April 21, 2008

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee today released data showing a dramatic rise in the number of moral waivers issued to recruits joining the Army and Marine Corps. The number of waivers granted to recruits convicted of manslaughter, rape, kidnapping and making terrorist threats, doubled between 2006 and 2007. During that same time, the Pentagon continued discharging service members under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law banning lesbian, gay and bisexual personnel from serving openly in the military. Pentagon officials released the data following a request for the information from Committee Chairman, Congressman Henry A. Waxman (D-CA). Full release

Tom Lingenfelter, Independent (no party) candidate of Bucks County, who is stepping into what is expected to be one of the hottest Congressional races in the country stated, "It is time that voters have a real choice for a real change. It is clear that the business of Congress is creating problems and not solving problems. The extremism of special interest party politics have co-opted both Republican and Democrat candidates". Lingenfelter observes that "it has become painfully obvious that to cast your vote for one of the two party choices is a waste of your vote!" Full release

The 16-cent national rise in gasoline prices over two weeks, to more than $3.50 a gallon on average, is busting family budgets and threatening a further downward spiral in the economy, said Consumer Watchdog. The price crisis is far worse than it was two years ago, yet President Bush has remained silent, refusing to make even the small effort that he did in April 2006 against spiking prices. Full release

Lack of land and property rights are key factors in East African conflicts -- including the current political crisis in Kenya -- where ethnic rivalries are often rooted in battles over land. But securing access to land can help prevent violence and promote peace, as well as improve a country's environmental, social, and economic prospects. At the Wilson Center on April 23rd, Peter Hetz and Gregory Myers will examine land and conflict in Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Sudan, with a special focus on Kenya. Full release

The Democratic National Committee will hold a conference call today, Monday, April 21, at 2:00 pm EDT to announce the rollout of a new field effort and Neighborhood Volunteer organizing tool. The rollout coincides with the launch of the DNC's ad, "Better Off," which will be used at organizing events across the country. Joining Governor Dean on the call will be the DNC's Political Director, David Boundy. Full release

The following is an Op-Ed by David Freddoso from National Review Online and is being issued by the Republican National Committee: Barack Obama is still licking the wounds from his connection to a sharp-tongued reverend. As he does, critics are setting in on the unrepentant terrorist with whom he worked and associated. A criminal trial of a close Obama friend in Chicago is proving to be a big added embarrassment. Full release

RNC Chairman Robert M. "Mike" Duncan released the following statement today: "Howard Dean has two candidates who are so out of touch, they think billions in tax increases will get our economy back on track. So his only option is to try to smear John McCain." Full release

John McCain says that if he became president he would be "changing the way we do business in Washington" and put us "on a path to a balanced budget." But in reality, a McCain presidency would give us four more years of the same fiscal recklessness we got with the Bush Administration. In fact, just this week McCain said that the economy is going pretty well, despite the massive job losses, soaring inflation, and skyrocketing gas prices we've experienced since President Bush took over. But instead of offering a break with President Bush's disastrous economic policies that have hurt America, as the New York Times editorialized, McCain "would dig a much deeper hole than even President Bush, exactly what the country does not need." [ABC's This Week, 4/20/08; Time.com's The Page, 4/21/08; New York Times, Editorial, 4/20/08] Full release

According to a new nationwide survey commissioned by LEADS at Spelman College, Hispanic female Democrats across the country say leadership abilities, not race or gender, is the primary motivator for their selection of Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama as the Democratic presidential nominee. Full release

The House of Representatives sent a letter to President Bush this week advising him to stop all plans to advance the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) of North America until there has been full congressional oversight. The letter, which was authored by Reps. Raul M. Grijalva (D-AZ) and Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), is brief and simply states that the U.S. Congress "objects to a process that permits the executives of the respective countries to bypass constitutionally mandated review" and that all SPP negotiations should be halted until the details of this closed-door diplomacy "are made transparent and proper legislative oversight is established." The letter reached President Bush on the eve of the fourth North American summit, which will be held in New Orleans on April 21st and 22nd. Full release

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