EIN Presswire: Featured Press Releases

New Book Details One Man's Attempt to Repeal Roe v. Wade

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 06:52:07 +0000

/EINPresswire.com/ In 2004 Joe Carlin took on three U.S. Attorneys and almost tipped the balance of repeal in his favor.

But he won't tell it that way. In fact, he almost didn't tell it at all. Even though what he filed is a matter of public record, it sat silent for seven years until now with the publication of his book, "Repeal Roe…I Tried." available now at Amazon.com.

Back in 2004 then President Bush signed into law The Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which passed by the slimmest of margins, one vote. It made clear not only was the unborn baby offered multiple protections against violence, the same as the mother, but most importantly, Carlin will tell you, that life begins at the moment of conception.

Carlin, 50, a Roman Catholic born and raised in Philadelphia, only heard about The Unborn Victims of Violence Act by chance on the evening news one winter night in 2004. He listened as the reporter said that the passage of this Act would be "all the pro-lifer's need to overturn Roe v. Wade." He remembers thinking, "It's about time." Like most people, he filed the thought away in the "follow-up drawer" of our minds and went about his life as a real estate broker. Over the next few weeks he would take a look here and there to see if anything was happening on the pro-life front. Nothing. Come April, the Act became law.

"I pulled a copy of The Unborn Victims of Violence Act off the internet, read it the best I could and again put it aside. Three pages, that's it, three pages and this would do it? This would overturn Roe v. Wade? Okay, let's see it happen." Carlin said. Again, over the next ten days, nothing, not a word on the news, no court filings, nothing on the internet. But during that time Carlin pulled up each and every protection afforded the unborn child and was amazed at what he was looking at. "In my opinion, and I'm not a lawyer nor a college grad, but in my opinion if life begins at the moment of conception then so do the same rights we all enjoy as United States Citizens, they being at the moment of conception as well."

He then began to piece together what is the only suit ever filed by an individual person to repeal Roe v. Wade. He filed the case in Federal Court at the Eastern District Court of Pennsylvania. It met all the requirements for filing and papers were then properly served upon the United States of America in Washington, DC.

The entire case is detailed in "Repeal Roe…I Tried." even a copy of the final Order. But, as Carlin will tell you, the Order left some doors open for another run at the repeal. Carlin said it was only through a recent personal experience he was inclined to make public his efforts to repeal Roe v. Wade. "The only way this is going to get in front of the United States Supreme Court is with money, big money, and hopefully through the sale of this book I'll be able to raise what's necessary to fund the legal fees."

Whether you believe in a Higher Power or not, if Roe v. Wade is right or wrong or if life begins for us all at the moment of conception then you should read the arguments made in "Repeal Roe…I Tried." on Amazon.com. Even after seven years, it just may change the way you look at this issue.

Joe Carlin can be reached at cracarlin@yahoo.com

Follow the Campaign of One Special Tea Party Candidate

Tue, 02 Nov 2010 07:33:59 +0000

Nov. 2, 2010 -- After the last ballots are counted and Tea Party candidates have done the improbable, take a look back at the grassroots efforts of one Tea Party Congressional hopeful in the new book The Hick Arrives at the Tea Party.

Follow the short, colorful Congressional campaign of Rufus "Junior" Hickman Jr., an independent contractor who trades in his grass smoking for grassroots barnstorming in an effort to dethrone incumbent Rep. Jim Dandy in Nebraska's 3rd District.

Recruited by Tea Party activists for his inherent knack for saying crazy things, Rufus hits the gravel to convince the folks of Nebraska's 3rd District that he's the right outlaw to serve their needs which may or may not include the preservation of personal liberty and the legalization of marijuana.

But trouble lurks outside the 3rd's unguarded borders: a tearful endorsement from the coattail rider The Profit is threatening to sabotage Rufus' home-grown Tea Party bandwagoning.

"Although it's a work of fiction, this book follows the people who get lost in the Tea Party movement, who fall victim to the marketing of anger by outside forces looking to steal political power" says the book's author, Terry Dugan. "There are real people with real concerns who have walked under the Tea Party revival tent. After seeing the show, they may want government to be born again, but the reality is that change is complicated and painful, rhetoric only makes things hurt longer.

"But rhetoric always sounds better than reality, doesn't it?"

The Hick Arrives at the Tea Party is now available for $9.12 at Amazon.com and Terry Dugan.com (http://terrydugan.com). Read samples of the book online at http://terrydugan.com/books/the-hick-arrives-at-the-tea-party.

A Chelsea Clinton Wedding "Rain Out" Now More Likely

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 12:18:55 +0000

With the weather forecast for Rhinebeck, New York calling for thunderstorms for five of the next seven days, the idea of a "rain out" for the July 31, 2010 Chelsea Clinton wedding is getting more attention. We are in a drought now but with changes coming this week what will the weather look like when presidential daughter Chelsea Clinton marries Goldman Sachs banker, Marc Mezvinsky? As we move deeper into July each weekly seven day forecast is being anticipated and for a very good reason. Weather can be a big deal at weddings. And it is the one thing that even Chelsea Clinton cannot control.

The wedding festivities between Marc Mevzinky's and Chelsea Clinton are believed to be taking place at the Astor estate in Rhinebeck, 90 miles north of New York City. Those familiar with the estate say that it was probably chosen as the site because it can easily accommodate a rain emergency. The event will reportedly all be under tents to keep inventive paparazzi at a distance. The sky above will likely be declared a temporary "no fly zone" by Homeland Security. And yet, no matter how complete the contingency plans, rain can make for a different wedding. Shuffling the 400 guests in and out during a New York downpour will require some expert planning. The wedding pictures, with the requisite sunshine, may have to take place under hot lights or even a day or two before.

Jenna Bush and Henry Hager had to sweat out the possibility of a Texas thunderstorm on their May 10, 2008 wedding day. There was lightning and rumbling thunder throughout the nighttime sky before the sunrise finally appeared. The skies held all day. If the storm had come the Bushes would have resorted to their "rain plan," but the ranch would have become a sea of mud, with cars coming and going, sometimes driving across lawn and open grasslands. Ladies would have been rushing into the tents, their high heels caked with mud.

Rain was a major consideration for the last White House wedding of a presidential child, June 12, 1971. Tricia Nixon was planning a Rose Garden ceremony. In the summertime, in Washington it rains every third day. As in the case of the Clinton's and the Bushes, the Nixon staff had to plan two weddings which was an enormous strain and burden on the White House. It is why the staff initially tried to talk Tricia Nixon out of her Rose Garden ceremony.

The morning of the Nixon wedding there were intermittent showers. President Nixon consulted the latest Air Force weather report which anticipated a break in the clouds around 4:30pm. The White House permanent staff said that Tricia Nixon had nerves of steel. She kept to plan-A. The break in the clouds came as predicted, the sun appeared, the plastic coverings were removed from the chairs and the only White House Rose Garden wedding ceremony in American history unfolded without a hitch.

Meanwhile, local residents in Rhinebeck, New York, are philosophical about the upcoming Chelsea Clinton-Marc Mezvinsky wedding. "Maybe rain this week is a good thing," I was told by a friend who has lived nearby most of his life. "If it rains enough, maybe the sun will come out next week in time for the wedding."

The Clinton's are a family who knows well the value of contingency planning and will likely be ready either way. And Chelsea, known for her poise and self-composure is not likely to be ruffled by a little rain.

Come to think of it, the Clinton's have had their share of rain in their lifetimes and come through just fine. A tent full of celebrating friends, trapped together, with a downpour outside, and good food and talented musicians inside, everyone dressed to the nines, at one of the most important social events in our lifetime, it might just make for a glorious, unforgettable moment for the history books. So rain or shine, Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky will tie the knot this July 31, 2010. The skies can do what they will.

By Doug Wead, New York Times Bestselling Author of "All the President's Children".

Doug Wead
dougwead@aol.com
http://www.chelseaclintonweddingwatch.com
http://www.dougwead.com/

Via http://www.onlineprnews.com

U.S. Tax Burden Drops to Lowest Rate Since 1950

Wed, 12 May 2010 14:01:35 +0000

May 12, 2010 -- "The idea that US taxes are high now is pretty much nuts," according to Michael Ettinger, head of economic policy at the liberal Center for American Progress.

He points to a new report in USA Today that says in 2009 Americans paid their lowest level of taxes since 1950. That number includes federal, state and local income, property and sales taxes.

The facts are at odds with conservative political movements such as the "Tea Party" that have criticized federal spending as being out of control. The overall tax burden hit bottom in December at 8.8% of income.

Read more about the US tax burden at US Politics Today:
IRS news - http://uspolitics.einnews.com/news/irs
Tax Foundation news - http://uspolitics.einnews.com/news/tax-foundation
US Tax Court news - http://uspolitics.einnews.com/news/tax-court

Located at http://uspolitics.einnews.com, U.S. Politics Today is a service of EIN News, a global news monitoring service for researchers and analysts. Using a combination of proprietary search technology and human editing, EIN News delivers the latest US political news from more than 7,000 news sites from around the world. The latest news updates on these topics are also available in email and RSS formats.

About EIN Presswire
The EIN Presswire press release service is a news-syndication solution that distributes news to more than 10 million visitors annually at EIN News and millions more through its press release distribution partners. A news source for journalists, decision-makers and industry professionals worldwide, EIN Presswire targets press releases to a wide array of worldwide business professionals through more than 90 industry channels. EIN Presswire also offers affiliate network opportunities and news distribution to tens of thousands of news subscribers daily. Read the press release live feed at http://www.einpresswire.com and the latest world news at http://www.einnews.com.

RNC Spending Comes Under Scrutiny

Wed, 07 Apr 2010 12:43:50 +0000

April 7, 2010 - The Republican National Committee's spending and fund-raising is coming under fire from all sides, putting further pressure on embattled party chairman Michael Stele.

The Associated Press writes that a finance report showed that the RNC spent $982 at a Vermont winery for what was termed "office supplies," which translated to five cases of wine.

Recently, the RNC picked up the tab for $2,000 spent at a sex-themed nightclub in California.

Read more at US Politics Today:
RNC Fundraising news - http://uspolitics.einnews.com/news/rnc-fundraising
Michael Steele news - http://uspolitics.einnews.com/news/michael-steele

Located at http://uspolitics.einnews.com, US Politics Today is a service of EIN News, an industry leader in news monitoring for business professionals and analysts. Using a combination of proprietary search technology and human editing, EIN News delivers to its members the latest US political news from around the world. New users to US Politics Today can enjoy a no-obligation, one-week free trial.

About EIN Presswire
The EIN Presswire press release service is a news-syndication solution that distributes news to more than 10 million visitors annually at EIN News and millions more through its press release distribution partners. A news source for journalists, decision-makers and industry professionals worldwide, EIN Presswire targets press releases to a wide array of worldwide business professionals through more than 90 industry channels. EIN Presswire also offers affiliate network opportunities and news distribution to tens of thousands of news subscribers daily. Read the press release live feed at http://www.einpresswire.com and the latest world news at http://www.einnews.com.

The Tea Party Spells Trouble for Republicans

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:19:54 +0000

March 18, 2010

By Joe Rothstein
Editor, EINNEWS.COM

Since the Tea Party is a hot number these days I thought you might like to know what the man behind the movement is thinking. Here are my notes from his speech at the National Press Club this week.

The man is Dick Armey, one time top lieutenant to Newt Gingrich when Republicans took over the U.S. House in 1994 and now the head of Freedom Works, a privately-funded D.C.-based organization effectively calling the shots for Tea Party activities. Here's what he said at the Press Club:

The movement is the fifth wave of modern grassroots conservatism. The first wave was the Goldwater movement of the 1960s. Then came the Reagan election. Next it was Ross Perot. The Contract for America wave of 1994 was the fourth. Now we're in the fifth, with each wave getting bigger.

The Tea Party isn't a political party. Third parties don't do well in the U.S. The movement will support Republicans because "right now, pathetic as it is, Republicans are the best we've got."

But the movement won't let a "soft on Constitution Republican" get the presidential nomination in 2012, and is working the weed them out in congressional primaries this year.

Many Tea Party supporters are "readers of the Federalist Papers" who admire the Founding Fathers as divinely inspired "geniuses" who took every word in the Constitution seriously. They fear that President Obama and congressional Democrats "do not cherish America the way we do."

Tea Party supporters just want to be left alone by government, and only get involved when they are concerned. Fourth wave Republicans "went bad" and "broke everyone's hearts." But this wave will endure because of the organizing and fund-raising power of the Internet.

Now, let's analyze some of Armey's points:

The first thing you realize, listening to Armey (and which also was evident at the recent Tea Party convention in Nashville and the Conservative Political Action Committee convention in Washington, D.C.) is that these folks are not happy with the Republican Party or with many Republicans now in office.

Candidates even further right than those now in Congress are running against Republicans in Utah, New Hampshire, Delaware, Florida and in key races in many other states. We haven't seen an ideological split like this in the Republican Party since the Goldwater era. And 1964 produced one of the great election debacles for the GOP in the 20th century.

If Armey and friends succeed in knocking off reliable conservative Republicans like Senator Robert Bennett in Utah, or more moderate Republican Senate candidates Crist in Florida and Castle in Delaware, will independent voters march with them to the far right? Nothing in recent political history suggests they will.

Armey believes this "fifth wave" is bigger than his first four. But what's it built on? Anger alone? During his hour-long address and Q & A Armey never once mentioned the 20 or so million people currently out of work, or the millions losing their homes to bankruptcy, or, for that matter, any alternative solution to the nation's health problems, or Iran, Afghanistan, nuclear proliferation or any foreign policy issue.

Go to Freedom Works' web site, click on "issues" and you'll see an agenda that almost exactly mirrors the one Republicans had when they owned the White House and controlled Congress: lower taxes, less regulation, private accounts for Social Security, "market-driven" answers to energy, environment and trade issues.

Didn't we just come through an intense period of tax and regulation cutting and unfettered free trade? As Sarah Palin might say, how's that laissez-fairey thing working out for ya?' This is a program that's going to get everyone's political juices flowing in 2010?

And about those "waves." I seem to recall a pretty big wave that elected Barack Obama and the Democrats in 2008. That wave wasn't generated by candidates promising lower taxes and less regulation. On the contrary, people seemed to cast votes of hope for more effective government that addressed the country's serious, growing and untended problems.

One more thing: Armey said in his speech that his movement's supporters were "short on patience with smart alecs who think they know better than the people." Meaning, of course, the "smart alecs" now in Congress. But if Armey were to re-read the Federalist Papers, which he holds up as bedrock truth, he'd notice that they argue for exactly the kind of government we now have---one where people elect representatives with proxies to manage the government in their name.

The founding fathers would have been horrified at the prospect of every American voting directly on every piece of legislation.

I've met a lot of Tea Party activists at various rallies. Sure, there's a crazy here and there, just like in other big movements. But for the most part those I've talked with are what Armey says they are, people genuinely concerned with how things are going and willing to give up some of their time and money for what they see as a just cause.

But are they the wave of America's future? And is Dick Armey---a man who not long ago held in his hands as House Majority Leader the power to do great things for America, and blew it---a 21st century George Washington?

We'll start getting answers to those questions when the results begin rolling in from Republican primaries. The more I hear, the more I'm convinced that the Tea Party movement is much more of a problem for Republicans than for Democrats. For the GOP, this wave may indeed be insurmountable.

Is Total Resistance and Talk of 'Revolution' A Winning Strategy for the GOP In 2010? Not Likely.

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:49:24 +0000

Is Total Resistance and Talk of 'Revolution' A Winning Strategy for the GOP In 2010? Not Likely.

March 8, 2010

By Joe Rothstein
Editor, EINNEWS.COM

Current political commentary has it that voters will flee from the Democrats this year driven by fears that Democrats are spending too much and are too inclined to exercise government control over a myriad of areas best left to the private markets.

A corollary to that theory is that the Democratic base will sit this one out, disappointed that the big majorities they helped to elect in 2008 haven't delivered on the promises of progressive change.

All that could happen. But five bucks says it won't.

For that to happen non-partisan, independent voters would have to see the Republicans as a better alternative. For most, the Republicans would have to be convincing as a party that seems better able to govern and take care of the country's most pressing problems----like jobs, and health costs. The Republicans would have to grab the political center, where most independents and moderates live.

But none of that is happening. Instead, Republicans are putting on their fright wigs and scampering to the far right just as fast as their speeches, congressional votes and public appearances will take them there. In their effort to harness the runaway tea party movement, they are embedding themselves on the scary right, leaving the center wide open for the Democrats to recapture.

We're not talking fringe Republicans here. Virtually the entire Republican House leadership lined up, hat in hand, to woo delegates to the recent Conservative Political Action Committee conference in Washington, D.C., a conference notable for its theme that American freedom is in danger and that extreme measures are needed to save it.

CPAC's keynote speaker was Fox commentator Glenn Beck who used the occasion to denounce Teddy Roosevelt (that's right---Teddy Roosevelt, not Teddy Kennedy) for starting the progressive movement. Included among CPAC's sponsors were the John Birch Society and the Oath Keepers, a militia group organized to militarily combat what it sees as the U.S. government's plans to declare martial law and disarm the citizenry.

Into this group marched House Minority Leader John Boehner, talking "revolution," a theme he's been pushing since the first tea partier screamed "I want my country back" last summer. Republican leaders Eric Cantor and Mike Pence were there, trying to outdo each other with one liners about the dangers facing America because of the Democrats. Newt Gingrich, as usual, trumped them all. He packaged everyone's fears into a perceived "Secular Socialist Machine," that he said posed the greatest threat to America he's ever known.

This is the language of people who see the opposition as mortal enemies, not political opponents.

To raise campaign money, the Republican National Committee produced a 72-page Powerpoint presentation designed to capitalize on this theme. Before it could go to the party's heavy financial hitters, the Powerpoint found its way out of a Florida hotel room and into the light of day. Once exposed, the odor got too intense for even the party's chairman Michael Steele.

But it's far too late into the 2010 campaign season for Steele or anyone to redirect the GOP's veer toward the hard right. There's an old Indian saying that "He who rides the tiger sometimes winds up inside." Boehner and his Republicans grabbed onto the tea party tiger last summer and now it's carrying them to places they might want to go.

The more GOP leaders play ball with their fringe extremists, the more tension they raise in the primaries between experienced, mainstream conservatives and tea party outriders. Worst of all for the Republicans, the primary contests and congressional GOP intransigence as naysayers will do nothing to assure voters that the GOP is a better governing alternative than the Democrats.

Ray Blunt, a long-time GOP House leader, is desperately trying to curry favor with the hard right in Missouri to fend off a bunch of rivals for Missouri's U.S. Senate nomination. Governor Charlie Crist, who looked like a cinch to hold a Florida U.S. Senate seat for the Republicans might well loose the nomination to a right wing opponent who in turn will lose the political center to a Democrat.

The Republicans lost their Pennsylvania Senate seat when Arlen Specter saw a political tsunami coming at him from his state's far right. The far right is disenchanted with Rob Portman in Ohio, who once had a virtual lock on that state's Senate seat for the GOP. The same is true in Delaware with Mike Castle and Illinois with Mark Kirk.
It could well be the far right Republican voters who stay home on election day and withhold votes from what they see as centrist candidates.

And the threat from the right is having another impact: It's stirring the unhappy left into action.

The coalitions and grass roots workers who made the current Democratic majority possible may no longer believe that helping the Democrats will answer their prayers for health reform, energy reform, massive job programs and withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan. But they do know they don't want the Tea Party Right getting its hands on the levers of government. That's plenty of incentive to rouse them from their funk and bring them out to the streets again.

Elections in the U.S., for better or worse, almost always come down to a choice between two people, one a Democrat, one a Republican. In most congressional districts it isn't a fair fight. The fix is in. Friendly apportionment committees have seen to it that Republicans and Democrats have such a head start in terms of party registration that they have to be convicted ax murderers to lose.

But there are other districts, maybe 100 of the 435 in all, where the strength of the candidate and his or her party's "brand" makes a difference. These are not districts that go readily for political extremists or extremism. Calls to reason count for more than calls for revolution. These districts may be swayed by arguments that the Democrats are on the wrong track, but not by claims that they are enemies of the state.

The Republicans have a clear shot at a lot of these districts. At least they would have a clear shot if they offered reasonable alternatives to acknowledged problems. But defined by their votes as the party of "no," talking about "revolution" and tolerating noisy extremist foot soldiers isn't a formula for success.

No matter what the polls say now, my $5 bucks says that by Halloween the Republicans will look scarier than the Democrats as a political party worth trusting with the reins of power.

What Do The Olympics and Tribal Arts Tell Us About National Security?

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 09:47:33 +0000

What Do The Olympics and Tribal Arts Tell Us About National Security?

February 16, 2010

By Joe Rothstein
EINNEWS.COM

Sarah Palin got a lot of media attention at the Tea Party convention and afterward for savaging President Obama on national security. Among his other "failings" she was appalled that the President devoted what she estimated to be only 9% of his State of the Union address to national security.

Setting aside for a minute why anyone should spend 10 seconds of attention considering what Sarah Palin thinks on this subject----which she's never studied or experienced----her comments raise an interesting point. Which is: Is national security measured only in military might, willingness to waterboard suspected terrorists and to take liberties with individual rights of privacy at home?

That was the Bush-Cheney formulation of national security, and judging by all the current hard breathing about closing Quantanamo, and terrorist trials in the U.S. most Republican leaders apparently are still there.

We tried it the Bush-Cheney way. Boy, did we ever. Those Abu Ghraib images will haunt us for years to come. There are still high profile investigations and cases going on in Italy, the U.K., Spain and elsewhere over U.S. sponsored torture and rendition. Cheney and Rumsfeld can't travel to many countries in Europe for fear of being arrested as war criminals. A trillion dollars in war spending charged to the nation's credit card is a huge obstacle to our ability to recover from this recession.

When Bush and Cheney vacated the White House North Korea and Iran were deeper into their nuclear programs than ever, our military was frayed, along with alliances long in place with traditional allies, and the U.S. was considered by most people of the world a bigger threat to peace than Russia or China.

Now we're trying it Obama's way. We don't know whether this way will be more successful at defusing North Korea and Iran than the Bush-Cheney way. That's still a work in progress. But we do know that the highest ranking Taliban leader yet captured is in custody thanks to unprecedented cooperation with Pakistan. We've seen the recent Pew poll of middle easterners who more than in past years tend to favor moderate, rather than extremist leaders and movements.

Today our NATO allies are stepping up to the plate to help defeat al Qaeda in Afghanistan, confident that there's enough popular support at home now to allow them to share common cause with the U.S. Without question, those frayed alliances with allies are being mended.

There may be no better evidence that the Obama way is working than the progress being made on a new nuclear arms control treaty with Russia, and Russia's cooperation with moves to isolate Iran over the nuclear issue.

Foreign policy isn't a 30 minute TV reality show. Relationships among nations take time to develop and mature. One year into the Obama presidency doesn't tell us much. But there are plenty of positive signs that the hostility generated through the bullying years is easing and that a heightened environment for cooperation is having some success.

For most of human history warlike tribes fought to the death for possession of the next water hole. For most of human history monarchs could and did plunder and make war as their moods and ambitions suited them. That's not where we are today.

Where we are today is closer to what we witnessed on the opening night of the Vancouver Olympics. Athletes from 82 nations marched under separate flags, but clearly in step with the common bonds of humanity. The Olympic village where they live during the games is an apt metaphor for our economically competitive, but socially cooperative societies.

Where we are today is evident in the world's reaction to humanitarian crises such as Hurricane Katrina, Indonesia's tidal wave, Haiti's earthquake. When disasters strike the strong seldom pounce on the weak. They lend a hand. Nations that once exercised colonial power over others now band together to provide health services, food assistance, and other help to those they once ruled and exploited.

I've just returned home to Washington, D.C. after spending some days at San Francisco's Tribal Arts Show. This is annually one of the richest displays of tribal culture to be found anywhere. Wildly graphic textiles created 2000 years ago in Peru. Delicate feather headdresses being made today in Cameroon. Centuries-old guardian figures from Borneo. Masks, textiles and jewelry from Oceanic Islands, the Middle East, Central and South America, Africa, Polynesia, Indonesia, Asia and North America.

We read so much about the wars that have shaped our civilization, and we read so little about the cultures that did even more. There's no denying the violent character that has defined the human race. But just as defining has been the search for depth and beauty. Those water jugs of ancient Egypt would have served as well if just left as plain clay. But ancient Egyptians molded them, painted them and gilded into beautiful expressions of soul. The spirit that moves people from the utilitarian to the sublime has been evident for at least 10,000 years.

More important than the track of war through human history has been the track of culture. Culture fed by learning and insight. The Incas of Peru owed much of their strength to their creativity and skill at building a road system that extended 25,000 miles at altitudes as high as 15,000 feet. Rome achieved greatness based as much on its roads and water aqueducts as on its armies.

The U.S. is more secure because it has devoted resources to the classrooms and educational systems that produced the laboratories and the research centers that developed the weapons our military can field. And, all one has to do is look at the names of many of our best research scientists, names that spring from Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas to understand what a rich return the U.S. gets from being an open and welcoming society.

So, I beg to differ with Sarah Palin. When President Obama delivered his State of the Union address, he spoke a lot longer than 9 minutes about national security. Our security depends on our systems of education, health, transportation, finance, commerce, industrial capacity----as well as the people who wear our uniforms and the weapons we provide them. It's the whole package.

And if we have a glaring weakness as a nation today, it's our inability to see that clearly and to continue doing all those things needed to keep us secure.

Sarah Palin: She's Becoming One of the Republican Party's Biggest Liabilities

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 09:21:52 +0000

Sarah Palin: She's Becoming One of the Republican Party's Biggest Liabilities

February 11, 2010

By Joe Rothstein
Editor, EINNEWS.COM

Could the Tea Party become a major political party, supplanting the Republican Party, or perhaps swallowing it whole, boa constrictor-like? Don't bet on it. Could Sarah Palin lead either a Tea Party or Republican Party to victory as a presidential candidate? Don't bet on that, either.

Let's not forget that in the 2007-08 election cycle all the Republican candidates for president fought for the mantle of being the most conservative----theorizing that the "base" was far right, and would outweigh its numbers during the nominating process. They all fought for the extreme right's support, pledging to lower taxes, cut government spending, "drill, baby, drill," and get tough with illegal immigrants. All of them except for John McCain, who had a more moderate record on most of these issues and was less bellicose in addressing them.

Ron Paul, the most libertarian 2008 Republican candidate, and the one who generated the most sustained buzz, got about 10% of the Republican vote. Mitt Romney, the best financed, best looking and best credentialed, didn't last long, and was even defeated by a more likable former governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee, who survived only a few weeks longer.

Republican presidential primary voters, the same as Democratic presidential primary voters (who didn't give Dennis Kucinich many votes) take the job of selecting a leader of the free world seriously.

Sarah Palin for president? Not likely. The polls already show that despite her engaging personality, her off-the-charts book sales, and her $100,000 speaking fees, most Americans seriously doubt that she would be up to the job. In fact, a strong case may be made that she's going to cost Republicans some otherwise winnable seats in November.

By giving credibility to the Tea Party movement and encouraging candidates to challenge GOP incumbents in primaries, the Republicans will wind up with fractured campaigns in many states and congressional districts. It's one thing for a right wing Republican to emerge as the party's candidate from a crowded field in a low turnout open primary. It's quite another to take down a Republican incumbent who's being financed by mainstream Republican committees and support organizations.

Just how does a Tea Party candidate challenge a Republican incumbent who's voted "no" on health reform, energy, the debt ceiling, and just about the entire Obama/Democratic agenda? By being even more extreme. By picking up cues from Palin's Nashville speech: Go to war with Iran, or North Korea, or maybe both. Cut the budget, even if it means less money for this state or district's roads, schools and other services. A free market economy shouldn't be regulating bad behavior by banks and credit card companies. These are winning political arguments?

Before Sarah Palin spoke in Nashville, the Tea Partiers were brought to their feet by a rousing speech delivered by former Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo, who had no success making get tough on immigration his ticket to the 2008 presidential nomination. Tancredo drew heavy duty applause in Nashville by charging that President Obama was elected by "people who could not even spell the word vote or say it in English." Will Tea Party/Republican candidates write off the Latino vote in 2010?

He also called for making civics literacy tests a prerequisite for voting. Such tests were used during Jim Crow to keep blacks from voting and were banned by the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Will Tea Party/Republican candidates write off the few remaining black and minority voters who still trust them? Between Latinos and blacks combined, we're talking about nearly 25% of the electorate here.

Sarah Palin is an engaging celebrity and a political force that both major parties will have to deal with in 2010 and probably well into the future. But she is what her book title says she is, a "rogue" politician.

She first gained prominence in Alaska by claiming that the state's Republican party chairman had misused his position on Alaska's Oil and Gas Commission to help the industry and the party. She leveraged that episode to defeat an incumbent Republican governor in the party primary.

Once she became governor, Palin used her weight to help a Democratic legislative effort to essentially double taxes on oil being pumped out of Alaska. She led a fight to plan for a natural gas pipeline that the oil industry had no interest in building. And she canceled long held valuable leases ExxonMobile had on Alaska's North Slope because they had failed to explore and drill on them.

None of these were actions of a timid or conventional political figure. But when John McCain plucked her from the crowd in 2008, it was all-too obvious and painful to see that being rogue in Alaska would not equate to being presidential elsewhere.

Given a few years of study, travel and tutoring Sarah Palin might have become a quick study and a credible presidential candidate. When grafted onto her "you betcha" personality it might have offered the Republican party some sizzle it sorely lacked in the 2008 race. But this right turn to the Tea Party, and talk of "revolution," and encouragement for Republican party civil war, and wholesale adoption of some of the discredited excesses of the Bush years, such as trigger-happy willingness to go to war, is creating more of a liability for Republicans than an asset.

The Democrats should not be jumping for joy over the Palin diversion, since she obviously is tapping into widely held dissatisfaction with the state of union. But neither should they fear a Palin ascendency. This is a Republican party problem. Quite possibly a big one that will only balkanize what is already a shaky political institution.

(Joe Rothstein can be contacted at joe@einnews.com)

EIN News Announces Free Email World News Alerts

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 15:54:22 +0000

EIN News Announces Free Email World News Alerts

February 11, 2010 / EIN Presswire/ EIN News, a professional news service for researchers and analysts, has now added free email news alerts to its information offerings.

Now those with an interest in the latest world news can sign up to have the day's top stories delivered to their inboxes and read articles previously accessible only to paid members of EIN News.

To sign up, simply go to http://www.einnews.com/users/newsalert.php and enter your email address. While you're there, you can also sign up for other free industry news alerts from EIN News. EIN News supplies news alerts for more than 80 of its industry publications, and each one gives readers access to the day's top news articles for free.

Industry professionals seeking full access to EIN News can sign up for a one-week free trial to the media monitoring service at http://www.einnews.com/news_publications.php.

About EIN Presswire
The EIN Presswire press release distribution service is a news-syndication solution that distributes news to more than 12 million visitors annually at EIN News and millions more through its press release distribution partners. A news source for leading journalists, decision-makers and industry professionals worldwide, EIN Presswire targets press releases to a wide array of worldwide business professionals in more than 80 different industries. EIN Presswire also offers affiliate network opportunities and news distribution to tens of thousands of news subscribers daily. Read the newest business news at http://www.einpresswire.com and the latest world news in more than 80 different industries at http://www.einnews.com.

Will 2010 See The Emergence of a 'Scream Party?' Maybe Howard Dean Was Just A Few Years Too Early

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:14:45 +0000

Will 2010 See The Emergence of a 'Scream Party?' Maybe Howard Dean Was Just A Few Years Too Early

January 26, 2010

By Joe Rothstein
Editor, EINNEWS.COM

Before the year 2010 ends we will have a major new political party in the U.S. It's called the "Tea Party." Maybe it will be what was once called the "Republican Party." Maybe not. If right wing challengers are defeated in Senate primaries in Utah, Illinois, Delaware and elsewhere my guess is they will split from the Republicans and create their own.

It's also possible we will have a second new political party. Call it the "Scream Party," as in, "I'm so frustrated I can scream!" Its leader would likely be Howard Dean, whose untimely scream in Iowa may have cost him the 2004 Democratic party presidential nomination---but who today is the closest thing political progressives have to a worthy, high profile spokesperson of their frustrations.

The Scream Party would represent all of those who thought they would see rational health, energy, and privacy reform when they opened their wallets, minds and hearts to elect President Obama, and gave him 59 Democratic senators and a 79-seat Democratic majority to work with. They also believed, and had every right to expect, that so many Democrats would get people back to work and arrange for people to not lose their homes. They certainly weren't in any mood to coddle the same Wall Street gamblers who got us into this financial disaster or to abide trickle down recovery policy.

The emergence of a Scream Party is not inevitable.

Let's say that if President Obama, before the run up to his State of the Union speech, or during it, or immediately after it were to announce that Geithner and Summers have decided to resign to spend more time with their families and would be replaced by Volker and Stieglitz, or their disciples who understand that more is needed to help Main Street---and to change Wall Street's ways.

And let's say that consistent with this new direction, he will propose a trillion dollar program to rebuild the nation's roads, rails, bridges and infrastructure, putting 2 million people back to work right away----along with $200 billion for the states to cover their shortfalls so that they will not have to continue shutting down essential state and local services and/or raising taxes.

To pay for all of this, Obama will propose letting the $1.5 trillion Bush tax cuts expire. (Thereby going back to the tax system we had during the Clinton years when the economy was booming).

On health reform, let's say Obama will propose unwinding the deal made with the big drug companies where he promised not to negotiate for lower drug prices, and the other incomprehensible deals made to buy support for health reform (deals the health industry didn't keep because they fought it anyway).

....And that he will use every ounce of his power as president to do what he promised, and what he has repeatedly told us is critical to do for so many reasons---get a reasonable health reform bill enacted despite all of the background noise from the Massachusetts election.

What else? How about accelerating troop withdrawal from Iraq. How about supporting efforts to modify the filibuster. How about altering the nation's trade policies to encourage buy America and discourage those who continually sap our nation's strength by sending manufacturing, intellectual property, and precious jobs elsewhere.

...And so on.

Naturally, the Republican congressional leadership would be unhappy about all of this. This is the same Republican congressional leadership that for the past year has been so aggressively faithful to the Rush Limbaugh post-election strategy, which Limbaugh so elegantly and simply formulated within days after the 2008 election: "I hope he fails." How many more nails in the road could McConnell, Boehner, et al throw if the President transformed himself from a post-partisan into a presidential Patton?

And, naturally, Wall Street would not be happy about all of this. This is the same Wall Street that has yet to acknowledge that its greed and stupidity (abetted by Bush-era non-regulators) has resulted in pain and suffering for tens of millions of Americans, and in the loss of more national wealth (about $12 trillion) than all the goods, services and economic activity the U.S. will produce this year.

If President Obama doesn't move forcefully to put people back to work and save peoples' homes, 2010 is likely to see continued, if not increased unemployment and economic distress as: 1) State and local governments continue to lay off workers 2) Businesses large and small continue to fail because they can't get financing 3) As many as 3 million more homes go into foreclosure, taking with them the values of whole neighborhoods and communities and the small and regional banks that hold their mortgages.

While the Republican political game-players in Congress would not be happy, the Republicans who govern nearly half the states would applaud new White House aggressiveness along these lines. Maybe not too loudly, lest Democrats get any credit. But despite a lot of posturing they all took money from last year's Recovery Act. (An Act that not a single Republican in the U.S. House, and only 3 in the U.S. Senate voted for).

The Democrats have 59 Senate seats. (The same number they had before Specter switched parties). They have more House seats than they had after the 2008 landslide because of special election victories.

People who can't get things done with these kinds of margins don't deserve to be in power. Neither do the Republicans who seem only to care about elections, not governing.

It's a new year. A new time for testing. President Obama needs to be a new kind of leader. A leader who responds to Eliza Doolittle's plea in My Fair Lady where she repeatedly sings: "Show me," after venting how frustrated she is with "words, words, words."

It's time for the Democrats to show us. Otherwise, they may have to make room for the Scream Party.

(Joe Rothstein can be contacted at joe@einnews.com)

US Supreme Court Allows Corporations Direct Influence on Policy Issues

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 13:43:10 +0000

US Supreme Court Allows Corporations Direct Influence on Policy Issues

January 22, 2010 /EIN PRESSWIRE/ The US Supreme Court on Thursday voted to abolish spending limits on political campaigns, giving corporations and unions direct influence on political advertising for policy issues.

The court's decision, which acknowledged that corporations have the same First Amendment rights as individuals, ends the ban on direct corporate campaign spending on issues.

Sen. Russell Feingold, the co-author of the current campaign spending limits law, isn't optimistic about the implications of the verdict. "Corporations have huge war chests that far exceed current spending in our political system," he said.

With more people turning away from traditional media, does the Supreme Court verdict really matter? Follow this story and more at Marketing and Advertising Industry Today:

Latest Political Advertising news - http://marketing.einnews.com/news/political-ads
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Located at http://marketing.einnews.com, Marketing & Advertising Industry Today is a service of EIN News, an industry leader in news monitoring for business professionals and analysts. Using a combination of proprietary search technology and human editing, EIN News delivers to its members the latest marketing and advertising news from around the world, saving them valuable time they'd spend searching for information. New users to Marketing & Advertising Industry Today can enjoy a no-obligation, one-week free trial.

About EIN Presswire
The EIN Presswire press release distribution service is a news-syndication solution that distributes news to more than 10 million visitors annually at EIN News and millions more through its press release distribution partners. A news source for leading journalists, decision-makers and industry professionals worldwide, EIN Presswire targets press releases to a wide array of worldwide business professionals in more than 80 different industries. EIN Presswire also offers affiliate network opportunities and news distribution to tens of thousands of news subscribers daily. Read the newest business news at http://www.einpresswire.com and the latest world news in more than 80 different industries at http://www.einnews.com.

'Game Change' Publisher Skewered for Kindle Delay in Face of Book Scarcities

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 13:26:30 +0000

'Game Change' Publisher Skewered for Kindle Delay in Face of Book Scarcities

January 18, 2010 /EIN PRESSWIRE/ Fans of the popular Kindle device from Amazon.com are being vocal against "Game Change" publisher HarperCollins for delaying the launch of the book in the Kindle digital format, despite the book's sell-out status on bookstore shelves.

The book, which focuses on the 2008 U.S. presidential election, won't be available on the e-reader until Feb. 23, and is out of stock in many locations. Despite the growing popularity of the e-reader Kindle, Amazon.com is missing out on myriad sales.

Read this story and more at Book Publishing Industry Today:

Latest HarperCollins news - http://books.einnews.com/news/harpercollins-publishers
Latest Kindle news - http://books.einnews.com/news/kindle-e-reader
Latest E-book & Book Publishing news - http://books.einnews.com/news/e-book-publishing

Located at http://books.einnews.com, Book Publishing Industry Today is a service of EIN News, an industry leader in news monitoring for business professionals and analysts. Using a combination of proprietary search technology and human editing, EIN News delivers to its members the latest book publishing news from around the world, saving them valuable time they'd spend searching for information. New users to Book Publishing Industry Today can enjoy a no-obligation, one-week free trial.

About EIN Presswire
The EIN Presswire press release distribution service is a news-syndication solution that distributes news to more than 10 million visitors annually at EIN News and millions more through its press release distribution partners. A news source for leading journalists, decision-makers and industry professionals worldwide, EIN Presswire targets press releases to a wide array of worldwide business professionals in more than 80 different industries. EIN Presswire also offers affiliate network opportunities and news distribution to tens of thousands of news subscribers daily. Read the newest business news at http://www.einpresswire.com and the latest world news in more than 80 different industries at http://www.einnews.com.

Denver Radon Hotline (303) 466-2626 Mitigation, Remediation, and Radon Testing for Colorado

Sat, 16 Jan 2010 07:37:43 +0000

http://www.RadonDenverColorado.com

/ EIN Presswire / Air Quality Control Agency is offering special discounts to Colorado home owners who's homes have tested high for radon gas. Call 303-466-2626 or 1-800-NO-RADON for more information.

Radon gas is the second leading cause of lung cancer next to smoking. Many homes in Colorado have radon levels above the EPA limit of 4.0. Some of the known radon "hot spots" are Denver, Littleton, Boulder, Broomfield, Aurora, Golden, Louisville, Westminster, Lafayette, Erie, Evergreen, Ft. Collins, Colorado Springs, Commerce City, Morrison, Elizabeth, and Monument. Learn more at http://www.mitigationsystem.com/coloradoradon.html

The World Health Organization has recently reduced their limit for indoor radon levels from 4.0 to 2.7 (pico curies per litre.) If you've already tested your home and your levels are somewhere in this range or higher, contact Air Quality Control for a FREE estimate for radon mitigation: (303) 466-2626 or 1-800-667-2366.

According to the Colorado Radon Information and Remediation Center, http://www.radonmitigation.us/denver, elevated radon levels have been detected all over Colorado. This includes, but is not limited to Arvada, Englewood, Loveland, and Castle RockDenver, Littleton, Boulder, Broomfield, Aurora, Longmont, Fort Collins, and Parker areas. In fact, as many as 40% of all Colorado homes have dangerous levels of radon gas. http://www.Colorado-Radon.com

Radon gas causes more deaths every year than any other in-home hazard including fires, carbon monoxide, fall, drowning, poisoning, guns, etc. Air Quality Control Agency is offering affordable solutions and discounted radon removal options for a limited time throughout Colorado. Get a no-obligation price quote today by calling 1-800-NO-RADON or (303) 466-2626.

http://www.RadonDenver.com

Four-Year-Old Texas Boy Has Hair Too Long for School; Separated from Classmates since November

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 15:42:03 +0000

Four-Year-Old Texas Boy Has Hair Too Long for School; Separated from Classmates since November

January 13, 2010 /EIN PRESSWIRE/ An elementary school in suburban Dallas has segregated a boy from his classmates because his parents refuse to comply with the school's grooming policy. The four-year-old prekindergartener's hair is too long for the school, which means he can't attend normal classes.

Instead, the boy has been separated from the pack and sits alone with a teacher's aide in the school library, something he has done since November. In an attempt to compromise, the school board suggested that the boy could wear his hair in braids, as long as the hair hung no lower than his ears, but the boy's parents refused that style.

Does a school really need to strive for strict conformity at the preschool level and risk a child getting left behind? Or maybe the parents are sacrificing their child's education in order to stand up for an ideal.

Follow this expressive topic and more at US Politics Today:

Latest 50 State Political News - http://uspolitics.einnews.com/archive/statestorms
Latest Difficult to Believe News - http://uspolitics.einnews.com/archive/undisclosed

Located at http://uspolitics.einnews.com, US Politics Today is a service of EIN News, an industry leader in news monitoring for business professionals and analysts. Using a combination of proprietary search technology and human editing, EIN News delivers to its members the latest political news from around the country, saving them valuable time they'd spend searching for information. New users to US Politics Today can enjoy a no-obligation, one-week free trial.

About EIN Presswire
The EIN Presswire press release distribution service is a news-syndication solution that distributes news to more than 10 million visitors annually at EIN News and millions more through its press release distribution partners. A news source for leading journalists, decision-makers and industry professionals worldwide, EIN Presswire targets press releases to a wide array of worldwide business professionals in more than 80 different industries. EIN Presswire also offers affiliate network opportunities and news distribution to tens of thousands of news subscribers daily. Read the newest business news at http://www.einpresswire.com and the latest world news in more than 80 different industries at http://www.einnews.com.