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Do you think
the federal government should be able to prosecute people for their
beliefs? Do you think some citizens should receive more legal protection than
others? All these things could happen if the Senate passes S. 1105, the
hate (thought) crimes bill. Senators Kennedy (D-MA) and Smith (R-OR) have
proposed adding this
legislation to the Defense Reauthorization bill (H.R. 1585, currently being
debated) as Amendment 2067.
Besides
the important “equal justice” concerns, there is reason to believe that hate
crimes laws such as S. 1105 could infringe on our cherished rights of
religious freedom as similar laws have been used to prosecute Christians for
proclaiming a Biblical perspective on homosexuality.
Call both your
senators today and urge them to vote “No” on Amendment 2067!
For more
information on hate crimes and this particular bill, check the hate crime
material on the AdvanceUSA home
page.
The Creation Museum
(just outside Cincinnati, OH
in Petersburg, KY) seeks to bring the pages of the Bible to
life while highlighting the scientific evidence that supports the biblical
account of creation and the flood. The museum and the Answers in Genesis
resource materials also link the principles and divine directives in Genesis to
certain public policy issues including marriage and the sanctity of life.
Recently, Josh Scheiderer, AdvanceUSA’s policy director, and his family
had the opportunity to visit the museum, meet Ken Ham (President/CEO of Answers
in Genesis) and even be
mentioned in Mr.
Ham’s blog.
For more
information on this fabulous resource and family-friendly facility check the Creation
Museum website.
Theravitae,
a biotechnology company working in adult stem cell research, was recently awarded the title
“Biotechnology Company of the Year” for its innovative work in regenerative
heart medicine. Despite what the mainstream news media would have us
believe, adult stem cell research offers the most promise for successful
regenerative therapies.
At the
award ceremony the President of Therivitae offered these important words:
"We are honored to be a recipient of this prestigious
award and we carry the responsibility to further help the progress of
discoveries within the regenerative medicine field. Our industry is on the
verge of redefining conventional healthcare through the miracles of adult stem
cells and their remarkable ability to facilitate the regeneration of personal
health. Despite the constant questionable claims of those in the embryonic
lobby, it is adult stem cells which will be the first to successfully treat
diabetes, Parkinson's and Alzheimers - embryonic stem cell therapies lag not by
months, but by years, if not decades!"
For more
information on the exciting developments in ethical adult stem cell research click here.
In this
piece Jonathan Adler examines our current Supreme Court and asks the question,
“How
conservative is this Court?” Adler notes the “minimalist”
conservative approach by the new justices but counters the argument that there
is conservative legal revolution since Justice Kennedy effectively holds sway
as the swing vote in contentious cases.
“Follow
the Money”
Jennifer
Roback Morse, Ph.D. looks at one seldom-mentioned motivation for unethical stem
cell research that destroys human embryos; the money. She explains how some
proponents of embryonic stem cell research and cloning are more
interested in government subsidies rather
than treating illness or saving lives.
Exploiting
Poor Women
This blog
post by Nancy Reyes highlights the potential for the dangerous
exploitation of poor women to obtain the necessary human eggs to conduct
unethical forms of stem cell research. Egg harvesting is already big
business on many college campuses, but unfortunately the serious health risks
involved with the procedure are seldom mentioned. If proponents of
unethical stem cell research succeed in expanding this research, impoverished
women in third-world countries could be likely health victims.
More
Good News from Adult Stem Cells!
Ending on
a happy note, LifeNews reports on two encouraging developments for sufferers of
heart disease and amyloidosis. New research suggests that adult stem cells could be used to
treat these dangerous maladies.
 For more
information on these important issues check the AdvanceUSA stem cell, adult stem cell, or human cloning
pages.
Ever get
the feeling that you cannot make a difference?
Take heart from the recent pro-life
victory in Delaware. A controversial
stem cell bill in the Delaware
legislature would have provided state funds for embryo-destroying research and
would have opened the door to human cloning (a.k.a. Somatic Cell Nuclear
Transfer). The “Rose and a Prayer”
campaign of pro-life activists worked tirelessly to encourage state legislators
to oppose this unethical research. The
measure failed by a surprising 4 to 1 margin in the State Assembly even after
the State Senate heartily
approved the bill.
Links:
A Rose and a Prayer
AdvanceUSA Stem Cell Page
Liberals
in Congress are apparently constantly on the lookout for ways to undermine
traditional marriage. Appropriations
bills for the District of Columbia
have normally been structured to prevent federal funds from being used to
support domestic partnership programs, but House Democrats neglected to include
these stipulations in this year's D.C. appropriations. Fortunately an amendment proposed by Rep.
Virgil Goode (R-VA), which prevents the federal government
from supporting Washington's domestic partnership programs (Disclaimer:
this article is from a gay publication), passed in the House last Thursday.
The summer of 1776 was an uncertain time for the representatives of the American colonies assembled in Philadelphia. After peacefully resisting the steady encroachments of their liberties and their common rights as Englishmen by the British Crown and Parliament, the American colonies were now in open military conflict with their mother country and considering whether or not a more drastic course of action was needed.
We have great
news for talk radio fans, conservatives, and defenders of free speech.
Reps. Mike Pence (R-IN), Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) yesterday
proposed an amendment to the House Financial Services Appropriations bill that
prevents federal funds from being used to enforce the “fairness doctrine” on
talk radio and other media outlets should the onerous regulation ever be
revived (as several U.S.
Senators have suggested). We are happy to report that the amendment
passed overwhelmingly.
To see
how your representative voted on the Pence Amendment click here. For
more information on the Pence Amendment check these articles from the Muncie
Free Press (click here and here).
Some members
of Congress are talking about resurrecting
the “fairness doctrine” for talk radio, a decades-old federal regulation
(dropped by President Reagan) which mandated that radio and TV broadcasts were
supposed to give equal time to opposing sides of any given political issue
(remember all the conservative commentators of the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s?).
Under the pretense of “ensuring both sides are heard” and fixing the supposed
“structural defects” that allow conservatives to dominate talk radio, members of
Congress such as Senators Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) are
proposing that radio stations be subjected to FCC regulation to ensure that
“progressives” (i.e. liberals) are allowed equal time. Since the
“progressive” (liberal) AirAmerica radio network didn’t catch on with the
American public, liberals have decided to mandate you be exposed to liberal
viewpoints. This could have the effect of stifling a popular and informative
medium, but more importantly it presents a dangerous threat to free speech
rights found in the First Amendment. Such obviously unconstitutional
and un-American legislation must be steadfastly opposed, and legislators
who support such foolishness should be held accountable.
For all
their supposed concern about the “unfair” imbalance of opinion on talk radio,
one would think they would be just as eager to federally mandate “fairness” in
newspapers and network TV. Hmm…Go figure.
UPDATE:
This article by Rich Galen at TownHall gives some important
historical perspective on the nefarious fairness doctrine.
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