Silicon Valley Republican Women Federated
NEWSLETTER
www.svrwf.org * May 2006
President: Doris Whitney – 408-997-0581 * 1st VP & Program: Ellen Longworth * 2nd 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…………………………………………………………………. May 4
Luncheon Choices: Chicken Piccata or Shrimp Avocado Salad
Speakers: Roger Riffenburgh (Assembly) and Raymond L. Chukwu (Congress)
Laura Riffle (State Senate) – Rescheduled… see page 2
SVRWF Board Meeting………………………………………………………………………. May 11
SVRWF Dinner Meeting……………………………………………………………………… June 1
*NOTE: Evening meeting… last before summer break… Bring your spouse!............... 6:30 Social
7:00 Dinner
Vote in the Republican Primary……………………………………………………………… June 6
Our April luncheon speaker was Dr. Bill Evers of the Hoover Institute, who spoke on his assignment in Iraq by President Bush to organize the education of the Iraq children. Dr. Evers provided us with a better understanding of the workings of the U.S. government in Iraq.
Our May meeting will emphasis our Republican candidates and their campaigns. Please plan on attending and learn about their campaigns.
Nationwide, the Republican Women Federated are conducting a campaign to increase membership called "One Plus One" The concept is for each member to bring in ONE new member - a friend, acquaintance or relative. Growing memberships lightens the load of responsibility and increased our arsenal of volunteers. Times have changed, and it is our hope to find those potential members and meet their changing needs. Join in Silicon Valley RWF's membership increase effort.
My many thanks to Membership Chairman Nancy Wark. Previous officers over the previous years have done wonderful jobs and Silicon Valley RWF is fortunate to have had and continue to have wonderful officers of our organization. Good job!
Best regards and I look forward to seeing you on May 4.
Doris Whitney, President, Silicon Valley Republican Women Federated
Note from Newsletter Editor (and candidate for Senate District 10) Laura Riffle…
This month’s newsletter has been put together in a particularly hasty manner due to the illness and ultimate death of my father-in-law. I ask your forgiveness for any errors and omissions or mistakes in this month’s newsletter. I will also miss speaking at this month’s meeting due to obligations surrounding the wake and funeral.
Due to tax season and my father-in-law’s illness, I have not been able to actively campaign very much but did manage to attend a candidate support barbeque at the beautiful Rao Ranch outside of Livermore that was attended by many state and local candidates and a few incumbents including Congressman Richard Pombo and Assemblyman Guy Houston.
I am thankful for your support in my candidacy for the California Senate and hope to be able to send volunteer and contribution envelopes to be handed out in my absence. In case I don’t, here is the important information:
Make checks out to:
“Friends of Laura Riffle Committee”
1909 Grand Teton Drive
Milpitas, California 9503
FPPC #1285099
Political News Compiled by Eve Bretzke
NATIONAL / WASHINGTON, D.C.
Your tax burden is bigger than Tax Day -- In 1904, government, federal and state, cost every citizen $20 per year, according to a 1999 Tax Foundation study. Don't blame inflation --that only brought it to $340. For more than 150 years after we declared independence, we spent less than $1,000 each on government. Yet by 1999, government cost every man, woman and child an average of more than $10,000 per year -- more than housing and health care combined. The price went down a little after that, but then it started climbing again -- John Stossel, Townhall.com. (Read full article at townhall.com) -- Apr 19, 2006
Demonstrations on Immigration Harden a Divide -- SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Al and Diane Kitlica have not paid close attention to the immigration debate in Congress. But when more than 100,000 mostly Hispanic demonstrators marched through Phoenix this week, the Kitlicas noticed. Representative J. D. Hayworth, Republican of Arizona, said he had seen "an incredible backlash" to the immigration demonstrations. "I was outraged," Ms. Kitlica told J. D. Hayworth, the Republican who is her congressman, as she and her husband stopped him for 20 minutes while he was on a walk through their suburban neighborhood to complain to him about the issue. "You want to stay here and get an education, get benefits, and you still want to say 'Viva Mexico'? It was a slap in the face," Ms. Kitlica said, adding that illegal immigrants were straining the Mesa public school where she teaches. -- By D. KIRKPATRICK Published: April 17, 2006 New York Times.
"Republicans Loudly Accused Reid Of Attempting To Hijack The Proceedings By Refusing To Allow Votes, And Privately, Some Democrats Acknowledged They Did Not Want To Expose Their Rank And File To Difficult Choices." (David Espo, "Senate Republicans Remain Divided Over Provisions For Immigration Legislation," The Associated Press, 4/5/06)
U.S. opens bids for border solutions -- The Department of Homeland Security took a major step on April 11 in seeking to control 6,000 miles of the nation’s borders, calling for bids that eventually could bring upgraded sensor and surveillance technology, unmanned aerial vehicles and computers. -- Jerry Seper, The Washington Times, April 17-23, 2006
CALIFORNIA/ SACRAMENTO
Governor Will Not Endorse Universal Preschool Initiative -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign said Wednesday he would not endorse a universal preschool initiative that filmmaker Rob Reiner has championed, citing the governor's long-standing opposition to tax increases. AP -- 4/13/06
Tobacco-tax -- Sponsors of an initiative to raise the state's tobacco tax by $2.60 a pack say that the effort would not violate the terms of the Master Tobacco Settlement Agreement (MSA), despite claims to the contrary by Philip Morris. However, a spokeswoman for Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, said that he still had numerous concerns about the initiative. Capitol Weekly -- 4/13/06
Schools Takeover -- As Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa pursues control of the Los Angeles school system, his advisors are considering wide-ranging changes that could gut the central bureaucracy, sell the district's headquarters, keep students in class until 5 p.m. and extend the academic year to 10 1/2 months. Joel Rubin and Duke Helfand in the Los Angeles Times -- 4/13/06
Couple Paid Each Other Campaign Funds - A Republican candidate for state controller and his legislator wife have funneled campaign money into each other's consulting firms, in effect boosting their income through political donations, campaign finance reports show. Over a little more than five years, Tony Strickland and his wife, Audra, who replaced him as a member of the state Assembly, paid more than $138,000 raised by their supporters to businesses owned by them and a staffer living in their Moorpark home. An additional $20,000 in campaign money was deposited into a nonprofit organization run by Tony Strickland…The cash transfers add a new wrinkle to what has become a routine practice in Sacramento - politicians steering campaign cash toward businesses owned by a spouse. In this case, since both husband and wife are political figures with campaign accounts, they were able to transfer funds to each other. – Los Angeles Times, 04/12/06
MORE NEWS…
Democrats Will Appeal Ruling on Indiana's Voter ID Law (CNSNews.com) - A federal court has upheld an Indiana law requiring people to show a government-issued photo ID before voting, much to the disappointment of the Democratic Party, which says many of its constituents -- minorities, the poor, the elderly and the disabled -- will be adversely affected. -- By Susan Jones, April 18, 2006
Few Protections for Migrants to Mexico -- Mexico demands humane treatment for its citizens who migrate to the U.S., regardless of their legal status, Mexico provides few protections for migrants on its own soil. The issue simply isn't on the country's political agenda, perhaps because migrants make up only 0.5 percent of the population, or about 500,000 people - compared with 12 percent in the United States…"One of the saddest national failings on (Mexican) immigration issues is the contradiction in demanding that the North respect migrants' rights, which we are not capable of guaranteeing in the South," National Human Rights Commission (a government-funded agency, documented the abuses south of the U.S. border in a December report) president Jose Luis Soberanes said. -- MARK STEVENSON, AP, April 19, 2006
Oklahoma House Passes Bill Protecting Children from Inappropriate Library Books
Liberty Counsel"…Children deserve a period of ‘protected innocence' in which they are shielded from sexually explicit material…" According to a press release by the Liberty Counsel, the Oklahoma House has passed a bill that would keep sexually explicit library books out of the hands of children. The measure was sponsored by Rep. Sally Kern, and passed by a margin of 60 - 33. It heads to the Senate next. -- Matt Staver Apr 3, 2006
Bill Gates secretly paid for Gaza greenhouses, Deal to 'enhance peace process,' but Palestinians stripped, looted facilities -- In a revelation that surprised many here associated with the deal, it emerged this week the charitable foundation of Microsoft founder Bill Gates largely was responsible for transferring to the Palestinians the high-tech Jewish greenhouses of the Gaza Strip prior to Israel's evacuation of the area. The greenhouses, passed in a private charity deal last summer, reportedly have been stripped and looted by Palestinian gangs and Palestinian security officers hired to protect the structures. -- JERUSALEM April 17, 2006
CULTURE
Evangelical teens rally in S.F. -- Saturday, March 25, 2006 More than 25,000 evangelical Christian youth landed Friday in San Francisco for a two-day rally at AT&T Park against "the virtue terrorism" of popular culture, and they were greeted by an official city condemnation and a clutch of protesters who said their event amounted to a "fascist mega-pep rally." "Battle Cry for a Generation" is led by a 44-year-old Concord native, Ron Luce, who wants "God's instruction book" to guide young people away from the corrupting influence of popular culture. Luce, whose Teen Mania organization is based in Texas, kicked off a three-city "reverse rebellion" tour Friday night intended to counter a popular culture that he says glamorizes violence and sex. --- Joe Garofoli, Chronicle Staff Writer. March 25, 2006.
PETA's Dirty Secret -- While loudly complaining about the "unethical" treatment of animals by restaurant owners, grocers, farmers, scientists, anglers, and countless other Americans, the group has its own dirty little secret. PETA kills animals by the thousands. From July 1998 through the end of 2004, PETA killed over 12,400 dogs, cats, and other "companion animals" -- at its Norfolk, Virginia headquarters. That's more than five defenseless animals every day. Not counting the dogs and cats PETA spayed and neutered, the group put to death over 85 percent of the animals it took in during 2003 alone. -- The Source Daily, 04 Apr 2006 (Get full article at www.petakillsanimals.com)
Comedy Central censors Muhammad image But 'South Park' episode depicts Jesus defecating on Bush, flag --The Comedy Central television network barred its popular "South Park" series from showing an image of the Islamic prophet Muhammad in last night's episode but allowed a scene in which an image of Jesus Christ defecates on President Bush and the American flag. Earlier today, conservative weblogs speculated about whether the episode's reference to censorship was part of the edgy cartoon show's gag, but a Comedy Central spokesman told Stephen Spruiell of National Review's Media Blog the network itself made the decision to not show the image. The network issued a statement, saying: "In light of recent world events, we feel we made the right decision." --The Source Daily. 14 Apr 2006
QUOTED
"Seventy-three percent of Americans say that immigration is a serious problem. The other 27 percent said, 'No habla Ingles'." —Conan O'Brien
"America has now produced at least two generations of post-WWII children who have grown up with a sense of entitlement to perpetual adolescence. There are vast wellsprings of immaturity, irresponsibility and selfishness in these generations, and their children are the proof." —Laura Hirschfeld Hollis
"I wanted to do a tour like I did during the Vietnam War, a tour of the country. But then Cindy Sheehan filled in the gap, and she is better at this than I am. I carry too much baggage." —Jane Fonda
"It is ironic that some women, in the name of feminism, are attempting to emasculate the God of Western religious morality. For if their goal is achieved, it is women who will suffer most from lawless males. We have too many absent fathers on earth to begin to even entertain the thought of having no Father in heaven." —Dennis Prager
"Republicans have raised millions by demonizing Ted Kennedy, and that will continue. But even Kennedy's harshest critics have come to realize the man is a superb legislator..."—Eleanor Clift
“I am for socialism, disarmament, and ultimately, for abolishing the state itself as an instrument for violence and compulsion. I seek the social ownership of property, the abolition of the propertied class and sole control of those who produce wealth. Communism is the goal.” - Roger Baldwin ACLU Founder
“The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism, but under the name of liberalism they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program until one day America will be a socialist nation without ever knowing how it happened.” - Norman Thomas ACLU Founder
"We don't have to be afraid of our values. We believe in...shared opportunities, shared responsibilities and shared participation in the community... [Republicans] believe in concentrated wealth and power and using ideology to divide people." —Bill Clinton
"You and I know and do not believe that life is so dear and peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery. If nothing is worth dying for, when did this begin? Should Moses have told the children of Israel to live in slavery under the pharaohs? Should Christ have refused the cross? Should the patriots of Concord Bridge have thrown down their guns and refused to fire the shot heard round the world?" —Ronald Reagan (1964)
"The very idea of freedom presupposes some objective moral law which overarches rulers and ruled alike. Subjectivism about values is eternally incompatible with democracy. We and our rulers are of one kind only so long as we are subject to one law. But if there is no Law of Nature, the ethos of any society is the creation of its rulers, educators and conditioners; and every creator stands above and outside his own creation." —C.S. Lewis
"The skeptics [of biblical record] sound like those disclaimers for certain drugs sold on TV: Side effects may include vomiting, hair loss, bleeding, dizziness and disorientation. The side effects of believing in Jesus may include loss of friends, disrespect by the academic and journalistic communities and damage to one's career..." —Cal Thomas
NFRW ASSOCIATION POLITICAL BRIEFING
NFRW Capital Connection, The Week of April 10, 2006
SEE NO EVIL,
HEAR NO EVIL
By Spc. Robert Lauer, U.S. Army
It seems no matter what comes out on the issue of Weapons of Mass
Destruction (WMD), the press is intent on burying or ignoring the facts. During
the week of intense scrutiny when Vice President Dick Cheney shot a lawyer,
ABC News released transcripts and audio tapes of Saddam
Hussein and his Generals planning to attack Washington D.C. using a car bomb to
disperse a germ warfare agent. The tape goes with Saddam asking if using
terrorists to deploy such a weapon would be a way to shield Iraq from the blame
and obvious U.S. retaliation.
The tapes were recorded in the 1990s during the Clinton Era when our weakness and lack of resolve invited such attacks. After all, President Clinton did nothing after the first World Trade Center bombing which killed dozens of Americans. He did nothing after Osama Bin Laden blew up the Cobar Towers in Saudi Arabia killing hundreds of American Military Servicemen. He did nothing after Bin Laden blew up two U.S. Embassies on the same day in Africa, again killing hundreds of people. He did nothing after the USS Cole was attacked in the Persian Gulf by Bin Laden, killing 28 U.S. Navy Sailors.
So Saddam knew using terrorists was a successful means of attacking America. But, after the 911 attacks and seeing the resolve of President Bush invading Afghanistan and dismantling the Taliban, Saddam was concerned. President Bush gave Saddam more than a year to destroy, hide or transfer to a third country his stash of WMDs. After all, the Democrats insisted that the President give the UN Weapons inspectors more time. Then the Democrats demanded a vote in Congress to authorize the use of force which most Democrats voted "yes" for. So, now the brave men and women of the Democratic Party are denying the existence of WMDs and calling the President a liar.
What you are about to read is clear evidence that Saddam wanted to attack the U.S. in a way that would have killed hundreds of thousands of our citizens. He planned on using terrorists to carry out his plot. I understand facts are difficult for some in the mainstream press to grasp. They would rather continue to deny the existence of WMDs and blame President Bush. The truth just cannot get in the way of their story. -- www.nfrw.org/documents/issues/
LEGISLATION - National
S.2349 -- The Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2006. This bill "would regulate for the first time grass-roots activism," said. The legislation defines "grass-roots lobbying" as "the voluntary efforts of members of the general public to communicate their own views on an issue to federal officials or to encourage other members of the general public to do the same…"
LEGISLATION - California
Consumer Protection
AB 2622 – To protect consumers, requires providers of mobile telephony service to extend a minimum 30-day grace period to new customers during which the customer may rescind the agreement, without cost or penalty, if the customer finds that the service is unsatisfactory. Further requires providers of mobile telephony service to provide notice of these rights to consumers.
Education
Senate Bill 1236 and AB 1923: Provide educational assistance for our men and woman in uniform. Specifically, intend to waive tuition costs for CSU or California Community College students who are in good standing and agree to serve for five years. Bill will revise higher education residency requirements by specifying that active-duty military members stationed in California are entitled to in-state tuition costs
Homeland Security
SB 1194: Requires all employers, state AND private to verify the citizenship (social security number, DOB, etc.) of all potential employees through the federal ‘Basic Pilot Program’ to determine if they reside in the U.S. legally and are eligible to work in California. Purpose is to verify an applicant’s name, birth date and social security number prior to hiring. Created in 1997, the “Program” is administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration and is designed to provide instantaneous verification of the legal status of a potential employee at no cost to the employer. Currently, all states utilize this free program on a voluntary basis; however, if field agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) determine that an employer has hired illegal immigrants, and in doing so, made no good faith attempt to verify the legal status of the illegal workers, then the extent of the fines levied can be increased and future participation in the Basic Pilot Program becomes mandatory for the fined employer. Senate Bill 1194 would immediately make participation in the Basic Pilot Program mandatory for all California employers, thereby greatly reducing, if not eliminating, the number of workers illegally hired in California.
Pro Family
SB 1228: (The Voluntary Covenant Marriage and Child Protection Act of 2006) Would offer potential marriage partners a stronger legal and interpersonal framework for a committed marriage, including mandatory premarital education and pre-divorce counseling, stronger protections for the interests of children within affected marriages, and discretion for judges to better protect the material interests of legitimately aggrieved spouses in an irreparably broken marriage.
Public Spending
SCA 23: To a great extent, this revives the power of the old Gann Spending Limit. In order to constrain irresponsible spending, SCA 23 pegs state spending growth to increases in inflation and population, and requires the Legislature to maintain a prudent reserve fund that can ease the shock of periodic economic shifts. Certain exceptions can be made with supermajorities so that we may respond to emergencies or dedicate funds to major capital outlay programs without resorting to bonded indebtedness.
Public Safety
AB 2436 – This bill seeks to change the way parolees are reintegrated into society after release from prison, specifically in East Palo Alto and Compton, so as to reduce the likelihood they will become repeat offenders. At its core, this bill intends to protect the people in East Palo Alto and Compton from the crime and violence that so often results when people return from prison unprepared to successfully reintegrate into the community. This measure would focus on equipping parolees with proven tools for success: a long range personalized plan for re-entry, and better access to education, housing, and other essential services both in and outside of the Corrections and Rehabilitation system.
SB 1558 and 1257: Proposes to streamline our state’s dysfunctional and lengthy death penalty system. I am working with both the Governor’s office and our state’s Supreme Court on these two measures to better implement the will of the voters by revamping the current two decades of appeals, resulting in more deaths by other causes (natural, suicide, etc.) on death row than by the hand of justice. By conforming to federal standards, California can join many other states in a fair, balanced and efficient system that provides the same safeguards for appeals, but in much less time.
SB 1382: If enacted, would require all first-time child rapists to undergo chemical castration. Current law merely provides a “voluntary” option as a condition of their parole—this is too soft on crime and our children are depending on us to protect them from habitual rapists.
SB 1280: (The Starvation and Dehydration Prevention Act of 2006) If enacted would establish that food and water are basic human rights that should not be denied even to severely disabled persons. Therefore, when a court must decide whether or not to remove a feeding tube or water from a person in a persistent vegetative state, they must, unless otherwise specified, err on the side of life.
Water Issues
AB 2402 – Identifies alternatives to chemical disinfectants in the water supply. Chemical disinfectants such as chloramine, while effective at purifying drinking water, raise concerns about a range of public health and environmental problems that are not well understood. This bill calls for a study and development of alternatives to chemicals to prevent unintended consequences.
AB 2515 - Will establish “High Efficiency” water conservation measures that can lead to a 20 percent reduction in water use, while satisfying California’s growing population, maintaining a healthy agricultural sector and supporting a vibrant economy. Sponsored by the Pacific Institute, and based on the recommendations contained in their report entitled “California Water 2030: An Efficient Future.”
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