BMAT Moral Action Committee Watchman Report #72 02/24/2006
Click on an article to view OR scroll through the complete document:
1. Court expected to Overturn Previous 5-4 Decision Approving Inhumane Partial-Birth Abortion
2. Congress Considers Stopping Courts' Censorship of Prayers
3. South Dakota Did It! South Dakota Abortion Ban Passed; Awaits Governor’s Signature
4. Christians website are attracting many from the Muslim world
5. Group Claims Cancer Society is Hiding Abortion Breast Cancer Link
6. Gambling Industry Emerges as the most dominant Lobbyist interest group in the U.S.
7. Thirty States are working Rein in Eminent Domain
8. Walk to Reclaim America Completes One-Fourth of Cross Country Journey
9. Conservatives tout experience for state Supreme Court primary
10. Christian Coalition Applauds Congressman Goodlatte’s Internet Gambling Prohibition Act 11. Introduced with over 100 Co-Sponsors
11. No US Tax Money for Hamas
12. Israel halts funds for Palestinians, Abbas slams move
13. A Commission Report: Exposes ugly Corruption at the highest levels of Government
14. Religious Group Disappointed and Troubled that President Bush has not Publicly Responded to Alabama Church Burnings
15. Former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore Calls on President Bush to Defend Religious Freedom of Military Chaplains
16. Grassroots group in the Crosshairs
17. Dangerous ACLU lawsuit could keep US from Stopping Radical Muslim Terrorists plot in time!
18. Moral Poverty is the Problem in New Orleans--Not Lack of Money, Says Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson
19. Follow the Money: Radical Pro-Aborts Fund Evangelical Climate Initiative
20. New York Appeals Court Rules against Gay “Marriage”
21. Marriage on the Ballot--and off
22. Does Dr. Dobson’s Bill Reward Homosexuals?
23. Assistant US House of Representatives Majority Leader Shadegg?
24. Internet Gambling - A Bad Bet!
25. Yahoo and AOL will guarantee access to your email inbox for senders who pay $.0025 per message
26. Ohio Censors Science Options
27. More Christians Targeted as Bloody Cartoon Violence Continues
28. Ghana, Africa: Islam Envelopes a Once-Christian Nation
29. Australia has Abolished Free Speech--Now Illegal to Speak against Islam
30. Australian Leading Democrat on RU-486 – Some May Die but It’s worth the Risk
31. Bauer Slams Gore for 'Vitriolic' Anti-American Speech in Saudi Arabia
32. European Continent No Longer a Bastion of Christianity
33. Israelis Insists on Need for Defensible Borders
34. Report: U.S. wants Iran strike by 2007
35. Probe finds terrorists in U.S. 'training for war'
36. An extra timely letter to the Danish Prime Minister
Court expected to Overturn Previous 5-4 Decision Approving Inhumane Partial-Birth Abortion
Feb. 21 2006 Christian Newswire
Christian Coalition Says: 'Elections Have Consequences' -- Court Expected to Overturn Previous 5-4 Decision Approving Inhumane Practice of Partial Birth Abortion by End of this Year.
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ASHINGTON, the Supreme Court announced today that it would rule on the constitutionality of the ban on the inhumane practice of partial-birth abortion. President George W. Bush signed the law banning such abortions during November 2003, but judges in the states of California, Nebraska and New York overturned the law. In the previous Supreme Court decision regarding partial birth abortion in 2000, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor provided the tie-breaking vote in the 5-4 decision overturning the ban on such abortions.
The President of the Christian Coalition of America, Roberta Combs said, "Today's decision by the Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of the ban on partial birth abortion gives evidence to the fact that elections have consequences. President Bush promised in both 2000 and 2004 that his Supreme Court nominees would be conservative and he delivered on that promise. We are confident that his second nominee, Justice Samuel A. Alito, will vote -- unlike the justice he replaced, Sandra Day O'Connor -- to uphold the ban on partial birth abortions and this terrible practice will finally be ended."
The Supreme Court will hear the arguments for and against the 2003 law banning partial birth abortions later this fall and the court's probable 5-4 decision upholding such a law will probably be issued before the 2006 elections.
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Congress Considers Stopping Courts' Censorship of Prayers
Feb. 22 2006 Citizen Link staff reports
A federal judge excised Jesus' name from prayers in a state legislature.
T
he effort to protect prayer in state legislatures from the censorship of federal courts continues to gain support.
U.S. Rep. Mike Sodrel, R-Ind., introduced his bill in response to a federal judge who prohibited prayers that mention Jesus by name in the Indiana Legislature.
Sodrel said he doesn't think judges should have the power to regulate religious speech — especially a prayer that is part of state legislative proceedings.
"If a federal judge can restrict speech on the floor — religious speech, prayer — then they can restrict all prayer and all speech," he said. "I don't think that's appropriate. I think each legislative body is perfectly capable of determining its own rules of operation."
Eric Miller, founder of Advance America, a pro-family group in Indiana, told Family News in Focus that Sodrel's bill would have a broad impact.
"This would help protect legislative bodies in all the other 49 states," he said. "It may even be broadened to protect school boards or also city counsels or town counsels or town board or county commissioner meetings around the nation."
Curt Smith with the Indiana Family Institute said the bill sends a strong message that judges have overstepped their bounds.
"I think it's a very important statement that the Congress is going to police the federal courts and that especially when it comes to religious speech in a place that's important as the well of the legislative chamber," he said. "Congress is going to be very vigilant and keep the courts out of that place."
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South Dakota Did It! South Dakota Abortion Ban Passed; Awaits Governor’s Signature
Feb. 23 Christian Newswire
P
IERRE, SD, Yesterday, South Dakota became the first state since the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision decriminalizing abortion, to pass a statewide ban on the procedure. The State Senate gave final approval to the abortion ban, HB 1215, with an overwhelming vote of 23-12. The measure now awaits the signature of Governor Mike Rounds, who has not indicated if he intends to sign the bill into law.
Operation Rescue President Troy Newman was in Pierre last week to hand-deliver letters to lawmakers from Miss Norma McCorvey in support of the abortion ban. McCorvey was the “Jane Roe” who filed the original petition that would eventually allow abortion in America. McCorvey has since has since converted to Christianity and now actively works to end abortion.
“We are encouraged that South Dakota has shown courageous leadership in protecting the most vulnerable among us, the pre-born,” said Newman “We urge Gov. Rounds to sign this historic and bold legislation,” said Newman. Gov. Rounds has expressed concern that the law will certainly be challenged, and that the cost of litigating this legislation to the Supreme Court level will be a difficult burden for his small state to bear.
“We understand Gov. Rounds financial concerns about the cost of litigating this law and promise, again, to do all we can to network with pro-life and pro-family groups to help insure there are adequate resources to defend this bill all the way to the Supreme Court,” said Newman. “We can’t put a cost on protecting human life.”
Action Items:
-Please call or E-Mail South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds to encourage him to sign the South Dakota Abortion Ban into law.
Contact information:
Gov. Mike Rounds
605-773-3212
To email Gov. Rounds, click here.
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Christians website are attracting many from the Muslim world
Feb 21 2006 Prophecy News Watch
W
hile hard-line Muslim nations make accessing Christians websites difficult, it's not impossible and these websites are making an incredible impact for the kingdom.
Strategic Resource Group (SRG) helps organizations reach out to the lost inside the 10/40 Window. SRG reports Christian websites are receiving nearly 9 million hits per month from the Middle East. One Christian organization hosting chat rooms for Arabic-speaking web users estimates that more than 42,000 people visit those sites daily.
About 2,000 Arabic language Bibles are downloaded from the Internet each month. One organization estimates that 20 people per month are giving their hearts to Christ as a result of learning about the Christian faith on these websites.
Although some Islamic governments try to block these websites, the Internet generally knows no borders. More than half of the population in the Middle East is 25 years old or younger, and many of these young people own computers or have access to them. This technology has connected people together through e-mail groups, networks, blogs and chat rooms.
Christian organizations are seizing the Internet opportunity to create communities of people who can openly talk about faith issues in a safe environment. In the greater Middle East, the Internet represents a crucial growth sector for communicating the Christian message in Arabic, Farsi and regional languages.
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Group Claims Cancer Society is Hiding Abortion Breast Cancer Link
Feb. 21 2006 Citizen Link staff reports
Coalition claims money, politics trumping science.
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reast cancer rates are up in the U.S., and one national group is calling on the American Cancer Society (ACS) to tell the full story. The Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer is challenging the ACS to acknowledge a link between abortion and breast cancer.
The American Cancer Society has agreed that changes in reproductive patterns are a contributing factor to the incidence of breast cancer, but stopped short of connecting abortions with an increase in risk.
Joan Schrammeck, communications director for the Feminist Women's Health Center in Washington, flatly denied any link.
"Having an induced abortion is not associated with an increase in breast cancer risk," she said. "The scientific evidence is just not there."
But Karen Malec, president of the Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer, strongly disagreed with that assessment. Her group has also accused the ACS of a cover-up.
"It is intellectually dishonest of them to deny that abortion has anything at all to do with breast cancer," she told Family News in Focus.
Breast cancer rates are expected to reach more than a quarter-million cases this year. Malec said it's wrong to deny women all the information about the risk factors.
And she said she suspects the ACS stance has more to do with money than science.
"It's simply not good for the fundraising business," she said, "to tell women that their abortions may have caused or contributed to the incidence of breast cancer."
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Visit the Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer Web site.
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Gambling Industry Emerges as the most dominant Lobbyist interest group in the U.S.
Feb. 22 2006 Pete Winn Citizen Link associate editor
Lobbyists are spending millions to influence legislation.
G
ambling lobbyists have the best access to politicians in Washington, D.C., and in state capitals around the nation.
Chad Hills, gambling analyst at Focus on the Family Action, said the recent scandals and allegations underscore how freely the gambling money has been flowing.
"The gambling industry is insidious in the way it operates," he said. "It has a tremendous amount of money to offer during campaigns and elections — this is a $73 billion dollar industry when you combine all forms of gambling — and they can make a lot of promises to a lot of people."
John Kindt, a business professor at the University of Illinois, said the gambling lobby is probably the most dominant interest group in the U.S.
"Recent scandals have shown that our government can probably be called 'the best government that money can buy,' " he said. "Now the casinos are making these contributions legally, but there's basically unlimited dollars to put into lobbying and into political campaigns."
Indeed, industry lobbyists spent more than $11 million to advance gambling in 2004, according to the Center for Responsive Politics — with the money going toward and against gambling legislation as well as political campaigns.
What's more, gambling's chief lobbyist — the American Gaming Association's Frank Fahrenkopf Jr. — has also emerged as one of the most important players in Capitol Hill politics.
In a word, Fahrenkopf, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, has clout.
"He currently serves as an advisory-board member to the Young Republicans National Committee," Hills said. "He's a co-chair of the presidential-debates commission, and in 1995, out of the gambling industry's effort to stave off a tax, he became the CEO and president of the American Gaming Association — gambling's lobbying arm."
Last July, Fahrenkopf and Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn co-hosted a fundraiser reception for the Young Republicans in Las Vegas.
Make no mistake, Hills said, the front man for the industry is squeaky clean and has not been implicated in any scandals. Moreover, gambling interests have hedged their bets — contributing almost as much money to Democratic candidates and lawmakers as to Republicans.
The experts say what is indisputable is the industry is doing everything it can to push its agenda upon the nation — and has been very successful.
"As of 2006, there were 443 commercial casinos operating in 11 states," Hills said. "But in the first two weeks of the year there were more than 30 gambling bills proposed in various states."
Moreover, there are also about 400 casinos operated by Indian tribes in 30 states — with more waiting to open.
With so much money being thrown around, it wouldn't be surprising if there was corruption attached.
"In Pennsylvania, there have been a number of allegations of political corruption going on between the gambling industry and state legislators, to get 61,000 slot machines into that state," Hills added.
Dianne Berlin, vice president of the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling, is fighting the expansion of gambling in Pennsylvania. The industry, she said, has made pie-in-the-sky promises, and Pennsylvania lawmakers have deliberately ignored the down-to-earth facts — all the while refusing to listen to the public.
"According to (economist) Earl Grinols, the economic costs of a casino — in terms of increased crime and social ills — outweigh the benefits by a factor of nearly 6-to-1," Berlin said.
"For every video slot machine, you lose two jobs in the feeder-market economy," Berlin added. "What are we doing? It is insanity to say, 'We need to have casinos or we need slot machines.' But it's happening because the gambling industry can afford to pay for the access to our elected officials."
Hills, meanwhile, said it's important to keep everything in perspective.
"More money is spent on gambling each year than on movies, concerts, sporting events and amusement parks combined," he pointed out. "It's a huge amount of money. And with money — in Washington, D.C. — comes power and influence. So it's not a stretch at all to say that the gambling industry has a definite foothold in the nation's capital and on our politicians.
"I can only hope that the recent federal exposure of what seems to be a bribery scandal in Washington will show that gambling money does corrupt the political process, and it's best if politicians don't associate with gambling money at all."
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
To learn more about the high costs of gambling to our society, please see the Focus on Social Issues Web site.
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Thirty States are working Rein in Eminent Domain
Feb. 21 2006 Citizen Link staff reports
Supreme Court decision left private property vulnerable.
I
n response to the U.S. Supreme Court's Kelo decision last June, 30 state legislatures are now considering laws to limit the power of eminent domain.
The high court ruled that communities could seize private property in order to hand it over to developers — with an eye on increasing the tax base.
Patricia Van Egmund is facing the loss of her home in Niagara Falls, N.Y. where she's lived for 56 years. It's about to be demolished to make room for the expansion of an Indian casino.
"It's not just my house. I mean, it's where I live, it's where I work, my tenant upstairs. I'm losing a lot with them taking it," she told Family News in Focus. "Just because they say it's their land, they can just come and do it. And we don't have a say in it, which isn't right."
New York and 29 other states are working to prevent situations like Van Egmund's through new laws.
Just two examples: Ohio approved a one-year moratorium on eminent domain for economic development. In Michigan, a constitutional amendment will be on the ballot in November to limit eminent domain.
Sean Rushton, executive director of the Committee for Justice, said cases scheduled to come before the U.S. Supreme Court could also help rein in abuses.
"Depending on how the court decides those cases," he said, "it could also mark the beginning of a change of direction in terms of reestablishing and bolstering private property rights."
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Walk to Reclaim America Completes One-Fourth of Cross Country Journey
Feb. 20 2006 Christian Newswire
G
ALLUP, New Mexico, Rick and Jane McKinney have just passed the one-quarter mark of their cross country walk. The walk began on January 1st at Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles and has covered over 776 miles. The McKinneys have walked on Interstate highways, local roads and streets, railroad tracks, across the Mojave Desert, over mountains and through streams.
The Walk To Reclaim America which will cover nearly 2900 miles and conclude in Washington D.C. on July 4th, 2006, is drawing attention to what Mr. McKinney says is the most important task before America today. "Our nation must return to the faith, freedoms, and family values of our Founding Fathers. These men were people of deep and abiding faith and there is a concerted effort by many in our country to ‘rewrite’ our country’s history devoid of that faith."
In addition to praying for our nation and its people as they walk, the McKinneys are speaking in churches whenever and wherever they are invited. "We want Christians to know that it’s not too late for our nation. We can still make a difference and reclaim this country for God if we will let our voice be heard," says McKinney.
"But the most exciting part of the walk by far has been interacting with people one on one," say Jane McKinney. "We have had the opportunity to speak with hundreds of people about the gospel. We have shared Jesus with people of different colors, different income levels, different jobs, and different religions. We’ve bought homeless people meals, prayed with people who are in need on the streets, helped semi- truck drivers get directions, assisted people with car trouble, and tried to spread the love of Christ to as many people as possible."
The McKinneys are currently walking through New Mexico and may be reached by calling their toll free number which is 1-866-462-7464. Further information about their walk (including maps, updates and pictures) can be obtained at their website, www.walktoreclaimamerica.com.
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Conservatives tout experience for state Supreme Court primary
Sunday, Feb.19 2006 Chuck Lindell American-Statesman
In only GOP contest for bench, one-time justice hopes to repeat upset of Perry a
ppointee.
Five of the nine Republican Texas Supreme Court justices are up for re-election this year, but only one faces a primary challenger, and it's a classic matchup between political outsider and insider.
Justice Don Willett was appointed to the state's highest civil court by Gov. Rick Perry in August after a career that followed George W. Bush from the Texas Governor's Mansion to the White House.
His challenger is Steven Wayne Smith, an Austin lawyer hoping to return to the Supreme Court by repeating his shocking upset of 2002, when Smith, despite being vastly outspent, defeated another Perry appointee to fill an unexpired term.
Both men have strong conservative credentials andsay experience, or lack of it, will be a central issue in the March 7 primary.
Smith said Willett had no judicial experience before joining the court.
"More important, he never had argued an appeal and has never tried a case in trial court," Smith said. "Since he joined the court, he has authored no opinions. That's pretty stark."
In contrast, Smith said, he wrote 16 opinions during 25 months on the court, including one hailed by a Baylor University law professor as a landmark.
Smith also founded and runs the Texas Legal Foundation, a nonprofit conservative law firm now working on behalf of toll road opponents.
"You just have to believe that if people are informed of my qualifications, versus Willett, that I'll get their vote," he said.
Willett said he brings a refreshingly varied legal résumé to the court.
After almost three years in private practice, Willett became Bush's lawyer in 1996 and worked on his White House transition team. Willett also served as special assistant to the president and in the White House office of faith-based initiatives.
Willett said his greatest exposure to the law came when he returned to Texas to be chief legal counsel for Attorney General Greg Abbott. Willett likened his time on the office's opinion committee to service on an "in-house judicial chambers," where written opinions are the final word on Texas law unless a court intercedes.
"I think I am perhaps the only Supreme Court justice in history to combine successful judicial and executive branch service on the state and federal levels, plus private practice," Willett said.
Money will be a major campaign factor.
Smith, shunned by the party apparatus, is committed to spending $50,000 on his campaign, most from his own pocket. He spent less than $10,000 to defeat then-Justice Xavier Rodriguez in the 2002 Republican primary, but many observers think voters rewarded Smith's Anglo name in a race of relatively anonymous candidates.
Willett had raised almost $600,000 by mid-January and expects to top $1 million. Contributors include major law firms and GOP stalwarts, including $25,000 from Texans for Lawsuit Reform, $10,000 from Houston home builder Bob Perry and $5,000 from San Antonio businessman James Leininger.
The primary winner will face Democrat Bill Moody, an El Paso state district judge, and Libertarian Wade Wilson, a Wimberley lawyer, in November.
Steven Wayne Smith Age: 44
Occupation: Lawyer
Education: Bachelor's degree in business administration, University of Texas-Arlington, 1983; law degree, UT, 1986.
Experience: Texas Supreme Court justice, 2002-04; staff lawyer for Texas secretary of state, 1987-88; legislative counsel for Texas Legislature, 1989-92; private law practice focusing on civil law.
Worth noting: Filed Hopwood lawsuit to eliminate race in admissions at the UT School of Law, winning at trial and on appeal.
Don Willett Age: 39
Occupation: Texas Supreme Court justice
Education: Bachelor's degrees in economics, public administration and finance, Baylor University, 1988; master's degree in political science, law degree, Duke University, 1992.
Experience: Private law practice, 1993-96; then-Gov. George W. Bush's lawyer, 1996-2000; special assistant for domestic policy to President Bush and deputy assistant attorney general at the Justice Department, 2001-03; chief legal counsel for Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, 2003-05.
Worth noting: Appointed to the Supreme Court by Gov. Rick Perry in August.
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Christian Coalition Applauds Congressman Goodlatte’s Internet Gambling Prohibition Act Introduced with over 100 Co-Sponsors
Feb. 16 2006 Christian Newswire
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ASHINGTON, Christian Coalition of America commends Congressman Bob Goodlatte, (R-VA), for introducing his "Internet Gambling Prohibition Act" with over 100 co-sponsors. The Wire Act passed years ago by the United States Congress prohibits gambling over telephone wires. However, it is unclear as to whether or not using the Internet to operate a gambling business is illegal. Congressman Goodlatte's bill amends the Wire Act to make it clear that its prohibitions include Internet gambling by modernizing the Act after the many new technological developments since the Act was passed. The Goodlatte bill when it becomes law will expand the existing prohibition to include all bets or wagers, not merely bets or wagers on
sporting events or contests.
The President of the Christian Coalition of America, Roberta Combs said, "Christian Coalition of America commends Congressman Goodlatte for introducing and the over 100 Members of the U. S. House of Representatives for co-sponsoring the "Internet Gambling Prohibition Act" which will do much to stop the scourge of gambling on the Internet. It behooves Congress to pass Congressman Goodlatte's "Internet Gambling Prohibition Act" this year before gambling on the Internet spirals out of control."
The Goodlatte bill has several goals including: updating the Wire Act to cover all forms of gambling and new technologies; increasing penalties for violations of the Wire Act including up to 5 years in prison; prohibiting credit card use for illegal gambling; and providing additional law enforcement tools to combat illegal gambling. The "Internet Gambling Prohibition Act" also respects states' rights and the bill leaves the regulation of wholly intrastate betting or wagering to the states with tight controls to be sure that it does not extend beyond their borders or to minors.
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No US Tax Money for Hamas
Feb. 16 2006 Gary Bauer American Values
T
hat was the message delivered this week to the administration from a virtually unanimous United States Congress, which passed a resolution offered by Senator John Thune of South Dakota stating that no “United States assistance” (your tax dollars) should be provided to the Palestinian Authority if it is controlled by any political party that calls for the destruction of Israel, as Hamas does. Senator Thune’s resolution was approved unanimously in the Senate and passed last night in the House 418-to-1. (Rep. Neil Abercrombie of Hawaii was the lone “No” vote.) While Senator Thune’s resolution would allow Hamas to receive funding if it recognized Israel’s right to exist, most Americans take a much stronger stand. According to the Gallup poll I quoted yesterday, only 30% of Americans would approve of aid to the Palestinian Authority under a “rehabilitated”
Hamas leadership. Fifty-seven percent of Americans, however, oppose giving any aid at all so long as Hamas remains in power! Among the other findings of this poll, “Republicans (77%) are significantly more likely to sympathize with the Israelis than are Democrats (50%) or Independents (50%).”
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Israel halts funds for Palestinians, Abbas slams move
Feb. 20 2006 Nidal al-Mughrabi Yahoo news Reuters
I
srael halted its monthly transfer of millions of dollars to the Palestinian Authority ahead of the formation of a Hamas-led cabinet, a move President Mahmoud Abbas said had plunged the Palestinians into a "financial crisis."
Israel's government made the decision days after Washington, the Jewish state's biggest ally, asked the Palestinian Authority to return $50 million of its own aid to ensure it does not reach Hamas. The Islamic group is sworn to Israel's destruction.
Israel and the United States have called on other nations to boycott Hamas, which crushed Abbas's long-dominant Fatah faction in a January 25 election, winning 74 parliamentary seats, until it disarms and recognizes the Jewish state and interim peace deals.
"Unfortunately, the pressures have begun and the support and the aid started to decrease ... therefore we are currently in a real financial crisis," Abbas told reporters in Gaza, ahead of a meeting this week with Hamas leaders to discuss a unity cabinet.
In an apparent nod to international calls to avoid adding to Palestinian hardship, interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's cabinet decided against implementing tougher measures Israeli defense officials had proposed to try to weaken Hamas.
These had included a ban on the entry of Palestinian workers into Israel -- several thousand are allowed in daily -- and a tightening of restrictions on the movement of Palestinians between the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank.
Instead, the cabinet announced a permanent halt to the monthly transfer of about $50 million in tax revenues Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinians each month. Israel said last month such payments would no longer be automatic.
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told reporters Israel would "work with the international community to make it so that ... on the humanitarian level, Palestinian lives are not hurt."
UNITY PALESTINIAN GOVERNMENT
Abbas said Palestinian officials would discuss the return of the U.S. funding with U.S. envoys next week.
He said he would discuss with Hamas officials on Monday the formation of a unity government and a parliamentary speech in which he called for the cabinet to recognize past peace deals with Israel and commit to pursuing statehood through talks.
"It is true that there are internal and foreign challenges but we believe that we are capable" of living up to the challenges," Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas's choice for prime minister, told Qatar-based al-Jazeera television.
The Hamas leader said the new government would "hold on to the rights and fixed principles and be firm on this side and at the same time to be flexible and realistic."
Haniyeh, 43, is widely viewed by Palestinians as a pragmatist who has forged good relations with rival factions.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said leaders would also meet heads of other factions, including militant groups, on Monday in a bid to form "the largest national coalition possible."
Despite calls by Israel and the United States to boycott the militant group, Russia has said it would invite Hamas leaders for talks in Moscow. Abbas said the world should "not punish the Palestinian people for their democratic choice."
Washington and the European Union, which says it might also cut aid, do not want to push the Palestinian Authority to collapse or seek funds from nations like Iran. Haniyeh said the cabinet would seek aid from Arab states to make up for the loss.
In fresh violence, Israeli forces shot dead two Palestinians in Balata refugee camp in the West Bank during a stone-throwing confrontation while an airstrike in Gaza killed two Palestinian militants who the army said had been planting a bomb.
(Additional reporting by Mohammed Assadi in Ramallah, Jeffrey Heller in Jerusalem and Inal Ersan in Dubai)
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A Commission Report: Exposes ugly Corruption at the highest levels of Government
Feb. 18 2006 Jeff Mazzella President Center for Individual Freedom
This report might ruin Hillary Clinton's chances to run for president and even jeopardize her reelection campaign?
D
id you know that Democratic Senators Byron Dorgan, Carl Levin, Dick Durbin, John Kerry and Congressman Henry Waxman, with the help of Democratic judges, suppressed key portions of this report?
Did you know that the suppressed sections reveal some of the most obscene abuses of power in the history of the presidency?
If you've never heard of the Barrett Commission Report, I'm not surprised. The liberal news media continues to refuse to give the story the coverage it deserves. They don't want you to know that this unexploded bombshell exists.
Here are the facts:
On May 24, 1995, David Barrett was appointed to head a commission investigating President Clinton's Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros, who was accused of paying hush-money to his ex-mistress, committing tax fraud, and lying to the FBI.
During the course of his investigation, Mr. Barrett uncovered a scandal that dwarfed the Cisneros fiasco -- the Clinton Administration's use of the IRS and the Justice Department to bully, intimidate, and silence political enemies.
For the next several years, Mr. Barrett and his team -- initially alerted to the abuse of power by a whistle blower at the IRS -- widened their investigation to include the IRS (headed by Hillary Clinton's old college chum, Margaret Milner Richardson), the Justice Department (headed by Clinton crony Janet Reno), and the White House itself (headed by co-presidents Bill and Hillary).
The Barrett Report discusses in detail the cases of people whom the IRS and the Justice Department persecuted on orders from the White House. These included women who had accused President Clinton of sexual misconduct and even rape: e.g., Paula Jones, Juanita Broderick, and Gennifer Flowers. All three were targeted for audit by the Clinton-controlled IRS.
And These Women Were Not the Only Ones
The White House ordered the FBI to send over the personnel files of hundreds of Republicans who served in the Bush Administration. Is it possible that the Clintons turned this highly sensitive information over to the Democratic National Committee to use as political ammunition in future elections?
Hillary wanted to hand over the lucrative White House Travel Office to one of "our people" so -- according to a White House insider -- she ordered the firing of Travel Office Bill Dale and six of his employees. And when Dale protested, she ordered the FBI to "get" him.
And here's the most sinister ploy of all: When the Clintons found out that Barrett was investigating their outrageous use of the IRS and Justice Department, they ordered surveillance of Barrett himself and his team.
Question: With the suppression of the Barrett report, why have all the high-profile liberal organizations that claim to fight government corruption gone mute?
Answer: They're only concerned with alleged rights violations by Republicans. On Monday, I ran a search on the Common Cause website for the Barrett Report. The result: "nothing found." The featured story? Jack Abramoff!
This is a HUGE story!
The Barrett Report could contain evidence of shocking criminal activity by the Clinton White House.
The suppression of this report by the Democratic leadership is equally shocking, equally vile, equally worthy of front-page coverage.
Some of the biggest names in the U.S. Senate have worked to keep the truth from the American people in order to protect their political allies.
If the Barrett Report comes out before the general public, liberals will be wiped out in the mid-term elections and Hillary Clinton will be fighting for her political life.
Why Is This Story Still Under Wraps?
How did the Democrats manage to hide this?
Here's how they operated:
When the Barrett Report was complete in 2004, Clinton lawyers set out to suppress the radioactive document in its entirety or to excise those parts dealing with criminal activity on the part of the White House. Team Clinton filed some 140 motions designed to delay the Barrett Report or kill it outright. For over a year, Clinton's legal team stalled its publication.
As columnist Robert Novak reported: "An IRS whistleblower told Barrett of an unprecedented cover-up. The informant said a regional IRS official had formulated a new rule enabling him to transfer an investigation of Cisneros to Washington to be buried by the Justice Department. Barrett's investigators found Lee Radek, head of Justice's public integrity office, determined to protect President Clinton."
Senators Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and John Kerry (D-MA) attempted to slip a provision into the Iraq-war spending bill that would have suppressed the ENTIRE Barrett Report.
Eventually, Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) -- supported by Senator Carl Levin (D-MI), Senator Kerry, and Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA) -- slyly stuck a provision in a 2005 appropriations bill that gave three judges the power to censor the report.
And here's the kicker: Two key Republican lawmakers -- Senator Kit Bond (R-MO) and Representative Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) -- agreed!!!
Bond and Knollenberg gave away the store. They also may have given the Democrats control of Congress and snatched Hillary's presidential bid out of the flames.
However, Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Congressman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) are determined to force release of the ENTIRE REPORT!
Can anything derail the Hillary Express?
Veteran observers of the political landscape believe the Barrett Report might just stop that train dead in its tracks.
Tony Snow -- who has been a news analyst for the Washington Times and Fox News -- wrote: "By all accounts, the 400-page Barrett report is a bombshell, capable possibly of wiping out Hillary Clinton's presidential prospects."
Robert Novak, the dean of political columnists, has written: "Its disclosures could dig deeply into concealed Clinton administration scandals."
And Carl Limbacher -- in an article entitled "Report Could Torpedo Hillary Clinton's Prez Plans" -- has written: "Hillary is said to be particularly vulnerable to the Barrett report's exposure, since her old college chum, Margaret Milner Richardson, ran the IRS at the time."
Novak has said that "hardly any of Barrett's allegations will remain" now that Democratic leftists have bottled up the genie.
However, he sees hope in Chuck Grassley:
"A stubborn Iowa farmer who often drives the White House and Republican leaders to distraction, he said that if the Barrett report finally emerges as a mutilated remnant in order to protect the IRS, he will press for legislation to change that."
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Religious Group Disappointed and Troubled that President Bush has not Publicly Responded to Alabama Church Burnings
Feb. 18 2006 Christian Newswire
Group calls for Mr. Bush to make public statements denouncing the fires and ensuring the American public that apprehending those behind the fires is a top White House priority.
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ASHINGTON, The Christian Defense Coalition wonders what the response of the White House would have been if ten abortion clinics were burned in eight days. Or, ten mosques.
Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense Coalition, comments, "The Christian Defense is very disappointed that President Bush has not publicly spoken out on the church burnings in Alabama. Sadly, these attacks may now be spreading to Christian businesses and other Christian places of worship. With an entire community living in fear, it is important that Mr. Bush provide leadership and assurance that the federal government is doing all within their power to apprehend those behind these hate filled attacks.
"The White House needs to send a clear message to the American public when a church is attacked we are all attacked. And, when a church is attacked faith and religious _expression are under attack. I am troubled by the lack of the public response by the White House especially when one considers how they may have responded if ten abortion clinics were burned in eight days. Our message to the President is simply do the right thing and publicly condemn these church fires and assure us that this administration will not tolerate attacks on faith."
Rev. Patrick Mahoney led a delegation to Alabama to tour the damaged churches and initiated the first fund to help with the rebuilding.
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Former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore Calls on President Bush to Defend Religious Freedom of Military Chaplains
Feb. 16 2006 Christian Newswire
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ONTGOMERY, Alabama, Judge Roy Moore, former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, Vietnam Veteran, and Chairman of the Foundation for Moral Law, sent a letter to President George Bush today urging our Commander-in-Chief to protect the right of military chaplains to pray in the name of Jesus.
His letter: February 14, 2006 the complete text.
The Honorable George W. Bush
President, The United States of America
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
As a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and a veteran of the Vietnam war, I am greatly disturbed by reports that chaplains of the United States are being refused the right to pray according to the dictates of their conscience. Specifically, military chaplains have been told that they cannot pray in the name of Jesus Christ.
As Chairman of the Foundation for Moral Law in Montgomery, Alabama, and as the former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, I am distressed at the abandonment of our religious heritage and at the voluntary relinquishment of a right for which our forefathers fought and died.
When petitions were made before Congress in 1853 to abolish the office of Chaplain appointed for the Army and Navy, Congress immediately and resolutely denied such petitions. The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary reported that,
“We are Christians, not because the law demands it, not to gain exclusive benefits, or to avoid legal disabilities, but from choice and education; and in a land thus universally Christian, what is to be expected, what desired, but that we shall pay a due regard to Christianity, and have a reasonable respect for its ministers and religious solemnities?”
The House Committee on the Judiciary to which similar petitions had been referred, responded with equal fervor:
“Had the people, during the Revolution, had a suspicion of any attempt to war against Christianity, that Revolution would have been strangled in its cradle.” “At the time of the adoption of the Constitution and the Amendments, the universal sentiment was that Christianity should be encouraged. . . . In this age there can be no substitute for Christianity; . . . that was the religion of the founders of the republic, and they expected it to remain the religion of their descendants.”
Even the United States Supreme Court as late as 1931 in the majority decision of United States v. Macintosh in discussing the origin and source of our religious freedom, concluded that,
“We are a Christian people according to one another the equal right of religious freedom, and acknowledging with reverence the duty of obedience to the will of God.”
At a time when the ACLU and other organizations dedicated to the removal of the knowledge of God from our land have joined forces with liberal federal court judges to interfere with our God-given inalienable right to worship according to the dictates of our conscience, it is the duty of the President of the United States to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
Religious freedom and liberty of conscience is the greatest gift of God to mankind. There is a grave and prevalent error on this subject by those who assume that religious freedom is given by man. To recognize the true source of our freedom is not to deny, but to secure it for all of us.
I call upon you, as our President and Commander-in- Chief, to exercise that constitutional authority given you over our military forces to stop this unwarranted and unlawful attack on military chaplains. As we lead the world in our quest for freedom and liberty, we can ill afford to deny that freedom to valiant military chaplains dedicated to the service of our Country and the God upon Whom that Country was founded.
May God be with you to guide you in this matter.
Respectfully
Roy S. Moore
(Chairman, Foundation for Moral Law)
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Grassroots groups in the Crosshairs
Feb. 17 2006 Tony Perkins Family Research Council
D
rowning in scandals, especially the unsavory bipartisan actions of convicted shill Jack Abramoff, Congress is working on lobbying reform legislation. We believe better disclosure on travel, meals, entertainment and gifts needs to be examined. Unfortunately, Congress is also looking to severely hamper a form of lobbying that had little to do with the current scandals: grassroots lobbying. Reacting to the Abramoff scandal, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Congressman Chris Shays (R-CN) have teamed to write a bill that would put unfair and unconstitutional restraints on grassroots lobbying by groups like FRC. Section 105 of their bill would force advertisers, printers, direct mail outfits, and other vendors that we do business with
to tell Congress twenty days in advance about any campaign of public information we conduct. In effect, the legislation would force nonprofits like FRC to give an advance signal to Planned Parenthood about what we are doing. The problem of corrupt "lobbying" is real. But groups like FRC exist to inform Americans about what their Members of Congress are doing under the Capitol dome. Only an informed electorate can really have an impact in our democracy. The current debate focused on grassroots lobbying is headed down the wrong road, trying to stifle debate and empower Washington's liberal media elite. We oppose that. Nothing in the current allegations provides any justification whatever for the notion that incumbent Members of Congress should seize authority to scrutinize and regulate constitutionally protected activity. Please let Congress know to amend this bill. Let's opt for reform that really reforms
Additional Resources
Contact Your Elected Officials
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Dangerous ACLU lawsuit could keep US from Stopping Radical Muslim Terrorists plot in time!
Feb. 20 2006 Christian Action Network
T
he ACLU (the so-called American Civil Liberties Union) is SUING President Bush and the National Security Agency (NSA).
Their federal lawsuit seeks to STOP the President and the NSA from using a secret electronic surveillance program begun shortly after the 9-11-01 Terrorists attacks.
This program seeks to intercept calls and other communications coming into America involving foreigners in the Middle East and other known terrorist regions.
Incredibly, their lawsuit also seeks to even make public the methods the NSA uses to track terrorist communications. THEY WANT OUR ENEMY TO KNOW HOW WE TRACK THEM!
We must convince the judge who will hear this case to dismiss it. If the ACLU wins this case, it will STOP our homeland security officials from finding out about a future terrorist attack before it happens or we can be warned all under the guise of protecting civil liberties -- but at the risk of killing thousands of men, women, and children.
We CANNOT let the terrorist-supporting ACLU win this lawsuit to halt the NSA surveillance program, designed to discover our enemies and stop them before they strike!
Petition: http://www.christianaction.org/Homeland_Security_Petition.htm
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Moral Poverty is the Problem in New Orleans--Not Lack of Money, Says Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson
Feb. 16 2006 Christian Newswire
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OS ANGELES, Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, Founder and President of BOND (Brotherhood Organization of A New Destiny) issued the following statement after the release of a month-long investigation by two federal agencies which uncovered that FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) wasted and was defrauded of hundreds of millions of dollars in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Among some of the waste reported was that FEMA spent $878.8 million on 25,000 unused manufactured homes, and issued thousands of checks and $2,000 debit cards to people without checking their identities or claims.
"After Katrina ravaged New Orleans, blacks were furious—not at themselves for failing to take obvious precautions, but at the government too many blacks have relied on to take care of their every need. The report detailed that nearly half of the 2.5 million applicants who received federal aid after Katrina made fraudulent claims. Government-issued debit cards meant to buy emergency supplies were instead used to pay for gambling, pornographic movies, tattoos, and even a diamond ring. After Katrina, blacks turned the Superdome into a ghetto in three days. Now, it appears they turned FEMA into an ATM machine.
If the government continues to give handouts without requiring accountability and responsibility from blacks, it’s only aiding in the destruction of most black Americans. The people in New Orleans need to invest serious sweat equity and play a significant role in rebuilding their lives, homes, and communities. The government cannot do it for them.
The lack of moral character and responsibility is what has put most of the evacuees in the dire situation they’re in—not the lack of federal money. In order to rebuild a better New Orleans, the character of the people there has to change.
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Follow the Money: Radical Pro-Aborts Fund Evangelical Climate Initiative
Feb. 17 2006 Christian Newswire
Operation Rescue Calls on "Environmental Climate Initiative" to Give Back the "Blood Money"
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ENLO PARK, Calif., Operation Rescue has learned that a radical pro-abortion foundation with an agenda for world-wide population control through abortion has given $475,000 to the Evangelical Climate Initiative, an environmental manifesto signed by 85 Evangelical Christina leaders.
The Hewlett Foundation lists the grant to the Environmental Climate Initiative as being made through a third-party group, the National Religious Partnership for the Environment an ecumenical group with leftist leanings that do not reflect the teachings of orthodox Christianity.
“While the evangelical leaders state that they are proud of the evangelical community’s longstanding commitment to the sanctity of human life, their actions have told the world something else,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. “Over 47 million pre-born babies have died from abortion in this nation, but we have never seen these leaders put forth any kind of campaign to save their lives,” said Newman. “These are real baby boys and girls who are dying today and that should be a more pressing concern to the Church than a hypothetical group of people who may or may not suffer at some undetermined future date based on science on which there is no uniform consensus.”
“But even more troubling is the source of the funding for the ECI. Foundations disperse money to projects that will advance their stated agenda. The Hewlett Foundation has a stated purpose of Environmental activism through population control,” Newman noted.
“In fact, a full one-third of the Hewlett Foundation’s grant budget – almost $33 million dollars – was given to radical pro-abortion groups such as Planned Parenthood, the Center for Reproductive Rights, and the Abortion Access Project, to name a few. Why is Hewlett giving $475,000 to the Environmental Climate Initiative if they do not believe this furthers their pro- abortion population control agenda?”
“We believe that is immoral and unethical for Christian leaders to accept money from a foundation that is so dedicated to an agenda that is antithetical to the basic tenants of Christian teaching on the sanctity of human life,” said Newman.
“Operation Rescue calls on the 85 evangelical signatories of the Evangelical Climate Initiative to give back the money they received from the Hewlett Foundation and reject funding from any foundation that gives money to promote the taking of innocent human life through abortion.”
The Hewlett Foundation has recently changed their web site to remove mention of their grant to the Evangelical Climate Initiative. Operation Rescue archived those pages, and others linking Hewlett to radical abortion groups and have them available online.
View Hewlett Grant to ECI
View Hewlett Foundation Annual Report/Population Control Grants, 2004
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New York Appeals Court Rules against Gay “Marriage”
Feb. 17 2006 Gudrun Schultz LifeSiteNews.com
A
LBANY, New York, New York’s marriage law is constitutional, a five-judge panel decided at a mid-level appeals court yesterday.
The ruling addressed three separate cases involving gay couples that were refused marriage licenses. The couples argue the state’s definition of marriage as being only between a man and a woman violates the state Constitution’s equality, privacy and legal access provisions.
The court ruled that under the constitution, marriage between homosexuals was not legal. Changing the legality of same-sex marriage would require re-writing the constitution, which the panel of judges said was not the role of the courts.
“In our opinion, the Legislature is where the changes to marriage [should take place]” wrote justice John Lahtinen in the decision, according to the Associated Press.
Trial-level courts had also ruled against the gay couples, and in December, the state Supreme Court’s Appellate Division in New Yolk City ruled against a lower court decision that would have allowed same-sex couples to marry in New York City.
It is expected the cases will eventually come before the state’s highest Court of Appeals, which will make the final decision on the legal status of gay “marriage” in the State of New York.
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Marriage on the Ballot--and off
Feb. 17 2006 Tony Perkins Family Research Council
I
daho's State Senate yesterday approved a measure for this November's ballot, allowing a constitutional amendment to protect marriage as the union of one man and one woman. It passed overwhelmingly--26-9--with Democrats and Republicans supporting it. Alaska's legislators have introduced a resolution to protect marriage from the effects of an Alaska Supreme Court ruling last fall that would give spousal benefits to public employees in same-sex relationships. Governor Frank Murkowski (R) has denounced that unanimous ruling of the court as "shameful." In New Jersey, the Supreme Court heard a challenge to the state's laws on marriage. New Jersey already has domestic partnership laws, but homosexual activists are demanding marriage. Maryland's
liberal lawmakers quashed a legislative attempt to protect marriage from a judge in Baltimore, who ruled the state's marriage law unconstitutional. Clearly, liberal legislators wanted to avoid a clear up or down vote in the state's General Assembly. Especially, they wanted to avoid letting Marylanders decide on protecting marriage by popular vote. All of this action shows once again: liberal judges and politicians fear giving the people a say on marriage, because when given the chance to protect marriage the people says "I do."
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Does Dr. Dobson’s Bill Reward Homosexuals?
Feb. 22 Christian Newswire
COLORADO SPRINGS, Co., Dr. Paul Cameron, Chairman of the Family Research Institute, a Colorado Springs based think-tank, again challenged Dr. James Dobson’s explanation of his stance on SB166, a bill that would give homosexual couples new rights under Colorado law.
“Dr. Dobson claims that the proposed legislation has ‘nothing to do with sexual orientation,’" Cameron said, “and while the phrase ‘sexual orientation’ may not be used, the bill actually discriminates against cohabiting heterosexuals. Because of their ‘orientation,’ they are not eligible to receive the same benefits as cohabiting homosexuals.”
Cameron pointed out that the biblical prohibition against sex outside of marriage applies to homosexuals as well as heterosexuals; yet, he says, Dr. Dobson is willing to give government sanction and assistance to one illicit sexual arrangement, while denying it to another. “So sexual orientation,” Cameron said, “plays a significant role in who is and isn’t covered.”
Cameron said he would not approve of giving these new rights to cohabiting couples whether heterosexual or homosexual. “Marriage,” he said, “has served great civilizations for thousands of years, pagan as well as Christian. That’s why we have always given special rights to married couples – for services rendered. When we extend those rights to other sexual arrangements, we fail to acknowledge why we gave them in the first place. I hope that Dr. Dobson will reconsider his position and stop attacking those good people who disagree with him.”
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Assistant US House of Representatives Majority Leader Shadegg?
Feb. 16 2006 Tim Chapman Townhall.com
T
wo weeks ago Republicans in the House of Representatives stunned political observers by electing John Boehner (R-OH) as their next Majority Leader instead of promoting the next-in-line Roy Blunt (R-MO). The leadership race that led to this surprise outcome was marked by principle-driven talk of reform. Certainly, Boehner ran a reform campaign, but the entry of a third candidate – John Shadegg (R-AZ) – crystallized this theme.
Shadegg’s candidacy was focused primarily on reforming the status quo mentality that has gripped the Republican establishment. In turn, Boehner shrewdly embraced Shadegg’s candidacy, issuing friendly press releases touting it as good for the caucus, and championing the reform spirit that Shadegg injected into the race.
As a result, when Boehner found himself facing Roy Blunt in a runoff, many of Shadegg’s backers were more than comfortable giving their support to the other reform candidate, John Boehner. The rest is now history. John Boehner is now Majority Leader and Roy Blunt retains his position as Majority Whip.
Meanwhile, Shadegg, who vacated his position in House leadership when he decided to run for Majority Leader because he considered it the honorable thing to do, is left out in the cold.
But if some Hill conservatives have their way, this may not last long.
Bringing Shadegg on board: a win-win
There is talk on Capitol Hill of fusing Shadegg’s first-principles conservatism and the caucus of like-minded members he represents to the new House leadership team. According to Hill sources, conservatives are looking for a way to incorporate Shadegg into the House leadership structure in an unelected, informal capacity. The term, "Assistant Majority Leader" has been used.
This informal position would be a political winner for the new House leadership team. By elevating Shadegg, leadership would signal to a growing and energetic portion of the caucus that the reform message - and the ideas and proposals contained therein - will not only be listened to, but acted upon.
Certainly, Boehner’s election in itself sends that message. But bringing Shadegg in and giving him a seat at the table is a clear signal to Shadegg’s bloc of conservative supporters that their voice is valuable enough to the new leadership that they deserve a representative in the room for the highest level discussions. Not only would this ingratiate conservatives with the new House leadership team, but it has plenty of upside for leadership as well.
Aside from beefing up the new leadership’s "reform" banner, Shadegg would serve as a valuable conservative temperature gauge. Who knows better how limited government conservatives will react to a piece of legislation than one of their own?
Imagine how valuable having a voice like this in the room would have been to conservative congressional leadership over the last few years. Perhaps there would not have been a leadership-pushed new health care entitlement program, or a pork-laden highway bill. At the very least, leadership would have fully understood what kind of backlash they could have expected from conservatives on those issues.
And possibly, had that voice been present then, the current political climate for Republicans may be markedly different.
It’s been done before
If one member of the current House leadership makes a motion to add Shadegg to the group, it won’t be the first time such a thing has happened. Most recently, Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) picked former Ohio Congressman and current U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman to fill an unofficial leadership position as White House liaison. Portman excelled in this position from 2000-2004 before leaving Congress.
Also, during Newt Gingrich’s tenure as Speaker of the House, he tapped his good friend and confidant Bob Walker to serve as an informal lieutenant.
Current House leadership has the power to create the position, but must make a political judgment about its usefulness.
There may be hesitancy to bring in an idealistic conservative whose allegiance will always be to principle rather than politics – being in House leadership unfortunately means making political decisions sometimes at the expense of the ideal policy – but having the counsel of a member who is not bound by the trappings of leadership could prove immensely valuable to the new House team.
Any of the current members of leadership could make the motion, and they all would have good reasons. Blunt could do wonders to reestablish his reputation amongst the reform crowd by proposing the idea. A gesture like that would be magnanimous to say the least. Boehner could continue his policy of wholeheartedly embracing the reformers and their ideas. Hastert could take his close friendship with Boehner to the next level by relying on him as a lieutenant of sorts.
In the end, it matters not who gets credit for the idea. The entire leadership team would reap the rewards.
Tim Chapman is the National Political Writer and Senior Congressional Liaison for Townhall.com.
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Internet Gambling - A Bad Bet!
Feb. 17 2006 Tony Perkins Family Research Council
F
RC attended a press conference today on Capitol Hill hosted by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) that included Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-NC) to promote a bipartisan bill banning Internet gambling. Mr. Goodlatte's Internet Gambling Prohibition Act should become law this year. Passage of this tough legislation should anchor Congress' drive to rid politics of the corrupting influence of the gaming industry. The Goodlatte bill will strengthen enforcement against the already illegal activity. The gambling kingpins rely on the anonymity provided by the Internet to snare vulnerable youth and credulous adults. The gambling tycoons amass billions at the expense of America's youth and families, corrupting all they touch. I know firsthand the power of gambling as I
fought the expansion of legalized gambling during my tenure in the Louisiana legislature. My friends Jim Dobson and Kay Coles James served on the National Gambling Impact Study Commission in the '90s, before which I testified. That commission pointed out the dangers of Internet gambling, but so far Congress has conspicuously failed to act.
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Yahoo and AOL will guarantee access to your email inbox for senders who pay $.0025 per message
Feb 22 2006 RightMarch.com
Y
ahoo and AOL have announced that they will guarantee access to your email inbox for email senders who pay $.0025 per message. They will override their own spam filters and webbug-strippers, and deliver the mail directly with a 'certified' notice. In the process, they will treat more of your email as spam, and email you're expecting won't be delivered."
The justification is that if people have to pay to send email, they won't send junk email. Apparently AOL and Yahoo believe that if we "tax" speech then only desirable speech happens. We all know how well that works for postal mail -- that's why no one gets any "free" AOL starter disks, right?
More seriously, this isn't really an anti-spam measure as much as a "pay to speak" email measure, and it won't end spam or "phishing". Prominent anti-spammer Richard Cox of Spamhaus agrees: "An e-mail charge will destroy the spirit of the Internet."
Email being basically free isn't a bug. It's a feature that has driven the digital revolution. It allows groups to scale up from a dozen friends to a hundred people who love knitting to half-a-million concerned citizens without a major bankroll.
Email readers and senders will both lose, because the incentives for Yahoo, AOL, and Goodmail are all wrong. Their service is only valuable if it "saves" you from their spam filters. In turn, they have an incentive to treat more of your email as spam, thereby encouraging people to sign up.
Even email senders who just want to reach Dad@aol.com may eventually be in trouble. Once a pay-to-speak system like this gets going, it will be increasingly difficult for people who don't pay to get their mail through. The system has no way to distinguish between ordinary mail and bulk mail, spam and non-spam, personal and commercial mail. It just gives preference to people who pay.
And prepare to be shaken down if you run a noncommercial mailing list, whether for local bowling leagues or political organizations with a national membership -- like RightMarch.com. Not only will the per-message fees quickly add up, but the Goodmail technology will also be costly for senders to setup and use. Goodmail's giving a "special offer" for nonprofits through 2006, but when that ends their messages will presumably end up in the trash, too.
If email senders bear a burden, who gains? Not Yahoo and AOL customers, whose email boxes are being sold off. It will presumably be harder for even desired email to reach them.
In return, customers probably will now get not one, but two helpings of spam. For only $.0025 cent per message, Yahoo and AOL will guarantee delivery of this extra-special "certified" paid-placement mail, served alongside your ordinary spam. They'll also preserve webbugs, little privacy invaders that report back when you look at the email. Goodmail says that it will ensure that the messages aren't spam, but it's not clear how they will enforce this. After all, if a foolproof way for a third-party to distinguish wanted from unwanted messages existed, we would have solved the spam problem long ago.
What about "phishing"? Remember, the problem with "phishing" is that ordinary end users cannot always tell when a "certification" is real. Spoofing the appearance of Goodmail certification to end users should not be much of a problem, and all of the encryption in the world won't fix that.
Spam is a real problem demanding real solutions, but taxing the Internet, even if the tax is "voluntary" and even if the money goes to ISPs, isn't one of them. The best solution is to put more power in the hands of users to control spam filters and a robust market in those filters. Allowing ISPs to auction off access to email boxes and ransom free speech solves nothing.
EFF is working on an extended and more technical description of the problems with Goodmail, but this is a bad idea we think should be nipped in the bud -- NOW, before things go any further.
TAKE ACTION: Think about what this email surcharge would do to an organization like RightMarch.com. Fully ONE-THIRD of our members have AOL or Yahoo email addresses. That means hundreds of thousands of patriotic conservative Americans won't receive our Action Alerts unless we pay a "fee" to their ISPs to guarantee delivery.
We're a grassroots organization. We don't have that kind of money. It could shut down YOUR ability to make the kind of impact in Washington you've been making.
That's why we're joining with EFF, as well as other conservative AND liberal grassroots organizations, to urge AOL and Yahoo subscribers (and those who communicate with them) to tell them that taxing email is NOT the right way to go. Click below NOW to send a FREE message directly to Yahoo and AOL/TimeWarner corporate headquarters, demanding that they abandon their plans for a "pay-to-speak" email system:
http://capwiz.com/sicminc/issues/alert/?alertid=8503681&type=CU
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Ohio Censors Science Options
Feb. 17 2006 Christian Newswire
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ESTLAKE, Ohio, “Last Tuesday, the Ohio Board of Education took a giant step backwards by sterilizing Ohio public school science standards of any critical analysis of the theory of evolution,” says Finn Laursen, Executive Director of the Christian Educators Association. “The result is inevitably a chilling effect upon intellectual inquiry.”
The Ohio state board voted eleven to four to delete teaching material that would allow students to be able to “describe how scientists continue to investigate and critically analyze aspects of evolution.” Board member Martha Wise led the charge to remove any science not supportive of evolution out of the state’s standards, despite the objections of those, including Laursen, who had been pleading with her to reconsider.
In her communication with Laursen, she explained that the state science lesson plan, Critical Analysis of Evolution , may lead students to Intelligent Design, then to Creationism, and then to God.
“Wise fears that encouraging critical thinking might land the state of Ohio in court,” says Laursen. “Since when should we be afraid of where intellectual inquiry may lead?”
The Ohio Board’s decision comes in the wake of a court ruling in Dover, Pennsylvania, that stopped the district there from informing students that evolution is a theory and that Intelligent Design is another theory; the district had suggested to students that they could investigate these issues on their own.
The lesson plan in question in Ohio was not a required part of the state standards, but merely an example teachers could use as a model of good teaching. The recent State Boar d of Education decision is a reversal of a nine to eight decision a month ago to keep the lesson plan. However, three board members were absent Tuesday who, are supporters of an open study of all science; they may bring this issue back for a vote in the future.
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More Christians Targeted as Bloody Cartoon Violence Continues
Feb. 20 2006 Patrick Goodenough CNSNews.com International Editor
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ore than two dozen people have been killed in another weekend of Muslim rioting linked to cartoons of the Muslim prophet Mohammed, with the most serious violence occurring in Nigeria, where Christians bore the brunt of Muslim anger.
At least 16 people were killed in the country's northern Borno state, and Muslim rioters also torched more than a dozen churches and businesses linked to Christians, according to police figures.
A Nigerian national daily newspaper, This Day, reported that Muslims armed with machetes, sticks and iron rods had ran amok in the state capital, Maiduguri, for about three hours before troops restored order.
"One group threw a tire around a man, poured gas on him and set him ablaze."
The victims included three children and a Catholic priest, and a representative of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Joseph Hayab, was quoted as saying some of the killings took place inside churches.
He also said troops had also shot dead "one or two" of the rioters.
Borno's Muslim state governor, Ali Modu Sheriff, said in a radio broadcast that those responsible for the violence would be punished.
He said he sympathized with the feelings of Muslims offended by the cartoons satirizing Mohammed - which were published in Denmark's Jyllands-Posten newspaper last September and in many other papers in Europe and elsewhere this month - but that Nigerian Christians should not be blamed for them.
Borno is one of a dozen states in Nigeria that have imposed, or tried to impose, Islamic shari'a law, sparking tensions between Muslims and Christians.
The violence in Nigeria occurred one day after lives were lost in another African nation, where Muslims focused their anger on the consulate of Italy in Libya's second city, Benghazi.
Italy was just one of numerous European countries whose newspapers have republished the 12 Jyllands-Posten cartoons, but some Libyan Muslims were additionally incensed when a conservative Italian government minister, Roberto Calderoli, appeared on television wearing a T-shirt depicting one of the cartoons.
Muslims in the former Italian colony across the Mediterranean gathered outside the Italian consulate, hurling rocks and bottles and settling part of the building ablaze, the official Libyan Jamahiriya broadcaster reported. At least 11 people were killed in clashes with police.
After being blamed for the violence, Calderoli resigned under pressure from Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who is running for re-election in April. Italian media reported on concerns of Islamist terror attacks during the campaigns such as those in Spain shortly before the country held elections in March 2004.
The Libyan government also fired its minister responsible for security, accusing him of "disproportionate force" against the protestors.
Libya was the first country to shut the Danish Embassy to protest the cartoons. Danish missions in Iran, Indonesia, Syria and most recently, Pakistan all have been evacuated for safety reasons.
The weekend deaths bring to at least 35 the number of deaths arising out of the violence linked to the cartoons, including 11 in Afghanistan, five in Pakistan, one in Somalia and one in Lebanon.
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Ghana, Africa: Islam Envelopes a Once-Christian Nation
Feb. 20 2006 Greg Musselman The Voice of the Martyrs Canada For CWNews
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hana has long been a bastion of Christianity in West Africa: 20 years ago, more than 60% of the population claimed to be Christian.
But in recent years, Muslim nations have waged a campaign to turn this country into an Islamic nation – and it appears to be working!
Christians fear this could mean increased persecution.
While the persecution of Christians is not as violent as in the nearby country of Nigeria, the rise of Islam in the West African country of Ghana is of great concern to the followers of Jesus as they face an uncertain future.
For the most part there have been good relations between Christians and Muslims for many years, but in some parts of the country that is changing and there are fears the persecution of Christians will soon rise.
Ghana, a former British colony, which gained independence in 1957 was considered a Christian nation.”
Today almost half the people of Ghana call themselves Muslims and most of them are Sunni.
Many of those who have converted to Islam over the past two decades are from animist or tribal religions.
Emmanuel Dankwa-Mireku is Director of The Voice of the Christian Martyrs, in Ghana. He said, "Ghana used to be known as a Christian country, now it's not. The perception that Ghana is a Christian country is very wrong. I would say the central region which used to be the cradle of Christianity has been swallowed up by Islam."
Even in the country’s largest city of Accra, the capital located in the south, every suburb has a Mosque.
Emmanuel went on, "These are being built by the Kuwaiti's, the Iranian's, and other Islamic countries. It is very alarming the rate in which Islam is growing."
Emmanuel says not only are the Muslims building Mosques all over the nation, but Islamic schools are offering education at home or in a Muslim country to entice poor families to convert to Islam. Clothing and money are also used to bring people to Islam as well.
An Islamic University that teaches theology and religious studies is thriving in Accra. An institution of this magnitude would have been unheard of just a few years ago.
As a result of the dramatic growth of Islam, Emmanuel says it's just a matter of time before the violence against Christians will increase.
Emmanuel warned, "At the moment they are preaching coexistence, let's live together and there will be no trouble. But that is not so, that is not what I see."
Doris Yeboa stands proudly in front of her beauty salon in a Muslim neighborhood in Accra. The 35-year-old mother of two young children has faced many difficulties because of her relationship with Jesus Christ.
Two years ago she left Islam, became a Christian and changed her name to Doris. As a result she was kicked out of her home in the central part of Ghana.
Doris told us, "When I left Islam my family disowned me, and I become very poor, I didn't have any money for something to eat until the mission assisted me"
She added, “When I was in Islam I realized there was no hope for me, but I know now as a Christian I'll go to Heaven after I die, like the Bible says."
The mission Doris referred to is the Voice of the Christian Martyrs in Ghana. They are in partnership with the Voice of the Martyrs, Canada and helped her set up her hair salon with a micro loan project.
It's here where Doris can now help support her family, but more importantly she says it's a place to share the Gospel with everyone who comes through her door. Even though she is in a Muslim dominated area, she has no fear.
Doris said, "I have Jesus, I don't have fear."
Doris went on, "I'm now drawing a lot of Muslims to Christ. I pray with them, and I talk to them about Jesus Christ. A lot of my neighbors have accepted Jesus Christ."
Akua Fatima, 14 ye
