IMMIGRATION - Religious Freedom Coalition  WEEK ENDING MARCH 10, 2006 - FROM WASHINGTON, DC

In the last few weeks I have had the opportunity to speak with Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff several times. These were not planned meetings, I just sort of ran into him -- once at a White House reception. The meetings and short conversations have given me an insight into White House logic on the immigration issue. The White House, from the President on down, honestly believes there are only two options in handling the 12 million illegals in the United States: either allow them to all live here permanently or send them all home next week. Chertoff said that we would need "millions" of agents to round up the aliens and send them home if Congress orders that. These are not the only two choices and my honest opinion is that anyone who believes these are the only two choices is sort of goofy. It took us twenty years to get into this mess and it could take ten years to get us back out. All we have to do is start issuing work permits at our embassies throughout the world. As those with legal work permits come into the United States they will force the illegals - over time - to leave. Employers would rather obey the law than break it and if we import laborers on one-year or two-year permits, the problem will be solved eventually. Not tomorrow, but it would be solved. Apparently there is no one in Congress or in the White House bright enough to understand that this third solution exists.

On Tuesday more than 25,000 Mexicans came to Capitol Hill to protest against legislation that would secure the southern border of the United States. Many of the demonstrators had Mexican flags wrapped around them and made it clear they did not want to be American citizens; they just wanted to work in the United States. The demonstrators, mostly men, refused to allow women to pass on the sidewalks, thus forcing them into the streets. When they were not protesting, the Mexican demonstrators made cat calls to female congressional staffers and tossed trash onto the ground rather than put it in trash cans. It was in interesting sight for those of us who are on the Hill daily. There was virtually no media coverage of the protests. Go ahead, try to find this information someplace else!

The U.S. Congress of 1803, at the request of President Thomas Jefferson, allocated federal funds for the salary of a minister and for the construction of a church. On December 3, 1803, the U.S. Congress, following the request of President Jefferson, ratified a treaty with the Kaskaskia Indians.  This treaty was significant because Congress, recognizing that most members of the tribe had become Christians, deemed to give an annual subsidy of $100 for the support of a priest during a seven-year period.  That priest, as the Congress noted, was to perform “the duties of his office, and... instruct as many... children as possible.”

Click here for more "violations" of "separation of church and state" by Thomas Jefferson himself.
Click here for more on The Big Lie.

To Ponder

How U.S. Tax Dollars Fund Hamas Whether U.S. leaders know it or not, American taxpayer dollars have been flowing to many Palestinian groups, including Hamas.

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Radical Hindus Attack India's Christian Minority Militant Hindus are on the move in India, increasing the frequency of attacks against the nation's Christian minority.

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Books

Getting America Right by Edwin J. Feulner, Doug Wilson - This book is meant to be a handbook for the average citizen. It’s not a policy tome. It’s a set of six questions that every person should ask about the role of the federal government. When you are done with this book, you will know more than 99 percent of Americans about the role of the federal government and how it impacts us all. And you will know how to turn your ideas into action. Visit GettingAmericaRight.com for specific things you can do and updates about what is happening in Washington. There is also a discussion guide you can download.

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The Emergency Teacher by Christina Asquith - “How often do you hear a young, left-leaning, urban school teacher say the following: The Teachers' Union is the biggest obstacle to school improvement today. "More money" is NOT the solution. Vouchers empower poor, minority parents. Bilingual Education hurts Hispanic children An surprising message? Yes. But this is the candid conclusion journalist Christina Asquith draws in her new nonfiction book: The Emergency Teacher, a young journalist's account on her 1st year inside Philadelphia' s worst public school. As a 25-year-old reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Ms. Asquith found almost no media coverage of the city's biggest story: a $1.6 billion urban school system, where 75 percent of high school students couldn't pass basic math and reading tests; and 3 out of 5 teachers quit within five years. So she applied to teach, and with only 2 days training was dispatched to Philadelphia 's toughest school, where 800 students were trapped struggling for a basic education. From inside the school, Ms. Asquith is able to tell the real story of the crisis in urban schools across America today—and it was not the story she expected to find from the perch of the newsroom. See why The New York Post, The Washington Times and The Weekly Standard have all embraced "The Emergency Teacher" as a rare glimpse of honesty in education reporting.” 

Christina's Talking Points regarding education reform:

What she learned:

--Schools are not "underfunded", they are disorganized and mismanaged. Hear how despite a $1 million grant for her bilingual education program, teachers still lacked textbooks as administrators piddled it away on junket conferences

--The left breeds low expectations among poor and minority students. Hear the stories of Asquith's students, like 12-year old Ronny, whose father immigrated from the Dominican Republic and became a small business owner. Forced into a "bilingual education" program in the lowest-ranked school, Ronny never learned English. A voucher program would have empowered Ronny's father to send him to a succeeding school. Instead, Ronny dropped out.  Meanwhile, the teachers' union and administration continue to blame "bad kids" and "lack of parental involvement" as the root problem behind dropouts.
 

The Culture War

Speaking of books...

Jeremy Zilber, Leftist author of Racialized Coverage of Congress: The News in Black and White (of which nothing more need be said), now has added a children's book to his rèsumè. It's entitled Why Mommy is a Democrat and, according to its own website, uses "plain and non-judgmental language" (except when it doesn't) to teach children important Demo-life lessons about "fairness, tolerance, peace" and, of course, avoiding elephants. After looking at samplings from the book, we note that one of the Democrats' most cherished "moral values" is forced redistribution of income—"Democrats make sure we all share our toys." We always thought sharing was voluntary! Judgmental language is used only in "numerous subtle (and not-so-subtle) satirical swipes at the Bush administration and the Republican party," so the book is really for Democrats of all ages—or at least those gubmint-skoo graduates who can read. The Patriot Post 06-10 Digest (See http://www.EarsToHear.net/Separation/liberals.html for how "mainstream" America has been duped by redefining words.)

American Minute with Bill Federer March 12

Juliette Low began the Girls Scouts of America on March 12, 1912, in Savannah, Georgia. Chronic ear infections in her youth caused deafness in one ear. A grain of rice thrown at her wedding lodged in her other ear and during the procedure to remove it that ear drum was punctured. Her father was a U.S. Army General, though previously a Civil War Confederate captain. During the Spanish-American War, Juliette and her mother organized a convalescent hospital for wounded soldiers returning from Cuba. After her husband's death in 1905, Juliette traveled to England where in 1911 she met Boar War hero Sir Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scouts. They became engaged, but the wedding was called off. Upon return to America, she founded Girl Guides. A leader till her death from breast cancer in 1927, she was buried in her uniform. The Girl Scout oath was: "On my honor, I will try: to do my duty to God and my country, to help other people at all times, to obey the Girl Scout laws." In 1995, Patti Garibay, a former Girl Scout leader, founded American Heritage Girls, a family-friendly spin-off serving thousands of girls with troops in 32 states. The AHG Oath is "I promise to love God, Cherish my family, Honor my country, and Serve in my community." Endnotes at www.AmericanMinute.com

Action you can take

• PatriotPetitions.com Defending America's Heritage - your individual freedoms and rights.

• Grassfire one of the fastest growing grassroots organizations representing more than one million citizens across the country and around the world. Our goal is to impact key issues in our nation by equipping hundreds of thousands of citizens with tools that give our partners a real impact on issues.

• RightMarch.com Action Alerts

• ConservativePetitions.com Not only is it full of news and information about crucial issues, this site enables you to take action through petitions that voice our concerns to the people who need to hear it -- all in one convenient location.

• GrassTopsUSA.org Providing the American people with a powerful and persuasive new voice for protecting personal freedom, aggressively promoting traditional values, and proclaiming economic and individual liberty throughout the land.

• LapTopAmerica.net Providing Americans the opportunity to use the internet to aggressively and pro-actively political, corporate, and cultural decisions and developments.

• American Family Association Action

• http://www.OneMillionMoms.com or http://www.OneMillionDads.com