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___________________________________ EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT... If you�re still sitting on the fence over whether or not it�s a good idea to give the FDA authority to regulate tobacco products, check out what Robert Levy of the Cato Institute has to say on the matter. Plus...a rock-and-roll megastar becomes a weenie over Ireland�s smoking ban...a Cincinnati bar owner becomes the first person to be found guilty of violating the city�s ban for having ashtrays on his premises and not posting �no smoking� signs...a new proposal to impose a statewide ban on outdoor smoking in California...a round-up of other ban proposals across the country...along with new efforts to nail tobacco users with tax hikes. All in the latest edition of �Smoke Screen,� which is posted on today�s News & Views EXTRA page at: http://www.chuckmuth.com/newsandviews/nv.cfm. _____________________________________ SURVEY SAYS! Steven Parish of cigarette maker Philip Morris recently told Congressional Quarterly that �The public wants more regulation� of tobacco. Do you support new FDA regulation of tobacco products? * Yes * No * Not Sure Cast your vote by clicking the �Survey Says!� tab at www.citizenoutreach.com MISSION IMPOSSIBLE �I was just thinking that Ted Kennedy should just shut the hell up...until, that is, he steps forward and explains why he did absolutely nothing while his girlfriend died in the back seat of his partially submerged car. How that pathetic cretin manages to maintain even an ounce of respect from the American public is all but impossible to explain.� - Talk show host Neal Boortz U.S. CAVES, SACRIFICES SOLDIERS TO U.N. �The United States yesterday abandoned its effort to have the U.N. Security Council extend a provision granting U.S. soldiers immunity from prosecution in the International Criminal Court. A reluctant Security Council had approved such immunity for U.S. forces on U.N.-approved missions in each of the past two years after the United States threatened to veto U.N. peacekeeping missions. The Bush administration refrained from such a move this time, saying instead it would consider its support for missions case by case.� - Washington Times, 6/24/04 INQUIRING MINDS WANNA KNOW About those soldiers who caused the flap over the Abu Ghraib prison abuses: Are they registered Republicans, as one has come to expect of military personnel...or are these moron misfits registered Democrats? Gee, with all the attention paid to this overblown story, you�d think the media could have come up with the answer to such a simple question by now. Or maybe they have...and just choose not to disclose it. Hmmm... ..AND THE HORSE YOU RODE IN ON, TOO CNN is reporting on a dust-up that occurred between Vice President Dick Cheney and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) which occurred during a Senate photo shoot yesterday. Leahy is a jerk...there�s just no nice way to put it. He�s leading the filibusters against the president�s judicial nominees and constantly twists the truth or outright lies to justify his actions. He�s also hammered away at Mr. Cheney�s former relationship with Halliburton, a company involved in a lot of the reconstruction work in Iraq. Recently, Leahy accused Halliburton of �war profiteering.� Apparently, at the photo shoot Cheney dressed him down for his scurrilous charge. At that point, Leahy said something about being accused of being anti-Catholic for his efforts to keep Catholic nominee Bill Pryor off the bench because of his religious views last year. According to CNN, Cheney replied with either, �f- - - off� or �f- - - yourself.� Bless Dick Cheney. THE REAL CLINTON LEGACY �In the 2002 elections, nine of Clinton's former subordinates ran for federal and statewide office - and seven lost. That same year, Clinton stumped for six Democratic gubernatorial candidates - and five lost.� - Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Dick Polman CROOKS-FOR-KERRY GOING DOOR-TO-DOOR �According to the Associated Press, a group that wants to get George W. Bush out of the White House is now paying convicts to sign up potential voters in at least three states -- and maybe as many as 17. America Coming Together told the AP that it believes felons deserve a second chance -- and therefore it is paying them to go door to door in Missouri, Florida, and Ohio, where they ask voters what issues are important to them; hand out information on voter registration; and sometimes collect personal information, such as telephone numbers and driver's license numbers.� - CNSNews.com, 6/24/04 STILL STIRRING THE STEM CELL POT �It's shameful. We're not talking about fetuses, human beings being killed. We're talking about collections of cells in a petri dish that are never ever going to be a human being." - Ron Reagan Jr., the former president�s son, speaking on �Larry King Live� on the Bush administration�s opposition to stem cell research RACE HUSTLIN� BREAD-AND-BUTTER �People sometimes ask if I have tried to convince black �leaders� to take a different view on racial issues. Of course not. I wouldn't spend my time trying to persuade the mafia to give up crime. Why should I spend time trying to convince race hustlers to give up victimhood? It's their bread and butter.� - Columnist Thomas Sowell A CONSERVATIVE ALTERNATIVE TO FMA �The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution...will address alternatives to the FMA (federal marriage amendment). The most noteworthy proposed alternative is court-stripping, an idea that lawmakers have considered on other issues - but never enacted - over the years. Rep. John N. Hostettler, Indiana Republican, has introduced a bill that would remove any federal court's right to review cases concerning the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, in essence limiting the debate over homosexual �marriage� to state courts. In Article I, Section 8 and Article III, Sections 1 and 2, the Constitution grants Congress the authority to establish inferior federal courts, determine their jurisdiction and make exceptions to the Supreme Court's appellate jurisdiction. Court-stripping long has been a constitutional, but controversial, policy idea.� - Washington Times editorial, 6/24/04 CHAMPIONING STATES RIGHTS 18-year-olds can pick up a ballot and vote. 18-year-olds can pick up rifle and shoot bad guys in Iraq. But 18-year-olds cannot legally pick up a Budweiser in a local bar anywhere in the country and down it. Go figure. Pete Coors says he�s not so sure if lowering the drinking age back to 18 from its currently mandated 21 is a good idea or not...HOWEVER...he does say such a decision should be made by the people of individual states, not by the federal government. And even though the feds didn�t declare a national drinking age of 21, it did extort compliance by the states in the 1980s by threatening to cut off highway funds if state legislatures didn�t do as the fed said. Coors says that was just plain wrong and �we should re-open the debate and let the citizens decide without bureaucratic intervention� by Big Brother in Washington. We�ll drink to that! E-POSTCARDS FROM THE FRINGE We received an email from a guy identified as Rex Curry yesterday titled, �Libertarians shine w/next pledge court case.� Mr. Curry expresses gratitude that the Supreme Court threw out the �under God� challenge to the Pledge of Allegiance on technical grounds...but only so he can file a new challenge hoping to ban the ENTIRE �totalitarian� pledge - not just the �under God� part. Now, get ready for the punchline: Curry actually writes, �The pledge is a great issue for Libertarians.� A �great issue�? Whatever he�s smoking, I�m pretty sure it�s still illegal in this country (even if it shouldn�t be). Although Curry has some valid points regarding pledge recitation, he�s nuts if he thinks the bulk of the American electorate will see this as anything but further proof that libertarians are pot-smoking kooks. �Great issue�? Pass the bong, dude. BAD MOON RISING The latest example of an Internet website driving �mainstream� news comes from longtime blogger Ron Gunzburger of Politics1. A couple weeks ago, Gunzburger jumped on what Fox News has called �one of the most bizarre incidents to take place on Capitol Hill in a long time,� a little-known event last March 23 in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in which Rep. Danny Davis (D-Illinois) participated in a ceremony crowning Unification Church cult leader Sun Myong Moon as the �Messiah� and �Returning Lord.� Seriously. We�re not making this up. If you�re not familiar with Moon�s religious work, here�s how he suggests men fight their sexual urges: �As a man, in your right front pants pocket is a small inside watch pocket. Keep pliers there, and when you go to the bathroom, once a day, pinch your love organ. Cut the skin a little bit as a warning. If your love organ does not listen to your conscience, then you should cut off the tip. Even if it takes that extreme measure, we have to make sure our mind and body become one�� And you simply will not believe the list of elected leaders, in addition to Davis, who are involved in this growing �Moonie� brouhaha...including our good friend Rep. Chris Cannon. The list includes prominent conservatives as well as hard-core liberals, and...get this...Libya�s Moammar Khadafy. Congressman Curt Weldon initially denied he was part of the event...until photos documenting his attendance �refreshed his memory.� In fact, Gunzburger�s website features a photo of Weldon giving Khadafy a �peace pin.� Gunzburger�s expose has since caught the attention of numerous �mainstream� publications, including the Washington Post, the Associated Press and all three of the major TV networks, which have now weighed in on the story, as well. The embarrassed elected officials are spinning like Tasmanian devils...especially Weldon. Wanna get the full scoop from the guy who got the ball rolling? Go to� http://www.politics1.com/blog-0604a.htm#crown1 ..and... http://www.politics1.com/blog-0604a.htm#crown2 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 SUBSCRIBE, just go to: http://www.chuckmuth.com/newsletter/ To be REMOVED, go to: http://www.chuckmuth.com/remove/default.cfm Or send your request to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To make a secure online contribution to Citizen Outreach, go to the �Donate� page at www.citizenoutreach.com.
