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____________________________________ CHUCK MUTH�S NEWS & VIEWS March 20, 2004 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/ To reach our 7-day News & Views archive, go to www.citizenoutreach.com _____________________________________ OINK, OINK �I hate to say it, but the NIH (National Institutes of Health) is one of the best agencies in the world. But they've turned into pigs. You know, pigs! They can't keep their oinks closed. They send a senator down there [to] argue as if they're broke." - Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) on Sen. Arlen Specter�s (R-PA) proposal to boost NIH spending by $1.5 billion JOBS, JOBS, JOBS If you believe what Democrats are saying these days (in which case you ought to seriously consider putting down the bong or seeking professional help), then you believe that the February 2004 jobless rate of 5.6% is just...well, terrible. No, worse than terrible. The pits. And that means only one thing: Bush has got to go. Umm...let�s hop into the Wayback Machine, shall we Sherman? Set the date for February 1996. Bill Clinton is gearing up for his re-election effort. The jobless rate back then? 5.5%. Hmm. I don�t recall the Democrats clamoring for Bubba�s head because of such a miserable jobless rate back then. Wonder what the difference is now? MONKEY TRIAL COUNTY REVERSES COURSE �Yesterday we wrote about the Rhea County Commission's plan to block gay marriage from spreading into their community by criminalizing homosexuality and entirely banning gay persons from living in Rhea County (Tennessee). Only two days after the Rhea County Commission unanimously passed that resolution -- and in the face of a national firestorm of ridicule -- they met in a special session on Thursday to revisit their vote. In just minutes, they unanimously repealed their previous action with little public comment.� - Ron Gunzburger, Politics1, 3/19/04 A REAL MAN OF THE LITTLE PEOPLE �Sen. John Kerry sold his foreign mansion in Italy just weeks before he announced a run for the White House in January of 2003. Actor George Clooney purchased the stunning 18th-century mansion located in the Italian village of Laglio (50 miles north of Milan) from Kerry and his wife for $7,800,000. Clooney first learned about the listing from Brad Pitt, who had been holidaying with his wife, Jennifer Aniston, at Versace's compound nearby.� - The Drudge Report THEY DON�T CALL HIM �EFFING� FOR NOTHING �The image-conscious candidate (John Kerry) and his aides prevailed upon reporters and photographers to let him have a first run down the mountain solo, except for two agents and Marvin Nicholson, his omnipresent right-hand man. His next trip down, a reporter and a camera crew were allowed to follow along on skis--just in time to see Mr. Kerry taken out by one of the Secret Service men, who had inadvertently moved into his path, sending him into the snow. When asked about the mishap a moment later, he said sharply, �I don't fall down,� then used an expletive to describe the agent who �knocked me over.� " - New York Times report on Kerry�s snowboarding trip in Idaho HOME OF THE WHOPPERS �Hi Chuck! Just finished reading Thursday's News and Views and loved it as always.� Got a huge LOL from the story of John Kerry�s �VC�, the Flying River Hound, because it reminded me of a similar whopper once told by a fraternity brother of mine who could have bested the Gore/Kerry �oral tradition� in spades.� �This guy claimed that after a night of drinking in various bars along the Monterey, CA waterfront, he fell into Monterey Bay, where he was rescued by a dolphin, who somehow took hold of him and carried him across the bay to Santa Cruz, where he dropped him off on the beach at the foot of the UC Santa Cruz campus he attended!� The image of this drunken college boy being carried cross bay by one of Flipper's fellows is right up there with VC's aerial feat.� Have a good weekend and be well.� - News & Views reader Mike German BOSTON FOG REPORT �John Kerry�s unsteady leadership on Iraq is like the weather of his native New England. If you don�t like his position, wait a minute and it will change.� - Bush/Cheney campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt UNCLE TED�S PREDICTION �(The) prime minister of Spain paid a high price Sunday for supporting us in the (Iraq) war, and for misleading the Spanish people. President Bush is likely to pay a similar high price in November" - Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) HOW TO FIGHT TERRORISM �You fight it with helicopter gunships and artillery, not hot air at the United Nations.� - Talk-show host Neal Boortz QUEEN FOR A DAY �(John Kerry) said a lot of world leaders want him to be president. Then the Bush administration said, �Yeah, like who?� . . . The only name he could come up with: Queen Latifah.� - Late Show host David Letterman ONE OF KERRY�S FOREIGN SUPPORTERS Those secret foreign leaders who John Kerry says want John Kerry to beat George Bush in November are coming forward, starting with Spain�s new prime minister and latest inductee into the Axis of Weasels. Now another foreign leader has joined the Kerry cheerleading squad: Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. You remember Mahathir, don�t you? �In October 2003 at the Islamic Summit Conference,� reminds Talon News, �Mohamad gave a speech where he said that Muslims will �forever be oppressed and dominated by the Europeans and the Jews.� He also called on Muslims to unite against Jews towards a �final victory� and further added that �the Jews rule the world by proxy.�" Lovely. 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 how-to information you can put to use IMMEDIATELY.� Go to http://chuckmuth.com/specialreports.htm to check out our ever-growing library of winning publications! PRICE CONTROLS FOR DRUGS �Why not have price controls on pharmaceuticals? . . . Many Americans will remember the �energy crisis� of the 1970s, which began when Richard Nixon imposed price controls on energy in 1971 � everybody needs energy, right? � and ended when Ronald Reagan finally lifted those price controls in 1981. Since then, the price of energy has gone up and down, to be sure, but at least energy has always been available � with no more gasoline-pump lines. �And that's the problem with price controls on prescription drugs. (Sen. Ted) Kennedy (D-MA) and his crew don't like to mention the certainty that drug price controls will lead to drug shortages; they prefer to act as if pharmaceuticals grow on trees. But the root fact is that the pharmaceutical companies spend $30 billion each year on research and development. If Uncle Sam cuts down their prices, will they really continue to invest so much in the medicines of the future? Will they develop drugs that improve and save lives? The answer could be a matter of life and death for millions.� - Columnist James Pinkerton THE ONLY GOOD MONOPOLY IS A GOV�T MONOPOLY �Imagine an enormous company � an organization with the largest workforce of any U.S. company except Wal-Mart. Yet it doesn�t pay taxes, ignores SEC guidelines, and sells fraudulent products to consumers. It has a complete monopoly in its own industry and makes predatory raids into others. Now imagine that the Supreme Court declares this company can�t even be sued in a court of law. Well, guess what? This organization exists. It�s your friendly Postal Service.� - Sam Ryan of the Lexington Institute (http://www.lexingtoninstitute.org/postal/040315.asp) EU PICKING UP WHERE JANET RENO LEFT OFF �Microsoft Corp. failed in last-ditch talks to reach an accord on its business practices with European antitrust regulators and now faces rulings that could affect the way it sells software for an array of products, from servers now to mobile phones in the future.� The European Commission next Wednesday is expected to order Microsoft to offer computer makers a version of Windows without its Media Player multimedia software for sale to European consumers -- and that could lead to such a choice being offered world-wide. �The commission also is expected to require Microsoft to release enough new information about Windows to allow rival companies, including Sun Microsystems Inc. and Novell Inc., to make software that works as well in a Windows-dominated world as Microsoft's own software does. It also will likely levy its largest fine, widely expected to be at least $200 million to $300 million.� - Wall Street Journal, 3/19/04 GETTING THE MICRO-SHAFT After being hounded for years by Janet Reno�s (In)Justic Department, Microsoft now finds itself in the cross-hairs of the European Union. After settlement talks revolving around Microsoft�s media player broke down this week, it appears the EU will slam the software giant with a huge fine and other yet-to-be named sanctions. Is this just green-eye-shade jealousy by European weenies trying to make a name for themselves at the expense of a highly successful American company? Or is Microsoft really the devil dressed in a floppy disk? Is this Microsoft�s just desserts...or an international miscarriage of justice? Weigh in on our Discussion Board at: http://blog.chuckmuth.com/blog/ TAKING BAD HABITS BACK HOME Some time ago, Congress found a way to blow off all those pesky constituents who found email to be a quick and inexpensive means of communicating with their elected officials. Hey, if your congressman wanted your stinkin� opinion, he�d ask for it (just before ignoring it). Anyway, rather than actually receive, read and respond to easily submitted emails, congress-critters set up �web forms� on their websites, forcing people to visit their online propaganda machines and filling out a �form� in order to petition their government. Oh, yeah. And you MUST include a lot of personal information which can be recorded and tracked by Big Brother for future reference. Get ready to suffer similar indignities and roadblocks at the state and local level. For example, former Kentucky Rep. Ernie Fletcher was recently elected governor there. And just this week emails to the governor began getting kicked back with an auto-responder instructing the great unwashed to...yup, go to the governor�s website if they wish to communicate with his highness. �If you choose not to visit the site above,� says the notice, �we will not be able to receive your comments.� Well, of course they *could;* they�ve just chosen not to. This apparently isn�t the only bad habit the former congressman brought home after drinking the water in our nation�s capital for a few years. One of his first acts as governor has been to embrace the notion of raising the tobacco tax on Kentucky residents...proving once again: You can take the boy out of Washington, but you can�t take the Washington out of the boy. AMENDMENT MADNESS A dozen House Republicans introduced a bill last week which could allow Congress to overrule by a 2/3 vote a Supreme Court decision upholding the right to keep and bear arms, thereby amending the Constitution with no vote of the people through their state legislatures. This is the slippery slope we�re heading down with all this foolish talk about a federal marriage amendment. Read Neal Boortz�s entire column on this subject, including the names of the Dirty Dozen GOP�ers pushing this dangerous idea at: http://www.townhall.com/columnists/GuestColumns/Boortz20040319.shtml _________________________________________ HOT OFF THE PRESS New special report for candidates and party leaders: �One-on-One Fundraising: How to Raise Major Money from Major Donors.� You'll learn:� The six key rules to successful major donor fundraising, the two key groups novice candidates mistakenly turn to first which almost always lead to disappointment, the eleven traits of the typical conservative donor, the best and worst places to look for potential major donors, a dangerous legal trap your campaign better take steps to avoid, the two pieces of paper you must have before asking for your first major dollar, the Top Ten questions you better be prepared to answer from major donor prospects, the twelve most-common budget items for a typical campaign, an old salesman's rule that you should learn and perfect, how to overcome the biggest problem getting your foot in the door of Mr. Big, the single best use for a finance committee (Hint: it's NOT to raise money for you), the eight best types of people you want to have represented on your finance committee, the one thing you should always ask for AFTER you've gotten the donation and the single most important thing for you to NEVER forget. All for just $4.95. Go to: http://chuckmuth.com/specialreports.htm __________________________________________ 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, go to the �Donate� page at www.citizenoutreach.com.
