Smital Mind: October 2007

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Halloween

by Kerby Anderson, Point of View: Today is October 31st. Most people know it as "Halloween" but it also has long been known as The Festival of the Dead. The Celtic tribes and their priests, the Druids, celebrated this day as a marker for the change from life to death. November 1 was the beginning of the New Year, so Halloween or "Samhain," was like New Year's Eve. It was both a time of death and new beginnings. The young would wander the countryside disguised in scary masks, carrying turnips carved into scary jack-o'-lanterns to frighten off ghosts and goblins. They believed that the veil between the living and the dead was believed to be the thinnest at this time, and therefore one could most readily communicate with loved ones in spirit.

Witches also celebrate Halloween as the "Feast of Samhain" which is the first feast of the witchcraft year. Being a festival of the dead, Halloween is a time when witches attempt to communicate with the dead through various forms of divination. Contrast this with God's command against divination in Deuteronomy 18.

The term Halloween is shortened from All-hallow-even, as it is the evening before "All Hallows' Day" also known as "All Saints' Day." Pope Gregory moved the day from May 13 to November 1. This made Halloween the eve of this celebration. November 1 became "All Hallow Mass," and October 31, became "All Hallow's Even."

Today, Halloween has become one of the more celebrated holidays. We are told that people spend more on decorations at Halloween that any other holiday except Christmas. And often the Halloween celebrations have included more and more occultic activity. Christians have two options: to ignore Halloween or to provide an alternative (like a Fall Fun Festival). I hope you have thought about what you will do today and tonight. Don't just go with the flow. Make an informed decision about what you will do on Halloween. Click to Listen to this Commentary

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Courts Not Fooled by Religious Witch Hunt

by Tony Perkins, FRC Washindton Update: Until last year, the Indiana statehouse opened every session in prayer, a tradition that's been a part of the assembly's proceedings for nearly 190 years. Yesterday, a 7th Circuit Court of Appeals panel, persuaded by the Liberty Counsel, reinstated that practice. By a vote of 2-1, the judges dismissed the suit brought by a group of taxpayers, which, the court said, "lacked the legal standing to bring the case" in the first place. FRC and the Alliance Defense Fund teamed up to submit a brief in the case, which argued that prohibiting the prayers was an unconstitutional constraint of religion. Meanwhile, ADF had its hands full in Kentucky, representing Timothy Morrison, a student who was forced to participate in school-sponsored "diversity training." Because the program also included a video that "instructed students to suppress Christian perspectives" on homosexuality, Morrison sued--and won. The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that silencing students because of their personal beliefs is a clear violation of free speech.

Tags: 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, Family Research Council, FRC, free speech, religous freedom, Tony Perkins To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Tom Tancredo Retiring from House

by Blake McCoy: Republican presidential candidate Tom Tancredo said Monday he will not seek re-election to his Colorado seat in the House in 2008. He will continue his long-shot bid for the White House. The five-term lawmaker said illegal immigration, his core issue, now has national prominence and he doesn't need to remain in Congress to promote it. "The issue now has a life of its own and it doesn't need one particular person to champion it," he said. "I feel my job, my task, has been completed. And I am very much at peace with the idea that if I'm not elected president then I won't be running" for another term in Congress, he said. . . . Tancredo, 61, is a former teacher and real estate developer who served in the Colorado state legislature in the late 1970s. He was elected to the House in 1998 in a district that includes the Denver suburbs. [Read More]

Tags: Colorado, Election 2008, GOP, presidential candidate, Representative, Tom Tancredo, US Congress To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Your Efforts Lead to Victories

American Family Association: Your Efforts Lead to Victories Several campaigns successful because you cared enough to get involved. Thanks to your efforts, we are making a difference in the culture war.

Update to Prior story: Federal government bans flag-folding recitations following complaint: OneNewsNow reports that the Veterans Affairs Department has changed its directive banning the use of a religious recitation at flag-folding ceremonies. A VA spokeswoman now says volunteer honor guards may recite any text requested by next of kin.
Update to Prior Story: Federal government strips "God" from the Washington Monument: OneNewsNow reports that in response to public protest, the National Park Service is rebuilding the display of the replica of the cap on the Washington Monument so that all four sides will be visible to the public, including the "Laus Deo" Latin inscription meaning "Praise be to God."

Tags: AFA, anti-christian, Christianity, Flag, military burials, military troops, National Park Service, US Capitol, VA, Veteran Affairs, veterans, Veterans Administration, Washington Monument To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Trick or Treat? Congress's SCHIP a Halloween Trick

The Heritage Foundation: According to media reports, Democrat Leadership and several Republicans in the Senate are attempting to peel off enough Republican no-votes on the State Childrens Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to override President Bush's veto. With enough "tweaks" to the bill they believe they can satisfy the needed number to sucessfully override the veto.

It appears Congress isn't seeing the big picture. Here it is in plain English: We’re at the tipping point. Almost half of America’s children--45 percent already have their health care paid for by taxpayers. The vetoed children’s health bill (SCHIP) would boost this to 55 percent. Once the teeter - totter tips to the other side, there's no turning back. The end result: 100 percent of America's children receiving health care from the government.

A Halloween Trick? Small changes to the SCHIP bill don't make it any less scary for America's kids.
- It will still take middle-class kids off private insurance and put them on government health care - complete with rationing, shortages and long waits.
- It will still need 22 million new smokers to fund health coverage for America's children.
- It will still allow states to leave behind the neediest children in order to cover kids from middle-class families.
- It will still cover adults rather than poor kids.

Treats rather than tricks... Congress needs to craft a more balanced approach to addressing the coverage needs of children. A compromise solution has been introduced by Senators Mel Martinez (R–FL) and George Voinovich (R–OH) in the Senate (S. 2193), and by Representatives Marilyn Musgrave (R–CO), Tom Feeney (R–FL), Tom Price (R–GA), and Tim Walberg (R–MI) in the House (HR 3888). This compromise reauthorizes SCHIP for the population it was intended to serve. It does not displace existing private health insurance for children and families, which is an increasing concern of more and more Americans who have come to understand the current debate. Moreover, this legislation provides tax relief-in the form of health care tax credits-for middle-income families with children, enabling them to obtain and keep health care coverage. [Read Online Article]

Tags: Halloween, Heritage Foundation, SCHIP To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

In Arizona, Some Teachers Don't Speak English

Eagle Forum, The Education Reporter: Each year since 2001, Arizona officials have visited classrooms across the state where students are learning English as a second language. English language learners fare worse on reading, writing and math assessments every year, and these state officials have been trying to find out why. Their visits last year discovered at least one important reason: nine out of 32 districts employed teachers who barely spoke English themselves. In 12 of the districts, some teachers flouted state law and taught their English language learners in Spanish. Officials said that some teachers were almost impossible to understand. Others were comprehensible but mispronounced words and used incorrect grammar and syntax. . . . Last year's visits also uncovered legal violations in whether or how schools provided English instruction to students.

Tags: Arizona, English, teachers To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

After Defeats, Democrat Leaders Studying Ways to Neuter Republicans’ Motions to Recommit

by Jennifer Yachnin, Roll Call (Subscription Required to read full article): . . . Democratic leaders acknowledged Tuesday they are reviewing the chamber’s rules to determine how to curb the minority’s ability to put up roadblocks at critical moments in the legislative process. House Rules Chairwoman Louise Slaughter (D) said the committee’s Democrats have begun meeting with both current and former Parliamentarians to discuss the chamber’s rules and potential changes. The New York lawmaker said those discussions have focused in part on the motion to recommit - one of the few procedural items in the minority party’s toolbox that allows them to offer legislative alternatives when a bill hits the floor, and that Republicans have used to force difficult votes on Democrats or prompted legislation to be pulled from the floor — as well as other procedures, which she declined to detail. . . .

But one Democratic lawmaker, who asked not to be identified, said the majority is considering neutering the motion-to-recommit process and converting it to little more than a last-chance amendment for the minority party. . . . House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) railed against Republicans’ use of that particular tactic at his weekly press conference Tuesday, echoing complaints Democrats have raised off-and-on since March. . . . Hoyer said. “We understand that. To some degree, we did that as well. So it is not surprising.” While Hoyer acknowledged that Democrats had at times employed the same approach in the past, he criticized Republicans for using the method 22 times thus far in the 110th Congress, asserting that Democrats used the tactic only four times between 1995 and 1998. . . .

Democrats earlier had sought to alter the House rules on motions to recommit in May — an unusual step, given that the chamber’s rules are rarely reopened mid-session — but Republicans rebelled on the House floor, and Democratic leaders agreed to forgo the changes, at least temporarily. . . . “Republicans and Democrats alike have lived under the very same germaneness rules since 1822, and changing them won’t solve the majority’s inherent inability to govern,” Boehner spokesman Brian Kennedy said. “This isn’t a question of rules, it’s one of competence.”

Tags: Democrats, US House To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Today in Washington D. C. - Oct 30, 2007

From Senate sources: Yesterday, Amtrak reauthorization bill (S. 294) passed (70 · 22) and referred to the House.

Senate return to SCHIP today. This version of the bill offers little improvement over the previous version of the bill. The Democrats’ handling of SCHIP is yet another example of their mismanagement of Congress. They spent months crafting a bill they knew the president would veto. Once that veto occurred, instead of trying to work out a compromise, Democrats spent two weeks running ads against Republicans before even holding a vote to override the veto which failed. Democrats then put together a hasty revision, which actually lost support in the House and are now trying to move it through the Senate, even though President Bush has said he will veto it.

Congress has not sent one spending bill to the president’s desk, something that hasn’t taken this long in 20 years. The Politico sums up Democrats’ mismanagement today: “Democrats have clearly chosen more politically expedient issues such as debating the war and keeping the SCHIP debate alive over the more fundamental job of passing appropriations bills.”

The "slow-walk" of Judge Mukasey continues. After demanding a new attorney general for months, Democrats got a nominee Sen. Schumer said could be confirmed “very, very quickly.” A number of Democrats have praised Judge Mukasey’s nomination and testimony.

On The Floor: The Senate reconvenes at NOON!
- Will consider the motion to proceed to the new SCHIP bill (H.R. 3963). Reid filed cloture on the motion to proceed to the bill and a vote is expected on the cloture motion later today. President Bush intends to veto this "version" of SCHIP as well.

- Next week, the Senate is may take up the $283 billion farm bill. Reid said he expects to spend a week on the bill, but it’s possible it could take longer than that.

Tags: Michael Mukasey, SCHIP, US Congress, US House, US Senate, Washington D.C. To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Pelosi finesses tax message

by Mike Soraghan, The Hill: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is finessing her support of Rep. Charles Rangel’s (D-NY) controversial new tax bill, highlighting Democrats’ concern about how Republicans plan to use it in the 2008 elections. Following the unveiling of arguably the most politically explosive domestic policy bill of the 110th Congress last Thursday, Pelosi seemed to wholeheartedly support the tax overhaul authored by Ways and Means Comm. Chairman Rangel. “I certainly support his plan,” Pelosi said to the assembled reporters. But when the transcript of the briefing came out, words were inserted — highlighted by brackets — clarifying that she supported his goal, if not his specific proposals. The final transcript read: “I certainly support his plan [to begin tax reform.]” The distinction is an important one . . .

Republicans criticized the change, but irritated Pelosi aides said too much is being made of an innocent change that was not intended to deceive. “It is clear she didn’t say it, but we put in there, in brackets, to clarify her intent,” Pelosi spokesman Nadeam Elshami said in an e-mail exchange. “She personally supports Rangel’s plan/bill to begin tax reform, but Congress will work its will.” Elshami added: “If The Hill feels compelled to report on this ridiculous story, let me then fill in the brackets . . .

What is left unsaid about Congress working its will is Pelosi’s role in altering legislation once it is approved at the committee level. Pelosi this year has significantly changed legislation before it hits the floor, ranging from war supplemental measures to the lobbying reform bill . . . Republicans compared the transcript change to the Soviet-era practice of erasing out-of-favor leaders from Kremlin photos. “You’d expect this from the Politburo, not the U.S. House of Representatives,” said Brian Kennedy, spokesman for House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH).

It’s not the first time that Republicans have faulted Democrats for changing the record. After a vote was incorrectly gaveled to a close too early on Aug. 2, Republicans say Democratic leaders scrubbed from The Congressional Record many of the floor comments of House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Boehner. “Don’t like the outcome of a vote? Change it. Don’t like the way transcripts read? Scrub them,” Kennedy added . . . [Read More]

Tags: House Speaker, increased taxes, John Boehner, Nancy Pelosi To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

No Internet Taxes for 7 More Years

The House today voted 402 to 0 to Suspend the Rules and Agree to the Senate Amendment: H R 3678 Internet Tax Freedom Act Amendments Act of 2007. The House had previously passed a moratorium on Internet Taxes for 4 years. However, after the House vote, the Senate passed a bill granting a moratorium for 7 years. The House agreed to accept the Senate proposal of 7 years. The President has said he will sign the following bill into law:

Internet Tax Freedom Act Amendments Act of 2007 - Amends the Internet Tax Freedom Act to: (1) extend until November 1, 2011, the moratorium on state taxation of Internet access and electronic commerce and the exemption from such moratorium for states with previously enacted Internet tax laws (grandfather provisions); (2) restrict the authority of certain states claiming an exemption from the moratorium under the Internet Tax Nondiscrimination Act of 2004 to impose Internet access taxes after November 1, 2007; (3) expand the definition of "Internet access" to include related communication services (e.g., e-mails and instant messaging) and redefine "telecommunications" to include unregulated non-utility telecommunications (e.g., cable service); and (4) allow a specific exception to the moratorium for certain state business taxes enacted between June 20, 2005, and November 1, 2007, that do not tax Internet access.

Tags: Internet tax, US Congress, no internet taxes, 7 years To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Founding fathers would be run out of town on a rail

by Dr. Walter E. Williams: Here's the oath of office administered to members of the House and Senate: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God." A similar oath is sworn to by the president and federal judges.

In each new Congress since 1995, Rep. John Shadegg, R-AZ, has introduced the Enumerated Powers Act (HR 1359). The Act, which has yet to be enacted into law, reads: "Each Act of Congress shall contain a concise and definite statement of the constitutional authority relied upon for the enactment of each portion of that Act. The failure to comply with this section shall give rise to a point of order in either House of Congress. The availability of this point of order does not affect any other available relief." Simply put, if enacted, the Enumerated Powers Act would require Congress to specify the basis of authority in the U.S. Constitution for the enactment of laws and other congressional actions. HR 1359 has 28 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives. . . .

James Madison, in explaining the Constitution in Federalist Paper No. 45, said, "The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce." . . .

Congressmen, openly refusing to live up to their oath of office, exhibit their deep contempt for our Constitution. The question I've not been able to answer satisfactorily is whether that contempt simply mirrors a similar contempt held by most of the American people. I'm sure that if founders such as James Madison, John Adams or Thomas Jefferson were campaigning for the 2008 presidential elections, expressing their vision of the federal government's role, today's Americans would run them out of town on a rail . . . [Read More]

Tags: Enumerated Powers Act, James Madison, oath, US Congress, US Constitution, Walter E. Williams To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

The Democrats Failing Message

by Matt Margolis, GOP Bloggers: I have to say I was a bit confused after reading this story about an internal Democrat memo that faults their party's message for not winning the hearts of voters. . . . I would argue the opposite. Democrats may be wrong on the issues, but they've got a good handle on rhetoric. For instance, their attacks over the SCHIP veto... They've made their attacks against Republicans a debate about denying health coverage for kids. They try to make the issue over gay marriage an issue about "equality." They've attacked Bush's tax cuts (the same ones that have strengthened our economy and brought unemployment significantly down) as tax cuts for the rich. And somehow, they've managed to keep a huge majority of the African-American vote despite the fact they were the party that opposed civil rights.

No, Democrats are not suffering from a deficit of rhetoric. They're suffering from being wrong on the issues and being out of the mainstream. . . . They know they lose on the issues, which is why they've failed to have a significant list of accomplishments since January. . . . Despite their victory last year, the Democratic Party is in trouble. If they think it's because of rhetoric and message and not about issues then they are in more trouble they realize. . . . [Read More]

Tags: bloggers, Democrats, GOP

Today in Washington D. C. - Oct 30, 2007

From Senate sources: Roll Call reports this morning that Democrats are once again re-working their strategy on handling appropriations bills. Their latest plan seems to be to hold money for Defense and Veterans’ Affairs hostage to their social spending priorities by combining the Defense, Military Construction-VA, and Labor-HHS-Education bills into a mini omnibus, or “minibus.” According to CongressDaily, a minibus package would not include bridge funding for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Anti-war liberals prevented Democrats from including such funding by threatening to oppose the bill if it included any more money for Iraq.

President Bush called out Congressional Democrats today on their historically awful record on spending bills. Not in the last 20 years has it been this long without Congress sending a single appropriations bill to the president. The president vowed he would veto a minibus and called for a clean veterans funding bill by Veterans’ Day. Sen. McConnell also called for clean Defense and veterans bills to be sent to the White House by then in a floor speech this morning.

Democrats also continue to stall on the nomination of Judge Michael Mukasey to be attorney general. The Sen. Judiciary Comm. has yet to vote on sending his nomination to the full Senate. Democrats are demanding Mukasey answer still more questions; todate, they’ve asked for answers to over 495 questions in writing. Democrat presidential candidates Chris Dodd and Barack Obama have now said they will oppose Mukasey. Such moves do little to help cooperation in a Congress The Politico reports is “at war over everything.”

On the Floor: - Senate will resume consideration of the Amtrak reauthorization bill (S. 294) - $11.4 billion for Amtrak over six years, mandate a strategic overhaul of Amtrak, and direct the government to refinance Amtrak’s $3 billion debt. Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) said he expects work on the bill to be finished today.
- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid vowed this morning to complete work on the House’s new SCHIP bill later this week, yet again threatening a weekend session.

Tags: Michael Mukasey, nomination, Judge Michael Mukasey, attorney general, Amtrak reauthorization, US House, US Senate, VA, Washington D.C. To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Monday, October 29, 2007

Proof Democrats Haven't Changed Washington

Hat tip to The Influence Pedler Editor for pointing out the following with the Water Resource Development Act.: Congress has sent President Bush a water projects bill which he's promised to veto because it's porked up. This is a little ironic; water projects bills are intended to be all porked up. Even though the veto seems likely to be overridden, this bill is worth noting because of the back-story: The Water Resources Development Act would authorize $23.2 billion for flood control, navigation and environmental restoration projects by the Army Corps of Engineers. The administration has threatened a veto, saying the cost is excessive. White House spokesman Scott Stanzel confirmed that the president still intends to veto the bill.

The final version is far more expensive than either the original Senate-passed bill, which authorized around $14 billion, or the House-passed version, which authorized about $15 billion. That's a neat way to do business: the House votes $15 billion; the Senate votes $14 billion. In the normal world, the compromise would be $14.5; in Congress, it's $23. When I worked on Capitol Hill, the general rule for handling earmarks in conference was that all earmarks in dispute were halved. That way conferees didn't have to fiddle around with changing overall spending levels. In this case, it seems that the compromise was to fully fund everything on both House and Senate lists -- and apparently some other items as well.

Tags: Congressional Pork, pork-barrel spenders, US Congress To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

John Edwards' Bullying Backfires

Hat tip to Bob Parks for lead on this story. The John Edwards for President campaign demanded the following story by college student reporter Carla Babb be taken off YouTube because they didn't like it. The story shows how UNC students feel about John Edwards' Campaign Headquarters being based in upscale Southern Village in Chapel Hill, NC. The student refused, the college backed her, and now the story John Edwards didn't want us to see has gone virtual and the student is on her way to accept an award for student jounalism. Click to see the news story about this situation and play the Original Story by Carla Babb:

Tags: Arkansas Democrat Gazette, John Edwards, news To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Federal government strips "God" from the Washington Monument

Victory Update - OneNewsNow reports that in response to public protest, the National Park Service is rebuilding the display of the replica of the cap on the Washington Monument so that all four sides will be visible to the public, including the "Laus Deo" Latin inscription meaning "Praise be to God." American Family Association: The National Park Service (NPS) has joined the Veterans Administration (VA) in establishing anti-Christian bigotry as public policy. The NPS has censored “God” from a key display of America's Christian heritage in Washington. The reference is an engraving of "Laus Deo," which is Latin for "Praise be to God," on the east side of the 100-ounce aluminum cap atop of the Washington Monument.

Since the actual inscription on the cap is unviewable atop the 555-foot stone column, the NPS created a replica which is on display in the white-colored obelisk of marble, granite and sandstone. Now “God” has been removed from the plaque containing information about the Washington Monument. In 2000 the plaque read: APEX OF THE MONUMENT Reproduction The builders searched for an appropriate metal for the apex that would not tarnish and would act as a lightning rod. They chose one of the rarest metals of the time, aluminum. The casting was inscribed with the phrase, Laus Deo, (Praise be to God).

The NPS censored the last sentence from the latest plaque, which now reads: CAP OF THE MONUMENT Reproduction The builders searched for appropriate metal for the cap that would not tarnish and would act as a lightning rod. They chose one of the rarest metals of the time – aluminum. In addition, the replica of the cap which is in the monument has been positioned so close to the wall that the wording “Laus Deo” cannot be read.

Prior to the censorship by the NPS, the replica wording could be read. It was the third time in just the past few weeks that an agency of the federal government has banned the use of “God.” First was the Architect of the Capitol banning religious references when issuing flag certificates. That ruling was later rescinded. Next came the VA censoring religious references in the script used to describe each fold of the flag at 125 national cemeteries. That censoring came after only one person complained.

Because of the NPS censorship, children and other visitors to the monument now have no way to know that the words, 'Laus Deo,' ('Praise be to God'), are inscribed on the original cap atop the monument! This censoring of God will help establish anti-Christian bigotry into federal law. See Also: Now, God banished from Washington Monument

Tags: AFA, American Family Association, National Park Service, US Capitol, VA, Veterans Administration, Washington Monument To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Pulaski Co. GOP Comm.Members Announce for State Offices

by David Kincade. Pulaski Co. Committee Newsletter: Several members of the Pulaski County Republican Committee have announced they intend to run for state office in 2008. Announced candidates include:
Jane English, House District 42
Tom Raley, House District 43
Allen Kerr, House District 32
Rep. Dan Greenberg, House District 31
Rep. Ed Garner, House District 41

Tags: Arkansas, candidates, GOP, Pulaski County

Congressional Leaders Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid "Tanked" in the Polls - Home folks not happy

by John Hill, The Sacramento Bee: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's own party is turning on her . . . For Pelosi, it was the first time the poll showed more people disapproving than approving of her performance – 40% to 35%, with 25% having no opinion. Other polls since 2003 have shown larger numbers of voters with no opinion, but Pelosi always won more approval than disapproval. As recently as March, California Democrats approved of Pelosi by a 5-to-1 ratio . . . Now it's less than 2-to-1. Nonpartisan voters also have soured on her. Only 22% of voters approve of the job Congress is doing, the poll found, while 64% disapprove . . . [Read More]

by Molly Ball, Review Journal: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's appeal among Nevadans has plunged dramatically in a new Review-Journal poll, which finds him viewed unfavorably by most likely voters in his home state. Reid is less favorably viewed than President Bush. "Fortunately for Reid, he doesn't have to run for re-election for a while" . . . Reid's favorable rating was 32% compared with 51% unfavorable and 15% neutral. . . . The new poll marks the first time the Review-Journal has measured Reid's unfavorable rating higher than his favorable number . . . [Read More]

Tags: California, Harry Reid, House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, Nevada, polls, Senate Majority Leader, US Congress To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Today in Washington D. C. - Oct 29, 2007

From Senate sources: John Spratt (D-SC), House Budget Committee chair, said Friday he thinks Democrats will support House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel’s (D-NY) $1 trillion tax plan. But Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell said that he considers that plan “dead on arrival” in the Senate. House GOP Leader John Boehner has an op-ed in The Examiner discussing all the problematic provisions of the Rangel proposal.

According to CQ Today, Democrats still have not decided which spending bill will be the first they send to the president. Not since 1987 has Congress failed to pass even one appropriations bill this late into the year.

Meanwhile, the Senate Judiciary Committee still has not held a vote on Judge Michael Mukasey’s nomination to be attorney general. Some Democrats seem to be frustrated that they could not get Mukasey to explicitly condemn waterboarding as an interrogation technique. Today The Wall Street Journal admonishes Democrats for playing politics with Mukasey.

On The Floor: Senate reconvenes at 3 PM today {don't you love their hours}. Will resume consideration of the Amtrak reauthorization bill (S. 294). The bill would authorize $11.4 billion for Amtrak over six years, mandate a strategic overhaul of Amtrak, and direct the government to refinance Amtrak’s $3 billion debt. Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) expects work on the bill to be finished on Tuesday. A number of amendments are pending including one by Sen. Allard (R-CO) to retain a law requiring Amtrak to become self-sufficient.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has filed cloture on the motion to proceed to the House’s barely altered SCHIP bill (H.R. 3963). A vote is likely later in the week. Note prior post House of Hypocrisy over SCHIP.

Among other bills that could be considered this week are a bill concerning Native American health issues and the Native Hawaiian government bill. Note prior posts: Hawaii Five-0-Five - Aloha to the Constitution and The Hawaiian Government Bill - Based on Race.

Tags: Amtrak, Charlie Rangel, Hawaiian Government bill, increased taxes, John Boehner, Michael Mukasey, Mitch McConnell, SCHIP, US House, US Senate, Washington D.C. To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Sunday, October 28, 2007

The trouble with RINOs

by Joseph Farah, WorldNetDaily: The pressure on Republicans to vote for "the only guy who can beat Hillary Rodham Clinton" continues. That's what the political know-it-alls are telling the grass-roots GOP voters about Rudy Giuliani.He's the only one. He's the best they can do in 2008. I have a few problems with this line of thinking:

What difference does it make if Giuliani is president or Hillary? I ask this as someone who knows first-hand the repressive instincts of the former first lady. I was public enemy No. 1 in the media during her reign of terror. Nevertheless, the fact remains, Giuliani isn't much different from the Clintons in substance. He said so himself in an interview with the Village Voice a decade ago: "Most of Bill Clinton's policies are very similar to mine." In fact, I'm not even sure he is eligible to run as a Republican. To run for the Republican nomination, you have to be a Republican. Giuliani denied he was really a Republican shortly after winning the race for mayor of New York – insisting that he was a "liberal Was he lying then or now? I think he's lying now." . . . [Read More].
[Listen to Rudy's own words on Aug. 13, 1996 in video below:]

Tags: Election 2008, Joseph Farah, RINO, Rudy Giuliani, video To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Playing the Blame Game

by Michael Reagan, Human Events: It was inevitable -- a huge swath of Southern California was ablaze in one of the worst wildfires in the state's history, yet all that gasbag liberals could do in the face of this disaster was to go looking for someone to blame. While hundreds of heroic firefighters risk life and limb to save as many homes as possible, and state and federal disaster officials bend every effort to put in place all the firefighting assets available to them, the likes of Harry Reid and Barbara Boxer and their allies scurry to use this immense tragedy to make political capital out of it. Reid was bad enough, dredging up the specter of imagined global warming to explain why California was burning, but Sen. Boxer outdid him by reaching down into her bag of slime to blame the fact that the fires were beyond the control of firefighters on the war in Iraq and the fact that many California National Guardsmen were involved there on the firing line and not at home on the fire lines.

They ignore a few salient facts, such as the reality that California is a bone-dry desert filled with highly flammable undergrowth and subject to a phenomenon known as Santa Ana winds, which at this time of the year tend to come roaring down the valleys towards heavily populated areas, ready to spread the fires that inevitably erupt in the fall months. Given those facts, it is easy to understand -- if you want to understand -- why, from time to time, this tinderbox of an area is given to destructive wildfires. But the partisan liberals who infest the political arena in California don't want to understand, and they certainly don't want you to understand these simple facts. They want to use such natural disasters to fan the flames of anger at the president and anybody else who doesn't share their ultra left-wing views and agenda . . . [Read More]

Tags: Barbara Boxer, California, crisis, Harry Reid, Michael Reagan, Politics To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Romney wins North Dakota Republican straw poll

by Janell Cole, N.D. Capitol Bureau: Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney came out on top in the first North Dakota Republican presidential straw poll in tonight’s party voting in Bismarck. About 250 people participated . . . The event is a prelude to the state’s presidential preference caucuses coming up Feb. 5. . . . Mitt Romney: 29%, Rudy Giuliani: 22%; Fred Thompson: 21%; John McCain: 21%. Mike Huckabee: 4%; Ron Paul: 4%: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (not a candidate): 2%; Duncan Hunter: 0% and Tom Tancredo 0%.

Tags: Election 2008, GOP, Mitt Romney, North Dakota, presidential candidates, Republican, straw poll To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

John McCain takes on Woodstock & Hillary [videos]

Some campaign political ads are worth watching because they share the truth, reach our souls and make us laugh. Such are two new television ads launched by JOHN MCCAIN 2008. The first has U.S. Sen. John McCain addressing "WOODSTOCK" and Hillary Clinton:

The second ad, "TIED UP," is based on Sen. John McCain's words at the last Fox News' GOP debates:

Tags: Election 2008, GOP, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, political ad, presidential candidate, video, Woodstock To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

The Robuck Report Rebuts John Fund's Opinion of Mike Huckabee

Yesterday. the ARRA posted a informative piece by Scott Miller, THE CONSERVATIVE titled the The Problem with Huckabee. With Mike Huckabee being a favored son in Arkansas, it is only right to provide another viewpoint. Professor Lucas Roebuck writes social and political commentary from a conservative, Evangelical perspective. Roebuck is professor of journalism for Northwest Nazarene Univ. He is the former managing editor of the Siloam Springs (Ark.) Herald-Leader and the Northwest Arkansas Times. In his The Roebuck Report in an article Fund's assignation of Huckabee misleading, he takes on Friday’s Wall Street Journal editorial by John Fund:

Fund attempts to make the case that Huckabee is “not the ‘consistent conservative’ he claims to be.” However, instead of constructing a well-researched case of examples of Huckabee’s supposed conservative inconsistencies, Fund strings together a handful of individuals who simply accuse Huckabee of being liberal with little or no factual support. Furthermore, what little evidence Fund does present is skewed by critical omissions of relevant fact. . . .

If an absolute hard line on immigration is more important to you than say, ending abortion, then Huckabee isn’t your candidate. Huckabee says on immigration, “My number one priority is to secure America’s border” and “those caught trying to enter the country illegally must be detained, processed and deported” (as opposed to catch and release). . . . Huckabee is as conservative or more conservative on immigration than former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Sen. John McCain and former Gov. Mitt Romney. . . .

In considering Huckabee’s social conservatism, Fund either is talking out of both sides of his mouth or implying Huckabee is hypocrite. In one sentence, Fund describes Huckabee as “running hard right” on social issues, but then cites Texas judge Paul Pressler, who "led the conservative Southern Baptist revolt" saying that Huckabee “never appointed conservatives while he headed the Arkansas Baptist Convention.” Fiscal conservatives? Theological conservatives? Social conservatives? Those who like conservative hymns instead of guitar-led worship? . . . .

Every year while governor, Huckabee led the line in Arkansas’ annual Right to Life march. Huckabee also led efforts to pass a state constitutional amendment recognizing marriage as a bond between one man and one woman. Finally, Huckabee was proactive in helping to strengthen marriages in Arkansas by promoting “Covenant Marriages” as an option in Arkansas, where couples must see counseling before a judge will grant a divorce on grounds of convenience. Huckabee is not the perfect candidate.

His flirting with carbon credits and his weak stance against SCHIP expansion, both noted by Fund, don’t thrill me. But who can I count on to strongly oppose the infanticide going on in this country? Not Giuliani, who is self-described as pro-choice, nor Romney, who flips on issues like abortion for political expedience. Who can I trust not to raise taxes? Not Giuliani, who won’t sign an anti-tax pledge, nor Romney — again, whose flip-flopping ruins his credibility. Contrary to Fund’s assertion that Huckabee is an inconsistent conservative, Huckabee is a social conservative I know I can count on. . . . [Read Complete Article]

Tags: Election 2008, John Fund, Lucas Roebuck, Mike Huckabee, Republican To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Right-Of-Center Bloggers Select The Most & Least Desired 2008 Republican Nominee (Fourth Quarter Of 2007 Edition)

ARRA Note: Follow-on to the Right Wing News report for the 3rd Qtr 2007 Edition: [Summary: Fred Thompson continues as candidate of choice for right-of center bloggers.]
10/26/07: Right Wing News emailed more than 225 right-of-center bloggers and asked them to send us a ranked list 1-5 of the candidates that they would most like to take the Republican nomination for President in 2008 and the 1-5 candidates they'd least like to see as the Republican nominee in 2008 . . .
Most Desired Nominee For 2008 (desired position: 1st)
10) John Cox (3.0)
9) Alan Keyes (5.0) - new candidate since last report
8) Ron Paul (9.0)
7) Tom Tancredo (20.0)
6) John McCain (28.5)
5) Mike Huckabee (37.5)
4) Mitt Romney (45.0)
3) Duncan Hunter (51.0)
2) Rudy Giuliani (55.5)
1) Fred Thompson (76.5)

Least Desired Nominee For 2008 (desired position: 10th)
10) Fred Thompson (4.5)
9) Mike Huckabee (13.0)
8) Duncan Hunter (13.5)
7) Mitt Romney (20.0)
6) Rudy Giuliani (22.5)
5) Tom Tancredo (35.5)
4) John Cox (41.0)
3) John McCain (41.5)
2) Alan Keyes (46.5) - new candidate since last report
1) Ron Paul (74.5)

Net Score For The GOP Nominees (Positive Minus Negative - desired position: 1st)
10) Ron Paul (-65.5)
9) Alan Keyes (-41.5) - new candidate since last report
8 John Cox (-38.0)
7) Tom Tancredo (-15.5)
6) John McCain (-13.0)
5) Mike Huckabee (24.5)
4) Mitt Romney (25.0)
3) Rudy Giuliani (33.0)
2) Duncan Hunter (37.5)
1) Fred Thompson (72.0)
[Read More]

Tags: election 2008, GOP, online polls, Republican, republican candidates, Right Wing To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Saturday, October 27, 2007

NewsBusted Conservative Comedy, Ep. 114 [Video]

Complements of NewsBusters: Time to Kickback & relax with a little conservative comedy: Topics in this episode: Hillary Clinton, CNN, the 2008 Nobel Prize and more!

Tags: CNN, comedy, Hillary Clinton, news, Politics, standup, video To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Hope on the Sea Horizon - Senate Republicans may sink Bush's UN treaty

by Cliff Kincade: Can the U.N.'s Law of the Sea Treaty not only be delayed but defeated outright in the Senate? That's the question that conservatives are delightfully pondering as a remarkable series of events has put the pact, supported by the Bush Administration and the liberal leadership in the Senate, in serious jeopardy. Perhaps the most significant development is the announcement by Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell that he will oppose the White House and vote against the treaty.

As opponents of the treaty make their case in advertisements and on cable TV and talk radio, Republican senators are increasingly hearing from their constituents that they don't want the treaty ratified because it will undermine American sovereignty and hand more power over to the United Nations. In the same way that the people prevailed in the Senate in the matter of defeating the illegal alien amnesty bill, it is entirely possible that the U.N. power grab known officially as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea could be rejected. . . . [Read More] Contact your senators! Let them know you are against the Law of the Sea Treaty.
See also: Supreme Court Case Proves "LOST" Must Sink

Tags: Cliff Kincaid, Law of the Sea Treaty, Mitch McConnell, US Senate To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

The Problem with Huckabee

Info, opinions and positions abound. Here is one posted today by Scott Miller, THE CONSERVATIVE POST: Mike Huckabee has been having a good run lately. He’s done very well in all the Republican debates, he is very articulate, and actually pretty funny. He is moving up in the polls in Iowa, getting good press, and has moved into the upper tier of candidates… all with pretty limited resources. So why the title of this post… “The Problem with Huckabee”? Well, while Mike is a social conservative, he has a very spotty record as a fiscal conservative. Pat Toomey lay’s out the case against Huckabee’s fiscal record in Arkansas in a very persuasive piece on NRO: Dump the Huck

During Huckabee’s tenure as governor, the average Arkansan’s tax burden increased 47 percent, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. A dyed-in-blue tax hiker, Huckabee supported raising sales taxes, gas taxes, grocery taxes, even nursing home bed taxes. He virulently opposed a congressional moratorium on taxing Internet access, and sat on the sidelines while his Democratic legislature pushed the largest tax hike in Arkansas history into law. What’s more, on his watch, and frequently at his behest, state spending increased by 50 percent, more than double the rate of inflation, and the number of state government workers rose by 20 percent. Yes, as a presidential candidate, Huckabee has signed on as a supporter of the Fair Tax and pledged against raising taxes, but when a candidate’s long and clear record flies in the face of his election-year symbolism, you can chalk it up to politics every time.

Huckabee makes no secret of his desire to turn the GOP leftward, calling himself a “different kind of Republican,” adopting protectionist positions, and peppering his campaign speeches with the kind of class warfare rhetoric one expects to hear from John Edwards. No doubt, this is the reason that the liberal media is so smitten with him.

Instead of talking about curtailing government spending, Huckabee refuses to endorse President Bush’s veto of a vastly expanded S-CHIP. He is an unabashed fan of No Child Left Behind and an opponent of private school choice. Huckabee is also quickly becoming the labor unions’ favorite Republican, recently gaining a union endorsement along with Hillary Clinton.

Pretty devistating case against Mike. While I like Mike Huckabee, and would vote for him over Hillary Claus any day, his big government record in Arkansas precludes me from backing him for the nomination. When you take the true measure of each candidate’s record, it’s clear that the Fred Thompson is really the only solid conservative in the top tier, and that’s why I’m with Fred.

Tags: Election 2008, Mike Huckabee, presidential candidate To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Mike Huckabee is on the Leader Board

At golf tournaments, players and spectators watch the leader board. Yesterday, the Rasmussen Reports placed Mike Huckabee on the leader board. He passed Romney an is in #4 on the leader board. True, we have many more holes to play. The leader board standings are:

Rasmussen Reports on Friday identified that "Rudy Giuliani remains precariously atop the pack with support from 20% of Likely Republican Primary Voters nationwide. Fred Thompson is close behind at 19% while John McCain enjoys a second straight day in third place with 14% of the vote. Huckabee continues to gain ground and is just two points behind McCain at 12%. This is the first time all year that Huckabee has surpassed Mitt Romney. The former Massachusetts Governor slipped another point and he is now at just 11% nationally. No other Republican attracts more than 3% support while 18% are undecided." . . . [Read More]

Tags: Election 2008, Fred Thompson, golf, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Rasmussen Poll, Rasmussen Reports, Rudy Giuliani To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Rusty on "Media Matters Survey Matters Not At All"

Rusty Turner, Editor, The Morning News (Northwest Arkansas), shared his comment on a recent survey by Media Matters, a left-wing liberal , news source working for the election of Hillary Clinton and others. He even takes a small poke at Accuracy In Media, a conservative watchdog of the liberal press. The following quotes by Rusty should wet your appetite in hopes you will drop read his total thoughts on the Media Matters and their surveys:

I got quite a chuckle out of a recent press release from an outfit called Media Matters which said that conservative opinion dominates American newspaper editorial pages. . . . Those of us in the newspaper business greeted the news with a shrug of the shoulders and an eye roll, because we all know what Media Matters is. It calls itself a progressive web-based organization dedicated to correcting the inaccuracies promoted by the “conservative” media. In other words, it is a liberal mouthpiece. And if its self-description sounds familiar, it is. . . .

I laughed the hardest, though, when I got to part of the Media Matters report dedicated to Arkansas daily newspapers. The report scores each newspaper’s op-ed content on how progressive or conservative it is. The Morning News’ score? One-hundred percent conservative. That sound you hear is local Republicans gasping and area Democrats saying “Huh?” Here’s how Media Matters came to that score, and here’s why its survey and report are worthless: . . . [Read More]

Tags: media bias, Media Matters, news media To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Flag-folding recitations for vets banned because of religious content

Victory Update - OneNewsNow reports that the Veterans Affairs Department has changed its directive banning the use of a religious recitation at flag-folding ceremonies. A VA spokeswoman now says volunteer honor guards may recite any text requested by next of kin.
OneNewsNow: In the latest attack on Christianity, the U.S. government has banned the flag-folding recitations at all 125 national cemeteries. The banning came as the result of one complaint! The situation is similar to that in which one person removed prayer from schools. They cite an AP source to explains the situation:

Complaints about religious content have led to a ban on flag-folding recitations by Veterans Administration employees and volunteers at all national cemeteries.

At thousands of military burials, VA volunteers have folded the American flag 13 times and recited the significance of each fold to survivors. The 11th fold glorifies "the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” The 12th glorifies "God the Father, the Son and Holy Ghost." Citing a need for uniformity, the National Cemetery Administration has prohibited unpaid VA volunteers as well as employees from conducting the recital at all 125 national cemeteries. American Legion attorney Rees Lloyd calls it "another attempt by secularist fanatics to cleanse any reference to God."

Following one complaint, the Veterans Administration has made anti-Christian bigotry the law of the land. The U.S. government has bowed to pressure from one radical anti-Christian secularist. Allowed to stand, the action by the Veterans Administration, in essence, means that anti-Christian bigotry is now the accepted and approved law of the land . . . [Read More]

Take Action: Sign the American Family Association online petition to President Bush asking him to rescind the action to ban the recitation now in use. It will immediately go to the White House. Then comment and send this info on to others.

Tags: anti-christian, Christianity, Flag, military burials, military troops, Veteran Affairs, veterans To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Solving illegals immigration, hurricane recovery & aligators problems (humor)

Everyone concentrates on the problems we're having in this country lately;
illegal immigration, hurricane recovery, alligators attacking people in Florida.Not me. I concentrate on solutions for the problems. It's a win-win situation.

Dig a moat the length of the Mexican border.

Send the dirt to New Orleans to raise the level of the levies.

Put the Florida alligators in the moat along the Mexican border.

Any other problems you would like for me to solve today?

Tags: alligators, government, humor, hurricane recovery, illegal immigration, political humor To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Friday, October 26, 2007

Oklahoma Lawmkers Reject Qurans - What's happening in your state and neighborhoods?

Hat Tip to Foehammer's Anvil for getting the word out on this story. MSNBC News: Oklahoma lawmakers object to donated Qurans - Gifts returned to diversity panel; lawmaker says book condones killing:

A gift intended to promote diversity in Oklahoma is generating controversy instead. Several state lawmakers are returning copies of the Quran to a state panel on diversity after one lawmaker claimed the Muslim holy book condones the killing of innocent people. In a letter to colleagues, state Representative Rex Duncan says "most Oklahomans do not endorse the idea of killing innocent women and children in the name of ideology." At least 17 other legislators have notified the Governor's Ethnic American Advisory Council that they too will return the gift.

The council's chairwoman, herself a Muslim, is denouncing Duncan's assessment of Islam. She says Islam not an ideology but a religion, and a "very peaceful, very inclusive" one. In Washington, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) calls Duncan's statement "disturbing" and "offensive."

ARRA Comment: Thank you to the Oklahoma lawmakers who stood up. What is Oklahoma's Governor doing with an Ethnic American Advisory Council? A Cowboy Advisory Council - Yes! A Ethnic Council that passes out a book advocating the death of Christian, Jews and all other Americans with a beliefs other than those of Muhammad and the present Islamist radical seeking to destroy America - No! Makes me wonder what is going on in Arkansas and all the other states and territories. Please share with us what is happening in your community or state related to passing out Qurans (Korans).

Tags: CAIR, Council on American-Islamic Relations, Koran, Oklahoma, Quran

2nd Amendment Rights Denied Students -- Bradey Center Solution: 'Drop Out of School'

James Taranto, Best of the Web addresses a litany of topics you may wish to review but one that caught ARRA's attention was his comments regarding Wednesday's Fox News report by Melissa Underwood: Students Strap On Empty Holsters to Protest Gun Restrictions on Campus. Taranto said: Last April a man who seemed to have been mentally ill went on a rampage at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Cho Seung-hui used firearms to murder 32 people before killing himself--and somehow he managed to do it even though Virginia Tech is a "gun-free school." Or was that because it's a gun-free school? As we noted at the time, a shooting five years earlier at another Virginia institution, the Appalachian School of Law, was stopped when an armed student confronted the gunman. Appalachian, a private school, is not "gun free." From these two incidents it is reasonable to believe that campus gun bans are more effective in preventing defensive than aggressive use of guns--a view that is gaining adherents on campus, Fox News reports:

College students across the country have been strapping empty holsters around their waists this week to protest laws that prohibit concealed weapons on campus, citing concerns over campus shootings. "People who would otherwise be able to defend themselves are left defenseless when on campus," said Ethan Bratt, a graduate student wearing an empty holster this week on the campus of Seattle Pacific University. Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, a group of college students, parents and citizens who organized after the deadly shootings at Virginia Tech University in April, launched the protest. . . .

But others believe college is no place for firearms. "You don't like the fact that you can't have a gun on your college campus? Drop out of school," said Peter Hamm, a spokesman for the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence . . . [Read More]

"Drop out of school." Hamm's advice certainly reflects the degree of maturity and thoughtfulness we've come to expect from the Brady Center. Well Put James!

Tags: 2nd Amendment, Bradey Center, colleges, Fox News, gun control, gun rights, James Taranto To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!