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 Friday, March 14, 2008
LifeNews reports. 

AdvanceUSA’s Daniel Herbster had the privilege to hear the personal reports of Amy Daniels and Jill Rosen during their visit to Washington, DC.  They told how they were literally dying until they were treated with their own stem cells.  Today their health has improved dramatically.  They are both concerned that many people in this country will die because they cannot raise the money to travel to nations where ethical adult stem cell research is allowed or because their insurance will not cover adult stem cell transplants.

Call your representative today and urge him or her to cosponsor and vote “Yes” on the Patients First Act which instructs the Health Department to make effective and ethical adult stem cell research a high priority.

For more information on adult stem cell research click here.  For information on stem cells in general click here.

posted on Friday, March 14, 2008 6:51:14 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   
Last night the Senate rejected a pro-life amendment proposed by Sen. Wayne Allard (R-CO), which would have covered unborn children under the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.  Instead, the Senate passed the Boxer amendment which categorizes pregnant mothers as “children” in order to provide these women with health coverage without committing the liberal sacrilege of insinuating that the unborn are in fact children.

To see the vote results, check the vote box below or AdvanceUSA’s Congress Vote Watch Page.  To see how your senators voted on the Allard amendment click on “Full Results.”

Senate Vote on the Allard Amendment (S.A. 4233) to allow unborn children to receive health coverage under SCHIP
March 13, 2008
Full Results

 

 

Yeas

 

Nays

 

PRES

 

NV

Republican

 

44

 

4

 

 

1

Democratic

 

2

 

47

 

 

1

Independent

 

 

1

 

 

TOTALS

 

46

 

52

 

 

2

posted on Friday, March 14, 2008 4:41:13 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   
Sen. Ensign (R-CO) proposed an amendment yesterday which would have set aside money for the enforcement of the Child Custody Protection Act, which prevents minors from being transported across state lines to avoid state abortion laws requiring the consent of the parents.  This common-sense, pro-life legislation failed by a vote of 49-49.

Senate Vote on the Ensign Amendment (S.A. 4335) to provide funds for the vigorous enforcement of the Child Custody Protection Act
March 13, 2008
Full Results

 

Yeas

 

Nays

 

PRES

 

NV

Republican

 

44

 

3

 

 

1

Democratic

 

5

 

45

 

 

1

Independent

 

 

1

 

 

TOTALS

 

49

 

49

 

 

2

posted on Friday, March 14, 2008 4:37:52 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   
 Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Make sure you cast an informed ballot this November with AdvanceUSA’s 2008 Candidate Comparisons for the presidential election.  AdvanceUSA compared the major presidential candidates on twelve important issues of concern for conservatives.

If you found our presidential primary comparisons helpful, you are sure to appreciate our general election match-ups which offer more detail and nuance.

Since it appears the Democrat nomination will not be determined until the party’s convention, AdvanceUSA has prepared match-ups for the two most likely scenarios (Clinton vs. McCain and Obama vs. McCain).  AdvanceUSA hopes you find these a helpful resource for comparing the candidates and determining which most represents your values. 

Sen. Clinton vs. Sen. McCain
Click here


ONLINE INTERACTIVE VERSION
(Coming Soon!)
 

Sen. Obama vs. Sen. McCain
Click here


ONLINE INTERACTIVE VERSION
(Coming Soon!)

Please tell your friends and relatives about this helpful resource.  Email them this blog entry, or send them a link to http://www.advanceusa.org/.

Keep checking AdvanceUSA for our Online Interactive Version which will allow readers to see the supporting evidence for the candidates’ positions.

Note: You can still view the Candidate Comparisons for the primaries and caucuses here.

posted on Thursday, March 13, 2008 2:07:21 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   
Many are stunned by the recent report that 25% of American teen girls have a sexually transmitted disease.  Despite what many liberals and main stream media figures would have us believe, more (not less) abstinence education is part of the solution.  CitizenLink reports that President Bush as urged Congress to increase crucial abstinence education funding.

posted on Thursday, March 13, 2008 1:55:11 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   
NBC11 and CBS4 report on the touching story of Dallas Hextell of Sacramento, California, a little boy born with debilitating cerebral palsy.  Dallas has seen significant improvement after being treated with ethical adult stem cells taken from his stored umbilical cord blood.

Graphic source: NBC11
posted on Thursday, March 13, 2008 1:53:55 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   
 Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Sen. Wayne Allard (R-CO) has again proposed an amendment to the budget bill which would provide health coverage for unborn children on the SCHIP program.  His amendment would codify this important policy into federal law, and will most likely be voted on when the Senate begins an intense session of voting this Thursday (March 13).  AdvanceUSA thanks Sen. Allard for proposing this important pro-life legislation.  Call both your senators today and urge them to vote “Yes” on Sen. Allard’s amendment (#4233) protecting unborn children under SCHIP!

For more information on SCHIP click here.

posted on Wednesday, March 12, 2008 12:38:10 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   
 Monday, March 10, 2008
“Home-Schoolers 'In Shock' Over Court Ruling”

Homeschoolers in California and advocates of school choice endured a sneak attack recently when a California appeals court came out with a sweeping ruling that declares that parents have no constitutional right to educate their children in the home.  The Washington Times reports.  Excerpt:

National and California home-schooling advocates are banding together to fight a state court ruling they say could essentially outlaw the practice of allowing parents to teach their children at home.

California Supreme Court Hears Marriage Case

As the LA Times reports, the California Supreme Court has heard the challenge to that state’s Defense of Marriage Act which defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman only.  Will the court usurp the will of the people and redefine marriage?  We should know in less than 90 days.  Excerpt from LA Times story:

The court is deciding four lawsuits brought on behalf of nearly two dozen same-sex couples. A trial judge here ruled in favor of same-sex marriages, but a Court of Appeal rejected that decision on a 2-1 vote. Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger argued in favor of keeping marriage an opposite-sex union, and Christian-affiliated groups joined them.

 

The California high court invalidated the San Francisco marriage licenses in August 2004, but will decide within 90 days whether gay men and lesbians should be permitted to marry in the future.

posted on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 1:39:41 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   
posted on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 1:36:46 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   
posted on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 1:35:49 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   
posted on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 1:34:32 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   
 Friday, March 07, 2008

The Pew Forum has provided this helpful resource for churches to know what political activities are permitted under IRS non-profit restrictions.

You can find this and other helpful resources at AdvanceUSA’s Church Involvement Page.  Pastors and churches are often too intimidated speak out on important political issues for fear of losing tax-exempt status.  Christians have a responsibility to act as “salt and light” in our society and culture, and must be armed with accurate information about what the law allows.

posted on Friday, March 07, 2008 9:36:36 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)  #   
HSLDA reports.  On their website you can sign a petition in support of parents’ right to home school their children.  AdvanceUSA thanks HSLDA for taking legal action in this case.

James Dobson comments here.

posted on Friday, March 07, 2008 9:32:24 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)  #   
The MBC Pathway reports on the status of the proposed constitutional amendment to fully ban human cloning in Missouri.  Excerpt:

[Missouri Secretary of State] Carnahan’s rewrite of language submitted last fall by Cures Without Cloning (CWC) was struck down Feb. 20 by Cole County Circuit Judge Patricia Joyce under precedents established by previous judges as insufficient or unfair. Legally it means her work is “inadequate, especially lacking adequate power, capacity or competence. The word ‘unfair’ means to be marked by injustice, partiality, or deception.” In other words, according to legal precedent, she stated the consequences of the initiative “inadequately and with bias, prejudice, deception and/or favoritism.”

 

An appeal filed by people sympathetic to the argumentation of Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures will be heard by the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, March 26. Once all legal appeals are exhausted, it is believed that approximately 150,000 valid signatures would need to be collected by May 5, the deadline for getting it on the ballot in November. Many citizens are ready to fan out all over the state to go get the necessary signatures once elected officials and judges are finished with their work.

 

“We are confident the court of appeals will uphold the ballot summary written by the circuit court and are preparing for that outcome,” wrote Missourians Against Human Cloning (MAHC) Executive Director Jaci Winship in an email alert that went out to supporters in the last week of February. “We are hopeful the appeal process will move quickly so that our volunteer army that has been preparing for months will be able to move forward.”

HT: Sam Lee

posted on Friday, March 07, 2008 9:28:58 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)  #   
LifeNews reports.  Excerpt:

"Recently, my niece gave birth to her first baby. It should have been a joyful moment for the entire family, but as I stood looking at her cradling her newborn, I felt tears pricking at my eyes," Woodgate wrote in a London Daily Mail column.

 

"All of a sudden, I found myself being transported back in time almost 40 years, to the day that I was admitted to a small cottage hospital in Leicester for a termination," she added.

 

Her memories of the abortion were so vivid that she can still smell the disinfectant and see the "disapproving" looks on the faces of the staff at the facility.

posted on Friday, March 07, 2008 9:26:36 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)  #   
LifeNews reports.  Excerpt:

A pro-life organization for Republicans is calling on John McCain, who has captured enough delegates to be the party's presidential nominee, to keep the GOP platform pro-life on abortion. The Republican Party currently supports a human life amendment to the Constitution to offer legal protection to unborn children.

 

Delegates to the Republican convention in Minneapolis this summer will reconsider the party's 93-page platform that opposes abortion and supports President Bush's policy against using tax dollars to fund embryonic stem cell research.

posted on Friday, March 07, 2008 9:19:23 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)  #   
“Students Raise Money for Teacher’s Adult Stem-Cell Transplant”

CitizenLink reports on this heart-warming story.

Adult Stem Cells on the Cutting Edge of Joint Repair and Replacement

As Reuters reports, doctors are making great strides in joint repair and replacement using novel biological techniques, including ethical adult stem cell transplants.  Excerpt:

Stem cell therapy could eventually eliminate the need for joint replacement, said Einhorn, who last year performed his first hip replacement surgery using the patient's own stem cells.

 

The undifferentiated, unspecialized stem cells can morph into specialized cells with specific functions in the body. Adult stem cells are available from a number of sources, including bone marrow and fat.

 

Stem cells from a patient's own body are being used to repair bones, ligaments, cartilage, muscle, spinal cord and nerves.

posted on Friday, March 07, 2008 9:17:31 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)  #   
Politico reports.  If a Senate “staredown” makes judicial nominations an important issue in 2008, we say “bring it on.”

posted on Friday, March 07, 2008 9:10:56 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)  #   
posted on Friday, March 07, 2008 9:07:44 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)  #   
Robert Knight comments on the case before the California Supreme Court which could have drastic implications on marriage across the country.  Excerpt:

At issue is California’s marriage law, approved by voters in 2000 by a wide margin, which defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman. Because of California’s history of liberal legal activism, court watchers are taking bets over whether the high bench will sucker punch the electorate and impose “gay marriage” on the state.

posted on Friday, March 07, 2008 7:32:49 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)  #   
 Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Yesterday’s presidential primary contests breathed new “hope” into the struggling Clinton campaign.  Sen. Clinton won the contests in Ohio, Texas, and Rhode Island, while her Democrat opponent, Sen. Barack Obama, took Vermont.  It appears the Democrat race will continue with no end in sight.

Sen. John McCain scored convincing victories against his chief GOP rival Gov. Mike Hucakbee.  Sen. McCain has now won enough delegates to guarantee his nomination, and Mike Huckabee has withdrawn his candidacy.  Only the libertarian-leaning Congressman Ron Paul remains in the GOP race as a high-profile contender.

To find out where the presidential candidates stand on important issues check out AdvanceUSA’s 2008 Candidate Comparisons.

Also, keep an eye out for AdvanceUSA’s special Candidate Comparisons for the general election in November.

March 4, 2008 Election Results

State                          Democrat Winner                Republican Winner

Texas (primary)        Clinton                              McCain
Ohio                       Clinton                              McCain
Vermont                  Obama                              McCain
Rhode Island            Clinton                              McCain
Texas (caucus)        Obama                              na

Full results here.

Graphic source: Leader-Post

posted on Wednesday, March 05, 2008 5:27:26 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)  #   
 Tuesday, March 04, 2008