Liberty Counsel Releases "Naughty and Nice" List of Retailers

Liberty Counsel
NEWS RELEASE
Contact: PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENT - 800-671-1776 or Media@LC.org


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 24, 2010
SEE ARTICLE AT EXAMINER, click here.


Liberty Counsel Releases "Naughty and Nice" List of Retailers

http://www.lc.org/

 Orlando, FL - Liberty Counsel is continuing its eighth annual "Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign," pledging to be a "Friend" to those entities that recognize Christmas and a "Foe" to the Christmas censors. Liberty Counsel is also releasing an updated "Naughty and Nice" list, which catalogs retailers who either censor ("naughty") or recognize ("nice") Christmas. The list is compiled from information gathered by consumers and is updated whenever new information is received.


Liberty Counsel encourages shoppers to print out the list and use it to decide which stores to patronize during the Christmas shopping season. The list has been very influential in motivating retailers to acknowledge Christmas.

So far this year, Best Buy has embraced Christmas and switched to the nice list, and Dick's Sporting Goods has promised to change and include Christmas in their advertising. Liberty Counsel was the first organization to launch the "Naughty and Nice" list a number of years ago and since then other organizations have promoted similar programs. The results have been amazing.

Major retailers like Wal-Mart moved from the "naughty" side of the list to the "nice" side. There was a time when Wal-Mart sold only "Holiday Trees," not Christmas Trees and when Wal-Mart employees were forbidden from returning the greeting "Merry Christmas" to customers who initiated the greeting. But Wal-Mart, like many other retailers, has changed and now openly acknowledges Christmas.

Liberty Counsel encourages consumers to report the naughty and the nice by sending an email to Liberty@LC.org. Liberty Counsel also encourages shoppers to compliment the nice stores and tell the naughty ones that you will shop elsewhere.

Liberty Counsel also offers a Christmas Action Pack, which includes educational legal memoranda to inform government officials, teachers, parents, students, employees, and others that it is legal to celebrate Christmas. Liberty Counsel has handled numerous situations restoring Christmas to schools, events and even a nursing home.


Mathew D. Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel and Dean of Liberty University School of Law, remarked: "Consumers can have a big impact this year by choosing to shop at stores that acknowledge Christmas. Retailers that profit from Christmas while pretending it does not exist will find that consumers will shop elsewhere."

Thanksgiving week is National Bible Week

The Bible: Born in the East and clothed in Oriental form and imagery, the Bible walks the ways of all the world with familiar feet and enters land after land to find its own everywhere. It has learned to speak in hundreds of languages to the heart of man.
Children listen to its stories with wonder and delight, and wise men ponder them as parables of life. The wicked and proud tremble at its warnings, but to the wounded and penitent it has a mother's voice. It has woven itself into our dearest dreams; so that love, friendship, sympathy, devotion, memory, hope, put on the beautiful garments of its treasured speech. No man is poor or desolate who has this treasure for his own.
When the landscape darkens, and the trembling pilgrim comes to the Valley named of the Shadow, he is not afraid to enter; he takes the rod and staff of Scripture in his hand; he says to friend and comrade, 'Goodbye; we shall meet again;', and, confronted by that support, he goes toward the lonely pass as one who walks through darkness into light. Henry Van Dyke


From Our American Forefathers: He who made all men hath made the truths necessary to human happiness obvious to all… Our forefathers opened the Bible to all. Samuel Adams "American Independence," August 1, 1776. Speech delivered at the State House in Philadelphia]

It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and Bible.

George Washington

The Bible is worth all other books which have ever been printed.

Patrick Henry

I have examined all religions, as well as my narrow sphere, my straightened means, and my busy life, would allow; and the result is that the Bible is the best Book in the world. It contains more philosophy than all the libraries I have seen. John Adams, December 25, 1813 letter to Thomas Jefferson

For more quotes from our Founders, click here.


History:
After the death of Solomon and the division of Israel, the Scriptures were suppressed by many of the inferior kings. It was King Josiah (II Kings) who lead his people in a revival and made known the Scriptures which he read to them in the temple.
The scrolls he read from were carried away and survived their seventy years of captivity in Babylon.
When the Jewish exiles returned to their land in 536 BC, Ezra, the priest/scribe, gathered together all scrolls he could find and made them into one complete work. Most Bible scholars persuade that Ezra, motivated by the direction of God, made additions and updates to the scrolls as he worked on connecting them into one edition. He divided the one complete work into three sections: the Torah, the Prophets, and the Holy Writings.


The Jews combined several related books--such as I and II Samuel into Samuel, I and II Kings into Kings, and I and II Chronicles into Chronicles. They also joined Judges and Ruth, Ezra and Nehemiah, Jeremiah and Lamentations, and the twelve Minor Prophets.
Apparently, the Jews combined these books to reduce the number of scrolls in the Hebrew scriptures to twenty two, which is also the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet.
Although the number of books in our Old Testament and their arrangement today has changed from ancient times, the text itself has not changed...not one letter, not one jot or tittle... from the Hebrew Bible.


How the books got divided into Chapters: "About A.D. 1248 Cardinal Hugo de Santo Care, while preparing an index to the whole Bible, divided it into its present chapters, subdividing these into several parts by placing the letters A, B, C, D etc. in the margin at equal distances from each other. These divisions were later introduced into many printed editions such as Stephens' Greek New Testament of 1550, still without verse numbers.


Cardinal Hugo's divisions were used in many manuscript copies of the Latin Vulgate, and gradually found a place also in later Greek manuscripts written in Western Europe, and in the earliest printed and all later editions of the Greek New Testament.


Verses: The divisions made by Hugo with the letters of the alphabet, and those adopted by Pagninus in his Latin Bible of 1528, were inconveniently large, and Robert Estienne (better known to us as Stephens) introduced a system of numbered verse divisions in his Greek New Testament published at Geneva in 1551. For this he used as his model the short verses into which the Hebrew Bible had been divided by Rabbi Nathan in 1508, first printed in Venice in 1524. Henry Stephens, Robert's father, had introduced verse numbers in his 1509 edition of the Psalms." For more information write to:
Trinitarian Bible Society
Tyndale House, Dorset Road
London, SW19 3NN, England
Telephone: 0 181 543 7857

Tennessee Town Restores the Christmas Story - Liberty Counsel

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 18, 2010 From Liberty Counsel

Tennessee Town Restores the Christmas Story
www.LC.org
Maryville, TN - In an early Christmas victory, Liberty Counsel helped restore the reading of the Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke as a part of Maryville's Christmas celebration. Last year the City removed the reading of the Christmas story from its Christmas program after receiving unsound legal advice, claiming that reading the Bible was a violation of the Constitution.


The City sponsored a Christmas tree lighting event each year with a Christmas tree, lights, and ornaments. The annual event included singing religious and secular Christmas songs, lighting the tree, and reading the account of the birth of Christ from the book of Luke. The reading has been a tradition at this event for over 22 years. When this tradition was cut out last year, a number of people worked to continue the tradition by reading the account themselves. Unfortunately, they were denied access to the city's platform and sound equipment, and temporary arrangements had to be made last year.


The citizens of Maryville were determined they would not give up this tradition. Liberty Counsel became involved and wrote several letters to local officials, clarifying the law. Liberty Counsel was prepared to submit permit applications if the City continued to restrict the reading, but this became unnecessary when it restored the Christmas reading to its event.


Liberty Counsel launched its eighth annual Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign, which is designed to educate and, if necessary, litigate to make sure religious viewpoints are not censored during Christmas. It provides legal information about Christmas on its website at www.LC.org and also a "Naughty & Nice" list, which overviews retailers that acknowledge Christmas and those that do not.


Mathew Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel and Dean of the Liberty University School of Law, commented: "We congratulate the City for returning the reading of the Christmas Story to its celebration. It is sad when government official censor the essence of Christmas based on misguided opinions of the Constitution. The War on Christmas comes from those who are either ignorant or hostile to religion. Either way has the same result. Liberty Counsel is committed to protecting religious freedom this Christmas season."


###Contact: PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENT - 800-671-1776

Tina Fey praises Sarah Palin as a good role model for women....unless you believe in evolution

PBS video, click here.

"The theory of evolution is so besieged with problems that it’s amazing it is so widely believed. But then, most people do not investigate. They simply believe what they are told—especially when it has the fumes of “science.” Many scientists have a vested interest in pushing evolution. Why is that? Because the only other alternative is creation. And that, of course, points to God—and a responsibility to him. For them, that is simply out of the question."  click here.


Scientists who believe in creationism, click here. (The guy who created this list is mocking them).

answers in Genesis, click here.
rejection of evolution, click here.  here   here

"The fossil record had caused Darwin more grief than joy. Nothing distressed him more than the Cambrian explosion, the coincident appearance of almost all complex organic designs..." (Gould, Stephen J., The Panda's Thumb, 1980, p. 238-239)








Christian worldview examiner, click here.

Obamacare waivers--Escapees and refugees!

Obamacare waivers, Michelle Malkin, click here.

Waiver-mania, click here.   "Now comes word that Torquemada HHS Secretay Kathleen Sebelius has approved a whopping 111 waivers for businesses of all sizes, along with more unions and other providers of health insurance. The escapees include employers of many low-wage and part-time workers whose health insurance plans would otherwise be dropped, including Darden Restaurants — the parent company of the Olive Garden and Red Lobster and other chains, which employ some 34,000 people."








McDonald's  Carlson Restaurants  Dish Networks to name a few.


Unrelated anecdote:
Speaking of politics, money and television, I’m reminded of a somewhat related story. One evening years ago I was out with my former boss, the president of a mid-sized broadcast company, along with a few other people. One of the other people at the table worked for a bank, and the topic of “getting the money out of politics” came up.


The banker, like Kevin Spacey, said television stations should give their time to politicians for free. My boss, without missing a beat, asked, “Why don’t the banks just give them the money?”



The banker went back to eating her salad without saying a word.

Written by Doug Powers
Twitter @ThePowersThatBe

Posted in: Hollyweird,Politics

Michelle Obama is on list of ten best dressed women - Vogue

Fox reports

Remember in gratefulness and thanks to our troops this holiday season

http://anysoldier.com/   You can request ANY name you want from ANY branch of our military in harm's way. The holidays are fast approaching and the Troops really need our support.
After you request a name, you get the address via email.
A card, letter or care package, something they can see and hold in their hands, something from 'home'!



American Red Cross - Yakima Valley Chapter    Support our troops by participating in "Holiday Mail for Heroes"
1.) Make or Buy a Holiday Card
2.) Send or Deliver ...your card to the Red Cross
3.) Our service men and women enjoy a touch of home, thanks to you!
302 S. 2nd Street, Yakima, WA 98901

Contact  Shannon Bird
Phone  509-457-1690
Fax  509-576-0898

Cup of Joe for Joe, click here.
Godly Minds, Bold Hearts, click here.

Warren Buffet thanks Uncle Sam

See Buffet's letter, click here.    "I don’t know precisely how you orchestrated these. But I did have a pretty good seat as events unfolded, and I would like to commend a few of your troops. In the darkest of days, Ben Bernanke, Hank Paulson, Tim Geithner and Sheila Bair grasped the gravity of the situation and acted with courage and dispatch. And though I never voted for George W. Bush, I give him great credit for leading, even as Congress postured and squabbled."

Videos of day: John Tyner to TSA, "Don't touch my junk!"

John Tyner opted for the metal detector and basic pat-down, but refused the latter after learning it involved a "groin check."


"I looked him straight in the eye and said, "If you touch my junk, I'll have you arrested," he wrote on his blog.

TSA Administrator, John Pistole, calls it a necessary evil.  Is he an idiot or what?  Take some tips from Israel or something.




Peter LaBarbera, president of the antigay group Americans for Truth About Homosexuality said Tuesday that gay Transportation Security Administration workers should be barred from performing airport screening pat-downs for fear they might overindulge in frisking passengers of the same sex.







The following is really nutty:

Harry Reid promises lame-duck illegal alien DREAM vote

Reid is "promising yet another vote on the perpetually rejected DREAM Act illegal alien student bailout."  from Michelle Malkin

It doesn't matter that most Americans don't want DREAM.  It's a corrupt bill which Reid wants to cram down our throats while our voices are minimized into virtual non-existence.



For article on Examiner, click here.
 
 
Sen. Orrin Hatch is one of the original architects of the DREAM Act. So is Sen. Dick Lugar. Other GOP Senators who have voted for the DREAM Act: Bob Bennett, Sam Brownback, Norm Coleman, Susan Collins, Larry Craig. Chuck Hagel, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Trent Lott, Mel Martinez, Olympia Snowe.

Mike Huckabee is not only for the DREAM Act, but for vastly expanding tuition benefits for illegal aliens.





"Signaling another partisan fight over immigration enforcement after next week’s midterm election, all seven Republican senators on the Judiciary Committee have signed a letter asking the Department of Homeland Security how much money it needs to deport every illegal immigrant the government encounters.
The request came in an Oct. 21 letter to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and asks her to “detail exactly how much funding” would be needed “to ensure that enforcement of the law occurs consistently for every illegal alien encountered and apprehended.” The Republican senators requested a response by Nov. 15.
… The GOP letter came in response to directives from Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton, including an Aug. 20 memo in which Morton requested that U.S. attorneys consider dismissing immigration cases against people who have green card applications pending and are likely to be approved. A subsequent temporary spike in dismissals in Houston, first reported by the Houston Chronicle, caught the attention of Republican lawmakers."  GOP Senators signal immigration showdown

Jim Clyburn quotes phrase from Bible to praise Pelosi as party leader

Socialist Jim Clyburn (D-SC) disagrees with Shuler. He adores Pelosi as the No. 1 ranked House Democrat since she led them to the land "of milk and honey" to get their party majority rule. He is adamant that she not drop her bid.

"She's made the declaration ... and we all know that she will be a candidate and as Heath Shuler just said, if he were to get in the race, he would not be successful."

For complete article, click here.

John Shimkus, Genesis of the Bible, and global warming: House Energy and Commerce Committee

For complete article and references, click here.


John Shimkus has been a target of ridicule because he is a Christian, because he believes what the Bible says, and because he speaks openly in regard to his faith.



He is in the news now because he is seeking to be chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
 
 

Some bloggers laugh at him because In proceedings from the March 25, 2009, hearing of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment, he read from Genesis:



And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. Genesis 8:21-22

Denair High School tells California teen he can't fly flag on bike, then relents after complaints

After flying the flag for two months, Cody Alicea was told last Monday by Denair Middle School to take it down. The flag was not welcome and no longer allowed on school property.

For rest of story and video, click here.


"Superintendent Parraz expressed fear that students might bring flags of the United States and Mexico to school, and he attempts to justifying this decision as a way to avoid tension in the district. However, the district schools fly the American flag on flagpoles outside of their buildings and inside classrooms throughout the district. Parraz even claims the decision is consistent with the U.S. Constitution."  

"This decision violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. In Tinker v. Des Moines Ind. Sch. Dist., the Supreme Court protected the free speech rights of students on public school campuses. This potential for offense cannot provide justification for banning Cody from displaying the American flag in support of his country and its war veterans. Students have the right to wear printed words or symbols on their clothing and display them on their vehicles while on school property. Students= expression in this manner may only be limited if it materially and substantially interferes with or materially disrupts the ordinary operation of the school, not because the symbols or messages offend administrators or fellow students."  from Liberty Counsel press release

UPDATE November 15, 2010  Cody's father, Robert Kisner, said of school officials, "One day they didn't want to speak to us and then next day they couldn't talk fast enough to apologize. They thought we were going to sue them. I believe this letter from Liberty Counsel made a great difference. The school staff is very sorry now."


"This morning American flags were everywhere. A convoy of motorcyclists filled the street behind Alecia on his way to school. Once at school, students joined Cody in displaying flags and saying the Pledge of Allegiance. Also present were four Gold Star Veterans who gave Cody a large golden coin that read "Welcome Home Heroes." California Senator George Runner sent a large flag, a military beret, and other symbols presented to Cody. The most touching moment for the family was after the crowd was breaking up. One veteran named Adam Brittan slowly approached Cody, his sacrifice to our country physically evident, donning a purple heart on his hat. He was so grateful for Cody's stand that he took his hat off his head and gave it to Cody. The school was also bombarded with demands from soldiers as far away as Afghanistan."  from Liberty Counsel press release





http://hotair.com/ photo

Honoring All Who Served

Operation Gratitude

A missile over California following a vapor trail

According to John Pike, an expert of aerospace and defense, the vapor trail appeared like a missile launch because of an ocular illusion.





"The uninvited guest: Chinese sub pops up in middle of U.S. Navy exercise, leaving military chiefs red-faced," click here.



Second mystery missile?



Related: Out of this world, click here.

ALABAMA -- From 2010 elections: Tim James

"We welcome non-English speaking people, who are legally in the U.S., to Alabama. However, if you want to drive in our states, public safety concerns dictate that you need to speak English," James said. "Political correctness may endear you to the Rachel Maddow crowd, but here in Alabama, the safety of our people comes first."

Robert Bentley ended up winning primary and election for governor's race.
Alabama elections, click here.

Alabama tea party express, click here.   Demand constitutional governance.

The U.S. Constitution, click here.

Dino Rossi concedes victory to Patty Murray

For those liberals who are gleefully calling Dino a three-time loser, let me correct them by saying this is the fourth election he lost and that he, a self-made millionaire, is hardly a loser.

There is no fault to find in Dino Rossi as a candidate.  Except....he has been lied about and he ran as a Republican in a blue state.  Even so, he came very close in the elections he lost. 

Fiscal responsibility, click here.

Overview, click here.

Take a look at Mitch Daniels

Mitchell E. Daniels Jr., is the 49th Governor of the State of Indiana, elected on November 2, 2004, and sworn into office on January 10, 2005.



"On his first day in office, Governor Daniels created Indiana’s first Office of Management and Budget to look for efficiencies and cost savings across state government. In 2005, Governor Daniels led the state to its first balanced budget in eight years and, without a tax increase, turned the $600 million deficit he inherited into a $300 million surplus in a single year. Governor Daniels used this surplus to repay hundreds of millions of dollars the state had borrowed from Indiana’s public schools in previous administrations."

Movie Review: Sex and the City 2

For Roger Ebert's review, click here.   Don't read my comments unless you've already seen the movie.  Might be some spoilers, not sure.

I just watched Sex and the City 2 on pay-per-view and enjoyed it.  Sure, some of the clothes were far-out colorful and maybe tacky but that's part of the amusement.

It was fantasy and fun, some of it a little silly-- nothing to take too seriously although there were some attempts at seriousness.

For example, Carrie showed concern for her assistant's inability to see his wife very often.  And Samantha decided her girlfriends were more important than dumping them for a date.  Charlotte and Miranda had drinks together to discuss their frustrations with being parents.

Now, I suppose you could say Charlotte was frustrated not because she realized her kids needed to be raised as Ebert suggests but because she realized she can't be the picture of perfection she dreamed she would be.  Part of that dream must have included wearing vintage Dior.

I don't believe in gay marriage but I, unlike Ebert, was somewhat mesmerized by the wedding, swans and all.  Liza was fantastic, the music was lovely.  I would have suggested adding clips of Cher singing, "Way of Love." 

I don't understand gay marriage because it's not expected in our culture that two men or two women get married.  The reason why marriage was invented as an institution was for the protection of women and the security of children.  

Men and women who desired to have sex with each other even though they didn't want children did so to avoid gossip, to fit in with the culture.  It was sort of a prestige thing for women.

Gay marriage seems unnecessary.  It's always been acceptable for two men or two women to room together but nowadays the rumors start because gayness is so much out in the open.  What good does being married achieve?

Since I'll never be on a plane with my own suite, and don't necessarily ever want to be, it was a treat just to watch the luxury on the screen.

I've always liked Aiden.  He's a buddy-type, sweet and adorable; but Chris Noth is tall, dark, handsome, with a hint of masculine mystery.  Unlike Ebert, I see his appeal.  He's not so self-centered.  He's not so shallow.  He's never been one to sleep around.  He appreciates classic music such as "Moon River" by Andy Williams and classic movies such as "It Happened One Night" with Colbert and Gable.  He treats Carrie very well.  He tries to understand and tries to please her.

He never criticizes Carrie and her lack of cooking skills.  He simply orders take-out.  That isn't good enough for her, though.  She seems to want to go out every night.  Ebert complains that he wants to stay home all the time.  It isn't all the time. 

Back in Abu whatever.  The scene with the girls in burqas was too silly.  I'm so sure they secretly wear Paris fashions.  One little detail that bothered me: Samantha asked for a drink of water and never got it.  Then one of the ladies asks if anyone wants anything to drink.  Weird.

The bit with the Suzanne Somers' book was lost on me.  If it was intended to make fun of Suzanne, it doesn't make much sense when anyone can see that Somers at age 63 or so looks as fantastic as most anyone.  And she's survived cancer through self-care when doctors said it couldn't work.

My one big complaint is Samantha.  Her character hasn't deepened much.  I found her annoying with out-of-proportion tantrums.  Perhaps we were to attribute those to her hormones, but ......

Instead of always being on the prowl, I'd prefer she be happy with her life and every once in a while someone catches her eye.  I'd like the flirtation to last a while and the relationship to show a little something to it other than pure lust.

And there were happy endings to complete the happy movie.  All in all, though, I recommend it for Sex and the City fans.

GOP has won the House. Now what?

The GOP has won the House!

"We're going to continue to renew our efforts for a smaller, less costly and more accountable government here in Washington, D.C."  John Boehner

"I believe that the health care bill that was enacted by the current Congress will kill jobs in America, ruin the best health care system in the world and bankrupt our country. That means that we have to do everything we can to try to repeal this bill, and replace it with commonsense reforms that will bring down the cost of health insurance," Boehner said. Earlier, he had called it a "monstrosity."

"Obama attributed the Democrats' election defeat to a feeling on the part of many voters that the economic recovery is too slow."  He doesn't get it, does he?  Looney tunes

"Despite the stated goal of Boehner and other Republicans to repeal the health care bill, the Democratic majority in the Senate makes it unlikely that will happen."

Re health care bill:  “I think it was the worst piece of legislation in the 25 years I’ve been in Senate,” said McConnell, R-Ky. “I was not a fan of this bill.”

On Youtube: Cong. Randy Forbes Supports Liberty Counsel's Defense of Principal and Athletic Director for Prayer

Liberty Counsel case, click here. Apartment managers were fired because they displayed artwork with a Christian Bible verse.  They were deemed "too religious" by the manager.

November Midterms 2010: Keep America from being a horror story

Ho hum, another democrat campaign using dirty tricks to cheat the system for a win

Southeastern Pennsylvania’s 8th district voters received an illegal warning about their right to vote. Of course, the warning is something concocted by the Democrats in order to get their candidate an edge at the polls.


The candidate they are trying to secure a win for is one of their rising stars, and he is in a close race. A little cheating would help this candidate Patrick Murphy a lot. So....voters were told by mail that their right to vote is jeopardized if they did not return an absentee ballot in a postage-paid envelope to an official sounding fictitious agency headquartered at a post office box, a post office box controlled by the Democrat party.


It's not important to elite Democrats what the voters want. It's important that they get what they want, so cheating is perfectly worth the extra trouble. (There are plenty of honorable Democrats but most of the distorted ads and fraudulent maneuvers seem to come from their side.)


Tim Persico, the campaign manager for Rep. Patrick Murphy, is listed as one of two people authorized to access the post office box listed in the mailers.


It is not clear at this point whether or not Murphy was directly involved with the scheme. The matter is being investigated by the local district attorney’s office.

Much of Murphy's campaign has to do with gay activism.

Vote for Mike Fitzpatrick:

"Government does not create jobs. Free enterprise, business, industry, and entrepreneurs do." 

"Because I want to protect the quality of care we have in our country, I oppose any legislation that puts government between patients and their doctors."

"Every nation on earth has the right to defend itself. The United States is no exception. Our enemies closely watch our actions in the world and look for weakness. I believe that a strong America helps keep the peace. When our nation decides to send its troops in to harms way I believe that our military leaders in the field should decide policy, rather than politicians in Washington. I believe that when America makes a commitment, we follow through with it and bring our troops home as soon as possible."

Right to Bear Arms
"The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees the fundamental individual right of American citizens to keep and bear arms. I support responsible gun ownership as a basic and undeniable right guaranteed by the Constitution."


Immigration and Border Security
"As the grandson of Irish immigrants, I know that legal immigration is a source of pride to all those who came to America in search of a better life. Those humble immigrants from around the world contributed to the unique greatness of our country. However, those who take their first step into the United States illegally trample our laws and no one is exempt from obeying the law. It is vital that we strengthen and protect our borders as well as enforce the immigration laws already on the books."

New poll shows Carl Paladino closing in on Cuomo!

Paladino campaign manager Michael Caputo released the following statement regarding the latest poll:


"Today's Rasmussen Reports survey of likely voters in the New York State shows Buffalo builder Carl Paladino down by 14 points against career politician Andrew Cuomo, 51 to 37 percent. This is wildly different from the recent Siena and New York Times surveys, both which showed a dubious difference. Public polls are unreliable in this volatile election season, but Rasmussen appears to have a better handle on their research in this environment. Paladino supporters are excited this race is tightening again as our statewide media buy kicks in."

For article, click here.

Dino Rossi - a great candidate

Dino Rossi has always been a dedicated fiscal conservative even before it became so fashionable in the 2010 elections.


Rossi is steady as a rock as he doesn't seem to change much, and his campaign promises and strategies are much the same today as they were when running for governor. He often points to his past work to balance the 2003 state budget--not a small feat. Once elected, he plans to tackle the deficit exactly the way he did in Olympia but on a much grander scale. He knows he can do it.


Former Sen. Slade Gorton believes Rossi would, for example, look carefully at the suggestions of Obama’s bipartisan commission trying to reduce the more than $13 trillion national debt.


“His relatively short time in Olympia,” Gorton said, “was on exactly the subject that is the most important and emergent in Washington, D.C.: How to cause a governmental body to live within its means.”


When Rossi bucked up against “the most radical union on the face of the planet,” which wanted him to raise taxes so he could give raises to “state employees that have no chance of losing their jobs,” they (500 SEIU members) dressed in purple and gathered outside his office window to chant "Dino Rossi, cheap and mean."

He supported freezing the state’s minimum wage in years when the state’s unemployment rate is lower than the national average, and in 2003 backed a measure that limited benefits for laid-off workers.


Democrats target those positions now, but at the time, Senate Democrats joined in supporting the unemployment-benefits overhaul. It was part of a series of reforms and tax breaks designed to persuade Boeing to build its 787 Dreamliner aircraft in Washington.


Asked if he ever stood up to powerful pro-business interest groups the way he did unions, Rossi said he didn’t need to; the powerful interests in Olympia are mostly anti-business, he said.


Democrats have criticized Rossi for voting with the Building Industry Association of Washington. As evidence that he was too cozy with lobbyists in Olympia, the state Democratic Party points to a business deal early in his seven-year Senate career, buying an apartment complex in Federal Way with investors that included two BIAW lobbyists.


Rossi has maintained there was nothing improper about the investment.  Those apartments were plagued by drugs and violence before Rossi cleaned it up and booted most of the tenants and sold it at a profit.


BUDGET CUTTING
In a budget that hit state workers hard, he protected the most vulnerable state residents from cuts. For his work, he was applauded by the AARP and groups advocating for the developmentally disabled.


Democrats criticize his budget’s tightened eligibility requirements for children’s medical coverage. The budget plan would have made 40,000 fewer children eligible for medical coverage, if that cut hadn’t been rejected in negotiations. Republicans say that even with the change, the budget would have covered 4,000 more children than had been covered in previous years.


Though Republicans had gained control of the Senate in the 2002 elections, it was only a 25-24 majority.  Democrats had an equally narrow majority in the House. The parties would have to work together.


Newly installed as budget chairman, Rossi worked with moderate Senate Democrats whose votes he would need.


Former Sen. Marilyn Rasmussen can attest to Rossi's honor and effectiveness.

Rossi worked also with liberals like Sen. Adam Kline, D-Seattle on a slate of legislation to crack down on drunken drivers, including a law Rossi authored to require ignition interlock devices for drivers stopped with a blood-alcohol level of 0.15 or higher.


Rossi’s low-key demeanor helped him. “He’s not a grandstander,” Kline said.

On issues in the Senate campaign, Rossi, generally toes his party’s line.

He said he can’t think of any issue facing the country now where he departs from his party. Had he been in Congress in 2008, though, he says he would have opposed the bank bailout that passed with help from both Republicans and Democrats including Murray and at the urging of President George W. Bush.


He is opposed to the stimulus, the health care overhaul, new Wall Street rules.


A self-made millionaire, Rossi brings a business background to politics – an understanding of what it’s like to sign the front of a paycheck, he says.


Murray's lies
True to the mantra of "keep them busy with so many lies and distortions that they can't discover the truth until after the elections," here are three examples of claims against Rossi:


--He supported cutting the minimum wage by a $1.50 an hour


When asked if he would support a stair-step training wage, which would begin at $1.50 less than the minimum wage and then ramp up from there, Rossi said:


“Would I be open to some of these ideas? You bet, especially a training wage. You think about how many young people are being cheated out of their first job. Getting the idea of going to work, fulfilling a task and being paid for it. That’s a very good thing. Work ethic is something very good to instill in our youth and letting them have that opportunity. But when minimum wage gets so high that that job isn’t worth that much to the employer, you don’t get that first job.


“Minimum wage is really your first job. Not many people stay at minimum wage. Not very long. It’s not meant to be a family wage. But it’s meant to be an entry level wage.”


--He authored a budget that cut forty thousand kids off health care


The proposed 2003-05 Senate budget, authored by Dino Rossi, would have covered roughly 4,000 more children than the prior biennium. In 2001-03, the average monthly caseload was 536,101. The Senate budget would have covered 540,000.

The final 2003 budget made changes to eligibility requirements to prevent Medicaid fraud, such as requiring verification of eligibility every 6 months rather than every 12 months. The budget did not kick anyone off of health care, except for those who were committing fraud. This would allow money to be spent where it should be – on the poor and vulnerable who otherwise wouldn’t have access to health care.

--Rossi voted to cut unemployment for laid-off workers


In 2003, the Washington State Legislature reformed the state’s Unemployment Insurance (UI) program which was one of the most costly in the nation. This reform was approved with support from both the House and Senate and was signed by Democrat Governor Locke. Not only did UI reform maintain benefits for Washingtonians out of work, but it also convinced Boeing to bring the first line of the 787 Dreamliner assembly to Washington State, creating thousands of new jobs.


Seattle Times, click here.  Seattle Times has called the, “Minimum wage attack on Rossi misleading.”

California Governor: Meg Whitman // Jerry Brown ads