UPDATE: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted today (17-4) to surrender United States Sovereignty to the third world and the corrupt United Nations!

Of course, we’re talking about the Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST)!

And as anticipated, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is trying to force a quick vote on LOST before anyone realizes just what is going on!

Only four Senators on the Foreign Relations Committee had the courage to stand with the American people and vote against giving United States sovereignty to a United Nations body.

The vote tally was not available at press time but we know that Senators Jim DeMint, Norm Coleman and David Vitter were three of the four votes.

And now that LOST is headed — on the fast track — to the floor of the Senate, we will need 34 votes to TORPEDO LOST!

Use the hyperlink below to send your urgent Blast Fax message to President George W. Bush and all 49 Republican Members of the United States Senate. We only need the support of 34 Senators to scuttle LOST and many of them are already starting to listen.

Tell them that, since Senate ratification of a treaty makes it U.S. law, passage of the Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST) will surrender our sovereignty to an organization controlled by third-world despots, dictators and international pirates whose motto is “Destroy America!” Why should we surrender rights currently reserved to the federal government and to the states? Fight this treaty! Scuttle LOST!

https://www.grasstopsusa.com/lostii.html

We Can TORPEDO LOST!

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This is a congressional alert from the National Right to Life Committee (Federal Legislation Department), issued on Monday, October 29.

WASHINGTON — As early as this week, the U.S. Senate will cast an important vote on federal funding of abortion.

The Senate is expected to take up S. 1200, a bill to make extensive changes to the laws governing federal health programs for American Indians, which are administered by the Indian Health Service.

Some years ago, federal Indian Health Service (IHS) funds were used to provide abortion on demand. That is not occurring at the present, but it is necessary to amend the permanent law to ensure that it does not occur again in the future. That goal would be achieved by an amendment that pro-life Senator David Vitter (R-La.) intends to offer when the Senate takes up S. 1200.

The Vitter Amendment is similar to the Hyde Amendment, but would permanently apply to the IHS. If enacted, it would alter the basic IHS law to permanently prohibit federal funding of abortion (except to save the life of the mother, rape, or incest) in all federal Indian health programs.

For a number of senators, this will be the first time that they vote on the issue of direct federal funding of abortion. That is because the Senate has not conducted a roll call vote squarely on an amendment to prohibit direct funding of abortion procedures since 1999. (However, the Senate has voted repeatedly on related issues, such as funding for organizations that promote abortion and the use of federal military facilities for self-funded abortions.) All U.S. Senators need to hear immediately from constituents who are opposed to federal funding of abortion.

PLEASE CALL NOW!

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse:  (401) 453-5294 or (202) 224-2921

Sen. Jack Reed: (401) 943-3100 or (202) 224-4642

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The Guest Speaker will be TOM WIGAND, a Middletown attorney, who is Legal Counsel for the R.I. Republican Assembly. Tom is also active in the R.I. Statewide Coalition, and is an expert on labor contract negotiations with public-sector employee unions. He will be speaking on the topic: “Achieving a Republican Majority in Rhode Island.”

Rep. John Loughlin, Master of Ceremonies

Cost is $25.00 per person, of which $9.00 will be considered a donation to the East Bay GOP Campaign Fund.

When: Saturday, October 27, 2007 9:00 AM
Where: Green Valley Country Club, 371 Union Street, Portsmouth, RI
Who: For Reservations contact Sal De Ruggiero at 401-847-9696 or saverio1 [at] cox [dot] net. Your RSVP is required for breakfast.

Rhode Island General Assembly Has Received 6 Pay Increases in 6 Years — Legislators Alone in Receiving Free Taxpayer-Funded Health Care

Governor Donald L. Carcieri today called on members of the General Assembly to forego pay increases they have received since 2002, and to begin paying a share of the cost of their health insurance premiums, as every other state employee currently does. Legislators have received six different pay raises in the last six years and, unlike other state employees, still pay no share of their taxpayer-funded health insurance premium.

Several state legislators were quoted today as condemning the Governor’s plan to give the directors of state departments the same pay raises that have been enjoyed in recent years by all other state employees. State department directors have not received a cost of living adjustment since 2002. During that time, state employees received four separate pay increases of 3, 3, 4 and 4 percent.

Legislators also received pay raises of 1.5 percent in 2002, 2.4 in 2003, 1.84 in 2004, 2.94 in 2005, and 3.5 in 2006. Under the state constitution, members of the General Assembly are entitled to yearly cost of living adjustments. However, the constitution does not require legislators to accept those pay increases.

Read More: Office of the Governor

Here’s a little history lesson: If you don’t know the answer to the following six questions, just make your best guess. Please answer all of the questions before looking at the answers down below. So, who said what?

Question #1: “We’re going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good.”

A. Karl Marx
B. Adolf Hitler
C. Joseph Stalin
D. None of the above

Question #2: “It’s time for a new beginning, for an end to government of the few, by the few, and for the few… and to replace it with shared responsibility for shared prosperity.”

A. Lenin
B. Mussolini
C. Idi Amin
D. None of the Above

Question #3: “[We] … can’t just let business as usual go on, and that means something has to be taken away from some people.”

A. Nikita Khrushev
B. Josef Goebbels
C. Boris Yeltsin
D. None of the above

Question #4: “We have to build a political consensus and that requires people to give up a little bit of their own … in order to create this common ground.”

A. Mao Tse Dung
B. Hugo Chavez
C. Kim Jong Il
D. None of the above

Question #5: “I certainly think the free market has failed.”

A. Karl Marx
B. Lenin
C. Molotov
D. None of the above

Question #6: ”I think it’s time to send a clear message to what has become the most profitable sector in [the] entire economy that they are being watched.”

A. Pinochet
B. Milosevic
C. Saddam Hussein
D. None of the above

For the Answers: Read the rest of this entry »

Phase 3 of “The Project” — the semi-public “beta” launch of this site — successfully commenced on Thursday, October 11, 2007. Since then, we have had a core group of beta testers checking out the site, making suggestions and identifying areas in need of improvement. Much like the federal government, this project has run somewhat behind schedule and over-budget from what was initially intended (not by much, though!). Most of the major technical issues which were identified during Phase 2 have been remediated. We’re still considering the site to be “in beta” for about another month or so, in order for us to address any unanticipated issues which may arise in the interim. After that, it’s all smooth sailing and sunshine (please note sunshine up above).

Most of the ”behind the scenes” work with the underlying XHTML code has been largely completed, although we’re still working on making the site fully “standards compliant” (it is a tedious, labor intensive, and boring process!), but we’re making siginificant progress towards that end. Right now, we’re mainly focusing on putting the finishing touches on the site, so that your experience will be even better than we already know it will be!

Since May, we’ve largely managed to keep this project’s existence a secret (of course, that is well in keeping with the overall “theme” of the site). Once the first 3 Phases have been completed, the final step, Phase 4 — the full public launch of this site — will occur in early-November 2007, approximately one year from Election Day. From then on, we anticipate using this blog for everything it’s worth, so stay tuned!

The Republican Party has lost its way, and in 2008 we could lose the White House if we don’t act NOW.

My name is Ryan Bilodeau, and I’m the State Chairman of The College Republican Federation of Rhode Island (CRFRI). I’m writing to you because I want to share with you how Republicans can be successful in 2008.

The secret is better organization. Simply put, Republicans MUST have more workers on the ground to motivate and turn out GOP voters. The CRFRI with its membership list of over 1000 students from across the state continues to be the perfect organization for this important job.

President Ronald Reagan understood this. That’s why he stated “College Republicans have helped to change the course of history - and change it for the better”

The CRFRI is gearing up for a grassroots effort of unprecedented proportions starting NOW. Organized, mass-based youth efforts run by our federation will provide the votes and volunteers necessary to win close races state-wide, but only with your help NOW.

With the control of Congress in the hands of the Democrats, we know how important it is to retain the Presidency. The Supreme Court and our National Security hang in the balance.

With so much at stake for our state and our country, I hope you will support us by rushing a contribution of as much as $25, $50, $250, $500 or $1,000 TODAY. As a loyal supporter of the Republican Party, I’m sure you can understand why the College Republican Federation of Rhode Island is so important.

>>> Continue to CRFRI.org

Six RINO (Republican-In-Name-Only) U.S. Senators voted to table an amendment by Senator David Vitter on Tuesday afternoon that would have cut off federal funds to so-called “sanctuary cities” that harbor illegal aliens.

Republican senators Collins (ME), Hagel (NE) Lugar (IN), Snowe (ME), Specter (PA) and Stevens (AK) joined with the Democrat majority which tabled Vitter’s amendment by a vote of 52-42. Democrat Mary Landrieu (LA) joined the remaining Republicans in support of Vitter and senators Warner (VA) and Isakson (GA) did not vote.

But that’s not necessarily bad news.

It means we are very close to having the necessary votes to pass the CLEAR Act of 2007, a measure being pushed by Representative Marsha Blackburn in the House of Representatives, that will essentially do the same thing — cut off federal funds to these so called sanctuary cities that harbor illegal aliens and particularly illegal aliens who commit serious crimes.

We are very close but we need a final push to but an end to the scourge of sanctuary cities…

Read the rest of this entry »

Let’s see.

The government allows states to pay independent contractor daycare providers to provide such services for “welfare moms” (the providers often being relatives).

Then the SEIU or AFSCME presses state / local politicians to “recognize” the union as the representative to “collectively bargain” with the state – often with a “stroke of the pen” executive order from a pliant Democrat Governor rewarding the unions for campaign support (see, e.g., Illinois; New Jersey; Oregon; Maryland) – this though the daycare providers aren’t employees of the state. In other words, the same stunt the tried here in RI.

The daycare providers are not given the opportunity to vote in a secret ballot election as to whether or not they even want the union representing them.

The union starts collecting dues (sometimes collected for them by the state as a deduction from the reimbursements from the heretofore independent contractor daycare providers).

A major portion of those dues are recycled back to “cooperative” politicians (almost invariably Democrats).

Then the national Democrat politicians work toward further expanding the daycare program.

The cycle begins again …

Read More: Labor unions support Clinton child care proposal

The following news article was forwarded to me from a friend in New Jersey with the simple, but accurate subject line: “Congratulations! You win.” It’s certainly not a distinction to be proud about.

Federal prosecutors probe the State House for evidence of influence peddling … Business leaders lament the state’s unfriendly business climate, citing its high taxes, energy prices and health insurance costs … And the governor wrestles with a massive budget gap amid complaints that the state is uncompetitive.

It’s a typical day for a Northeastern state struggling to improve its economy.

New Jersey? Try Rhode Island.

The similarity between the two states’ economic and political pictures is underlined in a ranking of states’ business climates released today by the Tax Foundation, a Washington D.C.-based research group. Yet there’s one difference in which New Jersey business leaders can take heart — at least their state isn’t the worst in the nation.

The study placed New Jersey at 49th, while Rhode Island finished last. And while New Jersey fell one place, from 48th last year, Rhode Island has now placed last for three years running. New Jersey’s position didn’t surprise some longtime observers of the state’s performance…

New Jersey has the next-to-worst individual income and property tax systems and the seventh-worst sales tax system, the study said. Rhode Island has the worst unemployment tax system, the third-worst property tax system and the fourth-worst individual income tax system.

“Companies in New Jersey are paying among the highest rates in the world,” said Curtis Dubay, an economist who compiled the ranking for the Tax Foundation. He noted that companies in Rhode Island pay slightly less corporate income tax than New Jersey.

“In New Jersey, everything is bad,” he said. “The only reason that New Jersey doesn’t rank last is that Rhode Island is a little worse.”
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UPDATE: The eBay auction of the now infamous “Harry Reid smear letter” netted a total at auction of $2.1 million dollars, a new eBay record for a charitable contribution! Rush Limbaugh has also personally matched the donation, bringing the grand total donation to The Marine Corps - Law Enforcement Foundation, a registered 501(c) 3 charity, to a truly whopping $4.2 million dollars! So far, we haven’t heard back from Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) as to whether he will be making a donation of his own….

When “Dingy Harry” Reid and the U.S. Senate turned away from the business of the nation to instead smear a private citizen, forty-one of them sent a letter demanding the “repudiation” of their inaccurate interpretation of Rush Limbaugh’s comments about Jesse Al-Zaid (a.k.a. Jesse MacBeth) and other “phony soldiers” who falsify their service. This letter was delivered to Mark Mays of Clear Channel Communications, Rush Limbaugh’s syndication partner, and widely quoted in the Drive-By Media.

Up for auction is the original letter signed by 41 Democrat senators. This historic document may well represent the first time in the history of America that this large a group of U.S. senators attempted to demonize a private citizen by lying about his views. As such, it is a priceless memento of the folly of Harry Reid and his 40 senatorial co-signers. BID NOW!

The entire proceeds of this auction — the entire high bid — will be donated to The Marine Corps - Law Enforcement Foundation, a registered charity which provides financial assistance to the children of fallen Marines and federal law enforcement officers. Rush Limbaugh serves on the Board of this organization and has been active on its behalf. All costs of this auction will be paid by the seller… every dollar of your winning bid will go to this charity, which has to date distributed over $29 million. Read the rest of this entry »

A leading newspaper had this to say about Rhode Island: “In what can only be described as a phenomenal turnaround story, Rhode Island has gone from being an economic laggard to enjoying the most vibrant economy in the U.S.; its economic renaissance is often compared to that of Ireland, which is now called the ‘Celtic Tiger.’ How did Rhode Island accomplish this? First, by recognizing that public education is the linchpin of its economic competitiveness, and then committing to a public policy that its public education system would be worldclass, if not the world leader.”

Of course this newspaper account is pure fiction — but it needn’t be.

As we transition from manufacturing to a global knowledge economy, education is the crucial element. The better educated the workforce, the more skilled it is; the more skilled the workforce, the higher the standard of living. This dynamic bodes ill for Rhode Island. America’s students fare poorly in international comparisons, and for Rhode Island the news is even worse. Recently, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce ranked the fifty states’ educational systems, and Rhode Island ranked far below even the U.S. Average. (In some categories, we’re the only state that got Fs!) If there were an education Olympics, Rhode Island’s children could barely hobble into the stadium.

Our state therefore has both an economic challenge and a moral obligation to massively improve its schools; to do anything less sentences our children to a grossly diminished standard of living, which is unconscionable. Therefore, we must benchmark the highest performing countries and adopt a near-term goal of meeting, if not exceeding, their educational results. The task then becomes determining how to achieve that goal — both identifying actions required to get there and eliminating roadblocks standing in the way.

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