News Blog for social, fiscal & national security conservatives who believe in God, family & the USA. Upholding the rights granted by God & guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, traditional family values, "republican" principles / ideals, transparent & limited "smaller" government, free markets, lower taxes, due process of law, liberty & individual freedom. Content approval rests with the ARRA News Service Editor. Opinions are those of the authors. While varied positions are reported, beliefs & principles remain fixed. No revenue is generated for or by this "Blog" - no paid ads - no payments for articles.Fair Use Doctrine is posted & used. Blogger/Editor/Founder: Bill Smith, Ph.D. [aka: OzarkGuru & 2010 AFP National Blogger of the Year] Contact: editor@arranewsservice.com (Pub. Since July, 2006)Home PageFollow @arra
One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics
is that you end up being governed by your inferiors. -- Plato
(429-347 BC)
Friday, June 06, 2008
Today in Washington D. C. - June 6, 2008
On The Floor: The Senate reconvened with little fanfare and voted early this morning against cloture on the Boxer Climate Tax bill (S. 3036). making its future prospects uncertain at best. The cloture motion failed, 48-36, falling far short of the 60 votes required. No further votes today. On Tuesday, a cloture vote on the motion to proceed to the Democrats’ energy bill (S. 3044) is expected. Yesterday, the Senate passed the farm bill fix (H.R. 6124).
From Senate & News Sources:The Washington Post reports that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid may simply pull the bill from the floor. Reid filed for cloture on Wednesday after blocking Republican amendments in the wake of Republicans forcing the clerk to read the entire 492 page substitute amendment. Republicans were actually eager to continue debate on the sweeping bill. The Wall Street Journal explains, “[T]he timing of the debate -- with gasoline prices hovering near $4 a gallon on average -- appeared to benefit the bill's opponents, who argued that the measure amounted to a stealth tax on consumers. They said the reductions would put the U.S. at a competitive disadvantage against countries like China that don't impose emission caps, and create arbitrary winners and losers.” As Sen. McConnell told The Wall Street Journal, “You can’t cram a measure of this magnitude down the throat of the United States Senate or the American people with that little scrutiny or observation.”
Headlines today certainly didn’t help the bill’s prospects. The AP reports on a new study by the International Energy Agency which concludes that the world would need to spend $45 trillion in order to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Another AP story noted that the Boxer bill “would require power plants, refineries and factories to reduce their carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by 19% by 2020 and by 71% by 2050,” a more ambitious target than the 50% reduction the IEA study was discussing. Though the Senate bill was aimed only at reducing domestic emissions, it’s clear that massive costs are associated with meeting such targets, even on a smaller scale. Tags:Boxer Climate Tax farm tax fix, 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!
Secure Arkansas Advocates Receive Apology From U.S. Post Office
Bill Smith, ARRA Editor: The Jonesboro Sun ran a front page story with colored picture with this headline: "Woman receives apology after postal officials made her leave sidewalk." The caption under the picture reads, "Cora Jean Liles, a volunteer for Secure Arkansas, displays an apology letter she received Wednesday from the U. S. Postal Services. Liles was removed last week from Jonesboro's downtown post office as she attempted to collect signatures for a petition."
The ARRA News Service reported previously about Cora Jean Liles who was collected signatures for the Secure Arkansas Ballot Initiative on the sidewalk at Joneboro, Arkansas Post Office. After receiving prior permission she was harassed by a Postal official and the police were called to stop her activities. Didn't sound right at the time and it has proven to have been an incorrect action by the postal official.
Debbie Pelley, a local coordinator for Secure Arkansas and member of the ARRA, researched the law and discovered that it was amended to allow signature gathering on sidewalks outside post offices. When the Joneboro postmaster refused to give Pelley and Liles ten minutes to show him the law, Pelley used Google and the phone to find the authority who would be in charge of this matter . She talked to Rick Carter, Manager, Consumer Affairs and Claims, USPS AR District in Little Rock. Carter asked Pelley to email him the amended law. One postal attorney with whom Pelley talked said it would probably take several days to resolve the issue, but Carter took less than 24 hours to reply by email. The email to Pelley reads:
From: Carter, Rick A - Little Rock, AR
To: Debbie Pelley
Cc: Driskell, Robert H - Jonesboro, AR ; Adams, Hillrey D - Jonesboro, AR
Sent: Wednesday, June 04, 2008 9:43 AM
Subject: RE: Law on collecting signatures on post office sidewalks
Debbie,
Thank you for sending me the amended 39 CFR on soliciting on Postal property.
I submitted this to our SW Area Law Dept. and they agree soliciting on sidewalks around Post Offices is allowed by this amendment.Please accept our apology for the misunderstanding and any inconvenience you experienced because of the situation in Jonesboro.
I have advised the Jonesboro Postmaster to allow soliciting adjacent to the Jonesboro Post Office as long as it does not interfere with access or egress from the entrance ways and if there is no disturbance because of the soliciting.
For your future ease in carrying out your petition initiative, let me suggest you speak with the Postmaster or Station Manager in the location where you intend to solicit before hand. Let them know this activity is allowed by 39 CFR and reach an agreement as to where the activity can be pursued without interfering with Postal operations or access and egress from the facility.
This should prevent any misunderstandings or problems with your soliciting activity.
I will send an alert out to all Postmasters and Station Managers in Arkansas advising them of the amended soliciting regulations.
Again, please accept our apology for this misunderstanding.
Rick Rick Carter Manager, Consumer Affairs & Claims USPS AR District
This time, the common citizen prevails over government bureaucracy. The postmaster in Jonesboro said Liles was wrong and used a 911 call to have her removed from the post office sidewalk. The police asked her to move saying the property was federal property. The Post Office media spokeswoman in Little Rock said Liles was wrong. Even the staff at US Senator Mark Pryor's office, whom Liles contacted, sent her a letter saying she was WRONG. But the law says she was RIGHT. Thank God for the law. And the law is what Secure Arkansas initiative is all about. It just can't be right or just for illegal alines to march and protest in our streets without intervention and one single lady collecting signatures have three police cars dispatched on her.
Pelley and Liles gave the following written statement to reporters:
"We don't want this story to cast any reflection on the post office or employees or on the policemen. Except for this one incident with the postmaster, the post office has been very cordial and has given permission for us to collect signatures on the sidewalks and has now taken steps to prevent this situation from happening again. When we visited with the police chief, we could not have asked him to be any nicer. We understand it is their duty to dispatch policeman to any business that makes a call, and this was made as an emergency call. I understand the police chief even took steps after this to prevent it from happening again.
An attorney informed us that we had a very good civil rights case. We do not intend to file a lawsuit in this matter, although it could be tempting. That is not our goal. Our goal is to exercise our civil rights and protect the rights of the American citizens and get the signatures we need for the initiative. It does strike me as unbelievable that illegal aliens can march and protest in our streets freely, yet one single person exercising her legal, civil rights collecting signatures has the police called on her with a 911 call. We feel that situation in this particular instance has now been rectified."
Bob Hester, State Director, Arkansas Family Coalition summed up the situation: "These brave ladies have fought for our rights to gather petitions at the post office. I hope you will go to the post office and exercise that right. The Secure Arkansas website gives information on how you can do this." Tags:ballot initiatives, citizen rights, Civil Rights, Post Office, Secure Arkansas, US lawTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Habitat for Humanity Cuts Ties with Planned Parenthood
Habitat for Humanity, a Christian ministry dedicated to building houses for the poor, has abandoned its plan to help Planned Parenthood open a clinic in Sarasota, Fla. In order to follow local zoning regulations, Planned Parenthood made a land deal with Habitat for Humanity. After being bombarded with phone calls and e-mails from concerned citizens, Habitat agreed to end its association with the nation’s largest abortion provider.
LifeNews.com reported that Duane Bates, the director of Public and Media Relations for the national Habitat organization, confirmed in an email that Habitat is no longer involved. "We wanted to inform you that Habitat for Humanity of Sarasota has declined a donation of land from Planned Parenthood, stating that accepting the land 'would not be in the best interests of our ongoing work in the community, the families we seek to serve or the broader Habitat for Humanity community,'" he said. Bates said that the national organization never signed off on the decision to aid Plannmed Parenthood.
The Habitat vote came after a week of phone calls and e-mail to the local and the international Habitat offices from many individuals locally and around the country," he said. "Many of them were Habitat volunteers and supporters who didn't want to see their organization involved with Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the nation." Also See:Habitat for Humanity Disassociates With Planned Parenthood Abortion Center Tags:Florida, Habitat for Humanity, Planned ParenthoodTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Gary Bauer, Campaign for Working Families: The Obama phenomenon is so wide-spread that there is a good possibility that someone you know – someone at your church, at your place of employment, a neighbor, perhaps even a family member – has bought into the myth that this man is the one who will save our nation from the “old politics” of cynicism and partisanship, and has the wisdom and leadership to heal our land. I could give you dozens of examples of Obama’s flip-flops and inconsistencies, but for this report I’ll limit most of my remarks to his contorted views on the most fundamental responsibility of an American president – protecting our national security.
Yesterday, Barack Obama addressed the American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). His entire speech is a total contradiction of just about everything he has said about the Middle East. Moreover, it is wholly inconsistent with the views of his foreign policy advisors, who are unanimous in their view that Israel is the problem and must give up more land and make more concessions for “peace.”
For example, during a CNN debate last summer, Obama stated that he would meet in his first year in office, and “without preconditions,” with Iran’s Holocaust-denying dictator and other enemies of the United States.
Yesterday, before the AIPAC audience, Obama put a major precondition on any meetings, saying he would only meet with Iranian leaders, “if and only if it can advance the interest of the United States.” Good luck with that.
On May 18th, just two weeks ago, Obama told a crowd of 80,000 people in Portland, Oregon, that Iran was a “tiny” country that doesn’t “pose a serious threat to us…”
Yesterday, before the AIPAC audience, Obama declared, “The danger from Iran is grave, it is real, and my goal will be to eliminate this threat. … We will also use all elements of American power to pressure Iran. I will do everything in my power to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.”
Remember, friends, this is the very same man who opposed bi-partisan legislation sponsored by Senators Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and Jon Kyl (R-AZ) to label the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist entity. The bill passed 76-to-22. This is the same man who has promised to slash our defense budget and postpone the development of new weapons systems. As former Georgia Senator Zell Miller suggested of John Kerry, how does he propose to stop Iran’s nuclear ambitions and defend America? With spitballs?
In an interview with David Brooks of the New York Times, published May 16th, Obama told Brooks that American foreign policy must do a better job of understanding the “root causes” of terrorism, and he said that the violence of Hamas and Hezbollah “weakens their legitimate claims.” What “legitimate claims” do these terrorist organizations have? Does Al Qaeda have “legitimate claims” too?
Yesterday, before the AIPAC audience, Obama said, “We must isolate Hamas,” and then declared, “There is no room at the negotiating table for terrorist organizations.” Well, presumably that would also include Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whom Obama has promised to meet with during his first year, but who also directs Iran’s state support of global terrorism.
If Barack Obama isn’t clear about what he believes, how can he expect the voters to trust him with the presidency? Let me leave you with this. During his victory announcement in Minnesota this week, Obama seemed to declare his candidacy for Supreme Being, saying:
”I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs for the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal.”
So, in addition to eliminating illness and poverty, Barack “The Messiah” Obama will exercise the “super powers” of the presidency to command the waters, calm the winds and “heal” the planet!
Given Obama’s “understanding” of reality, I don’t understand how any conservative can in good conscience sit out this election and punish our country with an Obama presidency. We’re not children playing for marbles – we’re supposedly serious adults and America is at stake. Tags:Barack Obama, beliefs, Gary Bauer, Iran, Israel, terrorismTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
The Hill Reports: Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO) Wednesday called on Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) to select former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) as his running mate. “In Colorado, we love Mitt Romney.” Musgrave said that during the Colorado Republican convention, every caucus she visited had made Romney its top choice — a trend that was reflected in the caucus totals. Romney won the Colorado caucus with 60 percent of the vote, dwarfing McCain’s, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee’s and Rep. Ron Paul’s (Texas) totals. She cited Romney’s “real-world experience” as an executive as a particular attribute that would “serve McCain well. . . . I know conservatives can count on [McCain and Romney] to support traditional values and fight to protect the tax dollars of working families.”
Bloomberg article noted: McCain's Republican opponent, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who was born in Michigan and won the Jan. 15 primary, vowed to "fight for every good job for Michigan.'' Over the past few months, however, McCain has taken a lesson from Romney, acknowledging recently that "Americans are hurting." Returning to Michigan last month, the Arizona senator told a local television station that he would fight for new jobs and the state wouldn't "be left behind."
Fox News Reported: Gamblers bet on Romney for V.P. Intrade, which correctly picked the winner of every state in the 2004 general election, evaluates the veepstakes chances of 30 prominent political figures - 16 Democrats and 14 Republicans. On the GOP side, there are three leaders, Romney at 19.2%, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty at 15.6% and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee at 14.1%. Tags:Election 2008, GOP, John McCain, Mitt Romney, nominations, vice presidentTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
A federal jury Wednesday convicted developer Antoin "Tony" Rezko of corruption charges for trading on his clout as a top adviser and fundraiser to Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Rezko's guilty verdict on 16 of 24 corruption counts could have broad repercussions for Blagojevich, who made Rezko a central player in his kitchen cabinet. . . . U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, who once counted Rezko as a friend and fundraiser . . . "I'm saddened by today's verdict," Obama said Wednesday. "This isn't the Tony Rezko I knew, but now he has been convicted by a jury on multiple charges that once again shine a spotlight on the need for reform. . . . The jury convicted Rezko of 12 counts of wire and mail fraud, two counts of money laundering and two counts of aiding and abetting bribery. He was acquitted of attempted extortion.
Barack Obama seems to always claim that another person with whom he associated is not the person he knew. Considering that Obama knew Resko quite well in his business dealings, became neighbors and was supported by Resko in his rise in Illinois politics leave us in doubt as to Obam's credibility. As past stories related to Resko and Obama seem to be disappearing from the web, consider the following post Jan. 25, 2008 via the John Edwards campaign in the American Election News: “Seems they go back quite a ways in friendship and business dealings of the past that are coming back to haunt Barack Obama today. . . . For years after Rezko befriended Obama in the early 1990s, he helped bankroll the politician’s campaigns. Then, after Obama’s election to the U.S. Senate, Rezko engaged him in private financial deals to improve their adjoining South Side properties. Those arrangements became a source of lingering controversy after the Tribune first reported them in Nov. 2006.”
. . . Obama bought his house in June 2005 for some $300,000 less than the asking price. The same day, Rezko's wife bought the adjoining lot, paying the full $625,000 asking price. One question raised was whether Rezko's wife subsidized Obama's purchase of the $1-milllion-plus home, while providing a next door private preserve that can't be reached from a public street.
Obama first described his dealings with Rezko as ethical and proper, but a couple of days later acknowledged the arrangement might have appeared improper. He said in writing: "It was a mistake to have been engaged with him at all in this or any other personal business dealing that would allow him, or anyone else, to believe that he had done me a favor. For that reason, I consider this a mistake on my part and I regret it." For Chicagoans accustomed to the sound of non-apologies, the statement had a familiar ring: If anyone thinks I did something wrong, I'm sorry I got caught.
. . . During Obama's recent and much-lauded African trip, he gravely criticized rampant government corruption there. Back in Illinois, he had plenty of similar opportunities to criticize what may be the most corrupt city/state government in the nation. But he took a pass, missing a great opportunity to demonstrate integrity and independence from the corrupt Democratic machine. . . . Many in Illinois have watched in amazement at the sudden elevation of a little-noticed state senator whose voting record is somewhat more liberal than the national media care to report."
Obama . . . helped slumlords operate in Chicago, while accepting their campaign contributions . . . Obama was a member of the political machine that helped a whole gang of slumlords funnel local, state and federal tax dollars, over the backs of poor people in need of affordable housing, to line their own pockets and fund the campaigns of politicians in positions to recommend and award contracts. The Davis Miner Barnhill & Galland law firm, where Obama worked for nearly a decade, served as a hub for a slew of slumlord deals, many that benefited the firm's founder, Allison Davis, and Obama's claims that he knew nothing about the inner workings of this small firm, represent an insult to the intelligence of the American public.
Tony Rezko was Obama political Godfather. Obama received his first contributions of $2,000, to launch his political career as a state senator on July 31, 1995, from Rezko. Obama started out saying that Rezko only raised $50,000 or $60,000 for his political career but after a year of lying his way through the primaries, the latest total he gave to the Sun-Times and Tribune during interviews on March 14, 2008, adds up to $250,000.
For a year, he also minimized his relationship with Rezko by telling the media that he only had dinner or lunch with Rezko one or twice a year. But when confronted by Sun-Times reporters during the March 14 interview, with the allegation that an FBI mole saw him coming and going to Rezko’s office often and that three sources said he talked to Rezko on the phone daily, Obama changed his tune.
Now the story is that he may have talked to Rezko daily at times during campaigns but sometimes he went for a whole month without talking to him. “I have to say we're talking over the course of 10 years,” Obama said, “there might have been spurts where I talked to him daily.” But then he added: "There might have been stretches over a month where I wouldn't have talked to him at all." . . .
Obama's entering into real estate deals with Rezko, while it was public knowledge that he was under investigation for funneling illegal contributions to Illinois politicians, was not a "boneheaded" move, it was motivated by pure greed. While knowing that he would get caught up in a major scandal, Obama went ahead with the deal because he and his wife wanted that mansion, with four fireplaces, six bathrooms, and a wine cellar, period.
On March 16, 2008, the Boston Globe added an interesting twist to the story when reporting that Donna Schwan, of MetroPro Realty, which listed the mansion and lot next door for the owners, "said it is her recollection that the Obamas may not have made the highest bid, and that other bidders may have matched Rezko's bid," but the willingness of both buyers to close in June 2005, "was decisive." Which logically means had Rezko not been willing to buy the lot in June, the deal was off. According to an article by Edward McClelland in the Feb. 1, 2008 Salon Magazine, when asked who approached her about the house, Donna Schwan told Salon, "I honestly don't remember. Tony Rezko lived across the street, so he'd been interested in the lot." . . .
When it came time for Obama's US Senate campaign, Valerie Jarrett became the campaign finance chairman and worked hand and hand with fellow finance committee members, Rita and Tony Rezko, and his former boss at the law firm, Allison Davis, in fundraising endeavors. The committee raised more than $14 million, according to Federal Election Commission records . . . Jarrett is now the CEO of Habitat Co, a real estate development and management firm which manages the housing program for the Chicago Housing Authority, the entity mandated to administer public housing, and she serves as an unpaid advisor to Obama's Presidential campaign. Mayor Daley's brother Bill also became an Obama advisor. Mayor Daley's chief image defender, David Axelrod, is a top strategist for Obama's campaign and he was also the media consultant for Obama's US Senate campaign. . . .
Obama . . . exhibits no shame, no matter where his money comes from. On Sept. 5, 2007, the New York Post reported that, "Alexi Giannoulias, who became Illinois state treasurer last year after Obama vouched for him, has pledged to raise $100,000 for the senator's Oval Office bid." "Giannoulias is so tainted by reputed mob links," the Post noted, "that several top Illinois Dems, including the state's speaker of the House and party chairman, refused to endorse him even after he won the Democratic nomination with Obama's help."
Tags:Barack Obama, campaign funds, graft, greed, Illinois, organized crime, political favors, Tony Rezko
On The Floor: The Senate is scheduled to consider the motion to proceed to the Democrats’ energy bill (S. 3044). At 4 PM, the Senate will consider the farm bill fix (H.R. 6124). After an hour of debate, senators will vote on passage of the bill.
Last night, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid filed filled the amendment tree on the climate cap-and-trade bill and then filed for cloture, thus barring amendments and seeking to cut off debate on a sweeping, almost 500 page bill. This is a bill that addresses what Reid calls “easily the gravest long-term challenge that our country and the world faces” and “the most critical issue of our time.” A cloture vote is scheduled for tomorrow morning. Contact your senators! Tell them to stop this bill - it will only increase taxes and increase bureaucracy.Review:Impact of Lieberman-Warner Global Climate Change Bill on Your State
The Democrats’ actions make one wonder if they were serious about this legislation in the first place. Early in the week a number of Democrat senators expressed serious concerns about the bill and Democrat aides warned that they were being led off a cliff. It makes sense that Democrats wouldn’t want to take tough votes on a bill guaranteed to raise energy and gas prices when gasoline is approaching $4 per gallon. It appears that Democrats would rather close off debate and then blame Republicans instead of having a serious, extended discussion on a far-reaching piece of legislation.
From Senate & News Sources: Republicans decided it was important yesterday to remind Senate Democrats of the importance of keeping their commitments on judicial nominations. To that end, Republicans forced the reading of the entire Boxer substitute amendment to the climate bill, effectively shutting down the Senate for most of the day Wednesday. When Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid failed to live up to his pledge to confirm three circuit court judges by Memorial Day, Democrats were warned that there would be repercussions. Yesterday’s action won’t solve the problem right away, but it is the beginning of an effort to remind Democrats of their responsibilities and the importance of keeping their word.
Yesterday, the Senate voted 48-45 to pass the conference report on the Democrats’ fiscal 2009 budget resolution (S. Con. Res. 70). Investor’s Business Daily has a good editorial today examining many of the problems with the Democrat budget. Tags:energy bill, conference report, budget resolution, 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!
There is no need to editorialize. Here is a sampling of the sort of facts the politicians and pro-illegal lobby want you to ignore, yet expect you to continue to bear the burden of. Is it any wonder scores of hospitals in border states and elsewhere have shut down or closed their ER units? Although this concerns emergency care via federal law; consider that for every illegal alien (unlawful person) deterred from coming to Arkansas by cutting benefits to illegals will help keep our expenses down on these benefits required by the federal government. Every illegal alien lured to Arkansas by allowing them benefits will increase the expenses of Arkansans and its legal citizens. That is one more reason to pass the Secure Arkansas Initiative. Please join the effort to get petitions signed. Visit Secure Arkansas to get petitions and instructions for collecting signatures. Tags:Arkansas, ballot initiatives, economic cost, illegal aliens, medical costs, Secure ArkansasTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Political Poetry - "Change, Yes We Can, Believe In"
In his Stoplight video commentary, Stuart Shepard examines specific campaign words (Change, Yes We Can, Believe In) and what they could mean versus what they do mean.
Tags:CitizenLink, Politics, Stoplight, Stuart Shepard, WordsTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
California Supreme Court Ignores Will of Californians
Protect Marriage: The California Supreme Court ruled earlier today to ignore the will of Californians and allow same-sex “marriages” to start on June 17th, despite the pending vote this November on the Protect Marriage amendment. In doing so, the court chose nationwide legal chaos and demonstrated no concern for the legal turmoil it is about to inflict on the entire country. The actions of this court will make the 2000 Florida presidential recount seem like a high school debate, as couples will now flood into our state, get “married,” and start to file legal challenges to force their radical redefinition of marriage upon the nation. It is hard to believe that the Founding Fathers would have supported the idea of four justices in California re-defining marriage for everyone else. [Read more]
CitizensLink: The California Supreme Court decided today to allow same-sex "weddings" in the state beginning June 17 — instead of waiting for the people to vote on a constitutional amendment in November. Attorneys general from at least 12 states had asked the court to wait to implement its May 15 decision in favor of same-sex "marriage." "There's every possibility that 'marriages' rendered to same-sex couples in the (next) few months will be invalid when the people of California vote in November to overrule the Supreme Court's decision," said Ron Prentice, executive director of the California Family Council. Tags:California, CitizenLink, marriage, marriage amendment, Supreme CourtTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
by Kevin McGill, AP, PressDemocrat: An issue that has roiled Louisiana's Legislature for years came to an unusually quick conclusion Tuesday when the state Senate, without debate, voted to ban government funding for what is sometimes called "therapeutic cloning." Attempts in past years to outlaw the practice have been narrowly defeated in the Senate after bitter debates pitting religious conservatives, who say it creates and destroys human life, against scientists and advocates for people who have diabetes and other diseases, who say the process could lead to treatments and cures.
State Sen. Dan Morrish, R-Jennings, who won 36-0 approval of the bill by Rep. Cameron Henry in less than a minute, said banning the funding - without criminalizing the process itself - helped mollify opposition, although he added that many in the scientific community were "not ecstatic" about the bill. . . . Tuesday's vote was the last major legislative hurdle for the bill to ban funding. Henry, R-New Orleans, had already won passage in the House. It still needs a routine House vote on minor Senate language changes and then it goes to Gov. Bobby Jindal, who supports it. . . . [Read More] Tags:Cloning, Louisiana, therapeutic cloningTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Barack Obama Sought Radical Left New Party's Endorsement
by Erick Erickson, RedState: Last week we documented Obama’s 1996 endorsement by the New Party: which raises the question: what is the New Party? It’s easy to allege that this group is closely tied to former communists, but digging in to the New Party and Obama’s involvement, a very dirty picture presents itself. In fact, it is abundantly apparent that Barack Obama not only knew what the New Party was when he sought its endorsement, but through his ties with ACORN, the radical left activist organization, Obama used his radical left connections to get elected to the Illinois State Senate. . . .
The New Party was designed as a loose confederation of unions, socialists, communists, and black activists who shared common values, but often had different goals. According to John Nichols, its party platform included: . . . In Arkansas, Minnesota, Oregon, and other places the New Party has worked hand in hand with ACORN and local unions . . . With the New Party’s rise and its entanglements with ACORN came the rise of Barack Obama. According to Stanley Kurtz, “Acorn is the key modern successor of the radical 1960’s ‘New Left,’ with a ‘1960’s-bred agenda of anti-capitalism’ to match.” And Barack Obama was ACORN’s lawyer.
Using his position at ACORN in 1995, Obama set up the playing field for his election the following year.The Boston Globe reports, “Obama was part of a team of attorneys who represented the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) in a lawsuit against the state of Illinois in 1995 for failing to implement a federal law designed to make it easier for the poor and others to register as voters. . . . With districts redrawn, ingratiating himself to black politicians on his side of the city, and rules loosened on voter registration, Obama could set out to run. And he did. Obama sought the New Party endorsement, which required him to sign a contract that he would keep up his relationship with the New Party.
The end of the story is simple. Obama won the New Party’s nomination and, through fusion with his Democratic votes, he became the Democratic nominee. Using ACORN’s get out the vote efforts and relying on his gerrymandered Democrat district, Obama moved on to the State Senate. While there, he paid back the New Party and the far left.He opposed the Born Alive Infant Protection Act, he opposed legislation that would have prohibited the sale of pornography across the street from elementaryschools and churches, and he supported allowing criminals to sue their victims if their victims injured the criminals in self-defense.
Fast forward twelve years and Obama is running as fast as he can away from the New Party brand. But beyond a shadow of a doubt, Barack Obama knew what he was getting into and remains an ideal New Party candidate. The New Party was, and as it still exists is, an amalgamation of the left and far left designed to attract far left candidates and move the Democratic Party back to the left. Barack Obama is an example of the New Party’s success. . . . [Read More]Tags:ACORN, Barack Hussein Obama, Barack Obama, Chicago, Illinois, New Party, progressive, Red State, socialistTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
John McCain, Republican Candidate for President: Today, we can say with confidence the primary season is over, and the general election campaign has begun. Each American faces a decision this election and the choice between my candidacy and Senator Obama's could not be more clear. This is a change election. But the choice is between the right change and the wrong change; between going forward and going backward.
The right change recognizes that many of the policies and institutions of our government have failed. The right kind of change will initiate widespread and innovative reforms in almost every area of government policy from energy to taxes to government spending and the military. The right change will stop impeding Americans from doing what they have always done, overcome obstacles and turn challenges into opportunities. Today, I humbly ask you to join my campaign for the right change, as we move forward together as a nation.
The wrong change looks not to the future, but to the past for solutions that have failed us before and will surely fail us again. Like others before him, my opponent seems to think government is the answer to every problem. That's not change we can believe in. My friends, we're not a country that would rather go back than forward. We're the world's leader, and leaders don't hide from history. They make history. If we're going to lead, we must reform a government that has lost its ability to help us do so.
I don't seek the presidency on the presumption I'm blessed with such personal greatness that history has anointed me to save my country in its hour of need. I seek the office with the humility of a man who cannot forget my country saved me. I assure you that if I'm elected president, the era of reform and problem solving will begin. From my first day in office, I'll work tirelessly to make America safe, prosperous and proud. And that, my friends, is the kind of change we need.
Sincerely, John McCainTags:change, John McCain, presidential candidate, RepublicanTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Last night, many of us watched as Senator Barack Obama hobbled across the finish line in the Democrat primary. Throughout this prolonged Democratic primary season, one thing has been apparent: Senator Obama is fundamentally unprepared to lead this country. Whether it’s his proposals to meet with hostile leaders during the first year of his Administration, his anti-gun statements, or his plans to raise taxes for families and small businesses, America can not stand for this type of radical liberalism in the White House.
While many members of his own Party aren't convinced that their presumptive nominee has the experience or judgment to serve as Commander in Chief, we as Republicans offer a clear choice: Senator John McCain. Senator McCain has the experience to serve and is the right leader at the right time. You can make a difference in several ways: 1) Get involved with your State's GOP Party. 2) Join the online e-McCain efforts at the following sites:
Election Day 2008 is five months from today. On November 4th, John McCain will be elected with your support. Tags:Barack Obama, John McCain, presidential candidates, linksTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
On The Floor: The Senate will take up the fiscal 2009 budget resolution conference report (S. Con. Res. 70) and will vote on passage of the budget after 15 minutes of debate. After the budget vote, the Senate will begin consideration of the carbon emission cap-and-trade bill (S. 3036). Around noon, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) is expected to offer her 491-page substitute amendment, which will likely be the basis for debate.
From Senate & News Sources: Sen. Byron Dorgan was on to something when he told Newsweek that the bill is “in some ways, more complicated than” the Clintons’ 1993 health care reform proposals. Just how complicated is it? Power Line posted an illustrative chart yesterday from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce pointing out the byzantine regulations and mandates in the bill.
GOP Leader Mitch McConnell yesterday said that the environment bill would raise gasoline prices at the beginning of the summer season and criticized the Democratic proposal as a backward solution to reducing prices at the pump. Today, gas prices at an average of $3.98 per gallon and Democrats are offering a bill that could raise gas prices by 50 cents a gallon. Of course, this comes on the heels of Democrats voting down GOP proposals to increase domestic oil & gas production.
Democrats claim that the cap-and-trade legislation provides for tax relief to offset the higher energy prices that Americans will face if their bill passes. Yesterday, Sen. Boxer said, “We have a huge tax cut [in this bill].” But there’s no actual tax relief in the climate bill. There’s simply a non-binding Sense of the Senate provision that says some funds “should be” used to protect consumers from the coming “increases in energy and other costs” Before Democrats get to their bill to raise energy prices on Americans, though, they’re first plan to pass their budget which would result in a $1.2 trillion tax increase since it does not renew President Bush’s tax cuts. Looks like it could be another day for Senate Democrats seeking to take a chunk out of family budgets through tax hikes and increases in the cost of energy. Tags:cap-and-trade, tax increases, US Budget, US Congress, 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!
After reading Nuckols' comments, what do you think? Please add your comments to this post.
At the Daily News Record, P. Hudson Nuckols Jr., Shenandoah Va details his reasons "Why I like Mike Huckabee for vice president and why we need him":
Sixteen million to 18 million Southern Baptists can be counted on! Fifty-plus million evangelicals share his values, as do many millions of Democrats.
Mike has that rare ability to communicate with the common man. "Blue collar" people can identify with him.
The Southern vote! He succeeded in Arkansas where Clinton failed.
Black Baptists (there are millions of them) and others: shared values!
The Reagan Appeal!
A man of faith and prayer that inspires confidence. "This Book ... thou shalt meditate there in day and night ... observe to do all that is written therein for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success" (Joshua 1:18).
A foot soldier on domestic issues, freeing President McCain to focus the attention needed on defense and other crises.
Personality! Mike has it! Who better to reach across the Congressional aisle to reluctant Democrats? And, Republicans!
Mike Huckabee already has name recognition and the respect of many, many people . . . [Source]
Tags:candidate, GOP, Mike Huckabee, vice presidentTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Gary Bauer, Campaign for Working Families: Here’s news guaranteed to sicken you. The Air Force has issued a warning to military personnel who use public transportation while traveling to the Pentagon. There have been several incidents in recent days of men and women in uniform being publicly harassed by anti-war leftists. According to the “security advisory,” military personnel “have been approached by individuals expressing themselves as anti-government, shouting anti-war sentiments and using slurs against minorities.” In one case, a woman in uniform was followed onto a Metro platform (the D.C. subway) by a leftwing thug who “continued to berate her as she exited the Metro station.” Verbal assaults also took place near Ronald Reagan National Airport. The Air Force says the incidents do not appear to be part of an organized campaign.
I beg to differ. Leftwing blogs and websites are constantly urging their followers to harass our military. And leftwing politicians who have compared our soldiers to Nazis bear responsibility, too, as do those in the media who constantly present our troops in a negative light.
No one in uniform should have to worry about harassment from his or her fellow citizens. I am sure our soldiers have been trained not to respond to these provocations. But I have not received such training. I often use the Metro system, and if I see something this disgusting happen to one of the brave men and women protecting our country, I will probably be in need of an attorney and bail! [Excerpt from Gary Bauer's 6/3/08 e-letter] Tags:Gary Bauer, harassment, military, support troopsTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Charlie Butts, OneNewsNow: Colorado Governor Bill Ritter has signed a bill that has shocked many of the state's residents.The bill adds transgendered people to the list included in the state's non-discrimination law. That means businesses will be required to hire transgendered people, even if they are owned and operated by Christians who oppose the lifestyle on moral grounds . . . this bill now does do is allow men to go into women's restrooms and locker rooms and vice versa because we are told that we cannot discriminate against someone with a transgender status . . . Colorado lawmakers also slapped voters in the face with a provision that prohibits a public referendum or petition drive to overturn the law. Hausknecht says the only choice Colorado voters have now is to send people to the legislature that will act to reverse the law. . . . [Read More]
ARRA Editor Comment: Where does the Colorado legislature believe it has the authority or power to placing a provision in the law that "prohibits a public referendum or petition drive to overturn the law?" This is legislative abuse! This may violate the right to petition article in the 1st Amendment to the US Consititution and definitely seems to violate Article 5 of the Colorado Constitution which says:
The first power hereby reserved by the people is the initiative, and signatures by registered electors in an amount equal to at least five percent of the total number of votes cast for all candidates for the office of secretary of state at the previous general election shall be required to propose any measure by petition, and every such petition shall include the full text of the measure so proposed. Initiative petitions for state legislation and amendments to the constitution, in such form as may be prescribed pursuant to law, shall be addressed to and filed with the secretary of state at least three monts before the general election at which they are to be voted upon.
The second power hereby reserved is the referendum, and it may be ordered, except as to laws necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, and appropriations for the support and maintenance of the departments of state and state institutions, against any act or item, section, or part of any act of the general assembly, either by a petition signed by registered electors in an amount equal to at least five percent of the total number of votes cast for all candidates for the office of the secretary of state at the previous general election or by the general assembly. Referendum petitions, in such form as may be prescribed pursuant to law, shall be addressed to and filed with the secretary of state not more than ninety days after the final adjournment of the session of the general assembly that passed the bill on which the referendum is demanded. The filing of a referendum petition against any item, section, or part of any act shall not delay the remainder of the act from becoming operative.
Time for the citizens of Colorado to put the legislature back in its place by exercising their rights. Voters need not agree or disagree with the intent of the law but they sure must agree not to allow the Colorado legislature to legislate away their State Constitutional rights. Tags:bathrooms, Colorado, Governor, legislature, men, transgender, WomenTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Julie Stahl, CNS News: The growing threat posed by Hezbollah and other terror organizations was among the topics addressed Thursday at a nine-nation security conference held in Jerusalem. Ahead of the gathering, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said that Hezbollah makes al Qaeda look like "a minor league team." He told Fox News that Hezbollah has been described as tops among terror groups -- "in terms of capabilities, in terms of range of weapons they have, in terms of internal discipline."
Israeli analysts agree. They say Hezbollah's recent military and political victories in Lebanon are eroding democracy in that country and setting an example for other radical Islamic groups in the region.Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has "basically defeated" American efforts to build democracy in Lebanon. . . . [Read More] Tags:al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Islamic terrorist, Islamic Violence, LebanonTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Tony Perkins, Washington Update: When Congress adjourned for Memorial Day recess, marriage was in disarray, gas prices were soaring, circuit courts sat empty, and our troops were still waiting for funding to replenish supplies. Now, fresh off a holiday weekend in which most families paid $4 a gallon to drive to neighborhood barbecues, American patience has worn thin. Imagine the frustration this week, as Congress returned to work--not on judges, marriage, or the war supplemental bill--but on changing the weather. By a 74-14 vote, the Senate agreed to devote days to the Lieberman-Warner legislation on global warming. Desperate to prove their environmental mettle, liberals are fighting for a policy that would bankrupt the economy and burden American taxpayers. The leadership says its goal is to slash CO2 emissions by almost 20 percent in 12 years, but conservatives argue the cost to American businesses and taxpayers far outweighs the negligible climate benefit. The bill's 500 pages are a complicated mess of distorted science, pork projects, and a tax-and-trade solution that will send U.S. jobs overseas and result in the most massive expansion of the federal government since the New Deal. In just 10 years, the tax burden to American families would skyrocket by $1 trillion. The average American would face higher heating and cooling bills, more pain at the pump, and expensive consumer products. From the less fortunate, the bill saps even more. As Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) points out in the Wall Street Journal, the poorest Americans already spend almost a fifth of their monthly budget on energy. By 2030, gas prices could climb anywhere from 45 cents to $1, and the U.S. economy would be on the hook for an extra $4.8 trillion. And for what? Even environmental advocates admit that in the end these concessions may do nothing to affect the earth's climate. After 40 years of Lieberman-Warner, the most that the Environmental Protection Agency is willing to promise is a one percent reduction in CO2 emissions. To hardworking Americans who are struggling to provide for their children, this entire debate is baffling. Sen. Inhofe, who has fought this global warming hysteria since 2003, challenged his colleagues to get back to business. "Will you dare stand on the Senate floor in these uncertain economic times and vote in favor of significantly increasing the price of gas at the pump, losing millions of American jobs, creating a huge new bureaucracy and raising taxes by record amounts?" Perhaps the most infuriating aspect of this bill is that the evidence is still very inconclusive about the climate threat. If anything is heating up, it's marriage. This Congress is becoming increasingly irrelevant to the real crises facing this nation as they refuse to intervene. Read More:Regulatory Inefficiency: Chart showing the regulatory structure of the Boxer/Lieberman/Warner Climate Change Bill Tags:CO2, global warming, lieberman-warner, Tony Perkins, Washington UpdateTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
On The Floor: The Senate will resume post-cloture debate on the motion to proceed to the carbon emission cap-and-trade bill (S. 3036). Yesterday, the Senate voted to begin debate on the cap-and-trade bill.
With gas prices approaching $4 per gallon, Senate Democrats have apparently decided that now is the time to debate a costly carbon emissions cap-and-trade bill that would amount to a climate tax on Americans. Many Republicans are referring to it as the Boxer Climate Tax bill, since Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is expected to offer a substitute amendment written by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), the Chair of the Senate Environment & Public Works (EPW) Committee, as the basis for debate.
From Senate & News Sources: Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell introduced the debate on the bill in a floor speech yesterday, warning of the disastrous economic consequences of passing this legislation. “If passed, it would have a devastating impact on the U.S. economy. . . . It is, at its heart, a stealth and giant tax on virtually every aspect of industrial and consumer life. It would result in massive job losses. And it seeks to radically alter consumer behavior, without any measurable benefit to the environment in return. Overall, it’s expected to result in GDP losses totaling as much as $2.9 trillion by 2050.”
Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), the ranking member on the EPW Committee, has long been leading the fight against the ill-considered policies embodied in this bill. He has a website tracking all the latest news and opinion on this climate tax bill, which can be found at the EPW Committee site.
In The Wall Street Journal, Sen. Inhofe details a number of major concerns about the bill: “The Senate is debating a global warming bill that will create the largest expansion of the federal government since FDR's New Deal, complete with a brand new, unelected bureaucracy. The [bill] represents the largest tax increase in U.S. history and the biggest pork bill ever contemplated with trillions of dollars in giveaways. . . . Various analyses show that Lieberman-Warner would result in higher prices at the gas pump, between 41 cents and $1 per gallon by 2030. . . . A recent CBO report found: ‘Most of the cost of meeting a cap on CO2 emissions would be borne by consumers, who would face persistently higher prices for products such as electricity and gasoline."
Republicans are not alone in voicing concerns about the bill. Both The New York Times and Politico noted the poor timing of this debate, given record fuel prices, high energy costs, and a sluggish economy. And newspapers and columnists across the country have spoken out against the Boxer Climate Tax bill. Many Democrats also have problems with the legislation being debated this week. Roll Call reports "Another senior Senate Democratic staffer echoed those sentiments: ‘Everyone knows this bill is going nowhere. The president is opposed to it. The House is not inclined toward action on this, and now we’re going to spend valuable floor time on a bill that’s going nowhere . . . while Republicans are champing at the bit to accuse Democrats of raising gas prices.’”
The Columbus Dispatch reports that Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio is between a rock and a hard place, with environmental groups on one side, and “many labor unions warning that the bill would require such huge reductions in carbon dioxide emitted by utilities and industries that Ohio would suffer a major loss in jobs.” Sen. Inhofe pointed his fellow senators to the bottom line: “Will you dare stand on the Senate floor in these uncertain economic times and vote in favor of significantly increasing the price of gas at the pump, losing millions of American jobs, creating a huge new bureaucracy and raising taxes by record amounts?” Tags:cap on CO2, carbon dioxide, price of gas, lost jobs, 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!
Democrats voted for the bill, Rebublicans voted against it. by Tim Waggoner: An assisted-suicide bill that allows doctors and nurses to suggest death by unconscious dehydration has barely passed the California State Assembly. AB 2747 would authorize total sedation without nutrition and hydration for depressed and confused patients, whether or not their natural death was imminent. The bill would also allow family members to order the death of a mentally disabled person when a nurse opines they have less than a year to live, similar to Terry Schindler Schiavo's death at the hands of her husband. Tags:Architect of US Capitol, assisted suicide, euthanasia, pro-lifeTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
AB 2747 passed the Democrat-controlled Assembly Wednesday afternoon on a 41-32 vote, a one-vote margin of victory in the 80-member lower house. The vote was virtually party line, Democrats for, Republicans against. AB 2747 is authored by the same Democrats who unsuccessfully carried physician-assisted suicide bills for the last three years. "This deceptive bill will cause death and shorten life, despite its claims," said Randy Thomasson, president of Campaign for Children and Families, a leading California-based pro-life, pro-family organization. "Drying up and shriveling to death through dehydration is a fate worse than lethal injection. By transforming palliative sedation into a vehicle for assisted suicide, AB 2747 would transform doctors and nurses from healers and comforters into killers like Dr. Jack Kevorkian." . . . [Read More]
Pete Hegseth, Vets for Freedom: Last week, General Petraeus was back on Capitol Hill to testify before Congress. Senator Barack Obama was there too, but not for long. He stayed in the committee meeting long enough to ask one question, before ducking out to head back to the campaign trail. This wouldn't normally be a big deal, except ...Senator Obama has never sat down, one-on-one, with General Petraeus. Even worse, he hasn't visited Iraq, and our brave troops on the ground, in over two years. And on April 8, when one-dozen Illinois veterans went to his office for a meeting, Senator Obama was unwilling to meet with them. He was in his office, just wouldn't come out.
Tags:Barack Obama, Iraq, Iraq War, veteransTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
On The Floor: Congress returned to work today! The Senate will consider the motion to proceed to the carbon emission cap-and-trade bill (S. 3036). The term “cap and trade” is doesn’t quite describe what this bill actually entails. The debate on the cap-and-trade bill is being driven by higher electric bills to more expensive gasoline and the possible economic cost of tackling global warming. A cloture vote on the motion to proceed is scheduled for 5:30 PM. If the Senate takes up the climate legislation, it will likely spend the rest of the week on the bill. Action is also possible soon on the missing title to the farm bill (H.R. 2419) and the budget resolution conference report (S. Con. Res. 70). The House is may take up the budget this week and could return to the supplemental war funding bill next week.
From News Sources: Robert J. Samuelson, The Washington Post, explained some of the problems with the cap-and-trade approach: “The chief political virtue of cap-and-trade -- a complex scheme to reduce greenhouse gases -- is its complexity. This allows its environmental supporters to shape public perceptions in essentially deceptive ways. Cap-and-trade would act as a tax, but it's not described as a tax. It would regulate economic activity, but it's promoted as a ‘free market’ mechanism. Finally, it would trigger a tidal wave of influence-peddling, as lobbyists scrambled to exploit the system for different industries and localities. This would undermine whatever abstract advantages the system has.”
George Will savaged the bill in his column yesterday, writing, “An unprecedentedly radical government grab for control of the American economy will be debated this week when the Senate considers saving the planet by means of a cap-and-trade system to ration carbon emissions.” “A carbon tax would be too clear and candid for political comfort,” Will wrote. “It would clearly be what cap-and-trade deviously is, a tax, but one with a known cost. . . . Cap-and-trade -- government auctioning permits for businesses to continue to do business -- is a huge tax hidden in a bureaucratic labyrinth of opaque permit transactions.”
National Review Online dialed in on another major consequence of this bill: “By rationing the use of fossil fuels, the bill would lead to higher coal, natural-gas, and petroleum prices, even though the prices of those commodities are already at historic highs.” That’s not all. According to The Wall Street Journal, “even the cap-and-trade friendly Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the bill would reduce GDP between $1 trillion and $2.8 trillion by 2050.”
The Boxer bill is raising concerns all across the political spectrum. The Denver Post reports that Sen. Ken Salazar is “concerned” about the bill and The Cleveland Plain Dealer notes that neither Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) or Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH) supports the bill at the moment and adds, “The bill, as conceived, will just bore new holes into an already battered economy.”
While the Senate focuses on climate issues, though, it is important not to miss the positive news out of Iraq over the last week. The AP, Reuters, AFP, and the Los Angeles Times all reported that fewer American troops were killed in Iraq in May than any month since the beginning of the war.The Washington Post on Sunday discussing the improvements in Iraq over the last year: “the rapidly improving conditions should allow U.S. commanders to make some welcome adjustments -- and it ought to mandate an already-overdue rethinking by the ‘this-war-is-lost’ caucus in Washington, including Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL).” Tags:cap-and-trade, carbon emissions, US Congress, 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!
Stuart Shepard (Citizen Link) illustrates the beauty of asking the right question of the right people at the right time. Tags:pro-family, pro-life, right question, Stoplight, Stuart ShepardTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
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