In Obama's World, the Government Controls Churches

Bill Smith, ARRA Editor: Barack Obama told the African Methodist Episcopal Church today in St. Louis that he wants to cure the woes of this impoverished nation, and the government can do this! But as we are starting to learn about Obama, the more he speaks the more he reveals his true intent. An release by Jennifer Loven stated the following:

But Obama's main message was the government's duty to address what he said are "moral problems" — such as war, poverty, joblessness, homelessness, violent streets and crumbling schools — and to employ religious institutions to do it.

While we have seen President Bush reach out to empower (verse to employ) churches to help meet the needs of fellow Americans, Obama comfortably crosses the line and reveals that it is the Governments duty to "employ" religious institutions to "do it." "Employ" means to use. And to use means some form of government control. What did Obama want the Church to address under government control? What was the "it"? Obama defined "it" to be "war, poverty, joblessness, homelessness, violent streets and crumbling schools."

Hum - wonder how he sees the government employing the church? I don't know Obama's heart or even his vision outside of the constant empty repetition of his mantra of hope and change. But I do know that people reveal their intents when they are on common ground or with friends with whom they are comfortable. The reporter also revealed her perspective of the Obama event:

It was also his most enthusiastic delivery of late, employing preacher's cadences that were interrupted frequently by "Amens" and "yes." Obama repeatedly referenced his religious faith in terms that would be familiar to white evangelicals as well as his black audience.

Obama has taken positions diametrically opposed to Christians in regard to abortion, gay rights, sanctity of marriage, and other issues. However, he is comfortable entering churches and identifying his willingness for the government to use churches to advance his objectives. This contract alone should send up red flags. History is replete with examples of charismatic tyrants using the church. We do not know that Obama would be a tyrant.

However, we should grasp that when a government's employs churches to control the masses by promising solutions for mankind's ills, the end result is control of the church and what it teaches. The government then becomes the tyrant and freedoms of churches are reduced. In the excitement of the moment, some Christians seem to ignore the warning by Christ, "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it." As my father said, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Christians beware! Churches of all religions beware!

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Tags: Barack Obama, campaigning, government control, church, Election 2008, Obama To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Obama Focus Group Parody

A Bruce Chapman production. Visit Bruce Chapman Productions for more videos.

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Tags: Barack Obama, change, conservative, focus group, Hope, parody, political humor, political, satire To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

It's Time for America to Fall

I'm sure the title of this post is rather shocking after having celebrated July 4th. But that is the title of a post by TXPoet on Ft Hard Knox that provides us with some post celebration insight. But the key to reading the following is don't quit reading until the end. Now the word of TXPoet:

Hope everyone had a nice 4th of July!

I really hope y’all celebrated and remembered why you were celebrating, because the way this country is headed it could be Her last birthday celebration.

From across the country we read reports of the Black National Anthem replacing our real National Anthem in Denver, and from Spokane Anarchists march for their rights to destroy this Country. We watch as racist separatist groups boycott any celebration of this Nation’s birth.

Its almost as if their propagandist “ethnic studies” programs failed to teach them about things like history, civics or the truth. We watch as liberals, socialists, communists, and Marxists use the rights granted under the Constitution to protest against It. We watch as they try to muzzle and bully others like Carrie Swartout and the Gathering of Eagles and then we watch ashamedly as liberal Judges allow criminal acts against anyone protesting for America. We watch as again and again the Judeo-Christian God is berated in the courts but the Islamic Fascist god is promoted and encouraged. We watch as the minority runs roughshod over the majority and over the Constitution. We watch as politicians, lawyers and judges line their pockets with filthy lucre and sell out America. We watch as pawns of Communist China are voted into elected office. We watch as people protest a citizen’s right to protect property from criminals.

We watch as elected officials who have sworn to uphold and protect the Constitution trample on it while the mainstream media abets the marginalization of this Nation.

I have listened to many debates and heard the vacuous rhetoric coming from the left. Much of it regurgitated from the fantasies of the mainstream media. I see Op-Eds from the liberal press quoted as news. I watch the liberal trolls try to disrupt and take down web sites that oppose them. I watch the koolaid kiddies “game” the system to suppress all voices except theirs. I watch comments that rebut fictitious allegations with facts being deleted in favor of hate spewing.

We are under attack by Communists, Socialist, Marxists, Islamic Fascists, illegal aliens, greedy corporations, rich industrialists and New Order proponents. We are under attack from with out and with in. It’s past time for America to stand up. It’s now time for America to fall... to Her knees and pray! Because only with the help of the Creator will we once more be able to rise up.

Thank you TXPoet for reminding us from where our salvation comes both for ourselves and for our country!

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Tags: 4th of July, 2008, Freedom, Ft Hard Knox, graft, greed, immigrations, Independence, prayer, protests To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Obama Says Yes to Gay Marriage

Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama told a liberal California newspaper that he was against the proposition on that state's ballot to ban homosexual marriage. He then went further and said he is against all such amendments in all states and to the US Constitution. Obama sent a letter to San Francisco's Alice B. Toklas Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Democratic Club, on Sunday, saying that he opposed “the divisive and discriminatory efforts to amend the California Constitution” and similar efforts in other states." Read more

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Tags: Barack Obama, Election 2008, homosexual activism, homosexual marriage, liberal, marriage amendment, pro-gay To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Happy 4th of July! 2008

Arkansas Republican Assembly members are celebrating our nation's 232nd Birthday - Independence Day - with their friends and families. The ARRA News Service will not post additional articles today. Have a blessed holiday, and may God Bless America and our armed service men and women.

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Tags: 2008, 4th of July, Arkansas Republican Assembly, ARRA, ARRA News Service, Independence Day To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Independence Day 2008 - The Necessary Holiday

The following message was sent to all by Mark Alexander, The Patriot Post: “The Declaration of Independence... [is the] declaratory charter of our rights, and the rights of man.” — Thomas Jefferson. If our nation’s Founders could visit us on this, our 232nd Independence Day, what would they make of us? What would they declare of us?

A hint can be discerned in a letter from John Adams to his wife, Abigail, on July 3, 1776, as the Declaration of Independence had just been approved. “It ought to be commemorated,” said the man who would become our second president, “as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more. You will think me transported with Enthusiasm but I am not. I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will tryumph in that Day’s Transaction, even altho We should rue it, which I trust in God We shall not.”

Americans have maintained the “Pomp and Parade” for more than two centuries now, and the “Bonfires and Illuminations” are commonplace, but how often do we recognize Independence Day as “the Day of Deliverance?” How often do we honor it with “solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty”? How often do we contemplate the cost of our freedom, “the Toil and Blood and Treasure?”

Our Founders believed that independence was more than a choice; they viewed our break from royal rule as necessary. Consider the first statement of the Declaration: “When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.”

The signatories were emphatic that separation from the crown was not only an objective, but an obligation: “But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.—Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government.” In conclusion, the Founders wrote, “We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation...”

Their cause, of course, was not anti-government. Rather they objected to the misgovernment of the king, saying, “He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.” Furthermore, the Americans had been patient, petitioning their British rulers for redress for over a decade. Armed hostilities had commenced on April 19, 1775, at the battles of Lexington and Concord, and the colonists faced the full power of the British Empire in their quest for American independence.

One year before taking that step for nationhood, on July 5, 1775, the Continental Congress adopted the Olive Branch Petition, beseeching the British king for a peaceful resolution of the American colonies’ grievances. A day later, that same Congress resolved the “Declaration of the Causes and Necessities of Taking Up Arms.” King George III refused to read the peace petition and assembled his armies. On July 2, 1776, Richard Henry Lee’s proposal for a formal declaration of separation passed, and the document was ordered printed on July 4.

The war-weary among us today might ask, was independence really necessary? To pose the question at the outset of the Revolutionary War was to answer it. Representatives of the colonial Americans realized that, in voicing this query, they already possessed proof that they, not the King of England, were legitimate instruments of self-government for their countrymen. How could circumstances be otherwise when the king offered no remedy for his subjects’ complaints, no guarantee their rights would be respected, and no means for them to govern themselves in their new lands?

The founders knew, however, that power could not be its own justification. They recognized that only an appeal to overarching laws, binding the king as much as his subjects, was legitimate. And abuse of authority demonstrated disqualification of any governor, whether a monarch or a purported representative.

We would do well to apply this insight to the political debates of today. Indeed, two competing philosophies of government at odds during the American Revolution have reappeared, with the anti-republican form seen in those politicians who would seek to gain favor by manipulating language and misrepresenting their positions. Royalists, on the other hand, believed that the king was divinely ordained to rule over the people and was therefore above the law. This view is manifest currently in government officials—especially our elected officers—who believe they may properly command the citizenry to whatever they please, to whichever they purport to be for the good of the people.

As Thomas Jefferson observed, “Were we directed from Washington when to sow, and when to reap, we should soon want bread.” Yet the prevailing philosophy of government proposes exactly this — that directions from Washington as to how we must conduct ourselves, in matters large and small, will lead inexorably to scarcity and will inevitably erode our freedom. Our system of government today is not so different from the monarchy we escaped, except that a swarm of bureaucrats have taken up the throne. A necessity thus presents itself to us as well: We must reconnect with the timeless principles that inspired our Founding Fathers; those same principles that long ago gave birth to a good, great and God-blessed nation.

“[W]hat do we mean by the American Revolution?” reflected John Adams. “Do we mean the American war? The Revolution was effected before the war commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people; a change in their religious sentiments, of their duties and obligations... This radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections of the people was the real American Revolution.”

Let us celebrate this Independence Day 2008 in a manner that Adams himself might recognize — with “solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty,” and with a rededication to the principles of our necessary American Revolution. And as always, in the words of George Washington, “Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism.”

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Tags: 2008, 4th of July, Declaration of Independence, government, Mark Alexander, The Patriot Post To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Patriotism Matters!

Gary Bauer, Campaign for Working Families: July 4th, along with Memorial Day and Veterans’ Day, is one of America’s patriotic holidays, and there is a lot of evidence that we are not teaching patriotism to our kids. That our children are not learning their history and basic civics is a sad fact. For example, a 2006 survey of 14,000 college students by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute found that just 46% of college seniors know that the line “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal” comes from the Declaration of Independence. Even worse, the ISI study found that college seniors at some of the nation’s most elite and prestigious universities actually graduate knowing less about American history and civics than when they arrived as freshman.

From my experiences in many schools, it seems that all we are teaching our children are America’s failures and shortcomings. Political correctness is rampant, and anti-Americanism is chic. Reflecting on the results of a previous ISI survey that was just as disappointing, Eugene Hickok, former U.S. deputy secretary of education, said “America’s students need to understand what America is about. Nothing less than our nation’s future is at risk. We need to be about the business of making patriots.”

In fact, Thomas Sowell wrote a brilliant column yesterday entitled, “Does Patriotism Matter?” noting how French intellectuals and “educrats” – liberal bureaucrats who control the teachers’ unions – scrubbed the history books of patriotic references following World War I. Sowell wrote, “Marshal Philippe Petain, the victor at Verdun, warned in 1934 that teachers were trying to ‘raise our sons in ignorance of or in contempt of the fatherland.’” And, not surprisingly, the nation collapsed in just six weeks after the beginning of World War II.

Today we face many dangers – economic challenges, the threat from Islamofascism, etc. But one of the greatest dangers we are facing is that the next generation will fail to learn what is good about America and that it is worth defending. Our kids must know that our founders believed America was and should always be “a shining city upon a hill.” They must understand what our founders meant when they wrote in the second paragraph of our Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” It was to this principle that Washington and Jefferson and the men of Bunker Hill and Concord Bridge pledged their “lives, fortunes and sacred honor.”

Do our kids believe that today? It’s hard to fight for an idea you don’t even know exists. President Woodrow Wilson reportedly said, “A nation which does not remember what it was yesterday, does not know what it is today, nor what it is trying to do. We are trying to do a futile thing if we do not know where we came from or what we have been about.” Thankfully, there are still many young men and women who do appreciate America and cherish our freedoms even to the point of laying down their own lives. They are demonstrating their love of country in the deserts of Afghanistan and Iraq and in other far away places. May God bless them and protect them. May we always honor their service and the sacrifice of their loved ones who will miss them tremendously this holiday weekend.

On this July 4th, by all means enjoy that hotdog. Go to the baseball game. Enjoy your time with friends and family. But, my friends, please “be about the business of making patriots.” Take a moment to talk to your kids and grandchildren about the meaning of America, the risks our Founding Fathers took to win our freedom and the sacrifices that were made then, and those being made today to defend our liberty. Because patriotism does matter.

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Tags: 4th of July, 2008, Gary Bauer, patriotism To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

The Emerging Consensus for Victory

As well look toward the celebration to July 4th, our 232nd birthday, good news is coming out of Iraq which shows that our troops have had a major positive effect on Iraq. God Bless our military! To quote from a reports by the The Morning Bell, Heritage Foundation:

Noting the U.S. military’s return of Anbar Province to Iraqi control, the Christian Science Monitor’s Sam Dagher reports from Fallujah:

This is a city literally rising from the ashes. While reminders of
two major US assaults here in April and November 2004 are inescapable, signs of rebirth are plenty. Men in jumpsuits busily work on construction sites, sewers are being installed, and a hospital is nearly completed. … In the past two years, a strategy of turning tribal leaders against [Al-Qaeda in Iraq] worked and led to a significant turnabout for the Americans.

Back in Baghdad, the news is equally promising. The Washington Post reports: “Iraq’s main Sunni Muslim political bloc is on the verge of rejoining the Shiite-led government after a nearly year-long boycott, a step widely seen as vital to reconciliation after years of sectarian conflict.”

. . . A new assessment requested by Congress reports that the Iraqi government has met 15 of the 18 benchmarks Congress created to measure success in Iraq. Only two of the benchmarks — enacting and implementing laws to disarm militias and distribute oil revenues — are unsatisfactory. Even fierce critics of Bush administration policy in Iraq are beginning to acknowledge that promises from the left for rapid withdrawal are a mistake. . . . [Read More]

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Tags: 4th of July, Iraq, military troops, 2008 To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Huckabee’s PAC Endorses Alaskan Porker

Bill Smith, ARRA Editor: Charles Signorile, Constitutionally Right questioned the endorsement by Mike Huckabee of Alaskan Rep. Don Young.

Mike Huckabee has just made a decision which could eventually lead to the end of his new PAC, even before it has begun. When Huckabee initially announced his plans for HuckPac, he left Conservatives with the impression he would only be supporting Conservative candidates, as opposed to those who just happen to have an ‘R’ after their name. Last week Huckabee gave us a stark reminder that politics mean more than principle as he announced his endorsement of Rep. Don Young (R-AK) in his primary fight against Sean Parnell (R-AK), the current Lt. Governor.

After receiving some criticism for his endorsement, Huckabee reminded his supporters that Don Young was pro-life, and had supported Huckabee’s campaign. It is this sort of politics that has ruined the Republican party, and it appears Huckabee has yet to learn this. Don Young has been the ire of Conservatives due to his unabashed pork spending, once even screaming “my money, my money” when being questioned on it. He is responsible for the infamous “Bridge to nowhere” fiasco, as well as the Knik Arm Bridge (better known as “Don Young’s Way”) which would have boosted the value of property held by his daughter. His reckless spending has done more than just draw criticisms from Conservatives however, as one of his earmarks have actually lead to a Congressional investigation . . . .

Is this the type of Republican Huckabee will be supporting in the future? Don Young is the epitome of why the GOP lost seats during the midterm elections and are poised to lose even more this year. It is no wonder Democrats expect to pick up this seat in November, with Young losing 58 to 38 against Ethan Berkowitz in a recent poll. Parnell on the other hand is winning 43 to 38 in that same poll, emphasizing how much Alaskans dislike their incumbent, despite the billions of dollars he has brought home over the years. . . .

I have to wonder why former Gov. Huckabee would have endorsed Rep. Don Young after making a "verbal" stand for people with record of doing right and following the conservative principles of the Republican party. If Young wins the primary, he may be headed for a loss for the GOP and even if he wins the GOP loses in reality because of his past performace as a U.S. Congressman. In April 2007, Citizens Against Government Waste named Rep Don Young as Porker of the Month for defending earmarks and pledging to continue his state’s disproportionate harvest of federal tax dollars. The 2005 highway bill included an earmark of $229 million for the Knik Arm bridge in Alaska, which was to have been renamed “Don Young’s Way,” before public outrage forced Congress to remove the earmark. The Directors at RedState identified:

In the past few years, Don Young voted to force workers into an open, public ballot on the issue of unionization, he voted against reauthorization of the Patriot Act, he voted to expand government funded stem cell research, and he railed against conservatives who wanted to cut earmarks by calling the taxpayer dollars his money. Don Young is also under FBI investigation for taking bribes, illegal gratuities and other unreported gifts from an Alaskan corporation, and he has dubiously forced on the people of Florida a road they don't want all because one of his donors wanted the road.

Huckabee cited that Young was pro-life. Well, Republican Lt. Gov. Sean Parnel is also pro-life with out all of Young's negative baggage. Having been a governor, Huckabee may well have noted that Alaska's Governor Sarah Palin is supporting Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell. If the Alaska Republican leadership recognizes the need to make some major changes, it seems ill timed for Huckabee to try to pursuade Alaska Republicans by his endorsement and support to vote for a Republican of proven lesser stature. We expected based on Hucakbee's public rhetoric and his current interest in being a Fox News political commentator and / or vice presidentail candidate, would have led Huckabee tp passed on this endorsement. However, past Arkansas politicians have evidence that loyalty or retun of past favors is more important than supporting more principled candidated. I encourage readers to visit Sean Parnell for Congress

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Tags: Alaska, CAGW, Citizens Against Government Waste, Congressional Pork, Don Young, Election 2008, Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin, Sean Parnell, US Congress To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Bush Visit AR & Is Optimistic on Housing

Today's THV 11: President George Bush made a stop in Little Rock Tuesday to talk housing and raise money for the Republican Party of Arkansas. He took part in a meeting with credit counselors and homeowners in North Little Rock, offering a bright outlook on America's housing future as the Senate considers a $300 billion plan to help those faced with losing their homes.

The President started with the presentation of the Volunteer Service Award and a friendly fist-bump with 12-year-old Robbie Powell, a Conway boy who raised more than $2,000 in memory of a friend who died of a rare neurological disease. "I was surprised at how long he talked to me," Powell said. "But he just congratulated me and gave me the medal."

From there, the topic turned to housing as President Bush's motorcade pulled into the Family Service Agency. The President took part in a roundtable discussion where he offered some encouragement on working with legislators on a new housing plan to help Americans at risk of losing their homes. . . .

Before leaving Arkansas, the President attended a fundraiser for the Republican Party of Arkansas. . . [Read More]

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Tags: Arkansas, fund raising, housing assistance, Little Rock, mortgages, President George Bush, RPA To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

NFRA Calls for Republican Assemblies to Rally to McCain

Dr. Pat Briney, President, Arkansas Republican Assembly: Below is a letter from NFRA president, Rod Martin. We need a strong Republican Assembly in Arkansas to represent the conservative values of our party and state. It is imperative that we gather disheartened conservatives in the party and those who have left it in order to succeed in stopping the liberal agenda. Rod’s letter reminded me that the socialistic, liberal mindset is to control and dominate the political arena by eliminating their political opponents and by preventing their competition in a democratic process. A socialistic state is not a free state, a fair state, or a democratic state. It is a single party controlled state. That is the direction the Democrats are taking us and what this election season is all about.

Rod D. Martin, NFRA President: The fact that John McCain was very likely no Republican Assembly member’s first choice is no excuse to sit back and let the radical left win this election. . . . We are in a fight for our lives this year, and only partly because of Barack Obama. I think few – if any – of our people fully realize the degree to which the Bush veto shelters us from the worst instincts of the leftists now in power. But Obama plus a filibuster-proof Senate – and every poll shows this to be possible – means all the restraints will be gone.

They will ban talk radio: Pelosi promised it last week. They will pass net neutrality and use it to stifle conservative Internet-based media. They will pass hate crimes laws expressly designed to go after our churches. They will pass 50-state gay marriage and force churches to perform it. They will pass the ERA, which they now claim is still alive and needs only three more states to ratify it, and they will use this to enact the entire gay agenda from the bench (and go after churches who even so much as speak against woman and gay pastors or preach from Romans 1). They will reshape First Amendment jurisprudence to match Europe and Canada, by rushing through hundreds of 35 year old federal judges, MoveOn accolytes all, who'll be there till they die (you don't think the backlog in judicial confirmations is accidental, do you?).

And this will be their warm-up before nationalization of 40% of the US economy (health care, and all the ultimate power that will give them over our individual lives; plus their just-announced plan to nationalize the oil industry like Hugo Chavez), before they make D.C. and Puerto Rico states (4 new permanently Dem Senators and 9 new permanently Dem Congressmen, plus 10 new permanently Dem electoral votes, plus an irrevocably bi-lingual country at the official level with all that implies), before they make most of Hawaii a semi-autonomous region based on race, before they open the borders wider than we've even imagined while changing the voting laws even further in favor of those illegals and undermining or abolishing the Electoral College so the "blue states" dominate from now on; but not before they surrender to al Qaeda and every foreign enemy and/or international body in sight. Our soldiers will stand before the International Criminal Court, and before we're done, our pastors may too, in the name of "human rights" and every other high sounding thing.

These are the Democrats’ words. . . We need to take them at their word. They mean not just to win the game, but to take us out of play. Complaining about things we should have settled in the primary just leaves us divided, not fighting the real enemy, and presuming upon God for a miracle when we need to stand and fight. And fight we must.

The NFRA is about grassroots. This election can be won at the grassroots. And this election is about a lot of things. It’s about passing an abortion ban in South Dakota that has a decent chance of overturning Roe without a single new Supreme Court justice. It’s about preserving traditional marriage in California, Arizona and Florida. It’s about whether we drill for oil or burn our corn crops as fuel while starving children around the world. It’s about holding the line in the Senate, whoever wins the Presidency. It’s about whether our pastors will have freedom of speech and religion, and whether you will have freedom to choose your doctor, and about whether the Rush Limbaughs of the world will be driven off the air.

If NFRA stands in the gap, on the ground, organizing precincts, knocking on doors, turning out good conservative people, we can make a big difference in all those fights, and a decisive difference in some. In the process, where we’re small, we can grow large, by identifying many like-minded people who can join our Assemblies. . . . There is no victory without a lot of shoe leather spent. . . . Let’s quit talking about what conservatives ought to have in the Republican Party, and let’s go earn it. This is, or should be, who we are.

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Tags: Arkansas Republican Assembly, ARRA, Barack Obama, conservatives, Election 2008, John Mccain, National Federation of Republican Assemblies, NFRA, Patrick Briney, Rod Martin To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

LGTR Announces Support for 15 Republican Candidates

LGTR, Boston, Massachusetts - The Let’s Get This Right (LGTR) Coalition, an organization with 25 websites, 165+ affiliated blogs, and roughly 15,000 volunteers/supporters all dedicated to Republican political activism has announced its support of the following candidates:

For President: John McCain US Senate Jeff Beatty MA John Sununu NH Dick Zimmer NJ US Congress Lou Barletta PA 11th Tim Bee AZ 8th Gus Bilirakus FL 9th

US Congress (cont.) Henry Brown SC 1st Steve Buyer IN 4th Scott Garrett NJ 5th Melissa Hart PA 4th Lyle Larson TX 23rd William Russell PA 12th Jean Schmidt OH 2nd Darren White NM 1st

The goal of LGTR is to provide financial, online and “boots on the ground” volunteer support to this initial slate of candidates. LGTR is neither a PAC nor a 527 organization. It is not affiliated with any candidate, candidate committee, the RNC, NRSC or NRCC. It accepts no donations directly but rather fundraises for candidate campaigns through Slatecard.com, a utility to support and enhance Republican activism."Slatecard" is Slatecard.com PAC. Slatecard.com PAC is an independent, federally registered political action committee (PAC) which acts as a "conduit" to raise money online to help Republican candidates for federal office in compliance with the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA). To aid the above list of candidates with their fund raising, Let’s Get This Right has established its LGTR Slatecard. We encourage readers and LGTR supporters to donate to this inital "slate" of candidates.

The LGTR Political Review Team selected the above candidates after a national review of US House and Senate Republican Candidates. The team considered many factors including the following:
1) The candidate had no further primary competition.
2) The candidate is opposed in the general elections in November.
3) NRCC financial support and Campaign fundraising to date is such that additional national support may prove beneficial.
4) Special criteria: Some candidates have peeked national interests based on specific causes or service to country and merited support from outside of their districts. Some candidates face increased opposition by left wing bloggers and organizations. Some candidates are in races with National significance in that a Republican win would remove liberal democrats from the House and Senate.

While it was not easy selecting the initial Let’s Get This Right candidate list, let us assure everyone that the list was not based on the requirement that the candidate should win. Each race is important and each will require a lot of work by the candidates, their support teams and the voters in their districts. LGTR seeks to see a strong Republican base developed regardless of the election results.

LGTR supports these candidates with no strings attached. We hope to be able to draw along side their campaigns, to offer assistance and to advance the goals of Let’s Get This Right.

Brad Marston - Co-Executive Director
Sheridan Folger - Co-Executive Director
Dr. Bill Smith - National Political Director.
Sharon Caliendo - Deputy National Political Director.

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Tags: Let's Get This Right, LGTR, republican candidates, 2008 election To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Dr. Bill Smith Joins LGTR as Political Director

LGTR, Boston, Massachusetts - In June, Dr. Bill Smith, Editor of the ARRA News Service and a Republican activist accepted the position as National Political Director for the Let's Get This Right (LGTR) coalition. The LGTR Coalition is an organization with 25 websites, 165+ affiliated blogs, and roughly 15,000 volunteers/supporters all dedicated to Republican political activism. Today, LGTR went public with the launch of it's new website.

Dr. Smith is a retired Air Force Officer and retired university professor. He is self-employed as a business and ministry consultant and website designer. He is married, a father and a grandfather. He and his wife, Lois who is also active in the Republican party, live and work in the Arkansas Ozarks. In addition to his writing for several political sites and promoting conservative principles nationally, Bill is also active locally because he believes that this is where future republican leaders are developed. He is a member of the Arkansas Republican Assemblies, the Baxter County Republican Assembly, a board member on the Baxter County Republican Committee, President of the local Republican Men's Club, precinct leader and a delegate to his congressional republican district.

Bill was recruited to help begin the LGTR coalition by two other Republican activists: Brad Marston of Massachusetts and Sheridan Folger of New Hampshire. All three along with other LBTR leaders are committed to the success of the Republican party. The goal of Let’s Get This Right is to provide financial, online and “boots on the ground” volunteer support to there initial slate of candidates picked by a team lead by Dr. Smith.

Let’s Get This Right is the outgrowth of the unofficial online efforts in support of John McCain for President. Those efforts include McCain Victory 08, McCain Now, McCain Google Groups, and 20 additional websites, 165+ affiliated blogs and roughly 15,000 volunteers/supporter nationwide. After seeing the results from 2006 and the last three special elections for Congress, Let’s Get This Right has concluded that the Republican leadership is fundamentally broken and that securing America’s future comes down to grassroots political activism.

Let’s Get This Right is neither a PAC nor a 527 organization. It is not affiliated with any candidate, candidate committee, the RNC, NRSC or NRCC. It accepts no donations directly but rather fundraises for candidate campaigns through Slatecard.com, a utility to support and enhance Republican activism."Slatecard" is Slatecard.com PAC. Slatecard.com PAC is an independent, federally registered political action committee (PAC) which acts as a "conduit" to raise money online to help Republican candidates for federal office in compliance with the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA).

Other leaders in the Lets Get This Right effort are: Brad Marston & Sheridan Folger - Co-Executive Directors & Sharon Caliendo - Deputy National Political Director.

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Tags: Arkansas, Arkansas Republican Party, Bill Smith, Let's Get This Right, LGTR To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

“Operation Speak Out”

Marion County, Arkansas - The Republican Women of Marion County (RWMC) have launched a new program called “OPERATION SPEAK OUT.” The group believes that grassroots Republicans feel disconnected with the GOP leadership. The group is seeking to make their voices heard by the Republican Party leadership at the local, state and national levels and to unite their voices with others in making a clear stand on major issues and to remind the GOP leadership of the core conservative values of the Republican Party.

The RWMC formed a committee to address issues and to develop positions statements for the group's approval. The statements will then be shared with Republican Leadership on a continuing basis. RWMC invites all Arkansas Republican Women’s groups to join in this endeavor by establishing their own position statements. RWMC has already established three position statements addressing the First Amendment, the Second Amendment and Domestic Energy Policy. The Republican Women of Marion County is part of the Arkansas Federation of Republican Women. To obtain a copy of their position statements or to find out more about “OPERATION SPEAK OUT," contact Ginny Varn, 870-453-3103.

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Tags: 1st Amendment, 2nd Amendment, Arkansas, Constitution, energy policy, GOP, Marion County, Republican Women To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Obama Watch

Ten Strategies Obama Can Use To Disguise His Hard-Left Views
By Victor Davis Hanson
NationalReviewOnline.com
I think we are beginning to see the full measure of the Obama general campaign strategy, framed along ten or so key directives that can allow the election of the most leftward candidate in American political history.
Read The Full Story

Obama’s Iraq Problem
By George Packer
NewYorker.com
In February, 2007, when Barack Obama declared that he was running for President, violence in Iraq had reached apocalyptic levels, and he based his candidacy, in part, on a bold promise to begin a rapid withdrawal of American forces upon taking office...
Read The Full Story

Barack Obama Made One Shrewd And One Risky Move This Week
Wall Street Journal
In talking with reporters after the Supreme Court ruled that criminals who rape children may not be executed, Mr. Obama moved smartly to the political center. Mr. Obama was on shakier ground when he insisted that none of the burgeoning scandals in Illinois politics have anything to do with him.
Read The Full Story

The above story leads were provided by ExposeObama.com.

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Tags: Barack Hussein Obama, Barack Obama, Election 2008, Iraq, presidential candidate, Supreme Court To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Will Obama Disassociate From Himself?

After viewing Obama's "change" in positions and his repeated disassiciation from his friends, associates, and campaign workers, the following political cartoon received today from ExposeObama.com
makes an interesting point.

The cartoon is by Eric Allie, Caglecartoons.com

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Tags: Barack Obama, change, Election 2008, political cartoon, political humor To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

You Can't Fuel All Of The People All Of The Time

With "Fuel verses Fool," Ann Coulter has a catchy play on words in the title of one of her latest articles. Although Coulter in her usual way cover a myriad of items many of them "tongue in cheek," what caught our attention was her practical words addressing the America's fuel shortage:

“In response to skyrocketing gas prices, liberals say, practically in unison, ‘We can’t drill our way out of this crisis.’ What does that mean?... Finding more oil isn’t going to increase the supply of oil? It is the typical Democratic strategy to babble meaningless slogans, as if they have a plan... Liberals complain that—as B. Hussein Obama put it—there’s ‘no way that allowing offshore drilling would lower gas prices right now. At best you are looking at five years or more down the road.’... What was going on five years ago? Why didn’t anyone propose drilling back then? Say, you know what we need? We need a class of people paid to anticipate national crises and plan solutions in advance. It would be such an important job, the taxpayers would pay them salaries so they wouldn’t have to worry about making a living and could just sit around anticipating crises. If only we had had such a group—let’s call them "elected representatives’ —they could have proposed drilling five years ago! But of course we do pay people to anticipate national problems and propose solutions. Some of them—we’ll call them Republicans—did anticipate high gas prices and propose solutions. Six long years ago President Bush had the foresight to demand that Congress allow drilling in a minuscule portion of the Alaska’s barren, uninhabitable Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). In 2002, Bush, Tom DeLay and the entire Republican Party were screaming from the rooftops: Drill! Drill! Drill! We’d be gushing oil now—except the Democrats stopped us from drilling. Drilling on only 0.01 percent of ANWR’s 19 million acres was projected to produce about 10 billion barrels of oil. From all domestic sources combined, we currently produce about 1.8 billion barrels of oil per year. To a layperson like myself, 10 billion barrels seems like a lot of oil.” . . . [Read More of Ann Coulter's article]

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Tags: Ann Coulter, ANWR, Artic, gas prices, offshore oil, oil drilling To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Truckers to Washington: Drill for oil!

H/T to Renee Taylor at Truckers at War for the following: LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Truckers are telling Washington to do something about the high prices of fuel and quit blaming the oil companies and OPEC.

“The temporary solutions aren’t any good,” David Kilcoin, a truck owner-operator from Phoenix, Ariz., told WND at the Great West Truck Show going on now at the Las Vegas Convention Center. “We don’t need a quick fix; what we need is to develop what we have offshore, in Alaska and from oil shale,” he said. More from WorldNetDaily

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

Character matters in a president & in a commander-in-chief

There was an outstanding column about Senator John McCain’s character by Abraham Katsman in the Jerusalem Post. I encourage you to read this column and to share it with friends and family members. Below are excerpts from the Katsman's article:

"How aware is the public that McCain has raised seven children? Or that he adopted his two oldest sons as small boys (children from his wife's prior marriage)? Or that he has raised a Bangladeshi girl with severe health problems adopted from Mother Theresa's orphanage? Or that his own sons have served in the military, including in Iraq? . . . McCain never brought up his own son's service in some of the roughest areas of Iraq. His principled refusal of political advantage from his son's Iraq service extends to refusal even to be interviewed on the subject, or to introduce his son to campaign audiences. . . .

The contrast with other politicians couldn't be more stark. How many candidates have we heard try to score political points as they crow in the public limelight about their own brief military stints, or their wife's cancer, son's car accident, or sister's death from smoking? The contrast is consistent with McCain's internalizing the codes of honor and military conduct since his youth: the veneration of courage and resilience; the expectation of fidelity to principles of honor; the homage paid to Americans who sacrificed for their country; the nobility of service and sacrifice; the expectation that one would prove worthy of the country's trust; and the humility that comes from recognizing that there are causes and people greater than oneself. It is, in short, a contrast in character.

Character matters. In a president-and particularly in a commander-in-chief, that kind of character arguably counts more than any particular political orientation or policy. From character flows leadership, as it is character which dictates morally grounded direction and engenders public trust. Character is critical to determining how a leader will respond to crisis. Will he reach deep within himself and in the traditions that shaped him and find the courage and grace to inspire strength and greatness? Will soldiers trust the wisdom and integrity of his decision when he orders them to war? Will he truly understand the terrible toll of war, as well as the price of appeasement? Will he make decisions based on considerations greater than cheap political expediency? Now, ask yourself: which candidate has repeatedly demonstrated that kind of character?" . . . [Read More]

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Tags: character, character matters, Cindy McCain, family, John McCain To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

John McCain Meets The Graham Family

Gary Bauer, Campaign for Working Families: Senator McCain flew to North Carolina this weekend for a meeting with Reverend Franklin Graham. As it turned out, Reverend Billy Graham also attended, and the three men met for nearly an hour. After the meeting, Franklin Graham’s office released the following statement:

“My father and I were pleased to have an opportunity to meet and visit with Sen. John McCain today. Sen. McCain’s office had requested a meeting in recent months and we appreciate the effort he made to travel to my father’s home. The senator and I both have sons currently serving in the military, and also have a common interest in aviation. I was impressed by his personal faith and his moral clarity on important social issues facing America today.

“My father told the senator of the time he met his father on a trip to Vietnam during the war when Admiral McCain was the commander in chief of the Pacific theater and John was being held as a prisoner of war. Admiral McCain invited my father to come see him in Honolulu and they got on their knees and prayed for John during his captivity; and did so again on a return trip. He expressed his gratitude for the senator’s long and brave service to our nation.

“We had an opportunity to pray for the senator and his family, and for God’s will to be done in this upcoming election.”

Franklin Graham also stressed “the responsibility of men and women of faith everywhere to vote and to be involved in the political process.” I was especially encouraged by Reverend Graham’s call to action because it refuted the defeatism I am hearing from so many good people. To do nothing would have devastating consequences for our values.

My friends, we have worked so hard for so long that we cannot give up now! Men and women of faith were instrumental in electing Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. The justices they have appointed to the Supreme Court have upheld the federal ban on partial-birth abortion and affirmed your Second Amendment rights. We may be one Supreme Court appointment away from overturning Roe v. Wade.

Moreover, at least three states will vote on marriage protection amendments this November – California, Florida and Arizona. Turnout by men and women of faith will be critical to the success of each effort, and the media, legal and political establishments will be paying very close attention to the results. . . . In addition, we have an opportunity to elect more pro-family, pro-life conservatives to Congress this November. I know the media like to spin the 2008 election as a done deal. But as the saying goes, “24 hours is an eternity in politics.” It’s worth remembering that in the summer of 1988, Michael Dukakis enjoyed a nearly 20-point lead over Vice President George Bush, who ultimately won the election by seven points. This election is far from over, and we’re not giving up!

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Tags: Billy Graham, Election 2008, Franklin Graham, Gary Bauer, John Mccain, voting To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Sen. Chris Dodd Porker of the Month

Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today named Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-CN) its June Porker of the Month for accepting a preferential mortgage deal from a company which stands to benefit from a mortgage bailout bill he is pushing through Congress.

Sen. Dodd acknowledged receiving a “VIP” loan from Countrywide Financial Corporation, but denied that he knew the designation meant he would be receiving special privileges because of his position as the chairman of the Banking Committee. Sen. Dodd is one of several current and former high-ranking officials, including Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and former Fannie Mae CEO Jim Johnson, who was on a special “Friends of Angelo” list, named after Countrywide Financial Corporation Chairman and CEO Angelo Mozilo. According to published reports, Chairman Dodd’s special mortgage rate reduces his costs by $75,000 over the 30-year life of the mortgage. . . .

The unsettling revelations about Sen. Dodd’s sweetheart mortgage deal comes as the Senate Banking Committee is pushing a broad housing bill that features provisions that accrue to the benefit of large mortgage lenders while placing taxpayers at great financial risk. The Senate version of the bill would offer lenders an opportunity to off load up to $300 billion of their riskiest loans onto the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), creating new loans that place 100 percent of the loan liability on the taxpayers. The Congressional Budget Office projects that one-third of those refinanced mortgages will ultimately default. FHA Commissioner Brian Montgomery said on June 9, “We are not designed to become the federal lender of last resort, a mega-agency to subsidize bad loans.” . . .

For accepting special financial discounts from a mortgage company whose actions contributed directly to the current housing mess and then drafting a monstrous mortgage bailout bill that will dump billions of dollars worth of risky mortgages onto the backs of taxpayers while lending a helping hand to his corporate benefactor, CAGW names Sen. Christopher Dodd its June 2008 Porker of the Month . . . [Read More]

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Tags: CAGW, Chris Dodd, Citizens Against Government Waste, Congressional Pork, Connecticut, housing assistance, mortgage default, pork-barrel spenders, porker of the month, Senator To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

The Most Important Election Issue

"Senator Obama should not get even one vote from anyone who cares about the sanctity of life and who believes marriage should remain between one man and one woman!" - Gary Bauer, Campaign for Working Families
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Guest Editorial by Gene McCoy: What constitutes the most important issue is debated during every election cycle. Among those most commonly suggested are the economy, immigration and the war on terror.

Albert Schweitzer said, “If a man loses reverence for any part of life, he will lose his reverence for all life.” A candidate’s position on the sanctity of human life measures integrity, principle, trustworthiness, character, and godliness more than any other issue. If you want to know the candidate’s soul and the validity of his / her claim to know and love God, probe the strength of his / her stance regarding the sanctity of human life. This will also reveal the sincerity of any claim to be compassionate toward the poor and needy and the motive underlying their position. Is it really out of genuine concern for the individual and the country? Or is their true motive to simply gain power and influence? Is it principle or politics?

Most candidates claim to be Christians and will make reference to the Bible and affirm their reverence for God. The Bible says God created all that is (Gen. 1:1) and that man is distinctly superior to all other creatures (Gen. 2:7). God recognizes viability and personhood before birth (Ps. 139:13-16). God not only knows each person before birth (Jer. 1:5), but He has a purpose for each (Is. 49:1, 5; Gal. 1:15-16).

Taking human life is a capital offense (Gen. 9:6; Ex. 21:12; Lev. 24:17). The only exception ordained by God, other than self-defense, is the execution of evildoers (e.g., murderers), and that only by government (Rom. 13:4). God requires us to defend the innocent and protect the defenseless (Ps. 82:3-4; Prov. 12:6; 31:8-9). We must not give consent of power to candidates who favor legislation that violates these Biblical values and principles.

The likelihood that two pieces of such legislation will be enacted depends upon the person who next occupies the White House. One is the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) , which would nullify the ban of partial-birth abortion and reverse virtually all laws that protect the unborn. Another related issue is the Equal Rights Amendment. This would have sweeping implications on abortion laws, resulting in the continued slaughter of the innocents.

The Declaration of Independence states that we have not only the right, but the duty to remove or prevent a government that does not promote and protect the unalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. To fail in this is not only to jeopardize our liberty and to become subject to godless despots, but also to forfeit the blessing of Almighty God. The Declaration of Independence states the fact that government derives power from the consent of the governed. The Christian citizen must recognize and reject any candidate who does not honor the government’s role as it pertains to preserving our unalienable right to life.

Any candidate who favors the taking of innocent life (e.g., the unborn, the sick and infirm, etc.) and the preservation of a capital offender’s life is not only self-contradictory but also rebelling against God. We cannot honor God by giving government the power to destroy human life! Your consent is given at the ballot box. Voting for a presidential or congressional candidate who can justify the taking of any human life apart from capital punishment and self-defense is consenting to government sanctioned murder.
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Gene McCoy is an active advocate for life. He is the past-president of the Baxter County Right to Life and is a preacher at Memorial Christian Church in Mtn Home, Arkansas. See also: An online comparison of the presidential candidates’ positions on life issues.

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Tags: abortion, Declaration of Independence, Election 2008, euthanasia, Gene McCoy, pro-life, voting To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Congress Vacations With High Gas Prices & Work Undone

Today in Washington D. C. - June 30, 2008 carries a special headline: "Congress Vacations With High Gas Prices & Work Undone." Congress is not in session today beginning its Independence Day Recess (July 1st-July 10th) a little early on Friday. They will say they are holding a pro-forma session which means someone graveled into session a do nothing session while the rest traveled home.

ABC News summed up Americans’ understandable frustration with the lack of any movement on energy and gas prices from Capitol Hill:

With Americans still reeling from this week's report that gas may cost $7 a gallon in a few years and with millions either losing their homes to foreclosure or unable to sell their homes, people are looking looking for help. Well, don't expect quick action here. Congress has gone on holiday and told the nation, "See you after July 4th." Nobody here but tourists, who can't understand why Congress would leave with so much undone. . . . "What I find most puzzling about this time now is that there is no nervousness on the part of Democrats as an election approaches that Americans are going to hold them accountable for fiddling while the housing crisis continues to burn," said Norm Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank.

Left uncompleted before the July 4th recess were the compromise FISA bill (H.R. 6304) and the housing bill (House messages to accompany H.R. 3221). Delaying tactics by Democrats opposed to the immunity provisions in the bill forced Sen. Reid to put off FISA votes until the week the Senate returns. The housing bill was also held over as Democrats continued to deny Republicans the opportunity to offer amendments. Democrat leadership continue to ignore rising gas prices while Republicans have offered solutions.

Democrats mention that they will be focusing on other legislation, must be using mental telepathy since they are absent from Congress, to focus on other legislation over the break but in reality they will be complaining about Republicans blocking their Democrat energy measure which really amount to more taxation, more regulation, and more litigation and will do nothing to lower gas prices or increase energy production.

While Republicans are pushing commonsense measures to produce more American energy and more American jobs, Democrats continue their blind opposition to drilling for more oil. They’re clearly on the wrong side of the issue. Even the widely-acknowledged liberal editorial page of the Minneapolis Star Tribune encouraged drilling on the outer continental shelf last week.

Democrats protest that oil and gas companies already have leases they’re not using all of, but The Wall Street Journal explains why this assertion is misleading: “To deflect the GOP effort to relax the offshore-drilling ban – and thus boost supply while demand will remain strong – Democrats also say that most of the current leases are ‘nonproducing.’ The idea comes from a ‘special report’ prepared by the Democratic staff of the House Resources Committee, chaired by [Rep. Nick] Rahall. . . . [T]hese whiz kids assume that every acre of every lease holds the same amount of oil and gas. Yet the existence of a lease does not guarantee that the geology holds recoverable resources.”

Some Americans aren’t waiting for Democrats in Congress to get a clue. The AP reports that oil from the Bakken Formation in western North Dakota is making millionaires out of some people in that corner of the state. The AP points out that “the U.S. Geological Survey calls [the Bakken Formation] the largest continuous oil accumulation it has ever assessed.” Perhaps North Dakota’s Democrat senators, Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan, will consider supporting more oil drilling when they see what is happening in their home state.

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Tags: FISA bill, gas prices, housing assistance, mortgages, 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!

Feminist Fatherphobia

An Eagle Forum Report ask the question: Should Parents or the 'Village' Raise Children? They go on to detail various aspects of "Feminist Fatherphobia." Below are excepts:

Feminist Fatherphobia in Family Courts - . . . the elephant in the parlor is the millions of children of divorced parents who need their two parents just as much as children in intact marriages, if not more. Maintaining the father's love and authority is crucial when a child's life is turned upside down by divorce. The silence of the pro-family movement and of the churches is deafening. Don't they care about the need for fathers of the more than 21 million children under age 21 who the U.S. Census Bureau reports are living with only one of their parents? Citing a principle called the "best interest of the child," family courts award sole or primary custody of most children of divorced parents to mothers, thereby reducing fathers to occasional visitation and zero authority. . . . This system has produced a tremendous divorce-custody-child-support industry, with well-paying work for lawyers and non-parents who pretend to be experts. It's in their financial interest to minimize the father's custody, visitation and authority so that he will keep paying and paying to win time with his own children.

Every successful civilization has placed the responsibility for rearing the next generation on children's own parents, both mother and father. Replacing that proven practice with the notion that a "village" should raise children, according to non-parents' subjective and misguided notions of what is in a child's "best interest," is a radical departure from the traditional rule that parents should possess shared responsibility for raising their own children. A law requiring a presumption of equal shared custody after divorce would enable children to maintain strong ties with both parents at a time of family disruption. It would also eliminate much of the acrimonious conflict caused when one parent seeks a court ruling for sole or primary custody, because that decision depends on the bias of a judge and the non-parents he appoints to advise him . . . [Read More]

Feminist Fatherphobia in Welfare 'Reform' - The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996, known as Welfare Reform, has been cheered as a stunning achievement of the Republican Congress and its Contract With America. The law helped to move millions of welfare recipients out of dependency and into productive jobs, but its unintended consequences brought many thousands of "never welfare" families into the welfare bureaucracy. Financial incentives are often built into tax credits, reductions or bonuses to influence human behavior in home ownership, energy, water, transportation, and waste management. But sometimes the law contains incentives that produce unplanned or unexpected or undesirable results.

The Great Society welfare system is now recognized as a social disaster that created fatherless children, illegitimacy and women's dependency on the government. Channeling taxpayer handouts to mothers provided a powerful financial incentive for fathers to depart; they were not needed any more. Unfortunately, policy changes in the 1988 and 1996 welfare laws created similar financial incentives for state governments to exclude middle-class fathers from the home. The law incentivized the states to manufacture "non-custodial" fathers and to order money transfers (usually through wage garnishment) to the mothers, thereby putting a large segment of the middle class under the control of welfare bureaucrats. . . .

Federal funding thus provides powerful monetary incentives for states to maximize the number of single-parent households with high transfer payments, and to minimize equal child custody which would lessen transfer payments. Depriving or reducing children's access to one parent is thus a source of revenue for the states. These incentives drive family-court discretion and skew the opinions of the vast army of lawyers, psychologists, custody evaluators, and parenting counselors who are used to rationalize the process. They hide their predetermined custody rulings under the slogan "the best interest of the child."

Put another way, forcibly depriving children of access to one parent, usually the father because he usually has a higher income than the mother, is a big source of revenue to the states. The more support orders that are issued, the higher they are, and the more fathers who are threatened with jail and suspension of their driver's and professional licenses for challenging the system, the better chance a state will receive more money from the feds. This result was accurately predicted by Leslie L. Frye, chief of Child Support for the California Department of Social Services. In testifying to the Human Resources Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee on March 20, 1997, Frye said the new regulations "encouraged states to recruit middle class families, never dependent on public assistance and never likely to be so, into their programs in order to maximize federal child support incentives."

Of the 40% of American children now growing up in homes without their own father, a few are victims of the stereotypical deadbeat dad. But most are victims of disastrous federal policies that provided incentives to create female-headed households, first by the Democrats' welfare system and then by the Republicans' so-called welfare reform. Many consciences should be burdened with the realization that taxpayers' money provides financial incentives to deprive millions of children of their own fathers. . . . [Read More]

Feminist Fatherphobia & Domestic Violence - . . . the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) . . . is a billion-dollar-a-year extension of one of the major ways that Bill Clinton bought the support of the radical feminists. Passage of VAWA was a major priority of feminist organizations and of the American Bar Association (ABA) for whose members it is a cash cow. More than 300 courts have implemented specialized docket processes to address VAWA-type cases, more than a million women have obtained protection orders from the courts, and more than 660 new state laws pertaining to domestic violence have been passed, all of which produce profitable work for lawyers.

An ABA document called "Tool for Attorneys" provides lawyers with a list of suggestive questions to encourage their clients to make domestic-violence charges. Knowing that a woman can get a restraining order against the father of her children in an ex parte proceeding without any evidence, and that she will never be punished for lying, domestic-violence accusations are a major tactic for securing sole child custody. . . . It is a shocker to discover that acts don't have to be violent to be punished under the definition of domestic violence. Name-calling, put-downs, shouting, negative looks or gestures, ignoring opinions, or constant criticizing can all be legally labeled domestic violence. The ABA report states: "Domestic violence does not necessarily involve physical violence." The feminists' mantra is, "You don't have to be beaten to be abused." VAWA advocates assert that domestic violence is a crime, yet family courts adjudicate domestic violence as a civil (not a criminal) matter. This enables courts to deny the accused all Bill of Rights and due process protections which are granted to the most heinous of criminals.

Specifically, the accused is not innocent until proven guilty but is presumed guilty, and he doesn't have to be convicted "beyond a reasonable doubt." Due process rights, such as trial by jury and the right of free counsel to poor defendants, are regularly denied, and false accusations are not covered by perjury law. VAWA provides funding for legal representation for accusers but not for defendants. . . . The ease and the speed with which women can get restraining orders without fear of punishment for lying indicates that the dynamic driving domestic-violence accusations is child custody rather than violence. Restraining orders don't prevent violence, but they do have the immediate effect of separating fathers from their children and imprisoning fathers for acts that are perfectly legal if done by anyone else (such as attending a public event at which his child is performing). . . .

VAWA money is used by anti-male feminists to train judges, prosecutors and the police in the feminist myths that domestic violence is a contagious epidemic, and that men are naturally batterers and women are naturally victims. The feminists lobby state legislators to pass must-arrest and must-prosecute laws even when the police don't observe any crime and can't produce a witness to testify about an alleged crime. Assault and battery are crimes in every state and should be prosecuted. But persons so accused should be entitled to their constitutional rights. After all, is this America? . . . [Read More]
Additional Report Topics: ABA Joins Feminists' War On Fathers and Biden Wants More Funding for Feminists

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Tags: children, Divorce, Eagle Forum, fathers, feminists, mothers, parents, welfare To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

McCain - The Importance of Winning in Iraq & Supporting Israel

H/T Battleground State 08:

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Tags: Iraq, Iraq War, Israel, Jewish vote, McCain, Middle East To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

What's the Story with High Gas Prices?

IER hit the streets to ask why people thought gas prices were so high, who was to blame, and what could be done to lower them. Additional commentary by Mary Hutzler, a former Energy Department official and Senior Fellow at IER.

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Tags: Barack Obama, congress, crude, gas prices, institute energy research, John Mccain, offshore oil, oil reserves To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!