Month: June 2007

The fight against immigrants

My mom sent me a forwarded e-mail. I don’t think she necessarily agreed with it, just wanted my opinion.
Snopes has a copy of the e-mail but the factuality/truth of the email is undetermined.
So here is my response:

This sounds like typical propaganda that you could have seen at any point during our country’s history. There have been similar gripes about African Americans, Japanese, Chinese, Germans, Irish, Jews, Arabs… you name it. If someone’s different and things aren’t exactly how you want them to be – find a group to blame.
Hitler came to power because he saw Germany falling apart and he was able to propagate and get the German people to believe the source of their problems were the Jews.
I wonder why the church isn’t helping these folks. I wonder why the people griping and moaning the most aren’t doing more to help these people.
In any system there are those who chose to abuse the system to their advantage but there are also those who respect the system and respect those who are giving them a chance.
I find it hard to believe that everyone of the children getting the free breakfast are illegal immigrants or from families of illegal immigrants.
I bet you would find very similar situations in any school that offers free meals and they’re probably not all Hispanic or immigrants.
The problem is with the individuals themselves and government subsidies aren’t going to solve the problem, sending them back to Mexico isn’t going to solve the problem, giving them citizenship isn’t going to solve the problem. It’s going to take these people making a change themselves.
Why are the kids overweight – it’s not because they get free food, its because of their diet. Healthy food is more expensive. There are far more poor black individuals in our country with diabetes than any other group – why? Because many of them are living on welfare/food stamps and they go to the store to buy as much food as they can for the money. And the cheapest food contains the most starches and sugar (corn syrup). I’m not trying to make a racists statement out of that. Just pointing out the fact. I think its a very sad state of affairs when the majority of lower income areas across our country are full of minorities and not racial diversity.
These families, (children and parents) need to be educated. And regardless of whether or not the government takes it upon themselves to do it or not, the church should be. The church should be showing grace to each and everyone of them. The church should be working to help these individuals change – government subsidies aren’t going to change them.

Orange Noise Radio to go silent June 26


Orange Noise Radio is planning to join in a national protest on June 26, of proposed increases on Internet radio royalties.
CNet has coverage as does our hosting company, Live365.
If you are a VIP listener though, have no fear we are planning to keep the music rolling for you on the 26th for your continued support of Internet radio.
If you’re not a VIP listener, visit Live365.com and sign up. Tell them OrangeNoiseRadio sent you.

Update from Uganda

I just received an email from Matt. I think it’s about a week old now – DOH.
Matt’s e-mail is an update from “my sister” Kathryn, who’s in Uganda right now. I believe she returns home tomorrow so please pray for safe travel.

Katya texted me about 1pm today which is about 9pm over there. She said today (now yesterday for her) she had her first contact with children. She said she is very tired and also she is very troubled with what she has seen. Quote: ” its
devastating the conditions over here…the people desperately need hope” “we worked kids today for the 1st time today, I dont have the words 2 tell whats going on here”
She spoke of a girl named Juliet, a 7 year old girl who is taking care of four siblings because the parents abandoned them. ” my heart so heavy and burdened with all i saw and heard today”
Please pray for her for God’s peace and rest, also to remember to remember God is still in control even with what we see and dont understand. She has such a heart for people of are hurting.
Just letting you know how things are going…..

Report critiques Congressional payments to family members

A new report out from CREW critiques payments and other perks given to Congressional family members through campaigns and/or PACS.

I caught the beginning of an interview on NPR this morning. I was listening via Sirius so I wasn’t familiar with the host or program but I think it may have been Talk of the Nation.
According to the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington the actions of Congress members were legal, but the watchdog group questions whether they should be.

“CREW has rarely been able to verify the qualifications of relatives on the campaign payroll, but the legitimacy of at least some payments — those made to children, for example — appears dubious,” the 149-page report says. “It is also legal for the close relatives of members to lobby, yet the unique access offered to these lobbyists creates a situation ripe for abuse.”
The group examined current members of Congress who are chairs or ranking members of House committees and subcommittees, and only looked at the 2002, 2004 and 2006 election cycles. Many of its findings have been previously disclosed in news media including The Plain Dealer.

44 Democrats and 53 Republicans were cited in the report.
The report names seven Texas congressmen, including our very own Rep. Joe Barton, R-Ennis/Arlington.
The report says the Barton campaign paid Barton’s wife $57,000 during the 2006 campaign and his son and daughter have received over $17,000 over the last few campaign cycles. The Barton Campaign also made a contribution to his mother. She only received $7,000 for the purchase of a car for the campaign.
Also cited from Texas are Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Louie Gohmert (R-TX), Ralph Hall (R-TX), Randy Neugebauer (R-TX), Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) and 2008 presidential candidate, Ron Paul, R-Lake Jackson/Galveston/Victoria.
During the 2006 campaign, the Ron Paul Campaign paid his daughter $36,000 in salary and Ron Paul’s PAC paid her $20,000 in salary. She’s listed as the treasurer of the PAC from 2002-2006.
During the 2004 campaign, the campaign paid Ron Paul’s daughter $53,000 in salary and the PAC paid her $3,000.
During the 2002 campaign, the campaign paid her $48,000 in salary.
The Ron Paul campaign has also paid the mother and father-in-law of another daughter, that same daughter and a grandson.

It may be legal, but I don’t like the looks of it. The lady being interviewed on NPR this morning said, “The real scandal in Washington isn’t all the things that are illegally going on, its the legal things that are going on.”

Read the full report
Read a summary
Download a quick overview chart