LEGISLATIVE UPDATE - WEEK ENDING OCTOBER 8, 2004

HOUSE AND SENATE IN RECESS UNTIL NOVEMBER 16th

IMPORTANT INTERNATIONAL SECTION TODAY!

THE PRESIDENCY

FORCED ABORTION

President George W. Bush has withheld $25 million in funding from the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) because of that agency's support of forced abortions and forced sterilizations in Chinaand other nations. The President transferred the funds to a State Department program to fight human trafficking and prostitution. Previously the President had transferred $9 million that was to go the UNFPA to the US Agency for International Development for a reproductive health program. So far this year President George W. Bush has move 11 percent of the $300 million Congress allotted to the UNFPA to other US agencies who do not promote abortion. What would John Kerry have done?

ABSTINENCE GRANTS

On October 5th President George W. Bush announced $100 million in new grants for abstinence-focused programs as part of the $15 billion Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. Of the eleven organizations receiving grants nine are faith-based. The grants will help these faith-based organizations teach children in AIDS plagued nations such as Ethiopia, Haiti, Tanzania and Zambia to avoid behavior putting them at risk for HIV. Previously the President has said, "I think our country needs a practical, effective and moral message. In addition to other kinds of prevention, we need to tell our children that abstinence is the only certain way to avoid contracting HIV. It works every time." What would John Kerry have done?

JOBS AND THE ECONOMY

In September 96,000 new jobs were created and the unemployment rate stands at 5.4%. Since April, according to employers 1.9 million new jobs have been created; however, when self-employment is taken into account, employment since April has increased by more than 2.2 million jobs. However, damage done by four hurricanes in September to GulfCoastoil rigs has greatly reduced the flow of oil causing prices to go above $50 a barrel, and endangering continued economic growth. Expect John Kerry to blame either the President or "big oil" for the price increase instead of the rig damage done by hurricanes.

THE POLLS

I don't even bother to read the "snapshot" or "overnight" polls that are printed in most newspapers or talked about on TV news shows. These "snapshot" polls always contain statistical noise dependent on events such as a blockbuster "cop movie" that draws many Republican men out of their homes on a Saturday night. I only use "rolling" polls that are taken over several days to make sure one special event or other statistical noise does not distort the poll. None of the rolling polls ever had George W. Bush up by 10 or more points as the mediareported. The greatest edge Bush ever had in a rolling poll was 5 points nationally. Currently various rolling polls show President Bush at between 2 and 4 points up, having lost about a point after the debates. (Please note that I cannot furnish links to private polls.) The election is very close and most insiders believe that this year social issue voting will make or break the President's reelection chances. Who will be the voters on the social issues? YOU!

FAITH IN THE WHITE HOUSE

It is still possible to obtain a copy of the video documentary, George W. Bush, Faith in the White House to show to your friends and fellow Sunday School class members before the election. We are now shipping all orders for both the DVD and VHS version by First Class Mail. Two day air is also available. The 72 minute documentary explores the faith of George W. Bush, how it came about, and how it affects his life today. The documentary commentator is nationally known Christian conservative radio show host Janet Parshall. The RFC Internet store is selling these at a discounted price of $12.95 each and if you order two or more the shipping is free. We are offering the DVD at a discount below retail because I believe it is important that President George W. Bush's faith in Christ should be known and understood by voters, particularly between now and an election that will set the course of our nation for the 21st century. For ordering information click on the image or go to www.faithofgeorgewbush.com.

CONGRESS

APPROPRIATIONS

It is the responsibility of the House and Senate to pass appropriate legislation to fund the government each year. The fiscal year for our government begins on October 1st and the Congress was, in theory, to have presented the President with the funding bills for his signature before that date. Meeting its responsibilities the Republican majority House led by Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) passed virtually every needed bill. However, Democrats in the Senate, using antiquated rules, have managed to stall all but one of the required bills. As a result the government is currently operating on week by week extensions of funding bills passed last year. I have prepared a PDF that explains each bill, how much was authorized to spend, when the House passed it and what it's current fate is. The PDF is located at: http://www.rfcnet.org/pdfs/FY05AppsStatus.pdf

RECESS

The House and Senate have both gone into recess and congressmen and Senators have returned to their districts to campaign for office. There will be a short "lame duck" session the week of November 16th to deal with budget matters that have not been acted upon, primarily by the Senate. The chief obstructionist of legislation in the Senate has been Minority Leader Tom Daschle (R-SD) who is up for reelection. Stopping the Transportation and other funding bills that would have brought jobs to South Dakota has hurt Daschle and he may very well not be back in January as he is several points behind the challenger, Republican John Thune.  This is despite Daschle spending over $9 million dollars for his reelection in a state that does not even have one million people .... figuring registered voters only, he has spent as much as $20 a voter so far and he is still behind in the polls. It appears the voters in South Dakota have decided they want someone who does something in Washington, rather than someone who spends his time making sure nothing gets done.

INTERNATIONAL

CENSORSHIP IN EUROPE

The Religious Freedom Coalition hosted two important guests to Washington, DC this week, Mikael Oscarrson, who is a member of the Swedish Parliament, and Johan Lundell, the chairman of the largest pro-life organization in Scandinavia. They were here to present the case of Pastor Ake Green, who has been sentenced to 30 days in jail for preaching from the Word of God. A Swedish court ordered Pastor Green to jail because he read Bible verses to his congregation of 50 people stating that homosexuality was a sin. I have heard similar sermons in American evangelical churches, including my own church in Virginia. In the sermon Pastor Green clearly distinguished the sin from the sinner saying Christians needed to express love for homosexuals, but that their activity was wrong and sinful. I have had the sermon translated and it is available as a PDF. Please keep in mind that if you send a copy to anyone in Sweden you will be in violation of the law. If you take a copy of this sermon to Sweden you could be arrested. PDF located at: http://www.rfcnet.org/pdfs/GreenSermonEnglish.pdf

I would ask that you print out the sermon and give it to your pastor and ask him if he believes someone should go to jail for preaching it. Please realize that the same ""thought crimes" language has been added to the Defense Authorization Bill by both the House and the Senate. After introducing Mikael Oscarrson and Johan Lundell to key members of the House and Senate and having them present the case of Pastor Ake Green there is a chance that the "thought crimes" language in the Defense Authorization Bill will be removed in the conference committee. Mikael Oscarrson pointed out that four years ago the socialist government promised that if the law protecting homosexuals from "disrespectful" speech were passed, it would not apply to pastors because of the religious freedom clause in their constitution. The socialists, as they do everywhere else as well, lied. The law became effective in January, 2003 and Pastor Ake Green was arrested in July of that same year. There is a wave of such laws appearing in European and other nations and in the individual states. In California Governor Arnold Swarzennegger signed a bill into law in which the crime of discrimination against a "transsexual" is in the eyes of the "victim." In other words if you see a guy in San Francisco dressed as a woman and say "good grief" and he/she does not like the way you said it, you could be jailed. So much for religious freedom. A translation of the actual verdict in the Ake Green case and its rather amazing language in PDF format is located at: http://www.rfcnet.org/pdfs/GreenVerdictEnglish.pdf.

HOLY LAND TERROR

By now you have heard or read about the bombing of a beach front Hilton Hotel in Egypt that is frequented by Israeli tourists. The bombing was the work of Palestinian terrorists, Al Qaeda, or both working together. I have noticed that the American and European media have not reported some of the more interesting details. The main blast at the hotel was in a truck bomb (or two car bombs) and caused an entire section of the hotel to collapse. So far 30 bodies have been recovered and 38 Israeli citizens are missing. That much was reported by the AP. Here is the rest ... a single suicide bomber went to the back of the hotel and blew himself up in a water park area reserved for children. In addition, there was an attack on a restaurant frequented by families. Please keep in mind the attack by Islamic terrorists in Russia on a school in Beslan just a few weeks ago. Apparently Islamic terrorists have found verses in the Koran that allow them to target and kill children. Please don't bother to search the Internet for Islamic Imams condemning the attacks on children because you are not going to find any. There will not be a single service at a Mosque in the United States today that condemns the attacks on these children and American kids may be next. In Iraq a computer disc has been found at a site where troops had cleared out some terrorists, and it contains diagrams of public schools in the United States.  Homeland Security has notified the affected school districts in six states. For the best information on the attacks check the Jerusalem Post online. To see RFC special documentaries on Holy Land Terror click here .

William J. Murray, Chairman

Religious Freedom Coalition , P.O. Box 77511, Washington, DC 20013 Phone: (202) 543-0300

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