WordpressURL ALL: Stimulus Provision Endangers Seniors, Opens the Door for Euthanasia

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is a statement from Judie Brown, president of American Life League, on the eugenics element woven into the healthcare provisions of the stimulus package agreed upon by the House and Senate Feb. 12 as reported by the Associated Press and San Jose Mercury News.

"Our elected representatives have fed on the fears of a nation gripped by economic panic to legislate state-enforced euthanasia.

"President Obama's economic stimulus package puts a price tag on each of our heads.

"The package's healthcare provisions threaten the elderly and open the door for euthanasia and nationalized health care.

"Patterned on a plan outlined by Sen. Tom Daschle in his book 'Critical: What We Can Do About the Health Care Crisis,' the plan will have the greatest impact on seniors and places the country a step closer to mandated euthanasia of the elderly, infirm and those deemed undesirable.

"This is a disgusting direct attack on the worth and human dignity of all people, regardless of age. These provisions endanger the life of every single American.

"May God help us as we embark into this 'brave new world' in which government bureaucrats determine the value of our lives."

New Poll Finds Cuban-American Democrats Support Sanctions Against the Cuban Regime

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Cuban-American voters from both political parties strongly support U.S. trade and travel sanctions against the Cuban regime, according to a new poll conducted by McLaughlin & Associates.

Overall, the poll found that 72% of Cuban-Americans support the continuation of the current U.S. trade embargo and 69% support the prohibition of tourist travel to the island. Amongst Cuban-American Democrats -- which the poll specifically over-sampled -- a near majority, 49%, support the continuation of the trade embargo and a majority, 58%, support current prohibitions on travel.

"The message to lawmakers and the Administration is clear: the Cuban-American community favors the continuation of U.S. sanctions towards the Cuban regime until a process of democratic reform begins," said Mauricio Claver-Carone, Executive Director of Cuba Democracy Public Advocacy, Corp., which commissioned the poll. "Support for freedom and democracy in Cuba is non-partisan. Whether Republican, Democrat or Independent, the Cuban-American electorate continues to speak with one voice when it comes to Cuba policy," added Claver-Carone.

Other results of the poll include:
-- 80% of Cuban-American voters do not think Raul Castro will make
democratic reforms in Cuba. Among Democrats 65% do not think he will
make reforms.
-- 69% think that U.S. tourism should not be authorized to vacation in
Cuba until the Cuban regime releases all political prisoners, respects
basic human rights and schedules free elections. Among Democrats a
majority (58%) agree that U.S. tourism should not be authorized.
-- 69% of Cuban-American voters believe that the Cuban regime should
remain on the U.S. government's list of state sponsors of terrorism.
Among Democrats 52% believe that the Cuban regime should remain on the
list.


The poll was conducted by McLaughlin & Associates on January 25-26, 2009 among 500 Cuban-American registered voters throughout Florida and has a margin of error of +/- 4.5%. The majority of Cuban-American voters reside in South Florida.

This poll is the most recent action in a broader campaign that began with a letter to President Barack Obama published in the Special Inaugural edition of a leading Washington, D.C. publication. The letter encourages President Obama's advocacy on behalf of Cuban political prisoners and highlights the conditions in U.S. law prior to modifications in U.S. policy, such as the legalization of political parties, an independent media and labor unions by the Cuban authorities.

Stimulus Bill Misses the Mark for Education

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- While a broad base of national educators, leaders and policymakers have agreed that the nation's education system requires fundamental operational changes, the federal government is poised to subsidize the systems that have failed American students, allowed them to fall behind their international counterparts and left a yawning achievement gap that sees barely 50 percent of African-American males graduating from high school.

"The achievement gap between white kids and most children of color is downright scary... alarmingly, as one study reveals, a growing number of the largest school districts are showing African-American male graduation rates of less than 40 percent. Across the country, the numbers are grim." - This according to Mandate for Change, a new monograph from the Center for Education Reform (CER) edited by Senior Fellow Samuel Casey Carter.

Unlike Washington's financial band-aid, CER's Mandate for Change offers a five-part cure for education in America that unites federal and state policies with substantive proposals for school improvement.

As another Mandate for Change contributor, former three-term governor of Michigan John M. Engler, makes clear, the problem starts with the public not having access to enough performance information about what we're getting for the money currently being spent before we even discuss whether more money can solve the system's ills. "If we can verify the quality of a product every step of the way as it moves along the manufacturing process, the education of our children deserves the same careful attention."

Journalist Richard Whitmire argues that without varied teacher compensation systems, there can be no improvement in teacher quality, writing, "Teachers should be hired, promoted, or fired based on their effectiveness in educating children. That simple formula, however - judging employees by the outcome of their efforts - although commonplace in the rest of society, remains elusive in the teaching profession... Effective teachers make a difference and the current system does next to nothing to reward effective teaching."

The proposed education aspect of the forthcoming federal stimulus package seeks to fund the continuance of all teachers' jobs, not ensure that our best and most effective teachers are rewarded for elevating the performance of the system as a whole.

"The stimulus package is supposed to be a tonic for the nation. Instead this may be just another quick infusion of cash to keep the status quo afloat. While teachers' unions, school districts and construction companies may benefit, this plan will not directly improve education for America's children. Money alone, not focused on student performance, will not improve the results," says Center for Education Reform president Jeanne Allen.

FAIR: Obama Rushing to Pass the Economic Stimulus Package While Delaying Vital Protections for American Workers

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- President Obama and top administration officials are actively pressuring Congress to pass an expensive economic stimulus package by mid-February, while quietly undermining an administrative rule that would protect American workers. The president has delayed, until May 21, the implementation of an executive order requiring all federal contractors to utilize the E-Verify program to ensure that all workers paid with taxpayer dollars are legally eligible to work in the U.S.

With the federal government poised to pump hundreds of billions of dollars into the economy to create new jobs, the Obama administration appears to be caving in to business and ethnic interest pressure groups to delay, or perhaps eliminate, this vital protection for U.S. workers. Former President George W. Bush issued the executive order last June requiring that companies doing business with the government guarantee that they are employing only eligible workers, effective Jan. 15, 2009. Before leaving office, Mr. Bush delayed implementation until Feb. 20.

"President Obama's single greatest domestic challenge is to get Americans back to work," said Dan Stein, president of FAIR, noting that some 12 million Americans are unemployed. "It defies all common sense to borrow vast sums of money to create new jobs without having a reliable system in place to make sure that American workers will be the ones to fill those jobs."

Amidst a global recession, a massive jobs creation program in the United States is likely to serve as a magnet drawing workers from around the world in search of employment. "E-Verify has proven to be the single most effective tool to protect American workers from losing jobs in their own country to illegal aliens," Stein said. "It is imperative that Congress reauthorize the program and that the administration require companies benefiting from the stimulus package to use the E-Verify system before the first borrowed dollar is spent.

"President Obama came to office promising change and an end to business as usual in Washington. Delaying implementation of an executive order requiring that government contractors hire only legal U.S. workers is a disappointing first gesture on the part of the new administration and one that the president should reconsider before signing any economic stimulus bill," Stein concluded.

In a Sea of Obama Love, There's a Voice of Patriotic Resistance

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With the $150 million inauguration only days away, Grassfire.org is announcing that a record 350,000 grassroots conservatives have pledged a patriotic, resilient and determined resistance-against an Obama ideology that could have devastating consequences on our nation.

"This is not a personal attack on Barack Obama," says Grassfire.org founder Steve Elliott. "On the contrary, this is a call to action for conservatives who profess love for our country and respect for our institutions. Our disagreements with the President are based in ideology and public policy only. From this firm foundation we are mounting a patriotic, resilient, conservative resistance to Obama's agenda."

Elliott says he is thrilled by the early response, and anticipates meteoric growth within the first 100 Days of the Obama Presidency. "The President's first one hundred days will give citizens a digitally clear snapshot of where he intends to take us as a nation. This is where we will begin to see the depth of his socialist agenda for America."

The Resistance petition states:As an American citizen, while I will show respect to President-elect Obama, I oppose the far-Left and socialistic elements that comprise the centerpiece of his agenda. I recognize that it will take a patriotic and resilient Citizen Resistance to block implementation of this agenda and I join with others who oppose these threats to our liberties.

Launched shortly after the election, Grassfire's Resistance petition gives conservatives a place to join together around a common goal, and provides web-based structures and strategies that truly equip conservatives to resist any attempt to undermine or erode our liberties. "We believe the very foundation stones of our nation are being threatened, that's why this growing effort is needed. We are taking a stand on a variety of specific issues including wealth redistribution, higher taxes, amnesty and a persistent weakening of our uniquely American culture," says Elliott.

Through the Resistance, Elliott believes conservatives can begin to Rebuild and Restore - "developing new models that inform, equip and prepare conservatives for a return to political prominence."

'President Obama: Make Clarity, Transparency, Simplicity a Priority,' Say 79% of the American People

/PRNewswire/ -- "People are desperate for clarity and simplicity in order to make informed decisions," says Alan Siegel, Founder and Chairman of global brand consultancy Siegel+Gale. "There is a huge opportunity for government and business to overcome cynicism and regain lost trust through the way they communicate with their constituents and customers."

A new survey of 1,214 American homeowners and investors conducted by Siegel+Gale between December 29, 2008 and January 5, 2009, released today, shows an overwhelming majority demand more clarity in communications from companies and the government. Fully 84% of all consumers say they are more likely to trust a company that uses jargon-free, plain English in communications. And 79% say they think it is "very important" that President Obama "mandate that clarity, transparency, and plain English be a requirement of every new law, regulation and policy."

"Transparency and authenticity are the new marketing imperatives," says Lee Rafkin, Siegel+Gale's Global Director of Simplification. "People are fed up and desperate for institutions and brands that offer simple and honest communications they can understand. That's the clear message from our most recent research survey."

Complexity Up; Trust Down

Three-quarters of survey respondents (75%) say that complexity and lack of understanding have played a significant role in the current financial crisis. Moreover, 63% of those surveyed feel that "banks, mortgage lenders, and Wall Street intentionally make things complicated to hide risks or to keep people in the dark."

Trust in companies is predictably down, the survey shows. Compared to one year ago, 37% are less likely to trust their mortgage lender, 36% are less likely to trust their broker or financial advisor, and 35% are less likely to trust their bank.

However, consumers agreed they should shoulder some of the blame for the financial crisis. Over half of all surveyed admitted to not reading or attempting to understand the complicated documents they sign. And 50% agreed with the statement, "Financial products are inherently complicated. It's the final responsibility of the customer to make sure they understand all the risks."

The survey asked how much of an impact jargon-free, plain-English explanations and disclosures would make on consumer interest in a number of categories. Consumers reported:

-- a 79% increased interest in investing in a financial product,
-- a 73% increased interest in selecting a broker or a financial advisor,
-- a 67% increased interest in purchasing a life insurance policy,
-- a 63% increased interest in taking out a loan, and
-- a 63% increased interest in applying for a credit card.

Caregivers Need a Bailout Too! (or 1% for Families)

/PRNewswire/ -- There are more than 50 million Americans today providing unpaid care for family members and loved ones: an aging or ailing parent, a friend with a chronic health condition, a spouse with Alzheimer's, a sibling with a traumatic war injury, a child with physical or mental challenges. Family caregivers represent a huge but invisible "silent workforce" over 150 times larger than Wall Street's workforce and over 176 times larger than the automobile industry workforce.

While the deteriorating economy has hit all Americans hard, it has hit these Americans even harder. Family caregivers are struggling to pay their own bills and, increasingly, those of their loved ones as well; expenses continue to rise and the hours of care they provide each day continue to go uncompensated. The average caregiver spends $5,534 per year out-of-pocket for caregiving expenses. Like Wall Street, the auto industry, and homeowners, family caregivers need help from Congress to make it through 2009.

Caring.com and the National Alliance for Caregiving, are calling on President Obama and the 111th Congress to target up to 1% of the upcoming economic stimulus package toward supporting family caregivers. They have jointly developed five priority initiatives to help family caregivers that are posted on the Caring.com website, and are asking caregivers to add their voices and vote on which initiatives would help the most. Caring.com and the National Alliance for Caregiving will present the list, votes, and recommendations to President-Elect Obama's transition team for Long-Term Care and key members of the 111th Congress.

"These five initiatives could provide essential relief to family caregivers," said Gail Gibson Hunt, President & CEO of the National Alliance for Caregiving. "President-Elect Obama cared for his mother and grandmother and knows how difficult it is to provide caregiving on top of other family responsibilities."

The five recommended priorities to support family caregivers are:


1. Provide Adequate Funding for the National Family Caregiver Support
Program. The National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP) is the
only federal program that recognizes family caregivers; it helps
individuals who serve as unpaid caregivers for persons sixty or older.
The program provides respite services, counseling, support groups and
other community services to relieve the emotional, physical, and
financial hardships of providing care. For many of the nation's family
caregivers of aging parents, the NFCSP is the only program to sustain
and support them in their caregiving role. It's also an incredible
value. If services provided by informal caregivers had to be replaced
with paid services, the price tag would be in excess of $375 billion.
Yet the NFCSP has experienced level or only modest increases in
funding since its inception in 2001, with current funding at $158M.
Funding for the NFCSP should be doubled, from $158M to $320M, to
address the current under-funding of this vital program.

2. Expand Medicare and Medicaid Benefits to Better Support Family
Caregivers. Medicaid and Medicare must do more help to ease the burden
on family caregivers. Family caregivers are the backbone of the US
long-term care system. Four out of every five adults receiving long-
term care at home rely exclusively on family and friends to provide
assistance. With the annual cost of nursing home care averaging over
$75,000 per person, the ability to keep our aging loved ones at home
longer adds up to huge savings for the government, private insurance,
and families. Medicaid and Medicare are vital to supporting the needs
of family caregivers, and we recommend two essential first steps.

o Under Medicaid, family caregivers should receive a comprehensive
Caregiver Assessment to help identify and support their own needs in
providing care to a friend or loved one.

o Under Medicare, healthcare professionals, including doctors, will
promote educational resources for caregivers and referrals to local
caregiver support organizations.

3. Encourage States to Adopt Paid Family Medical Leave Programs. The
concept of paid family leave is here to stay, with several states and
growing bipartisan support helping the U.S. to catch up with many other
industrialized nations that have long offered such programs. The issue
also became a topic in the presidential election, with President-Elect
Obama proposing a "50-state strategy to adopt paid-leave systems,"
stating, "You shouldn't be punished for getting sick or dealing with a
family crisis." In California, the nation's first state to adopt a paid
family medical leave program in 2004, employees are entitled to up to
six weeks of partial pay each year while taking time off from work to
care for a seriously ill parent, child, and spouse or registered
domestic partner. Most workers receive approximately 55% of their pre-
taxed weekly wage, up to a maximum of $917, while on leave. Using
successful state models already underway in California, Washington, and
New Jersey as prototypes, Congress should provide incentives for
additional states to develop paid family leave policies.

4. Fund the Lifespan Respite Act. In 2006, the Lifespan Respite Care Act
was signed into law to make respite more accessible and affordable to
family caregivers, regardless of age or disability. To date, Congress
has provided no funding. This is unacceptable. The economic value that
accrues from respite is exceptional. Respite has been shown to help
avoid or delay more costly nursing home or foster care placements.
Delaying nursing home or institutional placement of just one individual
with a chronic condition for several months can save Medicaid, private
insurance, or the family thousands of dollars. Congress should fully
fund Lifespan Respite (PL 109-442) at $53.3 million for FY 09, $71.1
million for FY 2010 and $94.8 for FY 2011 to help the nation's 50
million family caregivers regardless of age or disability.

5. Tax Relief for Family Caregivers and Employers. A number of bills with
bipartisan support have been introduced in Congress in recent years to
provide caregiver tax incentives to help offset the thousands of
dollars in lost wages and other expenses that family and informal
caregivers at all income levels incur. Among the approaches currently
under consideration: an annual refundable tax credit for persons with
long-term care needs or their family caregivers, credits for specified
caregiving expenses (such as home care services, respite, food, and
transportation), a tax deduction to help consumers pay long-term care
insurance premiums for policies that meet consumer protections, and
inclusion of long-term care coverage in employer cafeteria plans.
There's no shortage of good ideas for providing tax report for family
caregivers. There has been a shortage of results. We encourage the
111th Congress to act.


"Funding these five initiatives would cost less than 1% of the proposed stimulus package, yet would provide material relief to millions of families struggling with caregiving today," said Andy Cohen, co-founder and CEO of Caring.com.

Family caregivers are asked to visit Caring.com to add their voices to these recommendations, vote on which initiatives would be most helpful to them, and share their experiences with other individuals caring for family members and loved ones. The results of the vote will be presented to the Obama Transition Team for Long-Term Care.

To access the poll on Caring.com, visit:

http://www.caring.com/polls/message-to-president-obama-dont-forget-family- caregivers.

President-Elect Obama and the New Congress Must Address the Eroding Sense of American National Identity

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Bradley Project on America's National Identity (www.BradleyProject.org) released an open letter today urging the new leadership in the White House and in Congress to use upcoming national events like the Presidential Inauguration and the State of the Union Address to strengthen our national unity.

The open letter, signed by a number of prominent historians, political scientists and social commentators, specifically recommends addressing the following:

-- The challenge of integrating newcomers into America, as well as
engaging future generations, so that they participate fully in
America's social, economic and civic life.
-- The relationship between a strong national identity and the long-term
health of American democracy. As historian Gordon Wood observes,
"It's our history, our heritage, that makes us a single people."
-- The direction and character of civic education including the teaching
of history that exposes students to America's great heroes, dramatic
achievements and high ideals, and that emphasizes those "mystic chords
of memory" that Abraham Lincoln believed held our country together.

The open letter follows the release last year of the Bradley Project Report, E Pluribus Unum. That report found that America is in danger of becoming not "From Many, One," but, "From One, Many," and calls for a national conversation on preserving and enhancing our national unity. Over 250,000 citizens have visited the Bradley Project's website since the report's release, and its findings and recommendations have been endorsed by numerous editorial boards, commentators, and political leaders.

"Whatever the Future May Hold, America Dare Not Face It Divided and Unsure" -- E Pluribus Unum

An Open Letter to the President-Elect and to the New Congress

The upcoming year may prove to be among the most consequential in our nation's history.

Can America meet the challenges we are now facing, in our domestic economy and in our global relations, if many of our fellow citizens are more aware of what divides us than of what unites us? Can our governing institutions function effectively to meet these challenges if the foundations upon which these institutions are built -- the unity and sense of the common good -- are weakened and less certain?

The answer to these questions, we believe, is "no."

Several months ago, The Bradley Project on America's National Identity released its report entitled E Pluribus Unum. The report found that our nation is facing an identity crisis and that we are in danger of becoming not "From Many, One," but its opposite, "From One, Many." Indeed, although most Americans believe there is a unique identity that defines what it means to be an American, over six in ten believe our national identity is getting weaker.

And most troubling, younger Americans -- on whom our continued national identity depends -- are significantly less likely than older Americans to believe in a unique national identity or a unique American culture.

The Bradley Project called upon Americans and our leaders to engage in a conversation about our national identity: What does it mean to be an American, how can our national identity be sustained, and why is the strength and clarity of our national identity vital to our future?

That call is more vital today than when it was first issued. We say this because we believe that without a strong belief in the common good and in what unites us as Americans, our capability as a nation to address the significant problems before us today will be seriously imperiled.

The project's report speaks to the fundamental need for a conversation focused on national unity. It rightly asserts: "America is unique among nations in being founded not on a common ethnicity, but on a set of ideas... . But a nation founded on an idea starts anew with each generation and with each new group of immigrants. Knowing what America stands for is not a genetic inheritance. It must be learned, both by the next generation and by those who come to this country. In this way, a nation founded on an idea is inherently fragile. And a nation that celebrates the many ways we are different from one another must remind itself constantly of what we all share."

When we first issued this call, it resonated across the country. Over 250,000 have since visited the Bradley Project website at www.BradleyProject.org. Notable historians and social commentators, ranging from Pulitzer Prize winners David McCullough and Walter A. McDougall to Harry Lewis, former dean of Harvard College and Amy A. Kass, senior lecturer at the University of Chicago, endorsed the project's call to action. And the project's report has received nationwide editorial and columnist attention in the Washington Post, the Denver Post, the Detroit Free Press, The Atlantic, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and the National Journal, among many others.

Our concerns have heightened over the past six months not because our unity has diminished further, but because the importance of national unity has grown in its role to provide the foundational elements necessary to move our nation forward.

We call upon our nation's new leadership in the White House and in Congress to take actions that can strengthen our national unity and national purpose. Among these are using the major upcoming national events, including the Presidential Inauguration, the State of the Union Address, and the opening of the new Congress to speak directly to:

-- the link between our founding principles and self-government in this
new century;

-- the direction and character of civic education including the teaching
of history that exposes students to America's great heroes, dramatic
achievements and high ideals, and that emphasizes those "mystic chords
of memory" that Abraham Lincoln believed held our country together;

-- the challenge of integrating newcomers into America, as well as
engaging future generations, so that they participate fully in
America's social, economic and civic life;

-- the importance of promoting our national unity while appreciating the
benefits of diversity; and

-- the relationship between a strong national identity and the long-term
health of American democracy. As historian Gordon Wood observes,
"It's our history, our heritage, that makes us a single people."


Over 200 years ago Benjamin Franklin said, "...we must, indeed, all hang together or most assuredly we shall hang separately." His words were far more real than metaphoric in the time of our nation's birth. But in today's world they are a reminder of what is at stake if we fail to reinforce the foundations of our nation and promote the common good.

Sincerely,

Walter McDougall, University of Pennsylvania
James W. Ceaser, University of Virginia
Sandra Stotsky, University of Arkansas
Rear Adm. Mike Ratliff, President, The Jack Miller Center
Fred Siegel, Cooper Union for Science & Art
Gilbert T. Sewall, Director, American Textbook Council
Matthew Spalding, Director, B. Kenneth Simon Center for American Studies,
The Heritage Foundation
Wilfred M McClay, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
John J. Patrick, Professor Emeritus of Education, Indiana University
Victoria Hughes, President, Bill of Rights Institute
James C. Rees, Executive Director, Mount Vernon
Anne D. Neal, President, American Council of Trustees and Alumni