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********************************* Our Friends the French "France cynically sees inspections not as a way to disarm Iraq, but to disarm the United States." - James Phillips of the Heritage Foundation *********************************** Go Forth and e-Multiply If you know someone who might like to receive News & Views, you can sign 'em up at: http://www.chuckmuth.com. Also, occasionally, the automatic listserve we use will "bump" subscribers off the list if your mailbox is full or experiences some other technical glitch. If you suddenly stop receiving News & Views, the first thing you should do is try to re-subscribe using the link above. ********************************* The One that DIDN'T Get Away "(Kahlid Sheikh) Mohammed's capture is...a direct rebuttal to the argument that the Bush Administration's focus on Iraq distracts from the pursuit of al Qaeda. The reverse is closer to the truth; the more we show we're serious about challenging states that harbor terrorists the more Pakistan and other nations are likely to cooperate with Washington in tracking down and turning over the terrorists." - OpinionJournal.com, 3/3/03 *********************************** Tortured Logic OK. So this guy Kahlid Mohammed is big. And if information can be extracted from him fast enough during interrogations, other big, bad guys could well be nabbed and other terrorist plans may be thwarted. "It's a huge opportunity," an unidentified Western diplomat tells the London Daily Telegraph, "but it has to be done quickly." Now let's turn to Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV, West Virginia Democrat. "This arrest is as big or bigger than bin Laden, because this man was the brain (of al Qaeda)," he told CNN on Sunday. "This is the guy who is behind everything." But Sen. Rockefeller also told CNN that, "We do not sanction torture." Um, in this case, why not? ************************************ Ready...Aim.Aim...Aim.Hello??? "The time has come for the president to publicly declare that it is the decision of the United States government to lead an invasion of Iraq with the intent to change the regime as soon as our military is prepared to successfully carry out the mission. . . . Further delay only strengthens the political opposition around the world and at home. . . . Fundamentally, now is the time when power must replace persuasion. The president must guard against letting prudence and patience turn into dithering and indecision." - Washington Times editorial, 3/3/03 *********************************** Turkey Fritters "Stock prices in Istanbul tumbled by more than 12% yesterday on the surprising news that Turkey's parliament had rejected the use of the country (and about $15 billion in aid) as a staging area for U.S. troops preparing to invade Iraq. Investors realize that the Turkish political elites have thoroughly botched this one. Unless reversed in a later vote, the decision will damage U.S.-Turkish relations for years to come. "...As for the U.S., the lesson here is that further delay in starting the war is only giving the opposition more openings to interfere. American Democrats and the French were both out in force on the weekend pointing to the Turkish vote as a sign that President Bush should give Saddam more time. And of course the Iraqis were delighted." - OpinionJournal.com, 3/4/03 *********************************** Kid Rocks ON THE ONE HAND: "Politicians and music don't mix. It's like whiskey and wine. We ought to stay out of (the debate over war in Iraq)." BUT ON THE OTHER: "We got to kill that (expletive) Saddam. Slit his throat. Kill him and the guy in North Korea." - Rock 'n' roll "redneck" Kid Rock in a column by Matthew Reid on FrontPageMag.com *********************************** Coming Soon on Pay-Per-View "Speaking of Susan Sarandon (and Sean Penn, Jeannine Garafolo, Barbra Streisand, etc.) --- why don't they put their considerable money where their mouths are and offer to go to Iraq and serve as human shields' to REALLY show their commitment to their position on war with Iraq? We could make it a television pay-per-view event with the proceeds going to fight for the 'rights' of the prisoners at Gitmo." - Political consultant Cheri Jacobus ************************************ Long Savings on Long Distance * Just 4.97 cents/minute (5.97 cents for some non-regional bell companies) * All state-to-state calls in the continental U.S. * Residential or commercial * 6-second billing increments after the first 18 seconds * 24 hours/day * 7 days/week * No access codes * No minimums * No activation fees * No monthly service charge unless your bill is less than $20.00 a month (then a $2.50 service charge will apply) * No need to change your local phone company * No hassles * Easy sign-up. * And a small portion of each bill goes to help continue publishing our FREE Chuck Muth's News & Views e-newsletter. Just go to <http://www.GOPLongDistance.com> today. *********************************** Airport Insecurity "I was reporting for a trip one morning at the same time a (National) Guard member was attempting to get through security to take up his post just inside the concourse. The screener made him put his weapon through the X-ray machine. I still can't figure out what they were looking for inside that gun ... another gun?" - Greg Zorbach, Southwest Airlines pilot, John McCaslin's "Inside the Beltway," 3/3/03 *********************************** Principled Partisanship "Partisanship is fine. But Republicans by and large don't suffer from blind loyalty or blind antagonism. They would think it irresponsible to the country. They will bolt on one of their own if he insists on a route they think is seriously wrong (the first Bush on taxes). They will kill his presidency if they conclude he is essentially destructive (it was his Republican base in Congress that ended Richard Nixon's career). "Recently it was Republicans who did in their own Senate majority leader because they would not accept a certain kind of nonsense. If George W. Bush begins to seriously compromise conservative political philosophy, or to behave in a manner grossly offensive in a leader, they will turn on him too. "The Democratic Party will now stick with its guy forever, no matter how harmful he is. Perhaps you call that loyalty, and perhaps there's something to it, but a bigger part, I believe, is that you have come to think that winning is everything--that victory is the PURPOSE of politics." - Columnist Peggy Noonan, OpinionJournal.com, 3/3/03 ********************************* Clamping Down on Voter Fraud "It usually surprises Americans that only 11 states require all voters to show ID. (They are Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia.) . . . . But attempts to impose identification requirements here run into furious objections that they would discriminate against poor and minority voters. "...Those who complain of disfranchisement fail to note that when someone casts a phony vote, everyone's right to vote suffers. Photo ID bills won't eliminate fraud entirely, but they discourage casual cheating and are a low-cost, low-maintenance way to make sure voters will continue to have confidence in elections.' - John Fund's Political Diary, 3/4/03 ********************************* The High Cost of Ambulance Chasing "According to a new study by Tillinghast-Towers Perrin, the total cost of the U.S. tort system reached $205.4 billion in 2001, an increase of 14.3 percent over the previous year - far faster than the rate of economic growth. This is like a tax of 2 percent on everything in the American economy that takes $721 per year out of the pockets of every citizen. This cost is paid in the form of bankrupt companies, reduced investment and jobs, higher prices for medical insurance and many other goods and services." - Columnist Bruce Bartlett *********************************** Subscribe Now to Litigation Nation Online The issue of lawsuit abuse is so critical and so big that we now publish a completely separate e-newsletter dedicated strictly to this subject titled "Litigation Nation Online." The newsletter is published weekly, with important, timely breaking news as it develops. If this is an issue of importance to you, subscribe to Litigation Nation Online at: http://www.chuckmuth.com/junklawsuits/ ********************************* Upcoming Grassroots Training Seminars Anything worth doing is worth learning how to do right... * March 15-16 - Montgomery, AL * March 15-16 - Munster, IN * March 22-23 - Houston, TX * March 22-23 - Olympia, WA * March 29 - Communications Workshop, San Diego, CA * March 29-30 - Knoxville, TN * March 29-30 - Baton Rouge, LA * April 12-13 - Jackson, MS Yours truly will be one of the instructors at the Munster, Houston and Knoxville seminar. Hope to see some of you there. For additional information, contact Matt Lewis at the Leadership Institute: (800) 827-LEAD ********************************* ********************************* 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/newsletter/ and complete the removal request instructions you'll find there. Or send your request to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # #
