Scorecard of Catholics in Congress (House)

Special thanks to "Catholic Advocate" for preparing a listing of Catholics in Congress and their votes on key bills over the past several years.  Today, the RC Blog will focus on the House of Representatives; tomorrow we will feature the U.S. Senate. 

Each "Catholic" member of Congress was rating on his/her vote on the following seven House bills: (1) "Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007" (June 2007); (2) Roll Call #684 (July 2007); (3) Smith-Stupak Amendment to protect "Mexico City Policy" (June 2007); (4) "Foreign Relations Authorization Act -- Office for Global Women's Issues" (June 2009); (5) District of Columbia funding bill (public funding of elective abortion) (July 2009); (6) Deny certain federal funds to Planned Parenthood (July 2009); and (7) Stupak-Pitts Amendment -- Government run health insurance plan cannot cover abortion (November 2009).

Here are the members who received a "100%" score:

Rep. Dan Lundren (CA)
Rep. Devin Nunes (CA)
Rep. George Radanovich (CA)
Rep. Edward R. Royce (CA)
Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (FL)
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (FL)
Rep. Tom Rooney (FL)
Rep. Phil Gingrey (GA)
Rep. Jim Marshall (GA)
Rep. Jerry Costello (IL)
Rep. Joe Donnelly (IN)
Rep. Brad Ellsworth (IN)
Rep. Steve King (IA)
Rep. Joseph Cao (LA)
Rep. John Fleming (LA)
Rep. Steve Scalise (LA)
Rep. David Lee Camp (MI)
Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (MI)
Rep. Blaine Leutkemeyer (MO)
Rep. Gene Taylor (MS)
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (NE)
Rep. Frank LoBiondo (NJ)
Rep. Chris Smith (NJ)
Rep. Peter King (NY)
Rep. Virginia Foxx (NC)
Rep. Walter Jones (NC)
Rep. Patrick McHenry (NC)
Rep. Steve Austria (OH)
Rep. John Boehner (OH)
Rep. Bob Latta (OH)
Rep. Jean Schmidt (OH)
Rep. Pat Tiberi (OH)
Rep. John Sullivan (OK)
Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper (PA)
Rep. Tim Murphy (PA)
Rep. Kevin Brady (TX)
Rep. Michael McCaul (TX)
Rep. Doc Hastings (WI)
Rep. Paul Ryan (WI)

Way too many 0% scores to list, but I'll name just a few:  Gerry Connolly and Jim Moran from Virginia; Patrick Kennedy (RI); Joe Sestak (PA); Charlie Rangel (NY); and Nancy Pelosi (CA).

Happy Memorial Day!

An important message from Col. North this Memorial Day.  The RC Blog is a proud supporter of Freedom Alliance and the great work they do for the families of our troops.  Happy Memorial Day!!!!

31 May, 2010

Dear Patriotic American,

Today, on this Memorial Day, let us remember that America's freedom is secured by Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Guardsmen and Marines who risk their lives in the service of our country.

Throughout our history, many of these heroes have made the ultimate sacrifice. This is a time to honor their memory.

Let me tell you about one of these American heroes and how we at Freedom Alliance have tried to honor his service.

His name was Robert Daniel, a Technical Sergeant in the United States Air Force. In 1977, Robert enlisted in the Air Force, and during his 17 years of distinguished service, participated in Operation Urgent Fury, which rescued American citizens from the island of Grenada in 1983. In 1989 he participated in Operation Just Cause in Panama and flew combat missions in Operation Desert Storm in Iraq.

In 1994, Technical Sergeant Daniel was flying a mission to provide support to U.S. ground forces in Somalia when his plane crashed in the Indian Ocean. He was 35 years old, and left behind his wife and two little girls, Savanna and Tamra.

When it came time for his girls to go to college, Freedom Alliance provided them with scholarships to help them receive the college education that their parents always wanted for them. We are proud that we were able to help Savanna and Tamra Daniel with Freedom Alliance scholarships, and we are grateful that you and many other patriotic Americans made it possible with your support of Freedom Alliance.

In fact, Savannah received a scholarship from Freedom Alliance during each of her four years of college. And here is more good news...earlier this month, Savanna graduated from Park University in Missouri with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Interior Design.

Savanna told us: "My father was in the United States Air Force and he was killed in the line of duty when I was five. Honestly, I would rather have my Dad in my life again than having my college paid for, but I am greatly privileged to have a scholarship to fulfill my dreams."

This year, 201 students - each the son or daughter of an American hero - received a scholarship from Freedom Alliance. Our Scholarship Fund is a Living Memorial to America's military heroes, who have sacrificed life or limb in defense of our country.

You can help make education dreams come true for the hundreds of the sons and daughters of our brave defenders of freedom with your special Memorial Day gift to Freedom Alliance today.

In addition to the help we provide through our Scholarship Fund, Freedom Alliance helps and honors America's servicemembers all year round through our "Support Our Troops" program.

Freedom Alliance provides assistance to wounded troops recuperating at military hospitals and those serving on the frontlines of battle. Our goal is to make their rehabilitation or deployment just a little easier.

Throughout the year, we ship care packages - "Gifts From Home" - to troops deployed overseas. These parcels are filled with items that are not available to them in the desert, but make their time away from home a little more bearable. They are filled with items such as candy and snacks, books and magazines, music and movies, and special notes and greetings from caring Americans.

Last year, we shipped more than 14,000 pounds of "Gifts from Home" care packages, to our troops on the frontlines and have sent thousands more already this year.

These Gifts from Home care packages mean so much to our troops in the field. Cynthia, the mother of Army Staff Sergeant William, who was recently deployed to Afghanistan, sent Freedom Alliance this note of appreciation:

"I am writing to thank you from the bottom of my heart. My son is in Afghanistan and again received Freedom Alliance gift boxes and was so thrilled and thankful for everything you sent. There were enough boxes to share the items inside with his troops. Everyone was very grateful and excited about receiving these items from home. Thank you Freedom Alliance for all you do for our troops!"

It is our honor to help. Please know that your support makes it possible for Freedom Alliance to support our troops in this way and in the many other projects and programs that honor those who serve our nation in uniform.

Your special Memorial Day gift today to Freedom Alliance will provide funds for more "Gifts from Home" care packages to our troops and to help and honor our combat wounded service men and women recuperating in military hospitals around the country.

Having made many trips to Iraq and Afghanistan, I can tell you how much these "Gifts from Home" mean to our courageous men and women who are far away from home and their families.

So, I come to you today with an urgent appeal to open your heart with your most generous contribution to Freedom Alliance today. Please CLICK HERE to make your special gift.

As President Ronald Reagan said on May 26, 1986 at Arlington Cemetery: "Memorial Day is the day we put aside to remember fallen heroes ...and for us to remember the splendor of America and those of her children who rest in this cemetery and others."

Will you join Freedom Alliance and me to pay tribute to our fallen heroes, our frontline warriors and their families? May we count on you, as together we honor and thank them for the sacrifices they have made for our country?

Semper Fidelis,

LtCol Oliver L. North, USMC (Ret.)
Founder and Honorary Chairman
Freedom Alliance

P.S. Please join me in commemorating Memorial Day by flying Old Glory and saying "Thank You" to a veteran who you know or a service man or woman who is serving our nation today. Please pray for our troops deployed overseas and for their families

Sestak Scandal Update

Here's the latest, as reported by Dick Morris and Eileen McGann:

The New York Times revealed this afternoon that anonymous sources have informed it that Obama's chief of staff Rahm Emanuel asked former President Bill Clinton to offer Congressman Joe Sestak a high but unpaid advisory post in the Administration if he would drop out of the Senate race against Senator Arlen Specter. One post mentioned was service on the President's Intelligence Advisory Board.

The idea was to immunize Obama and Rahm from possible criminal prosecution by using Clinton, not a government employee, as a cut out and to keep the offer to an unpaid job in hopes of not running afoul of the federal bribery statute.

But these evasions will not blunt the force of the law. If Clinton acted at Emanuel's request, he was Rahm's agent and the Chief of Staff is still on the hook. And, an unpaid position is still "something of value" within the meaning of the bribery statute which prohibits the offering of something of value in return for a vote.

And, remember why they wanted Sestak out of the race. The White House needed Specter's vote to kill filibusters and could only get it if he would switch parties, a move he conditioned on getting Sestak to drop out and assure him a clear field for the nomination of his new party. So the bribe offer to Sestak was made by an agent of a government employee, it involved something of value, and it was to procure a vote in the Senate -- all the elements needed for a felony to have taken place.

$23 Billion for Teachers....

I nearly drove off the road the other night when I heard that Reid and Pelosi were spearheading some supplemental spending bills to get passed shortly, which includes $23 billion for NEA and teachers. 

Our country is nearing the point of no return in terms of debt-to-GDP (currently 89%) and we are sending more money to public school teachers.  Leading economists on both sides of the political spectrum agree that when that ratio hits 90%+, economic recovery is a complete impossiblity.  The Left just doesn't get it....

Check this unbelieveable story about a New Jersey public school teacher who was complaining to Governor Christie about her salary:  http://theblogprof.blogspot.com/2010/05/nj-teacher-who-complained-to-gov-chris.html

The Hostile Spiritual Takeover of Our Nation

Fantastic piece from Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer, President of Human Life International:

The Hostile Spiritual Takeover of Our Nation

Anyone who has watched national politics closely in the past year and a half has seen a panoply of aggressive political moves that are reported about in hostile terms. There are government "takeovers" of huge industries, public officials "moving against" businesses and individuals, court decisions "striking down" statutes and executive initiatives "attacking" fundamentally sane institutions and plans. Even in times of war, I don't think we have ever had such violent social and political maneuvering in our public life. The worst aspect of it is that all the rapaciousness is directed inward. If we were laying waste the enemies of the innocent citizens of our society in the same way we are consuming our own healthy institutions, how different our public life would be! The current hostile initiatives are nothing of the sort, however. They are essentially demonic takeovers of sacred institutions by the pagans who hold the reins of power.

Let me be clear: I am not saying that our public officials are demons. I am saying that they are acting like demons. Demons lie, cheat and steal - obsessively. It is their nature. Once the demons rejected God, they fell into a dark world devoid of love and dominated by the ethic of the survival of the fittest where "might is right". The human beings that serve them act in much the same way when they implement their agendas and policies. Whenever they are in control of institutions or governments, they lie, cheat and steal. In their minds, they are right because they have the might - and to the victors go the spoils.

But what did we expect, really? Our nation elected unabashedly pagan representatives who are possessed of a tapestry of unclean ideologies who have an almost religious fervor in advancing their control over greater sectors of our common life and economy. The sad part is that these people who govern us are simply being true to their convictions: before the election, they were not abashed in telling us how radical they are, and now we are reaping the fruits of the demonic agenda of the death and destruction that they have brought with them.

I would despair of this situation had I not met so many decent and God-fearing Americans who do not agree with the mainstreaming of paganism into our culture. I have met the virtuous side of America, and it is to these that I write these words of encouragement: be strong! We must be true to the core Christian principles that made this nation great! Be not afraid of the severe conflicts with the pagan world that we will have to endure in the very near future. We are not alone in this battle. There are many more moral and decent Americans than we realize. It's just that the good ones are busy about raising families and keeping the basic fabric of our society intact. They are not the hedonists and manipulators that strive obsessively to control public discourse and institutions. They are there in the background and form the true foundation of our society.

In time, the proper spiritual leadership will emerge which will bind us together and form us into a fighting force called the Church Militant - the only spiritual force that can truly resist the hostile spiritual takeover of our nation. Let us not forget, however, that we must get down on our knees and beg, plead, and implore God to restore our once-great nation to its grandeur. We will not see the dawn of a renewed nation without prayer and sacrifice. The momentum of righteousness, consisting of all the humble goodness taking place at the grass-roots level of the Church and society, will eventually build, and we will take back our nation - not only at the ballot box but above all in the hearts and minds of all those who love God and are doing their best to love their neighbor. We will then be able to cast out the unclean spirits that are destroying everything that we hold sacred, and society will once again be governed by righteous men. For such an end we place our deepest hope in Christ, our true and only Savior!