EarsToHear.net Newsletter
January 30, 2008 - “Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.”  Aldous Huxley

(Click links for complete columns)

Upfront -

Take Action - (Alerts, Action, Petitions)

Click here to send an e-mail to your representatives urging them to fix the COLA!  RetireSafe.org issued a press release yesterday that urges Congress to include a number of pro-senior, pro-retiree features in any economic stimulus package they finally send to the President. Will you help by urging Congress to fix the Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) to more accurately reflect seniors' true expenses?

Petition - "Letter Of Protest" opposing efforts to silence the voice of Christians. (LibertyAction.org) Anti-faith group threatens churches "preaching on moral issues" - the anti-faith group Americans United for Separation of Church and State launched a full-scale attack on Liberty Counsel under the title, "More Lies From Lynchburg" (one of Liberty Counsel's principal locations). Their charge? That Liberty Counsel is lying when we encourage pastors to preach on "biblical and moral issues" in this election year.

Last Year Public Opinion Forced Congress to Drop Amnesty -- Let’s Get Congress to Fix Illegal Immigration This Year (JBS.org) We need Congress to honor its oath of office to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic” by passing the necessary and appropriate legislation to fix the illegal immigration crisis by:

1. securing our national borders,
2. stopping illegal immigration, including ending the economic incentives for illegal immigration,
3. strictly enforcing all existing immigration laws,
4. ending birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants,
5. rejecting any form of amnesty for illegal immigrants,
6. placing a moratorium on temporary worker and guest worker legislation until illegal immigration has been brought under control, and
7. defunding, dismantling, or repealing any government program or agreement, such as the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), that would lead to the creation of an open borders North American Union (NAU).

United Jerusalem Petition As pressure builds against Israel to cede political and security control over the united city of Jerusalem:

- I support a unified Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty, to ensure free and open access for all people.

- I support a unified Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty, as an expression of the unique relationship between the Jewish People and its eternal capital.

- I support a unified Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty, so as never to return to the dark period of 1947-67, when Arab control over an artificially divided Jerusalem meant religious persecution, desecration of holy sites, and wanton destruction.

- I support a unified Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty, according to the current municipal boundaries, set in the wake of Israel’s defensive 1967 Six Day War.

- I support a unified Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty, where Jews may enjoy the right to pray on the Temple Mount, the holiest site in the Jewish world.

Reports/Results

Timeline of Rocket Attacks from Gaza (TheIsraelProject.org) For the past seven years, Palestinian terrorist groups have been deliberately firing rockets and mortar shells at Israeli civilians. In Aug. 2005, Israel evacuated all of its civilians from the Gaza Strip, withdrew all of its armed forces and dismantled all of the settlements there in the hope of advancing peace with the Palestinians.

Election 2008 (Voting Resources)

CLINTON & OBAMA = NATIONAL GOD WIPE-OUT By J. Grant Swank, Jr. (MichNews.com)

PatriotPost.us  08-04 Chronicle - Demo-Gogues -”There might be some exemptions, but once people are making over $200,000 to $250,000, they can afford to pay a little more in payroll tax.“—Barack Obama with his novel plan for Social Security—more taxes on the ”rich“ ...”It’s shocking that there is such a continuing political pressure to lower tax rates on the wealthy, when so much of what we look back on now with nostalgia and pride was at a time when those who were well off were paying a significantly higher percentage of their income.“—Hillary Clinton

Obama?s on Fire for Jesus (the Jesus of His Own Imagination) Doug giles (Townhall.com)  Barack Hussein Obama (or B-HO, as I like to call him) charismatically and emphatically denied reports this week that he is a closeted Muslim and instead declared candidly and with youthful verve that he believes in Jesus Christ. Barack Hussein Obama (or B-HO, as I like to call him) charismatically and emphatically denied reports this week that he is a closeted Muslim and instead declared candidly and with youthful verve that he believes in Jesus Christ.  ...The only way Obama and his followers can keep Christ and their liberal credo is to blow off huge chunks of the Bible and replace Scripture with the make-believe notions of SP's new malleable “Gumby Jesus” who offers “suggestions” instead of thundering commandments.

John McCain: The Geraldo Rivera Republican By Michelle Malkin (GOPUSA.com) Editor's Note: The following column contains language that may be offensive to some readers. - After spearheading a disastrous, security-undermining illegal alien amnesty bill last year with Teddy Kennedy, "straight-talking" GOP Sen. John McCain claims he has seen the light. In TV appearances, he vows to put immigration enforcement first. On the campaign trail, he offers a perfunctory promise to strengthen border security and emphasizes the need to restore Americans' trust in their government's ability to defend the homeland.

The Ten Most Annoying Things About the Race for the Presidency John Hawkins (Townhall.com) Change, Change, Change: Everyone seems to be campaigning as the candidate of change, but what does that mean exactly? Wouldn't a depression be a change? How about basing our economy on Communism instead of Capitalism?

America's Christian Heritage (America's Christian Heritage) & Church and State (Wall of Separation?)

The Nanny-Stater Challenge: Where's Your Constitutional Basis? Jerry Agar (Townhall.com) Our tongue-in-cheek wager based on the political fortunes of ?your? nanny-stater, John Edwards, against ?my? nanny-stater, Barack Obama was justifiably tweaked by some readers who want us to take on the leftward slide on the Republican side.

Same-sex Relationships / Transgenders / "Hate" Crimes?- ("Against Nature", Same-sex Marriage, "Hate Crimes", Selective Compliance, Hope for the Homosexual)

Indiana Marriage Amendment Stuck in Legislature (CitizenLink.org)

Taxation without virtuous representation (Taxes & Economy)

Abortion, Cloning, Stem-Cell, Pornography, Pedophilia (Information & Resources)

Aborted America Star Parker (UrbanCure.org) The unfortunate lesson that blacks walked away with in 1964 was that they should start listening to politicians rather than preachers.

News Media, Hollywood, Video Games & Television (Parents & Children Resources)

ABC Takes a Bow for Gay-Affirming Television Programming (CitizensLink.org) NY Times, Oprah also honored for glamorizing homosexuality. For the second straight year, ABC received the most nominations for gay-affirming TV programming. The network landed nine nominations from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), while CBS garnered three nods, NBC two and Fox two, The Associated Press reported. ABC's nominated shows include Brothers & Sisters, Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives.  Oprah Winfrey and Tyra Banks dominated the Outstanding Talk Show Episode category. For Newspaper Overall Coverage, nominees were: The Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Seattle Times and the San Francisco Chronicle. "GLAAD's annual recognition of programs promoting homosexuality and transgenderism reflect the magnitude of the sea change in American attitudes about these issues," said Caleb H. Price, research analyst for Focus on the Family. "It's astonishing to think that GLAAD is able to put up nearly 200 nominees in 40 categories — even though homosexuals and transgenders comprise between 2 and 3 percent of the population. "Yet even this won't be enough for the gay-activist community and its stated agenda to glamorize and normalize homosexuality."

Second Amendment (Second Amendment - NRA-ILA State Roundup)

Massachusetts Healthcare Plan Costs Skyrocket By Monisha Bansal - (CNSNews.com) - According to recent reports, the cost of Massachusetts' health insurance mandate will rise 85 percent, or $400 million, in 2009. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R), meanwhile, has been on the presidential campaign trail praising the program he put into place. According to The Boston Globe, the cost increase is largely due to an increase in the number of people signing up for state-subsidized health insurance. State and federal taxpayers are likely to shoulder the cost increase. "Essentially, the people who signed up under the mandate were the people who were getting subsidies," said Michael Yanner, director of health and welfare studies at the libertarian Cato Institute.

LUNCH IS STILL NOT FREE (ThomasBrewton.com) Liberals believe that, so long as they take from  the rich  and distribute to the voting masses, there is no cost to society.

Politically Correct Spotlight  (Politically Correct - The need to flag words and actions that have been redefined for political correctness which require processing through the filter of misapplied compassion that lacks moral virtue and righteous justice: When you hear, mainstream, fairness, diversity, tolerance, discrimination, hate, fear, bigotry, progressive, values, facts....)

John Adams: "Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclination, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence."

Aldous Huxley: “Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.” 

The Washington Post outlines how federal bureaucrats are regulating what sorts of electrical appliances (MyHeritage.org) we have in our homes—another case of the government picking winners and losers. For example, the latest energy bill will effectively ban the incandescent light bulbs that most of us use in our homes. Washington apparently believes that compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) are better for us, though sales figures suggest consumers disagree: the Department of Energy admits that just 20 percent of bulbs sold last year were CFLs. ...There are drawbacks, however. The bulbs can fade before burning out. And because the bulbs contain mercury, homeowners must be careful if one breaks. (Guidelines: Open windows, use disposable gloves, seal debris in a plastic bag, don't use vacuum cleaners. More instructions are available on the Energy Department and EPA's Energy Star Web site.) In addition, many consumers fault the bulbs for being too white -- giving a room all the charm of a late-night bus terminal -- or too slow to switch on. Manufacturers say their newest bulbs address those problems. For bulbs with "warmer" color, look for lower Kelvin ratings, around 2,700. The brighter, "colder" bulbs have much higher Kelvin ratings.

A new study finds that companies undergoing mandatory politically-correct “diversity training” (MyHeritage.org) programs often saw decreases in the number of women and racial minorities in management. The data, report the Washington Post, “showed that mandatory programs — often undertaken mainly with an eye to avoiding liability in discrimination lawsuits — were the problem.”

An Outbreak of Political Correctness (FRC.org) Researchers at the University of California San Francisco and spokesmen for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are scrambling to explain away the findings of a recent medical journal article on a drug-resistant strain of bacteria known as MRSA. Why? Because, as The New York Times put it, "the study found that gay men in San Francisco were about 13 times more likely to be infected than other people in the city." When commentators pointed out the obvious implication--that men would be healthier if they abstain altogether from sex with other men--the damage control began. It's true that, unlike HIV, MRSA can be spread through casual contact. And while the bacteria's harmful effects are dire (including a reported 19,000 deaths in 2005), the good news is that the key to prevention is simply frequent washing with soap and water. Nevertheless, it appears that specific homosexual sex acts, and having multiple sexual partners, significantly increase the risk of transmission. Researchers said the coverage caught them off guard because "we were looking at this from a scientific point of view." Unfortunately, homosexual activists are more likely to view the study through the lens of political correctness, which could blind them to the level of inherent risk of certain behaviors with serious implications for them and the community at large.

Disclaimer: EarsToHear.net does not necessarily endorse or agree with every opinion expressed in every article posted in its newsletters. All articles are aimed at challenging apathy and to encourage taking a stand for the values you represent. Please see associated EarsToHear.net links for its stance and commentary on the issues.