SILICON VALLEY REPUBLICAN
WOMEN FEDERATED
June 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
SVRWF Meetings are held at the Blue Pheasant Restaurant
22100 Stevens Creek
Blvd., Cupertino, CA 95124
Our next luncheon meeting is Thursday, June 4th.
“A reservation made is a reservation paid!”
Luncheon Meetings: Social 11:30 AM., Lunch 12:00 PM, Cost $20.00 each
Menu Choices:
Broiled Salmon w/ dill sauce OR Roasted Loin of Pork with Vegetables.
Call Alice Wilson 733-6352 for reservations this month as Louise Kinney is
away.
Our
guest speaker this month is Luis Buhler, the publisher of BayAreaGOP.com and
current State Co-Chair and Regional Volunteer Chair for the Steve Poizner for
Governor Campaign.
Luis
Buhler recently completed two terms as CRP Vice Chairman for the SF Bay Area
and also served as the head of the Lincoln Club of Northern CA’s Santa Clara
County Region. He continues to serve as Assistant Treasurer and Director of
the Lincoln Club. Appointed by Gov. Pete Wilson in 1997, Luis served as the
Deputy Secretary of Economic Development at the CA Trade and Commerce Agency
and acted as the Executive Director of the CA Infrastructure Bank. Luis
served as an officer of the CA College Republicans and a board member of the
SCC Republican Central Committee. He received the CRP’s Distinguished
Volunteer Service Award for Precinct and Party Building. Luis Buhler has
served as a delegate to Republican National Conventions in 1988, 1992, and
2004, and as an alternate delegate in 1996 and 2008.
Mr.
Buhler currently works as a consulting Chief Financial Officer and as
principal of Rockledge Associates. He has previously served as SFO of three
Silicon Valley high tech companies, Simplex Solutions, acquired by Cadence
Design Systems in 2002, Latitude Communications, successfully sold to Cisco
Systems in 2004, and FirstRain, Inc. Luis has earned an MBA from Stanford
University, an MA in Urban Studies from Occidental College, an BA in Economics
also from Stanford. Luis is a resident of Cupertino and is past Chairman of
the Cupertino Parks and Rec. Commission and past President of the Vanished
Children’s Alliance in San Jose.
This is our last general meeting until September so come on out and “Talk
Republican!” See you there.
SILICON
VALLEY REPUBLICAN WOMEN
FEDERATED NEWSLETTER
–
JUNE 2009
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE (05/26/09)
Next up… our summer break! Here are some of our accomplishments so far this
year:
We now have e-mail addresses for our club listed by title (like,
President@SVRWF.org) instead of using personal e-mail addresses on our
website… SVRWF.org. This improves security and allows us to direct e-mails to
the correct people even when the offices change from year to year. It also
makes it easier for potential new members to sign up. As we did last year
with a scholarship awarded to Elizabeth Sanford, we have again decided to use
our Memorial Fund to give a scholarship to some deserving young Republican
woman for their higher education. Our relationships with the Santa Clara
University College Republicans and the San Jose State College Republicans
should help us find a good young Republican woman to support. Who knows, one
of our scholarship recipients may turn out to have the leadership qualities
shown by Sarah Palin or Liz Cheney.
Again this year, we will be sending copies of the Declaration of Independence
and US Constitution to the Government classes at Milpitas High School with my
husband, Ed (an associate member), when he makes his yearly presentation of
the principles and values of the Republican Party in the fall. This year we
will also be donating dictionaries for one of the counselors there to give out
to “at risk” kids.
A big “Thank You!” to Nancy Wark for putting together our 2009 “Red Book”
Membership Roster. It will be available to all members at the June meeting.
She put together the original “Red Book” and has updated it for this year.
It’s a lot of work and we much appreciate the ability we have to access names
and addresses and phone numbers of our fellow SVRWF members.
Flash! September 19 Miniature Golf Tournament at Golfland on El Camino in
Sunnyvale!!!!
Don’t forget to attend the “Tea Parties” as they are planned for July 4th
and other dates. We may not have the votes in Congress to stop the “tax and
spend” majority, but we do seem to be swaying public opinion. Remember, our
children’s, grandchildren’s and great grandchildren’s lives will be better if
we can at least slow the opposition. Stopping them will have to wait ‘til
2010. Have a great summer! See you on June 4 when Luis Buhler will be our
featured speaker. Come back in September rested and ready to achieve victory
in 2010!
Laura
Riffle
President, SVRWF
UPCOMMING EVENTS
June 4 General Meeting 11:30 AM, Speaker:
Luis Buhler
June 14 Flag Day
June 21 Father’s Day
July 4 Independence Day
August 13 Board Meeting 11:30 am Flinda and
Charles Prevost
Sept. 3 General Meeting 11:30 AM, Blue
Pheasant Restaurant, Cupertino.
Sept. 10-13 NFRW Biennial Convention, Orlando, FL
Sept. 19 SVRWF MINATURE GOLF TOURNAMENT
FUNDRAISER AT GOLFLAND SUNNYVALE
Oct. 16-18 CFRW Convention, Ontario, CA
Nov.13-15 CFRW Northern Division Convention,
Concord, CA
SILICON
VALLEY REPUBLICAN WOMEN FEDERATED
NEWSLETTER
–
JUNE 2009
MEMBER NEWS
Mark
your calendars for September 19th, 2009, 10 AM to 2 PM. We are
having our first Miniature Golf Tournament at Golfland on El Camino in
Sunnyvale!!!!
Tickets are $7.50 each, there are 72 spaces available. Prizes will be
awarded. All proceeds will go to the club. Invite family, friends,
and neighbors for a great game of mini-golf to help the club. Mini-golf is
playing in groups of 4. We will have a shotgun start which means that
everyone starts at the same time. This event should sell out so make your
reservations now.
For
information or ticket reservations call Eve Bretzke at 408 206 4842 or
Newsletter@svrwf.org. (see flyer)
Adopt-a-Chaplain
is supporting troops in Afghanistan and Iraq where supplies are limited.
Please bring donations for the troops to the meeting. Thanks for your
ongoing support and generous donations.
LEGISLATION
California Update from CRWF and other sources
SB 572: CFRW has taken an "OPPOSE"
position on SB 572 (Leno-D). The Senate passed the "Harvey Milk Day"
legislation and now it will go to the Assembly for action.
SB 360:
Senator Runner's SB 360, which CFRW supported, is now dead. This legislation
proposed various measures to facilitate voter identification. Although the
bill is dead, the wheels are in motion for a June 2010 ballot measure. As soon
as those petitions are ready for circulation, we will get the word out to our
members.
AB 23:
Governor Schwarzenegger signed Assemblyman Fletcher's AB 23 which will ensure
that employees laid off from small businesses are eligible for the same health
insurance benefits that those laid off from large corporations already
receive. This was the assemblyman's first piece of legislation to be signed
into law
New day,
new push to legalize farm workers:
Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Thursday introduced a bill that would grant amnesty
to up to 1.35 million farm workers who are working in the country illegally,
many of them in California. Nicknamed the AgJobs Bill, the measure has
been proposed multiple times this decade, without success, by Feinstein and
other legislators. Some supporters are hoping it might fare better under the
Obama administration. California's labor-intensive agriculture industry and
worker advocates, such as the United Farm Workers of America, have long pushed
for the reform measure. "We have acknowledged for a number of years that a
significant part of our labor force presents fraudulent documents in order to
get work," said Bryan Little, director of labor relations for the California
Farm Bureau. While drought problems have reduced the demand for labor this
year, Little said growers remain concerned about the worker shortages
experienced earlier in the decade when lucrative construction jobs pulled
employees away from the fields. "A lot of people who used to do farm work were
nailing up housing for construction in Elk Grove," Little said. "Farmers
couldn't get people coming to do the work for any price." The bill would
allow foreign farm workers who have already been working illegally in the
United States for at least two years to earn a path toward becoming legal
residents. Family members would also be eligible, potentially bringing the
total number of legalized residents to about 2 million people… -- By Matt
O'Brien, Contra Costa Times, 05/14/2009
California
Governor Proposes Cutting Welfare and Cal Grants:
May 22 2009,
Los Angeles Times
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is proposing to completely eliminate the state’s
welfare program for families, medical insurance for low-income children and
Cal Grants cash assistance to college and university students. The proposals
to sharply scale back the assistance that California provides to its
neediest residents came in testimony by the administration this afternoon at a
joint legislative budget committee hearing. It followed comments by the
governor earlier today that he would be withdrawing a proposal to help balance
the budget with billions of dollars of borrowing and replacing it with program
reductions…
SILICON
VALLEY REPUBLICAN WOMEN FEDERATED
NEWSLETTER
–
JUNE 2009
National Update from NRWF and other sources
H.R. 2296:
On the Hill this week are several gun bills that merit attention. Reps. Steve
King (R-IA) and Zack Space (D-OH) introduced H.R. 2296, the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Reform and Firearms Modernization Act. This
legislation, which corresponds with the Senate version S. 941, seeks to
streamline BATFE's operations to make it easier for gun owners and dealers to
comply with regulations while ensuring that criminals are punished for
violations. Similar legislation cleared the House in the 109th Congress and
was cosponsored by a majority of the House in the 110th Congress.
HR 1388 Now Law*:
The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act (formally the Generations Invigorating
Volunteerism and Education (GIVE) Act) authorizes a dramatic funding increase
for AmeriCorps and other volunteer programs, and the creation of new programs
for seniors and veterans. It establishes a goal of expanding from 75,000
government-supported volunteers to 250,000, and would increase education
funding and establish a summer volunteer program for students, paying $500
(which would be applied to college costs) to high-school and middle-school
student who participate. President Barack Obama signed the legislation on
April 21, 2009. While it authorizes $5.7 billion over six years, Congress must
still approve the funding as part of the budget.
[*Few on Capitol Hill, or in the media, took note that the order
provides a free ticket replete with housing and food allowances to individuals
who have displayed their overwhelming support to the Islamic Resistance
Movement (Hamas) in the parliamentary election of January 2006.]
Senators Coburn, Burr and Representatives Ryan, Nunes Offer A Better Path
Forward on Health Care Reform.
Earlier today, U.S. Senators Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK) and Richard Burr (R-NC)
and U.S. Representatives Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Devin Nunes (R-CA) introduced
health care reform legislation that delivers on the shared principles of
promoting universal access to quality, affordable health care, and does so
without adding billions of dollars in new debt or taxes. “The Patients’
Choice Act of 2009,” transforms health care in America by strengthening the
relationship between the patient and the doctor; using choice and competition
rather than rationing and restrictions to contain costs; and ensuring
universal, affordable health care for all Americans. “The Patients’ Choice
Act” promotes innovative, State-based solutions, along with fundamental
reforms in the tax code, to give every American, regardless of employment
status, age, or health condition, the ability and the resources to purchase
health insurance. The comprehensive legislation includes concrete prevention
and transparency initiatives, long overdue reforms to Medicare and Medicaid,
investments in wellness programs and health IT, and more. – May 20, 2009
Credit Card 'Reform' Clears Congress.
Sweeping legislation that will fundamentally change the way credit card
issuers do business sailed through the House and Senate and is now on its way
to the White House for President Obama's signature. Among the changes set to
be in place by February 2010 is a prohibition on charging consumers for paying
credit card bills by phone, and an end to sudden interest rate hikes.
Consumers will have to be told how long it will take to pay off their balances
by making minimum payments, and information on the ins and outs of their
agreements must be made in plain and clear language, whatever that means.
Additionally, payments above the minimum due must be applied to the highest
interest rates first, and credit card issuers must provide at least 45 days
before making any major changes to the terms of the card agreement.
The
banking industry has some major complaints about the legislation, noting
primarily that the new regulations will deal them a financial blow on top of
what they are already experiencing with the recession. Furthermore, a higher
level of risk will result from these new regulations, making credit harder to
obtain. The nation's largest banks involved in the credit card business have
warned that they will charge higher interest rates once the new rules take
effect, and some users may face cancellation of their cards if they don't use
them regularly. Also, bonus reward point programs and frequent user rebates
may come to an end as companies struggle to find new ways to remain profitable
in the restricted environment. Nestled deep in the language of the credit card
reform bill, however, is a provision that restores the Bush administration
policy to allow citizens to carry loaded and concealed firearms in national
parks. To the amazement of pretty much everyone, Democrats largely joined
Republicans in supporting the measure, much to the chagrin of gun grabbers and
environmentalist groups, who apparently believe that the measure will lead to
massacres in the forest and cause significant harm to the environment. –
Patriot Post,
Friday Digest, 22
May 2009,
Vol. 09 No. 2.
SILICON
VALLEY REPUBLICAN WOMEN FEDERATED
NEWSLETTER
–
JUNE 2009
Other
"Does anybody really
believe that adding 50 million people to the public health-care rolls will not
cost the government more money? About $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion more? At
least. So let's be serious when evaluating President Obama's goal of universal
health care, and the idea that it's a cost-cutter. Can't happen. Won't happen.
Costs are going to explode." --economist Larry Kudlow
"Now, where do some
of these attacks originate? They're coming from the very people whose past
policies, all done in the name of compassion, brought us the current
recession. Their policies drove up inflation and interest rates, and their
policies stifled incentive, creativity and halted the movement of the poor up
the economic ladder. Some of their criticism is perfectly sincere. But let's
also understand that some of their criticism comes from those who have a
vested interest in a permanent welfare constituency and in government programs
that reinforce the dependency of our people. Well, I would suggest that no one
should have a vested interest in poverty or dependency that these tragedies
must never be looked at as a source of votes for politicians or paychecks for
bureaucrats. They are blights on our society that we must work to eliminate,
not institutionalize." --Ronald Reagan
"Then there is the
question of national debt. We are now projected to run a record $1.7 trillion
deficit -- and may add $9 trillion to our existing $11 trillion in aggregate
debt over the next eight years. The president, though, has outlined vast new
entitlement programs in health care, education, environmental programs, and
infrastructure. The problem, of course, is that we have not earned enough
money to pay for any of these additional expenditures. Again, the glamorous
ends get the attention, never the mundane means of how to obtain them.
Americans became wealthy and strong through unique self-reliance, common
sense, and delayed gratification. And we -- or our children -- will soon
become poor precisely because we hold on to the romance that producing food
and fuel and saving money are icky tasks to be ignored or left to others.
Until we change that attitude, we'll keep borrowing and spending on ourselves
what we have not yet earned -- all the way to bankruptcy." --Hoover
Institution historian Victor Davis Hanson
"Proponents of
today's world-turned-upside-down economic policies say the policies might seem
wrong but really are boldly modern in their rejection of markets in favor of
pervasive government intervention in economic life. Hence New York, which
until eight months ago was the financial capital of the world, is no longer
even the financial capital of the United States. Washington is."
--columnist George Will
"I believe sometimes
the war on terror is really a euphemism for the wars for oil and natural gas.
Maybe if it were the Hindus who had oil under their feet there would be Hindu
fundamentalists and extremists. ... America has the opportunity once again to
lead -- to lead the world against the new terror: climate change." --Imam
Johari Abdul-Malik, director of outreach at the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center
in Virginia
"It would be
heartening for the GOP to take seriously the words of Horton, the Elephant
from Dr. Seuss, 'I mean what I say and I say what I mean, an elephant is
reliable one hundred percent.' That is the kind of GOP I am seeking."
--Boise, Idaho
Pension Deficits
Reaches $33.5 Billion. The agency that backs the pensions of 44
million American workers and retirees says its deficit is soaring, and may
only get worse. The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. said looming bankruptcies
in the auto industry, retail sector, finance and health care industries could
make the historic $33.5 billion deficit it posted Wednesday balloon even
higher. The agency blamed soaring bankruptcies and low interest rates for the
shortfall, which was $22.5 billion more than the deficit it posted in October.
-- May 21 2009, USA Today
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SILICON
VALLEY REPUBLICAN WOMEN FEDERATED
NEWSLETTER
–
JUNE 2009
