Weekly Issues Alert

April 14-20

"Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!" — Patrick Henry

North Carolina General Assembly

House Democrats Say Jim Black Remains Their Leader
House Democrats say Speaker Jim Black will remain their leader despite his legal troubles. The Democrats met behind closed doors Tuesday night for a meeting in preparation for the upcoming legislative session. Read
N.C. Budget-Writers Eyeing $1 Billion Plus For New Fiscal Year
House Democrats who talked frankly about Speaker Jim Black's future Tuesday night also got a look at the state's financial forecast, and the news is the best in years. Overcollections of state taxes have nearly doubled in the past three months to about $400 million, essentially assuring a budget surplus for the third consecutive year after four consecutive years of shortfalls, according to legislators and their research staff. Read

North Carolina Courts

Federal Judge Refuses To Stop Scheduled Execution
The state of North Carolina has taken sufficient precautions to ensure that an inmate scheduled to die this week will remain asleep during his execution, a federal judge said Monday in ruling that the execution could proceed. Read

North Carolina Politics

Voter Guide Available for May 2 Primary
As part of its ongoing effort to educate the citizenry of North Carolina and to equip them to impact North Carolina's public policy arena, the North Carolina Family Policy Council is producing a web-based 2006 Voter Guide for the upcoming, May 2 Primary Election. Read

Other North Carolina News

Marine Loved His Country
Cpl. Pablo Mayorga loved America so much that he became a Marine before he was even a citizen. Mayorga, 33, was assigned to the Camp Lejeune based 2nd Tank Battalion when he was killed Saturday in Anbar province in Iraq after his vehicle hit a roadside bomb, a blast that also killed three other Lejeune Marines. Read
Scrutinized Company May Have To Get Piece Of N.C. Lottery
A lottery company being investigated over whether it violated North Carolina lobbying law may end up with a piece of the action here after all. Scientific Games holds the patent to a feature known as the Power Play. It allows people who play the multistate Powerball to pay extra for a separate drawing that would multiply their winnings _ except for the jackpot _ by a random number. North Carolina is to begin selling Powerball tickets on May 30, and lottery officials said Tuesday they want to join the 28 states that already offer the Power Play option. Read
Easley-Cherokee Talks On Poker Break Down Over Proceeds
Negotiations to allow Las Vegas-style gambling at the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians' casino ended abruptly this week in an apparent disagreement between the tribe and Gov. Mike Easley over the use of gaming profits. Read
Former Federal Prosecutor Indicted In Tax Avoidance
A former top federal prosecutor who later headed the North Carolina Republican Party and was a Superior Court judge was named Tuesday as a suspect in a tax fraud conspiracy. Sam Currin, Wilmington tax attorney Ricky Graves and a North Carolina couple who headed a series of off-shore financial companies, were charged after a sting operation by Internal Revenue Service investigators. Read
N.C. On Short List For New Toyota Assembly Plant, NY Times Says
North Carolina is one of four southern states being considered as the site for a new automotive assembly plant, The New York Times reported on Saturday. Read
Johnston Store Scores Big Sales In Lottery Tickets
The North Carolina Lottery has sold more than $51 million worth of tickets since the games began two weeks ago. Local vendors have said sales are strong, but a small Johnston County store is out-selling most stores in the state. Read
2 Duke lacrosse players arrested in rape case
Two Duke University lacrosse players were arrested early Tuesday on charges of raping and kidnapping a stripper hired to dance at an off-campus party, and the district attorney said he hopes to charge a third person soon. Read
Church Labyrinths Experiencing Revival In N.C.
Scott Wilkinson believes a journey of faith can begin with a single, sock-footed step. Read
School Board Drafts Policy Banning Sex Clubs
The Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education is under fire from homosexual advocacy groups over its unanimous decision on April 10 to draft a policy banning all sexually oriented clubs from schools in the district. Read
Poorer Counties Spend Most on N.C. Lottery
An analysis by the Fayetteville Observer has already found a troubling link between the state's poorest counties and disproportionately higher lottery ticket sales. Read
Group: Chinese Police Interrogate 5 Americans With N.C. Church
Chinese police detained five Americans attached to a North Carolina church in a raid last month on a Christian retreat in the country's southwest, an overseas church monitoring group reported Thursday. Read
What's killing Eastern North Carolina?
Death is stalking eastern North Carolinians at a faster pace than the rest of the state, and researchers at East Carolina University are trying to find out why. Read
Steelmaker Nucor First-Quarter Profit Rises 7 Percent
Nucor Corp., a steelmaker and scrap.m.etal recycler, said Thursday its first-quarter earnings rose 7 percent to $379.2 million on a double-digit drop in scrap costs and higher production. The Charlotte-based company's earnings per share increased 10 percent to $2.42, from $2.20 in the first quarter of 2005. Read
Bank of America 1Q Profit up 14 Percent with MBNA Acquisition
Bank of America Corp.'s first-quarter profit rose 14 percent on growth in lending from consumers to corporations, revenue from newly acquired credit card company MBNA Corp. and higher interest rates, the nation's largest retail bank said Thursday. Read
Wilson Principal Resigns After Second DWI Charge
A Wilson County principal will not be reporting back to school. Speight Middle School principal Jeremy Stevens resigned after a second DWI charge. Read
ACLU Warns Raleigh Leaders About Religious Language At Meetings
The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina has sent a letter to the city of Raleigh to watch its words. The group sent Assistant Deputy Clerk Ralph Puccini a letter complaining about the use of religious language during a recent City Council meeting.

The ACLU objected to a minister's opening prayer, in which he said "in Christ's name we pray." The group argues that government shouldn't mix with religion and cites legal cases. It also sent similar letters to elected officials in Clayton and Pittsboro. Read
Fort Bragg Soldier Charged With Sex Crimes
A Fort Bragg soldier is in the Cumberland County jail charged with sex crimes against a child. Read

Congress

Conservatives Not Alone in Fighting for Marriage
The battle to pass the Marriage Protection Amendment is being waged by a diverse coalition. The proposed constitutional amendment to protect marriage from radical redefinition by the courts will come to a vote in June in Congress — and it's not just social conservatives who are working hard for its passage. Read
Americans Support Enforcement!
According to two surveys released yesterday, Americans overwhelmingly believe that illegal immigration is a serious problem and that Congress should take steps to control it. A USA Today/Gallup poll reports that 81 percent of Americans believe illegal immigration is "out of control" and 61 percent believe that the government should make illegal immigration a crime. Read
Mississippi Senators' Rail Plan Challenged
"It is ludicrous for the Senate to spend $700 million to destroy and relocate a rail line that is in perfect working order, particularly when it recently underwent a $250 million repair," said Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), who is planning to challenge the funding when the $106.5 billion war spending bill reaches the Senate floor. "American taxpayers are generous and are happy to restore damaged property, but it is wrong for senators to turn this tragedy into a giveaway for economic developers." Read
Ted Kennedy: The Country Hasn't Moved Right
Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy says the conventional wisdom that America has turned conservative in recent years is just plain wrong — so much so that the country may finally be ready to make Sen. John Kerry president. Read
U.S. Senators Urge Direct Diplomacy With Iran
The U.S. needs to pursue direct talks and other diplomatic avenues with Iran about its disputed nuclear program before considering a military option, lawmakers from both parties said Sunday. Read
Expand Family Leave Act
2008 presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton is calling for a massive expansion of the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act, saying that an updated version should offer time off from work for parental participation in children's school activities and health care, as well as personal time to care for aging parents Read
Immigration Protests Roil the Arizona Senate Race
When 100,000 protesters nearly shut down Phoenix last week, Jim Pederson headed for the border. A Democrat running for the Senate in Arizona, he wanted to highlight laxity on the U.S.-Mexican line — and blame it on his opponent, the Republican incumbent, Jon Kyl. Wandering through a patchwork of gap-filled 15-foot fencing and three-foot-high barbed wire, he assailed Kyl for not doing more to beef up border security. "This berm," Pederson said, pointing at a foot-high pile of sand, "is the only thing keeping people out of the United States." Read
The Labor Force Status of Short-Term Unauthorized Workers
In order to better understand the impact of some proposals before Congress, this fact sheet examines the labor force status of unauthorized workers who have been in the country for five years or less. Read

Courts

Judge Punishes Arizona Legislature
The State of Arizona has been ordered to deposit millions of taxpayer dollars into a fund for the children of illegal aliens in public schools. The required payments began accruing on Jan. 25 at the rate of $500,000 a day and rose to $1 million a day on Feb. 24.
The payments were ordered by Judge Raner Collins, a native of Arkansas whom President Bill Clinton appointed to the federal district court in Tucson. Unless the judge relents, the court- ordered payments will rise to $1.5 million a day on March 24, and then rise again to $2 million a day when the legislature adjourns later this spring, continuing indefinitely thereafter. Judge Collins presides over a case called Flores v. Arizona, in which a private lawyer named Tim Hogan was granted the right to represent the estimated 160,000 so-called English Language Learners (ELLs) in Arizona public schools. The vast majority of ELLs are children whose parents have illegally entered the United States from Mexico. Read
Supreme Court Test For Insanity Plea
The Supreme Court struggled Wednesday with whether Arizona gave a fair trial to a schizophrenic teenager who killed a police officer nearly six years ago, in a case that could be a major test of state insanity laws. Read
Jury Finds Former Ill. Gov. Ryan Guilty
Former Gov. George Ryan, who drew international praise when he commuted the sentences of everyone on Illinois' death row, was convicted of racketeering and fraud Monday in a corruption scandal that ended his political career in 2003. Read
Illinois Judge Won't Block Governor's Stem Cell Research Scam
An Illinois judge has ruled that he won't block an executive order Gov. Rod Blagojevich issued to spend millions of taxpayer dollars on unproven embryonic stem cell research, unbeknownst to state lawmakers. Cook County Judge James Henry said whether Blagojevich exceeded his constitutional authority by diverting $10 million in state funds to the controversial research is a matter for voters or the state legislature to decide. Read
Supreme Court Rejects Gitmo Detainee Appeal
The Supreme Court rejected an appeal Monday from two Chinese Muslims who were mistakenly captured as enemy combatants more than four years ago and are being held at the U.S. prison in Cuba. Read
High Court Rejects Falwell's Web Appeal
Evangelist Jerry Falwell on Monday lost a Supreme Court appeal of a case that sought to shut down a Web site with a similar name but opposite views on gays. Read
Judge: Doctors Not Required to Report Teen Sex
In a victory for an abortion rights group, a federal judge ruled Tuesday that abortion clinic doctors and other professionals are not required under Kansas law to report underage sex between consenting youths. Read
Court Approves Pornography in the Classroom
The Sixth Circuit held that teachers have a First Amendment right in the classroom, and that right presumably extends to what many would consider to be obscenity. The court also held that the officials may be personally liable for infringing on the teacher's alleged First Amendment rights in the classroom. The decision means that teachers have First Amendment rights in the classroom to distribute material against the wishes of the public, the parents, the principal, the superintendent and the school board. Read
Grand Jury Petition Certified — Investigation into Abortion Death Will Proceed
Operation Rescue has learned that petitions calling for a Grand Jury investigation of abortionist George Tiller in the death of Christin Gilbert have been certified, opening the way for the investigation to proceed. Read

Christianity/Pro-Family/Religion/Ethics

GFA Urges Prayer as Hindu Extremists Intensify Anti-Christian Persecution
The president of Gospel for Asia says it appears that Hindu militants have declared an all-out war against Christians throughout India. Recently across that country, Christians have been falsely accused of crimes, arrested, and beaten — all for witnessing to Hindus. Read
Massive Arrest of Church Leaders Including Americans in Yunnan Province; CAA Issues Heartbreaking True Stories on Persecution inside China
According to China Aid Association's field investigators in China, 7 foreign evangelical church leaders including 5 Americans and 2 Taiwanese were interrogated for 5 hours on March 23, 2006. CAA issues heartbreaking true stories on persecution inside China. Read
A Pentecostal Primer
More than half a billion people worldwide now belong to "spirit-filled" or renewalist faiths. Find out more about the past, present and future of the world's fastest growing religious movement. Read
Southern Baptists Decline in Baptisms, Make Evangelism First Priority
A new report on the Southern Baptist Convention gave a wake up call to members of the largest U.S. Protestant denomination to get its churches refocused back to the basics of evangelism. Read
CBS' Bias Shows in New Religion Poll
A new CBS News poll on Americans' opinions of various religions spotlights yet again the network's anti-evangelical bias. Read
Survey: Most Christians Don't See Value in Communal Faith
Spiritual activities are on the rise and a majority of Americans claim a personal commitment to the Christian faith, but Christians have lowered the bar on church commitment, according to a new Barna survey. Read
Iraqis Find Respite in Faith, Priest Says
Attendance is booming at the Rev. Andrew White's church as more Iraqi Christians seek solace in religion to cope with a life of car bombings, kidnappings and deprivation. Because he loathed Saddam's regime, White said he was one of the few religious figures in Britain to publicly support the U.S.-led invasion. The end of the Saddam regime was "suddenly like the pressure cooker lid being taken off," he said. Iraqis felt free, liberated. "You could see it in their faces," White said. Read
Employee Rights in Diversity Training
Under Title VII of the United States Code, it is illegal for an employer with 15 or more employees to discriminate on the basis of religion. This provision applies to required diversity training exercises as much as to hiring, firing and promotion. Read
President of SBC's North American Mission Board Resigns
Bob Reccord has resigned as president of the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board. Reccord was the focus of a special March 23 trustee meeting in which a 19-page report by a trustee task force was discussed. The report dealt in large measure with various issues related to Reccord's leadership of the mission board. Read
Virtue and Law
In Jeremiah 31:33, God says, "After those days, . . . I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people." This inspired theme of self-discipline, internalized order, and wholehearted submission to the will of God from a pure heart is vital to the survival of any society or culture. Even if such ideals are only acknowledged — rather than realized — their acknowledgement alone provides hope for a nation. Without an enduring acceptance of the importance of virtue, no civilization can long sustain itself. Read
Elderly Nun Killed For A Cell Phone
An ex-convict charged with killing a Catholic nun who had taken him in at a halfway house stole her cell phone and traded it for what turned out to be fake drugs, police said. Read
Terrorists Recruiting 'White Muslims'
His code name was Maximus, and he held secret meetings in a shabby room at the Banana City Hotel on the outskirts of Sarajevo.
Bosnian police put him under surveillance, and in a raid last fall on his apartment on Poligonska Street, authorities seized explosives, a suicide bomber belt and a videotape of masked men begging Allah's forgiveness for what they were about to do. Read
'Brutal' Oppression Highlighted Ahead of North Korea Freedom Week
North Korea Freedom Week is kicking off its second year this weekend as thousands of human rights activists and religious leaders from around the world center their voices in Washington, D.C. Read
White House Head of Faith-Based Initiatives Resigns
The head of the White House office of faith-based and community initiatives resigned to become president of the largest Christian monastery in the world. Read
Baptist Partners to Provide $1 Billion in Aid to New Orleans
A partnership among three Baptist organizations will bring $1 billion in resources to rebuild houses, churches and businesses in New Orleans. Read
Weekly Attendance Highest Among Evangelical Churches
Weekly church attendance on average is at 33 percent, according to a recent Gallup poll. Religious bodies and denominations, however, have widely different "yields" from their customer base. Read
A Captive Audience For Salvation
America has the highest incarceration level in the world, and its prisons serve too consistently as revolving doors. Are faith-based programs in prisons the answer to these disturbing trends? Read

Abortion/Pro-Life

Online Video Details Partial-Birth Abortion
New evidence of the barbarity of partial-birth abortion is available in the form of an online video that shows how the procedure is done — but doesn't use blood or disturbing images to make its point. Read
Americans Growing More Pro-Life
New poll indicates two-thirds of Americans believe abortion ends a human life. Americans are increasingly pro-life, according to a recent Zogby poll that found nearly 70 percent oppose tax dollars being used for abortions and favor parental- notification laws. Read
Unborn Now Have Voice, Supporters of New Alabama Law Say
Supporters of Alabama's new legislation that recognizes two victims instead of one when a pregnant woman is assaulted or killed say it gives the unborn a voice. Read
Euthanasia Group Wants to Expand Assisted Suicide Services in Europe
A pro-euthanasia group in Switzerland that runs an assisted suicide clinic in Zurich wants to expand the number of people who go to it for help in killing themselves. The group wants to start conducting assisted suicides on people who aren't terminally ill but suffer from chronic depression. Read
China Gender Imbalance Problem Growing as Sex-Selection Abortions Continue
The gender imbalance problem in China is growing as laws meant to crack down on sex-selection abortions are minimally enforced. As a result men outnumber women in great numbers, infanticide continues, and some girls luck enough to be born are sold into marriage. Read
U.S. Immigration Law Has Abortion Consequences for Mexican Woman
Abortion and immigration law normally don't have much to do with each other, but in one rare case a pregnant Mexican woman who could have had an abortion was allowed to stay longer in the U.S. because of her pregnancy. Read
Minnesota State Legislature Ready for Pharmacist's Conscience Clause Vote
The Minnesota state House and Senate are both poised to take votes on bills that would establish a pharmacist's conscience clause in the state. The measures would allow pharmacists to opt out of dispensing the morning after pill or birth control pills for moral or religious reasons. Read
Aloha State Set to Become Abortion State
"If the Republican Governor of Hawaii fails to veto this radical abortion bill Hawaii's image will suffer irreparable damage..." Read

Alcohol/Drugs/Health

The AIDS Epidemic in D.C.
In Washington, D.C., nearly 10,000, or about one in every 50 people have AIDS, and there is an unknown but even higher number with HIV. D.C. also has the highest rate of new AIDS cases in the country — 12 times the national average — and has more people living with AIDS than all but nine states. Read
25 Die After Taking ADHD Drugs
The Food and Drug Administration reported Feb. 8 that 25 people died and 54 suffered serious cardiovascular problems after taking drugs to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) between 1999 and 2003. Read
Case of bubonic plague confirmed in L.A.
A woman is in stable condition with bubonic plague, the first confirmed human case in Los Angeles County since 1984, health officials said Tuesday. Read
Skin Cancer Epidemic Underway in the US
There is an unrecognized epidemic of skin cancer underway in the United States, the American Academy of Dermatology warns. In the same study, the researchers found that just 60% of the cancers they identified occurred on skin frequently exposed to the sun, such as the head and neck, rather than the normal 90%. Most of the remaining cancers were seen on the torso. The researchers suspect this may be due to more widespread use of tanning beds. Read

Education/Sex Ed/Teens/Children

Should Using the Birth of Christ to Date Time (BC/AD) Be Replaced by a Secular Dating Method (BCE/CE)?
The Kentucky Board of Education has voted to take the first step in redefining how America dates time. The board voted to include a new secular system of dating the calendar, BCE (Before Common Era) and CE (Common Era), and added it to the BC (Before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini, Latin for "in the year of our Lord") method. The new secular system of time dating will appear in the curriculum and other materials used by Kentucky educators. This new system is already being included in textbooks across the nation. Read
Professor Who Vandalized Pro-Life Display Against Abortion Defends Actions
A Northern Kentucky University professor who destroyed a pro-life display against abortion and encouraged her students to vandalize it as well is defending her actions. Dr. Sally Jacobsen, a British literature professor, called the display "silly" and said her free speech rights allowed her and others to trash the display. Read
Fla. School Board Chair Sorry for Calling Gays 'Species'
Palm Beach County's school board chairman has apologized for referring to gays and lesbians as a "protected species." Read
Parents Confident, Teachers Dubious About 'No Child' Goals
Teachers are far more pessimistic than parents about getting every student to succeed in reading and math as boldly promised by the No Child Left Behind Act. That's left a huge expectations gap between the two main sets of adults in children's lives. Read
States Help Schools Hide Minority Scores
States are helping public schools escape potential penalties by skirting the No Child Left Behind law's requirement that students of all races must show annual academic progress. Read
Texas School District Caves to Parents' Call to Shut Down Bible Club
A Christian student group may have to sue a public school district in Texas over a dispute regarding use of school facilities. Read
Illinois Lawmakers Urge Review of State's Pro-Condom Pregnancy Prevention Classes
An Illinois congressman says the Government Accounting Office (GAO) needs to evaluate the appropriateness of some pregnancy prevention classes being offered to young people. Representative Don Manzullo, along with 20 other members of Congress, sent a letter to the GAO about some of these taxpayer-funded pregnancy prevention classes. He says he did this because taxpayers have a right to know about the obscenities that are being taught to their children. Read
Sex Sting Operation Nets Local Elementary School Principal
An elementary school principal who also serves as a Baptist deacon is among several men caught in an undercover sex sting operation at a public park in Beaumont, Texas. Read
School Silent on Expulsion of Homosexual Student; 'Boyfriend' Not
The "boyfriend" of a student who was kicked out of a Baptist college in Kentucky because of his homosexual lifestyle claims the majority of students enrolled at the school are homosexuals. Read
Attorney: 8th Circuit's Graduation Prayer Ruling Discriminates Against Christians
A civil liberties attorney is objecting to a federal appeals court's decision to side with a former teacher who complained about prayers at a graduation ceremony in an Arkansas school district. The Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled in favor of Steve Warnock in his dispute with the De Valls Bluff School District, but denied his request to stiffen penalties against the district. Read
Campus Outrage Awards target liberal, anti-Christian activity
In the past year, Yale University enrolled a former Taliban official with a 4th grade education into a non-degree program. The reason? To promote diversity. The University of California allegedly attempts to discriminate against students educated at Christian high schools. DePaul University "makes war" on the free speech rights of conservative students and faculty. Read
Law Raises Fears of More School Segregation
Betty Sternberg is in charge of two school systems. One, scattered throughout the state, is rich and white. The other, isolated in seven large towns, is poor and minority. Sternberg is the state's education commissioner, and one of her jobs is to unite the two systems so Connecticut can move past its role as defendant in the nation's longest-running desegregation lawsuit. On paper, it wouldn't seem to be that difficult. Read
Columbine Victims Still Healing
As a sophomore at Columbine High School seven years ago, Marjorie Lindholm was a cheerleader with a 3-plus grade-point average who wanted to become a doctor. Read
Conservative Family Group Airs Ads against Calif. Preschool Initiative
A California affiliate of the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family has begun airing radio ads opposing a June ballot initiative that would raise taxes on the wealthiest Californians to pay for universal preschool. Read

God and Country/National Security/Politics/Economy

Minuteman Leader Pushes Border Fence
If the government doesn't build security fencing along the Mexico border, Minuteman border watch leader Chris Simcox says he and his supporters will. Read
Chinese Leader's Trip Aims to Soothe U.S. Public
President Bush faces a delicate political balancing act Thursday when he welcomes Chinese President Hu Jintao to the White House: seeking China's help to end nuclear standoffs in Iran and North Korea, while urging changes to economic, military and political policies that critics say hurt U.S. interests. Read
Related
Huge Explosion Rocks Afghan Capital
A massive explosion rocked downtown Kabul late Wednesday near its diplomatic area where the U.S. Embassy is located. A large plume of white smoke rose into the air. Read
Bush's Spring Frolic In Cancun
Like many teenagers, President Bush dashed off to Cancun for spring break. Protected by a long and impenetrable fence and plenty of security guards, he met privately with the Mexican president and wealthy CEOs from both countries. Bush should have gone to the Arizona border where American citizens really need a fence to protect themselves, their children, their animals and their property from the hundreds of illegal aliens who tramp across their land every night. Bush thus gave the back of his hand to the 88 percent of Republican House Members who voted to secure our borders against the invasion of criminals, smugglers of illegal drugs with their armed escorts, smugglers of thirsty humans in crowded vans, and Other Than Mexicans (OTMs) who obviously aren't coming here to pick strawberries. Read
U.S. Employers Send for Immigrants
When Pedro Lopez Vazquez crossed illegally into the United States last week, he was not heading north to look for a job. He already had one. His future employer even paid $1,000 for a smuggler to help Vazquez make his way from the central Mexican city of Puebla to Aspen, Colo. "We're going to Colorado to work in carpentry because we have a friend who was going to give us a job," Vazquez said. Read
Document from D.C. Immigration Rally
Read
Mr. President, Listen To The Will Of The American People!
President Bush again calls for guest-worker/amnesty Read
Terror for Mexico's Illegal Imigrants
Migrants from elsewhere in Latin America, considered felons by the government, fear robbery and rape at the hands of corrupt police. While immigrants in the United States have held huge demonstrations in recent weeks, the hundreds of thousands of undocumented Central Americans in Mexico suffer mostly in silence. Although Mexico demands humane treatment for its citizens who migrate to the United States, regardless of their legal status, Mexico provides few protections for migrants on its own soil. Read
Ga. Governor Signs Strict Immigration Bill
Georgia's governor signed a sweeping immigration bill Monday that supporters and critics say gives the state some of the toughest measures against illegal immigrants in the nation. "I want to make this clear: we are not, Georgia's government is not, and this bill is not, anti-immigrant," Gov. Sunny Perdue said at the signing. "We simply believe that everyone who lives in our state needs to abide by our laws." Read
Arizona Governor Vetoes Bill Criminalizing Illegal Immigrants
Gov. Janet Napolitano vetoed a bill that would have criminalized the presence of illegal immigrants in Arizona, citing opposition from police agencies that want immigration arrests to remain the responsibility of the federal government. Read
White House Press Secretary Resigns
White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Wednesday he is resigning. Read
Iran: 40,000 Suicide Bombers Ready to Hit U.S., U.K.
IRAN has formed battalions of suicide bombers to strike at British and American targets if the nation's nuclear sites are attacked. According to Iranian officials, 40,000 trained suicide bombers are ready for action. Read
Rafsanjani Scoffs at Talk of U.S. Attack
Iran's former president said Monday that talk of a U.S. military attack on Iran was overblown because it would be "too dangerous" and no Persian Gulf countries would join forces with the United States. Read
Cisco Invests $256M in Saudi Expansion
Cisco Systems Inc. said Tuesday it will invest $256 million to expand its operations in Saudi Arabia, including a new technology incubator and the hiring of hundreds of additional employees. Read
Amnesty Called an Alien Invasion
Any guest-worker program approved by Congress for the nation's 11 million illegal aliens would spawn a new wave of cheap-labor illegals that already-overwhelmed federal authorities are unprepared to handle, law-enforcement authorities and immigration officials say. A former high-ranking U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) official said the federal government does not have an adequate post-legalization enforcement program to prevent an expected flood of fraudulent identity documents or sanction employers who hire the new illegals Read
Bush Chooses Portman as Next Budget Director
U.S. trade representative to succeed Josh Bolten in post Read
Women Vets Refuse 'Victim' Label
Ranks of U.S. combat amputees now includes 11 women Read
D.C. Gas Prices near Top in U.S.
Gasoline prices in the District of Columbia topped the rest of the continental U.S. yesterday as oil prices settled at a record high at more than $70 a barrel. Read
US Says Gas May Hit $3 a Gallon
The price U.S. drivers will pay for regular unleaded gasoline could hit a national average of $3 a gallon this year, the government's top energy forecasting agency said on Wednesday. Read
Army Fights Iraqi "Insurgents" in Calif. Desert
This neat military town lies 7,500 miles from Baghdad but drive west down the road into the desert and the landscape resembles western Iraq. The hazards are similar, too: roadside bombs, ambushes, suicide bombers, hit-and-run raids, kidnappings. Fort Irwin is home to the U.S. Army's National Training Center, covering almost 1,200 square miles in the Mojave Desert. The base serves as the last stop for tens of thousands of U.S. troops before they ship out to Iraq and put into practice what they hope to learn here — how to fight ruthless and innovative opponents without creating new enemies from the civilian population and without taking sides in Iraq's internal conflicts. Read
Gen. Anthony Zinni: U.S.S. Cole Blunder My Fault
Former CENTCOM Commander, Gen. Anthony Zinni — who has called for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to resign because of Rumsfeld's alleged incompetence in running the Iraq war — admitted six years ago that he made the disastrous decision to have the U.S.S. Cole use the port of Aden, Yemen for refueling, where the ship was blown up by al-Qaida terrorists. Read
Consumer Prices Jump 0.4 Percent in March
Consumer prices shot up in March, reflecting higher costs for gasoline, clothing and hotel rooms, with core inflation rising by the biggest amount in a year. Read
Legendary Pilot Scott Crossfield Dies in Crash
Legendary test pilot Scott Crossfield, the first man to fly at twice the speed of sound, was found dead Thursday in the wreckage of a single-engine plane in the mountains of northern Georgia, authorities said. Read

Pornography/Homosexuality/Obscenity/Immorality/Sexual Abuse

Ford To Sponsor Homosexual 'Marriage' at Motor City Pride Event
Showing contempt for the concerns of traditional families, Ford has agreed to sponsor the "Family Area" at the Motor City Pride Event June 2-4 which will feature a homosexual marriage "commitment ceremony." The purpose of the ceremony is to "make a political statement." Read
Stern Fading into Obscurity
Profane shock jock has lost most of his audience with his switch to satellite radio. Amid all the talk about media indecency this year, Howard Stern's name has been oddly absent. His move to uncensored satellite radio was billed as the next big thing, but he only took two of every 10 listeners with him. Does that indicate the self-appointed "King of All Media" is fading into irrelevance? Read
Networks Sue Over Indecency Rulings
The four major television networks and more than 800 affiliated stations have sued to overturn recent indecency rulings from the FCC, saying the government "overstepped its authority" in the March judgments. Read
Ex-'Gays': Ignored and Discounted
I would like to tell you about some people who are often treated as if they do not exist. While they flourish as citizens and are active in our churches across the nation, it is as if they lack reality as far as the so-called mainstream media are concerned. These people are former homosexuals, sometimes known as ex-gays, who have prevailed over their previous existence. I imagine they are the most politically incorrect people in our nation. They do exist, though, and there are untold thousands of them. Read
Yard Sign Says Man Will Pay For Virgin Child Bride
A man is causing an uproar in his rural southwestern Oklahoma town by advertising that he'd like to pay for a young virgin to be his bride. Read

Other News

Decapitated Heads of Policemen Found Near Acalpulco Gov't Building
ACAPULCO, Mexico — The decapitated heads of a police chief and police officer were found early Thursday dumped in front of a government building in this Pacific coast resort, authorities said. Read
Bombing Shows Palestinian Divide
A suicide bombing that killed 9 people in Israel today drew conflicting reactions from Palestinian leaders. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' spokesman condemned the attack, but a Hamas spokesman called it "self-defense." Read
Israel Warns Hamas is Part of 'Axis of Terror'
Israel said Monday that a new "axis of terror" — Iran, Syria and the Hamas-run Palestinian government — is sowing the seeds of the first world war of the 21st century. ...Recent statements by the Palestinian government, Iran and Syria, including one by Hamas on Monday defending the suicide bombing, "are clear declarations of war, and I urge each and every one of you to listen carefully and take them at face value," said Israel's U.N. Ambassador Dan Gillerman. Read
Russia Still Opposed to Sanctions on Iran
Russia said it remains opposed to sanctions against Iran, while China expressed hope for a negotiated solution as senior diplomats from six countries converged in Moscow on Tuesday to map out the next step toward solving the Iranian nuclear standoff. Read
Israel Launches Airstrike at Gaza Workshop
Israeli aircraft fired missiles at a metal workshop in Gaza City early Tuesday, Palestinian officials said, hours after a suicide bomber killed nine people at a Tel Aviv restaurant. Read
Hamas Denies Storing Weapons in Jordan
Hamas denied on Wednesday accusations by Jordan that the Islamic militant group had stored weapons on its territory and said it regretted Amman's cancellation of a visit by the Palestinian foreign minister. Read

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Index of Weekly Issues Alerts

2007

2006