Other Political News

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Oh, Say Can You Sing ... the National Anthem?

'Nightline' Asks Beltway Lawmakers to Belt Out 'The Star Spangled Banner'

"The Star Spangled Banner" — our national anthem — is under attack. Or so you would think by the rush to defend it on Capitol Hill last week.

As millions marched for immigration rights, the U.S. Senate introduced a resolution to ensure that the national anthem would be sung only in English. A day later a similar measure was introduced in the House of Representatives.

The latest assault on the English-only anthem was launched last month — with less than a rocket's red glare — when a group of Hispanic vocal artists released a Spanish-language version of the song. And while the State Department Web site does post Francis Scott Key's 1814 rendition in other languages not all Americans are in favor of a multilingual version.

President Bush weighed in on the subject in a Rose Garden ceremony on April 28, saying, "I think people who want to be a citizen of this country ought to learn English. And they ought to learn to sing the national anthem in English."

On Monday, May 1, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., rose bravely on the floor of the U.S. Senate to defend the anthem from those who would sing it in Spanish, saying "We should always sing it in our common language — English."

It's a song that's not exactly pure in its origins. Adopted as the national anthem in 1931, the lyrics come from a 1814 poem by lawyer Francis Scott Key, who was inspired by the American flag flying over Fort McHenry in Baltimore harbor during a British naval bombardment. So moved was Key by the sight that he lifted the music from a British composer.

The tune — and its notoriously archaic lyrics — have been mangled by singers ever since. A recent poll revealed that 61 percent of Americans cannot correctly recite the lyrics, much less sing them.

So on a glorious spring day last week, we went to Capitol Hill and — armed with a cheat sheet of lyrics printed on a piece of paper — we marched up to tourists, school groups, tour guides and our elected officials and posed the question: Oh, say can you sing — the national anthem?

A Chorus of Excuses

Right away we thought we might have arrived at the home of the brave as Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, sweetly sang the entire song beginning to end with gusto, gesturing broadly over the final stanza to the gleaming dome of the U.S. Capitol building. But alas, she was the last to solo.

One congressman, Rep. Gene Green, R-Texas, sang the anthem along with a group of students from Houston's Herrera Elementary School. But most of the other dozen or so House members we approached suddenly had important business to conduct and fled after offering lame excuses.

"I can probably sing it with a group," said Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-Ala. "If I was in a group, I would sing it."

"I'm not that good," said Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., as he begged off.

And Rep. Robert Ney, R-Ohio, a reported target in the ongoing federal probe of former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, waved us off claiming, "I'm on the phone with my wife."

The often-partisan bickering on Capitol Hill was absent on this issue: Every member of the House or Senate we approached insisted that the national anthem should be sung only in English. Rep. Gary Miller, R-Calif., said, "It's an insult" to use a foreign tongue.

One technique several congressmen used to demonstrate their lyrical knowledge of the "The Star-Spangled Banner" without having to perform it was to offer arcane facts about the song as they walked away.

"Francis Scott Key," shouted Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif., as he rushed to the House floor. "In the harbor. The flag still standing."

"Oh, say can you see ABC?" mocked Rep. Paul Gillmor, R-Ohio.

Across the Capitol Plaza, Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., had an important lunch to attend and so wouldn't sing along. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas., said, "I can't sing," but Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., offered a spirited version unique to fans of the Baltimore Orioles who emphasize the "Oh!" at the start of baseball game renditions.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., sang the first stanzas so robustly we weren't about to challenge his knowledge of the rest. South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsay Graham was gentlemanly when we put him on the spot, saying, "I am like 61 percent of Americans. If I had to get up and recite the national anthem, I would fail miserably."

We came upon a woman dressed as a fish — she was lobbying for clean water — and she sang it with just a minor flub. A group of chiropractors whirled around and sang it backward. Get it? Backward.

Finally, we came upon a quintet of soldiers out on a training run carrying rucksacks on their backs and dressed in T-shirts, shorts and combat boots. We offered to sing the song with them, but they declined any help when we asked them to sing the national anthem. One soldier confidently said, "I don't think that will be a problem."

3rd Infantry Speaks Up for Old Glory

The five soldiers lined up in a semicircle and harmoniously provided the best rendition of the day of the difficult-to-sing song. The singers, it turns out, were ringers of a sort. These particular soldiers were members of the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry, the Old Guard, stationed at Fort Myer, Va., the unit that was originally made up of Gen. George Washington's handpicked personal troops. And the five troops we happened upon comprised the unit's Color Guard. They routinely carry Old Glory at White House ceremonies, state funerals and at Arlington National Cemetery.

Whether you salute the Stars and Stripes with your hand over your heart or by singing in English or Spanish or any other language, "The Star-Spangled Banner," it seems, is in safe hands.

[Soldier4Christ]

US Senate takes up small business health bill

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday took up controversial health legislation that aims to help small businesses insure their workers but avoid state regulations on mandatory health benefits and policy costs.

The bill has strong support from Republicans but Democrats are likely to use Senate procedural rules to block it later in the week. Democrats express cautious optimism about blocking the legislation, although they said some last-minute negotiations could lead to a close vote.

The concept, strongly backed by such groups as the National Federation of Independent Business, is to let small businesses form purchasing pools across state lines to have the same clout in the marketplace as big corporations.

Many of the nearly 46 million people in the United States who have no health insurance either work for small businesses or are family members of small-business employees.

But the bill, sponsored by Wyoming Republican Mike Enzi, would exempt these small business health plans as well as other policies from many state laws and mandates that govern both benefits and pricing.

The AARP retirees group, the American Diabetes Association, and the American Cancer Society, among others, have been pushing hard to stop the Enzi bill, saying it could erase 20 years of progress in health coverage by eroding benefit requirements.

They say it also would distort insurance pools by allowing younger and healthier workers to pay much less than older and sicker ones -- some of whom could then find themselves uninsured if policies are priced out of their reach.

"This unravels the insurance system as we know it," said Michigan Democrat Debbie Stabenow.

But Enzi, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and his fellow Republicans say the critics are missing the point -- that even a health plan that doesn't come with all benefits is a step in the right direction for the uninsured.

"Those very same people today have no coverage whatsoever," said Sen. John Ensign, a Nevada Republican. "So isn't some kind of coverage better than no coverage at all?"

Maine Republican Olympia Snowe, a moderate, said she was trying to strike a compromise by offering an amendment that would require the small-business plans to include any coverage mandate that is law in 26 of the 50 states. That would include mammograms, prostate screening, alcoholism treatments, diabetes supplies, emergency services and other benefits but would still omit some common state requirements.

 Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada said Snowe's amendment was a "fig leaf."

Most Democrats back an alternative put forth by Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas that would instead allow small businesses to join a national insurance pool similar to the program that covers federal employees.

Democrats also were angry that Senate Republicans designated this as "health week" but only brought up the Enzi bill and legislation that would limit damages in malpractice lawsuits. The malpractice bills were blocked Monday evening.

The Democrats wanted to debate extending next Monday's deadline for signing up for the Medicare drug benefit, federal funding of stem cell research, and other health topics.   

[Soldier4Christ]

Senate advances health insurance bill



Posted 1:30 p.m. WASHINGTON - Employers could get a cheaper alternative when it comes to health insurance for their workers under provisions of legislation that advanced today in the Senate.

Senators voted 96-2 to limit debate on the measure, which pits business groups and insurers against health organizations and consumer groups.

Republicans and business groups say the ranks of the uninsured would be reduced because the legislation would allow businesses to offer insurance at a lower cost. But Democrats and consumer groups who oppose the bill point out that in exchange for the lower costs, insurers would be freed from state requirements that they cover mammograms, childhood physicals and diabetes, as well as other health services.

Under the legislation, businesses could band together based on their membership in a professional trade association to offer their workers limited health insurance.

Sen. Jim Talent, a Missouri Republican, said insurance policies for large employers already are exempt from state coverage requirements. He said it's time to do the same for small group coverage.

"The small business people are paying more to get the same benefits because they have higher administrative costs and higher overhead costs," Talent said.

But Sen. Chris Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat, said he fears the insurance industry would offer plans that exclude childhood immunizations and other important services. They would also be allowed to increase premiums beyond what individuals states now allow.

[Soldier4Christ]

Senate Passes Resolution On English Only Anthem

Before the US Senate left for the night they unanimously passed a non-binding resolution stating that the American National Anthem should only be sung in English.

The action was apparently sparked by the recent illegal immigration reform battle and the controversy that was caused when supporters of illegal immigrant rights recorded a version of the anthem in Spanish.

However, an unscientific survey of congressional leaders showed that many of them don't know the words to the National Anthem in any language.

Most Americans agree, in a recent poll, nearly seventy percent said that the anthem should be sung only in English.

President Bush strongly defends the English version of the National Anthem that became official seventy-five years ago.

[Soldier4Christ]

Republicans Reach Agreement
On $70 Billion Tax-Cut Bill
By BRODY MULLINS


WASHINGTON -- Congressional Republicans unveiled the final version of a five-year, $70 billion tax bill that extends lower tax rates on investments, blocks the expansion of the alternative minimum tax and offers a range of tax breaks to special interests from General Electric Co. to the University of Texas.

To help pay for the bill, tax-writers scaled back tax incentives for oil companies to search for oil and gas reserves, costing the industry $189 million over 10 years. Boeing Co., Caterpillar Inc. and other large U.S. exporters were dealt a $500 million blow when Republicans repealed a tax break for U.S. exporters that had drawn the ire of the European Union.

The final compromise was ironed out Tuesday and should be on its way to the White House by the end of the week. House Republicans would like to vote on the bill Wednesday with the Senate following suit Thursday. (See a summary of the provisions.)

The centerpiece of the legislation, which was a year in the making, would extend the 15% tax rates on capital gains and dividends from the end of 2008 through 2010. Republicans say the lower rates, first enacted by President Bush in 2003, are a key engine of investment and economic growth.

The bill also would exempt 15.3 million taxpayers from paying higher taxes under the AMT. Couples earning less than $62,550 and individuals making less than $42,500 would be exempted from paying the tax.

The AMT was enacted decades ago to make sure that wealthy Americans don't escape income taxes by taking advantage of deductions. Because the tax wasn't indexed for inflation, a growing number of middle-income Americans would be ensnared by the tax unless Congress approves yearly exemptions.

To help pay for some of the tax cuts, the bill allows wealthy Americans to convert their retirement savings from traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs. Since investments in Roth IRAs are taxed when deposited -- rather than when the funds are withdrawn at retirement -- the change would raise money for the Treasury. Critics call the change a gimmick that would raise money in the short term, but cost the government far more in the future because the Treasury won't be able to tax the retirement savings down the road.

Oil companies were dealt a glancing blow when tax-writers required the companies to write-off certain costs of exploring for oil and gas over five years. The companies currently can write off the costs over two years. The change will cost them $189 million over the next decade. Industry lobbyists were heartened that they beat back an attempt by senators to repeal the incentive entirely at a cost to the industry of $700 million.

In a surprise move, Republican tax-writers responded to the European Union by moving to reduce a tax benefit for U.S. exporters that E.U. leaders opposed. The bill is designed to roll back a provision in a 2004 international tax law that allowed U.S. manufacturers to continue receiving an outdated tax credit on long term sales contracts inked before 2004.

In a letter to House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas of California earlier this month, E.U. Ambassador John Burton said the union "cannot accept the grandfathering of sales contracts 10 to 15 years into the future as these involve products which have not yet been manufactured and exported." The change would cost large U.S. manufactures about $500 million over 10 years.

Other provisions would:
• Raise $420 million by cracking down on abuses by charitable organizations. But the final tax bill excludes legislation authored by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley of Iowa that would have offered tax incentives to Americans to donate to charities.
 
• Exempt the foreign subsidiaries of General Electric Co., Citicorp and other large U.S. financial services companies from paying U.S. taxes on certain income earned abroad. The provision, which extends a similar law already on the books, saves the industry about $5 billion over two years.
 
• Permit the University of Texas offer more bonds backed by assets of the school system.
 
• Allow songwriters to pay capital gains tax rates on sales of their songs, rather than higher personal income tax rates.
 

[Soldier4Christ]

Congress finishes work on veterans’ bill

Better late than never, congressional negotiators have completed work on a veterans’ benefits bill that was supposed to pass last year.

Two key benefits changes are included in the compromise bill, which is expected to come to a final vote next week.

Work on the bill ground to a halt last year when the House and Senate veterans’ affairs committees were unable to reach a compromise on unrelated legislation related to information technology at the Department of Veterans Affairs. An agreement still has not been reached on the information technology bill, which was a priority for Rep. Steve Buyer, R-Ind., the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee chairman.

The Veterans’ Housing Opportunity and Benefits Improvement Act of 2006 expands the range of grants to modify homes for severely disabled veterans. It allows more than one payment in a lifetime and allows payments if the veteran lives in a home owned by a family member, but not by the veteran. A new lifetime cap of three grants is allowed under the compromise, with a total value up to $50,000 for a severely disabled veteran and $10,000 for those less severely disabled.

Grants for adaptive housing apply to veterans with locomotion impairment, blindness or the loss of the function of both arms.

Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance coverage would be extended for two years after separation from the service rather than the current one year for those totally disabled. The extension would apply to totally disabled veterans released from active duty one year before the bill is signed into law.

The two-year extension, however runs only through Sept. 30, 2011. Beginning on Oct. 1, 2011, post-separation coverage would be reduced to 18 months.

To help pay for the increases, negotiators from the House and Senate veterans’ affairs committees approved a modest, limited and temporary increase for the repeated use of the VA home loan program. For those who have already had a home loan and are getting subsequent loans without making a down payment, the loan fee would be 3.35 percent of the loan value from Oct. 1, 2006 through Sept. 30, 2007, a .05 percentage point increase.

The benefits bill also slightly expands the list of diseases presumed under law to be related to a veteran’s experience as a prisoner of war for those who were interned a minimum of 30 days. Atherosclerotic heart disease, hypertensive vascular disease, complications from those two diseases, stroke and complications from stroke would be added.

Negotiators did not include a Senate-passed plan requiring standardized assessments for post-traumatic stress disorder claims, another Senate provision allowing a stillborn child to be covered as an insurable dependent under the military life insurance program, nor a House-passed provision permanently authorizing six Parkinson’s disease research centers.

[Soldier4Christ]

Bill would allow IRA investment for combat pay

After two years, Congress is still trying to amend tax laws to allow money earned in a combat zone to be invested in Individual Retirement Accounts.

For the second time, the House is passing HR 1499, called the Heroes Earned Retirement Opportunities Act, lifting an Internal Revenue Service rule prohibiting tax-free money from being put into a tax-deferred retirement savings account.

The House passed similar legislation on May 23, 2005, but the Senate took until November to approve the bill and then made changes that would have prevented service members from making retroactive contributions. That was a key facet of the House bill.

The House has revised the bill, setting the effective date of implementation back to calendar year 2004, and is passing the measure again in hopes he Senate will approve the changes. The retroactive effective date is intended to make sure no one is hurt by the detail in reaching agreement, congressional aides said.

Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., is the bill’s chief sponsor. She introduced the bill in April 2005 after hearing complaints that money earned in combat could not be put into a tax-deferred IRA.

[Soldier4Christ]

Senators 'progress' on immigration bill

The U.S. Senate is heading towards agreement over a new bill to check the immigration status of workers.

A section in the Senate's bipartisan immigration overhaul bill that would require employers to check the immigration status of their workers is rapidly gaining support from industry groups and immigrant advocates alike, CongressDaily reported Monday.

Title Three of a revised bill that Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., plans to bring to the Senate floor would establish an electronic employment verification eligibility system under which employers would be required to verify that workers they hire are legally able to be employed, the report said.

The system would also give the Homeland Security Department access to information in Social Security Administration databases, something that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff recently said is critical for investigations. Crafting Title three are Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and the committee's ranking member Max Baucus, D-Mont., along with Sens. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and Barack Obama, D-Ill, CongressDaily said.

Industry groups and immigrant advocates are throwing their support behind the emerging Senate proposal, as opposed to requirements in the House border security bill passed last December.

"We don't like the House bill at all," said Laura Foote Reiff, a lawyer at Greenberg Traurig and co-leader of the Essential Worker Immigration Coalition, a group of businesses and trade associations, told CongressDaily.

Major differences between the House and Senate proposals include compliance deadlines, employer penalties, privacy protections, redress processes for correcting errors, and employer liability protections, Reiff said.

For example, the House bill would require employers to verify the immigration status of all their workers. The Senate version would only require employers to do checks on newly hired workers, sparing from scrutiny any illegal aliens already in the workforce.

[Soldier4Christ]

The White House is now responding to the 9 News exclusive story first reported on wusa9.com.

How much do you think Osama bin Laden would pay to know exactly when and where the President was traveling, and who was with him? Turns out, he wouldn't have had to pay a dime. All he had to do was go through the trash early Tuesday morning.

It appears to be a White House staff schedule for the President's trip to Florida Tuesday. And a sanitation worker was alarmed to find in the trash long hours before Mr. Bush left for his trip.

It's the kind of thing you would expect would be shredded or burned, not thrown in the garbage.
Randy Hopkins could not believe what he was seeing.

There on the floor next to a big trash truck was a thick sheaf of papers with nearly every detail of the President's voyage.

“I saw locations and names and places where the President was going to be. I knew it was important. And it shouldn't have been in a trash hole like this,” he said.

Hopkins works in sanitation. He's an ex-con, and he's worried about fallout from talking to us, so he's asked us not to say exactly where he's employed. But he also felt it was his civic duty to tell somebody about what he'd found.

“We're going through a war, and if it would have fell into the wrong hands at the right time, it would have been something really messy for the President's sake,” he said.

The documents details the exact arrival and departure time for Air Force One, Marine One and the back up choppers, Nighthawk 2 and Three.

It lists every passenger on board each aircraft, from the President to military attaché with nuclear football. It offers the order of vehicles in the President's motorcade.

We faxed a copy to the Secret Service, which as usual rule declined to say much, other than insisting that it was a White House staff document, not a Secret Service document.

A spokesman traveling with President Bush says officials are still trying to learn more about the papers. The White House confirms the 9 News story and says many White House offices have "burn bags" that are used to discard sensitive documents like the schedule. However, it appears this one ended up in the general trash.

While it is marked official the Secret Service says it is NOT classified. But you don't have to be in Presidential security to figure out the big mistake here.

What do you think the message is that comes out of this? Shred the important papers.

Some of this information in the document goes out to the media before every Presidential trip. But we're always told not to publish it.

And there are a whole lot of details in it that we do NOT get.

[Soldier4Christ]

Town rejects National Day of Prayer banner
Reversed itself after accepting fee, allowing group to buy sign

Despite initial acceptance, a Michigan town rejected a street banner promoting the annual National Day of Prayer.

An employee of the city of Ludington, Mich., took a $100 fee from the local National Day of Prayer organizers, but only a few days before the May 4 commemoration, the city refused to hang the banner, reported the Ludington Daily News.

The group paid $350 for the sign, which was made after getting the city's OK.

In the wake of the controversy, Ludington has enacted a new policy making it clear any banner must specify an event rather than state a cause.

The National Day of Prayer banner read "National Day of Prayer, first Thursday in May."

City councilors said the sign would have been allowed if it had included the word "rally" or something similar, or had more detail about where and when events would be held.

The Mason County National Day of Prayer organizers, represented by the American Center for Law and Justice, argued the city "has created a limited public forum by allowing the display of banners of private persons and organizations for the purpose of advertising local events of benefit to the community."

City Attorney Roger Anderson disagreed, saying if it's a public forum, "that'll be the end to banners."

The city, Anderson said, won't discriminate which organizations can place signs, but instead set a policy that allows groups to promote events of general interest to the community.

Local NDP representative Melissa Thompson said the city should have delayed its decision and read the ACLJ's opinion.

She pointed out the group had the $350 banner made only after the city accepted it and cashed the fee check.

The banner had no space for additional wording, Thompson insisted.

"It's frustrating," she said.

The NDP organizers also were rejected in 2003 when the city attorney sent a written denial in April. The group took no action because they felt there was not enough time before the first Thursday in May.

The group tried again this year, making the request in early February. But the rejection didn't come until April 26.

The new policy, approved by a 5-4 city council vote, states, "It is not the intent of the city to create a forum or location for public speech. Thus, banners that are primarily for the purpose of advocating particular political, religious or other points of view, candidate for office, or advertising a product or service are not permitted.

[Soldier4Christ]

CIA Official's Home, Office Searched

WASHINGTON (AP) - Law enforcement officials executed search warrants Friday on the house and office of the CIA's outgoing executive director, the FBI said.

The agency's third ranking official, Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, has been under investigation by the FBI, IRS, Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the CIA's inspector general, said FBI spokeswoman April Langwell in San Diego.

Under a sealed warrant, officials searched Foggo's Virginia home and his office at the CIA's Langley, Va., campus, Langwell said. She could provide no other details.

The FBI and other agencies have been investigating whether Foggo improperly intervened in the award of contracts to a San Diego businessman and personal friend, Brent Wilkes, who has been implicated in a congressional bribery scandal.

In a statement, CIA spokeswoman Jennifer Millerwise Dyck also confirmed the searches of his home and office on Friday morning.

"The agency is cooperating fully with the Department of Justice and the FBI," she said. "Agency leaders outside of the (inspector general's office) were informed just prior to the execution of the search warrants, in keeping with standard law enforcement procedures."

This week, Foggo announced his retirement from the agency after more than 25 years serving around the world.

In a statement on Foggo's behalf, the CIA said he denied any improprieties. "Mr. Foggo maintains that government contracts for which he was responsible were properly awarded and administered," the agency said last week.

Wilkes has been described in court papers as an unindicted co-conspirator in a plot to bribe then-Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, a California Republican who is now serving time in a federal prison for taking $2.4 million from government contractors.

FBI agents also have been investigating whether Wilkes provided Cunningham with prostitutes, limousines and hotel suites.

Foggo has acknowledged participating in the poker parties at the hotel rooms, but he has said there was nothing untoward about that. "If he attended occasional card games with friends over the years, Mr. Foggo insists they were that and nothing more," the CIA statement said.

[Soldier4Christ]

Unions threaten consumer boycott
to dry up campaign contributions
California labor groups warn national retailers:
Oppose Reiner initiative, you'll be blackballed


Union supporters of a California ballot measure promising "Preschool for All" have threatened several national retailers with a nationwide boycott if their companies or major shareholders make contributions to the opposition campaign.

Representatives for the Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic – major mall-based clothing retailers – were sent letters last week from the Service Employees International Union and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees warning that a national action against all their stores would be taken if the Gap, its affiliates or any member of the Gap's founding family made a contribution to the No on Proposition 82 campaign, reports the Sacramento Bee.

Don Fisher, who founded the Gap, and his family also own Old Navy and Banana Republic.

"It is our hope that you come to the conclusion that opposing preschool for every child in California is bad for kids and bad for California," the letter, signed by SEIU's and AFSCME's presidents and SEIU's secretary treasurer, said. A donation of $25,000 by John Fisher, son of Gap's founder, to an anti-initiative group was noted, although he is not a member of the Gap board.

Nationally, SEIU and AFSCME represent 2.7 million members – a number that could grow if Proposition 82 passes, since it would permit collective bargaining for those employed by the new preschools.

Proposition 82's primary sponsor, "All in the Family" actor Rob Reiner, came under fire earlier this year for spending taxpayer funds on a television ad campaign to promote preschool for 4-year-olds.

The First 5 California Children and Families Commission, chaired by Reiner, launched the $23 million ad blitz just as Reiner began touting his "Preschool for All" campaign. The commission even titled its own campaign "Preschool for All."

Three of First 5's political consultants, who received $200,000 without a contract, later transferred to the Proposition 82 campaign.

After major newspapers in the state called for his resignation for benefiting his initiative effort with "one of the largest state-funded advertising campaigns ever in California," Reiner resigned. The Long Beach Telegraph called the expenditure a "self-aggrandizing, crony-coddling political campaign that is wrong and either is illegal or should be."

Proposition 82 would add a 1.7 percent tax on individual incomes over $400,000 and couples' incomes over $800,000. It is projected to raise $2.4 billion a year to fund voluntary preschool for all 4-year-olds.

Opponents argue the initiative would subsidize parents already paying for private preschool and create another costly mandate for California's troubled school system. Once established, the program would have to be fully funded by law, even during lean budget cycles.

The California Chamber of Commerce's analysis indicates less than 10 percent of the program's funding would be used to enroll new "at risk" children who aren't already served by existing preschools.

While a spokeswoman for the Gap said the company has taken no position on the initiative, made no contributions and has no plan to be involved in the campaign, the unions point to Don Fisher's involvement with the California Business Roundtable.

"He's not been outspoken publicly," "Yes on 82" campaign spokesman, Nathan James said of Fisher. "But in donor circles ... he's committed to fighting it by raising money against it."

After John Fisher's $25,000 contribution several months ago, Proposition 82 supporters began handing out leaflets at Gap stores around the state in an effort to send a message to other potential corporate donors – oppose us an you'll be picketed, too.

"The strategy for us was ... that perhaps it would slow down the money," John Jackson, one of the demonstrations' organizers said.

Proposition 82's supporters have raised over $9 million for the June measure, including $1.6 million from the two unions threatening to boycott the Gap.

"The Gap has to decide if they want to continue to play the part of corporate villain and continue to put children in harm's way," said a SEIU spokeswoman. "Or they can show their corporate leadership, reconsider their position and put California kids first."

[Soldier4Christ]

Alabama candidate for AG disputes Holocaust, is coming to NJ

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- A Democratic candidate for Alabama attorney general denies the Holocaust occurred and said Friday he will speak this weekend in New Jersey to a "pro-white" organization that is widely viewed as being racist.

Larry Darby concedes his views are radical, but he said they should help him win wide support among Alabama voters as he tries to "reawaken white racial awareness" with his campaign against Mobile County District Attorney John Tyson.

The state Democratic chairman, Joe Turnham, said the party became aware of some of Darby's views only days ago and was considering what to do about his candidacy.

"Any type of hatred toward groups of people, especially for political gain, is completely unacceptable in the Alabama Democratic Party," said Turnham.

Speaking in an interview with The Associated Press, Darby said he believes no more than 140,000 Jewish people died in Europe during World War II, and most of them succumbed to typhus.

Historians say about 6 million Jews were slaughtered by the Nazis, but Darby said the figure is a false claim of the "Holocaust industry."

"I am what the propagandists call a Holocaust denier, but I do not deny mass deaths that included some Jews," Darby said. "There was no systematic extermination of Jews. There's no evidence of that at all."

Darby said he will speak Saturday near Newark, N.J., at a meeting of National Vanguard, which bills itself as an advocate for the white race. Some of his campaign materials are posted on the group's Internet site.

"It's time to stop pushing down the white man. We've been discriminated against too long," Darby said in the interview.

New Jersey's Democratic State Committee chief on Friday decried Darby's planned visit, and said in a statement that denying the Holocaust was "historical blasphemy."

"Hate and prejudice are destructive qualities that are not welcome in New Jersey and should be condemned wherever they occur," said party Chairman Joe Cryan. "Mr. Darby should turn around before crossing the Jersey stateline and then give thought to turning his abhorrent attitudes around as well."

A poll published last month indicated the Democratic race for attorney general was up for grabs. The survey showed 21 percent favored Tyson to 12 percent for Darby, but 68 percent of respondents were undecided.

Darby, founder of the Atheist Law Center and a longtime supporter of separation of church and state, said he has no money for campaign advertising and has made only a few campaign speeches.

Tyson said aside from his views on race and the Holocaust, Darby also has publicly advocated legalizing drugs and shooting all illegal immigrants.

"I am astonished as anyone has ever been that anyone is running for public office in Alabama on that platform," said Tyson. "I do not take him as a serious candidate."

Turnham said the party began an investigation last week after hearing about some of Darby's comments in a television interview. While the party supports the free-speech rights of any candidate, Turnham said some of Darby's views appear to be in "a realm of thought that is unacceptable."

"We have Holocaust survivors and families of Holocaust survivors here in Alabama, and many of them are members of the Democratic Party," said Turnham.

The winner of the Democratic primary on June 6 will face either Republican Attorney General Troy King or Mark Montiel, who is opposing King in the GOP primary.

[Soldier4Christ]

Prof quits to protest Rice invite
Says Boston College commencement speaker a 'liar'

An adjunct professor is resigning his post at Boston College in protest of the Catholic school's decision to invite Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to be its commencement speaker and receive an honorary degree.

In an open letter published in the Boston Globe, Steve Almond, a professor of English, charged "Rice's actions as secretary of state are inconsistent with the broader humanistic values of the university and the Catholic and Jesuit traditions from which those values derive."

Almond, writing to Boston College President William Leahy, said his objection is not only the war in Iraq.

"My concern is more fundamental," he wrote. "Simply put, Rice is a liar."

Almond claimed Rice has "lied to the American people knowingly, repeatedly, often extravagantly over the past five years, in an effort to justify a pathologically misguided foreign policy."

The professor said that during the build-up to the war, Rice "made 29 false or misleading public statements concerning Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and links to al-Qaida, according to a congressional investigation by the House Committee on Government Reform."

Almond, however, is referring to a partisan report prepared by Democratic staff members.

He cites as an example, "Rice repeatedly asserted that Iraq was pursuing a nuclear weapon, and specifically seeking uranium in Africa," and says that later these claims were disproved.

The famous claim of Iraq's interest in pursuing "yellow cake" uranium ore in Niger, however, has not been disproved. Former Ambassador Joseph Wilson declared in a July 2003 New York Times column that his trip to investigate the claim revealed the Iraq-Niger connection was dubious, but his oral report to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence actually corroborated the controversial "16 words" in President Bush's 2003 State of the Union address: "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa."

Almond says, nevertheless, "Like the president whom she serves so faithfully, [Rice] refuses to recognize her errors or the tragic consequences of those errors to the young soldiers and civilians dying in Iraq. She is a diplomat whose central allegiance is not to the democratic cause of this nation, but absolute power."

The professor said he found it "most reprehensible" that Boston College "would entrust to Rice the role of moral exemplar."

Almond insisted his judgment is based on issues of character, not on her intellectual and academic abilities or "her potentially inspiring role as a powerful woman of color."

"Honestly, Father Leahy," he wrote, "what lessons do you expect her to impart to impressionable seniors? That hard work in the corporate sector might gain them a spot on the board of Chevron? That they, too, might someday have an oil tanker named after them? That it is acceptable to lie to the American people for political gain?"

Almond said he cannot, "in good conscience, exhort my students to pursue truth and knowledge, then collect a paycheck from an institution that displays such flagrant disregard for both."

He offered an apology to his students and urged them "to investigate the words and actions of Rice, and to exercise their own First Amendment rights at her speech."

The Globe's note on Almond said he's the author of the story collections ''The Evil B. B. Chow" and ''My Life in Heavy Metal," described by Amazon.com as being "populated with hookups, drunken kisses, failed passes, and souring relationships. And though it's an aggressively sexual affair (when it comes to getting it on in the bedroom –or on the bathroom sink, for that matter – Almond doesn't believe in fading to black), at its core it's a collection with heart."

[Soldier4Christ]

San Diego sued for discrimination against churches
Federal judge blocks city's attempt to dismiss case


A federal court denied San Diego's request to dismiss a lawsuit by a church accusing the city of discrimination for charging churches higher rental fees than similar community groups.

Canyon Ridge Baptist Church, represented by attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund, rents a city-owned facility, the Kearny Mesa Recreation Center, for its Sunday worship services.

"A landlord – especially when it's the government – shouldn't treat Christian tenants any differently than other tenants," said ADF attorney Tim Chandler.

A city, he explained, "cannot single out religious organizations for unequal treatment in comparison to other similarly situated groups."

The city provides the recreation center at no cost or for a nominal fee to many governmental and community groups. But San Diego officials charge religious organizations its highest rate, which is up to 21 times higher than what other community groups are charged.

"Enforcing different fee schedules based on a group's speech is clearly unconstitutional," Chandler said.

The lawyer contends his case is "founded on well-established legal precedent, and we look forward to making sure this church is not mistreated by the city."

ADF attorneys filed suit against the city last December in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

The public-interest legal group says it has been involved in a number of significant victories involving government entities that have charged religious organizations higher fees than other groups, including Gentala v. City of Tucson, Ariz.

A copy of the court's order denying the city of San Diego's motion to dismiss the case can be read here.

Chandler will argue before the court Monday in favor of a motion for preliminary injunction.

As WorldNetDaily reported, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled Nov. 17 the city of New York's board of education could not prohibit a Bronx church from holding worship meetings on school grounds. The court issued a permanent injunction following a 10-year fight to allow the church equal access to public facilities.