Post Office, 310 East Street about noon Tuesday when a postal employee [Ron Driskell] ordered her off the grounds. She'd been soliciting signatures for a proposed initiated act on the November ballot to prevent illegal immigrants from getting public benefits. The unidentified postal employee called city police who advised Liles the building was private property and that she should leave or face arrest. A police report read that a female was talking about 'aliens at the post office, refusing to leave."

The article goes on to say that Liles said she received permission last week from a postal employee to collect signatures and had collected signatures at another post office in Jonesboro without incident in recent weeks. Liles said the police officer did not force her but asked her to leave the postal property. According to the newspaper story, the postal employer (Driskell) refused to answer questions and referred the reporter to a postal service media specialist in Little Rock. The specialist, Lisa Tolliver-Gay said federal regulation prohibits "soliciting signatures on petitions' on postal property. "

In our conversation with Liles she gave us the following information. She had gone in the post office the week before and asked an employee whom she needed to talk with to get permission to collect signatures on the sidewalk. The postal employee said she would have to talk to the postmaster. A man (whom she presumed was the postmaster) came out after a few minutes and told her it was okay for her to collect signatures. She did the same thing at another post office in Jonesboro and was told by the postmaster that it was okay to collect signatures there.

When the above incident occurred, Liles said she was standing on the sidewalk collecting signatures for the ballot when a man [she learned later was Ron Driskell] came up and got out of a truck. Liles used her usual approach saying something like, "Would you like to sign this petition? He responded very angrily, "Who has given you permission to be on government property doing this?" Liles, thinking he was just a postal customer said, "I am a citizen of the United States and I love America." Driskell told her that she had no right to be on government property doing this. Liles responded that she had asked the postmaster, and he had given her permission. Driskell said he was the postmaster, but Liles had no way of knowing that since he was a different person from the one who had given her permission to collect signatures, and he was wearing no identifying uniform like postal workers wear. She thought he was just an irritated citizen. He headed for the post office door and said he was going to call the police.

When two other vehicles drove up, Lyles still thinking she had permission to be there, asked the men if they would like to sign the petition. Driskell standing at the post office door, waving his arms, yelled something like this to them: "Don't go over there; I've called the police on her" acting as though she was deranged or something. One of them told Driskell, "Don't tell me what to do and said to Liles, "I will sign the petition," and did so.

Shortly thereafter THREE police cars arrived on the scene according to Liles and also according to the police report. Liles told a bystander to call the Jonesboro Sun that there might be a story here, still believing she had permission to be there. ( Liles said the police were very nice to her, and she told them she thought she was on city property and had gotten permission. Liles also said to one of the policemen, "Why are there three police cars here? What have I done to deserve this?" When they asked her to leave, she did.

Of course, this is embarrassing for Liles; but she is committed to her country and to the right of the people to have the right to vote on this initiative this fall and is willing to take the heat. She followed all the rules and asked permission before she collected signatures. Liles said she did not know why Driskell told police she was talking about 'aliens at the post office, because she never refers to them as aliens (she said her tongue gets twisted on that word) but rather refers to them as people who are here unlawfully. Liles said Driskell was acting as though she was deranged or something by warning the people to stay away from her. Evidently Driskell made the policemen believe that as well since they dispatched three police cars to the scene.

Liles is in the process of seeking legal counsel on this matter. There are several questions that need to be answered. Several other canvassers have been observed collecting petitions, even up under the awning, at this same post office in the past. We have also discovered that Driskell is only one of the postal employees serving as temporary postmaster while the official postmaster is out of pocket. The person who earlier gave Liles permission to collect signatures may have been the official postmaster.

We would call Liles "One courageous, committed, patriotic lady." We need a lot more like her to get over 60,000 signatures by July lst. We probably have the shortest time span to get that many signatures of any initiative ever passed in Arkansas.

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Tags: Arkansas Family Coalition, ballot initiatives, illegal aliens, Jonesboro, Post Office, Secure Arkansas To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Slush Funds for Reform Hostages

The Foundry, Morning Bell: Just like any organized crime group, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) has a long and established history of using fraud, deceit and intimidation to achieve its goals. ACORN uses intimidation to shake down corporations for operating funds, deceives its own employees into supporting causes they don’t believe in, and cheats the entire country by submitting fraudulent voter registrations.

ACORN is also adept at co-opting government power to fund and legitimize a criminal enterprise. It has been winning federal money since the Carter administration and routinely receives millions of dollars in federal grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. In the 1990s, it began shaking down local business communities and has established local “Housing Trust Funds” in more than 300 states, counties, cities and towns . . . .

The Holy Grail for ACORN has been the establishment of a National Housing Trust Fund. During the brief economic downturn in 2001, ACORN pushed the fund as an economic stimulus. . . . Now liberals in Congress have included the National Housing Trust Fund in the latest housing bailout bill, arguing it’s needed because housing prices are too low. . . . This bill has become a trade of legislative priorities between liberals and conservatives. Conservatives would get much needed reform of the government-sponsored entities that are at the core of the current housing crisis; and liberals would get a new permanent slush fund for one of their key political allies. Conservatives need to ask themselves if this is really a deal they can make on principle. . . . [Read More]

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Tags: ACORN, Heritage Foundation, Morning Bell To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Why Was Parsley a Problem for McCain?

Media PC - ABC can't distinguish between criticizing a religion and hating its believers.
Brian Fitzpatrick, Culture and Media Institute: Media political correctness, not any “hatred” on the pastor’s part, likely caused Republican presidential candidate John McCain to reject the endorsement of televangelist Rod Parsley. McCain acted quickly to disavow Parsley after ABC reported controversial statements by the pastor, who has long preached and written about the danger posed by an expansive Islam. The most damning quotes? Parsley labeled Islam an “anti-Christ religion that intends through violence to conquer the world” and described Mohammed as “the mouthpiece of a conspiracy of spiritual evil.” Ipso facto, Parsley hates Muslims.

ABC’s report on Parsley is mostly instructive for what it teaches about ABC’s politically correct mindset. ABC contrasts several of Parsley’s stinging statements condemning Islam to more conciliatory remarks by McCain, but never explains why McCain should repudiate the pastor. The network simply assumes that Parsley is beyond the pale. ABC did not produce any statements by Parsley attacking the people who follow Islam. The notion that public figures –even religious leaders -- can legitimately critique religions and ideologies in search of the ultimate truth, or merely to point out what they regard as error, appears to be alien to ABC.

It’s obvious that Christian preachers who take the Bible seriously must consider Islam to be spiritual error, just as imams who take the Koran seriously must consider Christianity to be spiritual error. But in the precincts of political correctness enforced by the media, we’re not allowed to speak such obvious truths aloud. The only absolute truth is that no such thing as absolute truth exists. In ABC’s world, we all have our own “truths,” and criticizing somebody else’s “truth” is a form of hatred.

McCain’s rapid surrender has allowed the liberal media to hang two trophies on the wall. First, McCain has given credence to the notion that he has a “pastor problem,” which the media have trumped up in order to offset the very real pastor problem (Jeremiah Wright) weighing down Democratic candidate Barack Obama. Second, McCain has helped the media marginalize the conservative Christian pastor and anybody else willing to criticize Islam.

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Tags: ABC News, Bible, CMI, Culture and Media Institute, Islam, John Mccain, media bias, Media PC, Muslims, political correctness, Rod Parsley To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Myth of a “Scientific Consensus” on Global Warming

Center for Individual Freedom: 31,000 Scientists Shatter the Myth of a “Scientific Consensus” on Global Warming!
Environmental extremists routinely assert a “scientific consensus” that global warming is occurring, and that human activity somehow causes it. This week, however, over 31,000 scientists spoke up and reduced that myth to a smoldering rubble.

The environmentalists’ alleged “scientific consensus” is much like the curtain in The Wizard of Oz, behind which the supposedly infallible wizard dictated to his minions. Beyond that curtain, however, the wizard was nothing more than an ordinary little man perpetrating a fraud upon those who worshipped his doctrine. . . .

That shroud, however, was further torn this week by a 31,000-strong petition organized by the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine (OISM). According to the OISM’s board of scientists, “a review of the research literature concerning the environmental consequences of increased levels of carbon dioxide leads to the conclusion that increases during the 20th Century have produced no deleterious effects upon global weather, climate, or temperature.” To the contrary, the OISM notes that increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide have actually increased plant growth rates, among other positive effects. On this basis, the OISM concludes that “predictions of harmful climatic effects due to future increases in minor greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide are in error and do not conform to current experimental knowledge.”

Accordingly, the straightforward petition reads:

We urge the United States government to reject the global warming agreement that was written in Kyoto, Japan in December 1997, and any other similar proposals. The proposed limits on greenhouse gases would harm the environment, hinder the advance of science and technology, and damage the health and welfare of mankind.

There is no convincing scientific evidence that human release of carbon dioxide, methane, or other greenhouse gases is causing, or will in the foreseeable future cause, catastrophic heating of the Earth’s atmosphere and disruption of the Earth’s climate. Moreover, there is substantial evidence that increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide produce many beneficial effects upon the natural plant and animal environments of the Earth.

The petition itself appears alongside a letter from the late Frederick Seitz, a former President of the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Seitz stated that “the United States is very close to adopting an international agreement that would ration the use of energy and technologies that depend upon coal, oil, natural gas and some other organic compounds.” He therefore warned that, “this treaty is, in our opinion, based upon flawed ideas. Research into data on climate change does not show that human use of hydrocarbons is harmful. To the contrary, there is good evidence that increased atmospheric carbon dioxide is environmentally helpful.”

It should be noted that the OISM’s petition effort receives absolutely no funding from the energy industry, or from anyone else with a financial interest in the ongoing climate change debate. Rather, its funding derives entirely from private, non-tax-deductible contributions from individual donors. . . . [Read More]

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Tags: Center for Individual Freedom, CFIF, global warming, Myth To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Benton County, Arkansas Conservative Victories

M.W.Sevak, President Benton County Republican Assembly: Benton County, Arkansas is sending four conservative candidate's to Little Rock in 2009. The following candidates will be going to Arkansas Legislature: Rep. Tim Summers for District 99, Rep Duncan Baird for District 95, Rep. Debbie Hobbs for District 96, and Sen. Cecile Bledsoe State for Senate District 8. Summers and Baird won their May 20th primaries. All are unopposed in the General election in November. These newly elected legislatures will represent their district's with utmost conservative values and are congratulated for their victories.

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Tags: Arkansas, Arkansas Republican Assembly, ARRA, Benton County, House, Senate To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Big Harry Deal

Tony Perkins, Washington Update: The new era of congressional compromise ended before it began, thanks to Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV). The Senate Majority Leader failed to live up to his end of a ballyhooed deal that would have resulted in the confirmation of three judges by Memorial Day. Although Reid is quick to blame others, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) says the Democratic leadership had ample time to make good on its word. Considering the Republicans' track record under former President Bill Clinton, McConnell's party has every reason to be upset. During Clinton's last two years in office, the GOP majority confirmed 15 judges--two of whom were radically liberal. When the Democrats assumed control, Republicans expected the same treatment. That was clearly a miscalculation as the liberal majority seems more concerned about angering their friends at the People for the American Way than betraying the confidence of the American people. Is it any wonder that the approval rating for Congress is a measly 18%? In this session, Judiciary Committee Chair Pat Leahy (D-VT) has allowed the confirmation of just eight nominees. Others, like Peter Keisler, have been pending for 700 days despite receiving the American Bar Association's highest rating. Meanwhile, Sen. McConnell has vowed to make the Democrats pay, and the atmosphere in Congress is certain to deteriorate further. See also ARRA News Report: Today in Washington D. C. - May 23, 2008 - Congress Out Until June 2

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Tags: Harry Reid, judicial appointments, Mitch McConnell, Tony Perkins, US Congress, US Senate, Washington Update To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

End the Welfare Marriage Penalty

by Sam Brownback and David Blankenhorn: Lawmakers have done little to address marriage penalties facing the poor. What if the federal government forced couples to pay 20 percent of their annual income just to get or stay married? And suppose a couple could avoid this tax if they either got a divorce or never got married in the first place? Does it sound like good public policy to force a couple earning, say, $60,000 a year to pay $12,000 just for being married?

That's more or less what we demand of millions of low-income Americans who receive government welfare benefits. For most couples on welfare, getting married is among the more expensive decisions they will face as newlyweds, because saying "I do" will reduce the benefits they receive, on average, by 10 percent to 20 percent of their total income.

We shudder to think what would happen to marriage in America if all of us, and not just the poor, faced such a pernicious incentive system. Knowledge of the marriage penalty in poor neighborhoods is typically spread by word of mouth. This informal learning might actually increase the anti-marriage impact of the penalty, by convincing nearly all poor couples that they will lose income if they marry, even though some (due to the complexity of the regulations) would not.

In recent years, Congress has made substantial progress in reducing the marriage penalties paid by middle- and upper-income couples because of the tax system. But lawmakers have done little to address marriage penalties facing the poor through the benefit system. Why should we care about this issue? For starters, consider the children . . . [Read More] Sam Brownback is a U.S. senator (R) from Kansas. David Blankenhorn is president of the Institute for American Values in New York.

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Tags: CitizenLink, David Blankenhorn, income tax, marriage, marriage penalty, Sam Brownback, taxes To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

States Cheat on Graduation Rates

Dropout Figures Don't Add Up; States Cheat on Graduation RatesEducation Reporter: Over the past few years, discrepancies have come to light between states' actual graduation and dropout rates and the ones they report to the federal government to comply with the No Child Left Behind Act. North Carolina, for example, used a new formula to recalculate its graduation rate from 95% in 2006 to a more accurate — and disturbing — 68% in 2007.

A few states, such as Mississippi, California, and Delaware, currently maintain two sets of figures on dropouts, reporting the better numbers to Washington and using the worse ones in policy discussions and dropout prevention campaigns at home. Mississippi reports an 87% graduation rate for NCLB purposes, but admits a rate of around 63% based on a different formula.

In 2001, the Manhattan Institute's Jay P. Greene estimated that the national graduation rate was 15 percentage points lower than previously estimated. Greene's estimate compared the number of students enrolled in 8th grade with the number of diplomas issued to graduating 12th-grade students. This straightforward formula calculated that just 71% of American students finish school, compared to the federal government's estimate of 86%. . . .

The EPE Research Center and the America's Promise Alliance issued a report on graduation rates at the end of March. The report estimated the overall graduation rate at 70% (74% of female students and 66% of male students graduate). Rates also differ by race, with 80% of Asian-Americans, 76% of whites, 58% of Hispanics and 50% of African-Americans finishing school.

Suburban districts graduate 74.9% of their students, while rates in districts in large cities are shockingly low. "Our analysis finds that graduating from high school in American's largest cities amounts, essentially, to a coin toss," the study reported. "Only about one-half (52%) of students in the principal school systems of the 50 largest cities complete high school with a diploma." Rates in many cities are much lower than half: 40% in Cleveland, 35% in Baltimore, and just 25% in Detroit. . . . [Read More]

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Tags: dropout, education, high school, United States To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Gov Beebe Fooling Some on Aliens Ballot Initiative

by Debbie Pelley, Arkansas Watch: Beebe says he opposes the initiative; saying it would only duplicate state and federal laws; he doesn’t tell the people that almost any benefit (welfare, health unemployment benefits, food and housing assistance, loans, licenses etc.) forbidden to aliens by the federal government can be given to them by the state - if the state just passes a law to do so. And there are many so called "compassionate" liberals in Arkansas just waiting to do that. . . .

8-USC-Section 1621 (d), reads: "A State may provide that an alien who is not lawfully present in the United States is eligible for any State or local public benefit for which such alien would otherwise be ineligible under subsection (a) of this section only through the enactment of a State law after August 22, 1996, which affirmatively provides for such eligibility.” . . .

The Secure Arkansas initiative would prevent such laws from being passed that allow such benefits. And based on (a) the bills the legislature has tried to pass in the past; (b) the fact that our Governor is not doing anything to curb benefits as several surrounding states have done, and (c) on the fact that Arkansas is one of the top three states in the percentage of growth in recent years, Arkansas needs to be secured by passing the initiative by the people to deny benefits for illegal aliens before laws are passed to expand benefits for them. And the taxpayers will pick up the tab.

And if the federal laws are our safeguard, how did all these sanctuary cities spring up around the nation? How have other states allowed certain health benefits and drivers' licenses, and other such benefits for aliens? And if federal laws are enough, why in 2007 from January to July alone did 170 bills related to immigration become law in 41 states, and why is the same scenario unfolding in 2008 with twenty-six states having enacted 44 laws just from January to March? And how did Governor Huckabee give prenatal care to hundreds of illegal aliens in Arkansas without even a vote in the legislature?

Since Beebe's assertions in his statement of opposition to the initiative were designed to make the people supporting the initiative appear foolish, it is only fair that citizens be given the other side of the story. Considering the federal law ( 8-USC-Section 1621 (d) - which can supersede federal restraints on benefits to aliens, and the number of states and governors enacting laws, Beebe's reasons for opposing the initiative are groundless, unreasonable, and deceitful. Having been attorney general, he surely knows the law. . . . [Read More]

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Tags: Arkansas, Arkansas Watch, Debbie Pelley, illegal aliens, Mike Beebe, Secure Arkansas, unlawful residents To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Blogs For Borders Video Blogburst #58

Jobs Americans Won't Do? Or jobs Americans can't get hired for?
100% Preventable! Americans continue to pay the bloody price for open borders! When will the madness end?


Join the Blogs For Borders Blogroll which is dedicated to American sovereignty, border security and a sane immigration policy. Also, join Blogs For Border Group on FaceBook.

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Tags: Jobs Americans,amnesty, Blogburst video, deportation, illegal immigration, political video To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Pro-Life Group Files Lawsuit to Protect Free Speech

Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com Editor: A leading pro-life group in Ohio has filed a lawsuit to protect its free speech political rights when it comes to the organization's ability to engage in issue advocacy. During the critical days before the November general election, the Ohio Right to Life Society wants to be able to speak out on pro-life legislation. Ohio Right to Life officials tell LifeNews.com that a ruling in its favor would free advocacy groups of all ideologies from government restriction that inhibits free speech rights prior to election day.

Specifically, the group has a problem with a state law that bars citizen organizations from paying for ads that mention the name of a political candidate within 30 days of an election. The ads are prohibited even if they don't advocate the defeat or election of a candidate and simply discuss the elected officials voting record on issues like abortion or bioethics. "Ohio Right to Life is presently not permitted to advocate for an issue when voters are most engaged - 30 days before an election," executive director Mike Gonidakis told LifeNews.com. "Such a speech blackout period is entirely contrary to the First Amendment and harms grassroots organizations of all ideologies," . . . [Read More]

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Tags: free speech, Ohio, pro-life, Right to Life To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Impact of Lieberman-Warner Global Climate Change Bill on Your State

The prior ARRA News post addressed how Arkansas Will Be Affected by the Lieberman-Warner Global Climate Change Bill. The study, produced by Heritage's Center for Data Analysis (CDA), forecasts severe consequences—including crushing energy costs, millions of jobs lost and falling household income—if Congress enacts the so-called Lieberman-Warner bill. To review the impact fo S. 2191 on your state visit the following Heritage Foundation link. Then you may wish to Contact your senators!
See also: The Wall Street Journal: Climate Reality Bites

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Tags: climate, economic cost, economy, global, global warming, Joe Lieberman, John Warner, lieberman-warner To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Arkansas Will Be Affected by the Lieberman-Warner Global Climate Change Bill

by William W. Beach, Ben Lieberman, David Kreutzer, Ph.D. & Nick Loris, Heritage Foundation: Workers and families in the state of Arkansas may be wondering how climate change legislation before Congress will affect their income, their jobs, and the cost of energy. Members of Congress are considering a number of bills designed to address climate change. Chief among them is S. 2191, America's Climate Security Act of 2007, introduced by Senators Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and John Warner (R-VA).

The Lieberman–Warner legislation promises extraordinary perils for the American economy, should it become law, all for very little change in global temperature…perhaps even smaller than the .07 of a degree Celsius drop in temperature that many scientists expected from worldwide compliance with the Kyoto climate change accords. S. 2191 imposes strict upper limits on the emission of six greenhouse gases (GHG) with the primary emphasis on carbon dioxide (CO2). The mechanism for capping these emissions requires emitters to acquire federally created permits (called allowances) for each ton emitted.

Arbitrary restrictions predicated on multiple untested and undeveloped technologies will lead to severe restrictions on energy use and large increases in energy costs. In addition to the direct impact on consumers' budgets, these higher energy costs will spread through the economy, injecting unnecessary inefficiencies at virtually every stage of production and consumption.

Implementing S. 2191 will be very costly in Arkansas, even given the most generous assumptions. Notable costs are listed in below Table 1: Estimated Economic Impact of S. 2191 in Arkansas

Year	Gross State Product Loss (Millions)	Non-Farm Employment Loss	Manufacturing Jobs Lost	Personal Income Lost (Millions)
2012	242.36	-1,087	-162	-150.73
2020	-493.09	-451	-6,039	-295.36
2025	-898.88	-4,448	-14,576	-732.94
2030	-775.96	-2,878	-24,503	-924.49

Consumers will be hard hit. Table 2 shows the expected increases in retail energy prices (adjusted to 2006 dollars to eliminate the impact of inflation) in 2025 for Arkansas. Between 2012, when the restrictions first apply, and 2025, the prices of electricity, natural gas, and gasoline could rise by nearly 20 percent nationally when compared to prices in a world without S. 2191.Table 2: Changes in Household Energy Prices in Arkansas Due to S. 2191

	Current Cost	2025 with current law in place	2025 with S. 2191 in place	Dollar difference
Electricity	$1,177.00	$1,675	$2,073	$398
Natural Gas	$801.67	$1,129	$1,251	$122
Gasoline	$1,888	$1,862	$2,237	$375

Note: The current annual cost of natural gas is based on consumption and prices as of 2006 (most recent data available). The annual cost of gasoline is based on the average price of regular unleaded in Arkansas on 5/20/08.

In addition to taking a bite out of consumers' pocketbooks, the high energy prices throw a monkey wrench into the production side of the economy. Contrary to the claims of an economic boost from "green" investment and "green-collar" job creation, S. 2191 reduces economic growth, gross domestic product (GDP), and employment. . . . [Read More]

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Tags: Arkansas, climate, economic cost, economy, global, global warming, Joe Lieberman, John Warner, lieberman-warner To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Rep. Maxine Waters Wants to Nationalize Oil Companies

Last week, Fox News reported that U.S. Rep. Maine Walters (D-CA) not only calls herself a liberal but clearly identifies that she wants the oil companies nationalized. She stumbled with a temporary memory loss and used the word "socialize" verses "nationalize" the oil companies. And, she says all this as a U.S. Representative questioning (challenging) oil company executives at the US Capitol. Democrats have blocked American oil companies from drilling for more oil and now at least one of their fellow liberal members lets the "cat out of the bag" - a willingness to "socialize" the oil industry. Who does she think she is: Hugo Chavez of Venezuela?

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Tags: Fox News, Hugo Chavez, liberalism, Maxine Walters, nationalize oil companies, oil companies, Representative, socialism, US Congress, US House, video To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

John McCain’s Memorial Day Ad

John McCain’s Memorial Day Ad - JohnMcCaincom.

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Tags: 2008, John Mccain, campaign ad, Memorial Day To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Things to Remember on Memorial Day

This cartoon was provided by a reader. Does Anyone know the cartoonist name? I am guessing "Bisch" but could determine for appropriate credit and link to their site.

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Tags: 2008, Freedom, Memorial Day, military, veterans To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Ten Top Tips for Saving Gas

The following are interesting but not endorsed by the ARRA - Follow at your own rist & cost. Ten Top Tips for Saving Gas by Jerry Dawson, Oregon Catalyst:
1. Turn off your engine if you are going to be idling for more than 30 seconds. Millions of gallons of fuel are wasted each day from idling. Your starter and battery system can handle the increased activity.

2. Change your air filter every 10,000 miles. Just like a marathon runner, your car needs to suck in air without restriction.

3. Install a real-time fuel consumption meter if your car does not have one already. This way, you can see what you are doing while you are driving and make the needed adjustments to save fuel.

4. Pump up those tires. Higher tire pressures result in lower rolling resistance, so your mileage will improve. Not too high, mind you, but a tad over the “recommended” from your car and tire manufacturer. Remember, they don’t want you to get good mileage.

5. Turn off your air conditioning, but only at lights or in slow traffic. When you really get going, the open windows produce drag that will offset any savings you might imagine from having the AC off.

6. Reduce the weight of your car. Remove all non-essential items from the trunk and the interior of your car. Weight takes energy to move, so the lighter your car the less energy you will lose. Keep the spare tire and the jack, but almost everything else can go. If you don’t have a family, take out the back seat. Invest in custom wheels if they are significantly lighter than the stock wheels. Carbon fiber parts (like the hood or trunk) are great, too, although they may be a bit expensive.

7. Don’t keep your gas tank full all the time. Remember, fuel equals weight and you must do everything you can to make your vehicle lighter. Keeping about a half tank or less all the time should allow for emergencies but also keep your weight down.

8. Wax your car and keep it clean and waxed. Drag (friction with the air) greatly reduces fuel economy. A clean and waxed vehicle will have reduced aerodynamic drag, thus providing better mileage. If you have a luggage rack, take it off. If you have a moon roof, keep it closed. Smooth is what you want.

9. Don’t drive a lot with a cold engine. Cold engines do not run efficiently. Use a block heater to pre-heat your engine if you are taking many short trips. If you can combine your short trips it will help, as driving further will allow your engine more operating time at higher temperatures.

10. Use cruise control whenever possible. The car’s ability to maintain a constant speed is better than your ability to do so. Small, more precise, and constant adjustments made by the car’s cruise control system will save you fuel. . .. [Read More]

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

Remembering Fallen Heroes this Memorial Day 2008

H/T to Mark Alexander for remembering: On this Memorial Day, four young men who served in Iraq and Afghanistan will not be at the malls, nor will they be at the family barbecue. These young men are not much different from others who have served in the past or those serving today in our nation’s Armed Forces but for the fact that they responded to extraordinary circumstances with extraordinary courage. They are Corporal Jason L. Dunham, USMC; Master-at-Arms Second Class Michael A. Monsoor, USN; Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith, USA; and Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy, USN. Their Medal of Honor citations read:

DUNHAM, JASON L. For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as Rifle Squad Leader, 4th Platoon, Company K, Third Battalion, Seventh Marines (Reinforced), Regimental Combat Team 7, First Marine Division (Reinforced), on 14 April 2004. Corporal Dunham’s squad was conducting a reconnaissance mission in the town of Karabilah, Iraq, when they heard rocket-propelled grenade and small arms fire erupt approximately two kilometers to the west. Corporal Dunham led his Combined Anti-Armor Team towards the engagement to provide fire support to their Battalion Commander’s convoy, which had been ambushed as it was traveling to Camp Husaybah. As Corporal Dunham and his Marines advanced, they quickly began to receive enemy fire. Corporal Dunham ordered his squad to dismount their vehicles and led one of his fire teams on foot several blocks south of the ambushed convoy. Discovering seven Iraqi vehicles in a column attempting to depart, Corporal Dunham and his team stopped the vehicles to search them for weapons. As they approached the vehicles, an insurgent leaped out and attacked Corporal Dunham. Corporal Dunham wrestled the insurgent to the ground and in the ensuing struggle saw the insurgent release a grenade. Corporal Dunham immediately alerted his fellow Marines to the threat. Aware of the imminent danger and without hesitation, Corporal Dunham covered the grenade with his helmet and body, bearing the brunt of the explosion and shielding his Marines from the blast. In an ultimate and selfless act of bravery in which he was mortally wounded, he saved the lives of at least two fellow Marines. By his undaunted courage, intrepid fighting spirit, and unwavering devotion to duty, Corporal Dunham gallantly gave his life for his country, thereby reflecting great credit upon himself and upholding the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.

MONSOOR, MICHAEL, A. For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as automatic weapons gunner for Naval Special Warfare Task Group Arabian Peninsula, in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM on 29 September 2006. As a member of a combined SEAL and Iraqi Army Sniper Overwatch Element, tasked with providing early warning and stand-off protection from a rooftop in an insurgent held sector of Ar Ramadi, Iraq, Petty Officer Monsoor distinguished himself by his exceptional bravery in the face of grave danger. In the early morning, insurgents prepared to execute a coordinated attack by reconnoitering the area around the element’s position. Element snipers thwarted the enemy’s initial attempt by eliminating two insurgents. The enemy continued to assault the element, engaging them with a rocket-propelled grenade and small arms fire. As enemy activity increased, Petty Officer Monsoor took position with his machine gun between two teammates on an outcropping of the roof. While the SEALs vigilantly watched for enemy activity, an insurgent threw a hand grenade from an unseen location, which bounced off Petty Officer Monsoor’s chest and landed in front of him. Although only he could have escaped the blast, Petty Officer Monsoor chose instead to protect his teammates. Instantly and without regard for his own safety, he threw himself onto the grenade to absorb the force of the explosion with his body, saving the lives of his two teammates. By his undaunted courage, fighting spirit, and unwavering devotion to duty in the face of certain death, Petty Officer Monsoor gallantly gave his life for his country, thereby reflecting great credit upon himself and upholding the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

SMITH, PAUL R. For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty: Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with an armed enemy near Baghdad International Airport, Baghdad, Iraq on 4 April 2003. On that day, Sergeant First Class Smith was engaged in the construction of a prisoner of war holding area when his Task Force was violently attacked by a company-sized enemy force. Realizing the vulnerability of over 100 fellow soldiers, Sergeant First Class Smith quickly organized a hasty defense consisting of two platoons of soldiers, one Bradley Fighting Vehicle and three armored personnel carriers. As the fight developed, Sergeant First Class Smith braved hostile enemy fire to personally engage the enemy with hand grenades and anti-tank weapons, and organized the evacuation of three wounded soldiers from an armored personnel carrier struck by a rocket propelled grenade and a 60mm mortar round. Fearing the enemy would overrun their defenses, Sergeant First Class Smith moved under withering enemy fire to man a.50 caliber machine gun mounted on a damaged armored personnel carrier. In total disregard for his own life, he maintained his exposed position in order to engage the attacking enemy force. During this action, he was mortally wounded. His courageous actions helped defeat the enemy attack, and resulted in as many as 50 enemy soldiers killed, while allowing the safe withdrawal of numerous wounded soldiers. Sergeant First Class Smith’s extraordinary heroism and uncommon valor are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, the Third Infantry Division “Rock of the Marne,” and the United States Army.

MURPHY, MICHAEL P. For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as the leader of a special reconnaissance element with Naval Special Warfare Task Unit Afghanistan on 27 and 28 June 2005. While leading a mission to locate a high-level anti-coalition militia leader, Lieutenant Murphy demonstrated extraordinary heroism in the face of grave danger in the vicinity of Asadabad, Konar Province, Afghanistan. On 28 June 2005, operating in an extremely rugged enemy-controlled area, Lieutenant Murphy’s team was discovered by anti-coalition militia sympathizers, who revealed their position to Taliban fighters. As a result, between 30 and 40 enemy fighters besieged his four-member team. Demonstrating exceptional resolve, Lieutenant Murphy valiantly led his men in engaging the large enemy force. The ensuing fierce firefight resulted in numerous enemy casualties, as well as the wounding of all four members of the team. Ignoring his own wounds and demonstrating exceptional composure, Lieutenant Murphy continued to lead and encourage his men. When the primary communicator fell mortally wounded, Lieutenant Murphy repeatedly attempted to call for assistance for his beleaguered teammates. Realizing the impossibility of communicating in the extreme terrain, and in the face of almost certain death, he fought his way into open terrain to gain a better position to transmit a call. This deliberate, heroic act deprived him of cover, exposing him to direct enemy fire. Finally achieving contact with his Headquarters, Lieutenant Murphy maintained his exposed position while he provided his location and requested immediate support for his team. In his final act of bravery, he continued to engage the enemy until he was mortally wounded, gallantly giving his life for his country and for the cause of freedom. By his selfless leadership, courageous actions, and extraordinary devotion to duty, Lieutenant Murphy reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

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Tags: 2008, American Heroes, Congressional Medal of Honor, Jason Dunham, Memorial Day, Michael Monsoor, Michael Murphy, Paul Smith To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Memorial Day, 2008: Remembering Our Foundations

Dr. Virginia Armstrong, National Chairman, Eagle Forum's, Court Watch: As America remembers those who have offered the ultimate sacrifice for all of us, we would do well to remind ourselves of the truths upon which our nation was founded-truths for which millions of Americans have suffered or died. No enemy has been more vicious in undermining these truths, our foundations, than runaway Humanist / Reconstructionist judges, made safe from harm in their cozy courtrooms by our troops fighting for the very truths Reconstructionists oppose. Here is a brief summary of three such truths as expressed by some of America's Founders and other leaders.

1. A just and free society requires a Christian foundation:

"I verily believe that Christianity is necessary to support a civil society and shall ever attend to its institutions and acknowledge its precepts as the pure and natural sources of private and social happiness." — Joseph Story (U. S. Supreme Court Justice and Harvard Law Professor)

"I . . . recommend a general and public return of praise and thanksgiving to Him from whose goodness these blessings descend. The most effectual means of securing the continuance of our civil and religious liberties is always to remember with reverence and gratitude the source from which they flow." — John Jay (America's first Chief Justice)

"We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all our political institutions upon the ability of mankind for self-government; upon the capacity to each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF GOD." — James Madison

"Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters." — Benjamin Franklin

2. The U. S. Constitution is based upon a Christian foundation:

"The religion which has introduced civil liberty is the religion of Christ and his apostles, which enjoins humility, piety, and benevolence; which acknowledges in every person a brother or a sister, and a citizen with equal rights. This is genuine Christianity, and to this we owe our free constitutions of government." — Noah Webster

"The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were…the general principles of Christianity . . . . Now I will avow that I then believed and now believe that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God." — John Adams

"America was born a Christian nation for the purpose of exemplifying to the nations of the world the principles of righteousness found in the Word of God." — Woodrow Wilson

"The more profoundly we student his wonderful Book [the Bible], the better citizens we will become, and the higher will be our destiny as a nation." — William McKinley

3. The Constitution and its Christian foundations require a limited government, including a restrained judiciary:

"Since the general civilization of mankind, I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachment of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." — James Madison in the Virginia Ratifying Convention, 1788

"The Constitution is a written instrument. As such its meaning does not alter. That which it meant when adopted it means now . . . 'Any other rule of construction would abrogate the judicial character of this court, and make it the mere reflex of the popular opinion or passion of the day.'" — U.S. Supreme Court in South Carolina v. U.S., 1905

"A frequent recurrence to the fundamental principles of the constitution . . . [is] absolutely necessary to preserve the advantages of liberty, and to maintain a free government. . . . The people . . . have a right to require of their lawgivers and magistrates, an exact and constant observance of them." — Massachusetts Constitution, 1780

"Liberty is secured, sir, by the limitation of its [the government's] powers, which are clearly and unequivocally defined." — Francis Corbin in the Virginia Ratification Convention, 1788

Conclusion: These truths clearly and conclusively refute contemporary Reconstructionist judges' loud and impassioned proclamations that we must "separate church and state" and that we "cannot legislate morality." The conclusion of the matter was well stated in the mid-Twentieth Century by a high-ranking British official, Alfred Lord Denning. Describing the plight of contemporary law in both England and America, Denning declared:

What does it all come to? Surely this, that if we seek truth and justice, we cannot find it by argument and debate, nor by reading and thinking, but only by the maintenance of true religion and virtue. Religion concerns the spirit in man whereby he is able to recognize what is truth and what is justice, whereas law is only the application, however imperfectly, of truth and justice in our everyday affairs. If religion perishes in the land, truth and justice will also. We have already strayed too far from the faith of our fathers. Let us return to it, for it is the only thing that can save us. (emphasis added)

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Tags: Christianity, Court Watch, Eagle Forum, Memorial Day, 2008 To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Remembering Our Veterans & Active Duty Military

ARRA News Service: Remembering Our Veterans & Active Duty MilitaryPlease set it aside in reverence for all those who have served with honor and are now departed. And please join us for a moment of silence at 1500 hours your local time, for remembrance and prayer.
"Remembering" by Gary Bauer: As we approach Memorial Day, our nation is immersed in a transformational campaign about fundamental issues. We have witnessed historic candidacies and seen contrasts between youth and experience. There is much at stake. It’s been seven years since America was attacked on September 11, 2001, and America still remains a nation at war, with its best, brightest and bravest fighting in far away places unknown to most Americans.

Yet, even while some are giving “the last full measure of devotion” on the battlefield, others on the radical Left, small and insignificant men, undercut their sacrifice, snipe at our leaders, put ambition before nation and confuse the liberators with the tyrants. While new graves are being dug and families are left with holes in their hearts, some of our countrymen, hoping for political advantage or filled with loathing for the nation of their birth, desire our defeat. May God help us find the courage to overcome the voices that seek to divide us.

Many of us lament that there is no Ronald Reagan on the stage today. I was honored to work for President Reagan through his entire administration, and it was the most extraordinary experience of my life. There was so much he understood and was right about, but one thing he always appreciated was the dedication of our men and women in uniform. He often spoke eloquently of their service and sacrifice, but never more so than when he stood on the beaches of Normandy to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the D-Day invasion. I’ve shared these words with you before, but they are worth sharing again as we prepare to remember those who have secured our freedom.

Below is an excerpt from the speech he delivered at Pointe du Hoc, France, where U.S. Rangers fought an incredible battle to reclaim Europe from the evil of fascism. I hope you find President Reagan’s remarks a reminder of who we are, what matters most and of the America we must rediscover if we are going to prevail in the fight against the new fascism of militant Islam.

Forty summers have passed since the battle that you fought here. You were young the day you took these cliffs; some of you were hardly more than boys, with the deepest joys of life before you. Yet, you risked everything here. Why?

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Tags: 2008, ARRA News Service, Gary Bauer, Memorial Day, Ronald Reagan To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Obama - "Don't Label Me a Liberal"

"Obama defends 'liberal' label . . . rallied against the charge that being a liberal is a bad thing!" - MSNBC
"Don't label me a Liberal." Barack Obama.
Checkout PlayingPolitics.com for political cartoons to share with friends!

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

A Few Wise Words

A FEW WISE WORDS During this political season
* You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
* You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
* You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
* You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.
* You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
* You cannot build character and courage by taking away men's initiative and independence.
* You cannot help men permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves.
Abraham Lincoln
See Also: Remembering the Life of A Great President: Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

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Tags: Abraham Lincoln, big government, Wise Words To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

We Can't Pay Our Soldiers Because of Reid & Company

Bill Smith, ARRA Editor: Memorial Day is upon us tomorrow and William J. Murray warns that:

Secretary of Defense Gates stated this week that without congressional action "Two critical accounts will run dry." He stated that: "After June 15th, we will run out of funds In this account to pay soldiers, including those in Iraq and Afghanistan." He said about a second account, the Operations and Maintenance account, "Around July 5th, O&M funds across the services will run out, starting with the Army. This may result in civilian furloughs, limits on training and curbing family support activities." Meanwhile Democrat Senate Leader Harry Reid has added funding for Planned Parenthood to the Military Supplemental Spending Bill.

To veterans, one of the best Memorial Day tributes to us would be 1) the funding of our military and 2) not to play insulting games by adding funding issues which have no relationship to the military. Sen. Harry Reid reported that he was physically abused by a drunken father. Reid continues to demonstrate that this dysfunctional childhood affects his ability to properly assess and deal responsibly with authority figures be they the President or military commanders. Reid's internal issues have resulted in his inability to properly lead the US Senate. His national poll ratings as the leader of the U.S. Senate are the lowest ratings in history. Sen. Reid stop playing games - Fund our troops!

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Tags: Afghanistan, Harry Reid, Iraq, military funding, William J. Murray To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

The GOP's Dirty Dozen

Tony Perkins, FRC Washington Update: 12 Republicans, led by Rep. Mark Kirk (IL), quietly sent a letter to President Bush asking him to keep the current Title X regulations. The current rules bar pro-life groups from receiving Title X funds and allow groups like Planned Parenthood (PP) to use dollars to help keep their profitable abortion business viable. The existing Title X policy was put in place by President Clinton, who overturned President Reagan's regulations which protected taxpayer monies by separating the supposedly clean side of PP's business (PAP and breast cancer screening, HIV testing, etc.) from the abortion side. A large majority of Americans believe that the federal government should not be funding abortionists, yet that is exactly what President Clinton's regulations, which have been maintained by President George W. Bush, do. If this Dirty Dozen were really serious about protecting the supposedly legitimate side of PP, they would welcome new regulations to protect those efforts. In light of recent revelations that PP clinics across the nation have been involved in racism, defrauding taxpayers and complicit in the statutory rape of young girls, someone should ask these appeasers of abortion and bad government why they seek to shield potential criminal activity. If President Bush fails to act, our future President should. These changes are necessary to protect women and to protect PP from itself. Contact your congressmen if they appear in the following "Dirty Dozen" list and express your disappointment: Reps. Mark Kirk (IL), Christopher Shays (CN), Kay Granger (TX), Jim Ramstad (MN), Charlie Dent (PA), Rodney Frelinghuysen (NJ), Ralph Regula (OH), David Hobson (OH), Judy Biggert (IL), Mike Castle (DE), Wayne Gilchrest (MD) and Deborah Pryce (OH).

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Tags: abortion, FRC, GOP, Planned Parenthood, Title X, Tony Perkins To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Wrong Book

by Paul Jacob, Common Sense: Last November, Keith Sampson, a college student, was found guilty of “racial harassment.” He’d been caught reading a book while on break from a part-time job with the school. Uh-oh. The book is titled Notre Dame vs. the Klan: How the Fighting Irish Defeated the Ku Klux Klan. It recounts a conflict between Irish Catholics and the Klan back in the 1920s. The book is clearly anti-Klan.

Reading such history cannot amount to “racial harassment,” even if somebody complains that it does. But such a complaint was all it took to get Sampson in hot water with the hall monitors at his school, Indiana University/Purdue University (Indianapolis). According to Sampson, the “affirmative action officer” found him guilty without ever talking to him or inspecting the book. The official accusatory letter states that “repeatedly reading the book . . . constitutes racial harassment in that you demonstrated disdain and insensitivity to your co-workers.”

I’m sure Keith Sampson felt the university was being insensitive to his need to have the bogus accusation properly investigated. Months later, the university is finally reversing itself, thanks to a lot of bad publicity and the involvement of outfits like the ACLU and the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). But the school admits no wrongdoing. If you ask me, the affirmative action officer has way too much time on his hands. Maybe he could spend it reading a book?

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Tags: Common Sense, First Amendment, KKK, Notre Dame, Paul Jacob, racial harrassment To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!