CONGRESS IN SESSION

THE PRESIDENCY

MORE ON NATIONAL BAD MOOD

Last week I discussed a A Gallup poll released on May 6th indicating that only 36% of Americans are satisfied with "...the way things are in the United States" and 62% are dissatisfied. What those numbers translate into is dropping poll numbers for both President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry. Now an even more startling poll has been released by Gallup indicating that the majority of Americans believe the economy is getting worse, not better. I believe the poll because I received dozens of e-mail's from subscribers telling me that I was wrong when I said in last week's update that the economy was "red hot." According to all indicators the economy is indeed red hot in virtually all sectors and jobs are being created at record levels. As I pointed out last week, unemployment is at an all time low. Yet the Gallup poll indicated that the majority of American adults believe the economy is actually getting "worse." It appears that the only group clearly seeing the economy improve is adults with an income of $75,000 or more a year. In the $30,000 to $49,999 group, 53% see the economy getting worse as do 65% in the less than $30,000 annual income group. It appears that this sentiment of economic gloom is being caused by fear of inflation which is exacerbated by the continued rise of gasoline prices as the summer progresses. Many people wonder how we can control the oil fields of Iraq and have oil rich Saudi Arabia as our "ally," and still pay well over $40 a barrel for crude oil. Someone at the White House must have received the message from the people, because Saudi Arabia announced this week that it would increase oil production by 1.5 million barrels per day. The price of oil temporarily went down $2.00 a barrel on the markets, but quickly went back over $40.00 a barrel. Pumping a little more oil in the Middle East does not affect the gas pump price, because it is caused by a fundamentally American problem. During the Clinton years many oil refineries in the United States shut down because they did not meet the environmental standards his Administration had set. The cold hard fact is that there are not enough oil refineries in the United States to meet demand for gasoline in a growing economy regardless of how much oil flows our way. Where and when will new refineries be built? Probably never, because Americans want to burn plenty of gas in their SUVs but they don't want an oil refinery within hundreds of miles of their homes. This leaves us with many millions of unhappy Americans venting their rage against President George W. Bush while at the same time not believing that Senator John Kerry can do his job.

THE SENATE

MARRIAGE

The Federal Marriage Amendment is going nowhere fast in the Senate. I was told privately by a conservative Senator this week that there is just no "buzz" from the public. He told me that his office was receiving no more calls on the marriage "issue" than on the transportation bill. Despite dozens of organizations working together to promote and protect traditional marriage the public at large does not seem to be very involved except in the state of Massachusetts where same sex marriage becomes lawful on Monday, May 17, 2004. Have you contacted your Senator? Earlier this week I talked with Ron Crews, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute. Polls indicate the vast majority of the people are against homosexual marriage and Ron Crews has been successful in uniting numerous organizations and churches in Massachusetts to fight against the court's decision to allow it. He has gone beyond trying to get politicians to change the course of events. Ron Crews recently announced that he will run for Congress himself. Of 2,443,580 households in Massachusetts only 17,000 (far less than 1%) are "same-sex" households, yet they are forcing their homosexual agenda upon the entire United States.

On Monday, May 17th volunteers will be handing out pro-marriage leaflets across America. To find out how to organize in your area, download the leaflet to pass out click here. The RFC is a co-sponsor of events on Monday. Make your opinion heard in your community!

THE HOUSE

DISMANTLE THE 9TH CIRCUIT COURT Congressman Rick Renzi (R-AZ) and Congressman Jon Porter (R-NV) have introduced legislation that will remove Arizona from the jurisdiction of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. H.R. 4247, titled the Ninth Circuit Judgeship and Reorganization Act of 2004, will transform the current Ninth Circuit, the largest in the country, into three smaller circuits. One of those, the new Twelfth Circuit Court, will include Arizona, Nevada, Idaho and Montana. Senator John Ensign of Nevada has introduced similar legislation. The Ninth District Court has been responsible for outlandish decisions including removing "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance. Upon announcing his HR 4247 bill, Congressman Renzi said, "For too long, Arizonans have been held hostage by activist judges out of San Francisco, who have consistently ruled against ranchers, farmers, miners and our timber industry. The Ninth Circuit Court is out of touch with the traditional western values that still hold true in our communities, and the scales of justice must be balanced."

Contact your congressman

and find out if he has co-sponsored the Ninth Circuit Judgeship and Reorganization Act of 2004.

BROADCAST OBSCENITY

Congressman John Sullivan ( R-OK) is once again pushing H. Res. 298, titled "Expressing the sense of Congress supporting vigorous enforcement of the Federal obscenity laws." Congressman Sullivan now has 88 co-sponosrs to the resolution. Congressman Sullivan offered the resolution well before the Senate version, yet the Senate version has passed and we still await a vote on the House version. With profanity and near pornography on our broadcast stations, this would be a good time for this resolution to be brought to a vote in the House.

INTERNATIONAL

RFC AT UNITED NATIONS

Yesterday (Thursday May 13th) RFC Executive Director Peggy Birchfield traveled to New York City to participate in a United Nations NGO conference on marriage and the family. Currently the Religious Freedom Coalition is seeking NGO (Non-Government Organization) status with the UN. Why? For decades only extremist liberal organizations took part in UN conferences and the result was always reports promoting abortion, infanticide, homosexuality, prostitution, drug use and other destructive behaviors. In the last few years some conservative organizations such as Concerned Women for America (CWA), have successfully become NGOs, but conservatives are still under-represented at these conferences. The RFC's participation, while costly, can make a difference. A UN resolution proclaims May 15th as the International Day of the Family. President George W. Bush sent a statement to the conference attended by Peggy Birchfield, affirming that he would issue a proclamation to recognize marriage and the family in the United States on that day. Financial aid to make RFC's future participation in these events possible would be greatly appreciated. Give online .

RFC CONGRESSIONAL PRESENTATIONS

The RFC is arranging a presentation to the House and Senate of atrocities against Christian Palestinians by the Islamic majority in the West Bank under the governance of Yassar Arafat. We are currently negotiating for a large hearing room on the Senate side of the Capitol. We will show the legislators a short video and a power point presentation. Please pray for the successful planning of the event to be held in July..

ISRAEL

PEACE SOAP

We only have about 100 bars in stock of this handmade complexion soap made in the Holy Land from pure olive oil. Hundreds of subscribers have ordered the soap in the past few weeks. Orders received next week after the first 100 bars are gone may be delayed until we receive another shipment. Please be patient with us. ... The soap is handmade by Christian Palestinians in the West Bank and is their ONLY income.. During the last 30 days the RFC has been able to send more than $2,000 to the families involved. Two of the fathers are under death warrants issued by the PLO and are in hiding in Israel. The soap is made by the families. I have met and worked with these Christian men on my many trips to Israel for the past two years. For more information click here.

TEN COMMANDMENTS

A brand new Ten Commandments silk tie is now available for men! The tie, in your choice of red, blue or tan is custom made of 100% silk for the Religious Freedom Coalition. These ties cannot be bought at any other Internet site or retail store. The ties were made in South Korea and arrived in our Virginia office just a few days ago. Over the years we have offered several different inspirational and patriotic ties for men. This is the first tie made specifically for the RFC, and all of us at the Religious Freedom Coalition are very proud of it. I pray you will be equally as proud to wear it. To view the ties please click here.

Please feel free to forward this update to your friends ... If you received this as a forward please click on the "subscribe" link below to be added to our weekly update.  The RFC newsletter - The Religious Freedom Quarterly - is now available online in pdf format. Click here to view.

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

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