Quote of the Day

"Today’s Washington Times reports on one way that the Obama Administration is looking to cut spending -- by cutting health benefits to veterans injured in combat. Obama wants to force private insurance companies, rather than the Department of Veterans Affairs, to pay for the costs of treating our wounded heroes, saving $540 million.

The commander of the American Legion called the plan “unreasonable.” A top official of the Disabled American Veterans said the Obama proposal was a “betrayal.” Glen M. Gardner, commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars, called the idea “unconscionable” and added, “it breaks a sacred trust that veterans have with their government.”

If the administration is looking to save money, I’d suggest they start by cutting the planned $900 million foreign aid package to “Hamastan” in Gaza that Hillary and Obama are pushing. Or how about cutting the billions of pork barrel projects out of the “omnibus” spending bill he just signed. Cancel funding for ACORN and Planned Parenthood. I’m all for saving money, but not on the backs of our veterans."

Gary Bauer
Campaign for Working Families


And won't the Obama plan for veterans work like this: Private health care raises prices astronomically to pay for veterans, creating a manufactured health care "crisis" which prompts the public to demand Socialist, er, Government run Health Care.

Obama - he's got a plan to pick your pocket and control every facet of your life.

Tax Day Tea Party

Get ready for the

April 15th Nationwide

Tax Day Tea Party Rallies...

Find out about the Tea Parties in your area and win some free stuff.

Click here

Get decked out for the protest at the Tea Party Gear Store.

Make history, Protest, Protect our Liberty and Freedom

Join the Tea Party!

Prayer for a Godly Culture

Let us pray:

Our Heavenly Father, Giver of all that is good, we thank You for Your protection.

This nation has entered into a new chapter of our history.

We pray that the secular and godless movement in our culture will not continue.

We pray that the basic Judeo-Christian values will re-enter our homes and institutions.

We pray that You will give our leaders godly knowledge and wisdom.

We pray not for a multiculture but for a godly culture on which our nation was founded.

We pray for Your protection of our armed forces located in war zones and other foreign lands.

We offer up this prayer in the name of the Holy Trinity: God the Father, and of the Son, The Lord Jesus Christ and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen


John Underwood
MCRW Chaplain

Obama: Where's the "Accountability"?

Guest Columnist: J. Dori Callahan

For the last few weeks we have had several taxpayers coming into our office who have either been laid off, released from long term employment, or simply have no income during this recession/ depression. Some have the benefit of drawing unemployment compensation, those who are self-employed do not have that luxury.

This morning, just to be sure, I called the Virginia Employment Commission to question if there were any benefits available for tax payers who are self employed. I was informed that self-employed individuals who file taxes using 1099’s as a form of income, do not have the benefit of applying for unemployment when there is no self-employment jobs available. These taxpayers have few options available other than charity from Social Services (welfare) or seeking help from local churches. It behooves those who have not been paying self-employment taxes to protect themselves for the future by paying those taxes. This recession/depression could last for many years to be without some sort of financial resource.

In rural communities many folks work as landscapers ,“wood chucks”, care givers, baby sitters, house cleaners etc as their only means of income. As everyone’s financial means grow smaller, they will began cutting unessential items from their budget. Things like home improvement, dinner out, movies, landscaping, care giving services, in fact everything that isn’t necessary to live. No more beauty parlors, health clubs, nails, latte’s and normal luxuries of life. Soon we’ll see an increase in crime simple because people without funds turn to drastic measures for survival. The crimes are already beginning in many areas.

My question is what benefit has the billions and billions of dollars allocated by congress to ear-marks like Senator Reid’s high speed rail for Las Vegas, and Nancy Pelosi’s 30 million for the study of field mice really done for people who are in dire circumstances. Just as the other 8000 plus ear marks paid for out of tax payers money, the government is foolishly spending money for unnecessary “goodies” while working people starve. Is this the kind of “change” we have been promised by the President? What happened to going over the budget line by line and no more earmarks and holding the congressmen accountable? Is this the sort of line-by-line accountability he had planned to help the 95% of the lower income folks?

Quote of the Day

"Every day President Obama rolls out another Big Government program, bailout or massive tax hike, while the economy teeters on the brink of an abyss. Is it too much to ask that he focus on the economy first and stop proposing policies that are detrimental to economic growth? But I guess that’s asking too much. After all, you never want to let a good crisis go to waste, as Rahm Emanuel reminded us."

Gary Bauer
Campaign for Working Families

Vote for Virgil Goode!

There is an online poll by the ABC affiliate in Lynchburg:

If the election were held today, would you cast a ballot for

Former Congressman Virgil Goode (R) or

Congressman Perriello (D)?

You can vote and see the poll at:

http://www.wset.com/

Americans will Pay for Liberals' flawed ideals

Guest Columnist: J. Dori Callahan

“The idea that even the brightest person or group of bright people, much less the U.S. Congress, can wisely manage an economy has to be the height of arrogance and conceit. Why? Because it is impossible for anyone to possess the knowledge that would be necessary for such an undertaking.”
Economist Walter E. Williams.

This statement pretty much says it all. Not only does Congress lack the ability to do what needs to be done, they did not even read the Stimulus bill prior to passing it. Such audacity borders on insanity, and the taxpayers are left with the results of a mass blunder made by the leaders of the nation.

Congress rushed to pass this unread critical bill that was over a thousand pages long in just two days…after which it sat on the President’s desk for three days while the Obamas’ were away on a vacation.

Shouldn’t such a bill spending such a vast amount of taxpayer money have just the slightest bit of scrutiny by all of Congress, including Republicans? Apparently no one in this administration thinks reading bills prior to passing them is essential.

“The amount of money involved (in the stimulus bill) is staggering. With 90 million tax filers who actually pay taxes, the 787 billion means the average taxpayer will pay over $8,700. By itself adding $8,700 to the average tax bill should get everyone’s attention. But that on top of everything else we are spending this year (this year’s deficit is already about $1.7 trillion…almost $19,000 per taxpayer.”
Economist John Lott.

Isn’t anyone out there paying attention to what is actually happening in this floundering economy? This Congress has completely dropped the ball on protecting the people of this nation. They were the liberals that created this crisis with the pushing of the sub-prime mortgages to people who could not pay. Now the rest of us are required to pay the bill for that mistake as they continue to build on their flawed ideals.

As my husband says, “We should have voted them all out when we had the opportunity.” Now we can only watch as the country struggles to survive.

This article was originally published in The Culpeper-Star Exponent

Democrats stuck on crushing America

Second Stimulus Package?

Speaker Nancy Pelosi raised the prospect of a second economic stimulus package, but later backed off from her comments. Initially, Pelosi, following a meeting with Democratic members and four prominent economists talked about the possibility of another stimulus plan.

Then...Thursday, Pelosi backed away from her talk of a second economic stimulus package, a prospect she had raised just two days earlier.

Here is what Republicans had to say:

"People are seeing their government is spending away their children's future on bailout after bailout. In the past, they have primarily promoted more tax relief for businesses," said, Minority Whip Eric Cantor, R-Va.

House Minority Leader John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, said he did not think the first stimulus would work and that the Democrats are leading the country in the wrong direction by increasing spending rather than cutting taxes. "Everything that has been tried so far hasn't worked. My concern is that this mountain of debt will crush our ability to get out of this crisis." Boehner said.

Although Speaker Nancy Pelosi backed away from her statement, we must pay attention to this issue, as it may come up again!

Helping Madison Families, Discussing India, and Literacy

Madison County Republican Women Treasurer Ginny Pegelow and President Anne Farmer started off their February 17th meeting by presenting a check to Norris Johns, President of the Madison Emergency Services Association (MESA) on behalf of the club. MCRW service projects aid local charitable organizations and provides an annual $1,000 Marion Simpson Scholarship which is available to senior female Madison County students, public and home school.

Jay and Sunithi Gnanadoss, teachers at Woodberry Forrest and Germanna Community College respectively, where on hand to talk about India, their native country.

"I haven’t met a bad American," said Sunithi Gnanadoss. "I now realize why America takes so many people to its shores. Very often, when people come here, they’re leaving behind an oppressive set of rules. The early settlers wanted to leave oppression behind and enjoy individual freedom."

Sunithi shared the fascinating story of how, as a small child, her great-grandmother was disowned by her high class Hindu family and she became a Christian. She noted that only two percent of Indians are Christian while the majority are Hindu.

"Things happen in our life to make a difference," Sunithi said. "All of us are individuals with a special purpose in our lives. I like to model my life after Jesus Christ. I see Him as an individual. He was saving one individual at a time."

The Hindu religion produces its own form of apathy in India.

"They are fatalists," observed Sunithi. "Due to their belief in rebirth and reincarnation, when they find themselves in a situation, all they can think of is - I’m paying for my past or reaping my reward."

Still, things are changing in India.

"India has a different mindset today," said Sunithi. "They traced it to 1991. There has been a lot of growth."

America might do well to look at the socialist-style health care which has been tried in India.

"Health care is government controlled," Sunithi said. "Hospitals are very corrupt. The poor get free treatment but have to bribe their way or die... Government has been privatizing."

MCRW Officers Anne Farmer, Ginny Pegelow, Mary Anne Walthall, and Erline Arthur displayed a certificate from the National Federation of Republican Women which recognized the club's participation in NFRW Literacy Month as part of the Barbara Bush Literacy Project. The theme of the project was, 'Readers Become Leaders.'

MCRW donates new books to Madison schools and lightly used books to local organizations and area Children's and Veterans Hospitals. MCRW's 2009 Literacy Committee Chairman is Judy Butler.

MCRW's membership reached a new high point on February 17th with the addition of two new members, Dottie Stevenson and Evelyn Kerr, both of whom joined the club that evening. MCRW now has 50 regular members and 49 Associate members. The club has members from Madison, Orange, Greene, Culpeper and Rappahannock Counties, and associates state-wide.

The next MCRW meeting will be held on March 17th with a St. Patrick's Day Dinner of Corned Beef and Cabbage. The special meeting will have a town hall format. Judy Butler, Literacy Committee Chairman, Lt. Col. Lisa Davis (Air Force, Ret.), Madison County Republican Committee Chair John Tucker and Vice Chair Frank Stidman will be among the Guest Speakers. The meeting will take place, 6:30-8:30 PM, at the Madison Presbyterian Church, Rt. 722 at the north traffic light. Everyone is invited to attend. Dinner: $7. For additional information please call (540) 923-4300 or (540) 547-2156.

News by the Numbers - March 2009

• 1 - nuclear bomb can be made by Iran with the stockpile of enough enriched uranium they have built up, according to United Nations officials

• 10+ years – there has been no recording global warming, according to the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization.

• #20 – out of a list of 20 issues: the priority which government should give climate change, according to a recent poll by the Pew Research Center.

• 46% of American households have kids - the lowest point in half a century, according to The Heritage Foundation.
  
• 33% of the passage of the world’s shipping is now controlled by Communist China, thanks (in part) to Democrat President Jimmy Carter’s naïve 1977 give-away of the Panama Canal, a key national security priority since

• President James Monroe. China can easily use its strategic position in Panama to spy on the U.S. They are also using their presence to form alliances with Communist Fidel Castro, Leftist Hugo Chavez, and Columbian and Peruvian drug dealers and terrorists. For the first time ever, Imperial Russia has sent a warship through the Panama Canal, according to Lt. Col. Oliver North, USMC (Ret.)

• 72% of Americans say Congress should not authorize the additional $21 billion in emergency loans that General Motors and Chrysler are requesting, according to Gallup.

• 8 million U.S. citizens become victims of identity theft every year, according to Chelsea Schilling
  www.WorldNetDaily.com

• 1990 – 2007 – the black population grew 27% in America, according to the Associated Press

• 1979 – Global sea levels are now equal to 1979 levels, according to the University of Illinois’ Artic Climate Research Center.

• 1,000's of prisoners and prostitutes were used by sex scientist Alfred Kinsey, widely known as the "father of the sexual revolution," as a basis for his research, fraudulently claiming them to be normal, middle class “Greatest Generation” Americans. He also worked with serial pedophiles who sexually molested children as young as two months of age, in order to claim that children are sexual from birth, according to Judith Reisman, a Ph.D. researcher and scholar whose exposés of Kinsey have appeared in several books, including "Kinsey: Crimes & Consequences" and, most recently, a new DVD called "The Kinsey Syndrome."

• 2042 – the white population will be a minority in America if current trends continue, according to demographers.

• $10 trillion - $11 trillion has been transferred from producers and earners to nonproducers and nonearners since the ‘war on poverty’ started in the '30s as part of the New Deal. It ramped up in the '60s with Lyndon Johnson’s of the Great Society war on poverty, according to Rush Limbaugh.

Join the Protest!

Tax Day Tea Party

The Tea Party protests, in their current form, began in early 2009 when Rick Santelli, the On Air Editor for CNBC, set out on a rant to expose the bankrupt liberal agenda of the White House Administration and Congress. Specifically, the flawed "Stimulus Bill" and pork filled budget.

A few days later, grassroots activists and average Joe Americans began organizing what would soon become the Nationwide Chicago Tea Party effort.

On February 27th, an estimated 30,000 Americans took to the street in 40+ cities across the country in the first nationwide "Tea Party" protest.

Organizers of the February 27th events pledged to continue on with an even bigger and better protest to follow the first. With April 15th being "Tax Day", it was decided to schedule the second round of Tea Party protests to ride alongside the tax deadline.

And with that, the "Tax Day Tea Party", the second round of the Nationwide Tea Party protests, moved into reality.

Quotes of the Day

"The thought of Barack Obama and this crowd of socialists, after just ramming through the trillion-dollar “porkulus” bill, lecturing America on “fiscal responsibility” is absurd. It’s like the town drunk going on an unbelievable drinking binge on Friday, only to send out invitations on Monday to a seminar he’s hosting on responsible consumption.

But that’s the “logic” we get when liberal Democrats are in charge..."


"Every military man in America knows that after years of war and deployments in the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan, our military needs billions of dollars to rebuild, refurbish and resupply. But that’s not a priority in the president’s budget. Such short-sighted thinking could leave us vulnerable to our enemies."

Gary Bauer
Campaign for Working Families

"Thought Crimes" Bills on Fast Track

www.americansfortruth.com warns about the Orwellian legislation being pushed in Congress.

Note the Right Kind of “Hate” Victim. In 1996, pro-family activist and pastor Ralph Ovadal was punched in the left ear from behind by a homosexual activist while protesting a pro-”gay” school event in Madison, Wisconsin. Ovadal was knocked unconscious and taken to the hospital with serious injuries from the blind-side assault.

Although police first charged the attacker with “substantial battery,” Dane Country prosecutors did not attempt a “hate crimes” conviction and Ovadal’s assailant ultimately was not even charged with a misdemeanor (he received a mere ordinance violation). Pastor Ovadal continues to suffer neck and leg pain from the brutal attack, which is fully documented with police reports.

Now imagine that the circumstances were reversed and Ovadal — a vocal opponent of organized homosexuality — had assaulted a well-known “gay” activist. Most likely he would have been charged with a “hate crime,” the media would have lavished coverage on the case, and Ovadal would have served jail time.

To paraphrase George Orwell, in the politically correct world of “hate crimes,” some victims are more equal than others.

TAKE ACTION: Call Congress at 202-224-3121 to protest two “Thought Crimes” bills, HR 256 and HR 262 today.

From our good friend and youth advocate Linda Harvey, founder of Mission America. TAKE ACTION by calling your Congressman and U.S. Senators at 202-224-3121 or through www.congress.org; politely urge them to oppose all new “Thought Crimes”(Hate Crimes) legislation.

HATE CRIMES BILLS predicted to move fast in U.S. House

There are two bills now in U.S. House of Representatives on so-called hate crimes, and both need to be OPPOSED for lots of reasons but the most egregious element is the “sexual orientation” language and opportunities for violation of religious freedom and further legitimizing of ‘gay’ behavior. They are also pork-laden, social engineering bills that are unnecessary in a time of what should be budgetary conservatism.

Just remember,the key problem with hate crime legislation is that the crimes supposedly only covered through such bills are, in fact, already crimes, and can already be prosecuted under current laws. All the “sexual orientation” category does is add extra penalties if opposition to homosexuality (the “wrong” attitude) is determined to be a factor.

Both have been referred to the House subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security. They are likely to be reconciled at some point into one piece of legislation.

H.R. 256 The David Ray Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009

This is a gun control bill, but it also would add the sexual orientation language to our existing hate crime statutes, for crimes involving interstate and foreign commerce.Just think about the Internet and the free speech about homosexuality that might now be interpreted as “inciting hate crimes” especially if the site sells anything (the “commerce” requirement).

H.R.262 The David Ray Ritcheson Hate Crimes Prevention Act

This is a pork bill, providing victim’s assistance, housing, tax breaks and even family leave to victims of hate crimes. Will act as an incentive to be labeled a victim of a hate crime.

This bill also adds the “sexual orientation” category.

This bill grants $10 million for the next five years for the federal Department of Education to make grants to local schools for “hate crime prevention education.” Imagine what this will open up regarding anti-Christian teaching.

What can you do? Call House members from your state.

Call toll-free 1-877-851-6437 or toll 1-202-225-3121.

New anti-faith bills launched in Congress

Mathew Staver, Founder of Liberty Counsel notes, " It is shocking how fast President Obama and Congress are moving."

"While most Americans are focusing on the economy, the stealth political attacks on our faith and freedoms are increasing!

Our staff at the Liberty Center for Law and Policy in our Nation's capital have alerted me to two bills in the 111th Congress that threaten to undermine the rights of people of faith.

These "hate crimes" statutes elevate "sexual orientation" to a special protected status and essentially criminalize Christian beliefs about marriage and homosexuality.

In addition, our sources now tell us that the Obama administration and Congress may well try to implement the so-called "Fairness Doctrine" by giving it a different name and avoiding a clear, honest vote in Congress.

Is Obama using the economy as cover for his real agenda?

All this begs an important question...

If America is truly in the worst financial crisis in 70 years, why are President Obama and Congress unleashing new attacks almost daily on our faith and families?

The White House Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, is on record as saying,"Never let a serious crisis to go to waste, and what I mean by that is it's an opportunity to do things that you didn't think you could do before."

The so-called "stimulus" bill proved this point. Ultraliberal politicians are using people's fears as a cover for a massive political makeover of our Nation!

Their strategy is to profit off the misery of others in order to move forward a very liberal agenda. Such a strategy is just as deplorable for elected officials as the actions of profiteers who gouged people at the gas pumps following the hurricane Katrina disaster!"

Quote of the Day

Does He Think We’re Stupid?

"Today at the White House President Obama is hosting a “Fiscal Responsibility Summit.” Yes, you read that right. I couldn’t make this up if I tried. Just one week after signing the biggest spending bill in American history, which doubles the historic budget deficit already at $1.2 trillion, the president has suddenly decided that it is time to show some interest in “fiscal responsibility.”

If it weren’t so serious, it would be laughable. Over the weekend, the White House signaled how it intends to implement its fiscal plans for the future, and it’s anything but responsible. On Saturday, the Washington Post reported that Obama’s initial budget blueprint calls for “raising taxes on business and the wealthy and … slashing spending on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

So when we are still at risk from Islamofascist terrorism (and actually sending more troops to Afghanistan), President Obama is gutting spending on the war. And in the middle of what the president is describing as the most severe economic crisis since the Great Depression, he proposes to do what most rational economists would say is the absolute worst thing to do in an economic downturn – raise taxes and take money away from people and businesses so they can’t invest in the economy or create new jobs.

The Post column also warned that Obama’s budget will “press aggressively for progress on the domestic agenda Obama outlined during the presidential campaign. This would include key changes to environmental policies and a major expansion of health coverage that Obama hopes to enact later this year.” Translation: Socialized health care, which we warned you about two weeks ago, and a carbon cap-and-trade tax scheme, which, as we warned in Friday’s report, will dramatically increase energy costs and kill economic growth."

Gary Bauer
Campaign for Working Families

Using Smoke & Mirrors to Prop Up Kaine and Warner

Reducing Or Eliminating Corporate Debt
Is The Way To Fix The Financial Mess

By James S. Gilmore III
Published: February 21, 2009
Culpeper Star Exponent

On Feb. 8, the Star-Exponent published a by James Clements extolling the fact that after four years of ineffective governance, Gov. Tim Kaine had finally found his legacy: banning smoking in restaurants and bars. This is pretty thin gruel for a four-year governor's administration (“Smoking ban will be Kaine's legacy and help preseve our health”).

In the column, Clements also expressed appreciation for Gov. Mark Warner's “four years streamlining government.” I will leave to the reader whether rocketing Virginia's budget from $52 billion when I left office to $76 billion, funded by tax increases, is “streamlining.”

The current headlines show that the unrestrained growth of Virginia's government spending during the Warner years was not sustainable during the Kaine downturn.

But Clements' article also took a little shot at my governorship, saying, “Jim Gilmore did much in his four years in office to show Warner that sometimes it is better if they don't remember you after you leave.”

I care what the readers in the Culpeper area think of me, especially with my family's Madison County roots. So I want to state here that I hope the people of Culpeper do remember my gover-norship.

Read the full editorial here.