Category: take action

politics, social justice and ways you can make a difference in the world around you.

I’m liking Huckabee more and more

I’ve skimmed the transcript from the Republican Presidential Candidate debate last week.
I’m liking Huckabee more and more. I’d still love to see him and Obama square off in the election.

Here are a couple highlights I found:

CHRIS MATTHEWS: Governor Huckabee, the question is, how do you unify the country the way Reagan did, a good portion of the country?

GOV. MIKE HUCKABEE: I think it’s important to remember that what Ronald Reagan did was to give us a vision for this country, a morning in America, a city on a hill. We were reminded that we are a great nation not because government is great; we are a great nation because people are great.
Chris, I want to go back, though, to say why we’re a great nation. We are a culture of life. We celebrate, we elevate life. And let me just say, when hikers on Mount Hood get lost, we move heaven and Earth to go find them.
When coalminers in West Virginia are trapped in a mine, we go after them because we celebrate life.
This life issue is not insignificant, it’s not small. It separates from the — us from the Islamic fascists who would strap a bomb to the belly of their child and blow them up. We don’t do that in this country.

—

MR. MATTHEWS: Governor Huckabee, you’ve criticized Governor Romney for saying his faith wouldn’t get in the way of his public life, his governing. Do you want to back that up tonight?

MR. HUCKABEE: I’ve never criticized Governor Romney for that.

MR. ROMNEY: Thank you! (Laughs.)

MR. HUCKABEE: I’ve said in general, and I would say this tonight to any of us, when a person says my faith doesn’t affect my decision- making, I would say that the person’s saying their faith is not significant enough to impact their decision process.
I tell people up front my faith does affect my decision process. It explains me. No apology for that. My faith says, “Do unto others as you’d have them do unto you.”

MR. MATTHEWS: But you answered a question that George Stephanopoulos of ABC — about this governor, one of your rivals — and you answered it in this way. “I’m not as troubled by a person who has a different faith. I’m troubled by a person who tells me their faith doesn’t influence their decisions.” That’s in direct response to George Stephanopoulos on February 11th of this year. Why are you changing that point of view now?

GOV. HUCKABEE: Well, I didn’t know I was changing the point of view.

MR. MATTHEWS: No, you’re changing your quote.

GOV. HUCKABEE: I’m saying that of anyone, whether it’s Governor Romney or Governor Gilmore —

MR. MATTHEWS: But you answered in direct response to the — Governor Romney and his Mormonism. Why are you pulling back now?

GOV. HUCKABEE: I don’t mean to be puling back. I want to state very clearly: a person’s faith shouldn’t qualify or disqualify for public office. It shouldn’t do that. But we ought to be honest and open about it. And I think it does help explain who we are, what our value systems are, what makes us tick and what our processors are.

—

MR. MATTHEWS: Okay, let’s start with an enjoyable down-the-line, okay? I want each candidate to mention a tax he’d like to cut, in addition to the Bush tax cuts, keeping them in effect.

MR. HUCKABEE: Well, I cut taxes 94 times as governor, but I realized tinkering with it doesn’t work. I’d overhaul it. I would work for the fair tax which meets the four criteria: flatter, fairer, finite, family-friendly. We’d get rid of the IRS. We’d get rid of all capital gains — income, corporate — and we’d have a consumption tax. The fair tax proposal, I believe, offers the best opportunity for all levels of America.

—

MR. VANDEHEI: Governor Huckabee, this question comes from a reader in New York. In light of the scandals plaguing the current administration and its allies, involving corruption and cronyism, which mistakes have you learned not to repeat?

MR. HUCKABEE: The most important thing a president needs to do is to make it clear that we’re not going to continue to see jobs shipped overseas, jobs that are lost by American workers, many in their 50s who for 20 and 30 years have worked to make a company rich, and then watch as a CEO takes a hundred-million-dollar bonus to jettison those American jobs somewhere else. And the worker not only loses his job, but he loses his pension.
That’s criminal. It’s wrong. And if Republicans don’t stop it, we don’t deserve to win in 2008.

—

MR. HUCKABEE: I want to make sure that we went to a place where the states had more power and not centralizing the federal government. That’s been a mistake of this administration, I think an honest and sincere one, but a huge mistake. And instead, we need to honor the 10th Amendment, we need to remember that we are a nation of strong states and weak federal government, not strong federal, centralized government and weak states.

Read the full transcript

Better re-learn your pledge

On Friday, May 4th, The Texas House passed a bill by a vote of 124-12 that added the phrase “state under God” to the Texas Pledge of Allegiance.

Honor the Texas flag. I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God and indivisible.

Really? Is that necessary? Ok. I give up.
Read the full story here.
Thanks to Christian Conservative for the heads-up

DNC poll

Received this from e-mail:

The Democratic National Committee is currently polling Americans through the internet to determine the electability of Sen. Hillary Clinton for the presidency of the United States in 2008.

To show your support for Hillary and encourage her to run for President of the United States in 2008, add your name to the bottom of the list below and send it on.
Please forward this note and don’t break the chain.

This poll has been circulating since 1/03/07.

1.

Bono to appear on idol

I might actually be interested to watch a show…

American Idol Africa Special: ‘Idol Gives Back’
Bono is due to meet with the six remaining finalists to talk with them about the work of ONE: The Campaign to Make Poverty History and how they and the show’s audience can help in the fight against extreme poverty.
The ‘Idol Gives Back’ special will run over two nights in the US this week, Tuesday and Wednesday. Bono’s chat with the finalists will feature briefly on the Wednesday evening show.
The special will raise money for Charity Projects Entertainment Fund (CPEF) and other organisations that help children and young people in extreme poverty.
Further information at one.org

College brings footbaths, and religious worries

Minnesota Technical and Community College is considering installing footbaths for Muslim students, which worries church-state separation advocates. Michele Norris from NPR talks with Phillip Davis, president of the school.
The consideration to install the footbaths came forth after a Muslim student slipped and hit her head while washing her feet in a bathroom sink.
Should public schools consider accommodating religious students for the safety and well being of their students?
Listen to the story from Fresh Air on NPR.

New fees could shut down OrangeNoiseRadio!

Keep Internet Radio On

Recently, the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) issued the significantly higher new royalty rates for Internet radio for the 2006-2010 period. The ruling ignored webcasting community proposals and set out the SoundExchange proposed “per performance” rates and a $500 minimum fee per channel per year. With around 10,000 stations playing over 250,000 artists each month, that would mean an additional $5 million per year for Live365 and our broadcasters.

Although there is no clear definition of what a “channel” is, the $500 minimum fee per channel threatens Live365’s ability to help make the small webcasters’ voice heard on the Internet (like OrangeNoiseRadio), by effectively forcing Live365 to raise the minimum broadcasting fees to a level that would cause most small webcasters (like OrangeNoiseRadio) to discontinue their service thus silencing their stations. The CRB’s determination imperils small and large webcasters alike and threatens listening experiences of millions of Internet radio listeners.

What You Can Do:
Speak up!

There are several options you can take to help OrangeNoiseRadio stay on the air. #1 is becoming a sponsor. Zip us an e-mail and let us know you’d like to keep OrangeNoiseRadio on the air. With increased fees, our only option will be to find more sponsors to help pay the added fees, or shut down. You can also become a VIP listener through Live365. Your monthly subscription helps keep us and other stations on the air.
Also, please join us in our petition for overturning the CRB determination and in our fight to save Internet radio. Visit Live365.com/choice for more on how you can participate in our campaign early next week.
Meanwhile, make your voice heard by the lawmakers on Capitol Hill! Call, write, e-mail, and/or visit your Representatives and Senators today and request that:

1. Congress void the retroactive $500 per channel minimum that threatens to drive Live365’s small webcasters out of business.
2. Congress reinstate the Small Webcaster Settlement Act. The CRB declared that the 2002 SWSA would not be extended despite the Small Webcaster contracts SoundExchange offered on its website and signed with Small Webcasters for 2006 and 2007.
3. Stop the retroactive, ex post facto royalty payments for 2006 mandated by the CRB, until all appeals have been heard.
4. Create a level playing field by bringing the Internet radio per performance rates into parity with traditional and satellite radio. Unlike internet radio, traditional radio does NOT pay royalties to record labels or artists for songs performed over the air.

How to Contact Your Representatives and Senators:

1. Send a stamped letter, mailed by U.S. Mail or FedEx to your congressperson (find their mailing address). This type of hand-written message with your own personal story is treated with a LOT of value when received by your congressperson. Include your personal story… your name and location, the type of music you listen to, and how this new royalty will affect you. Be as specific as you possibly can.

2. Though it’s not nearly as effective as a postmarked letter, you can also send an e-mail message to your Senators and Representatives. With your zipcode or address, you can use this quick, easy e-mail form to get directly to the congressperson for your location: http://www.congress.org (use the form letter found there or write your own story)