Silicon Valley Republican Women Federated

NEWSLETTER

www.svrwf.org * February 2006

 President: Doris Whitney – 408-997-0581 * 1^st VP & Program: Ellen Longworth * 2^nd VP & Membership: Nancy Wark * Treasurer: Carol Greenleaf * Newsletter Editor: Laura Riffle – 408-263-0990

♦ SVRWF is a Diamond Achievement Award Club ♦

All SVRWF luncheons and dinner meetings are held at the Ramada Inn Silicon Valley, 1217 Wildwood Avenue, Sunnyvale, California – Luncheon Meetings: Social 11:30am, Lunch 12:00 Noon – Dinner Meetings: Social 6:30pm, Dinner 7:00pm – Luncheon: $18.00 – Dinner: $20.00 – For reservations please call Louise Kinney at 408-739-4724 or Alice Wilson at 408-733-6352 or Doris Whitney at 408-997-0581

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

SVRWF Luncheon Meeting……………………………………………….                  February 2

Menu Choices:        California Chicken Breast with avocado, jack cheese and salsa or Broiled Dijon Pork Chop

Speaker:                  Jim Shore, Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney – One of three attorneys who work in the DA’s office, Mr. shore wants to establish and ethics panel to review standards used in the DA’s office.  If you have concerns about the prosecution of criminals, have your questions ready.

SVRWF Board Meeting…………………………………………………….February 9 

Lincoln’s Birthday……………………………………………………………February 12

Washington’s Birthday………………………………………………………February 22

Lincoln Day Event at the Computer History Museum (Santa Clara County GOP)... February 23

Northern Division Spring Conference in Rancho Cordova……………..............March 3^rd and 4^th

CFRW Advocacy Day at the Sacramento Hyatt Regency……………..............March 21

PRESIDENT’S LETTER

February is a busy month for holidays and activities with  President Abraham  Lincoln's Birthday (lst President elected from the newly founded Republican Party) and  President George Washington's Birthday (known as the father of our country).

Valentine's Day and the Super Bowl should also be included. SVRWF issues are:

FEBRUARY 2 - Regular luncheon at Ramada Silicon Valley.  Come vote on whether we should have evening meetings in June and September.  Committees announced.

FISHER HOUSE PROJECT - Bring items on list provided by Committee (Note: Items for the Fisher House Project should be brought to the March meeting instead of February as originally planned)

and SVRWF thanks Nancy Wark and her committee for their work. Please help support this program with items on the list or money.  Several other Federated clubs are joining in our support of the Palo Alto Fisher House. 

MEMBERSHIP is open to any woman registered to vote  as a Republican.  Associates are members of other Federated clubs or men. By-laws protect all the membership and no one speaks for the SVRWF except the president as stipulated by the by-laws  Officers and committees report to the president. It's pretty simple.  Many memberships are being mailed in and being processed by Nancy Wark, Membership Secretary.  

CALIFORNIA FEDERATION OF REPUBLICAN WOMEN will continue with the Military Wive's program for 2006-2007.  For those of you following the CFRW  Military Wives' Program, our dear friend and  Camp Pendleton Military Wife Coordinator  Karen Mendoza  lost her husband, Major Ray J. Mendoza, USMC on November 14, 2005 in Iraq.  The Mendoza family established an educational fund for the children (Kiana and Alek), and I will be glad to provide that information to you for contributions.

NORTHERN DIVISION's  Spring Conference is in  Rancho Cordova March 3-4.  I will be sending in the registration for SVRWF.  We're  always glad  to see our members attend.

I look forward to seeing you at our February 2 meeting and my best to you.

Doris Whitney, President, Silicon Valley Republican Women Federated  

Haven’t paid your dues yet?????  Please get them in!!!!

Political News Compiled by Eve Bretzke

NATIONAL / WASHINGTON, D.C.

President Bush's Radio Address to the Nation for January 7, 2006

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. As we begin 2006, we are hearing more good news about the American economy. This week we learned that our economy added 108,000 jobs in December and has added over 400,000 jobs in the last two months. Our unemployment rate is now 4.9 percent, lower than the average rate of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Our economy grew at more than 4 percent in the third quarter of 2005, and it has been growing at nearly that rate for two years. Productivity is high, consumers are confident, and more Americans now own their homes than at any time in our Nation's history….

"There can be no chasing of hidden paper trails in Judge [Samuel] Alito's case: He brings the most extensive record of any Supreme Court nominee in memory, with 300 written opinions and more than 3,500 cases judged in 15 years of service on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia. Last week, he earned a unanimous 'well qualified' rating from the liberal-leaning American Bar Association, the highest mark a Supreme Court nominee can get. Not everyone sees it this way—or, at least, not everyone is willing to agree that the facts are freely available and the issues are fully ready to be aired. There were reports late last week that Democrats intend to delay Judge Alito's vote yet again... Constitutionalists should welcome this battle; it is one constitutionalists can win. They can win because the facts are on their side. If reason cannot prevail over partisanship, Senate Republicans must be ready to use the nuclear option to prevent success of a filibuster. Judge Alito is entitled to hearings and an up-or-down vote. He is an exceptional candidate whose qualifications will cast petty partisan points as a cheap excuse for a real debate." —The Washington Times

How Alito explained his high regard for Bork / Dems tried to use his praise to show him in a bad light -- A year after Robert Bork's Supreme Court nomination was scuttled by the Senate, federal prosecutor Samuel Alito called Bork "one of the most outstanding nominees of the century.'' Eighteen years later, the comment must have seemed like a godsend to Democrats hoping to paint Alito as a reactionary unsuited for the high court. Bob Egelko San Francisco Chronicle -- 1/17/06

CALIFORNIA/ SACRAMENTO

Caveat on governor's budget plan / Experts say funding depends on strong real estate market -- After touting his budget plan to increase funding for education and transportation, the governor sounded a cautionary note. "It's important to remember, however, that our great good fortune is the result of a strong economy and a surging stock market. And anybody who follows the Dow, and particularly the Nasdaq, realizes how volatile these sources of funds are." Lynda Gledhill, San Francisco Chronicle -- 1/16/06

Two Influential Congressional Committee Chairs Endorse Steve Poizner (Sacramento) 01/17/06 - Today, nationally respected California Republican Congressmen Jerry Lewis and Richard Pombo both announced their support for Steve Poizner for Insurance Commissioner. Congressman Lewis is the Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, and Congressman Pombo is Chairman of the House Resources Committee.

PUBLIC SAFETY UPDATE

Recently, the Democrat-dominated Assembly Public Safety Committee approved legislation to thwart the will of the voters by passing a bill that would halt the death penalty. The death penalty legislation seeks to halt executions for three years, even though the death penalty initiative was approved by 71 percent of the voters. A 2004 Field Poll found that Californians still overwhelmingly support this ultimate punishment for the most heinous killers. Marc Klaas and Harriet Salarno – two parents who lost children to senseless murders – spoke out in favor of maintaining the death penalty, as did the attorney general and other prosecutors who know that capital punishment is fair and effective.  The bill now goes to the Assembly Appropriations Committee. – eNews from CA Assemblyman Kevin McCarthy, 01/17/06

School segregation growing in California, study finds -- California's schools are among the most segregated in the nation -- and they are becoming even more divided, with Latino and African-American students clustered together and isolated from whites, according to a study released this week by the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University. Lisa M. Krieger, San Jose Mercury -- 1/17/06

MORE NEWS…

While the Leftmedia and their liberal brethren continue to demonize the entire Republican Party as corrupt in the wake of the Jack Abramoff scandal, Demo poster child Hillary Clinton has been caught up in her own little corruption imbroglio. New York Senate 2000, a fundraising group from Clinton's 2000 Senate race, has agreed to pay a $35,000 fine for deliberately underreporting the cost of a star-studded Hollywood gala meant to raise money for Clinton's campaign that year. The crooked accounting attempted to hide over $700,000, but this story will be passed over by most print and TV managing editors. -- 06 January 2006, PatriotPost.US, Patriot No. 06-01

CULTURE

NBC is set to run its new series "The Book of Daniel," which the network claims is a serious drama about Christian life. One need only read the initial description, however, to see that it is anything but the usual defamatory garbage that is typical of Hollywood and the networks. Daniel Webster, the main character, is a drug-addicted Episcopal priest who regularly sees and talks with a rather unorthodox "Jesus" figure. His wife is an alcoholic, his 23-year-old son is a homosexual Republican, and his drug-dealing 16-year-old daughter is, shall we say, hooking up with her adopted 16-year-old brother, while Webster's lesbian secretary is hooking up with his sister-in-law. NBC's new series "The Book of Daniel" is the usual defamatory garbage that is typical of Hollywood. Network hype and the mainstream media predictably call the show "edgy," "challenging" and "courageous." -- 06 January 2006 ,PatriotPost.US , Patriot No. 06-01

EU Panel Calls For Protection of Assisted Suicide, 'Gay' Marriage, MichNews.com, Jan 9, 2006.  A statement issued by a European Union advisory panel attempts making assisted suicide, same-sex marriage and access to contraception to be among the "human rights" guaranteed to citizens of the EU.

QUOTED

"I personally would not get into categorizing precedents as super-precedents or super-duper precedents. Any sort of categorization like that sort of reminds me of the size of the laundry detergent in the supermarket." —Judge Alito

“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive...those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, or they do so with the approval of their own conscience.”-- C. S. Lewis  (1898-1963) British novelist. Author of “Chronicles of Narnia”

“If government is a steamroller, and that is in good part how I see it, the individuals who work in it are the atoms in the steel. The force of forward motion carries them along. There is inevitably an unaccountability, and in time often an indifference about what the steamroller rolls over. All the busy little atoms are watching each other, competing with each other, winning one for their little cluster. And no one is looking out and being protective of what the steamroller is rolling over--traditions, shared beliefs, individual rights, old assumptions, whatever is being rolled over today.”  ---Peggy Noonan

A Rather fawning question: "Do you, in some quiet moment, look forward to the time when maybe you fly on [Air Force One] in a different capacity, as First Husband?... We now have on television...a woman President of the United States. Is the country ready for a...real woman President as opposed to one on television?" —Dan "Rather" to Bill Clinton

"The Democrat Party has decided to express indignation at the idea that an American citizen who happens to be a member of al-Qa'ida is not allowed to have a private conversation with Osama bin Laden. If they run on that in 2008, it could be the first time in history a Republican president takes even the District of Columbia." —Ann Coulter

"'Shameful,' screams Mexico's President Vicente Fox, about the proposed extension of a security fence along the southern border of the U.S. 'Stupid! Underhanded! Xenophobic!'   The allusions to the Berlin Wall made by aggrieved Mexican politicians miss the irony: The communists tried to keep their own people in, not illegal aliens out. More embarrassing still, the comparison boomerangs on Mexico, since it, and not the U.S., most resembles East Germany in alienating its own citizens to the point that they flee at any cost." —Victor Davis Hanson

From the mouths of babes... Free Lewis "Scooter" Libby—turns out it was "The Kid"! As Valerie Plame and Joe Wilson were preparing to board a plane in Houston last week, one of their five-year-old twins outed mommy! "My daddy's famous, my mommy's a secret spy," declared the five-year-old. Sounds like grounds for a special prosecutor—we'll call it "Kindergate"!  --PatriotPost.US, Patriot No. 06-03

"Variety reported a disappointing Christmas box office Tuesday. Hollywood can only blame itself. When the plot lines include girl meets ape, two gay cowboys, and a singing and dancing Hitler, the Red States are just grateful to have football." —Argus Hamilton

PERSPECTIVE

POLITICAL BRIEFING 
National Federation of Republican Women,
January 16, 2006, Vol. 4, Briefing No. 2

Democrat Senators – Inaccuracies in Questioning Samuel Alito

Yesterday, the hearings of Samuel A. Alito Jr. to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States concluded. If one watched the hearings or listened to the news, it was clear that the Democrats launched into an uncalled-for, error-filled attack on Judge Alito, trying to mischaracterize his record. Their statements were filled with many inaccuracies. Below you will find evidence of such erroneousness.

Senator Edward Kennedy

The Statement:
Senator Kennedy Falsely Alleged Alito Supported A Theory Of Shifting Power From The Legislative Branch To The Executive Branch: “We Discussed Judge Alito's Expansive Views On Presidential Authority. He Distanced Himself From The Theory Of The So-Called Unitary Executive, One That Promotes Extremely Expanded Executive Power.” (Sen. Ted Kennedy, Committee On The Judiciary, Hearings On The Nomination Of Samuel Alito Jr. To Supreme Court, 1/12/06)

The Facts:
As Judge Alito Has Made Clear, “[N]o Person In This Country Is Above The Law…[T]hat Includes The President And It Includes The Supreme Court.  Everybody Has To Follow The Law, And That Means The Constitution Of The United States And It Means The Laws That Are Enacted Under The Constitution Of The United States…These Are The Gravest Sort Of Constitutional Questions That Come Up. And Very Often There They Don't Make Their Way To The Judiciary Or They're Not Resolved By The Judiciary; They're Resolved By The Other Branches Of The Government.”

The Statement:
Senator Kennedy Said Judge Alito Never Explained Why He Joined Concerned Alumni Of Princeton: “We Still Do Not Have A Clear Answer To Why Judge Alito Joined This Reprehensible Group In The First Place.” (Sen. Ted Kennedy, Committee On The Judiciary, Hearings On The Nomination Of Samuel Alito Jr. To Supreme Court, 1/12/06)

The Facts:
Judge Alito Has Also Been Very Clear In Describing His Limited Involvement In CAP. During Yesterday’s Hearings, Judge Alito Said: “[I]f I Had Participated In The Group In Any Active Way, If I Had Attended Meetings Or Done Anything Else Substantial In Connection With This Group, I Would Remember It….I Mentioned In Wracking My Memory About This, I Said, ‘What Would It Have Been, What Could It Have Been About The Administration Of Princeton That Would Have Caused Me To Sign Up To Be A Member Of This Group Around The Time Of This Application?’ And I Don't Have A Specific Recollection, But I Do Know That The Issue Of ROTC Has Bothered Me For A Long Period Of Time. The Expulsion During The Time Of The Units, At The Time When I Was A Student There, Struck Me As A Very Bad Thing For Princeton To Do. . . . And I Did Not Join This Group, I'm Quite Confident, Because Of Any Attitude toward Women Or Minorities."

The Statement:
Senator Kennedy Alleged That Judge Alito Has Failed To Give An Explanation For Why He Did Not Include Vanguard On His Recusal List And That Alito Did Not Take His Prior Pledge To The Committee Seriously: “He Says It Was An Oversight That He Corrected 12 Years After He Made That Promise. But Now We Know, From His Own Testimony And Records, That He Apparently Never Put Vanguard On The Recusal List, Even Immediately After His Promise To This Committee. He Has Failed To Give Us Any Plausible Explanation.” (Sen. Ted Kennedy, Committee On The Judiciary, Hearings On The Nomination Of Samuel Alito Jr. To Supreme Court, 1/12/06)

The Facts:
Judge Alito Has Made Clear That He Takes Recusal Extremely Seriously.  No Impartial, Fair-Minded Observer Of These Hearings Could Come Away With Any Impression Other Than That Judge Alito Is Serious Jurist Who Understands The Importance Of The Appearance Of Propriety.

The Statement:
Senator Kennedy Resurfaced The Canard That Judge Alito Rarely Rules For The "Little Guy": “And On The Cases He Decided, In Case After Case, We See Legal Contortions And Inconsistent Reasoning To Bend Over Backward To Help The Powerful. He May Cite Instances To Think That He Helped The Little Guy, But The Records Clear That The Average Person Has A Hard Time Getting A Fair Shake In Judge Alito's Courtroom.” (Sen. Ted Kennedy, Committee On The Judiciary, Hearings On The Nomination Of Samuel Alito Jr. To Supreme Court, 1/12/06)

The Facts:
Time After Time During This Hearing, Judge Alito And Other Senators Have Repeated Instances In Which Judge Alito Did Rule For The "Little Guy."  In Cases Involving Criminal Law, Discrimination Law, Employment And Labor Law, Immigration Law, And Others, Judge Alito Has Consistently Ruled For Plaintiffs Or Defendants As The Facts And The Law Demanded.

The Statement:
Senator Kennedy Said That Judge Alito Failed To Distance Himself From His “Opposition” To One Person, One Vote: “He Didn't Back Away From His Criticism Of The Principle Of One Person, One Vote.” (Sen. Ted Kennedy, Committee On The Judiciary, Hearings On The Nomination Of Samuel Alito Jr. To Supreme Court, 1/12/06)

The Facts:
Judge Alito Has Stated That The Principle Of One-Person, One Vote Is A Bedrock Principle Of American Constitutional Law.  He Has NEVER Taken Issue With The Principle, Even In His 1985 Memo.

The Statement:
Senator Kennedy Chided Judge Alito For Not Distancing Himself From His Views On Abortion As Expressed In His 1985 Job Application: “Judge Alito Tried To Distance Himself From The Ideological Views And Legal Opinions Expressed In The '85 Job Application To The Reagan Justice Department.” (Sen. Ted Kennedy, Committee On The Judiciary, Hearings On The Nomination Of Samuel Alito Jr. To Supreme Court, 1/12/06)

The Facts:
Judge Alito Has Been More Forthcoming In Answering Questions - Many Of Which Were Pointed, Personal, And Hostile - Than Any Recent Nominee To The Court.  This Includes Responding To Questions Regarding The 1985 Job Application.  Judge Alito Candidly Stated That The Application Was A Correct Statement Of His View At The Time.  Judge Alito Could Not Have Been More Forthright

Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY)

The Statement:
Senator Schumer Misleads On Unitary Executive Power: “You Arrived Before Us This Week With A Record. … It's A Record That Suggests You Believe In An Executive Branch So Powerful That It Would Trump Other Branches Of Government.” (Sen. Charles Schumer, Committee On The Judiciary, Hearings On The Nomination Of Samuel Alito Jr. To Supreme Court, 1/12/06)

The Facts:
As Judge Alito Has Made Clear: “[N]o Person In This Country Is Above The Law....[T]Hat Includes The President And It Includes The Supreme Court.  Everybody Has To Follow The Law, And That Means The Constitution Of The United States And It Means The Laws That Are Enacted Under The Constitution Of The United States....These Are The Gravest Sort Of Constitutional Questions That Come Up. And Very Often There They Don't Make Their Way To The Judiciary Or They're Not Resolved By The Judiciary; They're Resolved By The Other Branches Of The Government.

The Statement:
Senator Schumer Makes Inaccurate Statements On Judge Alito Ruling For The “Little Guy”: “You Arrived Before Us This Week With A Record. … It's A Record That Makes You Appear All Too Willing To Curtail The Ability Of Congress To Look Out For The Little Guy And A Record In Which You All Too Often Seem To Reach For The Legal Theory That Allows You To Side With The Large And Powerful When Average Americans Are Touched By This Crushing Hand Of Fate Need The Most Help.” (Sen. Charles Schumer, Committee On The Judiciary, Hearings On The Nomination Of Samuel Alito Jr. To Supreme Court, 1/12/06)

The Facts:
Time After Time During This Hearing, Judge Alito And Other Senators Have Repeated Instances In Which Judge Alito Did Rule For The "Little Guy."  In Cases Involving Criminal Law, Discrimination Law, Employment And Labor Law, Immigration Law, And Others, Judge Alito Has Consistently Ruled For Plaintiffs Or Defendants As The Facts And The Law Demanded.

The Statement:
Senator Schumer Misleads On Abortion: “You Arrived Before Us This Week With A Record. … It's A Record That Contains Evidence That You Believe The Constitution Does Not Protect A Woman's Right To Choose.” (Sen. Charles Schumer, Committee On The Judiciary, Hearings On The Nomination Of Samuel Alito Jr. To Supreme Court, 1/12/06)

The Facts:
Judge Alito Has Been More Forthcoming In Answering Questions - Many Of Which Were Pointed, Personal, And Hostile - Than Any Recent Nominee To The Court.  This Includes Responding To Questions Regarding The 1985 Job Application.  Judge Alito Candidly Stated That The Application Was A Correct Statement Of His View At The Time.  Judge Alito Could Not Have Been More Forthright.

What You Can Do

It is important, as members of the National Federation of Republican Women, that we set the record straight so that his nomination will be brought to the Floor for an up-or-down vote on January 20, 2006.  As we go to print with the February 2006 newsletter, this Supreme Court Confirmation is in process and we need our members to continue their active support of Judge Samuel Alito.  You can help by:

·          Writing a letter to the editor regarding this issue. Media contacts can be found at www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/media/

·          Calling your senators and asking that they support an up-or-down vote and that they come out against a filibuster, should one occur? To find phone numbers, visit www.congress.org, or call (202) 224-3121 to reach the U.S. Capitol operator.

Sources:
www.frist.senate.gov, www.nfrw.org/programs/issues/briefing/2006/print/0116.htm

NEW!  California 2006 Legislation Update

Source: Capital Resource Institute, Sacramento, CA

AB 606 – Indoctrination Not Education – Assemblymember Levine

Position: Oppose

Analysis: This bill would require school districts to enact a policy prohibiting discrimination and

harassment based on actual or perceived gender identity and sexual orientation. School districts

would also be required to take specified actions to increase awareness, prevent, and ensure

appropriate responses to incidences of discrimination or harassment. If a school district fails to

comply, and a complaint is filed, the State Superintendent has unlimited discretion to withhold

all or part of the state funds received by the school district. This bill would also require the

California Department of Education to display information on training and resources to combat

bias-related discrimination and harassment. This bill would, additionally, repeal current

provisions in the law (the California Student Safety and Violence Prevention Act of 2000) stating

that specified discrimination or harassment instructional materials are not required to be included

in public school programs or activities. In other words, curriculum read by young school

children would be required to contain information on accepting homosexuality. We all agree

that violence on a school campus is unacceptable. However, rather than dealing with specific

incidences of violence, this bill is designed to teach children that homosexuality is normal and

acceptable. This infringes on the religious convictions of many parents and students.

Furthermore, giving unlimited discretion to the superintendent to withhold funds is too much

power. It should be up to the courts to determine whether the conduct of a school board is in

compliance with state law. AB 606 would essentially force school districts to do whatever the

superintendent desires when it comes to pushing pro-homosexual curriculum.

Status: Assembly Appropriations Committee

AB 651 – Physician Assisted Suicide – Assemblymembers Berg & Levine

Position: Oppose

Analysis: This bill would legalize Physician Assisted Suicide (PAS), similar to that which is

already in place in Oregon. It is entitled the “California Compassionate Choice Act” and permits

an adult who is suffering from a terminal illness to make a request for medication for the purpose

of ending his/her life. This bill is one more step toward creating a culture of death. It woefully

fails in providing adequate safeguards to protect the elderly and disabled. Although AB 651

calls for the patient to be competent and self-administer the drug, there is no way to adequately

ensure that the individual is not experiencing outside pressures to kill himself. Furthermore,

persons who cannot as easily access adequate pain-treatment (i.e., poor people) will be more

likely to want to end their lives. Based on Oregon’s experience, most persons choose PAS

because of depression (vs. pain). Rather than encouraging depressed persons to end their lives,

more steps should be taken to make sure that they receive the love, support, and comfort they

need to enjoy their remaining days of life. Additionally, AB 651 will put a wedge between the

patient-physician relationship. People go to doctors to get better. If doctors are predisposed

toward prescribing lethal drugs under AB 651, patients may begin to feel it’s the best alternative

for them. Other doctors will refuse to prescribe the deadly drugs and patients will be forced to

go “doctor shopping” to find drugs to end their lives. PAS will be inconsistently applied.

Further, modern medicine has taken great strides in its ability to adequately treat pain and

suffering. Aside from depression over terminal illness, there is no legitimate reason a person

should turn to PAS to end his/her life. The greatest reason we oppose PAS is that it devalues the

lives of the most vulnerable persons in our society, the elderly and disabled. When we enact

laws (i.e., AB 651) that give a person the ability to determine the worth or value of his own life,

pretty soon society begins making that judgment call on the value of other people’s lives.

Recently, the Netherlands (the first country to legalize euthanasia) has begun to euthanize young

infants. What started out as a completely elective procedure has now become involuntary –

something administered to members of society who are determined to be “unfit” to live. True

compassion means that we should “suffer with” a person during the dark valleys of his/her life.

True compassion would never intentionally take life. CRI is very strongly against any form of

Physician Assisted Suicide. The language in this bill was originally introduced as AB 654 but,

when AB 654 failed, this bill was gutted and amended.

Status: Senate Rules Committee

AB 1218 – Pledge of Allegiance in the Classroom – Assemblymember Wyland

Position: Support

Analysis: Existing law requires public schools to conduct daily patriotic exercises. AB 1218

would specifically require the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America

to be recited each day during the school year at each elementary school. It would allow pupils or

school employees who do not wish to participate, to remain silent and seated. CRI believes this

bill is an excellent step to restore patriotism in our public schools. If our kids are to grow in their

love and pride for this great nation, we must teach them to respect our flag and honor our

country. Especially in light of the fact that there is currently so much anti-American, proglobalism sentiment in our modern culture and in our schools. A daily salute to the flag is

appropriate to help instill patriotism in the hearts of the next generation.

Status: Assembly Education Committee

SB 711 – Churches Meeting in School Civic Centers – Senator Dutton

Position: Support

Analysis: Existing law requires a school district to charge a fee for the use of its facilities by a

church or religious organization. Existing law also places two additional conditions on a church

or religious organization before it is able to use a school facility: 1) the use of the facility must be

“temporary” and 2) there must be no other suitable meeting place available to the church. None

of these restrictions are imposed on other groups desiring to meet at school facilities. SB 711

would delete the additional requirements for churches and religious organizations and ensure that

they are treated equally compared with all other groups. This bill would level the playing field

for churches seeking to access a school facility. In California, many churches choose to meet at

school facilities, oftentimes because they cannot afford real property or other meeting places are

not available to them. Churches that desire to meet at school facilities should be treated like all

other groups and organizations. SB 711 is an excellent bill to help end religious discrimination

and place religious groups on equal footing with secular groups.

Status: Assembly Education and Judiciary Committees

SUPPORT OUR ADVERTISERS

PREVOST PROPERTIES

Charles Prevost *4801 Yamato Drive * San Jose, CA 93111

408-972-2599

AVON – Buy or Sell

Alice Wilson

A representative of AVON – The world’s #1 beauty company

408-733-6352

Proud member of the Silicon Valley Republican Women Federated

D. Jo Ann Barr

Elected member of the Santa Clara County Republican Party

www.svgop.com

Robert E. Temmerman, Jr. – Certified Specialist – Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law

State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization

408-998-9500 Extension 237

2502 Stevens Creek Boulevard, San Jose, California 95128 – rtemmerman@calteclaw.com

Laura Riffle, EA

FEDERALLY AUTHORIZED TAX PRACTITIONER

2095 Park Avenue, San Jose, CA 95126 – 408-551-2130

CENTURY 21 * El Camino

Doris Whitney

Realtor ®

761 East El Camino Real, Sunnyvale, California 94087 – 408-997-0581 – www.c21ec.com

Rosemary Hernandez, EA, CFP

Federally Authorized Tax Practictioner

2095 Park Avenue, San Jose, California 95126 – 408-551-2130 rosemaryah@aol.com

Individuals * Self-Employed * Estate Trust * Real Estate

Golfland ® Entertainment Centers

Sunnyvale                            San Jose                              Milpitas

855 East El Camino Real           976 Blossom Hill Road              I-680 at Jacklin Road

408-245-1322                             408-225-1533                             408-263-4330

RAMADA SILICON VALLEY * Home of the SVRWF

Phone: 408-245-5330 * 101 at Lawrence Expressway

“A great place for banquets, meetings and weddings”

Interested in attending the Northern Division Spring Conference? 

More information will be available at the February meeting.