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Don't Drink the Kool-Aid
U.S. POLITICS
Democrats Change Rules to Make House Less Transparent, Protect Old Guard Committee Chairmen
Majority Plans to Gut Key Reforms, Take Away Ability to Stop Tax Hikes on Families and Small Businesses
Source: Republican Leader of U.S. House, Tue, Jan. 6, 2009
Washington - The 111th Congress convenes today – a day typically marked by a bipartisan spirit and the hope of cooperation to tackle America’s problems. As part of any congressional opening day, the House adopts rules to govern itself for the next two years. Unfortunately, this year’s rules package is marred by moves by the Democratic Majority to gut key reforms intended to help restore Americans’ trust and confidence in the People’s House. As the Associated Press notes, the Majority will end six-year term limits for powerful committee chairmen – taking the House back to the old days of backroom deals and undemocratic one-party rule:
House Republican Conference Announcement on Bill to Ban Fairness Doctrine
Source: C-SPAN, Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) was joined by Reps. Mike Pence (R-IN) and Greg Walden (R-OR) at a press conference to highlight the introduction of the Broadcaster Freedom Act on the Floor of the U.S. House. The Broadcaster Freedom Act would prevent the FCC from implementing the Fairness Doctrine without an act of Congress.
U.S. Senators Press Conference on Earmark Reform
Source: C-SPAN, Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Sens. Russ Feingold (D-WI), John McCain (R-AZ), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), and Tom Coburn (R-OK) spoke at a press conference to discuss their proposed legislation to reign in wasteful earmark spending.
Vying for the GOP
Source: TownHall, by Kathleen Parker, Wednesday, January 07, 2009
WASHINGTON -- When it comes to the six Republicans competing for lead dog of the GOP leadership, all are on point: They love Ronald Reagan, are pro-life, advocate small government, and promise more diversity and fewer taxes. They are also, with one exception, locked and loaded -- armed in Second Amendment solidarity. During a 90-minute debate Monday at the National Press Club, only Michael Steele confessed to owning no guns.
Dr. Dobson Supports Blackwell to Lead RNC
Source: Citizen Link, Jan. 5, 2009
Long-time social conservative Ken Blackwell is one of six men seeking to become the next chairman of the Republican National Committee. Republicans will vote during the party's winter meeting in Washington, D.C., later this month. Blackwell is a former mayor of Cincinnati and has served as Ohio’s secretary of state. He currently works as the Family Research Council's senior fellow for Family Empowerment. Ashley Horne, federal policy analyst at Focus on the Family Action, said: “Ken Blackwell has been a real advocate for family values, and we would love to see him as chairman of the RNC.”
TEXAS POLITICS
Source: The Dallas Morning News, Emily Ramshaw, Mon, January 5, 2009
AUSTIN – When Joe Straus jumped into a special election to fill a vacant House seat in 2005, he did it reluctantly. Four years later, the San Antonio insurance executive from a prominent horse-racing family is likely to become speaker of the Texas House.
Straus has been active in the Republican Party for decades, serving as a precinct chairman and working on campaigns for local, state and federal candidates. In his short time in the Texas Legislature, he's been highly regarded for his intellect, his personality and his even-handedness.
Joe Straus: Our first truly modern speaker
Source: Dallas Morning News, Opinion Blog by William McKenzie, Mon, Jan 05, 2009
What I like about Straus is that he's the first speaker we will have had who was not a product of the 1940s and 1950s. At 49, his formative influences were in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. That means he will be our first truly modern speaker, one who came of age watching Texas grow into an ideas-driven economy, not an oil-led one.
Slater: Straus' rise symbolic of the fracture in GOP
Source: Dallas Morning News, Op-Ed, Monday, January 5, 2009
AUSTIN — For Republicans debating the future of the GOP in the Age of Obama, here was one idea. Republican Joe Straus — political newcomer, partisan bridge-builder, advocate for “positive change” — presented himself Monday as the next speaker of the House. The actual selection by the chamber’s 150 members isn’t until next week, but the San Antonio Republican has rolled up more than enough support to succeed Republican Tom Craddick, the favorite of the party’s social conservative base.
Mark Davis: Give new House speaker a chance, for now
Dallas Morning News, Op-Ed, Tuesday, January 6, 2009
The prospect of a House Speaker Joe Straus has made next week's Texas legislative kickoff even more of an adrenaline rush.
While Republicans control the house by the slimmest of margins, 76-74, a vast majority did not want Straus to succeed Tom Craddick, who wisely and graciously exited on cue. Those Republicans preferred Amarillo's John Smithee, who told me Monday that he wanted to maintain firm conservative stances on various issues in the post-Craddick era. In a Sunday night meeting at an Austin restaurant, 55 House Republicans emerged ready to fight for Smithee against Straus, whom they viewed as a squishy moderate neophyte. They planned a full-scale persuasion offensive this week designed to win back the handful of Republicans who joined with virtually every House Democrat in backing Straus.
West Texas loses clout with Craddick leaving
Amarillo Globe by Enrique Rangel, Wed, January 7, 2009
AUSTIN - Two years ago, after state Rep. Tom Craddick won his third term as speaker of the Texas House, no one at the state Capitol was surprised when the Midland Republican appointed all three members of the Panhandle delegation to powerful committees.
Hartnett: The other side of the Craddick story
Source: Austin Statesman, Commentary by State Rep. Will Hartnett, R-Dallas, TEXAS LEGISLATURE, Friday, January 02, 2009
The American-Statesman editorialists made a predictable, partisan call for a new speaker of the Texas House of Representatives (editorial, Dec. 30). Like all Texans, they have the right to an opinion. The editorial dismisses Tom Craddick's record as speaker, but fails to acknowledge his many successes.
Even though our country is in dire economic straits, Texas stubbornly bucks the trend. While Craddick has been Speaker, Texas has created more jobs than any other state. Remarkably, our state created new jobs every month of this difficult year.
EDUCATION
JASON: Home-schoolers
Source: The Washington Times, OP-ED by Gary Jason, Friday, January 2, 2009
In the last election, unions spent $450 million to elect candidates who favor their agenda. They have succeeded beyond the dreams of avarice. The federal government is now virtually the empire of Big Labor.
Especially gleeful are the teachers' unions, who helped elect a president explicitly and vociferously opposed to vouchers. Even as America's students have dropped to their lowest level on standardized tests compared to students internationally, and even as drop-out rates soar past the 50 percent mark in most of the largest urban school districts, President-elect Barack Obama has shown contempt for school choice-even as he exercised school choice in enrolling his own children in the most expensive and exclusive private prep school in Washington, D.C.
ECONOMICS
Invasion USA
Source: Human Events, by Chuck Norris, 01/06/2009
The U.S. is being infiltrated by illegals, sold to foreign powers, and abandoned by its government. But are Americans enabling the dissolution of our economy and country as well by continuing to buy foreign goods?
America literally is being sold out from underneath Americans. According to the 2008 Economic Report of the President: "The United States is both the single leading recipient and leading source of foreign direct investment in the world. In 2006, total cumulative FDI in the United States was almost $1.8 trillion, 15 percent of the world total." In 2006, foreign-owned assets in the U.S. totaled roughly $16 trillion.
The Ledbetter Act: Sacrificing Justice for "Fair" Pay
Source: The Heritage Foundation, by Andrew M. Grossman, January 7, 2009
Legal Memorandum #34
Congressional leaders have said that they will fast-track the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, a bill that would allow pay discrimination lawsuits to proceed years or even decades after alleged discrimination took place. Proponents say that the legislation is necessary to overturn a Supreme Court decision that misconstrued the law and impaired statutory protections against discrimination, but the Court's decision reflected both longstanding precedent and Congress's intentions at the time the law was passed.
Last month's "Following Christ 2008" conference focused on human flourishing -- which one theologian labels as a "humanistic objective."
RELIGION
'Human flourishing' -- biblical? or humanistic?
Source: www.OneNewsNow.com , Pete Chagnon, 1/8/2009
InterVarsity's "Following Christ 2008" conference was held in Chicago on December 27-31. The conference, with the theme of "Human Flourishing," featured a bevy of speakers and was open for students, professors, faculty, and professionals. Gordon Govier, who works in media relations at InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, further explains the idea of living within God's design and desire for humanity.
Top Ten Instances of Christian Bashing in America, 2008
Source: Dr. Gary Cass, Christian Anti-Defamation Commission, Wed, Dec. 31, 2008
Contact: Dr. Gary Cass, (866) 508-2232
Vista CA; The Christian Anti-Defamation Commission (CADC) has prepared a Top Ten list of the most egregious acts of Christian Bashing in America for 2008. Every day in America serious Christians face increasing hostility at work, school, and in the culture because they stand for their faith and values. "It is time for the Christian bashing to stop and for Christians to no longer be treated like second-class citizens," said Dr. Gary Cass, Chairman and CEO of CADC. "Anti-Christian bigotry is real and growing. Those who engage in it should be exposed and called to account.
SOCIAL POLICY
States Need the Federal Defense of Marriage Act to Maintain Marriage Integrity
Source: Liberty Council, www.LC.org, January 6, 2009
Washington, D.C. – In response to the minority voices of those calling for the repeal of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), Mathew Staver released the following statement: “The sovereignty of each state to preserve the integrity of marriage must be maintained. Marriage as the union of one man and one woman is the first foundation of a stable and healthy government. Same-sex unions would establish the unwise policy of saying that children do not need moms and dads. The federal Defense of Marriage Act preserves state sovereignty and prevents one state from rewriting the definition of marriage for every other state. DOMA was passed overwhelmingly by a bipartisan Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. It is an extreme position to advocate the repeal of DOMA.”
Northern Exposure to Same-Sex Marriage
Source: Family Research Council
Supporters of same-sex "marriage" say they've learned their lessons from 2008 and have already begun charting a new course for the takeover of the traditional family. A coalition called Six by Twelve has set its sights on New England, a region many consider the country's most vulnerable. Working to capitalize on their gains in Massachusetts and Connecticut, homosexual activists have unleashed an aggressive strategy in hopes of completing a New England sweep for the redefinition of marriage by 2012.
Gay marriage backers target New England
Foes brace for a fight
Source: Washington Times, Valerie Richardson, Sunday, January 4, 2009
Two New England states have already legalized same-sex marriage, and a Boston-based advocacy group wants to see the other four join them.
Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, known as GLAD, has launched a first-of-its-kind regional campaign aimed at winning approval for same-sex marriage in the six-state New England region by 2012.
Teens Divulge Risky Behavior on Social Networking Sites
Source: HealthDay News, By Serena Gordon, Monday, January 5, 2009; 12:00 AM
More than half of teens who use the social networking site MySpace have posted information about sexual behavior, substance abuse or violence, new research shows.
Study Critical of Virginity Pledges Reveals that More Religious Teens Embrace Abstinence
Source: CNSNews.com, By Penny Starr, Senior Staff Writer, Wed, December 31, 2008
A study in the January issue of Pediatrics that is critical of virginity pledges nonetheless reveals that teens who are more religious have their first sexual encounter at the average age of 21, or four years later than teens who are not as religious.
Feminists worldwide promoting 'sexual genocide'
Source: OneNewsNow, Charlie Butts, 1/8/2009
Sex-selective abortion is rampant in many countries and continues to grow.
According to a publication in Orissa, the female sex ratio in India alone is at an all-time low. Steven Mosher heads the Population Research Institute, which monitors abortion internationally. "This is done in India in epidemic proportions. It's done in China," he notes. "It's done in many, many of the civilizations of East Asia and Southeast Asia."
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