Judges, babies and the flag

I want to encourage the WorldNetDaily audience to take action on three important issues that are confronting our culture. These issues are: (1) the confirmation of President Bush’s judicial nominees, (2) the stem-cell vote that will soon take place in Congress and (3) the protection of the American flag.

I believe that there is responsibility attached to freedom. If we do not exercise our duty, our freedoms will certainly continue to dissolve.

Bush judicial nominees

There are presently 109 U.S. Court of Appeals and U.S. District Court vacancies. Democrats are geared up to ferociously battle conservative nominees put forth by President Bush. While President Clinton saw 374 judicial nominees confirmed while in office – including two U.S. Supreme Court justices – President Bush’s nominees are going to face severe confirmation battles by Democrat lawmakers who are slaves to the fanatical abortion-rights community.

“Litmus tests were taboo with a Democrat nominating judges; they are standard operating procedure with a Republican president sending up nominees,” Thomas Jipping, director of the Free Congress Foundation’s Judicial Selection Monitoring Project, wrote in my “National Liberty Journal” newspaper.

The American Center for Law & Justice has developed an “Action Letter” urging the Senate to confirm President Bush’s recommendations to fill the current judicial vacancies. The Virginia Beach-based ACLJ will deliver this message to members of the U.S. Senate. The “Action Letter” reads as follows:

President Bush has nominated well-qualified men and women to the federal courts. It is entirely appropriate that the Senate should confirm them speedily, especially with some 100 vacancies on the bench. The nominees now before the Senate are committed to fairness, judicial restraint, and the protection of free speech. The nominees should be confirmed on the basis of their competency, not along party lines or who controls the Senate. Please use your full influence to expedite these confirmations.

Please go to the ACLJ Web site and sign the letter electronically. You may also want to print their multi-signature form to gather names from friends, family and church to participate in this effort. We must work together to ensure that President Bush’s competent nominees are approved to serve.

Stem-cell funding

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) has predicted there will be enough votes in the Senate (60) to block a possible presidential veto on a bill that would fund the experimentation on cells from human embryos. Last week, Sen. Hatch, who is historically a pro-life proponent, wrote the president and asked him to allow the funding to go forward. Republican abortion-rights supporters have also urged Mr. Bush to support the research.

The Bush administration is reportedly divided over whether to fund stem-cell research. President Bush has said he supports federal funding of research on stem cells obtained from adults, but some scientists have reportedly questioned whether those cells have the same therapeutic potential as embryonic cells. Adoption of the bill would authorize the use of taxpayer money to fund medical research on embryonic stem cells, which scientists claim may prove beneficial in treating illnesses such as diabetes, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

On Monday, three key pro-life House Republicans expressed opposition to federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research, saying the government should not rely on “an industry of death,” even to find cures for diseases.

The government “cannot morally look the other way with respect to the destruction of human embryos, then accept and pay for extracted stem-cells” for research, said a statement from House Majority Leader Richard Armey (Texas), House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (Texas) and House Republican Conference Chairman J.C. Watts (Okla.). “It is not pro-life to rely on an industry of death, even if the intention is to find cures for diseases,” they charged.

The men said they hoped the administration would prohibit federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research, instead determining to promote studies on stem cells from adult tissue in the study of treatment potential for the illnesses mentioned above.

The Republican leaders said that Congress would continue to “properly fund” medical research “but it must advance the cause of life without sacrificing some lives to better others.”

A recent poll conducted for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops shows that Americans prefer to support alternative research using cells from tissues other than human embryos.

Please call and thank these three men for continuing their courageous pro-life leadership in the U.S. House. It is important that they know pro-life Americans appreciate their efforts, especially when they are frequently chastised by militant pro-abortionists.

• Rep. Richard K. Armey (202-225-7772)
  
• Rep. Tom DeLay (202-225-5951)
  
• Rep. J.C. Watts (202-225-6165)

Also, please visit the Vote.com Web site to register your vote on embryonic stem-cell research. Vote.com will send your vote to Congress and to President Bush. Mr. Bush needs to know that pro-life Americans want him to oppose research on embryonic stem cells.

Protecting “Old Glory”

This year, an amendment that would protect the American flag from being desecrated has been introduced in the Senate (SJ Res.7) by Sens. Hatch and Max Cleland (D-Ga.), and in the House (HJ Res. 36) by Reps. Randy “Duke” Cunningham (R-Calif.) and John Murtha (D-Pa.). While the American Civil Liberties Union says the proposed constitutional amendment “would do irreparable violence to our right to free speech and undermine the very principles for which the American flag stands,” I believe this great symbol of our nation deserves nothing less than the protection of its citizens. Too many men and women made the ultimate sacrifice under the Stars and Stripes for it to be discounted as just another piece of cloth.

If you agree with me, I urge you to again visit the Vote.com Web site to denounce flag desecration (as did Thomas Jefferson and James Madison). As I said earlier, your vote will be sent to Congress and President Bush, so this gives you a wonderful opportunity to effectively express your beliefs on this vital issue. (My staff members who voted through Vote.com this morning have already received return messages from their congressman’s office.)

On the heels of celebrating our great nation’s 225th birthday, please become proactive in protecting the heritage of America. I thank you in advance for your participation in these actions.