LEGISLATIVE UPDATE - WEEK ENDING JUNE 24, 2005
HOUSE IN SESSION / SENATE IN SESSION
PRESIDENCY
STILL STANDING FIRM
Last week I pointed out that President George W. Bush stands behind his nominees not for weeks, or months, but for years. Some of the Circuit Court judges who just won confirmation in the Senate were nominated by the President four years ago. This has frustrated and angered the Democrats as they fight to stop the nomination of John Bolton to the post of United Nations ambassador. There have been two votes to break the Democrat filibuster against Bolton and Majority Leader Frist publicly said he could not get the vote onto the floor. President Bush on Wednesday asked Frist for one more attempt to break the filibuster. Will number three be the charm? I doubt it, but if the Democrats block a vote on Bolton again this will give the President the ammunition he needs to give Bolton a recess appointment during the July 4th recess. Will President Bush use his recess appointment authority to send John Bolton to New York as Ambassador to the United Nations? My White House sources say he will.
KARL ROVE ON DEMOCRATS AND TERRORISTS
Karl Rove, the number one man behind President Bush's reelection and perhaps his closest friend told an audience in New York that liberals such as Dick Durbin just did not understand 9-11. "Liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers," Rove said Wednesday night. "Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 and the attacks and prepared for war." The comments of Dick Durbin confirm this. Senator Durbin is very concerned about the treatment of mass murderers imprisoned at GITMO, but has no concern at all for our men and women in uniform facing these terrorists. (Click here for full story)
CONGRESS
SENATORS, CONGRESSMEN AT RFC EVENT
Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) along with congressmen Todd Akin (R-MO) and Trent Franks (R-AZ) attended a fund raising reception at the Capitol Hill Club for the Religious Freedom Coalition's new Bethlehem Project. (See photo) Senator George Allen, who was scheduled to be at the event, had a last minute conflict and was unable to attend. The event raised several thousand dollars as a kick off for the Bethlehem Project. The reception also showed congressional support to keep Bethlehem as a "diverse" community. By helping with scholarships to Christian schools and helping to provide jobs, the Bethlehem Project will help the remaining Christians in Bethlehem. There are now far more Palestinian Christians in Chile that in Bethlehem. Click here to support the Bethlehem Project
SENATOR TRAITOR CONTINUED
Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) finally apologized for comparing American soldiers to Nazis. He had claimed on the Senate floor that the actions of our armed forces were the same as those of Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Pol Pot. Republican leaders such as Majority Leader Bill Frist and conservative media such as FOX News kept up the pressure on him. Finally he gave a weak apology, one of those "I'm sorry if I offended anyone" type of apology that someone gives when they really don't mean it. The mainstream media ignored his outrageous remarks for the most part with some liberal newspapers actually defending him. This is what the liberals miss: intimidating a terrorist during interrogation by having a police dog in the same room with him is not the same as cutting off fingers or pulling teeth during a Nazi torture session. People in Hitler's and Pol Pot's concentration camps had their private areas burned or mutilated to make them sign false confessions. The liberal media and the Democrat leaders, such as Reid and Pelosi, are trying to compare placing someone in an air conditioned cell in Cuba with those kinds of torture. The reality is that the questioning techniques used at GITMO are no different than those used by the New York City police department.
PARENTS RIGHT TO KNOW
On Tuesday the Religious Freedom Coalition participated in a press conference with Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) as he introduced the Parents Right to Know Act of 2005. This bill would require federally funded Title X clinics to give a parent five (5) days notice before giving a minor child contraceptive drugs or prescription devices. The House version of the bill sponsored by Congressman Todd Akin (R-MO) has passed the House by a wide majority in previous sessions of Congress. The bill has never had strong Senate backing before. Because Senator Tom Coburn is a medical doctor he brings new power to the bill in the Senate. At the news conference he was able to report on the adverse effects of giving children these kinds of drugs. He pointed out that as a doctor he cannot give any child medical treatment or prescribe any drug without parental consent, but that a Title X clinic can give a child potentially life threatening drugs without even notifying a parent. He told of one case in which contraceptive pills were given to a 15 year old girl who had a family history of a blood clotting disorder, something no doctor would ever do. (Click here for Coburn statement.)
PLEDGE PROTECTION
Congressman Todd Akin (R-MO) was one of the elected officials who attended the Religious Freedom Coalition reception on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, June 21st. While there he talked briefly about the reintroduced Pledge Protection Act. The bill protects "under God" in the current Pledge of Allegiance from the purview of federal courts. His bill was passed by the previous session of the House. Senator Brownback, who was also present at our reception Tuesday night, will support the bill in the Senate. The chief Senate sponsor is Jon Kyl (R-AZ).
FLAG PROTECTION
On Wednesday, June 22nd the House once again passed a constitutional amendment to protect Old Glory from desecration by a vote of 286 to 130. While the Democrat leadership voted against the amendment, many rank and file Democratic congressmen voted for it. The Supreme Court has ruled that defacing, burning and humiliating the Stars and Bars are protected as political free speech. Since laws protecting the flag were found unconstitutional Republicans have passed a constitutional amendment in the House several times, but it has failed in the Senate. With a Republican majority in the Senate and some Democrats fearful of association with their own anti-American leadership there is now a posibility the Amendment can be passed out to the States. (Click here for GOPUSA story)
INTERNATIONAL
SUICIDE BOMBERS EVERYWHERE
There are several suicide bombings every week in Iraq. One day last week there where five suicide bombings in just one day in Baghdad. DNA tests indicate that virtually all the suicide bombers are not Iraqi, but North Africans, particularly from Morocco and Tunisia, both more or less secular Islamic nations. The human bombs themselves were most likely recruited out of poverty stricken areas of Europe. Europe imports a lot of cheap labor from North African Islamic nations. The suicide bombing trend seems to be moving to Afghanistan as well and military officials are now worried about stability in that nation as well.
NO BOMBINGS IN ISRAEL?
Under the "moderate" leadership of Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas the bombings in Israel have stopped, at least that is the line of our liberal media. The reality is very different. Last week two suicide bombers were stopped by Israeli security and this week a female bomber was stopped on her way to blow herself up at a hospital. The story of Wafa Samir Ibrahim Bas, age 21, is one of the saddest and most outrageous of all the suicide bombing stories I have read. In December she was severely burned in a cooking accident in her home located in the Gaza Strip. Rushed to an Israeli hospital, she was treated for almost two months with some extensive and costly reconstruction done at no cost to her family. This week she was returning to the hospital for follow up medical treatment, but this time she had over 20 pounds of explosives sewn into her underwear. She wanted to kill as many Israelis as possible because she said, "I love Allah, I love the land of Palestine and I am a member of the Al Aksa Brigades." The Al Aksa Brigade is an official wing of Fatah, the political organization lead by "moderate" Prime Minister Abbas. (Click here for full story.)
OLIVE OIL SOAP ON HAND - FOR NOW!
We have been having some problems with bringing the handmade olive oil soap from Samaria to the United States. To reduce costs we had a large shipment sent by boat. That shipment was delayed in a warehouse in New York for "extensive examination." It was then shipped to Richmond, Virginia and inspected by the FDA. That is now complete and the soap has finally arrived in our warehouse. I am sorry for any inconvenience caused, but the logistics of getting the soap to the United States is complicated. The handmade olive oil soap is now just $3.95 per bar! To learn more about this handmade olive oil soap click here or on the image.
4TH OF JULY
Our patriotic ties have been discounted for July 4th. Our custom made patriotic ties are now just $10.95 each! The Religious Freedom Coalition also has a variety of other, never before offered, patriotic men's ties and ladies' patriotic scarves available for Independence Day. Proceeds from sales at our Internet store are used to promote our advocacy work on Capitol Hill. Please shop at our Internet store for a variety of items.
NEW TECHNOLOGY GIVES OUR SUPPORTERS UNLIMITED CALLS TO U.S. AND CANADA
We are participating in a new innovative fundraising program that focuses on providing cost-saving opportunities to our supporters, while raising additional financial resources to support our organization. One product this program offers is Digital Phone Service for only $22.05 per month ( your total cost). With this service you will receive local phone, unlimited calls to U.S. and Canada, voice mail and ALL the features available with standard phone service plus many unique features.
In addition to providing you with better phone service at a lower cost, our organization will receive a contribution equal to 5% or more of your monthly bill from the service coordinator. For more information on this, and other products and services that will provide savings to you and funds for our organization, please visit our fundraising website at www.SupportRFC.org
HELP NEEDED
We really need help this month with funding for our projects both on Capitol Hill and internationally. Please consider at least a small gift to the Religious Freedom Coalition this week. A secure donation link is located at: http://www.rfcnet.org/donate.html
PLEASE TELL SOMEONE ABOUT THESE UPDATES
You are invited to forward copies of this Legislative Update to your friends. Please tell them it is issued weekly free of charge and that we do not share our e-mail lists with any other organizations. In 2005 we are praying to top the 100,000 subscribers mark and you can help. If this e-mail has been forwarded to you, please subscribe at http://www.rfcnet.org/subscribe.asp .
William J. Murray, Chairman
Religious Freedom Coalition, P.O. Box 77511, Washington, DC 20013. Phone: (202) 543-0300
Please address all comments and questions to support
TO SUBSCRIBE OR BE REMOVED CLICK HERE
For fast removal from our lists reply to this message with only the word REMOVE in the subject line.
This publication is a service of the Religious Freedom Coalition (RFC). Links to political and other sites are for informational purposes and do not constitute endorsement. No statement is intended to assist or defeat any candidate running for public office.
Religious Freedom Coalition * Copyright - 2005