Scalia: Supreme Court should recognize U.S. religious heritage

NEW YORK (AP) - Justice Antonin Scalia has defended the Supreme Court's accommodation of religion in the public sphere in recent rulings, saying the founding fathers would want it that way.

Scalia told the Jewish newspaper Hamodia that it was never U.S. constitutional, social, or legal tradition to exclude religion. He said the First Amendment "certainly does not mean that government cannot accommodate religion, and indeed favor religion."

Scalia noted that the Supreme Court allowed the Ten Commandments to remain on the grounds of the Texas State Capitol, and suggested that the United States may enjoy God's protection "because we honor Him as a nation. We invoke Him in our country."

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Legal/Default.aspx?id=685812

Cantwell & Murray Vote

On the confirmation/nomination of Cass Sunstein (see 9.9.09 entry)-

Cantwell- Yes
Murray-Yes

On the confirmation/nomination of Sonia Sotomayor as Supreme Court Justice-

Cantwell-Yes
Murray- Yes

On the confirmation/nomination of Robert M. Groves as Director of the Census Bureau:

Cantwell- Yes
Murray- Yes

**Article about Groves: http://blog.heritage.org/2009/07/13/could-2010-census-include-make-believe-people/#more-10589

On the nomination of Harold Koh as Legal Adviser to the State Dept.

Cantwell- Yes
Murray- Yes

**Articles on Koh:http://blog.heritage.org/2009/05/11/koh%e2%80%99s-goal-for-the-legal-trade-in-arms-ban-it/#more-6550

http://blog.heritage.org/2009/05/06/the-second-amendment-vs-international-law/#more-6316

You Wont Hear About It In The News

Heres an article you wont hear talked much about...

OWOSSO, Michigan, September 11, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A pro-life activist was shot multiple times and killed this morning in front of Owosso High School in Michigan while he was protesting abortion, according to local police cited in the Flint Journal newspaper.

Cantwell & Murray Vote

On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Nomination of Cass R. Sunstein, to be Administrator of the Office of Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget )

Cantwell- Yes
Murray- Yes

Let me explain what this vote meant. Cass Sunstein was nominated by the President as Administrator of the Office of Regulatory Affairs (Regulatory Czar). He has to be voted on by the senate, but a republican senator tried to block it. The block requires a cloture vote that requires 60 votes to remove the block. This wasnt the actual vote for nomination- but just as bad. Here's why:

Cass Sunstein-
1. Author of "Animal Rights" & "Nudge"
2. Has said that "animals should be able to bring suit, with human beings as their representatives".
3. Takes a dim view of the 2nd amendment.
4. Wants to end the eating of meat.
5. Wants to require everyone to be an organ donor.
6. Believes you should not be able to remove rats from your home if it causes them pain.
7. Believes there is nothing special about human beings.
Just to name a few....


In his new position he will be deciding what the laws mean and how they should be enforced. He can use the USDA to take dairy and meat out of school lunch programs. He could use the Dept. of the Interior to stop hunting and fishing on federal lands. He could add animals to the endangered species list to cripple farmers (already being done). He has a strong and undeniable animal rights agenda and should NOT be confirmed.

Please write and call the two senators and ask them to vote NO on his confirmation!

State Senator Jim Kastama

Our State Senator, Jim Kastama has sent an open invitation to sit down and discuss “the state budget was difficult to balance this past legislative session. We are not, however, out of the woods yet. There is even discussion in Washington, DC about a “Stimulus II” Plan.”
“How should we manage this recession? What concerns do you have in your own life that you want your elected officials to know? Share these thoughts with me in a small gathering of your neighbors and friends.”

Senator Kastama has offered to meet to discuss these issues and any others that are on your/our minds. He has also made himself available in the evenings if this would be more convenient. He has been contacted and may be coming to my neighborhood on South Hill, Puyallup. Please call if you would be interested in attending. (206) 412-9554-Leah

Congress On Break

Sorry, not a lot to report, congress has convened for the summer and will return Sept. 7. Please be watching the two largest issues- the Health care Bill (no # yet) and H.R. 2454 (Cap & Trade) that already passed the House. If it passes the senate it will be the largest single tax increase in American History, so PLEASE call and write Cantwell & Murray (links provided to the right) and ask them to vote NO!

Planned Parenthood Spokane

Released Aug. 9 by the pro-life weblog Abortion in Washington (AIW) and based on an audit by the state’s Department of Social and Health Services – showed Planned Parenthood of Inland Washington billed Medicaid for oral contraceptives without prescriptions or with invalid ones; overbilled for condoms; billed Medicaid for post-abortion antibiotics under family planning, which is banned; billed office visits to receive a prescription or an injection as a consultation with a physician, which costs more, and billed for pregnancy tests on women when they were unnecessary.

Planned Parenthood was told to pay back $630,000 plus interest, according to AIW.
The audit of Planned Parenthood, which occurred from 2004 to 2007, was reported by the Spokane Spokesman-Review in May.

Planned Parenthood affiliates performed more than 305,000 abortions in 2007, the most recent year for which statistics are available. The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the national organization, received more than $349 million in government grants and contracts during the financial year of July 2007 to June 2008. The organization’s total revenue was $1.04 billion during that time period.

Planned Parenthood has been the target of an undercover investigation during the last year that has shown staff members circumventing the law. Employees at seven PPFA affiliates in five states – Alabama, Arizona, California, Indiana and Tennessee — have been caught on video seeking to cover up alleged child sexual abuse. Lila Rose, a UCLA student, has led the hidden-camera operation by posing as a minor with an adult boyfriend by whom she is pregnant.

In a different undercover investigation by Live Action, the organization Rose leads, Planned Parenthood workers in seven states were caught on audio tape agreeing to receive donations designated for abortions of African-American babies.

http://erlc.com/article/life-digest-planned-parenthood-fined-for-overbilling/

Cash For Clunkers?

As you may have heard- the cash for clunkers program was a wild "success" , if encouraging people to get more in debt can ever really be a success....

How I see it, encouraging people to get rid of cars that still work and are quite possibly paid off- to get new cars and new debt is a gross insult to common sense. Yea, my car with 130,000 miles is getting old and all dinged up- but it still works. It still serves the purpose for which I originally bought it- to get from point A to point B. So should I trade it in- get that SUV I've been coveting and rack up 30,000 in debt? Im no financial advisor- but I dont think that would be the wisest choice....

Health Care Bill 102

Here is the best info so far on what's really in the health care bill...at the end of the article it goes line by line through the bill to show what's actually in it. A must read:

http://www.morningstarministries.org/Articles/1000054411/MorningStar_Ministries/Media/Special_Bulletins/2009/Special_Bulletin_19.aspx

We Did It!!!

Saturday, July 25, 2009 - Was a very good day at the Capitol in Olympia with over 138,000 R-71 signatures turned in! The required number of signatures is 120,577. They had only 68 days- and they did it- it will now be put to the people on Nov. 4 !!!!