Values Voter News

LifeNews.com has these three interesting recent reports:

NFL Star Chris McAlister Accused of Booting Wife After Her Abortion Refusal

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- NFL football star Chris McAlister, a free agent pro-bowl player formerly with the Baltimore Ravens, stands accused of booting his wife from their home after she refused to get an abortion. Marlene McAlister filed court documents Wednesday in L.A. County Superior Court seeking a divorce.

Marlene, in the legal papers, according to a TMZ report, claims McAlister kicked her out of the couples home when she refused his request for an abortion...."-Click link for more.

Mexican Girl Refuses to Have Abortion, Acknowledges Life of Unborn Child

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- An 11-year-old Mexico girl has decided against having an abortion despite pressure from pro-abortion groups to have one after becoming the subject of international news following her sexual assault from her step father. The young girl says she won't because she knows she has a baby.

According to a Catholic News Agency report, the girl explained she understands, “a life is growing in her womb.”

CNA indicates the girl is receiving medical attention at a local clinic and has responded well to psychological tests saying she understands she has a unique human being she can give birth to or kill in an abortion...."- Click on link for more.

Mainstream Media Accounts on Abortion of "Wrong" Baby Speak Volumes

A Sarasota, Florida, doctor recently lost his medical license on the basis of an error he made in 2006 in an abortion procedure where he mistakenly took the life of the healthier fraternal twin of a boy diagnosed in utero with Down Syndrome.

In covering the story, most media outlets have noted that Dr. Matthew Kachinas aborted "the wrong baby."

Baptist theologian and radio program host Dr. Albert Mohler took the airwaves on his April 19 program to discuss both the case in question and the media's coverage thereof.

Here's what he said about the latter at the opening of Monday's program:

Last week I saw a news story that simply stopped me in my tracks, and I wrote about it at AlbertMohler.com, an article entitled, "Aborting the 'Wrong' Baby?" There's a question mark at the end of that question. It has to do with a news story that came out of Florida.

Dr. Matthew Kachinas had been stripped of his medical license last week by a Florida medical review board for -- and this is how the media discussed it -- for aborting the wrong baby.
It's one of those things that immediately catches your attention because, something huge is going on in this story. And a part of the story is not just what happened but how the media, and the culture-at-large, is understanding what happened.
[...]
Well, this medical doctor lost his license because, according to the media -- and evidently according to medical authorities in Florida -- he bore responsibility for aborting the wrong baby, and by the wrong baby, they meant, evidently, it was rightful in their view to abort the baby that had Down Syndrome, but it was "wrong" to abort the "wrong" baby.
Instead of performing the abortion on the baby with Down Syndrome, it was the other baby that was aborted, the one that is defined in the media stories as the healthy twin.

Sadly, and tragically, this situation was made all the more horrifying by the fact that the baby with Down Syndrome was later aborted as well."- Click link for more.

This is CSPAN's short promo of the video library.



This is indeed an invaluable resource for those doing research into the political issues of the day. One can watch the debates and discussions that go on on the House and Senate floor every single day with ease and spending very little time. Each and every day there are votes and debates and statements made by our congressmen and women on the floor. But you may not want to sit through every discussion or statement on every single issue out there. CSPAN has made it easy to navigate the floor speeches.

Each day you can go in to the day before's session and you will see that each speaker is listed that spoke and it gives the amount of time they spoke and upon what subject they spoke and whether or not they are Republican, Democrat or Independent. If the title interests you then simple click on the speaker with that title and see what he or she has to say about it. You can notice when there is a debate on a single issue between Republicans, Democrats and Independents as you will find many speakers speaking on that same subject which will give you a flavor of the debate from the different sides of the issue.

And there is so much more. Get started by clicking here.

Now that's transparency. Just wish we could get CSPAN behind those closed doors. Check out this quick video I embedded promoting the CSPAN Video Library at AvoidtheBias.com. If you choose to embed video from CSPAN this is what it will look like.



Related: I just wanted to brag about CSPAN here for a moment and highlight some features using the recent health care debate on Sunday.

But first how will this effect the Small Business? Watch video below from NFIB as you read.

No wonder why they canceled their hearing. Via Gateway Pundit..... 

Dems Admit Obamacare Will Cost US Companies Billions

Here is a recent update on the case in video below: EMU motion for dismissal denied



This case reminded me of the one at Missouri State University first posted at FIRE releases new YouTube documentary exposing university bias against conservatives at Missouri State University as faculty bully student. Here is video of that incident.



Here is another related incident from university in Ohio from post titled Employee reports on video how he was fired for expressing a christian viewpoint on homosexuality in Boston

Related: Video: Is Government Spending milking the earnings of the civilized world?
Cartoons and charts exposing economic consequences for America's straying from our "In God we trust" roots 



True story of a Tea Partier

Found this picture at The 10 Best Tea Party Signs So Far

Related: Tale of two protests and how Big Media covered them reveals pure liberal media bias
1,000 Tea Party protests and not one arrested but 25 arrests were made at one liberal union protest 
Voice in Geico commercials gets fired after making an absurd phone call to pro-Tea Party organization. Listen to audio of actual phone call.
Big Media is bearing false witness of their fellow Americans. TEA Party Americans are not racist unless you define racism as "a concerned patriotic American" 
Video: Big Media slanders the Tea Party as a party of hate but let's listen to real hate from the other side that Big Media won't tell you anything about

Related: Watching MSNBC you may come away thinking the guy who ran his plane into the IRS building was a Republican but actually he was anti-capitalist, anti-Bush and anti-religion. Link to his own manifesto here.
1,000 Tea Party protests and not one arrested but 25 arrests were made at one liberal union protest
 
Notice the pure hypocrisy of the phone callers and Big Media for not reporting on this much like the hypocrisy in the media when you compare how they covered the Tea Party protests and the Arizona immigration law protests at Tale of two protests and how Big Media covered them reveals pure liberal media bias. Talk about real hate and threats. Watch video below.

Also, see Voice in Geico commercials gets fired after making an absurd phone call to pro-Tea Party organization. Listen to audio of actual phone call. for more context on that issue that is brought up a couple of times in the video. And if you are curious as to what Freedom Works is all about see the many videos and further threats they have received before these at: Video: Matt Kibbe of FreedomWorks interviewed on CSPAN just before 09/12 March on DC event and video footage of Matt Kibbe during a Bomb Threat just before or after this interview and the video of his speech on 09/12/2009



If you are wondering why there is so much bias and slander of the Tea Party movement from those on the left in the media you may want to give this a thought.



Guess even the White House is believing the reports from the left in the media. Watch this recent Tea Party that the Obama administration was so concerned about that they brought in the SWAT team and snipers. For more on this see further pictures of the threat at Obama Sniper Teams Ordered to Rooftops To Quash Radical Tea Party Protest (Video)"



And lastly to lighten it up a bit....

Can't help but to wonder as we as a civilized world continue to choose not to seek the wisdom of our Creator who knows our world and our selves best but rather seek the wisdom of men via secular governments and education that we are doomed for continued failures. This reminded me of the scriptures when Israel chose to reject God as their king and in His place put a man (1 Samuel 8:7-22). But either way if you do not believe there are consequences for putting to much faith in governments then check out the below videos and for more see Cartoons and charts exposing economic consequences for America's straying from our "In God we trust" roots and Winston Churchill's famous speech "Their Finest Hour" on the Battle of Britain in which he claimed "Upon this battle depends...Christian civilization". 

Video: Is Washington Bankrupting America?



Is more spending really the answer?



Watch videos below of one of the best politicians at putting into one minute and a half the absurdity of big government spending. But first to start off with a three and a half minute speech that is currently #2 in Top Rated of All Time in the UK in the News and Politics heading see Check out the #2 Top Rated Video of All Time on YouTube in the UK in the category of News and Politics and then also see Check out the #2 Most Viewed Video of All Time on YouTube in Canada in the category of News and Politics









Groundhog day 2010

Related: 1,000 Tea Party protests and not one arrested but 25 arrests were made at one liberal union protest
Voice in Geico commercials gets fired after making an absurd phone call to pro-Tea Party organization. Listen to audio of actual phone call.
Video: Crashers of the Tea Party Crash

From MRC.....

ABC: 'Mostly Peaceful' Immigration Protests vs. 'Very Ugly' Tea Party Rallies

On Saturday's Good Morning America, reporter Mike Von Fremd downplayed the violence of protesters against Arizona's new immigration law. He spun, "Riot police were called in to try and control demonstrators protesting outside the capital. Most were peaceful. A handful threw bottles at police and were arrested." Yet, ABC derided March's Tea Party rallies as "very ugly," despite the fact that there were no arrests.

In contrast, on March 20, World News host David Muir scolded, "Protesters against the [health care] plan gathered on the streets of the capital where late today we learned words shouted turned very ugly, reports of racial and homophobic slurs, one protester actually spitting on a Congressman." Continuing to fret over those opposed the bill, he complained, "Late word from Washington tonight about just how ugly the crowds gathered outside the Longworth office building have become."

If Tea Party protesters had thrown bottles at members of Congress or police officers -- or anyone else, for that matter -- it seems unlikely that ABC would have described them as "mostly peaceful."

Over on NBC's Today show on Saturday, Telemundo's Jose Diaz Balart reported from the scene: "Tensions were high outside the Capitol. Four protesters were arrested." On CBS's Early Show, co-host Chris Wragge made only a quick reference to the protests: "On Friday, there were protests against the bill outside the state capitol in Phoenix."

—Scott Whitlock is a news analyst for the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter.

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One of Values Voter News most viewed post is See pictures of the first Noah's Ark built to Biblical proportions located in Hong Kong as christianity in China grows... which was the 5th most viewed post at Values Voter News last year (Top 10 most viewed posts of 2009 at Values Voter News) and now has moved up to the 4th most viewed post of all time at Values Voter News.

So when I heard of this I thought this was interesting. In this area you must proceed with caution as noted in article titled Evangelists claim Noah's Ark found but this is the first one that I am aware of that has many interesting pictures and video footage of the wood and structure. One of my favorite sources concerning Creation and the Scriptures is Answers in Genesis who did an initial report on this new finding which I will copy below video.   



From Answers In Genesis....

Has Noah's Ark Been Found?

Every few years we hear of claims that Noah’s Ark (or what may remain of it) has been found on the mountains of Ararat in Turkey. Over the weekend, a press conference was held in Hong Kong where it was announced that explorers were almost certain they had found the remains of the Ark. Answers in Genesis has seen many photos that were released, but without corroboration by the leading creationist organizations and not knowing all the research methods that were employed, we will withhold judgment until further study. Over the decades, we have learned to be cautious about such Ark claims.

We have no doubt, however, that there once was a massive Ark that served as a vessel of salvation during a global Flood and landed on the mountains of Ararat, as recorded in the book of Genesis.

And not only that but Nationally, 60% Favor Letting Local Police Stop and Verify Immigration Status

Representative Smith of Texas reports on how Arizonan voters feel about the new law and below are McCain and Kyl's comments who are the Senators from Arizona to give a little local perspective to the debate. You can find a conservative and liberal debate this very issue at AvoidtheBias.com.



Kyl and McCain give some astonishing background to the context that led up to the passing of the law.



Interview with Sheriff explaining how the law would be enforced in Arizona explaining that he has many hispanic officers.

Found this joke and wnd.com...

A visitor from Holland was chatting with his American friend and was jokingly explaining about the red, white and blue in the Netherlands flag.

"Our flag symbolizes our taxes," the man said.

"We get red when we talk about them, white when we get our tax bill, and blue after we pay them."

"That's the same with us," the American said. "Only we see stars, too."

CBO vs White House

Unbelievable. For a solution to this problem see Video: Paul Ryan recently appears on Fox and CNBC to discuss stimulus package, financial reform and A Roadmap for America's Future. and to see his plan debated for 20 or so minutes in committee see Paul Ryan steals the show again this morning as House Rules Committee considers rules to pass health care bill.  

Related: Video interview of Tony Bennett. Another Hollywood actor blindly following their leader...
Kiefer Sutherland, Marisa Tomei, Jamie Foxx, Ron Howard, Steven Spielberg, Dreamworks and more Obama says got him in office
Hollywood Actor John Leguizamo asks: "What's wrong with socialism?" Reagan and Friedman respond  
Video of Dennis Leary on Larry King Live. He really likes Obama and so does Tony Bennett but for a little balance watch Stephen Smith.
What do Mick Jagger, Susan Sarandan, Sonny and Cher, Michael Caine, Jude Law and Jay Leno have in common? 
James Earl Jones hopes we helped Obama win. More evidence that Hollywood is one of the biggest campaigners of liberal democrat politics.  
Michael Moore Seeks Million-Dollar Refundable Tax Credit (from Program He Trashed) to Cover Costs of His Anti-Capitalist Movie  

First give a good listen to Andrew Kalvan as you read Janine Turner's comments below. I found the example of Denzel Washington and the Book of Eli an interesting example that Andrew used as an example of the left's influence on films done by conservatives.



Maybe the left can learn a little from their own ENDA. 

CNSNews.com recenlty asked conservatives in Hollywood what it is like to be a conservative in Hollywood. In an article titled Janine Turner: Being a Conservative in Hollywood Can Jeopardize Career Janine Turner was interviewed:

"At a press conference in Washington, D.C., to announce her new organization, Constituting America, CNSNews.com asked Turner if she would “elaborate a little bit more on the environment in Hollywood for conservative actors and actresses such as yourself.” 

Turner said: “Well, I think it’s hard for conservatives in Hollywood because they’re afraid to step out. Because when they do, there could be repercussions where they don’t have work, and that can mean – I think there are a lot of conservatives in Hollywood, whether they’re actors or producers or directors or crew members – but there’s not sort of en masse stepping out, and so everyone, no one is really willing to take the first step.”

“And I don’t blame them,” she said. “I mean, it’s affected my career too. And I think it’s hard, when you, when you step out as a conservative, it’s just such a – the environment is very left, very, very different to our type of environment.”

Related: Wall Street Journal passes USA Today as the top selling newspaper in the US and was the only paper to increase in circulation
Anti-Tea Party networks CNN down a whopping 39% in viewership and MSNBC down 15% while Tea Party favorite Fox News has best quarter in network history.
Check out the Right Network: Because what you have been seeing on TV isn't all of America

It is nice to see the American bashing left media dropping in circulation and ratings and polls.

From CNSNews.com...

U.S. Newspaper Circulation Continues to Drop

Monday, April 26, 2010

By Andrew Vanacore, Associated Press

New York (AP) - Figures released Monday by the Audit Bureau of Circulations show average weekday circulation of U.S. newspapers fell 8.7 percent in the six months that ended March 31, compared with the same period a year earlier.

Sunday circulation fell 6.5 percent.

Neither decline was as steep as the comparable one documented in the last reporting period. From April through September of last year, average weekday circulation dropped 10.6 percent and Sunday circulation fell 7.5 percent.

Even so, the top 25 newspapers in the country showed some huge losses.

The San Diego Union-Tribune's weekday circulation dropped nearly 23 percent from the year before to 241,330.

At The Washington Post, average circulation fell 13.1 percent during the week to 578,482 and 8.2 percent to 797,679 on Sunday.

USA Today lost 13.6 percent of its circulation and averaged 1.83 million. That extended a slump that began with a slowdown in travel during the recession, which trimmed sales where USA Today is especially popular, such as hotels and airports.

USA Today's decline last year allowed The Wall Street Journal to surpass it as the newspaper with the biggest U.S. circulation.

In Monday's report, the Journal once again posted the only gain in circulation among the top 25 newspapers that had comparable figures from a year ago. It grew its circulation 0.5 percent to 2.09 million. The Journal can count online readers because it charges them to read its website, while most newspapers can only count print subscriptions and newsstand sales.

The Journal is also looking to put itself further ahead of the No. 3 newspaper, The New York Times, which saw an 8.5 percent decline in weekday circulation during the most recent period and a 5.2 percent drop on Sundays. The Times' average circulation was 951,063 on weekdays and 1.38 million on Sundays.

The new figures came as the Journal launched a metro edition in the New York City region to compete more aggressively with the Times for local readers and advertisers. The first metro section ran 16 pages Monday with articles detailing a rat infestation on Manhattan's Upper East Side and the New York state budget crisis alongside advertising from Bloomingdale's and Macy's.

There are many reasons for the declines in newspaper circulation, including the rise of free news on the Web. Publishers also have sought to offset losses in advertising revenue by raising newsstand and subscription prices. And some newspapers have reduced delivery to unprofitable areas.

In a statement, Newspaper Association of America President John Sturm said that declining circulation does not offer a full picture of the industry's health.

He pointed to recent studies by Scarborough Research and Nielsen Online showing nearly 100 million adults still read a printed newspaper every day and that newspaper Web sites averaged more than 74 million unique visitors a month during the first quarter.

Related: Beware of skin creams that contain fetal proteins from aborted babies

Below is an email I sent to my sister concerning vaccines being cultured in aborted fetal tissue. I thought I would post it here for documentation sake at Values Voter News. My wife and I are having our 5th baby and my sister just had her baby and so the issue of vaccines has surfaced. I never was anti-vaccine except I have a natural inclination to not want to inject anything into my children but vaccines I thought were justified for the protection of the diseases that they successfully protect children and society from. But then I heard of the issue that some vaccines were cultured in aborted fetal tissue then I started keeping an ear out and here is what I have found so far in an email to my sister:

"Since your baby and now that Vena and I are going to have to make choices on this issue in the near future with Teague and our new baby I thought I would bring this up to you and ask you what you think about it.

I never cared before about the Autism issue and still do not believe our child will get autism via a vaccination as none of our other children have nor do I believe your child will. But as I did some research another concern came up over the issue of cancer and brain development. I heard from pro-life news sources last year about vaccines being cultured in aborted fetal tissue. Now we as pro-lifers find that not very inviting to say the least. However, an institute called Sound Choice Pharmaceutical Institute (SPCI) whose President has some fair credentials. She has a PHD from Stanford University in Molecular and Cellular Physiology, has 23 patents but probably the most interesting and notable one is her being the first to discover adult heart stem cells. She has worked for biotech companies in the field and has 17 years experience. For some more on her click here.

She is very concerned with the vaccines being cultured with aborted fetal tissue. Not only because she is pro-life but because of all the scientific unknowns. Dr Oz on the Oprah Winfrey show said that he believes Adult Stem Cell research will cure many diseases in 10 years over Embryonic Stem Cell Research because stem cells from one's own body actually is less likely to form tumors than introducing embryo stem cells from another embryo cause from what I can gather from the interview is 1) they are much harder to control what they become and 2) they are not from one's own genes maybe one of the reasons why they are hard to control what they do become. You can watch his explanation here.

Now I was reading SPCI's April newsletter which you can read here. What really struck me as concerning as I was reading was what the newsletter claimed the FDA authors in 2008 wrote: “Whether this residual cell-substrate DNA can induce tumors in vaccine recipients and thus represent a risk factor has been debated for over 50 years without resolution.” (Biologicals 2008 vol 36 pages 184-197)." So there apparently is residual DNA from the aborted fetal tissue that remains in the vaccine after it is cultured from what I am gathering here and we are injecting that into our kids.

Now I listened to an interview of this lady on some program here and she said that vaccines cultured in animal tissue and residual from that tissue is not a problem because our body will recognize it as a foreign agent of some sort and fight it off however she is concerned that residual DNA from aborted fetal tissue the body may not fight off and wants to study the issue more.

So in the newsletter she explains that the FDA has begun to look at the dangers of residual human DNA in vaccines triggering cancer but SPCI is conducting the first studies to look at the impact of residual human fetal DNA in vaccines on brain development and autism disorder in our children. So it appears there are greater concerns than just autism which is now what is concerning me that being future formations of tumors and possibly cancerous tumors or tumors in dangerous areas and then brain development.

Here are my concerns: The most obvious is 1) the aborted life that was used to culture the vaccines. 2) Do I really want a vaccine that has residual human DNA from another human being's DNA in my child without any resolution on the science of such an effect? 3) Scripturally speaking and this may be stretching a little but it speaks of not touching a dead body, bone of a man nor grave and if one does they are considered unclean until evening or something and then here we are injecting ourselves with tissue from another dead human being. Now the stretch is that this life is a life that died in early development as opposed to a life that is well along the way in development but none the less a bit concerning either way considering this is the actual DNA though residual of another human life being injected into our children.

Now God will take care of us either way but I never knew about the aborted fetal tissue before on my previous children and now that I know I am not sure if I am willing to get these types of vaccines. The neat thing is that Vena did some research and there are alternative vaccines that were not cultured in aborted fetal tissue for most of the vaccines though not all.

I guess my question to you is have you in your research of autism and vaccines and other issues come across the culturing process and the issues above that may be a possible rebuttal? I also wanted to give you this information for you and your child just in case there is some validity in the concerns this scientist has brought about and you find some weight to them. I myself do not condemn or judge another on this issue since there are so many questions not answered about it but when I learned of the aborted fetal tissue I automatically became concerned and I think many others would if they knew. It seems most people I speak to doesn't even know about this as I didn't know until just last year and this has been going for decades. Actually, the SPCI has been trying to get our government to pass law requiring manufacturers and distributors to inform the public of this on their labels or whatever. See actual language of law proposed here. 

Here is a recent blog post that got me interested in the issue titled Vaccines made with fetal cells causing autism? as of late. And here are the conclusions that both the blogger and the scientist made that leaves some haunting questions.

Blogger said: "virus-laden DNA of aborted babies could be wreaking havoc on the DNA of healthy children is completely plausible."

And SPCI: "Shouldn't we determine whether injecting residual human fetal DNA into our children is safe, or not?"

Lastly, you can call me wacky on this but just follow my reasoning.

1) God says in the scriptures to not touch another dead human body, bone or grave or else you are unclean till evening or something like that and (again the stretch) that we are injecting our children with dead residual human DNA in vaccines.

Then I was naturally concerned about vaccines cultured in animal tissue and whether or not that is an issue. The scientist answered in part one of my concerns that our body will fight off foreign residual DNA. So great but then I remembered there were certain animals that God in the scriptures said to not touch there dead carcass so maybe there should be a concern there. So if we are reasoning with assumption 1) and the stretch then is there a problem with other animal tissue that the Bible considers unclean. The Bible talks specifically about certain animals to not touch their dead carcasses and one being the pig.

And then I found out that just 3 weeks ago a vaccine cultured in pig tissue was suspended because of a virus found in it in which the FDA as of 04/07/2010 has concluded: "does not know how DNA from PCV1 came to be present in Rotarix” or whether “this means that intact virus is present. Additional studies are being conducted.”-Click here for more on that.

I found this video that is from the above link and am inserting it here as you read the rest of the post.



So maybe we need to stop culturing our vaccines in animal tissue that God says in the scriptures to not touch or else you are unclean for so many days.

Now I am no scientist and my biblically inspired theory would need to be tested cause it may not be what God really intended cause there is "the stretch" that I am making and there may be other stretches and this may not be God's intention at all. But it reminded me of different scientific discoveries that proved the scriptures correct in sanitary areas like the scientist in France discovering washing his hands over running water rather than still water and the scriptures talk about just that. Anyways, these are just some interesting findings that I wanted to pass on to you and see what you think. I know you have plenty to do so if you don't respond at all that is ok but these are issues Vena and I are struggling with and have come to some resolve but are still investigating and waiting for further scientific discoveries.

Later sis......"

From The Heritage Foundation...

House and Senate Cloakroom: April 26-30, 2010

House Cloakroom: April 26-30

Once again the major issues for the week will be on the Senate side with possible consideration of a financial regulation overhaul bill and the possible introduction of a climate change bill by Senators Kerry, Graham, and Lieberman.  The House will be taking up three smaller measures this week focusing on misspent federal funds, defense acquisition, and Puerto Rico.  Though the defense acquisition bill received complete bi-partisan support out of the House Armed Services Committee and is lauded as a bill that would save taxpayers billions of dollars it is more likely to increase bureaucracy, add more regulation, create a slower and less efficient acquisition system, and continue a risk adverse mentality at the Pentagon.

Major Floor Action

• HR 3393 — Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2009
• HR 5013 — Implementing Management for Performance and Related Reforms to Obtain Value in Every Acquisition Act of 2010
• HR 2499 – Puerto Rico Democracy Act of 2009

Major Committee Action

• The House Armed Services Committee will hold a number of hearings during the week, most notably a full committee hearing on the “Security and Stability in Pakistan” and a subcommittee hearing on the budget for the Army Reserve, National Guard, and Air National Guard.
• The House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade will hold its first hearing with new subcommittee Chairman John Tanner (D-TN) to discuss U.S.-Cuba policy.
• The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Environment will hold hearing on reducing dependence on oil.

Senate Cloakroom:  April 26-30


It’s all about financial regulation in the Senate.  Rumors persist that Senators Dodd (D-CT) and Shelby (R-AL) are closing in on a deal, but Senate Majority Leader Reid (D-NV) is promising to move ahead with a vote on Monday even if a deal does not exist.  Senator Dodd’s bill is fatally flawed and conservatives believe a complete re-write is necessary—a watered down compromise remains unacceptable.  Global warming will make a come back on Monday, as Senators Kerry (D-MA), Graham (R-SC) and Lieberman (I-CT) unveil their plan to tax American energy.

Major Floor Action

• On Monday at 5:00pm, the Senate will vote on the motion to proceed to Senator Dodd’s financial regulation bill (S.3217).  If cloture is invoked, the Senate will debate and amend the bill for the remainder of the week.

Major Committee Action

• The Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee will hold two hearings on the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
• The Foreign Relations committee will hold a premature hearing on the START treaty.
• While the Senate debates financial regulation, a Banking subcommittee will hold a hearing on short-termism in financial markets.
• An Appropriations subcommittee will hold a hearing on the future of U.S. energy policy.
• A Commerce subcommittee will hold the week’s most ridiculous hearing – promoting travel to national parks.

Related: Anti-Tea Party networks CNN down a whopping 39% in viewership and MSNBC down 15% while Tea Party favorite Fox News has best quarter in network history. 
Voice in Geico commercials gets fired after making an absurd phone call to pro-Tea Party organization. Listen to audio of actual phone call.
1,000 Tea Party protests and not one arrested but 25 arrests were made at one liberal union protest 
Video: Crashers of the Tea Party Crash
Wall Street Journal passes USA Today as the top selling newspaper in the US and was the only paper to increase in circulation 

Right Network on the Tea Party movement



The Left Networks on the Right Network



The Right Network on the Right Network





And for laughs to conclude with: Just your typical racist Tea Party sign

Last Week in Review

Headlines

Happy Earth Day

Earth Day: Celebrating Earth Day's Best Friend and Nature's Greatest Gift

Alan Greenspan gives a rundown on the economic crisis of 2008

Alan Greenspan: "Mortgage backed securities was heavily driven by Fannie and Freddie" who were in return politically mandated. Thus the sub-prime market that bubbled and then burst has government breath all over it. and also see CBO: Sub-prime mortgage giants Fannie and Freddie will cost tax payers $380 billion in bailouts. That is the biggest of all bailouts with $8.1 trillion still outstanding in securities.

Tennessee opts out

Tennessee votes 97 - 26 to opt out of abortion mandate in ObamaCare becoming the first state to do so.  

Testimonies

Video: #1 NFL draft pick Sam Bradford talks about his faith in Christ with CBNNews

Jokes

Joke: Texas plans to produce it's own reality-show "Survivor"

Videos 

Global Warming

Climategate Investigation lead by Ernest Oxburg who is the president of the Carbon Capture and Storage Association.

Video: EPA, Thanks for regulating video contest.  

International

Local churches help out stranded passengers in the UK as flights slowed due to the volcanic ash out of Iceland

Video: Kande's Story making a difference in Africa conerning the issue of AIDS

Video: Haiti devastation update via Samaritan's Purse.

Economy and Taxes

Video: Paul Ryan recently appears on Fox and CNBC to discuss stimulus package, financial reform and the A Roadmap for America's Future.

Video: Paul Ryan vs Bill Pascrell on the issue of taxes: "You tax something more, you get less of it....If you tax labor, capital, savings and investment more, you get less of those things."  

Liberal Media Bias

Voice in Geico commercials gets fired after making an absurd phone call to pro-Tea Party organization. Listen to audio of actual phone call.

Watching MSNBC you may come away thinking the guy who ran his plane into the IRS building was a Republican but actually he was anti-capitalist, anti-Bush and anti-religion. Link to his own manifesto here.

1,000 Tea Party protests and not one arrested but 25 arrests were made at one liberal union protest

Deneen Borelli speaks out against the slander from the left of the Tea Party movement on Tax Day  

Pro-life 

Another Planned Parenthood this time in Kentucky caught on video covering up a 14 year old's sexual relationship with a 31 year old and then some.  

ObamaWatch

Evidence that our President is breaking yet another promise that being tax hikes for middle class America

Supreme Court

Video: ADF makes interesting comments just after the hearing of the CLS vs Martinez case before the Supreme Court yesterday and says it will be a close decision.

Same Sex Marriage

Fordham University study published in Journal of Men's Studies shows empirical evidence for sexual orientation change efforts.

First Amendment Case Victories

University of Arizona finally grants pro-life student group official recognition and equal access to university resources.

See actual letter that an Arizona home church received from city that they can no longer meet. City law was amended after much discussion

Health Care

CBO: 4 million mostly middle class will pay $1,000 a piece if they do not get health insurance under ObamaCare if health care bill is not repealed by 2016

Related: Private sector America has donated at least a billion to Haiti for relief after Earthquake.
Ministries from across America respond to Haiti. Just check out these email updates in the past couple of days from various conservative Christian groups alone. 
US stinginess in foreign aide?/Organized Christianity abuses power and money?/Big Business' portrayed as corrupt?
Samaritan's Purse sends disaster relief to Chile after earthquake
Video: Christian musicians produce an inspiring music video and CD to raise support for Haiti.

Fordham Study Provides ‘Empirical Evidence’ for Sexual Orientation Change Efforts

By Hilary White
 
April 21, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Researchers at Fordham University in New York have published a study in the March edition of the Journal of Men's Studies, showing that positive results can be gained by homosexual men seeking to change their “orientation” by developing healthy non-sexual relationships with other men.
 
According to the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homoseuxality (NARTH), the study rovides “valuable empirical evidence” from the mainstream of psychological research supporting environmental factors as the cause of homosexuality.
 
The study, by Dr. Elan Y. Karten and Dr. Jay C. Wade, examined the “social and psychological characteristics” of men who experience unwanted homosexual attractions and who seek “sexual orientation change efforts” (SOCE).
 
Investigating these characteristics in cases of “self-reported change,” Karten and Wade found that clients reported that they experienced “a decrease in homosexual feelings and behavior, an increase in heterosexual feelings and behavior, and a positive change in psychological functioning” with SOCE.
 
The researchers discovered that the most significant factors correlating to successful orientation change were “reduced conflict in expressing nonsexual affection with other men, being married, and feeling disconnected with men prior to treatment.”
 
NARTH commented that the factors like “reduced conflict in expressing nonsexual affection with men,” provide “valuable empirical evidence” that homosexual thoughts and feelings are greatly influenced by social and psychological factors,” instead of being biologically pre-determined.
 
NARTH also noted that the study demonstrated that there is a growing body of mainstream literature that is “beginning to give voice” to the value of SOCE.
 
“Although such research may not be considered politically correct, Karten and Wade should be praised for their courage to investigate such issues, and Fordham University should be lauded for sponsoring it,” NARTH’s Benjamin Erwin wrote.
 
“The Journal of Men's Studies should be commended for their integrity in publishing honest research regardless of popular political sentiment. Perhaps other journals and scholarly publications will follow suit,” Erwin added.
 
Efforts to help those who suffer from unwanted same-sex attraction are widely denigrated in the media and especially by homosexualist activist groups who claim that they are nothing more than religious bigotry, or “homophobia.” But some have pointed out the internal inconsistencies in the popularly held theory that homosexuals are “born that way” and that homosexuality is merely one variation of normal human sexuality.
 
U.S. conservative columnist and controversialist Ann Coulter, writing on the media’s reaction to the latest manifestation of the Catholic Church’s sex abuse scandals, said that the accusation that it is the discipline of clerical celibacy that “causes” priests to sexually abuse young men and boys, contradicts the deterministic theory of homosexuality.

To hold water, Coulter said, those who attack the Catholic Church’s discipline of celibacy would have to believe that a commitment to celibacy creates such a psychological trauma that it changes a man’s sexual orientation, a possibility ruled out by the “born that way” homosexualist doctrine.
 
She wrote, “If celibacy is to blame, this is a show-stopping, Nobel Prize-winning discovery overturning years of liberal claptrap.
 
“In all other circumstances, it is punishable by death to suggest that sexual behavior is not determined at birth or that gays can be ‘cured’. Now liberals are hawking the idea that gay priests could have been cured by marriage!”

Related: Nelson supports ReidCare. Compromise in Reid's Manager's Amendment leaves Nebraskan and American tax payers to have to fund abortions.

Tennessee First State to Opt Out of Abortion Mandate in Health Bill

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, April 21, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Less than one month after Congress passed its sweeping health care bill, Tennessee's Legislature has become the nation's first to make clear that abortion will not be a funded benefit in its health exchange programs. 

Bipartisan majorities in both the state House (70-23) and the state Senate (27-3) easily approved language which states, "No health care plan required to be established in this state through an exchange pursuant to federal health care reform legislation enacted by the 111th Congress shall offer coverage for abortion services."
 
"At the end of the day this is very simple," said House sponsor, Rep. Matthew Hill (R-Jonesborough), before House passage on April 12. "Do your constituents want their tax money going to kill unborn babies? It's as simple as that."

Senate sponsor Diane Black (R-Hendersonville) stated, "We must take every action possible to protect Tennessee from being a part of a plan that allows for funding abortions."

"We have worked for years to ensure that taxpayer money is not used for abortion services in Tennessee," added Black, "and we must fight back against this overreach of federal power."
 
Tennessee Right to Life commended both sponsors and their pro-life colleagues. "Tennessee is a strongly pro-life state, and with principled pro-life leadership in both chambers, we are finally able to restore some common sense balance to this state's policies," said Brian Harris, president of the state's oldest and largest pro-life organization.

"Until the voters are able to undo some of the damage brought by activist judges, there are few statutes that we can pass and enforce," Harris said, referencing the 2000 ruling by the Tennessee Supreme Court in Planned Parenthood v. Sundquist, which identified a fundamental right to abortion in the Tennessee Constitution.
 
"We're hopeful, however, that the protection of Tennessee's taxpayers to not be forced to fund elective abortions is one that will clearly meet muster," said Harris.
 
The vote to remove abortion funding from government-backed health exchanges follows other abortion votes this session in which pro-life legislative majorities moved decisively, including passage of bills to defund Planned Parenthood, to require abortion providers to post the state's non-coercion policy and to bring a public vote on SJR 127 in 2014 allowing voters to decide whether or not the Tennessee Constitution protects a right to abortion.
 
"Having legislative leaders who actually represent the views and voices of their pro-life constituents has made all the difference," said Harris. "It also highlights the critical importance of next fall's elections here in Tennessee." 

Americans United for Life, which drafted legislation for any state interested in opting out of the abortion mandate of President Obama's new health care law, has said that numerous states have expressed interest so far.

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Tennessee House Strikes Blow to ObamaCare Abortion Coverage
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/apr/10041301.html

Related: Audio of 7th Circuit Oral Arguments: Did University of Wisconsin-Madison violate First Amendment by refusing to fund events of a student Catholic organization?
Can a religious student organization be denied recognition because that group requires officers and members to agree with its religious viewpoints? 
Video: ADF makes interesting comments just after the hearing of the CLS vs Martinez case before the Supreme Court yesterday and says it will be a close decision.

Below article from FIRE....

Victory: Pro-Life Student Group Finally Recognized at University of Arizona

TUCSON, Ariz., April 21, 2010—In a victory for freedom of association, the University of Arizona has reversed course and granted its Students for Life (SFL) group official recognition. The decision gives the group equal access to university resources. SFL's application was initially denied by UA's student government because the group's proposed constitution required that members share beliefs about the sanctity of human life. After the student government denied recognition to his group, SFL founder Jeremiah Lange came to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) for help.

"FIRE is pleased that the University of Arizona has recognized its obligation to uphold the First Amendment right to freedom of association guaranteed to its students," FIRE Vice President Robert Shibley said. "When students form groups around shared beliefs, they exercise a core constitutional right. A diversity of belief-based groups enhances the marketplace of ideas on campus."

FIRE asked the U.S. Supreme Court to acknowledge this right of student groups to freely associate in a friend-of-the-court brief in Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, which was argued before the Justices on Monday.

UA's application procedure for new student groups requires submission of a proposed constitution and a nondiscrimination statement. Lange submitted an application for SFL that satisfied the written guidelines of the Associated Students of the University of Arizona (ASUA), the student government. SFL also included a requirement that "member[s] must agree to stand by the princip[le]s that life is sacred and that the intentional killing of human beings through abortion, euthanasia, and murder, and all forms of eugenics are morally reprehensible." The application was denied in a February 25, 2010, e-mail to Lange in which ASUA Club and Organization Standards Board Director Jarrett Benkendorfer informed Lange that "organizations cannot require participants to fulfill or abide by specific principles." Benkendorfer informed Lange that the belief-based requirement was "unnecessary" because "students holding shared views with your club will be attracted to your organization."

In a March 15 letter to UA President Robert N. Shelton, FIRE pointed out that no ASUA regulations specified that student groups were prohibited from requiring voting members to share the group's organizing beliefs, contrary to what Benkendorfer had alleged. Further, FIRE informed Shelton that preventing Lange and SFL from making belief-based membership choices was a denial of the group's First Amendment right to freedom of association. As the Supreme Court made clear in Roberts v. United States Jaycees (1984), "freedom of association plainly presupposes a freedom not to associate." FIRE expressed doubt that recognized student groups including the College Republicans, Students for Justice in Palestine, Students Organized for Animal Rights, Voices of Opposition, Liberty in North Korea, Young Democrats, and Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán were aware that they were unable to require members to share their central beliefs.

If the Supreme Court rules against a similarly situated student group in Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, the ability of belief-based groups to exist and maintain their expressive identity on campuses around the country will be in jeopardy.

In a March 29 response, Arizona Student Unions Executive Director Bill Shiba avoided answering FIRE's constitutional concerns, but asked Lange to reapply. On April 1, FIRE again wrote President Shelton, noting the inadequacy of Shiba's reply and asking that Shelton "personally ensure that ASUA respects the constitutional right of UA students to assemble with others around shared beliefs." In a reply of April 14, Shiba informed FIRE that SFL's application had been accepted.

"Public universities like the University of Arizona cannot deny students their First Amendment right to meet with others of like mind to advance a message of their own choosing," said Will Creeley, FIRE's Director of Legal and Public Advocacy. "The university's initial denial of recognition to Students for Life is a troubling example of what will happen across the country if the Supreme Court permits public universities to render freedom of association an empty right on campus. Fortunately, the University of Arizona has done the right thing by recognizing that campus life benefits from hosting a multitude of groups expressing a multitude of viewpoints."

FIRE is a nonprofit educational foundation that unites civil rights and civil liberties leaders, scholars, journalists, and public intellectuals from across the political and ideological spectrum on behalf of individual rights, due process, freedom of expression, academic freedom, and rights of conscience at our nation's colleges and universities. FIRE's efforts to preserve liberty at the University of Arizona can be viewed at thefire.org. 

CONTACT:

Will Creeley, Director of Legal and Public Advocacy, FIRE: 212-582-3191;
Robert N. Shelton, President, University of Arizona: 520-621-5511;

Click image to the left for page one of the United States District Court demanding an explanation of the ACLU. Link to full two pages is in article below. To get caught up with this fascinating case out of Florida with many updates and context see 400 graduating seniors at Pace High School stood up in protest against the ACLU and recited the Lord's Prayer during graduation ceremony.  

From the law group that is working this case from the right...

Day of Reckoning for the ACLU’s Attempts to Criminalize Prayer in Santa Rosa County

www.LC.org

Santa Rosa County, FL – The ACLU has been hiding a critical secret in its continuing attempts to criminalize prayer in the schools of Santa Rosa County: It has been litigating to salvage an unconstitutional Consent Decree without clients that have a legal interest in its actions. The two anonymous plaintiffs, on whose behalf the ACLU brought the infamous lawsuit that resulted in two contempt trials for prayer, have long since graduated from the school district they sued. But the plaintiffs’ permanent loss of legal standing hasn’t stopped the ACLU and the school district from continuing to defend the Consent Decree that has become irreversibly moot. Having failed in its attempts to fine and jail school officials for praying, the ACLU, aided by the school district, has been opposing the efforts of Christian Educators Association International, represented by Liberty Counsel, to have the Consent Decree declared unconstitutional.

The problem? The Consent Decree at issue became legally moot on the day the ACLU’s clients graduated, less than four weeks after it was issued. Moreover, without clients that have a legal interest in the litigation, the ACLU was legally barred from continuing to litigate against the people of Santa Rosa County. The ACLU and the school district knew this but conspired to hide the fact that the two anonymous plaintiffs graduated. In the Consent Decree they jointly submitted to the court, they inserted provisions purporting to require the court to retain jurisdiction for at least five years, thereby inferring that their anonymous clients were much younger. They also asked the court to conceal the plaintiffs’ identity for another five years, so that no one would know they graduated.

The ACLU’s conspiracy is now unraveling. Liberty Counsel raised the issue of mootness last year and then again in the motion earlier this year. The federal court that entered the Consent Decree, which has literally forced teachers and staff to hide in closets to pray, has now demanded an explanation from the ACLU and the school district as to why it should continue to enforce that Consent Decree. The court noted that the ACLU and the school district “should have advised the court of factual matters affecting this court’s continuing jurisdiction,” which they obviously have failed to do.

Mathew D. Staver, Founder of Liberty Counsel and Dean of Liberty University School of Law, commented: “The errors in judgment by the ACLU and the school district are stunning. The school district agreed to enter into an unconstitutional Consent Decree that was legally effective for less than one month, then agreed to pay the ACLU a whopping $200,000, and then expended a great deal of additional resources to oppose Liberty Counsel’s intervention and defend the unconstitutional and moot Consent Decree. From the beginning, our position has been that this order should be set aside. We will not rest until that happens. If the school board does not come to its senses and seize the opportunity before it to make things right, the voters of Santa Rosa County will hold them accountable in the next election.”