TRANSCRIPT AND VIDEO: Netanyahu's Full Address To Congress

Posted at Fox Nation
Terri Rupar, Washington Post: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is addressing a joint meeting of Congress; here is a complete transcript of his remarks. Read More......

Why Netanyahu's Speech Matters

The emerging nuclear deal with Iran is indefensible. The White House knows it. That is why President Obama does not want to subject an agreement to congressional approval, why critics of the deal are dismissed as warmongers, and why the president, his secretary of state, and his national security adviser have spent several weeks demonizing the prime minister of Israel for having the temerity to accept an invitation by the U.S. Congress to deliver a speech on a subject of existential import for his small country. These tactics distract public attention. They turn a subject of enormous significance to American foreign policy into a petty personal drama. They prevent us from discussing what America is about to give away.

Read more at Free Beacon

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address the U.S. Congress on Tuesday, March 3rd. Read More......

WSJ: Obama's Hidden Budget

How does President Barack Obama plan to fund the new savings program he announced in January? It remains a mystery, even after Tuesday's release of Mr. Obama's 2015 budget proposal. Expect resistance on Capitol Hill as the President appears to be once again testing the limits of his ability to act without Congressional approval. ✧ In his January State of the Union address and then at a subsequent speech in Pennsylvania, the President touted his new "MyRA" plan, a type of Roth Individual Retirement Account that allows after-tax dollars to grow tax-free and will invest only in government debt. He also claimed the authority to create the program administratively. ✧ Team Obama says that the MyRA plan will allow private-sector workers to enjoy the same returns as government workers enjoy in a retirement plan known as the G Fund, but without paying any of the fees.

Read more at the Wall Street Journal Read More......

Sign up for Peter DeFazio's October 1st tele-townhall

UPDATE: CANCELLED DUE TO SHUTDOWN

DeFazio cancels townhalls scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday (Sep 25-26). Schedules Tele-townhall for 6:00PM (PDT), Tuesday, October 1st. SIGN UP FOR REP. DEFAZIO'S OCTOBER 1 TELE-TOWN HALL Read More......

NRO: Congress’s Exemption from Obamacare

By John Fund
Make Congress get insurance the same way the little people do? Hill denizens howl in fury. Prostitution. Bribery. Blackmail. Thuggery. Hypocrisy. ✧ Those were just some of the incendiary words thrown around the U.S. Senate last week, and that doesn’t count what people said in private. ✧ The Senate may still have a reputation as a genteel club, but lawmakers seemed to abandon rules of decorum completely last week in arguments about whether Congress should be treated like the rest of the country when it comes to Obamacare. Read more at National Review Online...

Political malpractice! Read More......

Columbine Student's Father, 12 years later...

Via email, 1/1/2013 (Hat tip: Jane Newton) - I guess our national leaders didn't expect this. On Thursday, Darrell Scott, the father of Rachel Scott, a victim of the Columbine High School shootings in Littleton, Colorado, was invited to address the House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee. What he said to our national leaders during this special session of Congress was painfully truthful. ✧ They were not prepared for what he was to say, nor was it received well. It needs to be heard by every parent, every teacher, every politician, every sociologist, every psychologist, and every so-called expert! These courageous words spoken by Darrell Scott are powerful, penetrating, and deeply personal. There is no doubt that God sent this man as a voice crying in the wilderness.. The following is a portion of the transcript:

"Since the dawn of creation there has been both good &evil in the hearts of men and women. We all contain the seeds of kindness or the seeds of violence. The death of my wonderful daughter, Rachel Joy Scott, and the deaths of that heroic teacher, and the other eleven children who died must not be in vain. Their blood cries out for answers.

"The first recorded act of violence was when Cain slew his brother Abel out in the field. The villain was not the club he used.. Neither was it the NCA, the National Club Association. The true killer was Cain, and the reason for the murder could only be found in Cain's heart.

"In the days that followed the Columbine tragedy, I was amazed at how quickly fingers began to be pointed at groups such as the NRA. I am not a member of the NRA. I am not a hunter. I do not even own a gun. I am not here to represent or defend the NRA - because I don't believe that they are responsible for my daughter's death. Therefore I do not believe that they need to be defended. If I believed they had anything to do with Rachel's murder I would be their strongest opponent

I am here today to declare that Columbine was not just a tragedy -- it was a spiritual event that should be forcing us to look at where the real blame lies! Much of the blame lies here in this room. Much of the blame lies behind the pointing fingers of the accusers themselves. I wrote a poem just four nights ago that expresses my feelings best.

Your laws ignore our deepest needs,
Your words are empty air.
You've stripped away our heritage,
You've outlawed simple prayer.
Now gunshots fill our classrooms,
And precious children die.
You seek for answers everywhere,
And ask the question "Why?"
You regulate restrictive laws,
Through legislative creed.
And yet you fail to understand,
That God is what we need!

"Men and women are three-part beings. We all consist of body, mind, and spirit. When we refuse to acknowledge a third part of our make-up, we create a void that allows evil, prejudice, and hatred to rush in and wreak havoc. Spiritual presences were present within our educational systems for most of our nation's history. Many of our major colleges began as theological seminaries. This is a historical fact. What has happened to us as a nation? We have refused to honor God, and in so doing, we open the doors to hatred and violence. And when something as terrible as Columbine's tragedy occurs -- politicians immediately look for a scapegoat such as the NRA. They immediately seek to pass more restrictive laws that contribute to erode away our personal and private liberties. We do not need more restrictive laws. Eric and Dylan would not have been stopped by metal detectors. No amount of gun laws can stop someone who spends months planning this type of massacre. The real villain lies within our own hearts.

"As my son Craig lay under that table in the school library and saw his two friends murdered before his very eyes, he did not hesitate to pray in school. I defy any law or politician to deny him that right! I challenge every young person in America , and around the world, to realize that on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School prayer was brought back to our schools. Do not let the many prayers offered by those students be in vain. Dare to move into the new millennium with a sacred disregard for legislation that violates your God-given right to communicate with Him. To those of you who would point your finger at the NRA -- I give to you a sincere challenge. Dare to examine your own heart before casting the first stone!

My daughter's death will not be in vain! The young people of this country will not allow that to happen!"

- Darrell Scott

Do what the media did not - - let the nation hear this man's speech. Please send this out to everyone you can.

God Bless Read More......

A promise is a promise... until it isn't anymore

One of the earliest fears about tax-favored savings accounts like IRAs and 401(k) plans was that when this pool of savings grew large enough Congress would not be able to resist tapping it to help solve the nation’s debt problems. We’re about to find out if those fears—persistent for decades—have been justified. Read more at TIME...

What could possibly go wrong? Read More......

Arrogant FCC Takes Control Over Internet

iT&Telecom News, 12/28/2010 by Bruce Walker of Heartland.org - "By a 3-2 vote, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski’s latest network neutrality iteration came to pass [before Christmas break], reeking of bureaucratic arrogance. ∴ Arrogance not only toward the majority of the public who expressed their contentment with the Internet without government intrusion, but also toward a Congress that refused to relinquish any statutory authority whatsoever to the FCC, and toward industry stakeholders warning of the negative economic and employment impact of the maneuver. The prolonged uncertainty injected into an industry known for rapid advancements will most certainly stifle innovations and investment. ∴ Perhaps most damning, the FCC is showing arrogance toward the U.S. Appeals Court, which told the FCC to back off last April because only Congress has the authority to implement rules over the Internet. The court’s finding was unanimous." Read more at iT & Telecom News...

What others have to say...

The Internet has taken our basic Freedom of Assembly right and adapted itself beautifully to the 21st century – a sensational transition our Founding Fathers would have been proud of. To believers in freedom, the Internet is a Godsend – the modern-day equivalent of the printing press. --Lee Bellinger

Read More......

V2A: Big Government Strikes Back

VISION 2 AMERICA, 12/30/2010 - "The 111th Congress, the most unpopular Congress in the recorded history of the United States, ended last week with a flurry of legislative activity that set a record for a lame duck Congress. Some in the media are eager to make the case that last week’s events portend a new era of bipartisan accomplishment, led by the White House, that will extend into the 112th Congress. They are half right.

Last week’s events in Washington were a preview of lawmaking in 2011, but Congress was not where the real action was. While the media was distracted by the last breaths of a defeated leftist majority in Congress, it was the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that gave true picture of how the Obama Administration will advance their agenda in 2011."

Related: Morning Bell: Top Ten Reasons America Won’t Miss the 111th Congress Read More......

Lawmakers advise new Congress

CONGRESS.ORG - Outgoing members say Capitol Hill needs to change its ways. EXCERPT: "When it's difficult to get Congress to lower taxes and increase spending," Rep. Chet Edwards (D-Texas) said, referring to the recent tax deal, "the real question is how hard will it be to get bipartisanship to raise taxes and lower spending." ∴ Edwards and several other lawmakers who lost in the midterm elections offered their advice for breaking partisan gridlock during a panel at the Bipartisan Policy Center this week. ∴ They suggested Congress needs:

Read more at Congress.org...

Read More......

Candidate Delia Lopez: Common sense on the environment

DELIA LOPEZ, 2010 Republican Candidate for Oregon's Third Congressional District, POSITIONS/ENVIRONMENT - "Look into the spotted owl and many other of the birds that have been listed on the threatened or endangered species list. Years ago I cut out and copied newspaper articles for then president Clinton and 2 other of the top EPA and Forest Service heads. They were finding spotted owls emaciated in surprising numbers! There were at least 5 articles where they were found dead and autopsy showed they starved. There were articles stating they found spotted owls nesting in 30 year old trees, they found a nest in a Roseburg K-Mart sign! I had them nesting in my back yard (they have a distinctive whoo) Also an article on the effective rodenticide the federal forest department had been using for 26 years!! It stopped rodents from killing the small newly planted trees, and how effective it was at killing the rodents. I made 3 copies of each and sent them off with a letter. I got a BS thank you letter back from Clinton. They are still using the rodenticide! The spotted owls numbers are still declining. You will not survive without food, spotted owls eat rodents, rodenticides kill rodents. Birds that have no food, do not reproduce, they die. Shutting down the forests to logging has not helped the Spotted Owls nor improved the heath of our forests." Read more on the environment, forest health, jobs, carbon sequestering and more.

Best wishes to Delia Lopez in her campaign to replace Earl Blumenauer. --bc Read More......

House Republicans Unveil 'Pledge to America'

FOX NEWS, 9/23/2010 - House Republicans on Thursday rolled out their "Pledge to America," a sweeping conservative agenda that calls for reining in federal spending, permanently extending all of the Bush tax cuts, and repealing President Obama's signature health care law. Read more at Fox...

9/24 - But some conservatives denounce GOP ‘Pledge’ as sellout, inside job. Read More......

G-T to host forum for Oregon's Dist. 4 candidates for U.S. Congress

The Corvallis Gazette-Times will sponsor a voter forum on Monday for all three candidates in the 4th District congressional race. The event will begin at 7 p.m. at the First Congregational Church, 4515 S.W. West Hills Road. Read more at the GT... and then click on comments for additional information.

Note: Republican candidate Art Robinson has challenged Rep. Peter DeFazio (D) to an actual debate directly after the forum. Will DeFazio meet the challenge?

NOPE, he didn't... made a speedy get-away instead! Read More......

Bush's Deficit?

VIA EMAIL 4/1/2010 (Hat tip: Linda Weiemer) - The Washington Post babbled again about Obama inheriting a huge deficit from Bush. Amazingly enough, a lot of people swallow this nonsense. So once more, a short civics lesson.

Budgets do not come from the White House. They come from Congress, and the party that controlled Congress since January 2007 is the Democratic Party. They controlled the budget process for FY 2008 and FY 2009, as well as FY 2010 and FY 2011. In that first year, they had to contend with George Bush, which caused them to compromise on spending, when Bush somewhat belatedly got tough on spending increases. For FY 2009, though, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid bypassed George Bush entirely, passing continuing resolutions to keep government running until Barack Obama could take office. At that time, they passed a massive omnibus spending bill to complete the FY 2009 budgets.

And where was Barack Obama during this time? He was a member of that very Congress that passed all of these massive spending bills, and he signed the omnibus bill as President to complete FY 2009. Let's remember what the deficits looked like during that period:

If the Democrats inherited any deficit, it was the FY 2007 deficit, the last of the Republican budgets. That deficit was the lowest in five years, and the fourth straight decline in deficit spending. After that, Democrats in Congress took control of spending, and that includes Barack Obama, who voted for the budgets. If Obama inherited anything, he inherited it from himself.

In a nutshell, what Obama is saying is I inherited a deficit that I voted for and then I voted to expand that deficit four-fold since January 20th.

There is no way this will be widely publicized, unless each of us sends it on!
This is your chance to make a difference. Read More......

Keep Medicare in Congress's hands (Bipartisan Op-Ed)

POLITICO, 3/19/2010 by Bill Frist and John Breaux - [Excerpt] While the new entity, an “Independent Payment Advisory Board,” addresses a growing problem, its structure in the current legislation raises serious constitutional and process questions that Congress must confront. ∴ The board, intended to help control Medicare costs — which, all agree, are rising at a concerning rate — would possess nearly total power over the federal health care program for the elderly and disabled.

[...] Ultimately, however, we would be better off looking to established congressional oversight rather than implementing heavy-handed regulation to make significant — and potentially unconstitutional — changes to a program essential to the successful delivery of health care to America’s seniors.

Bill Frist is a former Republican senator from Tennessee who served as majority leader. John Breaux is a former Democratic senator from Louisiana and served as co-chairman of the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare. Read more at Politico... Read More......

Behind Closed Doors...

Published in the Benton Co. Republicans 1/17/2010 e-Newsletter - President Obama and the Democrat Congressional leadership have cut a sweetheart deal with big labor to exempt them from taxes on union health care plans until 2018, but taxes on the health care plans for other Americans will begin before we see any benefits. This blatant favoritism is JUST PLAIN WRONG!

Why can’t we see what our elected leaders are doing? C-SPAN cameras have not been allowed to show the health care negotiations. Speak up now and ask for the transparency we were promised by this administration. Here’s a link to a petition you can sign: Tell Pres. Obama to keep his promise at Americans for Prosperity (AFP). Tell your friends to sign the petition as well: Read More......

Heritage: The Estate Tax Debate

HERITAGE FOUNDATION, 12/29/2009 - THE DEATH TAX, Burden on American Business. "In the coming weeks, Congress will once again take up debate on the dreaded estate tax (also known as the "death tax"). The death tax expires for one year, beginning on January 1, 2010, before coming back in full force on January 1, 2011." Read more and watch video... Read More......

Petition: Should Congress Buy Into Gov't Healthcare?

IN THE SENATE: On Tuesday [date?], the Senate health committee voted 12-11 in favor of a two-page amendment courtesy of Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) that would require all Members and their staff to enroll in any new government-run health plan.

IN THE HOUSE: Congressman John Fleming (R-LA) has proposed an amendment that would require congressmen and senators to take the same healthcare plan they hope to force on us (under proposed legislation they are curiously exempt). He is encouraging people to go to his website and sign his petition (very simple - just enter your email, vote & submit). Please urge as many people as you can to do the same! ∴ If Congress forces this on the American people, the Congressmen and Congresswomen should have to accept the same level of health care for themselves and their families. To do otherwise is the height of hypocrisy! ∴ Please pass this on!

(Hat tip: Deborah Barrett) Read More......

Obamacare: Buy now, pay later

WASHINGTON POST, 11/16/2009 by Robert J. Samuelson (Hat tip: John H. Detweiler) - There is an air of absurdity to what is mistakenly called "health-care reform." Everyone knows that the United States faces massive governmental budget deficits as far as calculators can project, driven heavily by an aging population and uncontrolled health costs. As we recover slowly from a devastating recession, it's widely agreed that, though deficits should not be cut abruptly (lest the economy resume its slump), a prudent society would embark on long-term policies to control health costs, reduce government spending and curb massive future deficits. The administration estimates these at $9 trillion from 2010 to 2019. The president and all his top economic advisers proclaim the same cautionary message. ∴ So what do they do? Just the opposite... Read more at the Washington Post.

John writes, "Will we ever learn that not enough money grows on trees to cover all good intentions?" Read More......

Letter: Tell Congress to let us read the bills first

To Do Item: CORVALLIS GAZETTE-TIMES/LETTERS, 10/21/2009 by Jean Nelson - Thanks, G-T, for putting the shocking story "2009 federal deficit surges to $1.42 trillion" (Oct. 17) on your front page. Today, each person's share of the national debt is more than $4,700. ∴ Our nation's debt tripled during the 2009 fiscal year, which ended in September. 2008's shortfall was a scandalous $459 billion. 2009's $1.42 trillion more than triples our national debt. ∴ Congress must make hard decisions, say economists. Either cut spending or raise taxes, or we'll be in another economic crisis. ∴ Since Congress isn't famous for restraint and votes on bills they haven't read, We, the People must insist on our right to know so we can act.

In a bipartisan effort, Reps. Greg Walden, R-Ore., and Brian Baird, D-Wash., would give the public, press and members of Congress at least 72 hours to read and understand a bill before it could be voted on. ∴ House Resolution 554, the 72 Hour Internet Notice Bill, would require posting all nonemergency legislation so the world can see the exact details of a bill before it is brought to a vote in the U.S. House. ∴ Amazingly, there is resistance to this bill. One hundred and eighty-two House members have signed Walden's Discharge Petition. 218 signatures are needed.

OK. Let's get to work. Tell Congress to be more transparent. Call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask Representatives DeFazio, Wu, Shrader and Blumenauer to sign on to HR 554. Inform others through letters to the editor, the Internet and talk radio. Make government accountable.

Jean Nelson, Corvallis
[Scroll down for phone #'s in sidebar --bc] Read More......