The Stack for May 17th

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GOVERNMENT POLICY

Why Conservative Priorities Stalled In Texas House
Source: www.empowertexans.com, M.Q. Sullivan, Thu, 05/14/2009
Everyone knew this was going to be a less conservative Texas House. After all, Republicans had lost seats. In this 81st Session, economically sound legislation has been killed in committee, while big-tax/big-government bills are flying. The cause? The House committee chairs, appointed by the Speaker, are overwhelmingly left-of-center; certainly out of touch with conservatives and even the general leanings of the House overall

PASTORS THRILLED TO WIN IRS RULING
Source: www.libertylegal.org, 5/12/09

Dobson Says Activism is Useless
Source: www.onenewsnow.com, Tasha Easterling, 5/15/2009
A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about recent comments made by James Dobson on the culture war and the fact that he has not waived a white flag of surrender. At that time Dobson stated he believed that the culture war was by no means over, but that Christians had entered a "discouraging period." However, Dobson may now have temporarily surrendered to the "utter evil that's coming out of the United States Congress."
Note: Dobson was speaking about impacting the Democrat controlled Federal Government, not Activism in general.

American Minute for May 14th: Israel Re-Born
Source: www.americanminute.com, Bill Federer, 5/14/2009
Midnight, MAY 14, 1948, the State of Israel came into being and was immediately recognized by the United States and the Soviet Union. A homeland for the thousands of Jews who were persecuted and displaced during World War II, Israel was attacked the next day by the Transjordanian Army, the Arab Legion, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. Against all odds, Israel survived.

Same-Sex 'Marriage' and Religious Liberty
Why They Can't Coexist
Source: www.BreakPoint.org, Chuck Colson, 5/12/2009
As more states—like Iowa—approve same-sex “marriage,” conservatives are claiming that freedom of religion is in peril. Same-sex “marriage” supporters accuse them of engaging in hysterical gay-bating. Who’s telling the truth?

CARRIE PREJEAN ON FREE SPEECH FIRESTORM: 'THIS SHOULD NOT HAPPEN IN AMERICA’
Watch video

Conservative activists question Charlie Crist's commitment to core GOP values
Source: www.tampabay.com, Wes Allison, Wednesday, May 13, 2009
WASHINGTON — National Republican leaders and Charlie Crist's would-be colleagues at the Capitol were beaming over the governor's announcement that he'll run for the Senate. But many conservative leaders weren't feeling so sunny.

45 Centrist Democrats Protest Secrecy of Health Care Talks
Source: www.nytimes.com, Robert Pear, May 11, 2009
WASHINGTON — Forty-five House Democrats in the party’s moderate-to-conservative wing have protested the secretive process by which party leaders in their chamber are developing legislation to remake the health care system.


COBURN AMENDMENT A WIN FOR COMMON SENSE, SAYS CCRKBA
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
Source: www.ccrkba.org, Press Release, May 13, 2009
BELLEVUE, WA – A key amendment that would allow national park visitors to carry concealed firearms in accordance with state statute is a common sense provision that deserves support, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today

EDUCATION POLICY

Home schoolers get 'A' from marketing exec
Source: www.OneNewsNow.com - Pete Chagnon - 5/14/2009
The chief operating officer of a marketing and networking firm is lauding the achievements of home schoolers.
Josephine Nicholas is the CEO of Published Daily, a firm started by her brother and run with the help of two other siblings. All four were home-schooled. Josephine says, according to research, home schoolers typically score higher and are more ambitious than their peers.

Some schools use state college-prep money elsewhere
Source: www.dallasnews.com, By HOLLY K. HACKER, Tuesday, May 12, 2009
State money aimed at helping prepare students for college is in some cases paying for school office supplies and utility bills – and it's perfectly legal.

ECONOMIC POLICY

White House: Budget deficit to top $1.8 trillion
Source: AP, Drew Taylor, 5/11/09
WASHINGTON (AP) — With the economy performing worse than hoped, revised White House figures point to deepening budget deficits, with the government borrowing almost 50 cents for every dollar it spends this year.

House panel advances transit funding bill as conservative opposition decries it
Source: www.star-telegram.com, DAVE MONTGOMERY, Tue, May. 12, 2009
AUSTIN — Officials in North Texas began working the phones Tuesday to help push a committee-passed transportation funding bill through the House of Representatives as conservative groups sought to derail it. The bill, approved by the House Transportation Committee on Tuesday, would allow the state’s urban counties to ask voters to approve a 10-cent-a-gallon gasoline tax to finance local transportation projects.

Statement on House passage of HB 2962, expanding CHIP and Medicaid eligibility
Source: www.texaspolicy.com, May 14, 2009
“Today’s House vote is a harmful step toward a big government health care system. If Texas extends CHIP to families making more than $66,000 per year, what was originally a health insurance program for the working poor will morph into an expensive entitlement for the middle class. - Statement by The Honorable Talmadge Heflin, Director of TPPF’s Center for Fiscal Policy

RELIGION

A Perfect (Cultural) Storm
Source: www.BreakPoint.org, Chuck Colson, 5/11/2009
Today Americans find themselves swept up in the perfect cultural storm. We have a financial meltdown caused largely by moral failures in government, Wall Street, and the public. We’re paying the bill for decades of self-indulgence, fueled by rampant relativism, rejection of the Christian work ethic, and materialism. And we have an army of Islamic jihadists who hope to destroy Israel and the Western world.

Good News: House Resolution Would Recognize America's Spiritual Heritage
Source: www.CitizenLink.org, 5/13/09
U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va., has introduced a resolution that affirms the rich spiritual and diverse religious history of America and calls for a designated "Spiritual Heritage Week." The initiative has 38 co-sponsors.

More Giving, Less Taxing
President Obama's tax plan will hurt the very people he's trying to help.
Source: www.ChristianityToday.com editorial 5/14/2009
In recent weeks, Congress has been putting the breaks on President Obama's plan to raise an additional $318 billion in taxes to pay for the 2010 federal budget. Aside from the federal budget's mind-blowing cost of $3.6 trillion, his proposed tax increases would effectively decrease income for charitable organizations — and that would have devastating consequences for America's many needy citizens

SOCIAL POLICY

APA revises 'gay gene' theory
Source: www.OneNewsNow.com - Charlie Butts - 5/14/2009
The attempt to prove that homosexuality is determined biologically has been dealt a knockout punch. An American Psychological Association publication includes an admission that there's no homosexual "gene" -- meaning it's not likely that homosexuals are born that way.

Democrats want socialized medicine legislation by summer
Source: www.OneNewsNow.com - Associated Press - 5/14/2009
WASHINGTON- The White House is scrambling to unify Democrats behind a single health-care proposal that would extend medicare-like coverage to the middle class, putting the government in direct competition with big insurance companies.