Thursday, March 17, 2005
Urgent Action to Save Terri Schiavo
With the court-ordered starvation of Terri Schiavo scheduled to begin tomorrow (Friday 3/18), we are asking Grassfire team members to take action immediately.
Last night (3/16), a bill passed the U.S. House (H.R. 1332) that would allow Terri’s case to be moved from state court to federal court. This would save Terri from tomorrow’s court-ordered starvation. Today, the Senate is taking up the measure.
+ + Action #1: Call Your Two Senators Now!
Our contacts on Capitol Hill are asking us to rally thousands of calls to the Senate, urging the Senate to take up the IDENTICAL bill that passed the House (H.R. 1332) and pass it TODAY!You can also call the Switchboard and request to speak to your Senators: 202-224-3121.
+ + TALKING POINTS
-- Tell them that you are part of the Grassfire team!
-- Urge your Senator to take action today to “Save Terri Schiavo”
-- Urge your Senators to support an IDENTICAL bill to
H.R. 1332 that passed the House last night.
Grassfire is contacting approximately 300,000 team members with this message. Will you please alert your personal network and help us reach 1 million people today?
+ + Additional Resources
--New Grassfire National Poll shows Values Voters support Terri’s right to life.
--Text of the House Bill
--Is Terri A Vegetable? Read Deacon Keith's response.
Last night (3/16), a bill passed the U.S. House (H.R. 1332) that would allow Terri’s case to be moved from state court to federal court. This would save Terri from tomorrow’s court-ordered starvation. Today, the Senate is taking up the measure.
+ + Action #1: Call Your Two Senators Now!
Our contacts on Capitol Hill are asking us to rally thousands of calls to the Senate, urging the Senate to take up the IDENTICAL bill that passed the House (H.R. 1332) and pass it TODAY!You can also call the Switchboard and request to speak to your Senators: 202-224-3121.
+ + TALKING POINTS
-- Tell them that you are part of the Grassfire team!
-- Urge your Senator to take action today to “Save Terri Schiavo”
-- Urge your Senators to support an IDENTICAL bill to
H.R. 1332 that passed the House last night.
Grassfire is contacting approximately 300,000 team members with this message. Will you please alert your personal network and help us reach 1 million people today?
+ + Additional Resources
--New Grassfire National Poll shows Values Voters support Terri’s right to life.
--Text of the House Bill
--Is Terri A Vegetable? Read Deacon Keith's response.
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Judges Says Californians Are Bigots!
by Steve Elliott, President
On March 14 a San Francisco Superior Court judge issued a very dangerous ruling against marriage that could open the floodgates to the destruction of marriage in our nation’s largest state. The judge sided with 12 homosexual couples who took part in last year’s unlawful “gay marriage” stunt led by San Francisco’s mayor.
The judge said that the citizens of California – who voted overwhelmingly to protect marriage under California law – are all bigots for believing that marriage is between a man and a woman. This judge has ruled to strike down marriage in the largest state in the nation.
Grassfire has teamed with Alliance For Marriage -- the national leaders in the fight to save marriage. AFM wants to deliver at least 50,000 petitions right away to state and national elected officials -- urging them to take action to stop the attack on marriage in the courts -- but we need your help.
Click here to sign.
+ + Legal Attacks against marriage escalating
Right now, AFM is making tremendous headway in Congress to advance its Marriage Protection Amendment -- the amendment that Dr. Matt Daniels and his team authored and has been the leading advocate throughout this battle to save marriage. Matt’s contacts on Capitol Hill assure him that we will get votes in both the House and Senate later this year. But we must take action now to head off these legal attacks. We simply cannot allow the courts to further erode marriage before Congress votes on our amendment!
In addition to California and Washington, legal attacks are also under way right now in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Oregon. Our partners at Alliance For Marriage have established a Legal Task Force that is taking action to counteract these legal attacks on marriage. In addition to mounting this grassroots effort, AFM is filing amicus briefs in these cases to ensure that our voice is heard with these judges.
This is a full-blown legal crisis! We must work on both fronts -- standing in the courts against the legal assault and working to pass our amendment. Please take a moment to forward this message to your friends and ask them to sign the petition as well. We must build up a groundswell to head off these legal challenges. Click here to sign.
Thank you!
On March 14 a San Francisco Superior Court judge issued a very dangerous ruling against marriage that could open the floodgates to the destruction of marriage in our nation’s largest state. The judge sided with 12 homosexual couples who took part in last year’s unlawful “gay marriage” stunt led by San Francisco’s mayor.
The judge said that the citizens of California – who voted overwhelmingly to protect marriage under California law – are all bigots for believing that marriage is between a man and a woman. This judge has ruled to strike down marriage in the largest state in the nation.
Grassfire has teamed with Alliance For Marriage -- the national leaders in the fight to save marriage. AFM wants to deliver at least 50,000 petitions right away to state and national elected officials -- urging them to take action to stop the attack on marriage in the courts -- but we need your help.
Click here to sign.
+ + Legal Attacks against marriage escalating
Right now, AFM is making tremendous headway in Congress to advance its Marriage Protection Amendment -- the amendment that Dr. Matt Daniels and his team authored and has been the leading advocate throughout this battle to save marriage. Matt’s contacts on Capitol Hill assure him that we will get votes in both the House and Senate later this year. But we must take action now to head off these legal attacks. We simply cannot allow the courts to further erode marriage before Congress votes on our amendment!
In addition to California and Washington, legal attacks are also under way right now in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Oregon. Our partners at Alliance For Marriage have established a Legal Task Force that is taking action to counteract these legal attacks on marriage. In addition to mounting this grassroots effort, AFM is filing amicus briefs in these cases to ensure that our voice is heard with these judges.
This is a full-blown legal crisis! We must work on both fronts -- standing in the courts against the legal assault and working to pass our amendment. Please take a moment to forward this message to your friends and ask them to sign the petition as well. We must build up a groundswell to head off these legal challenges. Click here to sign.
Thank you!
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Let's Eliminate the I.R.S....and other stuff!
By Steve Elliott, President
Do you want your taxes raised?
Unless we take action as a grassroots team, in the next few months
we could see the largest tax increase in American history!
That's why Grassfire.org has launched our "Taxpayer Freedom and
Fairness Petition" -- to build grassroots support for real tax
and Social Security reform that does not raise our taxes!
Grassfire has laid out our 2005 Economic Policy Agenda in
this petition. This agenda includes:
**Making the tax cuts permanent -- without this, we will face
the largest tax increase in U.S. history!
**Blocking any new tax increase proposals -- new tax ideas
are now being floated in Washington. We must take a stand!
**Real Social Security reform -- Our petition demands that our
leaders stop robbing the Trust fund FIRST!
**Eliminating the "Death Tax"-- We must stop the
confiscation of our life savings just because we die!
+ + We need Grassfire.org Friends's Opinion!
We are asking each member of our Grassfire team to take 3 minutes
to sign this Taxpayer Freedom petition and let us know where you
stand on these crucial issues.
You may agree with one or all of Grassfire's 2005 initiatives, but
in order for Grassfire to represent your voice on these crucial
tax-related issues, we must hear from you.
Click here to sign
the petition.
+ + Also, help us develop long-term reform strategies!
This petition also asks you where you stand on some longer-term
Taxpayer Freedom initiatives being considered by Grassfire,
such as:
--Eliminating the I.R.S.!
--Establishing a Flat Tax
--Replacing the dozens of current federal taxing schemes
with one, simple Fair Tax.
Please click here to register your voice:
Click here to sign
the petition.
+ + Strike a blow to the heart and soul of liberalism!
Without real tax reform, we will never stop the liberal
agenda. Thats because liberals use the tax code to fund their
socialist agenda and promote ever-expanding government.
These next few months may be our greatest opportunity for
real reform.
And it will take one thing to make it happen...
Citizens like you getting angry enough to
demand real tax reform!
Please sign the petition by clicking here and let me know
what YOU want for tax reform!
Let's Eliminate the IRS... and other stuff!
By Steve Elliott, President
Do you want your taxes raised?
Unless we take action as a grassroots team, in the next few months
we could see the largest tax increase in American history!
That's why Grassfire.org has launched our "Taxpayer Freedom and
Fairness Petition" -- to build grassroots support for real tax
and Social Security reform that does not raise our taxes!
Grassfire has laid out our 2005 Economic Policy Agenda in
this petition. This agenda includes:
**Making the tax cuts permanent -- without this, we will face
the largest tax increase in U.S. history!
**Blocking any new tax increase proposals -- new tax ideas
are now being floated in Washington. We must take a stand!
**Real Social Security reform -- Our petition demands that our
leaders stop robbing the Trust fund FIRST!
**Eliminating the "Death Tax"-- We must stop the
confiscation of our life savings just because we die!
+ + We need Your Opinion!
We are asking each member of our Grassfire team to take 3 minutes
to sign this Taxpayer Freedom petition and let us know where you
stand on these crucial issues.
You may agree with one or all of Grassfire's 2005 initiatives, but
in order for Grassfire to represent your voice on these crucial
tax-related issues, we must hear from you.
Click here to sign the petition.
+ + Also, help us develop long-term reform strategies!
This petition also asks you where you stand on some longer-term
Taxpayer Freedom initiatives being considered by Grassfire,
such as:
--Eliminating the I.R.S.!
--Establishing a Flat Tax
--Replacing the dozens of current federal taxing schemes
with one, simple Fair Tax.
Please click here to register your voice:
Click here to sign the petition.
+ + Strike a blow to the heart and soul of liberalism!
Without real tax reform, we will never stop the liberal
agenda. That‚s because liberals use the tax code to fund their
socialist agenda and promote ever-expanding government.
These next few months may be our greatest opportunity for
real reform.
And it will take one thing to make it happen...
Citizens like you getting angry enough to
demand real tax reform!
Please sign the petition by clicking here and let me know
what YOU want for tax reform!
Do you want your taxes raised?
Unless we take action as a grassroots team, in the next few months
we could see the largest tax increase in American history!
That's why Grassfire.org has launched our "Taxpayer Freedom and
Fairness Petition" -- to build grassroots support for real tax
and Social Security reform that does not raise our taxes!
Grassfire has laid out our 2005 Economic Policy Agenda in
this petition. This agenda includes:
**Making the tax cuts permanent -- without this, we will face
the largest tax increase in U.S. history!
**Blocking any new tax increase proposals -- new tax ideas
are now being floated in Washington. We must take a stand!
**Real Social Security reform -- Our petition demands that our
leaders stop robbing the Trust fund FIRST!
**Eliminating the "Death Tax"-- We must stop the
confiscation of our life savings just because we die!
+ + We need Your Opinion!
We are asking each member of our Grassfire team to take 3 minutes
to sign this Taxpayer Freedom petition and let us know where you
stand on these crucial issues.
You may agree with one or all of Grassfire's 2005 initiatives, but
in order for Grassfire to represent your voice on these crucial
tax-related issues, we must hear from you.
Click here to sign the petition.
+ + Also, help us develop long-term reform strategies!
This petition also asks you where you stand on some longer-term
Taxpayer Freedom initiatives being considered by Grassfire,
such as:
--Eliminating the I.R.S.!
--Establishing a Flat Tax
--Replacing the dozens of current federal taxing schemes
with one, simple Fair Tax.
Please click here to register your voice:
Click here to sign the petition.
+ + Strike a blow to the heart and soul of liberalism!
Without real tax reform, we will never stop the liberal
agenda. That‚s because liberals use the tax code to fund their
socialist agenda and promote ever-expanding government.
These next few months may be our greatest opportunity for
real reform.
And it will take one thing to make it happen...
Citizens like you getting angry enough to
demand real tax reform!
Please sign the petition by clicking here and let me know
what YOU want for tax reform!
Monday, March 07, 2005
Are Supremes Changing Tune On God in Public?
by Steve Elliott, President
With the two Ten Commandmetns cases before the Supreme Court, we could see the High Court restore some common sense to the issue of the public acknowledgment of God.
Last week I was in Washington for the oral arguments in the two cases. As part of Grassfire’s efforts, we hosted a media forum at the National Press Club the day before the hearings. At the forum, I released the results of our national survey on the issue which found that 81 percent of Americans believe the public display of the Ten Commandments is constitutional.
To view our survey results, click here .
The day of the oral arguments, I joined several hundred supporters on the front steps of the Supreme Court and then delivered over 120,000 petitions to the Court. Many of the major media outlets featured photos and interviews of our group. Meanwhile, inside the Court, something fascinating was taking place.
+ + Justices give encouraging signals
It is quite possible that these Commandments cases could prove to be a key turning point in this debate. Justice Kennedy said, “There is this obsessive concern over any mention of religion that shows hostility toward religion.” That has been our argument precisely for months.
Justice Scalia compared the posting of the Ten Commandments to “Thanksgiving proclamations” and Justice O’Connor drew a parallel to legislative bodies opening their sessions in prayer.
+ + Scalia rejects secular argument
Perhaps most fascinating of all was Scalia's straightforward rejection of the argument that the constitutionality of the Ten Commandments must rest on purely "secular" grounds, such as the Lemon Test. Scalia basically rebuked the Texas Attorney General for building his case on that shaky foundation. He blatantly said, "I can't agree with you" regarding the effort to 'water down" the message of the Ten Commandments. He even told the attorney arguing for the Ten Commandments' removal that "our laws are derived from God."
To read more quotes, read MSNBS's article. You can also see a photo of Grassfire's petitions on display.
Interestingly, these cases have received far less attention than other similar recent cases before the Court, namely the Pledge of Allegiance controversy and the situation involving former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore. We hold our breath until June.
With the two Ten Commandmetns cases before the Supreme Court, we could see the High Court restore some common sense to the issue of the public acknowledgment of God.
Last week I was in Washington for the oral arguments in the two cases. As part of Grassfire’s efforts, we hosted a media forum at the National Press Club the day before the hearings. At the forum, I released the results of our national survey on the issue which found that 81 percent of Americans believe the public display of the Ten Commandments is constitutional.
To view our survey results, click here .
The day of the oral arguments, I joined several hundred supporters on the front steps of the Supreme Court and then delivered over 120,000 petitions to the Court. Many of the major media outlets featured photos and interviews of our group. Meanwhile, inside the Court, something fascinating was taking place.
+ + Justices give encouraging signals
It is quite possible that these Commandments cases could prove to be a key turning point in this debate. Justice Kennedy said, “There is this obsessive concern over any mention of religion that shows hostility toward religion.” That has been our argument precisely for months.
Justice Scalia compared the posting of the Ten Commandments to “Thanksgiving proclamations” and Justice O’Connor drew a parallel to legislative bodies opening their sessions in prayer.
+ + Scalia rejects secular argument
Perhaps most fascinating of all was Scalia's straightforward rejection of the argument that the constitutionality of the Ten Commandments must rest on purely "secular" grounds, such as the Lemon Test. Scalia basically rebuked the Texas Attorney General for building his case on that shaky foundation. He blatantly said, "I can't agree with you" regarding the effort to 'water down" the message of the Ten Commandments. He even told the attorney arguing for the Ten Commandments' removal that "our laws are derived from God."
To read more quotes, read MSNBS's article. You can also see a photo of Grassfire's petitions on display.
Interestingly, these cases have received far less attention than other similar recent cases before the Court, namely the Pledge of Allegiance controversy and the situation involving former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore. We hold our breath until June.
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
Supreme Court Dead Wrong!
by Steve Elliott, President Grassfire.org
A friend sent me a long email expounding on the virtues of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling March 1 that found the death penalty for minors unconstitutional. He made some good points in saying such a ruling is consistent with a “culture of life” that both of us labor so hard to promote in other areas, such as abortion and euthanasia.
I responded back that the ruling was wrongly decided. He replied in saying it was a “right result for the wrong reasoning.”
Well, in constitutional terms, a “right result" done from the “wrong reasoning” is a wrong result! Review this opinion and you will discover that it is nothing more than another extension of the judiciary's reach -- another power grab by the men in black.
Do a word search of the opinion for the word "consensus." It comes up dozens of times. The court even extended the argument to "international consensus”! O’Connor dissented, but for the wrong reasons – she said the national consensus has not yet sufficiently emerged! O’Connor was “right” for the “wrong” reasons!
Fortunately, Justice Scalia had his constitutional wits about him in his dissent:
“The Court dutifully recites this [national consensus] test and claims halfheartedly that a national consensus has emerged since our decision in Stanford, because 18 States—or 47% of States that permit capital punishment—now have legislation prohibit-ing the execution of offenders under 18, and because all of four States have adopted such legislation since Stanford. See ante, at 11.
“Words have no meaning if the views of less than 50% of death penalty States can constitute a national consensus.”
Scalia summarizes the opinion rightly in saying:
“What a mockery today’s opinion makes of [Alexander] Hamilton’s expectation [of a limited judiciary], announcing the Court’s conclusion that the meaning of our Constitution has changed over the past 15 years—not, mind you, that this Court’s decision 15 years ago was wrong, but that the Constitution has changed.”
The public policy question of death penalty for minors is one that we can and should debate in our statehouses. I am challenged by my friend’s thinking on this issue. But this is a matter of public policy, not constitutional law. The Constitution cannot be allwowed to “evolve” every few years!
Once again, the Supreme Court has played its trump card as arbiters of the “evolving standards” which give the men in black the authority to re-write the Constitution in their own image. What this Court has done will do more harm to our nation than the death penalty laws they have wiped off the books.
A friend sent me a long email expounding on the virtues of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling March 1 that found the death penalty for minors unconstitutional. He made some good points in saying such a ruling is consistent with a “culture of life” that both of us labor so hard to promote in other areas, such as abortion and euthanasia.
I responded back that the ruling was wrongly decided. He replied in saying it was a “right result for the wrong reasoning.”
Well, in constitutional terms, a “right result" done from the “wrong reasoning” is a wrong result! Review this opinion and you will discover that it is nothing more than another extension of the judiciary's reach -- another power grab by the men in black.
Do a word search of the opinion for the word "consensus." It comes up dozens of times. The court even extended the argument to "international consensus”! O’Connor dissented, but for the wrong reasons – she said the national consensus has not yet sufficiently emerged! O’Connor was “right” for the “wrong” reasons!
Fortunately, Justice Scalia had his constitutional wits about him in his dissent:
“The Court dutifully recites this [national consensus] test and claims halfheartedly that a national consensus has emerged since our decision in Stanford, because 18 States—or 47% of States that permit capital punishment—now have legislation prohibit-ing the execution of offenders under 18, and because all of four States have adopted such legislation since Stanford. See ante, at 11.
“Words have no meaning if the views of less than 50% of death penalty States can constitute a national consensus.”
Scalia summarizes the opinion rightly in saying:
“What a mockery today’s opinion makes of [Alexander] Hamilton’s expectation [of a limited judiciary], announcing the Court’s conclusion that the meaning of our Constitution has changed over the past 15 years—not, mind you, that this Court’s decision 15 years ago was wrong, but that the Constitution has changed.”
The public policy question of death penalty for minors is one that we can and should debate in our statehouses. I am challenged by my friend’s thinking on this issue. But this is a matter of public policy, not constitutional law. The Constitution cannot be allwowed to “evolve” every few years!
Once again, the Supreme Court has played its trump card as arbiters of the “evolving standards” which give the men in black the authority to re-write the Constitution in their own image. What this Court has done will do more harm to our nation than the death penalty laws they have wiped off the books.
