The Glorious Fourth

by Tony Perkins, FRC Washington Update: In a letter to his wife Abigail, John Adams told her of the actions of the Continental Congress on July 2, 1776. "The second day of July, 1776 [the actual day the Declaration was signed], will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of the continent to the other, from this time forward forever."

As we celebrate Independence Day, as John Adams so aptly predicted, we must not forget nor overlook the intense struggle our Founding Fathers faced. Their Christian faith played a critical role in an era that altered the history of the world. There is not a better example of this seamless devotion to God and country than Samuel Adams. In his time, Sam was far more famous than his cousin, John. Sam was known as the last of the great Puritans and the father of the Revolution. It was Sam Adams who organized the Sons of Liberty and the Committees of Correspondence. (By the way, if you're going out to a Tea Party on Saturday, historians believe that the first tea party, the one in Boston, was organized by Samuel Adams. It was that Boston Tea Party that lit the fuse of the American Revolution).

When Sam Adams was elected to that First Continental Congress and traveled to the gathering of leaders in Philadelphia, he thought the Continental Congress needed to begin its work on its knees--in prayer. But when the motion was made to call in a local clergyman to lead the worship, John Jay of New York and Edward Rutledge of South Carolina objected. We are too diverse, they said. We could never agree on whose prayers to say.

Rising to his feet, Sam Adams spoke: "I am no bigot," he said, "I can hear the prayer of any man of piety and virtue who is a friend to his country." Deeply moved, the delegates voted to approve Sam Adams' idea. The next morning, amid reports of the British moving against the people of his hometown of Boston, Sam knelt in prayer with his fellow delegates, as the Rev. Jacob Duch? prayed. "Plead my cause, O Lord, with them that strive with me, and fight against them that fight against me."

That inspired move by Sam Adams did much to overcome suspicions among the delegates. Joseph Reed of Philadelphia called that prayer "a masterly stroke." Those Founding Fathers could now work together for liberty. Soon, Sam Adams would sign the Declaration of Independence. Alongside Sam Adams' name you can find that of Charles Carroll, a delegate from Maryland. Carroll was the richest man in Congress and the only Roman Catholic. Nowhere else on earth in 1776 could you find an Evangelical like Sam Adams pledge "his life, his fortune, and his sacred honor" alongside a Catholic like Charles Carroll. They both risked death by hanging for signing that great Declaration. But they served the King of Kings and had no fear of King George III.

In our efforts to maintain the freedoms won by our forefathers we must be like them--people of action and prayer. We must never sever our personal faith from our public stand for faith, family and freedom. After we celebrate our independence as a nation on Saturday, I invite you to join thousands of Christians from across the nation on Sunday as they fall on their knees in prayer as a part of FRC's Call2Fall, declaring their dependence upon God, just like our Founding Fathers.

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Tags: FRC, Independence Day, John Adams, Sam Adams, Tony Perkins, Washington Update To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Happy 4th of July! - Independence Day!

The ARRA News and the Arkansas Republican Assembly join you in celebrating our nation's 233rd Birthday - Independence Day. Many are attending Tea (Taxed Enough Already) Party Rallies. God Bless America and our armed service men and women.
The Fourth of July is a day that is usually a time when families get together for sunshine hot dogs, fun, and fireworks. Every American regardless of race, gender, income, and political party celebrates the day that the Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence, spurring the start of the American Revolution. Like many other national holidays, the meaning can often be lost in the festivities. And so it is up to each of us to, in the words of Jefferson, "Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty."

The American system of government, with the Founding Father's emphasis on "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," has inspired almost every country in the world to rise up and take control of their own destiny. Constitutional Republics have spread throughout Europe, and just this year fellow freedom fighters as far away as Iran and as near to us as Honduras are standing up for their own independence much like our Founding Fathers did more than two centuries ago.

This is America's lasting legacy. Before 1776, only two Constitutional Republics even attempted to bring any form of freedom and liberty to mankind: The Greek and Roman Empires. But the people of these great nations became apathetic, not realizing, as John F. Kennedy wisely warned, "Complacency is the jailer of freedom."

So, while the Fourth of July has become a day of festivities (celebrating if nothing else, a day by the pool or at the beach), what Americans really are observing is the fact that a relative handful of courageous citizens lit a flame of liberty and installed a form of government that has governed over unprecedented prosperity and individual liberty. And even today, "the glow from that fire can truly light the world." [ [Original Source - Get Liberty blog - Americans for Limited Government is no longer available. Link Removed.]

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Tags: 2009, 4th of July, Arkansas Republican Assembly, ARRA, ARRA News Service, Independence Day, William Warren To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Romney Urges GOP to 'Stand Up' to Obama

FOX News' Carl Cameron & Jake Gibson - 7/1/09: Former presidential candidate Mitt Romney called on Republicans to "stand up" to President Obama and his policies on the economy, health care and energy . . . "I think Republicans have to stand up and make it very, very clear that we run the risk as a nation of having the entire world lose confidence in the currency of the United States and that would lead to something worse than a recession -- that would lead to an extraordinary slowdown globally that would hurt us more than any other. . . . When the stimulus bill is wrong, when it wastes money and threatens the viability of our currency long-term, you have to stand up and say 'no.' When a health care plan says we're going to have the government take over health care which is roughly a fifth of our economy, Republicans are going to have to say 'no' to that," he said. . . .

Though not playing it up, Romney isn't ruling out another run at American politics' biggest prize. "At this stage it's too early to try to see what's going to happen down the road," he said. "I haven't closed the door on my future, but I'm not walking through it either." According to a recent Pew poll, among Republicans Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin -- despite the unceasing drama surrounding her and her family -- is the GOP's most popular leader, with a 73% approval rating. Romney had 57% . . . .

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Tags: GOP, Mitt Romney, President Obama, Republican To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Palin to Resign as Alaska Governor on July 26

Updated Comments at the bottom.
Breaking News: Sarah Palin to Resign as Alaska Governor on July 26.
"I am determined to take the right path for Alaska even though it is not the easiest path" In a stunning decision, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) announced this afternoon she will resign as Governor of Alaska on July 26 and return to private life. Palin made the surprise announcement from her home in Wasilla, flanked by her husband, Todd, and family and state commissioners.

Palin said: "I look forward to helping others - to fight for our state and our country, and campaign for those who believe in smaller government, free enterprise, strong national security, support for our troops, and energy Independence. We are not retreating, we are advancing in a different direction. We know we can effect positive change outside government at this moment in time."

Bill Smith, ARRA Editor: "While many say this move was stupid, Sarah Palin has proven to be smart like a fox and as tough as a barracuda. She is a great speaker, rallies crowds and raises lots of money. If she plans to run for national office or even to just make a stand for the good of America, this may be the best move for all conservatives. I am not prepared to count her out of politics. She has a lot of faithful supporters throughout the lower 48."

U.S. Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford, NY) said the following on learning of her decision: "I don't know how you'd do it from Alaska. It's another world geographically, politically and media-wise... It would give her an opportunity to break loose from the chains of local politics and a very small population with a lot of ancient feuds, where you're bogged down by the Lilliputians there." She can be on a national stage more often, he said, adding: "She's a lightning rod. That can be good for her...We have a lot of boring people in the Republican party.... she certainly engages."

Updated 4:50 pm: Dr. Stephen Maloney, DraftPalin2012: Essentially, Sarah was being held "prisoner" in Alaska because of the endless whining that took place in The Anchorage Daily News and elsewhere whenever she ventured out-of-state. Sarah is a national figure with national aspirations, and it's in her best interest not to continue to serve as Governor. It's that simple folks. Some "conservative pundits," generally as idiotic as their liberal counterparts will express bogus horror that Sarah has "quit her day-job." Frankly, Sarah doesn't want to run for President on the state of Alaska's dime. Obama quit as his own day-job, as U.S. Senator -- or at least stopped performing it -- after serving less than a year. Nobody raised a peep.

5:46 pm: Gary Bauer, Campaign for Working Families: My reaction: Reports of her political death are greatly exaggerated. Yes, resigning as governor is high risk, and, yes, the Left's attacks on her have been savage enough to drive almost anyone out of office. But I don't believe she's running from a fight. This move frees her up to campaign in the lower 48 states, build a top notch political organization and improve her issue development work. In six months we will know whether the gamble worked, but I for one am hoping it does. Whatever happens, every day I am more convinced that working together we are going to get Barack Obama out of the White House.

Updated July, 4th: Pamela Geller - Paline in 2012! She did not quit. . . . Palin committed herself to fighting "for our state and our country, and campaign(ing) for those who believe in smaller government, free enterprise, strong national security, support for our troops and energy independence." . . . Palin, like all patriotic Americans, is shocked by what is happening. Obama is destroying this country. She knows it. We all know it. We need a leader.
Palin is that leader. On Friday she assumed the mantle. . . . She believes in and wants to fight for free enterprise, small government and national security. . . . . And best of all, she is not a product of the limp-wristed, spineless GOP of the Age of Obama. . . . She is outside the box. She has grit. She has guts. . . . She is principled, true, hard working, smart and honorable. She embodies all that is good and fine and decent – you couldn't have written a more charismatic, honorable character in a Victor Hugo novel.

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Tags: Alaska, Bill Smith, Chicago politics, Gary Bauer, Governor, Peter King, resigns, Sarah Palin, Steve Maloney To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Independence Day Tea Party Rally

Bill Smith, ARRA Editor: Tomorrow, on July 4th, people across America will rally in citizen organized TEA (Taxed Enough Already) Party rallies. People will gather to promote individual liberty, free market ideals and Constitutional principles. Many are motivated by a 2009 budget which has grown to a deficit of $1.8 trillion, more than four times higher than last year’s all time high and 50% of total budget.

The massive growth of the federal government is threatening our individual liberties and future prosperity. With the national debt already out of control, 78,000 new government jobs to the federal payroll since he took office. This increase in the number of government employees will add hundreds of millions of dollars to our debt. If history is any measure, these jobs will never be eliminated. They will simply add to the mountains of debt we are leaving our grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Brad Marston, an organizer of the Boston Independence Tea Party Day, said, "higher taxes and greater federal control now and in the future will further strangle our economy and legislation is being rushed through Congress that effects every citizen and generations yet to be born threatens the Constitution." Government officials are ignoring their constituents and moving the country toward socialism.

Trying to avoid the holiday weekend, a few early Tea Party rallies have already been held. But the majority of rallies will celebrate Independence Day by rallying on the 4th of July. And, most of these events will be a little different with elected officials, political candidates and party leaders reamining on the ground an not on center stage as speakers. Ken Emanuelson is a member of the event's steering committee of America's Tea Party, Southfork Ranch, Texas, and Richard Caster is the organizer of the Ozark Independence Day Tea Party, Mountain Home, Arkansas. Both have identified that their tea party rallies will be "about the people talking to elected officials, not the elected officials talking to us." Emanuelson added, "Our ultimate goal is the building of neighborhood citizens groups across North Texas." Casted added, "if an elected official or politician wishes to respond after listening for for over an hour and half to the citizens of the Ozarks, we will give them each 3 minutes at the end to respond or agree with our concerns."

Have a great 4th of July -- take time to share with your children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews and anyone else who will listens the real story of Independence Day. If you would like to participate in history by attending a Tea Party rally, the following sites will aid you in locating one in your general area: Tea Party Patriots or Tea Party Day.

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Tags: 4th of July, Arkansas, Independence Day, Massachusetts, Ozarks, taxed enough already, tea party, Texas To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

CBS feeling “controlled” by Obama administration

Perhaps the press honeymoon is coming to a close for the President. CBS’ Chip Reid and Helen Thomas challenge Robert Gibbs on Obama’s commitment to transparency and control of the press. [Source: John Allison, III, America You Asked for It]

Thomas to Gibbs: “I’m amazed…I’m amazed at you people who call for openness and transparency and then control…[interrupted by Gibbs]“ Gibbs kept saying lets have this discussion AFTER the meeting. Helen Thomas accused the White House of "controlling the press." She said almost all White House/Obama events are "prepackaged." She accused the White House of not "having any answers." She identified that the press is called the night before regarding the asking of questions.

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Tags: America You Asked for It, CBS, Chip Reid, Helen Thomas, Obama Townhall, press, Robert Gibbs, transparency, video, White House To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Academy Award Winner Jon Voight Gives Free Speech a Boost

Jennifer Harper of the Washington Times reports: Free speech got a loud boost from Hollywood on Wednesday. Jon Voight has responded to accusations from a critic sympathetic to the American Communist Party, who said the actor had used hate speech and threatened the well-being of President Obama during a recent appearance before Republicans in Washington.

Mr. Voight denied both charges, saying that those who speak out against the Obama administration are "demonized" and "attacked," often with hate speech. The Academy Award winner's speech before the National Republican Congressional Committee on June 7 was both a political and cultural moment. As a paragon of a new Hollywood conservatism, Mr. Voight spoke bluntly of Republican strategies for 2012 and what he sees as the shortcomings of the Obama administration.

Yet the actor also ignited a public discussion about bitter partisan rivalries and what constitutes threatening language. Toward the end of his speech, Mr. Voight lauded a list of 23 high-profile Republicans, saying "Let's give thanks to them for staying on course to bring an end to this false prophet, Obama." The phrase "bring an end" was quickly caught in the echo chamber of news reports and Op-Eds in the aftermath, framed out of context. Mr. Voight's words brought criticisms from the New York Times, activists and bloggers. But they particularly troubled Teresa Albano, editor of the People's Weekly World -- a Chicago-based publication sympathetic to the Communist Party.

"I don't want to equate what Jon Voight said as expressing a conservative opinion on politics. It went way beyond that. He made a threat against the president of the United States to a crowd at a GOP fundraiser and got a good response from the Senate minority leader and other powerful people. And that is scary," Ms. Albano, editor of the publication, said at the time. An editorial also said his speech was a form of "home-grown terrorism." [Imagine a communist supporting President Obama.]

ARRA News: Inserted this video so readers can see for yourself that Teresa Albano and the other left-wing pundits objecting to Jon Voight's comments are just trying to scam the American public and to provide cover for their guy - Barack Obama.

[Excerpts of Article continued] Mr. Voight did not take the characterization lightly. "America is a country of freedom -- which means we, as American citizens, can voice our disagreements, if necessary, against a regime that seems to be destroying our great nation. . . . But everyone who speaks out against Obama's policies is immediately demonized and attacked in a way that becomes dangerous to them. Teresa Albano had targeted me with vicious, harmful lies. She is igniting hate against me. I never did, nor would I ever, threaten the president of the United States. I did say President Obama's policies must fail because they are creating a socialist America," he said.

. . . In conservative and Republican circles, the speech Mr. Voight gave that night in early June is still reverberating. It inspired Op-Eds framed as a bold step toward the reinvention of the GOP as the party looks to 2012. "The left will flail as they attempt to marginalize him and diminish his stellar reputation and award-winning career," said Big Hollywood.com columnist Andrew Breitbart. "His analysis of how President Obama got elected will eventually be the accepted truth once sober and dispassionate journalists re-enter the mainstream media. I predict there will be more 'Jon Voights' in the next election cycle, thanks to his courageous, trailblazing spirit." . . . [Read More]

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Tags: An American Carol, Barack Obama, free speech, Hollywood, Jon Voight To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Texas Appellate Court Deals Blow to Islamist -- Upholds Free Speech Rights of Internet Journalist; Muslims Appeal #CALH

Thomas More Law Center: ANN ARBOR, MI – Yesterday ( 7/1/09), seven Texas-area Muslim organizations filed an appeal of the unanimous ruling of the Texas Second Court of Appeals at Forth Worth, which protected the free speech rights of internet journalists and at the same time dealt a blow to the legal jihad being waged by radical Muslim groups throughout the United States. The Court ruling authored by Justice Terrie Livingston, dismissed the libel lawsuit filed against internet reporter Joe Kaufman by the seven Muslim organizations.

The lawsuit against Kaufman was funded by the Muslim Legal Fund for America. The head of that organization, Khalil Meek, admitted on a Muslim radio show that lawsuits were being filed against Kaufman and others to set an example. Indeed, for the last several years, Muslim groups in the U.S. have engaged in the tactic of filing meritless lawsuits to silence any public discussion of Islamic terrorist threats. This tactic, referred to by some as Islamist Lawfare uses our laws and legal system to silence critics and promote Islamic rule in America.

The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan provided the lead attorney to represent Kaufman, at no charge. The Law Center attorney, Brandon Bolling, was assisted by Texas attorney Thomas S. Brandon, Jr. who acted as local counsel, and Los Angeles, CA attorneys William Becker, Jr. and Manuel S. Klausner.

Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center, commented, “This frivolous lawsuit is an example of the legal jihad being waged by radical Islamic organizations throughout our nation. These lawsuits are aimed at stifling the free speech rights of Americans who dare to expose their agenda. They intentionally file lawsuits to intimidate reporters who seek to expose their agenda. By making it costly to defend against their lawsuits, they hope journalists will refrain from writing about the threat to our nation.”

Kaufman, a full-time investigative reporter, has written extensively on Radical Islamic terrorism in America. He was sued because of his September 28, 2007 article titled “Fanatic Muslim Family Day” published by Front Page Magazine, a major online news website. Kaufman’s article exposed the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) and the Islamic Association of Northern Texas (IANT) ties to the radical terrorist group Hamas.

Kaufman’s article called ICNA a radical Muslim organization that has ties to Al-Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood. According to Kaufman, ICNA is an umbrella organization for South Asian-oriented mosques and Islamic centers in the United States created as an American arm of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) of Pakistan.

A 1991 internal memorandum of the Muslim Brotherhood laid out their plan to destroy America from within: “[The Muslim Brotherhood] must understand that their work in America is a kind of grand jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and ‘sabotaging’ its miserable house by their hands and the hands of believers so that it is eliminated and Allah’s religion is made victorious over all other religions.”

According to former FBI agent John Guandolo, who worked several years in the Bureau’s Counter Terrorism Division, every major Muslim organization is controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood. Significantly, neither ICNA nor IANT, which were mentioned in Kaufman’s article, sued Kaufman. It is speculated that ICNA and IANT were afraid of being subjected to pretrial discovery.

On the other hand, none of the seven plaintiffs that sued Kaufman were even mentioned in his article. The seven Muslim organizations that sued Kaufman are the Islamic Society of Arlington, Texas, Islamic Center of Irving, DFW Islamic Educational Center, Inc., Dar Elsalam Islamic Center, Al Hedayah Islamic Center, Islamic Association of Tarrant County, and Muslim American Society of Dallas. All are affiliated with CAIR, one of the unindicted co-conspirators in the successful federal prosecution of the Holy Land Foundation.

In what should be welcomed news to internet journalists, the Appellate Court specifically rejected the Plaintiffs’ contention that Kaufman is not a “media defendant.” The Court held that the Texas statute that gives procedural protections to traditional electronic and print media, including the right to a pretrial appeal, also covers internet journalists. Thus, the Texas Statue entitled Kaufman the right to appeal the lower court’s denial of his motion to dismiss the frivolous libel claim before a time-consuming and expensive trial. Most parties have to wait until after a trial before they can appeal an unfavorable lower court ruling.
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The Thomas More Law Center defends and promotes America’s Christian heritage and moral values, including the religious freedom of Christians, time-honored family values, and the sanctity of human life. It supports a strong national defense and an independent and sovereign United States of America. The Law Center accomplishes its mission through litigation, education, and related activities. It does not charge for its services. The Law Center is supported by contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations, and is recognized by the IRS as a section 501(c)(3) organization. You may reach the Thomas More Law Center at (734) 827-2001 or visit our website at http://www.thomasmore.org/.

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Tags: 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, bloggers, free speech, internet journalists, Joe Kaufman, lawsuit, Muslim, Muslim Brotherhood, radical Muslim, Texas, Thomas More Law Center To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Bloodhounds Follow the Stimulus Trail Searching from Jobs

House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) released a new video targeting the failure of Washington Democrats trillion-dollar stimulus bill and asking where are the jobs? This is a lighthearted web video, but the underlying point is no laughing matter, Boehner said. At a time when Americans are looking to Washington for leadership, the trillion-dollar stimulus has been a wasteful failure. Americans were promised the stimulus would keep the unemployment rate from going above eight percent. Its now at 9.4% and rising. Where are the jobs?

In the video, job-sniffing bloodhounds follow the stimulus money trail across the nation in search of the millions of jobs the Obama Administration promised to save or create if the trillion-dollar spending bill were enacted. The trail takes them to AIG Headquarters in New York City, where stimulus funds were used to pay big bonuses to top executives; to Wisconsin, where stimulus funds are paying for repairs to a bridge that reportedly carries about 260 cars per day, many to a place called Rustys Backwater Saloon, according to a June 16 report in the Wall Street Journal; and to North Carolina, where stimulus funds were reportedly used by one town to hire a new worker whose job is to apply for more stimulus funds from Washington.

A real stimulus would help small businesses across America get back on their feet and create jobs. Washington hasnt tried that yet. Instead weve made government bigger, wasted taxpayers money, and piled new debt on our children and grandchildren, Boehner said. Republicans have put forth a better solution a plan that recognizes small business, not government, is the engine of the American economy. We hope Washington Democrats will work with us in the months ahead to make it a reality.

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Tags: America, bloodhounds, congress, jobs, Joe Biden, John Boehner, Nancy Pelosi, President Obama, Republicans, video To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Today in Washington D. C. - July 2, 2009 - Economic Minister of Propaganda Speaks on Unemployment

The AP reports today, “Employers cut a larger-than-expected 467,000 jobs in June, driving the unemployment rate up to a 26-year high of 9.5%, suggesting that the economy's road to recovery will be bumpy. . . . All told, 14.7 million people were unemployed in June. If laid-off workers who have given up looking for new jobs or have settled for part-time work are included, the unemployment rate would have been 16.5 percent in June, the highest on records dating to 1994.”

And folks this is not Bush's recession - this is Obama's recession. So - what about the administration’s $787 billion stimulus bill that was pushed through Congress in February on promises to mitigate or reverse the affects of this downturn? This morning Fox News’ Bill Hemmer asked White House economic advisor Christina Romer if today’s unemployment numbers show that the stimulus bill isn’t working. Romer responded, “No, absolutely not,” explaining that it just means it’ll take some time for recovery and no one anticipated things would be this bad. Romer is Obama's "economic minister of propaganda" with the demeanor of a"Julia Child"styled talking head. However, Julia Child made us chuckle while she demonstrated her expertise, whereas Romer looks us in the eyes, smiles, chuckles at us, and attempts to dissuade Americans from the facts of reality.

Remember, the administration used a report co-written by Romer in January to help sell its stimulus bill. The report claimed, “Certain industries, such as construction and manufacturing, are likely to experience particularly strong job growth under a recovery package that includes an emphasis on infrastructure, energy, and school repair.” However, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics today, “Job losses were widespread across the major industry sectors, with large declines occurring in manufacturing, professional and business services, and construction. . . . [I]n June, employment in construction fell by 79,000, with losses spread throughout the industry . . . [and] [e]mployment in manufacturing fell by 136,000 over the month . . . .”

Clearly the jobs that Obama and Romer promised would result from adding hundreds of billions of dollars to the deficit have NOT materialized. House Republican Leader John Boehner took his bloodhound to look for the promised stimulus jobs but unfortunately wasn’t able to come up with anything.

In summary, quoting Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky), “[I]f the American people learned anything from the stimulus, it’s that we should be suspicious when we’re told that we need to spend trillions of dollars without having the proper time to review how the money will be spent or what effect it will or won’t have.” Americans should be cautious given that the administration is taking a similar approach to selling its plans for health reform, urging swift action on trillion-dollar government-run insurance plans.

So far, the Obama/Romer Stimulus has be de-stimulating the economy resulting in greater economic fear and increasing unemployment. If Obama was not reneging on his promise to bring the military home rather than his redeploying the military from Iraq to Afghanistan, we would have even higher unemployment as the national guard and regular military, retained under "stop-loss" programs, returned home to "no jobs." Imagine, fighting for your country one day and coming home to no job the next. Obama send your economic minister of propaganda packing - we've had enough stimulus. Should we now trust the Obama administration with nationalized health care and cap-and-trade {one big tax on everyone]?

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Tags: Barack Obama, cap-and-trade, Christiina Romer, economic stimulus, jobs, military, nationalized health care, Obama administration, propaganda, recession, unemployment, Washington D.C. To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Meeting Curtis Coleman - Campaign Launch Parties for U.S. Senate Race

by John Allison, III: Last week I had the pleasure of attending one of Curtis Coleman's "Campaign Launch Parties" at the home of his daughter and son-in-law. This wasn't a huge gala with party big-wigs, lobbyists, and press, but an opportunity for concerned citizens to get to know, personally and politically, the man who plans to defeat Blanche Lincoln in November 2010. In fact, it was a simple reception with cheese cake and soft drinks held in the living room of his daughter's home. Other than Mr. Coleman, his wife, daughter and son-in-law, there were 10 others who attended to learn more about the man who may be the next Senator from Arkansas. Coleman gave a presentation introducing himself and his political positions on key issues. The presentation was followed by a question and answer session that was more open than I thought possible from dialogue with a politician. But then again, Coleman isn't a typical politician, he's a businessman seeking political office.

I came away with the impression that Mr. Coleman is a true conservative who will stand firm against liberal Democrats and even his own party when its leadership goes against his conservative ideology.

His presentation began reminding everyone in attendance that he's still "exploring" the feasibility of a Senate run for strategic reasons, but that he's serious about running. He explained that a formal announcement would place him in a completely different status with the Federal Elections Commission. When asked if he knew approximately when a formal announcement would come, he said he had two prior commitments he planned to follow through on - one project at his company, Safe Foods, and his commitment to serve as chairman of the Central Arkansas Cityfest with Luis Palau - before officially throwing his hat in the ring. Originally he thought his commitment to these projects would be wrapped up by October, but informed us that things were progressing and other events occurring that might push that timeline up to sometime this summer.

So what motivated Coleman to run? He told us he spoke to the Republican Party of Arkansas soon after last year's November election and asked them, "Who do we have to run against Blanche in 2010?" At the time, their response was, "No one, why don't you run?" He returned home upset. He didn't want to run and it didn't appear anyone else would take up the conservative colors and lead the charge either. When he realized that he was upset with others for not doing what he wasn't willing to do, he changed his mind and began to seriously consider stepping up to the plate. Ultimately, his concern for the country his children and grandchildren will inherit pushed him over the edge and into the race.

On the issues, Coleman took on the Obama administration's tax and spend policies. Coleman equates paying taxes with sacrificing personal liberty. "Your paycheck represents your personal liberty as much as any one thing you have." While recognizing some taxes are necessary to fund defense, maintain civil order, and fund basic government services, he believes we're taxed enough. Though the President often claims he won't increase taxes on anyone making less than $250,000 per year, Coleman recognizes the administration's out-of-control-spending will mandate tax increases at some point in the future. To evidence his commitment to not increasing taxes on Americans, the prospective Senator has signed the Americans for Tax Reform's Taxpayer Protection Pledge which Lincoln refuses to sign.

He believes TARP, Obama's stimulus, auto industry bailouts, mortgage relief, and Cap and Trade are more about ideology than the economy and environment – all are part of a strategy Coleman dubs "The March to Mediocrity," intended to bring the highest wage earners down and the lowest wage earners up to meet somewhere in the middle. He sees these supposed "stimuli," imposed on the American people by Obama and Congressional Democrats, as components of Obama's scheme to "redistribute the wealth" and understands such efforts are more likely to bring everyone down to the level of those at the lower end of the scale.

Citing Congressional Budget Office figures, he pointed out that a 20-year-old will pay $114,000 in interest - just on the debt arising from the 2010 budget - over his/her working life. This, Coleman says, "is why we're suffering the most egregious erosion of our personal liberties in history . . . turning our dreams into our children's nightmare."

Coleman lays the bulk of the blame for the nation's current economic woes directly at the feet of the US Congress for passing legislation that forced banks to make bad loans. He lays out the case for pinning the housing implosion on the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977. This law required banks' loan portfolios to represent the demographics of their lending area or face losing their FDIC insurance. He points out that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae became involved during the Clinton administration, and began to insure these subprime mortgages. "It didn't come from Wall Street, it came from Congress," Coleman says of the US mortgage crisis.

Curtis Coleman appears the quintessential conservative. He supports tax cuts and responsible spending - government living within its means. He recognizes government policy that creates onerous demands on business and industry force prices up and our standard of living down, effectively restricting our personal liberty. He's unapologetic about his pro-life stance. And, he's confident enough with his positions that he'll stand before his constituents and answer their questions without subterfuge.

It was heartening to see a potential candidate for the Senate sit down and discuss the issues with ordinary Arkansans and Coleman promised that, if elected, he'll be sure to have at least one event like this in each county in Arkansas every year he's in office. Early in his presentation he explained he wanted us to participate - to ask questions and give our opinions. His words - "I don't learn anything when I do all the talking." He also informed us he's willing to host five of these Campaign Launch Parties each week until he officially declares his candidacy. If you're interested in hosting one in your home, contact Coleman . Curtis Coleman's blog; Twitter.

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Tags: 2010, Arkansas, Blanche Lincoln, business, Curtis Coleman, John Allison III, pro-life, Republican Party of Arkansas, RPA, US Senate To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / l2010, Arkansas, Blanche Lincoln, business, Curtis Coleman, John Allison III, pro-life, Republican Party of Arkansas, RPA, US Senateink to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Enough About Obama

By William Warren:

Spanish version

English version

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

Vic Snyder's National Energy Tax

Democrats "Cap and Trade" legislation is nothing more than a tax and energy rate increase that will harm all Americans. And Arkansas U.S. Rep. Vic Snyder failed to vote for his Arkansas constituents and voted to raise Arkansans' utility cost, petroleum cost and taxes in numerous forms!

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Tags: Arkansas, cap-and-trade, energy bill, increased taxes, national energy tax, Vic Snyder To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Today in Washington D. C. - July 1, 2009 - Obama Baffles With B.S.

Well President Obama is at it again - holding his second town hall forum on health care in as many weeks. As a Senator, Obama was never good at voting on all the issues, but then again maybe he was to narcissistic to to vote for anything that wasn't his own idea. A couple old saws are being demonstrated again with his second "set-up" "pre-formated" forums: "If you can't win, change the rules, if you can't change the rules, ignore them." -Anonymous. "If you can't impress them with intelligence, baffle them with BS." - Frank Anderson.

CNN has a new poll out showing that Americans remain skeptical of Democrats’ approach to health reform. A majority in the poll, 54%, believe their insurance premiums will go up under the Obama plan, and only 17 percent believe their costs will go down. Further, 35% believe their family will be “worse off” under the President’s plan and only one in five believe their family “will be better off” if the President’s plan becomes law.

The CNN story claims that arguments about the pitfalls of a government-run insurance plan may not be registering with Americans. But previous polls have shown that when Americans hear about the consequences of government running health insurance, they don’t support such a plan. Last week an ABC/Washington Post poll found that if a government plan “caused many private insurers to go out of business because they couldn't compete -- as critics charge -- support plummets to 37 percent.”

That’s not the only problem with such a plan. Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) explained to the New Haven Independent why he is skeptical: “If we create a public option, the public is going to end up paying for it. And that’s a cost we can’t take on.” Indeed, the federal government is facing at least two years of deficits exceeding $1 trillion and President Obama’s budget would double the public debt in five years and triple it in ten. Lieberman further explained, “My fear is...[health care providers] would end up getting levels of reimbursement from the public plan...comparable to what they get today from Medicaid. . . . And Medicaid only pays them about 70% of their costs.”

President Obama has made a lot of assurances about his plan, including that it won’t add to the debt and that Americans won’t lose their current health coverage. But as Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell pointed out last week, "[W]hen Democrats predict their health care plan won’t cause people to lose their current insurance and won’t add to the national debt, Americans are right to be skeptical. They made the same kind of predictions about the stimulus bill. They said the money wouldn’t be wasted. Yet we’re already hearing about $3.4 million turtle tunnels and $40,000 to pay the salary of someone whose job is to apply for more stimulus money. The administration also predicted that if we passed the stimulus, the unemployment rate wouldn’t rise above 8%. Now they say unemployment will likely rise to 10%."

Folks - do you trust the government to run a nationalized health care program correctly? Do you trust government NOT to mess up the world's premier medical programs? Remember Social Security? Social Security payments do not come from a "trust" fund. There is no money in a "trust" fund. The government consumed all the funds. Now, benefits are paid out of current tax receipt including payroll taxes. It's like one giant Madoff ponzi scheme. The government is NOT designed to operate business ventures efficiently or effectively.

President Obama was challenged during the presidential campaign to debate in unscripted town hall forums. Obama couldn't operate "off script" back then nor can he do so today. When he goes off the teleprompter, he does so in a controlled and well scripted environment. Obama has perfected the art of baffling people with BS.

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Tags: health care, nationalized health care, Socialized medicine, US Congress, Washington D.C. To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

The Obama Doctrine

by William Warren:

Obama Sides With Marxists Over Honduras: Accuracy in Media reports a story by Cliff Kincaid which is the title of this post. It is important for Americans, especially conservatives, to note what really happened in Honduras and what actions our President and other government agencies are taking. There was NO "military coup." Honduras government agencies and courts took legal action. A new President, the former Vice President from the same political party, has been sworn in and new elections are planned. The military in Honduras followed their oaths to their country to preserve its constitution. I can only hope that American military officers remember that their oath of office is not to a president or a potentate but is to "preserve the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic." President Obama is calling the situation an "illegal Military coup" when the situation was both legal and constitutional. This begs the question, why? Why is Mr. Obama not supporting the legal transfer of power in Honduras? Why is he siding with the Marxist governments in South America?

A Great Day In Honduras: The sun shines bright on this new day with the expulsion of the former President Zelaya. In spite of what the press is saying, this is a great day. Zelaya had aligned himself with the communist leaders of the region and was moving the country in that direction. Of course, this made the investors and the business owners of the country very nervous. He started making agreements with Leftist governments without congressional approval and wouldn't listen to the judicial or legislative branches of the government who opposed such things.

In Honduras, Freedom Restored: The story out of Honduras is that the people of that stalwart little country have now taken it into their own hands to preserve their democracy in the most courageous action since they established their constitutional republic nearly three decades ago. Just as former Honduran President Jose Manuel Zelaya Rosales prepared to seize full power in direct violation of the nation's Constitution, the military leadership – with the backing of the people – removed him from power.

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Tags: Barack Obama, Honduras, Iran, JFK, Obama Doctrine, political cartoon, William Warren To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Obama's Presidential Approval Index Rating Falls

Today (6/30/09), the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll shows 33% of the nation's voters now Strongly Disapprove of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. While, 31% of the nation's voters now Strongly Approve . This gives Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -2 which matches the lowest level yet recorded.

Over the past two weeks, the Presidential Approval Index has stayed in a narrow range between +2 and -2. Fifty-seven percent (57%) of Democrats Strongly Approve while 60% of Republicans Strongly Disapprove.

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

Thousands Protest Obama Policies In Nashville

NewsChannel 5, Nashville: [Extracted] Yesterday, four thousand local protestors took over Legislative Plaza in Tennessee's Capital to protest a President Obama's new energy initiative by President Obama. The "tea party" protest also took aim at universal health care. . . . Protesters heard speeches from conservative talk radio hosts and a handful of Republican state lawmakers. Several waved "Don't Tread on Me" flags and homemade signs that included slogans like "Overthrow Congress" and "Revolt Against Socialism."

Protestors in Nashville believe it could cause energy bills to skyrocket. "It may triple or quadruple the cost of energy that you are going to be paying with your electric bill, your heating bill, the best case scenario is its just going to double," said talk radio host Steve Gill. Many of those in attendance also voiced their opinions against universal health care. Pamela Cain is one of them. Cain said she and her veteran husband have had a taste of government coverage. "We have had some bad experiences, so I wouldn't want to see anyone else go down that route," said Cain.

There was an overwhelming sense among protestors that government is getting too big and too intrusive. The conservative movement called for Obama to back down on spending, and get out of their lives.

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Tags: energy bill, federal spending, protest, Socialized medicine, tea party, Nashville, Tennessee To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Al Franken Wins Minnesota Senate Race

Minnesota’s Supreme Court ruled after an eight-month post-election battle that Democrat Al Franken has defeated former Senator Norm Coleman (R) in U.S. Senate race and is entitled to the seat. Coleman conceded at a news conference in St. Paul. Previously, he had urged the justices to throw out a lower court decision that Franken, a former comedian on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” won the Nov. 4 election by 312 votes. He had voiced concern that about 4,000 absentee ballots that were ruled invalid should be counted.

“We’re pleased,” said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs. He should be since Franken gives Democrats the 60 votes in the Senate needed to overcome any Republican filibuster on legislation. For the first time in many years, the government is controlled by a single "radical" political party that appears bent on transitioning the United States into a socialist system.

It is hard to envision how Minnesota could elected a Franken, a comedian and often crass person, to be their Senator. No thanks Minnesota! The above picture of Al Franken tells everything - it must have been the drunks, perverts and nuts (including ACORN) that voted for this person. And since Franken won, that doesn't say much for Minnesota or for that matter Norm Coleman. See also: Because I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it, people (at least in Minnesota) like me!
Tags: Al Franken, Minnesota, Norm Coleman, US Senate To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Alice in Medical Care

by Thomas Sowell in Townhall: Most political and media discussions of medical care have an air of unreality reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland. There is an abundance of catch-phrases but remarkably few coherent arguments.

Let's start at square one. Why is there alarm about American medical care? The most usual reason given is because its cost is high and rising. That is certainly true. We were not spending nearly as much on high-tech medical procedures in the past because there were not nearly as many of them, and we were not spending anything at all on some of the new pharmaceutical drugs because they didn't exist.

This general pattern is not peculiar to medical care. Cars didn't cost nearly as much in the past, when they didn't have air-conditioning, power steering and high-tech safety features. Homes were cheaper when they were smaller, had fewer bathrooms and lacked such conveniences as built-in microwave ovens. We would like to have all these things without the rising costs that come with them. But only with medical care is such wishful thinking taken seriously, with government regarded as a sort of fairy godmother who will give us the benefits without the costs.

A cynic is said to be someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. If so, then it is political cynicism to point to other countries that spend less on medical care, including some countries where there is "universal health care" provided "free" by their governments. Just as medical care, houses and cars were all cheaper when they lacked things that they have today, so medical care in other countries is cheaper when they lack many things that are more readily available in the United States.

There are more than four times as many Magnetic Resonance Imaging units (MRIs) per capita in the United States as in Britain or Canada, where there are government-run medical systems. There are more than twice as many CT scanners per capita in the United States as in Canada and more than four times as many per capita as in Britain. Is it surprising that such things cost money?

The cost of developing a new pharmaceutical drug is now about a billion dollars. Neither political rhetoric nor government bureaucracies will make those costs go away. We can, of course, refuse to pay these and other medical costs, just as we can refuse to buy air-conditioned homes with built-in microwave ovens. But that just means we pay attention only to prices and not to the value of what we get for those prices.

We can even refuse to pay for so many doctors. But that just means that we will have to wait longer to see a doctor-- as people do in countries with government-run medical systems. In Canada, 27% of the people who have surgery wait four months or more. In Britain, 38% wait that long. But only 5%of Americans wait that long for surgery.

Surgery may well cost less in countries with government-run medical systems-- if you count only the money cost, and not the time the patients have to endure the ailments that require surgery, or the fact that some conditions become worse, or even fatal, while waiting. A recent report from the Fraser Institute in Canada shows that patients there wait an average of ten weeks to get an MRI, just to find out what is wrong with them. A lot of bad things can happen in 10 weeks, ranging from suffering to death.

Politicians may talk about "bringing down the cost of medical care," but they seldom even attempt to bring down the costs. What they bring down is the price-- which is to say, they refuse to pay the costs. Anybody can refuse to pay any cost. But don't be surprised if you get less when you pay less. None of this is rocket science. But it does require us to stop and think before jumping on a bandwagon.

The great haste with which the latest government expansion into medical care is being rushed through Congress suggests that the politicians don't want us to stop and think. That makes sense, from their point of view, but not from ours.

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Tags: health care, nationalized health care, Socialized medicine, Thomas Sowell, Townhall To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Gov. Pawlenty Speaks to Arkansas Republicans

Video and Comments Complements of Jason Tolbert who attended the press briefing.
Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty spoke to the Republican Party of Arkansas Governor’s Dinner tonight in Little Rock. Before his speech, he spoke briefly with the press. . .

“My remarks tonight will be focused on ways to improve the Republican Party,” said Pawlenty. “We need it. We have not done very well in the last two election cycles. My speech will focus on our core beliefs and core values but applying them to the modern issues of our time.”

Gov. Pawlenty insteaded that this trip was not about laying groundwork for a future Presidential run, but instead he was here because he feels “strongly about the need to improve the party in Minnesota and across the country. I am going to accept invitation to go out and share my ideas and my energy to try and move the party forward and improve it. This is one of those efforts.”

Gov. Pawlenty addressed the impact of Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina on the Republican Party saying, “The situation involving Gov. Sanford is a sad one. My thoughts and prayers go out to Jenny and the family and I hope that as a family that can address and resolve those issue. But those kind of sad challenges are not limited to someone being a Republican or a Democrat.” When asked if Sanford should resign he said “that is going to have to be a decision for the people of South Carolina and Gov. Sanford to make.”

When asked about Gov. Huckabee’s prospects for the 2012 Presidential race (by me), Pawlenty said, “I love Gov. Huckabee. He is a friend of mine. And he and Janet are wonderful people. He knows that I am here and he welcomes that, and I would certainly welcome him to Minnesota. I consider him one of the best people in politics and in public service. He served this state so well as governor. I am just pleased and proud to call him a friend and Janet as well. My presence here has nothing to do with a concern about Gov. Huckabee.”

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Tags: Arkansas, Arkansas Republican Party, fundraiser, Little Rock, Minnesota, RPA, Tim Pawlenty To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Obama Sides With Marxists Over Honduras

Yesterday, ARRA News posted the story In Honduras, Freedom Restored. Accuracy in Media reports a story by Cliff Kincaid which is the title of this post. It is important for Americans, especially conservatives, to note what really happened in Honduras and what actions our President and other government agencies are taking. There was NO "military coup." Honduras government agencies and courts took legal action. A new President, the former Vice President from the same political party, has been sworn in and new elections are planned. The military in Honduras followed their oaths to their country to preserve its constitution. I can only hope that American military officers remember that their oath of office is not to a president or a potentate but is to "preserve the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic." President Obama is calling the situation an "illegal Military coup" when the situation was both legal and constitutional. This begs the question, why? Why is Mr. Obama not supporting the legal transfer of power in Honduras? Why is he siding with the Marxist governments in South America?

Kincaid writes [emphasis added]:

The so-called "military coup" in Honduras was a successful effort by Honduran patriots to preserve their constitutional system of government from an international alliance of communists and socialists backed by Iran. Not surprisingly, America's Marxist President has come down on the anti-American side.

If all of this is news to you, consider yourself a victim of the "state-run media," as Rush Limbaugh calls it. We are being bombarded with liberal media propaganda that a "military coup" took place in Honduras, and that the U.S. should therefore oppose it. Fox News, which has been trumpeting news about the "military coup," should be ashamed of itself for following the liberal media line.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), the ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, noted that the problem was that the deposed president, Manuel "Mel" Zelaya, was "moving to re-write the Honduran constitution to extend and expand his power, while retaliating against those who stand in his way."

The leftist Zelaya was democratically elected in 2005 in a narrow win (with less than a majority of the vote) but he has been attempting to unconstitutionally and illegally undercut the conservative majorities in the Congress. His main purpose has been to circumvent a prohibition on serving more than one term as president. With his departure, Honduras may have been spared a communist future.

Nevertheless, Obama and his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton quickly issued statements saying that his removal was somehow a violation of the Inter-American Democratic Charter. This was a clever ruse designed to disguise the fact that all of the major elements of constitutional power in Honduras, except for the increasingly unpopular and power-hungry president, acted on behalf of the people.

The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has joined with the U.N. General Assembly President, Communist Priest Miguel D'Escoto, to demand that Zelaya be restored to power.

The new president, Roberto Micheletti, has made it clear that Zelaya was removed because he had behaved in an unconstitutional manner. "I did not reach this position because of a coup," Micheletti said. "I am here because of an absolutely legal transition process." Micheletti was a member of Zelaya's Liberal Party but opposed his illegal and unconstitutional actions.

What happened is that the Legislative and Judicial branches of the government in Honduras, in conjunction with the armed forces, acted to maintain and defend their constitution from a power-mad president who was a puppet of Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez.

Blogger Jason Poblete commented that the Obama Administration "was quick to call the events in Honduras a coup. What has gone underreported, or not reported at all in the media or recognized by the Obama Administration, is that the democratically-elected Congress unanimously approved the change in leadership and impeached the President. If this was a constitutionally correct action why has the Obama Administration been so quick to judge and condemn?"

Claims of a "military coup" have appeared in the press because that is the way far-left officials of the Obama Administration have described it. The Administration has been just as quick to undermine freedom and democracy in Honduras as it was late in supporting the pro-freedom and pro-democracy demonstrators in Iran.

On June 28, a "Teleconference Background Briefing" was held with the major media by "two senior officials" who were guiding coverage of the events in Honduras but whose identities were protected from disclosure by the lapdog press. The transcript shows a New York Times reporter asking, "Is the U.S. Government calling this and considering this a coup d'état? Can you talk about the use of language? Some other governments have called it that."

The answer was, "...I would certainly characterize a situation where a president is forcibly detained by the armed forces and expelled from a country an attempt at a coup. We-I mean, we still see him as the constitutional president of Honduras. So it was an attempt at a coup. We don't think it was successful." The official is saying it wasn't successful because the Obama White House wants to work with the Marxist governments of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua (backed by Iran) to bring Zelaya back to power.

At the same time, however, the official conceded that the controversy in Honduras stemmed from the effort by Zelaya to maintain himself illegally and unconstitutionally in power through a referendum or "survey" he had no right to initiate. He explained, "The fundamental political divide within Honduras was whether or not this effort by President Zelaya was seen as constitutional and legal, or whether it was seen as illegitimate and unconstitutional. And several institutions, including the public ministry, which is their equivalent of Attorney General, the Supreme Court, and the Congress had declared this survey to be illegitimate and illegal." Notice how the U.S. official said that "the public ministry, which is their equivalent of Attorney General, the Supreme Court, and the Congress had declared this survey to be illegitimate and illegal."

He went on to say, "Obviously, it was the armed forces that detained the president today and expelled him from the country. But as we're seeing now with the naming of an interim president by the congress, this was an effort that has included other political institutions." Indeed, this was not a "military coup" in the traditional sense of the army acting unilaterally to depose a popular president. The Army was acting in accordance with the dictates of the other political institutions. Not only did the Congress and the Supreme Court act against Zelaya, the Catholic Church of Honduras-which is not under the sway of Marxist-oriented Liberation Theology-had opposed his illegal acts.

One question from a CNN reporter helped illustrate the incoherent nature of the Obama policy: "You said that you felt other institutions felt that it was illegal and unconstitutional, but did you think it was and did you advise the president not to invoke it?" The official replied, "Again, it's not up to us to determine what's legal or not within the context of Honduras. It was important for us to leave this to Honduran institutions to try to resolve." But that is exactly what happened when those institutions acted to remove the Marxist president, who is an ally of Castro and Chavez.

Asked if what Zelaya was doing "was in line with the constitution," the official answered in the negative. The official further added that "...from our point of view, what was important was not inserting ourselves and trying to make a determination of what was legal or illegal, but trying to insist that the Hondurans find a way to resolve this in a way that was in accord with their constitution." But the Hondurans have resolved it. Why doesn't the Obama White House stay out of it?

In the New York Times story about the "coup," the reporter waited until the fifth paragraph to note that "the [Honduran] Supreme Court issued a statement saying that the military had acted to defend the law against 'those who had publicly spoken out and acted against the Constitution's provisions.'" So it wasn't really a coup.

The headline over the Washington Post story said, "Honduran Military Ousts President," but the article noted that "the Honduran National Congress defiantly announced that Zelaya was out, and its members named congressional leader Roberto Micheletti the new president on Sunday afternoon. The Honduran Supreme Court also supported the removal of Zelaya, saying that the military was acting in defense of democracy."

So rather than destroy democracy, this action restored it. This is hardly a "military coup." There is no military official running Honduras today. And the former president wasn't shot but given exile. He's been told he can return but without the outside backing and interference of Chavez.

There is some question about whether Zelaya was impeached before or after the military removed him. But the point is that democratic forces acted together for the sake of their country. The timing is a matter that should be properly left to the people of Honduras and their democratically-elected institutions.

What the Obama Administration should be doing, under the circumstances, is protecting this democratic government from external threats from Chavez and Castro. Instead, it is working with Chavez and Castro to bring back to power a Marxist puppet.

Calls are already being heard from Obama's far-left base to destabilize Honduras by cutting off U.S. military aid to the government. Human Rights Watch, the George Soros-funded group, has come out with a statement denouncing the "military coup." Some of these far-left activists are claiming that Obama was behind the "coup," but this is obviously propaganda designed to force the Administration to use international bodies, such as the U.N. and the Organization of American States, in an effort to restore Zelaya to power.

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Tags: Accuracy in Media, Barack Obama, Cliff Kincaid, constitution, Freedom, George Soros, Honduras, Honduras Revolution, Jose Manuel Zelaya Rosales, media bias, term limits, Zelaya Coup To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Today in Washington D. C. - June 29, 2009 - Concern Expressed About Nominee Sotomayor

Senate is in recess until Monday, July 6. When the Senate returns, it will resume consideration of the fiscal year 2010 Legislative Branch appropriations bill, H.R. 2918. Also likely to have floor action when the Senate returns is the fiscal year 2010 Homeland Security appropriations bill.

On July 13, the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to begin hearings on the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. With the Supreme Court reversing Judge Sonia Sotomayor in its ruling on the Ricci case today, it’s ever more important for the Senate to take the time to thoroughly review her record, and not rush into a confirmation, despite Democrats’ hurry.

On Friday, ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Jeff Sessions wrote a letter to the White House asking for more details of Sotomayor’s time at the Puerto Rican Legal Defense Fund. According to the The New York Times, “Mr. Sessions said he also wanted information about an effort, possibly by White House officials, to search through boxes of material at the nonprofit group’s office, where some 300 boxes are kept in archives.”

Appearing on Fox News Sunday, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell noted the issue of the PRLDF boxes, saying, “[J]ust a day or so ago, we discovered that there are 300 boxes of additional material that has just been discovered from her time working with the Puerto Rican Legal Defense Fund. The committee needs to have access to that material and time to work through it so we know all the facts before we vote on a person who's up for a lifetime job.”

Speaking on the Senate floor last week, Sen. McConnell raised his concerns about Sotomayor’s handling of the Ricci case in light of President Obama’s “so-called empathy standard.” Sen. McConnell said, “Now, I don’t believe a judge should rule based on empathy, personal preferences or political beliefs. But if any case cried out for empathy, it would be this one. . . . But despite his hard work and high performance, the City deprived [firefighter Frank Ricci] of the promotion he earned.” So, Sen. McConnell asked, “Is this what the President means by ‘empathy’— where he says he wants judges to empathize with certain groups, but implicitly, not with others? If so, what if you’re not in one of those groups? What if you’re Frank Ricci?”

There is much in Judge Sotomayor’s record that deserves examination, including her ruling in the Ricci case which was reversed today by the Supreme Court and the documents pertaining to her work at the Puerto Rican Legal Defense Fund. Also, we need to review all of her prior decisions. With today's Supreme court's decision, 4 out of 6 of her decisions that have been appealed have been overturned by the Supreme Court. And for the two decisions upheld, one the Supreme Court rejected the reasoning for as erroneous. Would you hire a layer who's actions were ruled against 66% of the time? We would expect an Appellate Judge to either have a better record or to be under review for questionable judgement. Again - 66% of her appealed decisions have been overturned.

Wonder how many other cases should have been appealed? All together, hardly a track record to for Sotomayor to write home about. Since the Senate is considering her for a lifetime appointment, this less than satisfactory nominee by should be slowed down. In fact, if President Obama were concerned about the United States he would withdraw this nominee - but with his support of prior tax cheats, it is doubtful.

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Tags: nominee, SCOTUS, Sonia Sotomayor, Supreme Court, US Congress, US Senate, Washington D.C. To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Supreme Court Overturns Nominee Sonia Sotomayor Judgment

by Clint Bolick, Forbes: Today the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a New Haven, Conn., decision [5-4] to jettison a firefighter test that the city felt promoted too few minorities, overturning a ruling by Sonia Sotomayor, the appellate judge who likely will join the Court this October. . . .

The Court's majority agreed. In this case, the city painstakingly developed a promotion examination linked to job performance. However, as Justice Anthony Kennedy observed for the majority, "after the tests were completed, the raw racial results became the predominant rationale for the city's refusal to certify the results." When no blacks and only two Hispanics qualified for promotion, the city threw out the test rather than face an adverse-impact lawsuit from minority candidates. That, the Court ruled, violated the rights of the non-minority candidates who studied hard and passed the exam.

Judge Sotomayor has faced intense criticism for her appeals-court ruling that upheld the decision to throw out the examination because the city was between a legal rock and a hard place. Judge Jose Cabranes, her colleague and mentor on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, castigated the cursory decision for failing to confront "indisputably complex and far from well-settled questions." The Court corrected that deficiency, ruling that an employer need not fear an adverse-impact lawsuit unless there is a "strong basis in evidence" that the tests are discriminatory. Given New Haven's efforts to develop a fair test, it could not throw out the results based merely on a fear of litigation. . . .

Meanwhile, the Court remains closely divided on issues that go to the core of American values. Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation will not likely change the mix, because Justice David Souter, the man she will likely replace, votes consistently to uphold racial preferences. But the Court's decision sends a signal that as a justice, Sotomayor will have to give these issues far more thought and effort than she did in this case. . . .[Full Story]

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Tags: Connecticut, employment discrimination, New Haven, nominee, SCOTUS, Sonia Sotomayor, Supreme Court, SCOTUS To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!