SILICON
VALLEY REPUBLICAN WOMEN FEDERATED
February 2009
President: Laura Riffle (408)263-0990 ~ 1st V.P & Program: Ellen Longworth
(408)354-0419
~ 2nd V.P/Membership: June
Fromm ~ Treasurer: Naomi Blais ~
Secretary: Gloria Estes ~
Newsletter Editor/Legislation: Eve Bretzke
Website:
www.svrwf.org. Mailing Address: 1909 Grand Teton Dr., Milpitas, CA 95035
ATTENTION! NEW CLUB MEETING LOCATION FOR 2009.
SVRWF Meetings are now
being held at the Blue Pheasant Restaurant.
22100 Stevens Creek Blvd.,
Cupertino, CA 95124.
Our next luncheon meeting is Thursday, February 5th.
“A reservation made is a reservation paid!” - *Please note that our lunch
prices have increased to $20 each.
Luncheon Meetings: Social 11:30 AM., Lunch 12:00 PM, Cost $20.00*
Menu Choices*: Broiled Salmon with Dill Sauce or Chicken Jerusalem
with White Wine and Artichokes.
Call Louise Kenney 739-4724 or Alice Wilson 733-6352 for reservations.
Our guest speaker this month is
Jonas Pauluikonis. The topic will be “Why I Am a Young Republican”.
Jonas
is a senior at Santa Clara University. He is majoring in Political Science
and Marketing. Jonas is half way thorough his senior year and has been
Chairman of the Santa Clara University College Republicans for three years.
The mission of the college club is to advance conservative thought on campus
and promote the discussion of ideas and contemporary issues. The club
remains active both on and off campus with club fairs, rallies, precinct
walking, conferences, and conventions.
The
Santa Clara University College Republicans last major event was a conference
held in Santa Barbara and hosted by the “Young American’s Foundation” where
they listened to Michael Regan and other leading conservative figures from the
media and the business fields speak.
Bring a
friend and “Remember to bring 2009 membership renewal dues to the meeting”!
FYI - Regular membership is $30 and Patron membership is $50. See June
Fromm at the general meeting for more details.
SILICON
VALLEY REPUBLICAN WOMEN
FEDERATED NEWSLETTER
–
FEBRUARY 2009
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE (01/23/09)
Happy
Birthday Abraham Lincoln!
February
12th is the birthday of the first Republican president, Abraham Lincoln. In
his honor, the National Federation of Republican Women (NFRW) and individual
Republican women through local federated clubs are contributing to the
restoration of the historic Ford Theatre in Washington, DC and to the creation
of the Center for Education and Leadership. If you are interested in
contributing to this, please bring a check to the February 5th meeting and I
will combine them and send them in, in our club’s name.
For more
information go to
www.FordTheatre.org
Five of
our members (Ellen Longworth, Gloria Estes, Shirley Harvey, Alice Wilson and
me) attended the annual Leadership Conference in Fairfield on January 17th.
It was great conference attended by a record 220 Republican Women. That was
about 50 more than have attended any other conference. We are energized and
motivated. Could Sarah Palin’s candidacy have anything to do with that?
Now is
the time for we Republican Women to roll up our sleeves, put on our work
gloves and get out there and work for Republican candidates in local off-year
elections. Don’t forget the impact that one school board election in Wasilla
eventually had.
GOP
Headquarters can always use help either at the Monroe Street facility or on
the phone from the comfort of your home. There are many ways for you to get
involved in helping our party achieve success.
While we
wish our newly elected president well in protecting and defending our country,
it is our right and duty as Republicans to oppose his socialist agenda.
I look
forward to seeing you at our February meeting. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Laura Riffle
President, SVRWF
UPCOMMING EVENTS
Feb.
5 Regular Luncheon Meeting, Blue Pheasant Restaurant, Cupertino.
11:30 AM Social, 12:00 PM Lunch. Speaker: Jonas Pauluikonis
Feb.
6-7 CFRW Conference, San Louis Obispo, CA
Feb.12
Regular Board Meeting, 9:30 AM at Joann Barr’s home
Mar. 14-15 Northern Division Spring
Conference, Redding, CA, Red Lion Hotel
SILICON
VALLEY REPUBLICAN WOMEN FEDERATED
NEWSLETTER
–
FEBRUARY 2009
MEMBER
NEWS
Remember that it is time
to renew your membership now for 2009. Please bring your membership
renewal dues to the general meeting and give them to June Fromm, our
membership chairperson. FYI - Regular membership is $30 and Patron membership
is $50.
The club is looking for
volunteers to help call members once a month for general meeting
attendance and food choices. Contact Louise Kenney if you are interested at
739-4724.
Thank you to Barbara
Ferguson in advance for volunteering to bring cookies to our next general
meeting. If you would like to sign up to bring cookies for our general
meetings, please let Barbara or Laura know. The amount needed is
approximately 4 dozen or 2 per person.
LEGISLATION
California Update from CRWF and other sources
Governor Schwarzenegger Proposes a Budget Solution - Press Release from
Governor
As we enter 2009, California is facing serious budget challenges, and every
day that passes without putting solutions in place, our budget situation gets
worse and the decisions get more complicated. That is why today the Governor
presented the Legislature with his budget proposal for 2009. Here is what the
Governor said about his proposal and about the urgent need for the Legislature
to agree on a solution to the state's fiscal situation: "Today's announcement
represents the sixth budget I have proposed to the legislature this year. The
fact that the legislature has failed to reach a compromise between Republicans
and Democrats and take action during the last three special sessions is
inexcusable.
"My proposal today follows the same blueprint of my last
two proposals which balance cuts with revenue proposals. And, I will continue
to stand by my promise to Californians and only sign a budget that does
everything we can as a state to reduce spending, create jobs and keep people
in their homes."
CALL TO ACTION:
You can help move California toward a budget solution. Send a letter or make a
phone call to your representatives in the Legislature today - ask them to work
day and night to come to agreement on a sensible budget before things get
worse. If you don’t know who your representative is, ask a club member and we
will get you the information.
National Update from NRWF and other sources
Former President George W. Bush Honored for "Keeping the Faith"
by
Teresa Neumann (January 22, 2009)
(Midland, Texas)—While the American media focused on Tuesday's historic
inauguration, little attention was paid to the outgoing ceremonies for now
former-president George W. Bush. A handful of newspapers featured articles
thanking the president for keeping America safe during his eight-year tenure,
for promoting a culture of life, for his commitment to fighting AIDS, etc. One
reporter, Marc A. Thiessen, in a January 19, opinion piece for the Wall
Street Journal, wrote: "I will make this prediction: The verdict of
history on the Bush presidency will not be the same as the verdict of
contemporary critics. As Mr. Bush leaves office, Iraq is a unified and free
country, and our enemies there have suffered a devastating defeat...In his
final months, Mr. Bush confronted a challenge Truman never faced—a massive
financial crisis. It is hard for many Americans to appreciate the magnitude of
the economic collapse the president averted. But history will show that Mr.
Bush's actions in the fall of 2008 rescued our economy and saved our financial
system...Mr. Bush often told his staff that a president's job is not to chase
popularity, but to do what is right. His insistence in following this
philosophy is why he has low approval ratings, and why he has been a great
president." (Photo: Townnews.com). Therefore, the 59 million
Americans who were not awarded the president they voted for in this election
may appreciate the fact that 20,000 people in Midland, Texas, were prepared to
greet George W. Bush on his return home. According to a report in My West
Texas News, White House advancewoman, Georgia Godfrey was quoted as
saying Bush will speak for 15-20 minutes and then leave for Waco and his 1,600
acre Prairie Chapel Ranch
SILICON
VALLEY REPUBLICAN WOMEN FEDERATED
NEWSLETTER
–
FEBRUARY 2009
(cont.) northwest of Crawford. "The president said at the White House
Christmas party that he left from Midland and was coming home to Midland
because we're the ones who are his friends and great supporters and he wanted
to be with us when he left Washington," said County Republican Chair Sue
Brannon. "It shows what a fine gentleman he is. He has faced a lot and kept
the faith." "Not every city gets to say it is the home of a president and in
our case, we're fortunate to say it twice," said County Judge Mike Bradford.
"I have certainly enjoyed his friendship. You have to admire anybody who steps
in and takes on the task of leading this country. You don't take the
presidency to win friends, in my opinion. You take it to look after the
country and it's truly a thankless job."
Source:
Bob Campbell - My West Texas News
Other
"We were especially
taken with President Obama's call for 'a new era of responsibility.' This is the phrase his press folks had leaked the day before, and if
they did so to drive the theme home, so much the better. This is a useful
message for Americans of all walks of life to hear -- from Wall Street CEOs to
unmarried fathers to AARP lobbyists in Washington. The prosperity of recent
decades has produced a culture of entitlement and sometimes even of
complacency. ... At the same time, the President was vague about how he
intends to move from rhetoric to action. Inaugural speeches are no place for
policy lists. But at their best they are a statement of the first principles
that will guide the new administration. Ronald Reagan famously said in 1981,
'In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem;
government is the
problem.' Mr. Obama's first principles were harder to discern. He acknowledged
that the power of the market 'to generate wealth and expand freedom is
unmatched,' while warning it can also 'spin out of control.' He added that
'the question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too
small, but whether it works,' and said that where it doesn't, 'programs will
end.' This all sounds like traditional American pragmatism. But his use of the
passive voice is revealing -- no government program ever ended of its own
accord, and ending them takes political will. He is of course also proposing
the largest expansion of entitlements in two generations." --The Wall Street
Journal
Rush
Limbaugh Slams GOPers Who Cheer on Obama
RUSH: I got a request here from a major American print publication.
"Dear Rush: For the Obama [Immaculate] Inauguration we are asking a handful
of very prominent politicians, statesmen, scholars, businessmen, commentators,
and economists to write 400 words on their hope for the Obama presidency. We
would love to include you. If you could send us 400 words on your hope for
the Obama presidency, we need it by Monday night, that would be ideal." Now,
we're caught in this trap again. The premise is, what is your "hope." My
hope, and please understand me when I say this. I disagree fervently with
the people on our side of the aisle who have caved and who say, "Well, I hope
he succeeds. We've got to give him a chance." Why? They didn't give
Bush a chance in 2000. Before he was inaugurated the search-and-destroy
mission had begun. I'm not talking about search-and-destroy, but I've been
listening to Barack Obama for a year-and-a-half. I know what his politics
are. I know what his plans are, as he has stated them. I don't want them to
succeed. If I wanted Obama to succeed, I'd be happy the Republicans
have laid down. And I would be encouraging Republicans to lay down and
support him. Look, what he's talking about is the absorption of as much of
the private sector by the US government as possible, from the banking
business, to the mortgage industry, the automobile business, to health care.
I do not want the government in charge of all of these things. I don't want
this to work. So I'm thinking of replying to the guy, "Okay, I'll send
you a response, but I don't need 400 words, I need four: I hope he fails."
(interruption) What are you laughing at? See, here's the point. Everybody
thinks it's outrageous to say. Look, even my staff, "Oh, you can't do that."
Why not? Why is it any different, what's new, what is unfair about my saying
I hope liberalism fails? Liberalism is our problem. Liberalism is what's
gotten us dangerously close to the precipice here. Why do I want more of it?
I don't care what the Drive-By story is. I would be honored if the
Drive-By Media headlined me all day long: "Limbaugh: I Hope Obama Fails."
Somebody's gotta say it. – January 21, 2009
SILICON
VALLEY REPUBLICAN WOMEN FEDERATED
NEWSLETTER
–
FEBRUARY 2009
