If you are unable to view html within your email program please use the following link to view Chuck Muth's latest News and Views: http://chuckmuth.com/newsandviews/nv.cfm To unsubscribe please visit: http://www.chuckmuth.com/remove X-ListMember: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
____________________________________ CHUCK MUTH'S NEWS & VIEWS February 19-20, 2004 Still trying to get caught up from the technical difficulties experienced earlier in the week, so here's a double issue for today and yesterday. We should be back on our regular publishing schedule by this weekend. Thanks for bearing with us. To view the HTML version of today's News & Views, just go to: http://www.chuckmuth.com/newsandviews/nv.cfm To subscribe, just go to: http://www.chuckmuth.com/newsletter/ _____________________________________ BLACKFACE SUSPECT NABBED "Campus police caught a student wandering around a dorm in blackface, reports the Daily Orange, the Syracuse University student newspaper. But the university's director of public safety, Marlene Hall, tells the paper the suspect offered an excuse: 'The student told officers that the face paint was camouflage--not blackface--and that he was actually on his way to rob a house, Hall said.' Only a burglar--what a relief!" - James Taranto, Best of the Web, 2/18/04 WHERE HAVE WE HEARD THIS BEFORE In response to a report that former President Bill Clinton was shopping the notion of Wesley Clark as John Kerry's running mate, Clinton replied, "I have not taken sides with regard to any of the candidates for president." Yeah, right. And he "did not have sex with that woman" either. KINDA LIKE COCKROACHES "We are not going away." - Howard Dean announcing his withdrawal from the Democrat presidential campaign, 2/19/04 THE BLACK WIDOW "Any Presidential candidate considering Hillary for Veep should remember just two words: Vince Foster." - News & Views reader Joe Kenney of Lander, WY FAT HEADS "You see who is campaigning with John Kerry? Ted Kennedy. Imagine those two giant heads coming down the street together. They must look like the Macy's Day Parade." - Tonight Show host Jay Leno WILL KERRY PULL A DOLE By the way, has anyone heard if John Kerry has been asked if he intends to give up his senate seat if he becomes the Democrat presidential nominee the way Bob Dole did after getting the GOP nod in 1996? NONE DARE CALL IT LEADERSHIP "(I)f you listen to John Kerry, you come away not knowing what to think. He seems like a man betwixt and between, unable to issue a clear statement about America's role in the world, and hence floating toward whatever is expedient at the moment." - New York Times columnist David Brooks BOTTOM LINE FOR 2004 "Consider the following hypothetical situation. In September 2005, the president is informed by his CIA director that they have concluded that there is a one in two chance that North Korea will transfer five nuclear bombs to Osama bin Laden within the next month, and that, after the transfer, despite our best efforts, the CIA judges that it is more likely than not that bin Laden will succeed in detonating at least one of them in a major American city, resulting in 1 million to 3 million deaths. Should the president consider taking pre-emptive military action? And let's assume that the president is named John Kerry." - Columnist Tony Blankley THE CLELAND FILE John Kerry has been using triple-amputee and former Georgia Sen. Max Cleland to beat up on President Bush over his National Guard service. Democrats are "clearly implying -- without stating -- that Cleland lost his limbs in combat," writes columnist Ann Coulter. However, "It is simply a fact that Max Cleland was not injured by enemy fire in Vietnam. He was not in combat, he was not -- as (Wall Street Journal columnist) Al Hunt claimed -- on a reconnaissance mission, and he was not in the battle of Khe Sanh, as many others have implied. He picked up an American grenade on a routine noncombat mission and the grenade exploded." Coulter has really stirred up a hornet's nest (some surprise there, huh?) with this one. Get all the details, including the true story behind Max Cleland's Vietnam War injuries, HERE: http://www.anncoulter.org/columns/2004/021804e.htm WHITE MEAT, RED INK "Politicians like to brag that they are beefing up the economy. Obviously, they don't know beef from pork!" - Zig Zigler BREAK OUT THE VETO PEN ".(President) Bush is rapidly growing the size and reach of the federal government. . . . Granted, the Democratic Party wants to spend even more. . . . Yet being slightly less reckless with the taxpayer's money isn't a responsible strategy for the GOP. . . . A veto of whatever inflated compromise highway bill comes out of Congress would begin a serious debate about government spending." - Former Delaware Gov. Pete du Pont, Wall Street Journal, 2/19/04 STOP THE DAMNED WHINING "My sermon yesterday on the great jobs debate really rubbed some folks the wrong way ... especially those who have lost jobs to overseas competition. The last thing they wanted to hear was that these jobs were not theirs ... that they belonged to the employer and that the employer could damn well do what he wanted with them. Yesterday's email offerings called me everything ... monster, idiot, f***ing moron, nazi, fascist .. you name it. "OK, whiners. Let's go to the bottom line here. So, you don't have a job. Well, guess what? MOST Americans DO have jobs. Most Americans are working, earning a living, providing for their families, planning for the future, saving money, putting their children through college, and just generally living large. But YOU'RE not. MOST Americans have jobs. YOU don't ... and you can't see that the problem here is YOU? "Stop whining ... stop demanding the government save you from your own decisions ... and stop blaming your situation on someone else ... including the president. Grow up, suck it up and get out there and fight. You own you, nobody else does. If you own you then you are responsible for you. Accept the responsibility and knock off the damned whining." - Talk-show host Neal Boortz OOPS "President Bush signed a prescription-drug act two months ago that is actually hurting his popularity instead of boosting support from the elderly as intended. . . . Mr. Bush finds himself under fire from two directions on the health care issue. Democrats say the Medicare plan doesn't do enough to defray prescription expenses for retirees, and Republican critics call the drug benefit an unprincipled bid to buy votes in November." - Ralph Hallow, Washington Times, 2/18/04 ABOUT THOSE CHEAP CANADIAN DRUGS Experts from the U.S. FDA and from Canada will outline the economic and policy impact of imposing price controls on prescription drugs at a National Press Club forum in Washington on February 24 from noon to 2 p.m. (lunch provided). They will discuss why importing drugs from other countries puts patients at risk, and elected officials will explain why price controls and importation create more problems than they solve. For more information or to RSVP, call Sonia Hoffman at (703) 912-5742. DEPENDS ON YOUR DEFINITION OF "REFORM" Postmaster General John Potter sat down for an extensive interview with DM News to discuss the recommendations of the President's Postal Reform Commission last year. "I think the postal service needs legislative reform," said Potter. "The fact of the matter is we are competing with the Internet when it comes to bills and payments and other traditional First-Class correspondence." Sounds good so far. Just about all of us recognize that in this Internet age, it's natural that some significant reform is called for by this government-controlled monopoly. But it's the kind of "reform" that Potter is advocating that ought to concern us. One such reform includes raising "prices on products that don't have a big margin today to get more margin out of them." Uh-oh. In addition, Potter doesn't want to "change benefits" which might stir up the postal unions. So "reform" in Potter's mind is raising prices without cutting labor costs. Sounds like a typical government plan to us. (You can read the full interview on the "News" page at www.postalreform.com) CONSENSUS: USPS NEEDS MAJOR FIXIN' "As the long-simmering issue of postal reform heats...corporations that rely on the postal service...are watching warily and are also trooping to the Hill to testify. 'There is now an unimpeachable consensus that, without reform, the Postal Service and all the businesses that rely on it are going to be put in great peril,' says Gene A. Del Polito, president of the Association for Postal Commerce... "Why the consensus? The Postal Service, which employs 729,000 and has annual revenue of $69 billion, has had a rough go of it lately. A recent report from the General Accounting Office noted that for fiscal 2003, total mail volume declined for the third year in a row, while first-class mail volume dropped 3.2%. The latter, which covers two-thirds of the Postal Service's costs, is projected to further decline in coming years." - Forbes.com, 2/18/04 ILLEGAL CHUTZPAH "I am totally illegal," declared unemployed 25-year-old illegal alien Zayd Torres who lives in Montgomery County, Maryland, and who participated with about 100 others in a protest at the capital in Annapolis over a series of bills which have been introduced to crack down on illegal aliens. Delegates Pat McDonough and Rick Impallaria have introduced five bills focusing on the problems of illegal aliens in the state, including a requirement that local police arrest illegal aliens and turn them over to federal authorities. According to the Washington Times, "Most of the protesters" who showed up opposing the bills "spoke only in Spanish." Wow, there's a sure-fire way to win over English-speaking citizens to their cause, huh? STORMING THE SHINING CITY'S WALLS "Yes, America is a nation of immigrants, but blurring the distinction between those who came here legally and those who scoff at our laws is a serious error. Millions of newcomers who have played by the rules have earned our support and our respect; those who ignore or violate the rules deserve neither. "We agree wholeheartedly with...support for policies designed to speed the assimilation of new arrivals. Ours is not a nation built on ethnic or religious homogeneity, but on shared ideals and a common language. We agree fully with President Reagan's famous metaphor of the 'shining city on a hill.' It is a magnificent vision that reaffirms deep American values. Yet (people) should read Ronald Reagan's words more carefully. He said that 'the doors' of this city must remain open. He did not say that people are welcome to bypass the doors and climb the walls." - Statement by Rep. Tom Tancredo, Michael Reagan, Bay Buchanan, Victor Davis Hanson, David Keene, Michelle Malkin, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, Phyllis Schlafly and Paul Weyrich, Wall Street Journal, 2/17/04 BABY BRO' WEIGHS IN, TURNS OFF "Here is your concrete proof that this threat (that conservatives might stay home in November) is real. I am currently not planning to vote for a Democrat (duh!), but I am not going to vote for Bush either. I choose to abstain. The Republican revolution died in Congress years ago, but Bush has shoveled the last bit of dirt on top of it. He proposes more spending than even Clinton could have wanted, he won't hold the GOP Senators accountable for not passing his judicial nominations even when we have the majority and he is willing to overlook the rule of law regarding illegal immigrants to pander to Hispanics. This isn't a Republican of principles. "A non-vote means a vote for Kerry? So be it. The GOP will still control Congress and I'd prefer any sort of gridlock with Congress compared to this ridiculous state of affairs when we control both Houses of Congress and the White House." - Greg Muth, the editor's younger brother ALL WE WANT IS YOUR MONEY; IF WE WANT YOUR OPINION WE'LL ASK FOR IT "Dear Chuck: I received another fund raising call from the RNC asking for my support. I told them that I would not give them another red cent as long as Bush supported amnesty for illegals and continues to expand socialistic programs like Medicare. I got part the way through my 'speech' and THEY HUNG UP ON ME!!!!!! The nerve....they called me, and didn't even want to hear what I had to say........go figure. I bet they're getting a lot of angry responses to their fundraising calls." - Betty Male, Export, PA __________________________________________ WINNING "HOW TO" CAMPAIGN REPORTS Quick, down-and-dirty "how to" reports on specific aspects of political campaigns and grassroots organizations. Written primarily for beginners with little or no experience, but certainly chocked full of tidbits and hot tips to benefit even the most seasoned political pro. Generally 8-16 pages of A-Z, step-by-step instructions to gain more votes, more money and more volunteers for your political activities and/or campaign. Don't expect fancy packaging with a lot of bells and whistles. Just solid, up-to-date, easy-to-understand how-to information you can put to use IMMEDIATELY. Nobody provides better, more useful, practical information as quickly and inexpensively as these babies. Stock up. Build a library. Heck, become a bona fide political guru yourself! Go to http://chuckmuth.com/specialreports.htm to check out our ever-growing library of winning publications! _______________________________________ GAY MARRIAGE ALERT The issue that just won't go away; however, I know many of you just don't want to hear about it. If so, stop reading now. The remainder of this edition of News & Views covers recent developments on the gay marriage issue... LET THE PEOPLE DECIDE? At a press conference on Wednesday, President Bush said, "Marriage ought to be defined by the people not by the courts." Fine. Now. What if the PEOPLE of a given state, through their elected legislature or ballot referendum rather than a court, decide that they DO want to recognize gay marriages? Would the president respect and support that decision by the PEOPLE of that particular state? If so, then how can he support a federal marriage amendment which would take that decision AWAY from the people of a given state? Hmmmm. WHAT'S THE RUSH? "Last year, President Bush indicated he would support a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage only 'if necessary.' It's not necessary, but Mr. Bush is now set to support one. It's dismal, divisive politics. . . . The Massachusetts decision does not force Mr. Bush's hand. A long legal process will unfold once homosexual from around the country begin marrying in the Bay State and seek to have their unions validated at home. There will be state court contests, state Supreme Court rulings and, eventually, a test of whether the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) trumps or is trumped by the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the Constitution. . . . A ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court would be years away - probably after Mr. Bush has completed a second term - if he wins one." - Columnist Morton Kondrake YOUNG CONSERVATIVES: GAY MARRIAGE INEVITABLE "A curious thing happens when talking to younger conservatives about gay marriage. While many of them think same-sex marriage is in some ways an incoherent notion, I haven't come across any who think that gay marriage will not at some point be permitted. What's more, many of them are not particularly distraught at the prospect." - Columnist Nick Schultz, TechCentralStation, 2/20/04 POLITICAL HYPOCRISY? WE'RE SHOCKED! "The simplest solution to the controversy over gay marriage, and the one most respectful to this country's tradition of separating church and state, would be to institute civil unions for everyone, in place of marriage. Marriage is, as its traditionalist defenders say, a 'sacred' institution. But for that reason it should be protected by churches, synagogues and mosques, and not by the state. "...It is hard to avoid the impression that the politicians and activists who make such a fuss about the 'threat' of same-sex marriage are in fact playing to bigotry, hoping to make gains from a widespread irrational dislike of a small population. It is especially hard to avoid this impression because, if people are really worried about the decay of heterosexual marriage, there is a much more serious threat they could be taking up: adultery, which also happens to be condemned by our traditions and history at least as strongly as homosexuality is. "Politicians serious about protecting heterosexual marriage should seek to bring back that prohibition and include it in the definition of marriage they want to enshrine in their 'defense of marriage' legislation. They won't touch the adultery issue, however, because a large number of their constituents, not to mention a large number of them, have committed adultery and don't want to be rebuked or penalized for it. But that simply shows how much the campaign against same-sex marriage is based on irrational hatred, not on deeply held moral or religious beliefs." - Associate professor Sam Fleishacker, San Francisco Chronicle, 2/18/04 'TIL SOBRIETY DO US PART "If (gay marriage amendments) were really about protecting marriage, they would be proposing a resolution not to recognize weddings performed at Las Vegas wedding chapels for people who've had just a bit too much to drink. Can we all agree that Britney Spears did more to undermine the institution of marriage in the 55 hours between when she said 'I do' and 'I don't,' than any gay or lesbian couple?" - Rev. Gene Robinson, the first openly gay Episcopal bishop THIS JUST IN: THE WORLD HASN'T ENDED "...The astonishing thing that opponents of gay marriage might keep in mind is that during the 1,000 gay I-do's in San Francisco, the world has not ended. It hasn't even changed much. It's the same dangerous place it was last Wednesday morning and all the mornings before that. . . . The republic remains intact as well. There have been no reports of battalions of high school kids storming out of class demanding to sign up as gay men or lesbians, no reports of people being dragged off the streets and being sold into homosexual slavery. The situation in Iraq remains about the same as it was before last week. The Democratic candidates for president continue to pound one another. There will be an election in November. The sun will rise tomorrow." - Columnist Jeffrey Page WINDY CITY MIGHT BE NEXT FOR GAY MARRIAGES "Mayor Daley said Wednesday he would have 'no problem' with County Clerk David Orr issuing marriage licenses to gay couples -- and Orr said he's open to a San Francisco-style protest if a consensus can be built. 'They're your doctors, your lawyers, your journalists, your politicians,' the mayor said. 'They're someone's son or daughter. They're someone's mother or father. . . . I've seen people of the same sex adopt children, have families. [They're] great parents. Some people have a difference of opinion -- that only a man and a woman can get married. But in the long run, we have to understand what they're saying. They love each other just as much as anyone else.'' "A devout Catholic, Daley scoffed at the suggestion that gay marriage would somehow undermine the institution of marriage between a man and a woman. 'Marriage has been undermined by divorce, so don't tell me about marriage. You're not going to lecture me about marriage. People should look at their own life and look in their own mirror. Marriage has been undermined for a number of years if you look at the facts and figures on it. Don't blame the gay and lesbian, transgender and transsexual community. Please don't blame them for it,' he said. - Chicago Sun-Times, 2/19/04 A COMPROMISE EVERYONE CAN LIVE WITH "The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is certainly constitutional, and amending the Constitution unnecessarily is a bad idea. But I grant that some federal judge might disagree with me and set off a national panic before being clobbered by the U.S. Supreme Court. So if the problem is the worry that federal judges will impose Massachusetts's gay marriages on the entire country, the way to take care of that would be to constitutionalize DOMA. "The sample wording I give in my book is: 'Nothing in this Constitution requires any state or the federal government to recognize anything other than the union of one man and one woman as a marriage.' "That's an ironclad guarantee that the states and federal government can all go their own ways, without any national court mandate. This is consistent with federalist principles. It's consistent with three centuries of marriage being in the states' purview. It keeps overweening federal judges out of the picture. (Activist state judges are the states' business, so long as no state can impose its own decision on others.) It prevents the polarization and culture war that nationalizing this debate will spark. It would be a cinch to enact, at least compared with the Federal Marriage Amendment sponsored by Musgrave et al. And it's in tune with what a majority of Americans are telling the pollsters -- namely, that this issue should be left to the states." - Author/columnist Jonathan Rauch, TechCentralStation, 2/20/04 _______________________________________ Chuck Muth's News & Views is published by Citizen Outreach, a non-partisan, 501(c)3 non-profit corporation. 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. Published by: Citizen Outreach Chuck Muth Editor/Publisher 611 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, #439 Washington, DC 20003-4303 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To be REMOVED, go to: http://www.chuckmuth.com/remove/default.cfm Or send your request to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To make a secure PayPal contribution to Citizen Outreach, click HERE: http://www.campaignsitebuilder.com/sitebuilder/templates/displayfiles/tmpl26.asp?SiteID=114&PageID=1737&Trial=false
