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| Dr. David Marlett, Editor | July 21, 2003 | Vol. IV - No. 11 | ||
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| Dr. David Marlett, Editor | July 21, 2003 | Vol. IV - No. 11 | ||
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"The editors of National Review think that 'this is not a bad time for conservatives to declare their independence from the GOP establishment.' One way to do that, they said, is to support conservative Rep. Patrick J. Toomey in his primary challenge to liberal Sen. Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania Republican." TCN agrees any time a conservative has a RINO in his sights.
[ USA Today ]
"Conservative opposition to a prescription drug benefit within Medicare is deepening, creating what may be the biggest rift between President Bush and his political base since he took office.
"...Some conservatives warn that passage of a Medicare drug benefit may leave grassroots conservatives unenthusiastic about Bush and Republican congressional candidates in the 2004 elections. 'The White House and Republican leadership have not accurately calculated the impact of this new federal entitlement on our conservative base,' Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., says. 'For us to even appear to become the party of entitlements ... could have a very negative impact on the enthusiasm of conservative voters in the 2004 election.'"
"Sixty-eight percent of the widening of the deficit in fiscal year 2003 to date is the result of spending. Annual spending increases from 2000 to 2003 more than TRIPLES the amount of annual spending increases from 1992 to 2000. The average American must now work 87 days in 2003 to pay for federal spending, an increase of 10 days compared to 2000. The number of individual pork projects has increased 48 percent over the past two years." - Americans for Tax Reform
[ CCAGW ]
(Washington, D.C.) In response to the upcoming vote on the fiscal 2004 Interior Appropriations Bill, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) President Thomas A. Schatz sent the following letter to members of the House of Representatives urging them to support the Sessions-Davis amendment striking Section 335 of the bill, which would prevent the Department of Interior from engaging in competitive sourcing:
When you consider the fiscal 2004 Interior Appropriations Bill, I urge you and your colleagues, on behalf of the more than one million members and supporters of the Council of Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW), to vote for the Sessions-Davis amendment to strike Section 335 of the Interior Department Appropriations bill.
Section 335 would block the Department of the Interior from competitive outsourcing, as provided in the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Circular A-76. OMB's revised guidance represents the most comprehensive overhaul of the process in 20 years and is the product of a two-year effort that included discussions and negotiations with all stakeholders, including federal employee groups and private sector companies. This new "best value" competition process ensures accountability, efficiency, and budget savings.
The General Accounting Office has noted that public-private competitions result in substantial savings in the activity competed, regardless of who wins the competition. Competitive sourcing has been the longstanding policy of the federal government and is one of five pillars of the President's Management Agenda.
Competitive sourcing is not the same as outsourcing or privatization. Its purpose is neither to downsize the workforce nor to contract jobs out. It is about harnessing the benefits of competition to produce superior performance for the taxpayer, regardless of who performs the services. Whether the benefits are produced from re-engineering work kept inside of the agency, or from contracting out, the best deal for the taxpayer wins.
With a projected deficit of $455 billion for fiscal 2003, it is now more important than ever to support the Sessions-Davis amendment that would strike section 335 from the Interior Appropriations bill. CCAGW will consider rating any votes related to competitive sourcing in our annual 2003 Congressional Ratings.
Respectfully,
Tom Schatz
** The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste is the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, the nation's largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government. **
When the Republican Congress forced the Clinton administration to repeal the 55-mph speed limit eight years ago, assorted left-wing Chicken Littles clucked and squawked that the streets would run with blood, The American Sentinel recalls.
"History will never forgive Congress for this assault on the sanctity of human life," blubbered the socialist - oops, Green - Ralph Nader, who fails to fret about how abortion assaults the sanctity of human life.
In reality, the U.S. Department of Transportation has now recorded the lowest injury rate on the highways in history, the Sentinel says.
Repeal of the 55-mph limit saves $2 billion to $5 billion a year because Americans waste less time sitting in their cars, says Stephen Moore of the libertarian Cato Institute.
[Columnist Bruce Fein via News & Views ]
"A class action (lawsuit) against the Bank of Boston culminated in a settlement that awarded $8.64 to each class member but demanded that each pay $90.00 toward trial lawyer fees. Blockbuster settled a class action by paying $9.25 million to the class lawyers contrasted with paltry $1.00 coupons to each class member redeemable in future video rentals. Cheerios similarly rid itself of a class lawsuit by showering $2 million on trial lawyers coupled with coupon consolation prizes for class members worth a free box of cereal. Crayola dispatched a class action complaint over asbestos with a $600,000.00 check for trial lawyers and a 75-cent discount for class members if they purchased additional crayons.
"With these and sister examples dancing in their heads, trial lawyers tirelessly search for class representatives to initiate class action lawsuits no matter how outlandish their legal claims. They know that once inside the courthouse door, they will instantly occupy the catbird's seat in negotiating a settlement that enriches them by leaving class members high and dry."
"I'm not implacably opposed to changing the Constitution, but the way we do that is by amending it, not by simply 'reinterpreting' it based upon the gut instincts of a few unelected lawyers." --Jonah Goldberg
"The principles enshrined in the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence define the American way of life. Without those principles we become just another country, governed by whim and expediency, with no guiding vision beyond the ambitions of the latest politicians in power." --Ron Paul
"One thing is certain: those who worked and voted for less government, the very foot soldiers in the conservative revolution, have been deceived. Today, the ideal of limited government has been abandoned by the GOP, and real conservatives find their views no longer matter." --Ron Paul
"All the TV shows are full of Democrats all furious, criticizing President Bush for the State of the Union Address. They said he exaggerated some of the facts. See, that's something Bill Clinton never did. Clinton never stretched the truth, Clinton never even came close to the truth." -- Jay Leno
"It's nice to be a centrist for a change." --Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean remarking on his Demo presidential competitors Carol Moseley Braun, Dennis Kucinich and Al Sharpton coming out in favor of same-sex marriage, universal college education and central Department of Peace
"What a blast it is to be here with Michael Moore. ...I'm very concerned about what is going on now and I am speaking out about it more and more. And I think Michael and I ought to go out there and be a tag team." --Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, appearing at BookExpo America, about her new rhetorical wrestling partner
"Whenever the nation is under attack, from within or without, liberals side with the enemy. This is their essence." --Ann Coulter
"Somehow liberals have been unable to acquire from life what conservatives seem to be endowed with at birth: namely, a healthy skepticism of the powers of government agencies to do good." --Daniel P. Moynihan
"The real criminals causing unemployment are the politicians. Perhaps, if we had a law allowing citizens to bring suit against politicians for passing harmful legislation, we would all be safer and more prosperous - but of course, the politicians would never allow themselves to be subject to the risks they gleefully impose on the rest of us." - Richard Rahn of the Cato Institute
*** From the "Spokesman for Who? Department"…
"There isn't a shred of evidence that says gun control is a political loser. It hasn't cost a candidate a political race anywhere.... The Democrats ran away from gun safety in the 2002 elections, and look where it got them. Whoever is advising them on gun control should be shot." --Blaine Rummel, spokesman for the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence
*** Beef Stew and Gatorade
"There was a time when we had so much confidence in the superiority of our way of life that we aggressively taught our values to new immigrants and insisted they master the basics of American history, the English language and civics before being eligible for citizenship. Today, we're not even teaching history to our own schoolchildren. And we are in the grip of a truly frightening collective ignorance.
"As (National Endowment for the Humanities Chairman Bruce) Cole warns, when you don't know your history, you're more inclined to believe the kooky versions of it served up by everyone from Oliver Stone to Michael Moore. . . . In grades K-12, history has been replaced by 'social studies,' which is like replacing beef stew with Gatorade." - Columnist Mona Charen
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