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Sen.
Arlen Specter spoke out today in an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal
about the deportable
lack of progress in the Senate on approving federal judges. In
particular, he cited the cases of Peter Keisler and Robert Conrad, both highly
qualified nominees who have been nominated to important Circuit Courts, who are
still awaiting approval or committee hearings. Here are some excerpts of the
piece:
In President Clinton's
final two years in office, the Senate confirmed 15 circuit court nominees;
thus, much work remains to be done. There are currently 14 circuit court
vacancies, with a nominee pending for nearly all of the seats. The Senate must
confirm nine more circuit court nominees this year to keep pace with President
Clinton's confirmations during his final two years in office.
It would be a shame if the
preliminary steps the Senate Judiciary Committee took in 2007 were lost in
2008. To date, it has been four months since the committee held a hearing on a
circuit court nomination. Several highly qualified candidates have been
awaiting hearings for many months, and it is my hope that Chairman Patrick
Leahy and I will be able to schedule prompt hearings for all of these fine men
and women. At a bare minimum, nominees received from the president in 2007
deserve a committee hearing and a vote before the end of 2008.
…
In 2008 we will set
important precedents for how the next president's nominees, whether Republican
or Democrat, are treated in the Senate. Americans of both parties are demanding
change; we should not wait until November to give it to them.
Last
year AdvanceUSA prepared a graphic which visually illustrates the statistics
cited in Senator Specter’s piece. The statistics don’t lie. See for
yourself.
You
can view this graphic by clicking
here or by checking the home page
or pro-justice page. Or
see the smaller version below.
To
see a larger version click here.
 In five days, on Tuesday, February 5, 22 states will hold primaries or caucuses. The outcome of those races could have conclusive effects on the nature of the Republican Party and who will lead the Democrat Party.
Be sure that you, your friends, and your family are well-informed. AdvanceUSA has prepared Candidate Comparisons (CCs) for both the Democrats and the Republicans to help show you where each presidential candidate stands on some of the most important issues.
AdvanceUSA hopes these resources will be helpful as you begin/continue your research for this critically important election season. If you have friends or family in any of these Super Tuesday states, please send them a link to our CCs.
State holding presidential elections on February 5:
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Georgia
Idaho (Democrat caucuses)
Illinois
Kansas (Democrat caucuses)
Massachusetts
Minnesota
Missouri
New Jersey
New Mexico (Democrat primary)
New York
North Dakota
Oklahoma
Tennessee
Utah
Stay informed and spread the word about AdvanceUSA’s 2008 Candidate Comparisons.
Most
Americans don’t fully understand the true impact and implications of the Roe vs. Wade decision. Do you think you know more about Roe than
most of your fellow citizens? Take this test and find out!
Excerpt
from Roe IQ Test website:
In spite of its
impact, true understanding of Roe and what it accomplished remains
relatively vague in the public consciousness.
We can expect both
sides in the abortion debate to ratchet up arguments in the coming months as we
mark this anniversary. It is imperative that we, as citizens, understand the
facts about what Roe does and does not do.
We have created the Roe IQ Test to measure the current awareness of Roe
and its effects, as well as to provide detailed information about the ruling.
It only takes a few minutes to complete the test. Your answers and results will
remain 100% confidential.
To
take the Roe IQ Test click here.
 Attempting to prevent the creation of hybrid human-animal embryos (or chimeras), Senators Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA) have proposed legislation to ban this blurring of the sanctity of human life. The legislation is S. 2358, the Human-Animal Hybrid Prohibition Act of 2007 (read full text here). Hopefully, this forward-thinking legislation can be passed before this outrageous tampering with the meaning of being human becomes a prominent issue in the United States. Call both your senators and urge them to cosponsor and vote “Yes” on S. 2358, the Human-Animal Hybrid Prohibition Act!
 Paul Greenberg at Townhall writes about the recent iPSC breakthrough that allows researchers to obtain embryonic-like pluripotent stem cells from ordinary skin cells without creating or harming human embryos. Unfortunately, as Greenberg shows us, the push for unethical research that threatens tiny human life will continue. Excerpts:
It was heralded as not just a scientific but an ethical breakthrough:
Scientists in this country and Japan had found a new way to produce what are in effect embryonic stem cells - but without having to destroy human embryos to do so.
…
You may remember Ian Wilmut, the Scottish researcher who helped clone Dolly the sheep years ago. He was at least as enthusiastic. He announced he would abandon his efforts to clone - and then destroy - human embryos in order to produce stem cells, and would switch to the new, less politically and ethically troublesome method.
…
Anyone of even passing familiarity with the endless demands of human ambition for fame and/or fortune - the Greeks called it Hubris - will not be surprised to learn that the latest discovery has scarcely discouraged those eager to experiment with human embryos.
Read the entire article here.
 Yesterday Sen. Hillary Clinton won the Florida Democrat Primary (although she will not earn any delegates from that state because of party rules) and Sen. John McCain won the Florida Republican Primary. For full results click here or see below.
Super Tuesday will be next Tuesday (Feb. 5) which is only six days away! On that day 22 states will have primaries or caucuses (to see the complete list of states click here).
If you or your family and friends have questions about where the candidates stand on issues important to you, check out AdvanceUSA’s 2008 Candidate Comparisons.
Florida Primary (January 29)
The Democrats
Hillary Clinton 50%
Barack Obama 33%
John Edwards 14%
The Republicans
John McCain 36%
Mitt Romney 31%
Rudy Giuliani 15%
Mike Huckabee 13%
Ron Paul 3%
USA Today has the full FL results here.
Today Floridians of both parties are heading to the polls to vote for their party’s presidential candidate. AdvanceUSA will post the vote results tomorrow morning. Until then, USA Today has a helpful resource for monitoring poll results as they come in.
To see how the presidential candidates stand on important issues check out AdvanceUSA’s 2008 Candidate Comparisons.
 Last night President Bush delivered his final State of the Union address to a combined gathering of both houses of Congress. His speech touched on a number of important pro-life, pro-family, and religious liberty issues.
The president threw down the gauntlet on stem cell research, telling Congress that we must continue to fund ethical research because human life must be respected. He highlighted the recent breakthrough in obtaining pluripotent stem cells from skin cells as proof that unethical research was unnecessary. The President championed the role of faith-based organizations in providing services and changing lives far more effectively than government alone can do. He called on Congress to allow more flexibility and local control for schools under the No Child Left Behind Act. He also encouraged Congress to maintain “charitable choice” provisions in federal law which protect the religious hiring rights of faith-based organizations (ex: allowing a Catholic charity to hire only Catholics who share that organization’s mission and standards).
The White House website has provided the text of the president’s address along with video links that allow you to watch the address. To read a helpful fact sheet provided by the administration about the agenda outlined in the president’s speech click here. To read helpful summaries of the various topics see below:
Researchers in Britain have found that babies can feel pain even before the 24 week window when abortions are allowed in the UK. This research illustrates the need for the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act (now stalled in the U.S. House and Senate) which requires women to be informed of the extreme pain their unborn child is likely to experience during an abortion. For more information on demonstrating the humanity of the unborn check the pro-life page.
The
Morning Sun reports on the progress that Todd Alwood of Mt. Pleasant, MI
is seeing trying to walk again using adult stem cell injections.
Excerpts:
The accident fractured three vertebrae, leaving him as a
quadriplegic and confined to a wheelchair.
He was paralyzed from the chest down. He can move his arms
but has little feeling.
…
…doctors conducted extensive tests, then gave him a series
of shots that made his bone marrow produce an abundance of stem cells. They
were then drawn from Alwoods blood and separated by a special machine.
…
He's already seen some improvement in controlling his
torso and balance. Alwood can now lean froward [sic] and push himself back up,
something he couldn't do before the treatments.
He can also lean from side to side.
"My trunk muscles are starting to come back,"
Alwood said.
…
His ultimate goal is to someday walk again. He is
encouraged by the results and the stories he has heard from others who have
received similar treatment but Alwood isn't sure he can afford any more trips
to Russia
following the one in March.
The
entire article is very encouraging. Read it
here.
 On Saturday (January 26) Sen. Barack Obama won the Democrat primary in South Carolina.
The crucial state of Florida has its primaries tomorrow (Tuesday, January 29).
On February 5 (a.k.a. “Super Tuesday”) 22 states will have primaries or caucuses (to see the list of states click here).
If you or your family and friends have questions about where the candidates stand on issues important to you, check out AdvanceUSA’s 2008 Candidate Comparisons.
South Carolina Democrat Primary (Jan. 26)
Barack Obama 55%
Hillary Clinton 27%
John Edwards 18%
USA Today has the full SC results here.
Reuters
reports. Excerpt:
After
most scientists had given up the search, a Belgian team said on Thursday they
found elusive pancreatic stem cells in adult mice, a finding that could lead to
treatments for people with type-1 diabetes.
Senate
Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) spoke on the Senate floor on Tuesday
(January 22) about the dangerous obstruction of federal circuit court nominees.
“[W]e can’t confirm judges if they don’t get hearings. And since last summer, Democrats have allowed
only one hearing on a circuit court nominee.
Compare that with Senate Republicans in 1999, who held more hearings on
President Clinton’s nominees in the fall of that year alone than Democrats
allowed this president all last year.
This pattern is neither fair nor acceptable.”
…
“[W]e’re not on pace to keep up with historical
precedent. The historical average for circuit
court confirmations in the last Congress of a divided government is 17. President Clinton — who had the second most
judicial confirmations in history, despite having to deal with a Republican
Senate almost his entire time in office — had 15 circuit court confirmations in
his last Congress.”
To read
Sen. McConnell’s full statement click here. To see a helpful graphic/chart AdvanceUSA has
produced to illustrate the outrageous judicial obstruction click here or visit
the pro-justice page.
HT: The
Committee for Justice
Our
friends at FRC have released a new poll that shows that Americans
oppose having their tax dollars pay for abortions under a “universal health
care plan.” Their results contain some interesting findings. Excerpts:
- Independent voters of all
ages and sex would be less likely to vote for a candidate that proposed a
national health care plan with universal coverage of abortion at taxpayer
expense.
- Although a majority of
Democrats would support a candidate that proposed a national health care
plan with universal coverage of abortion at taxpayer expense, the support
is soft at best (51%).
- Resistance to abortion
coverage is consistent between both sexes and all ages. Women aged 55 or
older are the most opposed to such coverage (59% are less likely to vote
for a candidate endorsing it), men of all ages follow in opposition (57%
less likely to vote for a candidate endorsing it), and the majority of
(51%) of women aged 18-54 are less likely to support such a candidates.
- Widespread disapproval of
candidates who support taxpayer-funded abortion coverage spans all but one
region of the United States
—New England.
For full
results check
out FRC’s blog.
 That headline probably isn’t a huge surprise but the timing is interesting none the less.
Former Vice President Al Gore has released a video clip in which he calls for the recognition of same-sex marriage. Possibly Gore is trying to goad the Democrat presidential candidates to “strengthen” their positions on “gay rights.”
It is almost humorous to watch the Democrat candidates pledge their support for “gay rights” while not being able to bring themselves to say they actually support gay marriage. Their reluctance to openly support same-sex marriage is testament to the strong sentiment in this nation to preserve the traditional definition of marriage.
For more information on protecting marriage click here.
The 2008 primary and caucus season for the presidency is in full swing and the upcoming Florida primary could have momentous importance in deciding the presidential candidates. Be sure that you, your friends, and family are well-informed. AdvanceUSA has prepared Candidate Comparisons for both the Democrats and the Republicans to help show you where each presidential candidate stands on some of the most important issues.
AdvanceUSA hopes these resources will be helpful as you begin/continue your research for this critically important election season.
The Florida primary will be held on Tuesday, January 29. The only remaining states conducting primaries in January of 2008 are the South Carolina Democrats on Saturday (1/26) and Florida (1/29).
On February 5 (a.k.a. “Super Tuesday”) 22 states will have primaries or caucuses (to see the list of states click here).
Stay informed and spread the word about AdvanceUSA’s 2008 Candidate Comparisons.
 Bruce R. Williams, a family physician in Blue Springs, Missouri, shares in a recent op-ed piece how the recent breakthrough with induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) affects the current battle over human cloning in Missouri. He shows how this new research, which derives embryonic-like pluripotent stem cells from ordinary skin cells without creating or harming human eggs or embryos, makes the push for human cloning totally unnecessary.
Excerpts:
The new method, referred to as “direct reprogramming” allows researchers to use skin cells to reproduce stem cells believed to be identical to those that were previously taken from human embryos. No cloning. No destruction of human life. No ethical controversy.
How big is this breakthrough? The scientist who created Dolly the cloned sheep, Ian Wilmut, has already announced he is abandoning cloning research in favor of the new method. Wilmut believes this new method holds more promise for finding treatments, including treating strokes, heart attacks, Parkinson’s and other diseases.
…
The Missouri Cures Without Cloning initiative seeks to prohibit the unnecessary research. It would ensure that human cloning is prohibited within the state of Missouri.
While this new scientific breakthrough holds the promise to new treatments for diseases including diabetes and Parkinson’s, why do some continue their battle to support human cloning?
The time has come to say no to human cloning in Missouri.
For more information on human cloning check out the AdvanceUSA human cloning/Missouri page or check the Missouri Cures Without Cloning website.
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