*Don't let Anti-Free Speech Interest Groups Take Away Your Free Speech.
(Texas Alliance for Life) Please call and ask your state representative to oppose H.B. 1348, which would ban nonpartisan mailed voters guides and other forms of mailed voter education within 60 days of a general election and 30 days of a primary election. This bill would also ban mailed newsletters, church bulletins, announcements to candidate forums, and even invitations to social events if the name of a candidate is printed anywhere within.
Mailed Church Bulletins. If a church bulletin merely includes the name of someone who is on the ballot -- even in a prayer request such as "Please pray for state Representative Smith and other elected officials" -- that would be a violation of H.B. 1348 and would subject the pastor, staff, or elders to felony criminal liability.
Texas Alliance for Life and other pro-life groups cannot save lives unless we are able to communicate to the public! Nearly every Legislative session there are attempts to restrict the free speech of citizens groups and churches to educate their members and the public about where candidates stand on issues of interest. Anti-free speech organizations would love to ban our nonpartisan voters guides and newsletters.
H.B. 1348 by Craig Eiland (D-Galveston) is the latest attempt. However, H.B. 1348 is particularly dangerous because of its sweeping prohibitions and extremely severe penalties. A violation is a third-degree felony, which is punishable with 2-10 years of imprisonment and a fine of up to $10,000.
*UPDATE ON PARENTAL CONSENT ACT H.B. 1212, the Parental Consent Act (Phil King, R-Weatherford), restores parents' rights to protect their minor daughters from abortion. It requires abortion doctors to obtain the consent of parents before performing abortions on little girls in Texas. On Monday evening H.B. 1212 cleared a significant hurdle as the House State Affairs Committee voted 6-3 to recommend it to the full House. The next step is for the Texas House ‘Calendars Committee’ to schedule it for House debate.
Advance Directives Often Ignored In So Called 'Futile' Cases (Steve Jordahl, Citizen Link) Some hospitals may ignore your written end-of-life instructions. One lesson gained from the tragic death of Terri Schiavo is the importance of advance directives that make your end-of-life decisions known. But the Robert Powell Center for Medical Ethics has found that in 40 states, those directives might be ignored — even if they are legal, clear, and undisputed by family members.
Dorothy Timbs of the center explained that there comes a point when the body starts shutting down and preparing for the end. It's a medical concept known as "futility."
However, Timbs said, "this concept of futility has reached a place where there is a qualitative assessment: Is this person's life of such low quality that it's futile, in the doctor's mind, to attempt to save that life?”
The result, she added, is that, in most states, if you want life-saving treatment — or even food and fluids — there is no guarantee your wishes will be honored.
In other words, hospital ethics committees make the decision for you. "If you're not judged worthy enough, high enough on a quality scale, able to contribute enough," he said, "then it's not worth our resources and support as a society (to care for you)."
Jordan Lorence, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, said it's still important to have a directive.
Quoteworthy:-------"A day of decision is upon us. Whether it was the legalization of abortion, the banning of school prayer, the expulsion of the 10 Commandments from public spaces, or the starvation of Terri Schiavo, decisions by the courts have not only changed our nation's course, but even led to the taking of human lives. As the liberal, anti-Christian dogma of the left has been repudiated in almost every recent election, the courts have become the last great bastion for liberalism. For years activist courts, aided by liberal interest groups like the ACLU, have been quietly working under the veil of the judiciary, like thieves in the night, to rob us of our Christian heritage and our religious freedoms. Federal judges have
systematically grabbed power, usurping the constitutional authority that resides in the other two branches of government and, ultimately, in the American people." --Tony Perkins-Family Research Council
Lone Star State Not Alone In Protecting Marriage (Family Research Council) The Texas House of Representatives passed joint resolution 6 by 101-29 Monday ‘a state Constitutional marriage amendment.’ Texas legislators deserve a big longhorn cheer for their belief in traditional marriage. If the Senate passes the resolution then it will go to the voters this fall making Texas the 17th potential state to have a marriage amendment on its ballot this year. The Texas legislature meets once every other year.
Textbook Bill May Jeopardize Education (Free Market Foundation) H.B. 4, a bill which relates to the use of internet as the primary instructional material in public schools, passed the House and is now in the Senate Education Committee. This bill is very dangerous because it enables internet companies to supply digitized textbooks, which will not require the same evaluation and adoption process as current print textbooks. For more information or to learn how you can help, log on http://www.texaseagle.org/update/index.asp
Texas--Calls Needed To Support Anti-Discrimination Bill For College Scholarships (HSLDA 4/25/05)
Representative Charlie Howard introduced House Bill 530, which will ensure that homeschoolers are eligible for college scholarships. This is an important bill that will "even the playing field" for homeschoolers across the state. The bill prohibits universities in the State of Texas from discriminating against homeschoolers when granting scholarships for college tuition. Home School Legal Defense Association’s (HSLDA) Legislative Counsel, Tom Sanders testified in favor of the bill last week before the Higher Education Committee. Representative Howard has asked us to call the members of the Higher Education Committee now to ensure the passage of H.B. 530. Thank you in advance for your calls. They could vote on H.B. 530 at any time. Texas Higher Education Committee Phone # (512) 463-0782
Creationist: Montana T-Rex Bone Supports Biblical Story, Not Darwin's (Allie Martin-AgapePress) - Evolutionists are trying to spin the latest archeological discovery to line up with their erroneous theories of the Earth's history.
Recently, scientists in Montana announced they had found soft, flexible tissues inside the bones of a Tyrannosaurus rex. Forced to break up what they believe is a thigh bone of the T. rex in order to fit it onto a helicopter for transport, the scientists were reportedly surprised to discover soft tissue and complete blood cells inside the bone. Evolutionists estimate the fossil at from 70 to more than 80 million years old. However, AIG president Ken Ham says the latest discovery poses a major problem for proponents of the theory of evolution. "What they don't like" he asserts, "is the fact that we've given dinosaur’s their rightful place in history alongside of man, as the Bible would tell us."
The evolutionists "don't like that," the supporters of Darwin's theories "hate creationists using dinosaurs because it's one of their icons."
The T. rex find is further evidence of the creationist contention that most dinosaur bones were fossilized during a catastrophic event several thousand years ago -- not several million years, as evolutionists claim.
The Democrats Are HYPOCRITES, and it's time everyone KNEW it. (William Greene, President RightMarch.com)
George Soros and MoveOn.org have joined forces with Democrats Hillary Clinton, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and the liberal media, with one purpose in mind: to take down Texas Congressman Tom DeLay, the leading conservative in Washington, D.C. These Democrats accuse Tom DeLay of ethics violations, but what the liberal media isn't telling you is: Democrats criticize Tom DeLay for taking overseas trips - but Democrats took over SIX HUNDRED more trips than Republicans... and the top five trip takers in order of most money spent on trips from 2000-2004 were all Democrats!
Pornographers Set To Go After Children With Cell Phones (Donald E. Wildmon, Chairman-OneMillionDads.com)
Soon pornography will be available to our children over their cell phones. Playboy hopes to make their porn available to the 170 million cell phone subscribers throughout North America. No doubt scores of other pornographers will follow Playboy's lead.
An independent study by International Data Corporation (IDC) revealed that 33.2% of cell phone users in America, more than 55 million, are children and teens between the ages of 5 and 19.
Faith 'War' Rages In U.S., Judge Says (Peter Wallsten Times Staff Writer) WASHINGTON — Just days after a bitterly divided Senate committee voted along party lines to approve her nomination as a federal appellate court judge, California Supreme Court Justice Janice Rogers Brown told an audience last Sunday that people of faith are embroiled in a "war" against secular humanists who threatened to divorce America from its religious roots. "There seems to have been no time since the Civil War that this country was so bitterly divided. It's not a shooting war, but it is a war," she said,
That is why the abortion crowd, the homosexual rights movement and the radical secularists are all demanding that Senate liberals block her confirmation." Howard Wilson hwilson@texasmoralaction.org