Important Second Amendment legislation (House Bill 1027) will heard in the Arkansas State House Judiciary Committee on Thursday, February 1 at 10:00 A.M. HB1027, the "Castle Doctrine" self-defense bill, simply states that if a criminal breaks into your home, your occupied vehicle or your place of business, the victim does not have a "duty to retreat." The bill also provides protection from criminal prosecution and civil litigation for those who defend themselves from criminal attack. AR State Representatives emails and other info are online! Please contact the below committee members and respectfully urge them to protect your right to self-defense by voting in favor of HB1027:
Robert Jeffrey (D-7) 870-837-2446 - - - Mark Pate (D-49) 501-268-6900
Will Bond (D-44) 501-982-9081 Chris - - - Thyer (D-74) 870-932-2000
David Johnson (D-38) 501-372-6555 - - - John Paul Wells (D-84) 479-963-3227
Steve Harrelson (D-1) 870-772-5482 - - - Lamont Cornwell (D-28) 501-778-7327
Robert Moore (D-12) 870-877-9339 - - - Joan Cash (D-75) 870-886-6663
Earnest Brown (D-16) 870-534-6332 - - - Tommy Lee Baker (D-55) 870-563-8277
Kathy Webb (D-37) 501-412-6443 - - - Jon Woods (D-93) 479-200-3100
David Powers (D-3) 870-777-9822 - - - Jerry Brown (D-57) 870-238-3132
Tracy Pennartz (D-65) 479-285-4800 - - - Aaron Burkes (R-95) 479-877-0412
Charolette Wagner (D-77) 870-561-4600 - - - Steven Breedlove (D-67) 479-996-6040
Tags: Arkansas, gun rights, Castle Doctrine
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Property Rights
by Walter E. Williams: Imprimis" is Hillsdale College's monthly publication that has over 1.25 million readers. It's Hillsdale's way of sharing the ideas of the many distinguished speakers invited to their campus. ... The January edition of "Imprimis" contains an important speech by former New Jersey Superior Court Judge Andrew P. Napolitano titled "Property Rights After the Kelo Decision." For those who haven't kept up, the Kelo decision is the 2005 U.S. Supreme Court 5-4 decision that upheld the city of New London, Connecticut's condemnation of the property of one private party so that another private party could use it to build an office facility . . . [Click for more]Tags: Kelo decision, property rights, Walter E. Williams
Talk Radio & Fox News - ways to find out what is true
(Photo - Col Smitty Harris, USAF, Retired) Chad Groening of Agape Press -- Jane Fonda, who many Vietnam-era veterans still call "Hanoi Jane,." was being "anti-American" when she marched against the Vietnam War in the 1970s, and she was exhibiting the same mindset over the weekend in Washington, according to a former 8-year Vietnam-era prisoner of war Retired Air Force Col. Smitty Harris ..., he doesn't think this past weekend's anti-war demonstration in Washington, DC, will have the same effect similar rallies had during his era. Col Harris identified that marches were "big news during the Vietnam era ... because people didn't have all the alternative ways of finding out what is true and what's not. So I don't think it's going to have a big effect." In fact, he says, it could even be counterproductive. Today, Harris points out, Americans have talk radio and media outlets like the Fox News Channel to hear the voices of those who do not agree with Jane Fonda's point of view. Read MoreTags: Fox News, Hanoi Jane, Jane Fonda, protests, talk radio, war To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Bill to Prohibit State Agencies From Contracting With Businesses That Employ Illegals
Republican Rick Green's Bill HB1024 (Prohibit State Agencies From Contracting With Businesses That Employ Illegals) will be brought before the Senate this week. The bill needed 11 of the 20 member committee to get out of House committee. It received 8 votes. After grassroots effort the bill passed out of the committee and passed the house with an overwhelming majority. Some people think it might have more trouble getting through the Senate.
Will you please email all senators and ask them to vote for HB1024, the bill that prohibits state agencies from contracting with businesses that employ illegal aliens.
Also please call the Senate switchboard at this number 501-682-2902 and leave a message for your senator to vote for HB1024, the bill that prohibits state agencies from contracting with businesses that employ illegal aliens. A list of all senators and districts can be found at this link: http://www.wpaag.org/AddressesArSenate.htm
Tags: Arkansas, employing illegals, illegal immigration
Will you please email all senators and ask them to vote for HB1024, the bill that prohibits state agencies from contracting with businesses that employ illegal aliens.
Also please call the Senate switchboard at this number 501-682-2902 and leave a message for your senator to vote for HB1024, the bill that prohibits state agencies from contracting with businesses that employ illegal aliens. A list of all senators and districts can be found at this link: http://www.wpaag.org/AddressesArSenate.htm
Tags: Arkansas, employing illegals, illegal immigration
Committee approved the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act
This afternoon, by a vote of 19-2, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee approved the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (S.358) without altering the legislative language in the bill to ensure the protection of prenatal children (and, therefore, their parents). Please urge Senators to be sure that this bill is changed so as not to neglect these children and their parents prior to final passage of the bill on the Senate Floor.
Tags: Arkansas, Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act
Tags: Arkansas, Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act
GOP Blocks Congress Members' Cost-of-Living Increase
By Randy Hall - CNSNews.com: After being pounded by Democrats last year for accepting pay increases while not boosting the minimum wage, Republican congressmen Tuesday returned the favor by preventing an annual 1.7 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) from taking effect this year." There will be no COLA adjustment," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said Tuesday after GOP members of Congress, led by House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO), promised to block the annual $2,800 pay hike.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) "ran their own ads attacking [Republican] members on this," Blunt explained. "Because of that, their members are going to suffer in terms of not being able to have a COLA." Blunt said that Democrats broke the agreement after last year's pay raise-related vote had already taken place. As a result, federal lawmakers' salaries will stay at $165,200 for the year instead of receiving - an increase of $2,800.
Tags: congress, Congressional pay To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) "ran their own ads attacking [Republican] members on this," Blunt explained. "Because of that, their members are going to suffer in terms of not being able to have a COLA." Blunt said that Democrats broke the agreement after last year's pay raise-related vote had already taken place. As a result, federal lawmakers' salaries will stay at $165,200 for the year instead of receiving - an increase of $2,800.
Tags: congress, Congressional pay To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Anti-War Protestors Spray Paint Graffiti on Capitol Steps
During an anti-war demonstration, protesters were "allowed" by Capitol police to spray paint graffiti on part of the west front steps of the United States Capitol building. NO ARRESTS! The March for Right for Life earlier this month had hundreds of thousands - what if they had spray painted graffiti on the US Capital steps? I am sure someone would have been arrested. The problem of bullies is not only schools but also in the members of this demonstration. Free Speech does not extend to spray painting graffiti on the Capitol and other government property.
Below is a report by FRC Radio correspondent Bethanie Swendsen reports from the Capital grounds:
FRC has uncovered more shocking details about the anti-war march in Washington this past weekend. For such a small crowd, the demonstrators were an interesting bunch of people - everything from actors and anarchists to the members of Congress who marched alongside them, including: Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Reps. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), Maxine Waters (D-CA), Jerry Nadler (D-NY), and House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-MI). Also addressing the crowd from his prison cell was convicted cop-killer Mumia Abu Jamal. After talking to members of the Capitol Hill police, FRC discovered that one reason the officers held back from confronting one batch of protestors was because the anarchists threatened the officers with bottles of human urine. Additional damage done to both city and personal property includes a news truck pelted with rocks and spray-painted street signs. READ MORE
Take Action: Ask Congress - Are Left-Wing Vandals Above the Law?
Tags: anti-war protestors, FRC, graffiti, US Capitol To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Below is a report by FRC Radio correspondent Bethanie Swendsen reports from the Capital grounds:
FRC has uncovered more shocking details about the anti-war march in Washington this past weekend. For such a small crowd, the demonstrators were an interesting bunch of people - everything from actors and anarchists to the members of Congress who marched alongside them, including: Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Reps. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), Maxine Waters (D-CA), Jerry Nadler (D-NY), and House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-MI). Also addressing the crowd from his prison cell was convicted cop-killer Mumia Abu Jamal. After talking to members of the Capitol Hill police, FRC discovered that one reason the officers held back from confronting one batch of protestors was because the anarchists threatened the officers with bottles of human urine. Additional damage done to both city and personal property includes a news truck pelted with rocks and spray-painted street signs. READ MORE
Take Action: Ask Congress - Are Left-Wing Vandals Above the Law?
Tags: anti-war protestors, FRC, graffiti, US Capitol To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Upset Republicans Sign NRSC Pledge
Join other upset Republicans by signing the NRSC Pledge. At the web site TheNRSCPledge.com more than 31,150 people signed the pledge of non-support for individual senators and the NRSC at the time of this blog posting. With hundreds of othr bloggers joining this numbe will grow.
What pledge says: If the United States Senate passes a resolution, non-binding or otherwise, that criticizes the commitment of additional troops to Iraq that General Petraeus has asked for and that the president has pledged, and if the Senate does so after the testimony of General Petraeus on January 23 that such a resolution will be an encouragement to the enemy, I will not contribute to any Republican senator who voted for the resolution. Further, if any Republican senator who votes for such a resolution is a candidate for re-election in 2008, I will not contribute to the National Republican Senatorial Committee unless the Chairman of that Committee, Senator Ensign, commits in writing that none of the funds of the NRSC will go to support the re-election of any senator supporting the non-binding resolution.
Read More and Consider Siging the pledge!
Tags: Arkansas Republican Assembly, GOP, NRSC To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
What pledge says: If the United States Senate passes a resolution, non-binding or otherwise, that criticizes the commitment of additional troops to Iraq that General Petraeus has asked for and that the president has pledged, and if the Senate does so after the testimony of General Petraeus on January 23 that such a resolution will be an encouragement to the enemy, I will not contribute to any Republican senator who voted for the resolution. Further, if any Republican senator who votes for such a resolution is a candidate for re-election in 2008, I will not contribute to the National Republican Senatorial Committee unless the Chairman of that Committee, Senator Ensign, commits in writing that none of the funds of the NRSC will go to support the re-election of any senator supporting the non-binding resolution.
Read More and Consider Siging the pledge!
Tags: Arkansas Republican Assembly, GOP, NRSC To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Ballistics data don't support charge against border agents
Investigator: U.S. attorney twisted evidence to fit case – 'guilty of malicious prosecution'
WorldNetDaily: Ballistics reports, used in the trial of Ignacio Ramos, one of two Border Patrol agents convicted of shooting fleeing drug dealer Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila, do not support the prosecution's claim the bullet was fired from Ramos' gun, according to documents provided to WorldNetDaily from Andy Ramirez, chairman of the Friends of the Border Patrol.
Despite the conclusion of a laboratory criminalist that he could not conclusively link the bullet removed from Aldrete-Davila with Ramos' service weapon, a Department of Homeland Security agent swore, in an affidavit of complaint filed against Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean, that Aldrete-Davila was hit by a round fired by Ramos . . . [Click for more]
See also: Uproar over border agents to get White House review
Tags: border guards, Ignacio Ramos, illegal immigration To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
WorldNetDaily: Ballistics reports, used in the trial of Ignacio Ramos, one of two Border Patrol agents convicted of shooting fleeing drug dealer Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila, do not support the prosecution's claim the bullet was fired from Ramos' gun, according to documents provided to WorldNetDaily from Andy Ramirez, chairman of the Friends of the Border Patrol.Despite the conclusion of a laboratory criminalist that he could not conclusively link the bullet removed from Aldrete-Davila with Ramos' service weapon, a Department of Homeland Security agent swore, in an affidavit of complaint filed against Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean, that Aldrete-Davila was hit by a round fired by Ramos . . . [Click for more]
See also: Uproar over border agents to get White House review
Tags: border guards, Ignacio Ramos, illegal immigration To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Gingrich to decide in September
CNSNews.com: Taking a swipe at politicians who already have declared plans to run for president in 2008, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said on Saturday that he would decide in September whether to seek the Republican nomination. Gingrich promised conservatives gathered at a conference in Washington that he would make a decision "around Labor Day." "I think this whole process is stupid," he told the National Review Institute's Conservative Summit, referring to the fact that presidential campaigns are being launched almost two years before the election . . . [Click for more]Tags: Arkansas Republican Assembly, Newt Gingrich, presidential candidate To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Arkansas GOP Officials focus on tax cuts
The Baxter Bulletin: LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Legislature focused on tax cuts Monday, with Mountain Home congressmen Rep. Johnny Key and Sen. Shawn Womack filing bills to reduce retiree income taxes while Gov. Mike Beebe's grocery tax cut cleared a Senate committee. Womack and Key filed identical bills in the House and Senate that would reduce taxes to retirees by increasing their exemption from retirement benefits from $6,000 to $10,000.
Eight senators and 16 representatives co-sponsored the bills benefiting retirees. Key said in a statement to The Bulletin that he and Womack have worked for years to boost the exemption for retirees. "If this tax cut is enacted, not only will it benefit retirees currently living in the Twin Lakes area, it will also make Arkansas more appealing for new retirees looking to relocate here," Key said. The tax exemption is part of a proposed alternative to Beebe's planned grocery tax cut, according to the statement. [Read More]
Tags: Arkansas, GOP, Republican, tax-cuts
Eight senators and 16 representatives co-sponsored the bills benefiting retirees. Key said in a statement to The Bulletin that he and Womack have worked for years to boost the exemption for retirees. "If this tax cut is enacted, not only will it benefit retirees currently living in the Twin Lakes area, it will also make Arkansas more appealing for new retirees looking to relocate here," Key said. The tax exemption is part of a proposed alternative to Beebe's planned grocery tax cut, according to the statement. [Read More]
Tags: Arkansas, GOP, Republican, tax-cuts
Monday, January 29, 2007
New Blueprint: A Plan For Democrats
From The Democratic Leadership Council website: "A successful opposition must oppose and propose, and do both well," they say. "Democrats in Congress have an obligation to stand firm against the Republicans whenever they're wrong, which is all too often. At the same time, however, we have an obligation to ourselves and to the future to suggest a clear alternative path for the country to follow."
The Plan features five goals:
1. A New Social Contract: What You Can Do for Your Country, and What Your Country Can Do for You.
- Citizen Service. We need a new patriotism that brings out the patriot in all of us by establishing, for the first time, an ethic of universal citizen service. All Americans between the ages of 18 and 25 should be asked to serve their country by going through three months of basic civil defense training and community service. This is not a draft -- nor is it military. Young people will be trained not as soldiers, but simply as citizens who understand their responsibilities in the event of natural disaster, epidemic, or terrorist attack. ...
- Universal College Access. We must make a college degree as universal as a high school diploma. ...
- Universal Retirement Savings. An aging society cannot afford to keep saving less and risking more. We need new means to create wealth. Employers should be required to offer 401(k)'s, and workers will be enrolled unless they choose otherwise. ...
- Universal Children's Health Care. We need to cut the cost of health care so that every business can afford it, and every child in America at last can get it. ...
2. Fiscal Responsibility and Ending Corporate Welfare. We can only achieve universal service, college, pensions, and children's health care if we're willing to cut and invest to pay for them. The place to start is by ending corporate welfare and the hack-ridden government that fuels it.
3. Tax Reform to Help Those Who Aren't Wealthy Build Wealth. We propose a tax reform plan that makes sure no middle-class family with an income of under $100,000 will ever have to pay an effective income tax rate of more than 10 percent. ... and a universal pension that replaces the current hodgepodge of 16 existing IRA-type accounts.
4. A New Strategy to Win the War on Terror. ... should reform and strengthen multilateral institutions ...
5. A Hybrid Economy that Cuts America's Gasoline Use in Half. ...
Read More
--------------------------
Editorial Note: It is always good to know what the opposition is proposing. But it might prove useful when reading the word "Universal" to substitute the words "Social Government Control" or "Meaningless" and the DNC Plan may reflect their true plan.
Tags: Democrat, DNC plan, Blueprint, 2007
The Plan features five goals:
1. A New Social Contract: What You Can Do for Your Country, and What Your Country Can Do for You.
- Citizen Service. We need a new patriotism that brings out the patriot in all of us by establishing, for the first time, an ethic of universal citizen service. All Americans between the ages of 18 and 25 should be asked to serve their country by going through three months of basic civil defense training and community service. This is not a draft -- nor is it military. Young people will be trained not as soldiers, but simply as citizens who understand their responsibilities in the event of natural disaster, epidemic, or terrorist attack. ...
- Universal College Access. We must make a college degree as universal as a high school diploma. ...
- Universal Retirement Savings. An aging society cannot afford to keep saving less and risking more. We need new means to create wealth. Employers should be required to offer 401(k)'s, and workers will be enrolled unless they choose otherwise. ...
- Universal Children's Health Care. We need to cut the cost of health care so that every business can afford it, and every child in America at last can get it. ...
2. Fiscal Responsibility and Ending Corporate Welfare. We can only achieve universal service, college, pensions, and children's health care if we're willing to cut and invest to pay for them. The place to start is by ending corporate welfare and the hack-ridden government that fuels it.
3. Tax Reform to Help Those Who Aren't Wealthy Build Wealth. We propose a tax reform plan that makes sure no middle-class family with an income of under $100,000 will ever have to pay an effective income tax rate of more than 10 percent. ... and a universal pension that replaces the current hodgepodge of 16 existing IRA-type accounts.
4. A New Strategy to Win the War on Terror. ... should reform and strengthen multilateral institutions ...
5. A Hybrid Economy that Cuts America's Gasoline Use in Half. ...
Read More
--------------------------
Editorial Note: It is always good to know what the opposition is proposing. But it might prove useful when reading the word "Universal" to substitute the words "Social Government Control" or "Meaningless" and the DNC Plan may reflect their true plan.
Tags: Democrat, DNC plan, Blueprint, 2007
Amendment targets federal contractors hiring illegals
by Jim Brown, Agape Press: The Senate has passed an amendment to its minimum wage bill that seeks to curb the growing problem of federal contractors employing illegal aliens, but the Alabama Senator who sponsored the measure believes more needs to be done.
The U.S. Senate has passed an amendment to its minimum wage bill that seeks to curb the growing problem of federal contractors employing illegal aliens. Thursday the Senate approved by a 94-0 vote an amendment sponsored by Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL). This amendment would ban federal contractors from government work for up to 10 years if they are caught hiring illegal aliens. [Read More]
Tags: illegal immigration, minimum wage To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
The U.S. Senate has passed an amendment to its minimum wage bill that seeks to curb the growing problem of federal contractors employing illegal aliens. Thursday the Senate approved by a 94-0 vote an amendment sponsored by Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL). This amendment would ban federal contractors from government work for up to 10 years if they are caught hiring illegal aliens. [Read More]
Tags: illegal immigration, minimum wage To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Discussion on the Fairness Doctrine continues
RenewAmerica Forum: The latest threat to Americans' freedom of speech is under consideration in Congress in the form of the "Media Ownership Reform Act"-- sponsored by Democratic Congressman Maurice Hinchey. The bill would reinstate the old Fairness Doctrine, an FCC regulation that existed from 1949 to 1987.
The Fairness Doctrine enabled liberals to monopolize the radio airwaves by requiring broadcasters to air "both sides" of important issues. Since the liberal media at the time already controlled our nation's information systems, this meant that challenges to that dominance had to be "balanced" with the liberal perspective--multiplying the influence of the liberal ideology . . . [Click for more]
Previous 1/19/07 post: The Un-Fairness Doctrine by David Limbaugh
Tags: fairness doctrine, FCC, free speech, Media Ownership Reform Act, talk radio To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
The Fairness Doctrine enabled liberals to monopolize the radio airwaves by requiring broadcasters to air "both sides" of important issues. Since the liberal media at the time already controlled our nation's information systems, this meant that challenges to that dominance had to be "balanced" with the liberal perspective--multiplying the influence of the liberal ideology . . . [Click for more]
Previous 1/19/07 post: The Un-Fairness Doctrine by David Limbaugh
Tags: fairness doctrine, FCC, free speech, Media Ownership Reform Act, talk radio To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Fmr Gov. Mike Huckabee Announces Presidential Candidacy on Meet the Press
Today on Meet the Press: MR. RUSSERT: Are you running for president of the United States?GOV. HUCKABEE: Tim, tomorrow I’ll be filing papers to launch an exploratory committee, and yes, I’ll be out there.
MR. RUSSERT: Why?
GOV. HUCKABEE: I think America needs positive, optimistic leadership to kind of turn this country around, to see a revival of our national soul, and to reclaim a sense of, of the greatness of this country that we love, and also to help bring people together to find a practical solution to a lot of the issues that people really worry about when they sit around the dinner table and talk at night. Read Full Transcript
Tags: GOP, Mike Huckabee, announcement, 2008 Election, presidential candidate, Republican To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Democrat leaders differ on proposals to reduce Arkansas taxes
While Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe (D) continues to push for a 50 %t cut in the state's sales tax on groceries, House Speaker Benny Petrus (D) offers three tax cut bills as an alternative. Petrus has said that among his plans is an $80 million annual tax rebate for low- and middle income Arkansans. He proposes it as an alternative to Beebe's call for halving the state's 6-cent sales tax on groceries. Beebe believes the sales tax cut would provide a greater benefit to poor and middle-income families.
Petrus first bill would provide tax rebates for low- and middle-income Arkansans that would return about $80 million a year. The second part would increase the minimum taxable income for retirees and reduce taxes about $21 million a year by increasing the $6,000 of retirement benefits exempt from state income tax to $10,000. The third bill, Petrus said, would reduce the state's sales tax on manufacturers' utility bills by 3 percent and would cost about $30 million a year. READ MORE
Tags: Arkansas, grocery tax, tax-cuts, taxes
Petrus first bill would provide tax rebates for low- and middle-income Arkansans that would return about $80 million a year. The second part would increase the minimum taxable income for retirees and reduce taxes about $21 million a year by increasing the $6,000 of retirement benefits exempt from state income tax to $10,000. The third bill, Petrus said, would reduce the state's sales tax on manufacturers' utility bills by 3 percent and would cost about $30 million a year. READ MORE
Tags: Arkansas, grocery tax, tax-cuts, taxes
Lawmakers seek to block NAFTA superhighway system, continental integration
By Jerome R. Corsi: Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA) has introduced a House resolution expressing congressional opposition to construction of a NAFTA Super Highway System or entry into a North American Union with Mexico and Canada. Goode said the goal behind House Concurrent Resolution 40, introduced Monday, is "to block a NAFTA Superhighway System and to indicate the opposition of the Congress to the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) of North America that was declared by President Bush, Mexico's then-President Vicente Fox, and Canada's then-Prime Minister Paul Martin, at the conclusion of their summit meeting in Waco, Texas, on March 23, 2005" . . . [Click for more]Also See: Congressman, DOT undersecretary disagree over threat to sovereignty
Center for Reclaiming America: A new poll commissioned and conducted by CBS News finds that nearly half of Americans either want greater restrictions on abortion or prohibition of abortion in all or most cases. Of the 1,168 adults who responded to the poll, only 31% said that they want abortion permissible in all situations, while 47% said that abortion should be prohibited in all or most situations and 16% wanting greater restrictions.The results are close to those of a similar poll conducted in Jan. 2006, which said that 51% wanted abortion prohibited. While the number appears to have dropped marginally, it is not all bad news. According to National Review’s Ramesh Ponnuru, “The good news for pro-lifers is that in the latest poll, 47% of the public says that abortion should be generally banned. The bad news is that there seems to be a bit of a leftward trend.” Other polls do not necessarily confirm Ponnuru’s observation. For example, a March, 2006 Zogby poll found that 69% of voters agree that using federal funds to pay for abortions should be prohibited. [Click for more]
Tags: abortion, polls, pro-life To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Despite boycott & losses, Ford still sponsoring homosexual activism
Baptist Press - A one-year boycott of the Ford Motor Company by pro-family groups is nearing an end but could be extended because the company has done little, if anything, to address concerns over its support of homosexual activism, a spokesman for the American Family Association says. AFA and more than 30 other conservative groups launched the boycott March 13, urging Christians not to buy cars from Ford or its seven other brands: Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover, Aston Martin and Mazda. The groups pointed to Ford's financial support of organizations such as the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, its sponsorship of "gay pride" events and its advertising in homosexual magazines and television programs . . . [Click for more]Tags: American Family Association, boycott, Ford Motor Company, homosexual activism To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Friday, January 26, 2007
New Nuclear Smuggling Case Is A Wake Up Call
NTI: There was an alarming news report this week about a man who was caught smuggling stolen weapons-grade highly enriched uranium, material that could be used to make a nuclear bomb (Click to read ). This incident should be a wake-up call to all of us. The threat of nuclear terrorism is real:- There are nuclear weapons materials, highly enrichred uranium or plutonium, in over 40 countries. In too many cases these materials lack adequate security.
- Terrorist groups are trying to get nuclear weapons. Osama bin Laden has said that acquiring them is a "religious duty" and an al Qaeda member has said they have the right to kill 4 million Americans, 2 million children.
- A dangerous gap remains between the threat and actions to prevent it.
- The most effective way to prevent nuclear terrorism is to lock down nuclear materials at the source.
Take time now to send a message to your elected officials. Ask them to get personally involved and make preventing nuclear terrorism their top priority, or for help contact SaferWorld.org.
Major Gun Control Bill in Congress
GOA Alert: Anti-gun Rep. Carolyn McCarthy introduced H.R. 297, the most massive expansion of the Brady law since it passed in 1993. This bill was killed last year, but the new House leadership appears even more eager to pass it. This bill provides grants, about $1 billion, to the states to "provide the National Instant Criminal Background Check System [NICS] with all records concerning persons who are prohibited from possessing or receiving a firearm under subsection (g) or (n), section 922, title 18, United States Code, regardless of the elapsed time since the disqualifying event."The bill expands upon the unconstitutional Lautenberg misdemeanor gun ban [922 (g)(9)]. This gun ban, passed as an amendment to a 1996 omnibus spending bill and signed into law by Clinton, was originally introduced by leading anti-gun Senators Frank Lautenberg, Dianne Feinstein, and Edward Kennedy. Under the Lautenberg ban, people who have committed very minor offenses that include pushing, shoving or, in some cases, merely yelling at a family member can no longer own a firearm for self-defense. The Lautenberg gun ban should be repealed, not expanded.
The bill also seeks to computerize records of persons "underindictment for a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year." Such persons, though not even convicted of the crime in question, are prohibited from possessing a firearm.The gun grabbers are seeking to force the states to provide the federal government all of these indictment records, updated quarterly. Given the maxim among those in the legal profession that prosecutors can get a grand jury to "indict a ham sandwich," this,too, is a gun prohibition that should be repealed, not expanded. Mental health records are also covered under the McCarthy bill. The fact that metal health 'experts,' a notoriously anti-gun community, would have a say in who is allowed to possess a firearm is frightening. Many in the profession would just as soon consider anyone who owns a gun as 'mentally incompetent.' Another sobering thought is how computerized data are often mishandled.
The Brady law needs to be repealed, not expanded to allow anti-gun administrations to find new ways to strip citizens of their Second Amendment rights. ACTION: contact your representative immediately and spread the word about H.R. 297! Visit the Gun Owners Legislative Action Center at http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm to send your Representative a pre-written e-mail message. And, you can call your Representative free at 1-877-762-8762 Read More
The Brady law needs to be repealed, not expanded to allow anti-gun administrations to find new ways to strip citizens of their Second Amendment rights. ACTION: contact your representative immediately and spread the word about H.R. 297! Visit the Gun Owners Legislative Action Center at http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm to send your Representative a pre-written e-mail message. And, you can call your Representative free at 1-877-762-8762 Read More
Tags: gay rights, gun control, second amendment To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Human Rights Are For Human Beings
by Doug Patton: It seems that judges are now in the business of attributing rights to animals of the two legged and the four legged variety. They release child abusers on probation and give constitutional rights to terrorists, while meting out prison sentences for animal owners and parents who discipline their children.
The San Francisco based Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals just overturned the 22-year sentence of Ahmed Ressam, the so-called "Millennium Bomber." Ressam, you will recall, was convicted of trying to cross into the United States from Canada with 125 pounds of explosives in the trunk of his car. Seems he wanted to give us a little Y2K surprise on New Years Eve 1999 until an alert customs agent stopped him.
Last year, Nebraska District Court Judge Kristine Cecava told convicted child molester Richard Thompson that his crimes "deserved a long sentence." She then sentenced him to probation because he was "too short to survive in prison." Last week, another Nebraska man died in prison while serving a two-year sentence for beating his dog to death. Meanwhile, a meddling Democrat in the California Legislature wants to ban all spanking of children under the age of four. What is going on here? ...
Parental rights and property rights used to be sacrosanct in this country. Today, our legislators, and especially our courts, seem bent on turning the U.S. Constitution on its head in this area. Can you imagine a scenario whereby a terrorist and a child molester are on their way out of prison as a dog owner and a father who dared to spank his three-year-old child are on their way in? That is where we are headed. That is the future we are handing down to our children and grandchildren, and unless we stop this nonsense, they will grow up not knowing that human rights are for human beings. Read More
Tags: Doug Patton, human rights
The San Francisco based Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals just overturned the 22-year sentence of Ahmed Ressam, the so-called "Millennium Bomber." Ressam, you will recall, was convicted of trying to cross into the United States from Canada with 125 pounds of explosives in the trunk of his car. Seems he wanted to give us a little Y2K surprise on New Years Eve 1999 until an alert customs agent stopped him.
Last year, Nebraska District Court Judge Kristine Cecava told convicted child molester Richard Thompson that his crimes "deserved a long sentence." She then sentenced him to probation because he was "too short to survive in prison." Last week, another Nebraska man died in prison while serving a two-year sentence for beating his dog to death. Meanwhile, a meddling Democrat in the California Legislature wants to ban all spanking of children under the age of four. What is going on here? ...
Parental rights and property rights used to be sacrosanct in this country. Today, our legislators, and especially our courts, seem bent on turning the U.S. Constitution on its head in this area. Can you imagine a scenario whereby a terrorist and a child molester are on their way out of prison as a dog owner and a father who dared to spank his three-year-old child are on their way in? That is where we are headed. That is the future we are handing down to our children and grandchildren, and unless we stop this nonsense, they will grow up not knowing that human rights are for human beings. Read More
Tags: Doug Patton, human rights
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Arkansas Legistlative Alert - State Lottery
by Larry L. Page, Executive Director, Arkansas Faith and Ethics Council: An article in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette disclosed that Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter will push the legislature to refer to the voters a proposed constitutional amendment to establish a state lottery. In each regular session of the General Assembly, legislators may submit up to three constitutional amendments for the voters’ consideration in the following general election. Over the last couple of decades, proponents of a state lottery have encouraged the legislators to refer a lottery amendment to the state’s voters. Conservative family-value Arkansans have always been able to deter those attempts to establish a state lottery through the legislative referral procedure. (Arkansas voters have also defeated at the polls lottery proposals that were qualified for the ballot by the initiative process.) It looks as if we will again need to step up and block yet another run at a state lottery. We are one of only eight states that have resisted the urge to adopt a lottery. Lottery gambling is a notoriously poor economic tool. It is a regressive tax that hits members of the lower socioeconomic classes the hardest, often making them even more dependent on state services and assistance. In addition, revenue from lotteries does not provide a boon to education and in many instances it even proves harmful to the educational system. The bottom line: A lottery makes the state an economic predator of its weakest citizens. It inverts the role of government, so that instead of looking after the best interests of vulnerable people, it manipulates and exploits them for crass economic gain. Arkansans are better than that, as we have demonstrated time and time again at the ballot box and in the halls of the capitol.
The issue is out there and will probably be in the legislative mix soon. It is time to contact your state senator and state representative (or leave them a message) and advise them that you would appreciate their opposition to any attempts to refer a state lottery amendment to the voters.
Tags: Arkansas, Arkansas Faith and Ethics Council, Bill Halter, Larry Page, lottery To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Grassroots Right To Petition Government May Come Under Jeopardy In House
Last week, the Senate did the right thing by deleting Section 220 from S. 1, the lobby reform bill. Section 220 was a serious threat to grassroots organizations and individuals in lobbying the federal government. The threat, however, is not over. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi plans on introducing a free-standing bill or an amendment to other legislation that will have the same dangerous language as Section 220. If she attaches this legislation to another bill, it will most likely go through the House Judiciary Committee, headed by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) who has lobbied for years for the impeachment of President Bush. Read More
Six Reasons to Oppose the ERA
by Patrick Briney, Ph.D.. President, ARRA: The ERA anti-family activists are at it again. 4ERA, “a national, non-partisan, single-issue, grassroots organization,” declares its mission is to “build solidarity among Americans for ratifying and promulgating the Equal Rights Amendment to the US Constitution.” Arkansas is on its hit list. They sponsored a rally in the Capitol Rotunda January 24, 2007 and invited Governor Beebe & the other Constitutional officers to speak. They also lobbied legislators to support their agenda.Why Arkansas? This national, anti-family group has targeted Arkansas as part of its three state strategy. To amend to the Constitution, thirty-eight states must ratify the ERA. At present, only thirty-five states have ratified ERA. The support of three states more is needed. The fifteen states that have not ratified ERA include Arkansas, Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia. In a set back for the ERA, five states (Nebraska, Tennessee, Idaho, Kentucky, and South Dakota) have since rescinded their ratifications thereby requiring ratification by eight more states.
ERA resolutions have been introduced into the legislatures of Arkansas, Arizona, Illinois, Florida, Missouri, and Virginia; and active ERA campaigns are being conducted in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, Oklahoma, and South Carolina. The Arkansas Senate barely rejected the ERA by only two votes in its 2006 session.
The text of the Equal Rights Amendment, as proposed in 1972 by the 92nd Congress, and as published in Volume 86, "United States Statutes At Large" (pages 1523–1524), reads as follows:
SECTION 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex
SECTION 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article
SECTION 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification
The language in this amendment is problematic for the following reasons - click to read. The fact that women today have successfully championed their rights in society and in the courts since 1789 is a testimony to the sufficiency of the Constitution to guarantee those rights. Attempts to approve the ERA, which only serves to confuse, take local and state control away from people, threaten religious and private institutions, and open the door for anti-family activists including homosexuals and abortionists, is ill advised. The ERA has been rejected since 1972 because it is a sloppy proposal. There is no mention of women in the amendment, and attempts to clarify its meaning have been futile. An amendment should be clear about its intent, and the ERA fails to do this.
Tags: Arkansas, Arkansas Republican Assembly, ARRA, Equal Right Amendment, ERA To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Republican Party of Arkansas implements 2007 fundraising effort
Clint Read, Executive Director RPA: The liberal gaggle of Senator Hillary Clinton, Senator Barack Obama, Senator Joseph Biden, Governor Bill Richardson, and John Edwards have all announced their intention to seek the Presidency in 2008. Because Hillary Clinton is the front runner of the liberal throng of Democrats, Arkansas will again be a battleground state in determining who will be the next President of the United States. Fact: Arkansas’ Six (6) Electoral Votes were the difference between President George W. Bush and President Al Gore in 2000. The RPA is preparing for the looming battle in 2008. Click HERE to contribute online. Ronald Reagan - “There are no constraints on the human mind, no walls around the human spirit, no barriers to our progress except those we ourselves erect.” Tags: Arkansas, Arkansas Republican Party, Republican To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
President renews push for 'amnesty'
Washington Times - President Bush last night said his administration has made huge strides clamping down on illegal border crossings, and called on Congress to finish the job this year by passing a guest-worker bill and extending citizenship rights to illegal aliens. In a State of the Union address designed to highlight areas where he could work with the new majority Democrats, Mr. Bush put immigration front and center, along with education, health care and energy policy -- all domestic issues where he thinks he can find common ground. "Convictions run deep in this Capitol when it comes to immigration. Let us have a serious, civil and conclusive debate -- so that you can pass and I can sign comprehensive immigration reform," Mr. Bush said . . . [Click for more]See also:
Tancredo: Congress 'Hell-Bent' on Mass Amnesty
The coming amnesty disaster (Michelle Malkin)
Texas governor: Border to get armed Guard (San Antonio Express-News)
The coming amnesty disaster (Michelle Malkin)
Texas governor: Border to get armed Guard (San Antonio Express-News)
Tags: amnesty, illegal immigration, President George Bush, State of Union To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
CNN Poll: Viewers have positive reaction to Bush speech
(CNN) -- CNN found that more than three-quarters of Americans who watched President Bush's State of the Union address had a positive reaction to it, although the reaction was muted from that in past years, according to a poll released Tuesday. Forty-one percent of 370 adults who watched the speech said they had a "very positive" reaction to it. Another 37 percent said their response was "somewhat positive."
Poll of 370 adults finds 78 percent of speech viewers reacted positively
• 67 percent think Bush's policies will move country in right direction
• Positive numbers muted in comparison with previous years
• 51 percent confident U.S. will meet goals in Iraq, down from 71 percent in 2004 Read More
Tags: President, George Bush, State of Union, SOTU, 2007
Poll of 370 adults finds 78 percent of speech viewers reacted positively
• 67 percent think Bush's policies will move country in right direction
• Positive numbers muted in comparison with previous years
• 51 percent confident U.S. will meet goals in Iraq, down from 71 percent in 2004 Read More
Tags: President, George Bush, State of Union, SOTU, 2007
Bush's 20 in 10: Strengthening America's Energy Security
In the State of Union Address, President Bush asked Congress and America's scientists, farmers, industry leaders, and entrepreneurs to join in pursuing the "Goal Of Reducing U.S. Gasoline Usage By 20 % In The Next 10 Years – 20 In 10." For too long, our Nation has been dependent on oil. America's dependence leaves us more vulnerable to hostile regimes, and to terrorists – who could cause huge disruptions of oil shipments, raise the price of oil, and do great harm to our economy.To achieve the 20 in 10 Goal, America is called to:
- Increase the supply of renewable and alternative fuels by setting a mandatory fuels standard to require 35 billion gallons of renewable and alternative fuels. In 2017, this will displace 15 % of projected annual gasoline use.
- Reform and modernize Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Standards for cars and extending the current light truck rule. In 2017, this will reduce projected annual gasoline use by up to 8.5 billion gallons, a further 5 % reduction that, in combination with increasing the supply of renewable and alternative fuels, will bring the total reduction in projected annual gasoline use to 20%.
The President's plan also included:
- Stepping up domestic oil production in environmentally sensitive ways.
- Doubling the current capacity of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to 1.5 billion barrels by 2027.
- Reducing gasoline consumption through the growth of alternative fuel sources and through increasing vehicle efficiency Read More
Tags: energy conservation, energy security, gasoline, oil, George Bush, State of Union, SOTU, 2007
Bush asks for patience with Iraq policy, Democrats say 'No'
AgapePress: In yesterday's State of the Union, President Bush discussed the economy, federal spending, health care, energy independence, immigration and education before broaching the topic, of the war in Iraq. The president implored Congress to allow him to continue engaging Islamo-facist terrorists -- and helping the governments that share America's interests -- on foreign rather than American soil. "The great question of our day is whether America will help men and women in the Middle East to build free societies and share in the rights of all humanity," Bush said. "And I say, for the sake of our own security ... we must."
"This is not the fight we entered in Iraq, but it is the fight we are in," the president continued. "Every one of us wishes that this war were over and won. Yet it would not be like us to leave our promises unkept, our friends abandoned, and our own security at risk. Ladies and gentlemen: On this day, at this hour, it is still within our power to shape the outcome of this battle," Bush added. "So let us find our resolve, and turn events toward victory." The president reiterated his plan to send an additional 21,000 U.S. troops to Iraq to finish what the U.S.-led coalition has started there. But Democrats rejected both the president's new plans and his assessment of the purpose of U.S. troops in the region.
"The president took us into this war recklessly," Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA), who gave his party's response, acccused. "We are now, as a nation, held hostage to the predictable and predicted disarray that has followed." Webb said Democrats are willing to wait for the president to take "the right kind of action" in Iraq, which he defined as "a policy that takes our soldiers off the streets of Iraq's cities and a formula that will in short order allow our combat forces to leave Iraq." Read More
Tags: Iraq, President George Bush, State of Union, 2007
"This is not the fight we entered in Iraq, but it is the fight we are in," the president continued. "Every one of us wishes that this war were over and won. Yet it would not be like us to leave our promises unkept, our friends abandoned, and our own security at risk. Ladies and gentlemen: On this day, at this hour, it is still within our power to shape the outcome of this battle," Bush added. "So let us find our resolve, and turn events toward victory." The president reiterated his plan to send an additional 21,000 U.S. troops to Iraq to finish what the U.S.-led coalition has started there. But Democrats rejected both the president's new plans and his assessment of the purpose of U.S. troops in the region.
"The president took us into this war recklessly," Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA), who gave his party's response, acccused. "We are now, as a nation, held hostage to the predictable and predicted disarray that has followed." Webb said Democrats are willing to wait for the president to take "the right kind of action" in Iraq, which he defined as "a policy that takes our soldiers off the streets of Iraq's cities and a formula that will in short order allow our combat forces to leave Iraq." Read More
Tags: Iraq, President George Bush, State of Union, 2007
Fearmongering
By Walter Williams: Political commentator Henry Louis Mencken (1880-1956) warned that "The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed -- and hence clamorous to be led to safety -- by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary." The Weather Channel has taken up that task with its series "It Could Happen Tomorrow."The Weather Channel started its "It Could Happen Tomorrow" series in January 2006. The program includes episodes where a tornado destroys Dallas, a tsunami destroys the Pacific Northwest, Mount Rainier erupts and destroys nearby towns, and San Diego is devastated by wildfires . . . [Click for more]Tags: climate change, global warming, Walter E. Williams To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
'Choose Life' plates upheld by federal judge as free speech
A federal judge turned back pro-abortion objections against the Choose Life license plates in Illinois saying motorists have the free speech rights to purchase them and place them on their automobiles. U.S. District Judge David Coar said protests from abortion advocates don't trump the First Amendment.Coar also said the state must issue the specialty license plates as long as the sponsors of it meet normal requirements on the design and number of motorists wanting one . . . [Click for more]Tags: free speech, pro-life To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Republican National Committee Elects new chairs
Last Friday, the Republican National Committee elected Sen. Mel Martinez as General Chairman of the Republican Party and Mike Duncan as Chairman of the Republican National Committee. In a joint statement, they identified that to regain the majority and retain the White House, we cannot just show that we want it more. We need to prove to the American people that we deserve it more. We need to be proud of our principles, confident that our ideas are best for the nation. We can't afford to wait another day. We must return to our roots as the party of freedom and reform, of lower taxes, limited government, individual responsibility, freedom here and abroad, and the power of faith. They are seeking your ideas on how we can make our Party stronger, now and in 2008 at http://www.GOP.com/YourIdeas .
On Tuesday, RNC Chairman Mike Duncan today announced the selection of Anne Hathaway as RNC Chief of Staff, Rich Beeson as RNC Political Director and Lisa Camooso Miller as RNC Communications Director. Read More
Tags: GOP, Mel Martinez, Mike Duncan, Republican Party, RNC
Argue's question - How are current dollars being spent by Arkansas Public Schools?
Monday, the House and Senate education committees adopted the adequacy report on efforts to adequately fund Arkansas' 450,000-student school system which calls for increasing per-student funding by .5 % in fiscal year 2008 and by 1.2 % the following year. The increase is significantly lower than an outside consultant's recommendation. Governor Beebe has said he wants to add another $19 million to public schools. Sen. Jim Argue (D-Little Rock), AR Senate Education Comm. Chair, says the next big question is not how much to fund the schools, but how current dollars are being spent.Tags: Arkansas, education
Arkansas Lt Gov Halter leaves Akamai Technologies board
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE (1/23/07): Arkansas Lt. Gov. Bill Halter (D) said Friday that he resigned from the board of directors of Akamai Technologies of Cambridge, Mass., effective Jan. 9, the day that he was sworn in as lieutenant governor. Last year, two of Halter’s opponents (a Democrat and a Republican) accused Halter of profiting from pornography and gambling through Akamai, which provides online services. Halter denied those charges. He said he didn’t know about the pornography part of Akamai’s operations when he began serving on its board in 2001. He said he learned about it in 2002 when the firm’s executives told the board that those pornography lines of business. ...Editor's Questions: What was that, Halter didn't know the company was peddling online pornography? How can you be on the responsible member of a board of directors for a company and not know what the company was involved in?
Tags: Akamai Technologies, Arkansas, Bill Halter, Democrat, Lt Governor To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Hundreds of Thousands of Pro-Life People March for Life in Washington
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Proving the pro-life movement is alive and well despite abortion advocates obtaining control of Congress last November, hundreds of thousands of pro-life advocates participated in the annual March for Life. The mood was optimistic and positive despite 34 years of legalized abortion since the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision. Polls reveal that 52% of the country is opposed to abortion except in very rare circumstances. The rate and number of abortions in the United States continue to decline, most notably among teens. More and more citizens are coming to question abortion and to recognize -- as a starting point for deeper conversion -- that there is something radically wrong with abortion and the support given it by our laws. Read More
Tags: pro-life, unborn, March for Life, 2007
Republican revolt builds over border agents - convicted under wrong law
By Jerome R. Corsi: At least 70 Republican Congress members are co-sponsoring a House resolution ordering that the convictions and sentences of Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean be vacated and that they be released from custody immediately. The resolution, H.R. 563, is being introduced by Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-CA, a candidate for the GOP presidential nomination. Even after suggestions last week that President Bush plans to review the Ramos and Compean case, the White House has continued reaching out for support to several prominent conservatives who, so far, are rebuffing administration requests to back the Justice Department on this case. Read More
Also read: Wrong law used to convict Border agents by Jerome Corsi -
Rep. Walter B. Jones, R-NC, has on record a letter written to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Oct.11, 2006, charging that Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean were charged under a statute that did not apply to the facts of the case. Ramos and Compean were convicted of violating 18 U.S.C. Section 924(c). This statute was written to increase the penalties when a violent criminal, such as a drug trafficker or a rapist, carries or uses a weapon during the commission of the crime. Law enforcement officers, including Border Patrol agents, are issued weapons by the Border Patrol to carry in the normal pursuit of their duties. 18 U.S.C. Section 18 U.S.C. Section 924(c) has only been applied to law enforcement officers who themselves commit heinous crimes, such as sexual assault, outside the scope of their official duties. As Jones writes, ''Ramos and Compean were within the scope of their official duties when they fired at an illegal drug smuggler they believe to be armed and dangerous.''
Tags: border control, border guards, Ignacio Ramos, illegal immigration, Jose Compean To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Also read: Wrong law used to convict Border agents by Jerome Corsi -
Rep. Walter B. Jones, R-NC, has on record a letter written to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Oct.11, 2006, charging that Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean were charged under a statute that did not apply to the facts of the case. Ramos and Compean were convicted of violating 18 U.S.C. Section 924(c). This statute was written to increase the penalties when a violent criminal, such as a drug trafficker or a rapist, carries or uses a weapon during the commission of the crime. Law enforcement officers, including Border Patrol agents, are issued weapons by the Border Patrol to carry in the normal pursuit of their duties. 18 U.S.C. Section 18 U.S.C. Section 924(c) has only been applied to law enforcement officers who themselves commit heinous crimes, such as sexual assault, outside the scope of their official duties. As Jones writes, ''Ramos and Compean were within the scope of their official duties when they fired at an illegal drug smuggler they believe to be armed and dangerous.''
Tags: border control, border guards, Ignacio Ramos, illegal immigration, Jose Compean To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Monday, January 22, 2007
Latest List of Presidential Candidates for 2008
List of presidential candidates for 2008 continues to grow:
Democrats who are running:
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (NY); Sen. Chris Dodd (CN); Former Sen. John Edwards (NC); Former Sen. Mike Gravel (AK); Rep. Dennis Kucinich (OH); Sen. Barack Obama (IL); Former Gov. Tom Vilsack (IA); Sen. Joe Biden (DE -says he is running, but has not filed with FEC)
Potential Democratic candidates:
Retired Gen. Wesley Clark; Former Vice President Al Gore; Sen. John Kerry (MA)
Republicans who are running:
Sen. Sam Brownback (KS); Former Gov. Jim Gilmore (VA); Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani (NYC); Rep. Duncan Hunter (CA); Sen. John McCain (AZ); Rep. Ron Paul (TX); Former Gov. Mitt Romney (MA); Rep. Tom Tancredo (CO); Former Gov. Tommy Thompson (WI)
Potential Republican candidates:
Mayor Mike Bloomberg (NYC- also potential Indep. candidate); Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich; Sen. Chuck Hagel (NE); Former Gov. Mike Huckabee (AR); Former Gov. George Pataki (NY)
Tags: Election 2008, Democrat, GOP, presidential candidate, Republican, U.S. To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Democrats who are running:
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (NY); Sen. Chris Dodd (CN); Former Sen. John Edwards (NC); Former Sen. Mike Gravel (AK); Rep. Dennis Kucinich (OH); Sen. Barack Obama (IL); Former Gov. Tom Vilsack (IA); Sen. Joe Biden (DE -says he is running, but has not filed with FEC)
Potential Democratic candidates:
Retired Gen. Wesley Clark; Former Vice President Al Gore; Sen. John Kerry (MA)
Republicans who are running:
Sen. Sam Brownback (KS); Former Gov. Jim Gilmore (VA); Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani (NYC); Rep. Duncan Hunter (CA); Sen. John McCain (AZ); Rep. Ron Paul (TX); Former Gov. Mitt Romney (MA); Rep. Tom Tancredo (CO); Former Gov. Tommy Thompson (WI)
Potential Republican candidates:
Mayor Mike Bloomberg (NYC- also potential Indep. candidate); Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich; Sen. Chuck Hagel (NE); Former Gov. Mike Huckabee (AR); Former Gov. George Pataki (NY)
Tags: Election 2008, Democrat, GOP, presidential candidate, Republican, U.S. To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
IBO - Results in Low Scores & Performance in Arkansas Schools
Arkansas allows school districts substituting the United Nations International Baccalaureate Organization courses (called IB or IBO), for Advanced Placement Classes. This is of great concern to many educators and citizens in Arkansas. Click to review prior our prior posting and background info on the UN IBO program and its implementation in Arkansas. The IBO program was previously implemented district wide in Hot Springs, Arkansas (one of three IBO Programs in Arkansas). After having the IBO program in high school for four years and in the elementary schools for six years, Hot Springs had their first IB Diploma graduates in 2005. The 2005 ADE Performance Record for Hot Springs record the negative consequences of this IBO program on achievement even though Hot Springs spends $8,688 per pupil - the state spends an average of $7,348 per pupil:
Read more statistics, information & references documenting the above concerns with the UN IBO program in Arkansas.
Tags: Arkansas, education, IBO, UN
Arkansas Illegal Immigrant Worker Bill Causes Debate
A proposed bill addressing illegal immigrants working in Arkansas and was met with some fierce debate. Illegal immigration is a hot button issue as Rep. Rick Green (R-Van Buren) introduced a bill that would prohibit Arkansas state contractors from hiring illegal immigrants. Green explained, that the bill was intended to keep illegal immigrants off state jobs. "It was to send a positive message to the people of our state that as legislators we're watching out for their tax money and making sure that it does not go to contribute to anything of illegal activity.”
However, very quickly despite support from the Arkansas American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (Arkansas AFL-CIO), Green was met with resistance from several committee members and did not get out of committee.... The full committee voted on House Bill 1024 was: Vote For (8): Representatives - Sandra Prater (D-Jacksonville), Marilyn Edwards (D-Fayetteville), Rick Green (R-Van Buren), Gregg Reep (D-Warren), Dawn Creekmore (D-Hensley), Mike Burris (D-Malvern), Sharon Dobbins (D-North Little Rock), Eddie Hawkins (D-Vilonia). Against (7): Stephanie Flowers (D-Pine Bluff), Stan Berry (R-Dover), Susan Schulte (R-Cabot), Daryl Pace (R-Siloam Springs), Jim Medley (R-Fort Smith), Roy Ragland (R-Marshall, Willie Hardy (D- Camden). Source Alyson Courtney, Today's THV
Tags: Arkansas, government, illegal immigration, new jobs
However, very quickly despite support from the Arkansas American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (Arkansas AFL-CIO), Green was met with resistance from several committee members and did not get out of committee.... The full committee voted on House Bill 1024 was: Vote For (8): Representatives - Sandra Prater (D-Jacksonville), Marilyn Edwards (D-Fayetteville), Rick Green (R-Van Buren), Gregg Reep (D-Warren), Dawn Creekmore (D-Hensley), Mike Burris (D-Malvern), Sharon Dobbins (D-North Little Rock), Eddie Hawkins (D-Vilonia). Against (7): Stephanie Flowers (D-Pine Bluff), Stan Berry (R-Dover), Susan Schulte (R-Cabot), Daryl Pace (R-Siloam Springs), Jim Medley (R-Fort Smith), Roy Ragland (R-Marshall, Willie Hardy (D- Camden). Source Alyson Courtney, Today's THV
Tags: Arkansas, government, illegal immigration, new jobs
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Today was National Sanctity of Human Life Day
A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America America was founded on the principle that we are all endowed by our Creator with the right to life and that every individual has dignity and worth. National Sanctity of Human Life Day helps foster a culture of life and reinforces our commitment to building a compassionate society that respects the value of every human being.
Among the most basic duties of Government is to defend the unalienable right to life, and my Administration is committed to protecting our society's most vulnerable members. We are vigorously promoting parental notification laws, adoption, abstinence education, crisis pregnancy programs, and the vital work of faith-based groups. Through the "Born-Alive Infants Protection Act of 2002," the "Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003," and the "Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004," we are helping to make our country a more hopeful place.
One of our society's challenges today is to harness the power of science to ease human suffering without sanctioning practices that violate the dignity of human life. With the right policies, we can continue to achieve scientific progress while living up to our ethical and moral responsibilities.
National Sanctity of Human Life Day serves as a reminder that we must value human life in all forms, not just those considered healthy, wanted, or convenient. Together, we can work toward a day when the dignity and humanity of every person is respected.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Sunday, January 21, 2007, as National Sanctity of Human Life Day. I call upon all Americans to recognize this day with appropriate ceremonies and to underscore our commitment to respecting and protecting the life and dignity of every human being. GEORGE W. BUSH, (1/18/07)
Tags: National Sanctity of Life, President, George Bush, pro-life, proclamation
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Hillary's team has questions about Obama's Muslim background
Are the American people ready for an elected president who was educated in a Madrassa as a young boy and has not been forthcoming about his Muslim heritage? This is the question Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s camp is asking about Sen. Barack Obama. An investigation of Mr. Obama by political opponents within the Democratic Party has discovered that Mr. Obama was raised as a Muslim by his stepfather in Indonesia. Sources close to the background check, which has not yet been released, said Mr. Obama, 45, spent at least four years in a so-called Madrassa, or Muslim seminary, in Indonesia. Read More ...Tags: Barack Obama, Democrat, Hillary Clinton, Muslim, presidential candidate To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Republican Senator Brownback to Run for President
Jan. 20 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS), one of the closest congressional allies of social conservative activists, said today that he will run for president in 2008. "Ours is a great nation and I make one pledge to you, to use our greatness for goodness,'' said Brownback, 50.
With that goal in mind, Brownback, who made his announcement in Topeka, Kansas, said that he supports "the institution of marriage as a union of a man and a woman for life.'' He also called for finding a cure for cancer, U.S. self- reliance in energy, winning the war in Iraq and a flat tax as an alternative to the current income tax system. A member of the Senate Appropriations and Judiciary panels, Brownback is best known for the central role he takes in debates on social policy. He is one of the Senate's most outspoken critics of abortion and embryonic stem cell research. Read More ...
Tags: social conservative, conservative, GOP, Kansas, presidential candidate, Republican, Sam Brownback, Senator
Sen.Hillary Clinton throws hat into ring
Six years after leaving 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue as first lady, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) announced this morning that she wants to return to the White House, this time as the country’s first female president. Clinton said she is launching a presidential exploratory committee, eliminating the last doubts regarding her intentions in 2008. Read More ...
Tags: Election 2008, Democrat, Hillary Clinton, presidential candidate, Senator To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Tags: Election 2008, Democrat, Hillary Clinton, presidential candidate, Senator To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
An Immigration Raid Aids Blacks -- For a Time
The Wall Street Journal - STILLMORE, Ga. -- After a wave of raids by federal immigration agents on Labor Day weekend, a local chicken-processing company called Crider Inc. lost 75 percent of its mostly Hispanic 900-member work force. ... For local African-Americans, the dramatic appearance of federal agents presented an unexpected opportunity. Crider suddenly raised pay at the plant. An advertisement in the weekly Forest-Blade newspaper blared "Increased Wages" at Crider, starting at $7 to $9 an hour -- more than a dollar above what the company had paid many immigrant workers. ... Of 400 candidates sent to Crider -- most of them black -- the plant hired about 200.
Crider is still about 300 people short of its work force before the immigration raids. It is now bringing Laotian Hmong immigrant workers and their families from Minnesota and Wisconsin, with hopes that they'll stay on the job and build new roots in Stillmore. Read More ...
Tags: black Americans, illegal immigration, new jobs To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Crider is still about 300 people short of its work force before the immigration raids. It is now bringing Laotian Hmong immigrant workers and their families from Minnesota and Wisconsin, with hopes that they'll stay on the job and build new roots in Stillmore. Read More ...
Tags: black Americans, illegal immigration, new jobs To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Poll: Giuliani, McCain Lead Iowa and New Hampshire Republicans
A new Zogby International poll of Iowa (IA) and New Hampshire (NH) Republicans and their thoughts on the potential candidates for the party's 2008 presidential nomination finds two candidates who aren't completely pro-life in the lead. New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani leads in the Iowa poll with Arizona Sen. John McCain a close second. The two change positions in the New Hampshire poll.Giuliani - 19 (IA) 20 (NH); McCain - 17 (IA) 26 (NH)
Gingrich - 13 (IA) 6 (NH); Rice - 9 (IA) 7 (NH)
Romney - 5 (IA) 13 (NH); Tancedo - 2 (IA) 3 (NH)
Hagel - 2 (IA) 3 (NH); No Pefreference - 22 (IA) 28(NH)
Other potential candidates, including pro-life Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas, pro-life former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, pro-abortion former New York Gov. George Pataki and former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, who backs embryonic stem cell research, all received just one percent in both polls. House Speaker Newt Gingrich received votes although he said he may not run and won't make a final decision until later this year. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said repeatedly she has no interest in running for president. Read More...
Tags: Election 2008, GOP, polls, presidential candidate, Republican To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Law would make Minutemen guilty of 'domestic terrorism'
An Arizona lawmaker has introduced a bill to revise the state's statutes on organized crime and fraud by defining "domestic terrorism" in such a way that members of the Minuteman Project or other border-patrol groups could be prosecuted and forced to serve a minimum six-month jail term. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix, introduced HB 2286 in the Arizona House on Thursday.Sinema, formerly of the Green Party, had earlier submitted a bill asking the legislature to make changes to a law used to prosecute customers of immigrant smugglers as conspirators under Arizona's human trafficking law . . . [Click for more]Tags: illegal immigration, minuteman project To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Friday, January 19, 2007
Arkansas Senators Voted to Restrict Grassroots Free Speech
Grassroots Restrictions Removed from Ethics Bill which passed. In a victory for grassroots groups across the country, Republicans stood united Thursday night and helped strike Section 220 from the Senate Ethics Bill. This section would have put undue regulations on the activities of grassroots organizations free speech with their constituents. Almost all Democrats voted to restrict grassroots groups and free speech by keeping Section 220 in the bill including Arkansas Senators Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor. (Senate Recorded Vote).
The restrictions would have affected any group conducting the smallest amount of lobbying, and local issue advocates who didn't comply properly would face fines and jail sentences for noncompliance. Groups including National Right to Life, Family Research Council, American Family Association, Focus on the Family, Traditional Values Coalition, Gun Owners of America, "church pastors", and others, were worried about bill S. 1. retricting their rights to identify issues and to ask their constituents to express their congressional representatives. The provision were so onerous that even the American Civil Liberties Union sided with conservative groups in opposition to them. To review topic concerns view prior posts including: Grassroots freedom of speech threatened - Action Needed!
Tags: Arkansas, free speech, grassroots, religious freedom, Senator
The restrictions would have affected any group conducting the smallest amount of lobbying, and local issue advocates who didn't comply properly would face fines and jail sentences for noncompliance. Groups including National Right to Life, Family Research Council, American Family Association, Focus on the Family, Traditional Values Coalition, Gun Owners of America, "church pastors", and others, were worried about bill S. 1. retricting their rights to identify issues and to ask their constituents to express their congressional representatives. The provision were so onerous that even the American Civil Liberties Union sided with conservative groups in opposition to them. To review topic concerns view prior posts including: Grassroots freedom of speech threatened - Action Needed!
Tags: Arkansas, free speech, grassroots, religious freedom, Senator