Maternity leave

Forgive the sporadic posts, but I will be busily getting ready for the impending arrival of our third child. I will post as time and circumstances allow, but posting will not be regular until mid- to late- March or so. Then I will be back with a vengeance!

KRD

Pelosi: Do as I say.....not as I do....

From the Republican Study Committee:

As you may have heard, Speaker Nancy Pelosi pressed the Department of Defense to provide her a military aircraft for flights - including trips back to San Francisco.

But Did You Know?
Who Pays for Speaker Pelosi's travel? You do.

Speaker Pelosi is driven by a government owned SUV that is exempt from the gas tax when used for business related travel. Thus, Speaker Pelosi not only avoids paying for auto travel (paid for by Capitol Police) she doesn't even pay the gas tax that millions of Americans pay each day. (Internal Revenue Code Section 6421E). §

Rep. Pelosi has voted to raise gasoline taxes at least five times. Speaker Pelosi has requested an Air Force C-32 - a plane from a fleet that that typically carries the vice president, the first lady, and Cabinet officials. Operating Costs are approximately $15,000 an hour. Speaker Pelosi is not responsible for paying for the use of her "personal" Department of Defense jet - which will be used to transport not just herself, but staff, family, other members and friends. That bill is paid for by taxpayer dollars allotted to the Department of Defense.§

"...For one of those planes to fly the speaker home to San Francisco, drop her off, and fly back and get her, would cost taxpayers around $300,000 - while round-trip commercial fares start at $233." (DC Examiner, 2/5/2007)§

The larger plane requested by Speaker Pelosi would include 42 business class seats, a fully-enclosed state room, an entertainment center, a private bed, state-of-the-art communications system and a crew of 16. (CNN, 2/5/07)·

In contrast, Speaker Hastert "...used a smaller jet that seats 12 and has five crew members and none of the amenities." (CNN, 2/5/07)§

"U.S. Air Force travel for VIPs such as members of Congress is first-rate. The planes are staffed with stewards who serve meals and tend an open bar." (Washington Times, 2/1/2007)

To borrow her own words, it's time for Speaker Pelosi to "Walk the Walk" on her beliefs and priorities: Speaker Pelosi maintains that that, "The science of global warming and its impact is overwhelming and unequivocal." (Boston Globe, 1/22/07). "It's an issue that the speaker thinks is critical to address," said Pelosi spokeswoman Jennifer Crider. (AP, 1/18/2007)·

In his State of the Union this year, President Bush proposed tackling the issue by aiming to cut gasoline consumption by 20% in 10 years... And Democrats remained skeptical about his commitment. "It's not just about what he says. It's about what he does." [Speaker] Pelosi said. "In the past ... he has talked the talk on climate change. But he hasn't walked the walk." (Los Angeles Times, 1/24/2007)

There seems to be a lot of confusion about the motives behind Mrs. Pelosi's landmark request - including some within her own office. But, Defense Officials seem to have an answer. · ".... [Pelosi's] safety would be best ensured by using a plane that has the fuel capacity to go coast-to-coast.... "There's a certain amount of inefficiency and risk involved in stopping and having to refuel," said Dew Hammill, Spokesman for the Speaker. (Roll Call, 2/5/2007)

"...sources, who include those in Congress and in the administration, said the Democrat is seeking regular military flights not only for herself and her staff, but also for relatives and for other members of the California delegation." (Washington Times, 2/1/2007

"...According to reports, Speaker Pelosi requested the use of a military plane to attend a retreat in Williamsburg, Virginia, last week. That's 150 miles or a two-hour drive from Washington, D.C. That request, by all accounts, was denied." (CNN, 2/5/07)

"The Department of Defense offered Speaker Pelosi the same aircraft' as the one used by Hastert...." "She found it was not big enough for staff, supporters and other Members." (Roll Call, 2/5/2007)

The defense source, who asked not to be named, termed her request "carte blanche," saying "she wanted a plane that could carry an entourage just like President Bush, who flies on Air Force One, and Vice President Dick Cheney, who also always flies on military planes." (Washington Times, 2/7/2007)

A case of contradiction and wasteful government spending? You be the judge.

Happy Birthday, Mr. President. You are missed.

"I learned from my father the value of hard work and ambition, andmaybe a little something about telling a story. From my mother,I learned the value of prayer, how to have dreams and believeI could make them come true... I was raised to believe that Godhas a plan for everyone and that seemingly random twists of fateare all part of His plan. My mother... told me that everythingin life happened for a purpose. She said all things were part ofGod's plan, even the most disheartening setbacks, and in the end,everything worked out for the best. If something went wrong, shesaid, you didn't let it get you down: You stepped away from it,stepped over it, and moved on." ---Ronald Reagan


"So now we declare 'war on poverty'... Now, do they honestlyexpect us to believe that if we add $1 billion to the $45 millionwe are spending... one more program to the 30-odd we have---andremember, this new program doesn't replace any, it just duplicatesexisting programs---do they believe that poverty is suddenlygoing to disappear by magic?... Yet anytime you and I questionthe schemes of the do-gooders, we are denounced as being againsttheir humanitarian goals. They say we are always 'against' things,never 'for' anything. Well, the trouble with our liberal friendsis not that they are ignorant, but that they know so much thatisn't so." ---Ronald Reagan

"And I hope that someday your children and grandchildren will tellof the time that a certain president came to town at the end ofa long journey and asked their parents and grandparents to joinhim in setting America on the course to the new millennium---andthat a century of peace, prosperity, opportunity, and hopefollowed. So, if I could ask you just one last time: Tomorrow,when mountains greet the dawn, would you go out there and winone for the Gipper?" ---Ronald Reagan


"I've spoken of the shining city all my political life, butI don't know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when Isaid it. But in my mind it was a tall proud city built on rocksstronger than oceans, wind swept, God blessed and teeming withpeople of all kinds living in harmony and peace, a city with freeports that hummed with commerce and creativity, and if there hadto be city walls the walls had doors and the doors were open toanyone with the will and the heart to get here... And how standsthe city on this winter night? More prosperous, more secureand happier than it was eight years ago. But more than that;after two hundred years, two centuries, she still stands strongand true on the granite ridge, and her glow has held steady nomatter what storm. And she's still a beacon, still a magnetfor all who must have freedom, for all the pilgrims from allthe lost places who are hurtling through the darkness, towardhome. We've done our part. And as I walk into the city streets,a final word to the men and women of the Reagan revolution, themen and women across America who for eight years did the workthat brought America back. My friends: We did it. We weren't justmarking time, we made a difference. We made the city stronger,we made the city freer, and we left her in good hands. All inall, not bad. Not bad at all. And so, good-bye. God bless you,and God bless the United States of America." ---Ronald Reagan

Why doesn't Gov Perry get it over with......

.....and mandate that every Texas teenage gal get on the birth control pill and have done with it? Good heavens, has the world gone completely mad? If these little girls aren't exposed to the disease, then they won't have the problem (along with every other STD and pregnancy issue), now will they?

Sheer insanity to mandate this. And Perry is a Republican? Sure.

www.cwfa.org
CWA: Texas Governor Mandates STD Shot for Young Girls, Abuses Parental Rights

Washington, D.C. — In an extreme executive order that circumvents parents and the Texas legislature, Governor Rick Perry (R-Texas) has mandated that before entering the 6th grade girls must receive the HPV vaccine, a shot that prevents sexually active girls from becoming infected with an STD linked to cervical cancer. Concerned Women for America (CWA) believes that it is the right and responsibility of parents—not government—to choose whether or not their daughter receives the vaccination.

The flu virus kills over 60,000 people every year in the United States, as opposed to cervical cancer, which accounts for 4,000 deaths annually. The flu vaccination, which would statistically save 15 times more lives than the HPV vaccine, is not required. The HPV vaccine should be optional as well.

CWA President Wendy Wright said, “The Governor’s order forces little girls to be shot with a sex virus vaccine. He has circumvented debate on this controversial matter to the financial benefit of Merck, one of his campaign contributors. An opt-out provision puts parents in the position of having to resist forceful government officials, and puts the burden on parents when it should be on the vaccine maker.

“While we support the vaccine itself, a government mandate that little girls must be shot with it well before they’re sexually active, with the likely consequence they would have to get another expensive booster before they’re sexually active, is an outrageous assault on girls and their parents.”"Educate parents about all the risks of HPV and the vaccine. Enable parents in lower economic levels to have the vaccine available with government funding," said Anne Hettinger of Concerned Women for America of Texas. "But the Governor of Texas has gone far beyond that. With the stroke of his pen, parents have been coerced into compliance unless they can convince the bureaucracy otherwise. The burden of proof should not be on parents."



Concerned Women for America is the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization.
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