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 The Republican Leader of the Senate is continuing delaying tactics on the Senate floor in order to force the majority leadership to fulfill their commitments on judicial nominees. Who sits on our federal benches is an issue which will impact our nation for decades. It is important that the president’s well-qualified judicial nominees receive fair hearings and fair up-or-down votes. Call both your senators today and urge them to put pressure on Senators Reid (D-NV) and Leahy (D-VT) to fulfill their commitments and follow their constitutional duty by treating President Bush’s judicial nominees fairly.
Here is Sen. McConnell in his own words:
…But comity also requires the Majority to treat the Minority fairly, which means, at a minimum, that the Majority needs to keep its commitments to the Minority.
If commitments in this Body are not kept, then comity breaks down, and if that occurs, the Minority will not routinely grant consent to those matters that it typically does. In this case, we have unfulfilled commitments with respect to treating circuit court nominees fairly.
It is the middle of June, and the Senate has only confirmed eight circuit court nominees. This is less than half the number that the Majority Leader and I agreed to. And it is barely half the number of circuit court nominees that a Republican Senate confirmed in President Clinton’s final Congress.
More troubling, the Chairman has threatened to soon stop confirming circuit court nominees altogether.
The Republican Conference does not consider this lack of progress and thinly-veiled threat to be in good faith. Not surprisingly, it is therefore not inclined to continue to freely give its consent to matters that are of importance to the Majority.
That’s the way things work around here. As I’ve said before, the Senate works best when there is a spirit of cooperation. Absent that spirit, the Minority will be compelled to protect its rights using all the protections that are afforded it in the Senate Rules.
There is any easy solution to this problem: the Majority needs to start confirming circuit court nominees, at least those who meet the Chairman’s own criteria. And it seems to me that before the Committee spends its time creating new vacancies, it needs to work on filling the vacancies that exist. Unfortunately, the Judiciary Committee is moving at a glacial pace to do so.
It has only held two circuit court hearings this year, and before that, it hadn’t held a single one since last September. And we have no indication that it’s going to pick up the pace. There are several outstanding nominees who have been sitting in the Committee who meet the Chairman’s criteria, and until they are treated fairly, the Majority will find our cooperation increasingly hard to come by.
As this NPR article demonstrates, when “gay
rights” and religious liberty conflict, religious liberty usually loses. This is an important fact to emphasize as gay
couples are now obtaining marriage licenses in California.
A few examples cited by NPR:
A few cases: Yeshiva University was ordered
to allow same-sex couples in its married dormitory. A Christian school has been
sued for expelling two allegedly lesbian students. Catholic Charities abandoned
its adoption service in Massachusetts after it was told to place children with
same-sex couples. The same happened with a private company operating in
California.
A psychologist in Mississippi who refused
to counsel a lesbian couple lost her case, and legal experts believe that a
doctor who refused to provide IVF services to a lesbian woman is about to lose
his pending case before the California Supreme Court.
And then there's the case of a wedding
photographer in Albuquerque, N.M.
Bobby
Schindler explains. Excerpt:
Recently, yet another situation similar to
that of my sister Terri Schiavo has made headlines. In West Palm Beach, Florida,
Raymond Weber is asking the court to dehydrate his disabled wife, Karen, to
death.
CitizenLink reports. If the dangerous “hate (thought) crimes” and
ENDA legislation now in Congress gets passed into law, we could see similar
persecution in the United States.
Fox News reports. Amazingly enough, radical pro-abortionists
advocate more availability for RU-486 and refuse to seriously investigate its
potentially lethal side effects, despite chilling stories like this one. The BBC also
reports.
Daniel Herbster reporting
 Pregnancy resource centers are on the front lines of the abortion conflict, giving real options for pregnant women contemplating an abortion by showing them love and giving them accurate information about the innocent life within them. Also, in order for the pro-life movement to be victorious, the younger generations (and “generations yet unborn” as Edmund Burke would have said) must be trained and recruited to carry the battle standard into the future. With these facts in mind, pro-lifers would do well to participate in the third annual Wash for Life.
It is my pleasure to interview Jonathan Tonkowich who is the Director and creator of the Wash for Life. The Wash for Life seeks to recruit and educate the younger generation by enlisting them to wash cars and donate the funds raised to local pregnancy resource centers. Find out more about the Wash for Life at washforlife.com and by reading my interview with Jonathan below.
DH: Jonathan, thanks for doing this interview. We appreciate your time. First, what is the Wash for Life and what is its purpose?
JT: The Wash for Life is hundreds of groups all over the country (and now the world thanks to individuals in Canada and Kenya) who unite on the same Saturday in early September and hold car washes to raise money for their local pregnancy resource center. All the money is donated by the individual groups to their local centers and we collect the stories and total numbers.
We have three main goals for the Wash for Life.
1 – To support the work of pregnancy resource centers. These centers are such an important part of the pro-life movement. They are at the front lines helping real people in difficult situations with their love and compassion.
2 – To recruit a new generation of pro-life leaders and advocates. The Wash for Life is a great way for young people to get involved in bringing about the end of abortion. We have so many stories from the first two washes of young people becoming passionate and excited about working for the cause.
3 – To let the world know that our generation is pro-life. Our generation has been damaged and diminished by abortion. We have seen the destruction it has caused and we need to have voice in speaking out against it.
DH: Who came up with the idea for the Wash for Life and how did it get started?
JT: I actually had the idea while sitting in math class my senior year of college at Thomas AquinasCollege in Santa Paula, CA. The idea stuck with me and I could not stop thinking about it. I knew God must be telling me something. I prayed about it and then started talking with some of my friends. That summer (2006) we all moved to Virginia and worked out of my parent’s basement making phone calls and sending emails trying to get as many groups all over the country to participate.
DH: What is the date for this year’s Wash for Life?
JT: This year the date will be September 13th.
DH: How could our readers start their own Wash for Life in their own neighborhoods?
JT: It’s quite simple and easy. You just hold a car wash at your church, your school, your local gas station, or even your driveway on September 13th. Then donate the money you raise to your local pregnancy care center (if you need help locating one we are more than happy to help you).
Please sign up on our website and we will post your carwash location on our website, so those in the area who want to support can visit your carwash. After your carwash email us your results, your pictures, and your stories, so we can share them. You are joining thousands of others all across the country to be part of a huge nationwide car wash.
DH: Why did you decide to benefit pregnancy resource centers? Why do you think the work they do is so important?
 Brian Fitzpatrick explains how the modern push for “gay rights” endangers religious liberty. He catalogues the outrageous international cases of religious discrimination and demonstrates how legislation currently being pushed in Congress will bring such restrictions to the United States.
Our friends at FRC have also been sounding the alarm. If you don’t want churches, private schools, and businesses to be forced to hire homosexuals or “transgendered” people and you don’t want Christians to be persecuted for their religious convictions contact Congress today. Call both your senators and your representative and urge them to vote against the Employment Non-Discrimination Act or any legislation giving “domestic partnership” benefits to homosexual couples.
Daniel Herbster
reporting
I had the opportunity
to interview Rick Schatz, the President and CEO of the National Coalition for the Protection
of Children & Families, about his work protecting families. Here is my interview with Rick.
DH: What is the
mission of the National Coalition? Are
you primarily concerned with local or national issues?
RS: Our mission
at the National Coalition for the Protection of Children & Families is to move the people of God to embrace, live
out, preserve and advance the truth of biblical sexuality. We address and
are concerned about pornography, the sexualized messages of the culture,
premarital sex among teens and young adults, marriage and the redefinition of
marriage, and the homosexual political agenda.
We are concerned with both national and local issues. On the national level, we work with
denominations, major corporations, the Department of Justice, Federal
Communications Commission, and CTIA – The Wireless Association. Locally, we work with churches, Christian
schools, para-church ministries and individual believers and their families
through our regional offices located in Atlanta,
Charlotte, Columbus,
Kansas City, New England, Seattle,
St. Louis and here in Cincinnati where our corporate headquarters are located.
DH: How did it get started?
RS: Jerry Kirk was senior pastor of College Hill
Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati.
Through his counseling he recognized pornography and the sexualized culture
were having a devastating impact on marriages and especially young people. He formed the National Coalition in 1983 and
then left the pastorate at College Hill in 1986 to be full time with the National
Coalition.
DH: What are some of your greatest achievements
as an organization?
RS: From a national perspective, we have
encouraged the development, passage and implementation of some of the strongest
legislation in our nation’s history focused on illegal pornography and sex tourism. We have encouraged law enforcement efforts of
the Justice Department and FCC, and have challenged corporations such as
Abercrombie & Fitch, AT&T and General Motors to leave the pornography
business and reduce the sexual content of their marketing efforts.
We have developed some powerful materials, both written and
visual, educating pastors, Christian leaders, parents and young people about
the threat of pornography and the sexualized culture in which we live. In addition, we have brought together the
broadest range of the faith community in the history of our country to address
pornography by forming the Religious Alliance Against Pornography (RAAP) in
1986. RAAP has been used to meet with
two Presidents and five Attorneys General over the years and has played a major
role in educating the faith community in the United States.
Through our regional offices, we have worked with hundreds
of churches and Christian schools across the country through the distribution
of materials, speaking engagements, conferences and retreats. Our website and media and public relations
efforts have reached millions of Americans with the message of the National
Coalition and have encouraged parents to talk to their children about sexuality
and the threats of our culture.
DH: How can people make a difference in their
communities for families and against pornography? What are some practical steps they could take
to make their communities safer and cleaner?
AdvanceUSA applauds the courage and leadership displayed by Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and others in holding Senate leadership accountable for their broken promises and lack of progress in giving the president’s judicial nominations hearings or fair up-or-down votes. Appointing judges to the bench who understand the limits of their authority and who will respect and uphold the Constitution is one of the most crucial issues facing our nation and we cannot allow partisan politics to distort the judicial nomination process. The Committee for Justice reports.
Sandy Froman also comments on the situation at Townhall.com and provides some helpful historical and constitutional perspective. Excerpt:
The Constitution gives the president the authority to nominate judges, and the Senate the power to confirm them. The Founding Fathers made it clear that the president’s appointment power was broad and the Senate’s role was limited. The Senate was only to ensure that the president’s nominee was a person of fit character. As Alexander Hamilton explained in The Federalist No. 76, the Senate should rarely withhold approval and only when there are extreme reasons, such as the nomination of an unqualified friend or family member.
For 200 years that was usually the way it worked. The Senate only denied confirmation if there were problems with a nominee’s education, experience, or integrity. Otherwise nominees were confirmed regardless of their political beliefs. That’s why conservative Antonin Scalia was confirmed to the Supreme Court 98-0, and liberal Ruth Bader Ginsburg was confirmed 96-3. They were top graduates from top law schools, with stellar careers as federal appellate judges and good character.
But things have gone badly astray...
 According to new scientific research
it appears that Parkinson’s disease, one of the maladies often cited by
proponents of unethical embryonic stem cell research as sure to be cured if
only we spend tax dollars to destroy innocent human embryos, might soon be
treated with adult nasal stem cells instead.
Physorg.com
reports. Excerpt:
Research released today provides evidence
that a cure for Parkinson's disease could lie just inside the nose of patients
themselves.
The Griffith University study published
today in the journal Stem Cells found that adult stem cells harvested from the
noses of Parkinson's patients gave rise to dopamine-producing brain cells when
transplanted into the brain of a rat.
News-Medical.net also reports.
And
according to CitizenLink, a man’s back pain was successfully treated in the nation’s first
spinal disc surgery using adult stem cells.
Excerpt:
"Stem cells have shown great promise
over the past three years for treating back pain," Dr. Jeffrey Kleiner said.
"In combination with the dis[c]ectomy, we hope to offer patients long-term
relief from their back pain and to decrease their risk of needing additional
surgeries."
Adult stem cells have been injected into
patients' backs and joints to promote tissue growth, but this is the first time
stem cells have been injected during a spinal surgery, doctors said.
The bone-marrow cells used in the procedure
were harvested from the middle-aged man then brought to the laboratory, where
millions more were grown over three weeks using the patient's blood. Tens of
millions of the cells were then injected into the man's back during a
discectomy, a surgery to remove a herniated or bulging disk.
For
more exciting news on real results from ethical adult stem cell research check
out the AdvanceUSA adult
stem cell page.
CitizenLink
reports on this
potentially precedent-setting court case.
Excerpt:
Jennifer Siperko and Christine Stadter were
in a lesbian relationship when Siperko had a child through artificial
insemination. Stadter did not adopt the child, and more than a year after the
birth, the couple broke up. Stadter argued she should be considered a "de
facto" parent. The "de facto" parent doctrine has been used by
same-sex "marriage" activists to undermine marriage and weaken the
rights of parents.
Liberty Counsel represented Siperko.
"The decision by the Virginia Court of
Appeals is a model of judicial restraint," said Mat Staver, founder of
Liberty Counsel. "The court affirmed the fundamental right of parents and
recognized that third parties may not interfere with the rights of fit parents
to raise and educate their children.
CitizenLink reports,
concluding that “both candidates could do more for life, marriage, family.”
AdvanceUSA certainly hopes so. It appears Senate Republican Leader Mitch
McConnell (R-KY) is fed up with broken promises by Majority Leader Harry Reid
(D-NV). In remarks on the Senate floor today
McConnell promised that Senate “Democrats
will not be allowed to shirk their commitments on judicial nominations.” Sen. McConnell demonstrated his seriousness
by objecting to a common Senate parliamentary procedure which allows senators
to propose amendments without having the entire text read on the floor. McConnell’s move forced the Senate clerk to
read the entire 491 page document and hopefully was just a foretaste of measure
which will be taken to force action on judges.
We
encourage Sen. McConnell to take whatever legitimate means are necessary to
force the U.S. Senate to fulfill its constitutional duty to provide advice and
consent to the president on crucial judicial nominations.
For
more information on judicial nominations click
here.
 In a move the Alliance Defense Fund
describes as “a
vote for nationwide legal chaos” the California Supreme Court has rejected
the pleas of pro-family supporters and state attorneys general and will press
to quickly institute
its recent ruling mandating “gay marriage” despite the expressed will of the
people. The reason this decision means
chaos for other states is that many gay couples from other states will
certainly come to California to take advantage of the “gay marriage” ruling and
then return to their home state and sue for marriage privileges. Given the fact that liberal activist judges
occupy benches in many states, it is almost certain that we will see more
instances of court imposed same-sex marriage in the near future.
Clearly
our nation needs a Federal Marriage Protection Amendment to prevent unelected
judges from instituting “gay marriage” through judicial fiat. Call your
representative today and urge him or her to cosponsor and vote for the Marriage
Protection Amendment.
For
more information on protecting marriage in California check ProtectMarriage.com.
CitizenLink reports. Excerpt:
Researchers and doctors have used adult
stem cells to successfully treat 2-year-old Nate Liao, who had a rare, fatal
skin disease called recessive dystrophic epidermolysis.
In October, Nate received a cord-blood and
bone-marrow stem-cell transplant from his brother, Julian. Their mom said
Nate's skin is already stronger. Nate, who was never able to eat normal food,
is now eating pork chops and chips.
Although
clearly biased toward a pro-choice perspective-using terms such as “abortion
rights”-this AP report paints a stark contrast between the two
remaining major presidential candidates on abortion. Excerpt:
ABORTION
McCain: Opposes abortion rights. Has voted
for abortion restrictions permissible under Roe v. Wade, and now says he would
seek to overturn that guarantee of abortion rights. Would not seek
constitutional amendment to ban abortion.
Obama: Favors abortion rights.
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