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*************************************** Freaks and Oddballs "Have you ever seen such a sad collection of electoral oddballs, fringe political freaks and quasi-criminal losers in your life? This is the kind of campaign disaster that challenges one's commitment to the democratic process itself. It's scary to think that one of these knuckleheads gets to win. California? Who said anything about California? I'm talking about the Democrats' presidential primary." - Columnist Michael Graham, Columbia Free Time, 9/3/03 *************************************** Citizen Outreach Fall Fundraising Drive If you haven't done so already, I hope you'll consider kicking in a few bucks to help us continue bringing you News & Views every day...your #1 source for information not generally found in your hometown newspaper. Unlike the labor unions, we don't automatically take money out of your paycheck to fund our activities. And unlike the United Way, we don't twist your arm and threaten your job or promotion if you don't give. And unlike Congress, we don't tax you to death (and beyond) to fund our efforts. We just occasionally ask for a little VOLUNTARY financial help to keep us going. $5, $10, $20...whatever you can afford...will go a long way to helping us continue to bring you our first-class e-newsletter, our weekly webcast interviews with top policy experts on important current issues, our Brushfire Alerts political action projects, our in-depth research on public policy matters, our weekly online opinion polls...and much, much more. And if you contribute $50 or more, we have a very special 9-11 commemorative gift for you. Just go to www.CitizenOutreach.com to make a secure online contribution or mail your check to the address at the end of this newsletter. Thanks for your continued support. Chuck Muth ************************************* Wimpy Wepublicans "A Honduran named Miguel Estrada came to the United States and made a brilliant success of himself, but he also happened to be conservative, and it wasn't clear how he stood on abortion. The uncertainty was enough for Senate Democrats to squash him like a bug, using constitutionally dubious means to deny him a judgeship. ".Sixty votes are needed to break a filibuster, so the Senate's constitutional advise-and-consent role no longer means using a majority vote to block someone demonstrably unqualified for the role. A minority of 41 can stop a nominee, thus weakening the presidential prerogative of nomination. "...Shame on the Democrats, but shame on the Republican senators and the White House, too. The Republican senators could have changed the filibuster rules on judicial nominees while keeping them intact elsewhere, or, as one writer advised, they could have insisted on a real filibuster, not this new kind in which no one actually stands up and talks for hours before the Senate in a test of endurance and political guts." - Columnist Jay Ambrose *************************************** Frist Still Hesitates to "Go Nuclear" "Senate Republicans remain unwilling to openly embrace drastic measures to force confirmation of President Bush's judicial nominees, even in the wake of losing the high-profile battle over Washington lawyer Miguel A. Estrada. Asked if he would support using parliamentary procedures to force confirmation of filibustered nominees in the future, Majority Leader Bill Frist, Tennessee Republican, gave only murky responses. 'We still have many options,' he said. "...Among those options Mr. Frist skirted is the so-called 'nuclear option,' where a bare majority of 51 Republicans could force a change in Senate rules to eliminate the filibusters Democrats waged against Mr. Estrada and continue to wage against two other federal court nominees." - Washington Times, 9/7/03 *************************************** BRUSHFIRE ALERT: Tell Sen. Frist to "Go Nuclear" Republicans have been telling us since the Democrats started this judicial filibuster crud not to worry; they have a plan. Yeah, well the plan stinks. We just suffered our first major casualty, Miguel Estrada, due to this wimpy "plan." Diplomatic measures have been a complete failure. It's time for Senate Majority Leader Frist to drop the legislative "big one" on Hillary Clinton & Company to rid them of their weapon of mass obstruction. Call today...and tomorrow...and the next day, if necessary...and urge Sen. Frist to "go nuclear." Get all the details - including phone and email addresses - from the "Brushfire Alert" page at www.citizenoutreach.com *************************************** U.N. Fan Club "As members of the U.N. Fan Club, liberals contend that United Nations peacekeepers can stabilize Iraq better than the U.S. military. They believe Kofi Annan is more committed and better equipped to defeat terrorism than President Bush, and they want the U.N. Security Council, not the U.S. Congress, to be the final arbiter on sending American troops into war. "Sensing opportunity, Democrats are carping louder for their U.N. buddies to take over Iraq. The head of the U.N. Fan Club is presidential hopeful and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, whose condemnation of Iraq's liberation knows no bounds. Mr. Dean appeals to a fringe group of Bush haters, professional protesters and cyber-bums, who have only contempt for their country and its defenders." - Columnist Oliver North *************************************** Know Thy Enemy "President Bush should stop saying the terrorists hate freedom. They do not think that way. They believe their twisted religion and evil application of it are true freedom - for them and for all who worship their angry and hard-to-appease god. They see us as living in decadent bondage. ".While we argue about the place of God in U.S. society, our enemies are not so conflicted. They believe their god wants us dead. No amount of munitions, money and Marines is going to stay these fanatics from their ordained rounds. To them, death is victory. To us, it is tragedy. They are counting on us not wanting to die. They welcome death as a promotion. They believe we will cut and run if they can spill enough of our blood. We regard our blood as precious. They see theirs as the currency of martyrdom." - Columnist Cal Thomas *************************************** Taking the Battle to the Enemy "Imagine the date is Sept. 12, 2001. Ask yourself this question: Are you willing to bet that two years will pass and there will not be another terrorist attack on American soil? I will wager that there is not one person reading this column who would have made that bet two years ago. "There is only one reason for this relative security that Americans enjoy. It is not that the terrorists have given up their violent agendas or their hatred for us. They have not. . . . There is one reason - and one reason alone - that Americans have been safe for the almost two years since the September 11 attacks. "That reason is the aggressive war that President Bush and the U.S. military have waged against international terrorism and its 'Axis of Evil.' The war on terrorism has been fought in the streets of Kabul, Afghanistan, and Baghdad instead of Washington and New York. By taking the battle to the enemy camp, by making the terrorists the hunted instead of the hunters, Mr. Bush and the U.S. military have kept Americans safe. "...Now we are engaged in a war to drive the enemy into the ground. We have taken or killed half of al Qaeda's leadership; we have destroyed the regime of Saddam Hussein - harbor to terrorists and sponsor of suicide bombers - and captured or killed 42 of its top 55 leaders." - Columnist David Horowitz *************************************** Tuesday Night on Always Right In recognition of the second anniversary of the 9-11 terrorist attacks, my guest this week will be Cliff May of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (www.defenddemocracy.org) to discuss the ongoing war on terrorism, the status of the Iraq war and America's Middle East foreign policy as a whole. Cliff is a veteran reporter and former foreign correspondent. He also did a stint at the Republican National Committee as its Director of Communications. He holds masters degrees from both Columbia University's School of Public and International Affairs and its School of Journalism. In addition, he holds a certificate in Russian language and literature from the University of Leningrad. His opinion columns are published in newspapers all across the country and he regularly appears on radio and television news shows. Tune in Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. EST (or catch the re-run at 11:00 p.m. EST) for "Always Right with Chuck Muth" featuring Cliff May. The link to listen in is... http://www.theotherradionetwork.com/srv1.asx You can catch previous interviews on "Always Right" by visiting our archives at www.CitizenOutreach.com *************************************** 911 and the Pledge "September 18, 2001 was the first court hearing-day after the 9-11 attack. I am just a county judge in a metro Atlanta suburb and decided from that day forward to reinstitute the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of every court day...and we have done so ever since. Surprisingly, I found out that almost no court in the country opens with the Pledge...and I was even asked by attorneys if we were still allowed to do so. From my research we still are...and we even say the 'under God' part <g>. "I think that this is a tradition that needs to be rekindled and if you deem it worthwhile, I would solicit your assistance in calling for every court in America holding hearings on September 11 to open with the Pledge of Allegiance. This seems like such a small thing...but it was a couple of weeks after 9-11 before I could do this without fighting back tears, and I suspect this anniversary will be no different." - Charles Robertson, Chief Judge, Cherokee County Georgia Magistrate Court *************************************** Baby, You Can Drive My Car "(California) Gov. Gray Davis signed a bill granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants and told cheering supporters, many of them waving flags from Central American countries, that they should be able to drive to jobs. "...A group of conservative Republicans, including gubernatorial recall candidate Sen. Tom McClintock, planned to launch a ballot initiative to overturn the law, said Jeff Evans, a spokesman for a group called Save Our License. (Arnold) Schwarzenegger also said he would work to repeal the law if Mr. Davis is recalled and voters chose the Republican actor to replace him." - Associated Press, 9/7/03 *************************************** It's the (Good) Economy, Stupid "August was supposed to be a bad month, but stocks rose anyway. September is supposed to be the worst month of the year, but stocks are surging anyway. When will the bears wake up and smell the coffee? We're in a bull market. It has legs." - Economics columnist Lawrence Kudlow ************************************** Democrats Blocking Road Out of Poverty "Welfare rolls continue to shrink, but don't expect to hear Republicans get any credit for the reform they championed and eventually pressured Bill Clinton to sign into law in 1996. Just about the only topic that unites the entire motley crew of Democratic presidential aspirants is the claim that George W. Bush and Republicans in Congress are leading the nation to disaster, both economically and militarily. "...The successful welfare reform of 1996, known as the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, or TANF, expired last year. And although passed by the House, Senate Republicans have not been able to deliver passage in the upper chamber. Last week, Assistant HHS Secretary Wade F. Horn pushed for an update of the TANF law, saying, 'We know that full-time work is the best route out of poverty.' Democrats, however, are standing in the way." - Washington Times editorial, 9/7/03 ************************************** Ropewalking: THIS TUESDAY NIGHT! Eat, Drink & Be Merry! Borrowing an idea from Ben Franklin, the first get-together of the Charm City Junto will convene for food, libations and stogies - mixed with a healthy dose of political networking and information-sharing next Tuesday, September 9th at the Ropewalk Tavern in historical Federal Hill in Baltimore from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. Open to anyone and everyone who wants to stop by. No formal program, no admission fee and dress is casual. Join fellow right-wing conspiratorialists as we plot the overthrow of Big Brother, cradle-to-grave nanny-state government! The Ropewalk is located at 1209 S. Charles Street. Just come to the antique bar in the back. There's a parking garage just a half block away near the Cross Street Market if you have trouble finding a spot on the street. The Ropewalk's phone number is (410) 727-1298. You can get directions from their website at: http://ropewalktavern.com ************************************** How to Subscribe If you know someone who might like to receive News & Views, you can sign 'em up at: http://www.chuckmuth.com/newsletter/ Published by Citizen Outreach Chuck Muth Editor/Publisher 611 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, #439 Washington, DC 20003-4303 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Citizen Outreach is a 501(c)(3) non-profit public policy organization and does not endorse candidates or lobby for specific legislation. The opinions and views expressed in Chuck Muth's News & Views reflect those of the writers, editors and columnists therein and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Citizen Outreach, its officers, directors or employees. To be REMOVED, go to: http://www.chuckmuth.com/remove/default.cfm and complete the removal request instructions you'll find there. Or send your request to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # #
