August 2006

Today, the Arizona Supreme Court upheld the right of citizens to vote on important issues and rejected attempts to stop a vote from taking place this November on the "Protect Marriage Arizona Amendment." Family Research Council (FRC) President Tony Perkins released the following statement:

"We are pleased by today's decision from the Arizona Supreme Court allowing the 'Protect Marriage Amendment' to remain on the November ballot. Allowing the citizens of the State of Arizona to vote to protect marriage is a fundamental right and we applaud the Arizona Supreme Court for a sound judicial outcome." Read more

Even as the Lebanese Army and United Nations forces enforce a tenuous ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel, the stability of the Middle East remains in considerable doubt. As the political consequences of the war continue to be felt in both Israel and Lebanon, the conflict has raised broader questions about the influence of Iran in the heart of the Middle East. Read more

At this hour, a new generation of Americans in uniform is showing great courage in defending our freedom in the first war of the 21st century. I know that Legionnaires are following this war closely, especially those of you with family and friends who wear our uniform. The images that come back from the front lines are striking, and sometimes unsettling. When you see innocent civilians ripped apart by suicide bombs, or families buried inside their homes, the world can seem engulfed in purposeless violence. The truth is there is violence, but those who cause it have a clear purpose. When terrorists murder at the World Trade Center, or car bombers strike in Baghdad, or hijackers plot to blow up planes over the Atlantic, or terrorist militias shoot rockets at Israeli towns, they are all pursuing the same objective -- to turn back the advance of freedom, and impose a dark vision of tyranny and terror across the world. Read more

"No matter how many speeches the President gives, the truth is that his failed policies have taken the country in a dangerous direction. The American people know that five years after September 11th, we are not as safe as we should and could be. Iraq is in crisis, our military is stretched thin, and terrorist groups and extremist regimes have been strengthened and emboldened across the Middle East and the world. It is time for a new direction. Democrats will lead the American people with tough and smart policies that will make us safer by beginning the redeployment of troops from Iraq, refocusing our efforts on the war on terror, and protecting Americans from terrorism here at home." Read more

In sum, the numbers of completed projects throughout Iraq -- including large and complex oil, water, and electrical plants -- has been truly staggering. More than 3,500 projects have been started; more than 2,800 of these have been completed and the remainder under construction. Read more

As the nation remembers the tragedy of Katrina and the destruction of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, an expert with the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) suggests government should heed the lessons of Katrina and end destructive subsidies to coastal development. Read more

The Internal Revenue Service has informed the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) that it has concluded its examination of NAACP activities and determined the association did not violate conditions of its tax exempt status. Read more

U.S. Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, and U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), co-chairs of the Honorary Congressional Advisory Board of the 9/11 nonprofit group One Day's Pay, will be joined by U.S. Rep. Michael A. Ferguson (R-N.J.) and others in Washington to urge President George Bush to officially proclaim 9/11 as a national day of charitable service and good deeds. Read more

The number of suspects and defendants processed in the federal criminal justice system grew substantially during the 10-year period of 1994 to 2003, the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced today. U.S. federal prosecutors investigated more than 130,000 suspects during 2003 (a new record), up from 99,000 men and women in 1994. Read more

The World Trade Center attack changed some priests forever, according to reports from clergy involved in 9/11. Writing to the U.S. Bishops' Office for Vocations and Priestly Formation, priests showed the depth of the experience on parishioners, firefighters, families and themselves. Read more

On Labor Day 2006, Americans believe that high-quality public education is the key to job growth in an economy where global competition is a new reality, according to a poll released today by the Council for Excellence in Government. The public also worries that the U.S. is falling behind China and India when it comes to jobs and education; and defines a good job by salary and benefits. Read more

A year ago today, despite warnings by New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin about the severity of Hurricane Katrina and with images of chaos erupting in the streets and the worsening conditions in New Orleans filling the nation's television sets, President Bush chose instead to focus on his PR campaign to turn around lagging public support for the war in Iraq. Instead of returning to Washington to deal with the Katrina disaster, Bush decided to end his month-long vacation by playing guitar with country singer Mark Wills during a trip to California. The Bush Administration's inaction and incompetence in the days leading up to and following Katrina mirror the failed policies that the White House still clings to today. A year has passed and the White House is permanently committed to a disastrous policy in Iraq and has not fulfilled its promises to the people of the Gulf Coast to rebuild their communities and help them get back on their feet. Read more

Married women who choose to work outside the home are likely to pay the highest marginal tax rates in the country according to a new book, "Leaving Women Behind: Modern Families, Outdated Laws." In fact, women earning only modest wages often find themselves paying taxes at a rate double that of multi-billionaires like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. Read more

The editors of Hudson Institute's "Current Trends in Islamist Ideology" -- the leading journal on the ideologies of worldwide Islamist movements -- announce the publication of a new series of research monographs on Islamism and the Muslim world. Read more

Since becoming governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed disclosure legislation that would expose the truth about how many employees of Wal-Mart, and other companies, are using taxpayer- funded public health care. In 18 out of 19 states, Wal-Mart is the employer with the largest number of employees on public health care assistance. The estimated tax cost to subsidize the Wal-Mart health care crisis is $1.39 billion a year, nationally, and over $39 million in California. Amazingly, at Wal-Mart's behest, Governor Schwarzenegger also vetoed legislation that would have prevented workers at Wal-Mart and other stores from being locked inside overnight. Read more

Since reaching an historic low in 2000, over the last seven years, the number of children living in poverty in the United States has grown by 11.3 percent to approach 13 million, even after a 145,000 child improvement in 2005, according to an analysis by the Children's Defense Fund (CDF) of U.S. Census Bureau data released today. A child's likelihood of being poor has increased by almost 9 percent. Today's Census Bureau report also showed that, contrary to recent trends, the number and percent of uninsured children increased in 2005. Children in poverty were more likely to be uninsured than other children. Read more

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Thank you. Good morning. From our beginnings as a nation, the church steeple and the schoolhouse door have been enduring symbols of the American community. And so it is today in New Orleans. Earlier this morning, we gathered at St. Louis Cathedral in the presence of a just God, who asked us to love our neighbors as ourselves. And now we stand inside Warren Easton Senior High School. Warren Eastern is the oldest public school in New Orleans. Read more

oday, FRC Action announced that Sean Hannity, co-host of "Hannity & Colmes" and host of "The Sean Hannity Show," will join the line-up of speakers at the first annual Washington Briefing: Values Voter Summit, which will be held Sept. 22-24, at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. Read more

In the aftermath of Hezbollah's kidnapping of Israeli soldiers on July 12 and its shelling of Israeli towns and cities, political cartoonists and U.S. newspaper editorials overwhelmingly supported Israel's right to defend itself against Hezbollah's acts of aggression, said the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). Read more

A new report on the "Cost of Iraq" will be released on Wednesday, August 30, in twenty-five cities by members of MoveOn.org Political Action. The report will analyze the cost of the Iraq War by Congressional district.

Since the Iraq war began, the Republican-led Congress has spent more than $300 Billion on President Bush's failed policy. $18 billion has been awarded to Halliburton, much of which was in "no bid" contracts and $9 billion is missing. Read more

Attorney General Gonzales arrived in Baghdad on Tuesday to meet with and thank Department of Justice officials working in Iraq to rebuild the country's legal and law enforcement infrastructure. Attorney General Gonzales also met with high-ranking Iraqi officials, including Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih and Chief Justice of the Higher Juridical Council Medhat Al-Mahmoud, as well as U.S. military personnel. Read more

Americans for Safer Air Travel (ASAT), a new air safety advocacy group, today asked the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to explain its standards regarding pilot fatigue and air traffic controller staffing at Blue Grass Airport in Lexington. Read more

This week, Vice President Cheney and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld will appear at the 107th annual convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Las Vegas, with Cheney gave the keynote address today. Cheney, Rumsfeld and Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson should use their time at the convention to explain why the Bush Administration has slashed veterans' benefits and refused to act swiftly to protect the privacy of their personal information. Bush Republicans in the House of Representatives have also fought Democratic efforts to end an unfair tax that affects 60,000 widows "whose husbands died of causes relating to their military service" and who "lose out on thousands of dollars a year in survivor benefits because of a law that dates from the 1970's." (New York Times, 8/19/06) Read more

Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., and Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., will join Campaign for America's Future co-director Robert Borosage on a conference call with reporters on Tuesday morning to outline the failures of the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina one year after the storm's landfall. With Hurricane Katrina still haunting the White House, President Bush will mark the anniversary with a trip to the Gulf Coast, including a major speech from New Orleans on Tuesday. Read more

The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the trade association for the firearms industry, said today that the failure of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to turn over evidence of alleged illegal firearm sales to the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is telling. Read more

International humanitarian agency Oxfam America raised concern today that out of the $3 billion allocated for rebuilding homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina along Mississippi's Gulf Coast, fewer than 30 households saw any of that assistance this week when the first round of checks went out. Oxfam America called on Mississippi state officials to immediately change course and work with community leaders to develop a comprehensive housing recovery plan by the end of September that meets the needs of the region's poorest residents. Read more

Five national and Louisiana environmental groups today issued a report card giving the federal and state government a combined D-plus grade for their efforts to protect and restore Louisiana's natural hurricane buffer - its disappearing wetlands - and warning that unless this trend is reversed, the communities of Louisiana cannot survive. Read more

Consumer advocate Jamie Court will call on state and federal regulators to respond to an investigation by the Kansas City Star that found oil companies' failure to install fuel pumps that adjust for temperature costs Californians at least 3 cents for every gallon in warmer weather. When the temperature of gasoline rises above 60 degrees, the gasoline expands but pumps don't account for the bigger volume and consumers receive less gasoline than they should. The technology to adjust for temperature has already been installed in Canada but domestic oil companies have resisted because they made at least an extra $500 million in profits per year in California due to failure to adjust for gasoline temperature. Hawaii is the only state to adjust its pumps for hotter gas. Read more

n the year since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the Gulf Coast, more than one million hurricane victims have received assistance by the Catholic Charities network. As hundreds of thousands of evacuees were forced to evacuate and were unable to return home for months on end, more than 110 Catholic Charities in the Gulf Coast and well beyond have reached out to help and comfort those in desperate need. These recovery efforts are detailed in a new report, Blessings after the Storms: Catholic Charities 2005 Hurricane Ministry, from Catholic Charities USA. Read more

Midwest Home Chicago's 3rd annual Chicago Luxury Home Tour will spotlight 23 custom built homes valued from $1 million to nearly $4 million. This year's tour showcases homes that are casually elegant, many with classic details such as cedar shake roofs, hand-scraped oak floors, beadboard paneling and a new take on a Victorian concept -- the latest incarnation of the butler's pantry. Read more

"Tomorrow, we celebrate Women's Equality Day, which commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution guaranteeing women the right to vote. We remember the courage and sacrifice of women such as Susan B. Anthony, Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Jeanette Rankin. We saw their spirit in women such as our former colleague, the late Bella Abzug, who introduced the legislation commemorating this day." Read more

Accuracy in Media editor Cliff Kincaid today called for the immediate release of Fox News journalists Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig and blasted a noted left-wing writer and activist for encouraging their kidnapping by terrorists. Read more

The damage wrought by Hurricane Katrina included catastrophic human, cultural and economic damages for the Gulf Coast region. A year later, as the nation reflects on the anniversary of that tragic day, an expert engineering panel formed by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) today released a set of essential recommendations for overcoming the deficiencies in the city's hurricane protection system and instituting real change in its governance, management and engineering. Read more

As the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaches, hundreds of displaced Gulf Coast families are moving forward with their lives again as a result of unique partnerships between the manufactured and modular housing industries and regional housing agencies. Read more

It's a good bet that if Jesse Jackson calls something a "civil rights issue," it's not. It's a better bet that if you hear Julian Bond telling blacks to take responsibility, then you haven't heard the whole story. Read more

Today, the Asian American Justice Center (AAJC), a national civil and human rights organization, raised concerns about the paucity of Asian Pacific Islander Americans (APIA) on the list of nominees for the 58th Emmy Awards. Of the 16 nomination categories for outstanding actor or actress, only four minorities, one of whom was APIA actress Sandra Oh from "Grey's Anatomy," were nominated for awards. Last year, five minorities, including APIA actors Naveen Andrews and Oh, received nominations. Read more

The commander of the United States Army Corps of Engineers today signed and released the "12 Actions for Change," a set of actions that the Corps will focus on to transform its priorities, processes and planning.

"Hurricane Katrina's disastrous impact upon the Gulf Coast and the New Orleans region served as a very sobering wakeup call for the Corps and the nation in how we have prepared for natural disasters and where we have accepted risk," said Lt. Gen. Carl A. Strock, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Read more

"This decision is a disaster and a danger for girls and their parents. The FDA has brazenly overstepped its authority in order to appease the likes of Planned Parenthood and the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, whose interest in this matter has nothing to do with the health of women and everything to do with taking a whack at pro-lifers for profit's sake. After all, it's not like Plan B hasn't been readily available by prescription for years. Is the fight here for a woman's right to choose not to visit a doctor?" Read more

The Truth Squad will conduct oversight of the Bush Administration's handling of taxpayer dollars. Under the Bush Administration's watch, billions of taxpayer's dollars have been squandered, Pelosi said, contributing to the largest annual deficits in our nation's history. Despite documented instances of waste, fraud and abuse, the Republican Congress has failed to provide meaningful oversight or hold the administration accountable. Read more

Javed Iqbal, a.k.a. "John Iqbal," 42, of Staten Island, N.Y., has been arrested and charged with conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), U.S. Attorney Michael J. Garcia of the Southern District of New York and Assistant Director in Charge Mark Mershon of the New York Office of the FBI announced today. Specifically, the complaint alleges that through a company called HDTV Ltd. located in Brooklyn, Iqbal and others provided customers in the New York area with satellite broadcasts of al Manar, which is a television station owned and/or operated by Hizballah. Read more

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid today joined Louisiana's senior Senator Mary Landrieu to kick off her "Hope and Recovery Tour" with a visit to St. Bernard Parish for a first-hand view of the recovery effort nearly one year after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The Senators toured the Chalmette Residential Community with St. Bernard Sheriff Jack Stephens and Reverend Leonard Lucas, then joined Parish Councilmember Joey DiFatta, School Superintendent Doris Voitier, and Principal Leanne Harlton for a tour of the recently reopened Andrew Jackson Elementary School. The Senators then visited Main's Grocery, an independent grocery store opened by Carlton Main, a local resident determined to provide a needed service to his community. Read more

Focus on the Family Action Chairman James C. Dobson, Ph.D., warned listeners of his daily radio broadcast today that America's children will be delivered "straight into the arms of the homosexual activist community" unless California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoes a quartet of pro-gay bills now on his desk or soon headed there. Read more

The Census Bureau will release new data on poverty and family income for 2005 on August 29. Poverty declined every year between 1993 and 2000, reaching its lowest level ever for black children, but then increased during the recession year of 2001 as well as in 2002, 2003, and 2004. Researchers who track child poverty are awaiting the 2005 Census figures to determine whether poverty among children has continued to increase. Read more

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today slammed the human rights group Amnesty International for its report on the Israeli-Hezbollah war, calling it "bigoted, biased and borderline anti-Semitic." Read more

Hurricane Katrina not only left an unimaginable path of destruction in her wake, but she left thousands of people dealing with enormous stress, despair, and anxiety as they try to rebuild their lives. With traditional outlets for mental health services in New Orleans crippled and depression and suicide at record levels, many hurricane victims are at or beyond the breaking point. Read more

Today MoveOn.org Political Action launched a new campaign against Republican House Members who support the Bush administration's failed policy in Iraq. Two thirty-second spots criticize the incumbents for failing to act as a check on President Bush's fiasco in Iraq. The ads focus on the Republicans' failure to protect American troops and taxpayers from war profiteering by companies like Halliburton, and the waste of billions of dollars needed for healthcare, schools, and other priorities at home. Read more

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), and its sister agency, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), have announced that Google has joined the Technology Coalition and the Financial Coalition Against Child Pornography, two critical industry initiatives to fight commercial child pornography over the Internet. Read more

"Just days after Ambassador Andy Young, the former chair of Wal-Mart's front group, Working Families for Wal-Mart, was forced to resign because of derogatory statements he made about Jewish-Americans, Korean-Americans, and Arab-Americans in defense of Wal-Mart's business practices, yet another member of Wal-Mart's front group, Herman Cain, launched a vicious and derogatory attack against Democrats." Read more

Amnesty International today published findings that point to an Israeli policy of deliberate destruction of Lebanese civilian infrastructure during the recent conflict. A new 22-page report shows how Israel's destruction of thousands of homes, strikes on numerous bridges and roads as well as water and fuel storage plants was an integral part of Israel's military strategy in Lebanon, rather than "collateral damage" resulting from the lawful targeting of military objectives. Read more

A call from the Proposition 71 stem cell institute for applications from scientists for the first research grants appears to provide enough time to review applications for their scientific merit, but still lacks adequate rules ensuring that any cures are affordable for all Californians, consumer advocates said today. Read more

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