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********************************** Once a Meathead... "Rob Reiner opposes going to war without U.N support. Rob Reiner also opposes going to war with U.N. support. Rob Reiner indeed is a meathead." - Columnist and political strategist Arnold Steinberg *********************************** 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. ********************************** Petty Annoyance "It strikes me that the U.S. military not having Turkey as a base of operations from which to attack Iraq is like Tiger Woods breaking, say, his 6 iron in the middle of a round. Sure, it's an annoyance, but it's not his driver, putter or wedge. Realistically, it's a club he uses maybe three times a round, and with his game he has plenty of options. After all, he's still Tiger Woods. And Saddam is a left-handed hacker with rented righty sticks and no spikes." - Miguel Lecuona, Best of the Web, 3/3/03 *********************************** Making a Bad Situation Worse Many of us KNEW that taking airport security out of the hands of private contractors and making 56,000 airport screeners federal employees was a BAD idea. Nothing good could possibly come of it...and nothing has. Story after story continues to roll in on strip searches of little old ladies and teeny-tiny tots along with the confiscation of tie clasps and GI Joe dolls. But to make this bad situation worse, the American Federation of Government Employees, in open defiance of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) policy enacted by Congress, swore in its first group of airport screeners this week. The 13 renegade TSA employees took oaths to "be loyal and true" to the union, reported the Washington Times yesterday. Lovely. Just lovely. What's this gonna mean to the war against air travel? Likely that it will get much worse before it gets any better. The union mentality virtually assures it. For example, get this serious complaint lodged by screener Cynthia Cavalie at the union's dog-and-pony press conference on Monday: "I' ve received no training in the lifting of heavy and potentially dangerous luggage and cargo." Only a unionized government employee would need "training" on how to pick up a suitcase. Duh. Remember, folks. These are the people in charge of keeping you safe in the air. Be afraid. Be very, very afraid. *********************************** Guard, Reserves Making Big Sacrifices "Spring should be the busy season for the Brinkers' Columbia home improvement business. But instead of cashing in on the jobs that will come up as the weather improves, Lynn Brinker is calling customers to cancel thousands of dollars' worth of work. "It was less than five months ago that her husband, Sgt. Mark Brinker, an Army reservist with the 400th Military Police Battalion, returned from a year-long, post-Sept. 11 deployment to Fort Sam Houston in Texas. To get through that tour, Lynn Brinker cashed in savings bonds meant for the education of their three children, took out a bank loan and borrowed $15,000 from a relative. "Now, Mark has been called up again, this time for the impending war in Iraq, and she doesn't know what they're going to do. 'There is just no way we can make ends meet with him gone again,' she said. 'It's just ridiculous. We're in our forties, we've worked hard, and we didn't expect to have to be starting all over again like this.' "As the Pentagon continues to activate reserve and National Guard troops, some of the biggest sacrifices are being made on the home front. In addition to risking their lives, many soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines are risking their livelihoods, leaving civilian jobs that pay much better than the military. Families are selling second cars, canceling vacations and postponing paying bills as they steel themselves for drastic reductions in income." - Washington Post, 3/4/03 *********************************** Heads Are Gonna Roll "A Maine legislator (Rep. Michael A Vaughan) is investigating complaints that teachers harassed children of Maine National Guard members and says 'there should be some dismissals' if the incidents are substantiated. "...Guard members said their children had been told by teachers that war with Iraq was 'unethical' and, in one reported incident, a teacher told a Guard member's child in elementary school that 'daddy could die because that's what happens to soldiers.' "...Maine National Guard officials say they have collected 16 specific complaints, but are keeping those reports confidential and say they don't want a 'witch hunt' against teachers." - Washington Times, 3/4/03 ************************************ NEW! 4.75 cents-per-minute Long Distance * All state-to-state calls in the continental U.S. * Residential or commercial * 6-second billing increments * 24 hours/day * 7 days/week * No access codes * No minimums * No activation fees * Calling Card Rate is 10 cents per minute * No monthly service charge unless your bill is less than $20.00 a month (then a $1.99 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. ********************************* Hupp, Two, Three, Four If you are not yet familiar with Texas Rep. Suzanna Gratia Hupp...you should be. A leading champion of concealed carry legislation and "strict constitutionalist," Suzanna is a rising star in the Lone Star state who would do the nation a world of good in a congressional seat sometime in the future. For an update on her fortunes in the Texas legislature, go to: <http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dallas/politics/topstory/stories/03 0303dntexhupp.b5f44.html> *********************************** Whitehorn Speaks Laura Whitehorn, the woman who spent 14 years in prison for bombing the U.S. Capitol in 1983, delivered her much-publicized speech at Duke University on Monday. She denied being a terrorist because her definition of terrorism is the "purposeful targeting of civilians to force government to do something." She doesn't view the Capitol bombing to have been an act of terror because she didn't think it would change U.S. foreign policy. Which leads to the inevitable question: Then why did you do it? In response to a question from the audience asking why she didn't use non-violent means of protest, the terrorist replied, "I think it was because we were middle class and white and didn't have the elasticity of soul to rise above suffering." As James Taranto of "Best of the Web" remarked, "Does anyone have any idea what this means?" ********************************** The Politics of Mass Destruction "If you can't win the debate, smear your opponent. That's an old political trick that has been elevated by pressure groups to strategy No. 1." - Columnist and Fox News host Bill O'Reilly ********************************** Questioning Estrada Democrats filibustering the judicial nomination of Miguel Estrada have been complaining that the nominee hasn't sufficiently answered questions about his legal views. So the White House invited Senators to submit their written questions by last Friday, promising to answer them by Tuesday, March 4. Guess what? Not a single question was submitted by the complaining Democrats. Does this mean their objection is just a smoke-screen? Nah. They wouldn't play politics like that, would they? ********************************** Why Judicial Nominations Matter "Anyone who wants to know the stakes in the battle over judicial nominee Miguel Estrada can simply observe the ongoing spectacle of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Last week the 24-member court refused to overturn the decision last year by one of its three-judge panels declaring the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional because it included the words 'under God.' "...The Ninth Circuit is famous for being dominated by the kind of liberal judges much loved by Sens. Pat Leahy, Ted Kennedy and Dick Durbin. These are the Democrats now attempting to alter 200 years of precedent by establishing a new 60-vote Senate standard for confirming judges such as Mr. Estrada because he is allegedly 'out of the mainstream.'" - Wall Street Journal editorial ********************************* Hello, Knoxville! I've just been added to the faculty roster for the Leadership Institute training seminar in Knoxville on March 29, in addition to Munster and Houston. If you're in the neighborhood, I hope you'll join us. * 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 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. 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