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)
Monday, July 07, 2008
Violence by Illegal Aliens - Ignored by the Press
Blogs 4 Borders! 070608 Our weekly vlog -- podcast on illegal immigration and border security. In this weeks edition... Who are the violent ones? The SPLC insists that the Minutemen are a powderkeg of violence, but who is committing political violence? The Rule of Law? When sanctuary cities go bad!100% Preventable! Americans continue to pay the bloody price for open borders, when will the madness end?
Tags:ABC News, assault, Blogburst video, Blogs for Borders, deportation, illegal immigration, mass murder, minutemen, open borders, PoliticsTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Tony Perkins, FRC Action Update: Perhaps one of the most profound tributes to the life of Senator Jesse Helms comes from an unlikely source, the ultra-left magazine Mother Jones. In a 1995 profile of the staunchly conservative senator, the reporter observed, "Unlike many of his Republican counterparts, Helms has changed little over the past 50 years." Where the Left may see unrelenting dedication to principle as a character flaw, we salute a gentleman who was unwavering in his convictions and devoted to faith, family and freedom. Unlike the many who are changed and influenced by their time of service in this city, Senator Helms was among the few who have changed this city and influenced the world. He stood for strength in our foreign policy and partnered with Ronald Reagan in the effort to bring down communism. He unflinchingly withstood mockery from radical abortion activists in defending the unborn. With his death this July 4th, the conservative movement lost a true leader. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Dot, and their family. Tags:FRC, Jesse Helms, Republican, Tony PerkinsTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
OneNewsNow.com: Do Americans want a military free of all religious influence? That is the question being posed in response to a letter from the ACLU to the United States Naval Academy demanding that midshipmen not be allowed to pray before their noon meal. For decades, lunch at the U.S. Naval Academy has been preceded by a brief, voluntary prayer. But earlier this year, the American Civil Liberties Union wrote the Academy demanding that the prayers cease. The ACLU claims the prayers violate the so-called "separation of church and state." . . . [Read more] Tags:ACLU, Navy Academy, prayer, US NavyTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
RPA, Little Rock: In Case You Missed You Missed It: Pat Lynch is featured today in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's opinion section . He uses the space to bring-up a good observation: Obama's new "policy" just doesn't agree with his policy. In other words, he says one thing - but in reality has no intention of honoring anything other than the most liberal ideological agenda in our nation's history. Pat Lynch, "Obama's Drift to the Middle:"
The latest thing to get the blogosphere in an tizzy is Sen. Barack Obama’s supposed drift to the political middle ground. (…) Specifically, in response to a recent Supreme Court ruling, he has announced support for individual gun ownership. He also has come out backing continued federal financial subsidies of so-called faith-based programs.
Although these intriguing developments are perfectly suited for stimulating commentary, let us deal first with a few foundational issues. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, is going to be the next resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. It may be close, but he will find a way. . . Although it is not much comfort for committed Democrats, we should all keep in mind that there is more wrong with this country than one man can fix by himself. . . .
Now that everyone clearly understands that this is a theoretical discussion, we can move ahead to analyze Obama’s centrist strategy. . . . It may be that Obama sees this business of helping religious organizations from a perspective that is unfamiliar to social liberals, and entirely foreign to the rigid Republican right. Perhaps an illustration would better explain what he might have in mind. Stay with me.
These kinds of expectations must necessarily be filtered though personal experience. In parts of the South, for example, members of certain prevalent denominations could never imagine being outnumbered by people from a different, and perhaps hostile, culture. Growing up as a Roman Catholic in Alabama, let me tell you that it is no fun being on the wrong side of the majority denomination.
My friends on the left are in equally unfamiliar territory since Obama’s suggestion on helping church-sponsored social ministries, and there also is an aspect of this which has, so far, generally escaped conservative thinkers. Now this is a complete hypothetical, offered in good clean fun for the sole purpose of provoking serious reflection, but what if a future Obama administration began doling out lots of federal tax dollars to the left-leaning, old-school, mainline Protestant denominations? Those are the ones that have espoused every imaginable liberal political cause from gay marriage to immigration reform and abortion.
Very often, how you see things depends on where you sit. If a Democratic president started handing out government money to the church social programs of the religious left, we would rightly expect the most energetic opposition. Right-wing activists might even call out the ACLU. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Based solely on principle, government funding should never go to any church. It’s bad public policy and destructive of religious liberty. No matter which political polarity comes out ahead at the moment, it’s just plain wrong. Once those on the religious right figure that out, they might also try remembering who it was that opened the door for Obama in the first place.
Tags:Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Barack Obama, church, church funding, RPATo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
New Obama T-Shirt! "In Your Gut’s - You Know He’s Nuts!"
TRM at Democrat=Socialist has designed a new t-shirt which was too good not to share. Visit TRM's site and get one of these. Great for the conservative in your life and great as a gag gift for that confused liberal in your life. Tags:Barack Obama, Democrat, Obama, socialist, t-shirt, political satireTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Congress returns from its July 4th break this week to face a lot of unfinished business especially its lack of action on energy and high gas prices. Members should have heard their constituents’ growing frustration with high gas prices, but it remains to be seen whether Democrats who have continually blocked action on domestic energy production have had a change of heart. Democrats will have a chance this month to join Senate Republicans to “find more and use less” energy by supporting the Gas Price Reduction Act this month. Will they do the right thing, or will their loyalties to Greenpeace carry the day?
The Senate reconvenes at 2 PM today. The Senate will resume consideration of the housing bill (House messages to accompany H.R. 3221) with a cloture vote on agreeing with the House’s 2nd amendment scheduled for 5:30 PM. Tomorrow, the Senate resumes consideration of the FISA reform bill (H.R. 6304). Votes are expected on three amendments.
From The News:CNN poll found that 73% of those surveyed “favored an expansion of offshore drilling for oil and natural gas in protected U.S. waters.” Before Congress left town, Republicans proposed the Gas Price Reduction Act of 2008 with the goal of a narrowly-targeted proposal that could do something in the near term and reach out to our Democratics. If Democrats really care about high gas prices, they should be willing to support commonsense plans to produce more American energy.
Unfortunately, Investor’s Business Daily pointed out last week, “Democrats in Congress for nearly two decades have rejected drilling for more oil, building more refineries or developing more nuclear power.” Liberal Democrats have been out of touch with Americans’ energy needs. Perhaps that’s why so many people watched in one of last week's most viewed YouTube videos of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid proclaiming that coal and oil are “ruining our country” and “ruining our world.” [video below] Reid’s hometown paper, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, commented in an editorial, “Funny thing about coal and oil. Before they began transforming Americans’ everyday lives by providing electricity and transport that didn’t require a horse, average citizens trudged though life with mouths half-full of teeth, fortunate to live past age 40. Far from making us sick, they’ve powered advances that have extended the country’s collective life expectancy to about 80, helped eliminate hard-core poverty and made us the wealthiest nation in the history of the planet.”
Harry Reid Says "Coal Makes Us Sick" Truth is -- Harry Reid Makes Most of Us Sick!
Tags:gas prices, Harry Reid, US Congress, US House, US Senate, video, Washington D.C.To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Bill Smith, ARRA Editor: I was angered but too stunned by the recent Supreme Court decision taking the death penalty off the table for raping children (toddlers!). I have three lovely young granddaughters and I couldn't help but think that if one of these scumbags had rapped one of my little girls -- I'll leave it to your imagination as to what "extreme measures" this veteran would have taken. I have talked with many God fearing men about this situation, and they all admit that when government fails to protect the public, citizen action is required.
With the long weekend, I took time to visit and read many of my fellow right minded bloggers' opinions. The following comments appropriately sums up the the Supreme Court's "sick" decision. A Big Hat Tip to Urban Conservative for speaking for all of us:
The death penalty is not a proportional punishment for the rape of a child.This was a direct quote from liberal Justice Anthony Kennedy of the Supreme Court; and the four other liberal justices unfortunately agreed. I don’t understand how the highest court in our land can declare that capital punishment is too severe for raping children. This is a clear example of the fundamental differences between conservatives and liberals.
The court’s 5-4 decision struck down a Louisiana law that allows capital punishment for people convicted of raping children under 12. The ruling also invalidates laws in five other states that currently allow executions for child rape that does not result in the death of the child. Angry Louisianans who backed the law said the court was out of touch. I say they are liberally INSANE.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal says it well:
The opinion reads more like an out-of-control legislative debate than a constitutional analysis … One thing is clear: The five members of the court who issued the opinion do not share the same ’standards of decency’ as the people of Louisiana.
This means that this repugnant swine Patrick Kennedy, who was originally sentenced to death for raping his 8-year-old step daughter in Louisiana will get a new sentence hearing, and who knows … maybe even get out on parole in a few years. And also this deranged mass of human waste Richard Davis, who was sentenced to the death penalty for repeatedly raping a little girl the same age as mine (5 years old) will also get a new sentence. This sickens me.
Tags:child rapist, death penalty, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Supreme Court JudgesTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Michael Reagan, GOPUSA: Americans are worried. Americans are angry. Soaring gas prices are seriously crippling our economy and hitting us where it hurts the most -- in our pockets. We have a right to be angry, but anger is no longer enough. It's time for rage -- good, old American rage aimed at those elitist Democrats who prefer to see the folks beggared by soaring fuel prices rather than take the action this very real economic crisis demands.
Drill. We know that the law of supply and demand is what's causing gas prices to soar, but merely knowing the ultimate cause of the crisis is not enough. We need to know why the most obvious remedy -- one that promises to increase supply -- is being studiously avoided by the powers that be, Democrats in Congress. . . .
The steady increase in gas prices can be stopped dead in its tracks, and rolled back to less onerous levels literally overnight. The Democrats in Congress have in their hands the magic wand they could easily wave, but they arrogantly refuse to use it. And so we continue to pay the price for their refusal to help their fellow Americans when they have the power to do so.
All they need to do is lift all moratoria and restrictions on domestic, offshore and Alaskan drilling for oil. That's all. A quick wave of that magic wand is all that's needed. But they will not act, and for that they must be made aware that they will pay a steep price at the polls for their refusal to act when action is desperately needed.
Make no mistake about it, the oh-so-liberal Democrats in the House and Senate, in the pockets of the super-rich environmentalists who scarcely conceal their contempt for their fellow humans and won't be happy until every automobile is driven from America's roads and highways, simply will not come to our aid. As Marie-Antoinette is said to have remarked about her starving subjects who were demanding bread, "Let then eat cake," our elected Democratic members of Congress are in effect saying of Americans, "Let them ride bikes."
In their contemptuous sophistry their spokesmen sneer that opening the gates to domestic and offshore drilling would not yield results for 10 years. That excuse for inaction is insultingly deceptive. While it will take years to see our domestic supply of petroleum begin to take up the slack, the very declaration that the floodgates will be opened and America is on he way to independence from foreign oil will strike fear into the hearts of OPEC and the speculators who have driven the price of oil skyward. . . .
As economist Lawrence Kudlow wrote in his column, "An America First Energy Plan," "As soon as you say, 'End the drilling moratoriums,' it is precisely those traders who will start selling oil contracts -- long before the first offshore oil barrels are delivered to market. If they see presidential leadership on oil and shale drilling, they will rapidly turn a bull market into a bear market."
A partial answer to our immediate problem is at hand. The steady increase in pump prices can be halted and prices somewhat rolled back to a more acceptable level. Yet those Democrats who the people elected to Congress are turning their backs on the voters who sent them to Washington and coldly refusing to lift a finger to help the American people, preferring instead to lay the blame for the problem on big oil, speculators and every place but where it belongs. On themselves. If that doesn't enrage you, nothing will. . . . [Read More] Tags:Democrat leadership, gas prices, Michael Reagan, oil drilling, US CongressTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Secure Arkansas: If you have been or still wish to collect signature to support the Secure Arkansas ballot initiative, please read this important notice:
If you have any petitions on hands right now, be sure to get them to us. We still do not know if we have enough signatures, but get your petitions to us, even if it is Monday. DO NOT throw petitions away because if we get 61,974 signatures or more, we can still use them for what might be disqualified. We have 30 days extra to make up for those. Go to Secure Arakansas if you think you can gather more signatures.
The Secure Arkansas ballot initiative is titled: An Act To Prevent Persons Unlawfully Present in the United States From Receiving Certain Public Benefits. Tags:Arkansas, ballot initiatives, Secure ArkansasTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
The following t-shirt worn at a local event has a message.
You can get one of these at Gun Owners of America. Tags:Gun Owners of America, gun rights, humor, t-shirtTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
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! Tags:Barack Obama, campaigning, government control, church, Election 2008, ObamaTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Tags:Barack Obama, change, conservative, focus group, Hope, parody, political humor, political, satireTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
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!Tags:4th of July, 2008, Freedom, Ft Hard Knox, graft, greed, immigrations, Independence, prayer, protestsTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
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 Tags:Barack Obama, Election 2008, homosexual activism, homosexual marriage, liberal, marriage amendment, pro-gayTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
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. Tags:2008, 4th of July, Arkansas Republican Assembly, ARRA, ARRA News Service, Independence DayTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
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.”Tags:2008, 4th of July, Declaration of Independence, government, Mark Alexander, The Patriot PostTo 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: 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.Tags:4th of July, 2008, Gary Bauer, patriotismTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
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:
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.”
Tags:4th of July, Iraq, military troops, 2008To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
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 bridgein 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 Tags:Alaska, CAGW, Citizens Against Government Waste, Congressional Pork, Don Young, Election 2008, Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin, Sean Parnell, US CongressTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
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]Tags:Arkansas, fund raising, housing assistance, Little Rock, mortgages, President George Bush, RPATo 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.
Tags:Arkansas Republican Assembly, ARRA, Barack Obama, conservatives, Election 2008, John Mccain, National Federation of Republican Assemblies, NFRA, Patrick Briney, Rod MartinTo 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. Tags:Let's Get This Right, LGTR, republican candidates, 2008 electionTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
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. Tags:Arkansas, Arkansas Republican Party, Bill Smith, Let's Get This Right, LGTRTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
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.Tags:1st Amendment, 2nd Amendment, Arkansas, Constitution, energy policy, GOP, Marion County, Republican WomenTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
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. Tags:Barack Hussein Obama, Barack Obama, Election 2008, Iraq, presidential candidate, Supreme CourtTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
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 Tags:Barack Obama, change, Election 2008, political cartoon, political humorTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
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