KERRY AND EU IN CAHOOTS? The European Union, with permission from the World Trade Organization, this month began imposing trade sanctions on the United States in retaliation for the export subsidies that the federal government has granted to American manufacturers. On March 24, Senate Democrats filibustered a bill that would have repealed the subsidies and replaced them with tax breaks, thus averting the sanctions. Democrats are using the bill as a tool in an attempt to force votes on overtime pay and other Democratic favorites. Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry (Mass.) voted for the bill in committee but, absent from the Senate vote last Tuesday, he complained about Republicans' refusal to give the Democrats what they want.
Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) is suspicious. "Earlier this month, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry proclaimed foreign leaders were pushing for him to win the election over President George W. Bush. . .," it said in a press release March 25. "It appears that Kerry is working with the Europeans to impose tariffs on U.S.-made products in key swing states to inflict painful job losses and keep the economy down during this election year."
THE OATH: Some in Congress want to codify the oath of citizenship taken by the newly naturalized in order to end bickering over the wording, currently not fixed by law. The House immigration subcommittee held a hearing on the issue April 1. Some want to "update" the wording, but HR 3191, sponsored by Rep. Jim Ryun (R.-Kan.), will codify the traditional language of the oath, which says in part: "I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law. . .so help me God."
SAVE ROTC: Last week, the House overwhelmingly passed a bill that would finally force American universities into line on military recruiters and ROTC. HR 3966, sponsored by Rep. Mike Rogers (R.-Ala.), would require colleges that receive Pentagon or Homeland Security grants to allow recruiters and ROTC the same access to campus as other outside groups receive, thus expanding an earlier law that requires colleges to provide recruiters access of some kind. Said Rep. Chris Cox (R.-Calif.) on the floor March 30: "My alma mater, Harvard University, which bans ROTC from campus, gets more money in federal taxpayer grants than it does from tuition for undergraduates and graduates combined, and yet Harvard University sends its hard core, a very small number of hearty brave students, down the road to MIT." Many lefty schools, who depend on the American military for their freedom, discriminate against the military because they disagree with Congress' law forbidding active homosexuals entrance.
GRASSROOTS WIN: Grassroots Americans, particularly parents, are winning small victories against the homosexual agenda across the country. The homosexual publication The Advocate noted one on March 30. "An elementary school choir that emphasizes diversity dropped out of a service celebrating the gay community because too few parents gave permission for their children to participate. The H.W. Smith Elementary School's Rainbow Kids international chorus was to perform Sunday at May Memorial Unitarian Universalist Church in Syracuse, N.Y., during the annual 'Equality Begins At Home' event." A local pastor complained about parents' refusal to let their children participate. "I'm not vilifying parents, but what I'm saying is this shows that our work isn't done as a society," he said.
RAINES ON SULZBERGER: Former New York Times Executive Editor Howell Raines, the far-left activist editor who was fired last year after it was revealed that the Times coddled faker Jayson Blair story after faked story, spoke out about the ineffectiveness of the Times' publisher, Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., and compared him to his father, Arthur (Punch) Sulzberger, Sr. "The difference between Punch and Arthur is the difference between the Marine Corps, where Punch had his formative experience, and Outward Bound, where Arthur had his," Raines said.
