Isakson, Chambliss Praise Confirmation of James Randall Hall to Serve as Federal Judge for Southern District of Georgia

U.S. Senators Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., today praised the Senate’s confirmation of Augusta attorney James Randall Hall to serve as the next United States District Court Judge for the Southern District of Georgia.

President Bush tapped Hall to fill the judicial vacancy created by the Honorable B. Avant Edenfield, who elected to take senior status effective Aug. 2, 2006. Both Isakson and Chambliss recommended Hall for the post.“Randy Hall is a attorney with a reputation for integrity and character,” Isakson said on the Senate floor. “I am pleased the Senate has confirmed this fine jurist.”“The Southern District of Georgia will be well-served with Randy Hall on the bench,” said Chambliss. “I’m pleased my Senate colleagues join me in supporting his confirmation.”

Hall currently serves as a partner with Warlick Tritt Stebbins & Hall, LLP. He previously served in the Georgia State Senate as a senator for the 22nd District. He graduated from Augusta College in 1979 and from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1982. He serves on the Augusta-Richmond County Community Partnership for Children and Families and attends the Trinity on the Hill United Methodist Church.

Help Defend the American Dream In Georgia!

Defending the American Dream Summit, May 3rd

Today, the voices of average Americans are being drowned out by lobbyists and special interests. The result: policies that are threatening to destroy the American Dream – higher property taxes and out-of-control government spending, job-killing regulations, and endless red-tape. But you can do something about it. You can send a powerful message to the politicians, special interests, and the mainstream media by taking part in the Defending the American Dream Summit - Georgia.

On May 3rd in Atlanta, GA, you can join America’s foremost free-market voices, top experts on grassroots mobilization, and Georgia’s largest gathering of grassroots leaders from across the state in a massive show of force for our shared belief in lower taxes and more limited government.

Early registration is only $29 for general, $15 for students, and $60 for families.
Confirmed Speakers Include:
Grover Norquist, Americans for Tax Reform
Tom Price, U.S. Congressman
Phil Gingrey, U.S. Congressman
Karen Handel, Secretary of State
Chip Rogers, State Senator
Jerry Shearin, Paulding County Commission
Jim Harrell, Forsyth County Commission

Location:
755 Club at Turner Field - Atlanta, Georgia

About AFP
Our MissionAmericans for Prosperity (AFP) and Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFP Foundation) are committed to educating citizens about economic policy and mobilizing those citizens as advocates in the public policy process. AFP is an organization of grassroots leaders who engage citizens in the name of limited government and free markets on the local, state and federal levels. The grassroots members of AFP advocate for public policies that champion the principles of entrepreneurship and fiscal and regulatory restraint.AFP Foundation is committed to educating citizens about economic policy and a return of the federal government to its Constitutional limits. AFP Foundation’s educational programs and analyses help policymakers, the media and individual citizens understand why policies that promote the American enterprise system are the best method to ensuring prosperity for all Americans. To that end, AFP and AFP Foundation supports:
A Taxpayer's Bill of Rights to protect the economic interests of citizens by making it harder to raise taxes and waste scarce tax dollars on frivolous programs.
Cutting taxes and government spending in order to halt the encroachment of government in the economic lives of citizens by fighting proposed tax increases and pointing out evidence of waste, fraud, and abuse.
Tax and Expenditure Limitations to promote fiscal responsibility.
Removing unnecessary barriers to entrepreneurship and opportunity by sparking citizen involvement in the regulatory process early on in order to reduce red tape.
Restoring fairness to our judicial system by stemming the tide toward "over-criminalization" of economic activity spurred by over-active attorneys general.
Working with well-known businessman and free-market advocate Herman Cain to expand all of these projects to even more states across the country in our recently-launched "State Prosperity Expansion Project."
Americans for Prosperity and Americans for Prosperity Foundation are two separate entities with their own governing boards. Each is a national organization based in Washington, DC, with staff on the ground in Colorado, Kansas, North Carolina, Texas, Oklahoma, Virginia and Wisconsin. AFP and AFP Foundation plan to open other state chapters across the nation.
What We Do AFP and AFP Foundation’s network of organized and influential citizen leaders in a growing number of states throughout the country is working to change the nation one state at a time.
AFP mobilizes citizens to effectively make their voices heard in public policy issue campaigns.
AFP educates citizens about where their elected officials stand on our issues.
AFP and AFP Foundation combine "best-in-class" capabilities built once at the national level with local knowledge from our state staff and on-the-ground armies to create economies of scale that win.
AFP and AFP Foundation leverage our comparative advantages with those of other groups by building coalitions of local, state, and national organizations fighting for a common cause.
Through its Grassroots Training Schools, AFP Foundation has recruited and educated thousands of citizens on how to promote greater economic prosperity.
AFPF Legal StatusAmericans for Prosperity Foundation is a section 501(c)(3) organization under the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions to AFP Foundation are tax deductible. AFP Foundation’s focus is to educate the general public about public policy issues, not to support or oppose specific legislation.
Americans for Prosperity is a section 501(c)(4) organization under the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions or gifts to AFP are not tax deductible. AFP can advocate for and against specific legislation at the state and federal levels.
AFP Foundation can accept contributions from individuals, foundations, and business entities in support of its mission. AFP can accept contributions from individuals and business entities in support of its mission.
AFPF does not solicit or accept financial contributions or grants from any government entity, or from any foreign source.
If you have questions about AFPF's legal status, contact us at info@AFPhq.org.

Bob Barr Annouces Candidacy (Exploratory)

Barr Announces Presidential Exploratory Committee

4/5/08 Addressing Midwestern activists at the Heartland Libertarian Conference today, former Congressman Bob Barr announced the launch of the Bob Barr 2008 Presidential Exploratory Committee (BobBarr2008.com).

In his speech, Barr noted that, “America today faces a grave moral and leadership crisis, and those of us who care about our country’s future can no longer sit on the sidelines and remain neutral. As Rev. King told us more than four decades ago, ‘the true measure of a man is where he stands at times of challenges and controversy.’ And, as Dante Alighieri said many centuries before, ‘the hottest places in Hell are reserved for those who, in times of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality.’”

Continuing, Barr stated that, “some say it is not now expedient or politically pragmatic to do the right thing, for the right reason.” But, he then asked his audience, “When has there been a better time? When has the risk of inaction carried more serious consequences? When will it be appropriate to take extraordinary steps? What must happen to our Constitution before we set aside our complacency and expediency in favor of principle?”

Barr represented the 7th District of Georgia in the U. S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003, where he served as a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, as Vice-Chairman of the Government Reform Committee, and as a member of the Committee on Financial Services. Prior to his congressional career, Barr was appointed by President Reagan to serve as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, and also served as an official with the CIA for nearly eight years.

Since leaving Congress, Barr has been practicing law and actively advocating American citizens’ right to privacy and other civil liberties guaranteed in the Bill of Rights. He serves also as a board member for the National Rifle Association, and works with the American Conservative Union and other groups.

Barr’s speech to the Heartland audience touched on the issues the candidates for the two major status quo parties have not addressed sufficiently, namely: the urgent need for truly cutting the size of the federal government, protecting our civil liberties, securing our borders, and fundamentally reforming our tax code.

“Removing ‘earmarks’ but not cutting the underlying spending is simply government as usual and is nothing more than a cynical shell game,” Barr stated; adding, “and that’s the high water mark in the debate thus far.“ Barr said this is not adequate, and that America’s voters deserve better than a choice between the lesser of two evils.”

The Libertarian Party, America’s oldest and largest third party, formed in 1971, is on track to achieve ballot access in at least 48 states. Its nominee will be chosen at the Libertarian National Convention which will be held in Denver, CO May 22 through 26.

President Bush, Weekly Radio Address

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. I'm speaking to you from Europe, where I attended the NATO summit and witnessed the hopeful progress of the continent's youngest democracies.
The summit was held in Romania, one of the 10 liberated nations that have joined the ranks of NATO since the end of the Cold War. After decades of tyranny and oppression, today Romania is an important member of an international alliance dedicated to liberty, and it is setting a bold example for other former communist nations that desire to live in peace and freedom.

One of those nations is Croatia, which I'm also visiting on my trip. Croatia is a very different place than it was just a decade ago. Since they attained their independence, the Croatian people have shown the world the potential of human freedom. They've overcome war and hardship to build peaceful relations with their neighbors, and they have built a maturing democracy on the rubble of a dictatorship.

This week NATO invited Croatia, as well as the nation of Albania, to join the NATO Alliance. These countries have made extraordinary progress on the road to freedom, prosperity, and peace. The invitation to join NATO represents the Alliance's confidence that they will continue to make necessary reforms and that they will become strong contributors to NATO's mission of collective defense.

I regret that NATO was not able to extend an invitation to a third nation, Macedonia, at this week's summit. Like Croatia and Albania, Macedonia has met all the criteria for NATO membership. Unfortunately, its invitation was delayed because of a dispute over its name. I made clear that the name issue should be resolved quickly, that NATO should intensify its engagement with Macedonia, and that we look forward to the day when this young democracy takes its place among the members of the NATO Alliance.

After a century when the great wars of Europe threatened destruction throughout the world, the continent has now entered into a promising new era. Less than two decades ago, Albania, Croatia, and Macedonia suffered under the yoke of communist oppression. The people in these countries know what the gift of liberty means, because they know what it is like to have their liberty denied. They know the death and destruction that can be caused by the followers of radical ideologies who kill the innocent in pursuit of political power. And these lessons have led them to work alongside America in the war on terror.

Today, soldiers from Croatia, Albania, and Macedonia are serving bravely in Afghanistan, helping the Afghan people defeat terrorists and secure a future of liberty. And forces from Albania and Macedonia are also serving in Iraq, where they're helping the Iraqi people build a society that rejects terror and lives in freedom. These nations have displayed the ultimate devotion to the principle of liberty -- sacrificing to provide it for others.

Albania, Croatia, and Macedonia are not alone in discarding the change to their past and embracing the promise of freedom. Another burgeoning democracy is Ukraine. Earlier this week I traveled to Kyiv to express America's support for beginning the process of bringing both Ukraine and Georgia into NATO. In recent years, both of these nations have seen tens of thousands take to the streets to peacefully demand their God-given liberty. The people of Ukraine and Georgia are an inspiration to the world and I was pleased that this week NATO declared that Ukraine and Georgia will become members of NATO.

Nearly seven years ago I came to Europe and spoke to the students and faculty at Warsaw University in Poland. On that day I declared that all of Europe's new democracies -- from the Baltic to the Black Sea -- should have the same chance for security and freedom and the same chance to join the institutions of Europe. Seven years later we have made good progress toward fulfilling this vision, and more work remains.

In many parts of the world, freedom is still a distant aspiration -- but in the ancient cities and villages of Europe, it is at the center of a new era of hope.

Thank you for listening.

League of Women Voters Executive Director to Speak at Clayton State, April 7

Polly McKinney, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Georgia, will be speaking on gender and political participation as part of Clayton State University’s celebration of Women’s History Month on Monday, Apr. 7.

McKinney will be appearing in room 272 of the James M. Baker Center on the Clayton State campus from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. A voter registration table, staffed by Clayton State students from the School of Business’ Women in Leadership Class, will be available directly outside the room during this event. This discussion of gender and political participation is free and open to all interested parties.

“Clayton State University’s Women’s History Month Committee thinks that the historical candidacy of Hillary Rodham Clinton brings the issue of women’s political participation to the forefront. This topic, however, is one that has relevance far beyond this particular election year,” says Dr. Deborah Deckner, assistant professor in the Clayton State Department of Psychology and a member of the Women’s History Month Committee. “Women in America have had the vote for the better part of a century and have been the majority of the voting age population for the past several decades, but only hold about 16 percent of America’s congressional seats. In comparison, many European countries have close to 40 percent of their legislative seats filled by women.

“We think that this topic will be of interest to anyone who is concerned about equitable political representation.”

McKinney has always been drawn to projects where hard work and academic analysis meet. She was a member of the first graduating class of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics and went on to minor in Pre-med and major in English Literature at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She attended the University of Bristol (England) for a year, focusing on English Literature, the history of Theology, and Art History, and spent three summers at St. Edmund’s Hall in Oxford, where she studied the History of Literature and Literary Criticism.

As a documentary producer in the late 80’s/early 90’s, she directed, wrote, and edited various programs for local public television. Her favorite projects were interview-based documentaries, a number of which were nominated for regional Emmy Awards. After leaving public TV, McKinney went on to write and direct the documentary which now plays on a continuous loop at the National P.O.W. Museum at Andersonville, Ga. This project, narrated by Colin Powell, involved countless interviews of former American prisoners of war, including Senator John McCain and Vice Admiral James Stockdale.

In addition, McKinney spent some time as a legacy advisor for Georgia Governor Zell Miller, and has worked her share of national and statewide political ad campaigns.

A unit of the University System of Georgia, Clayton State University is an outstanding comprehensive metropolitan university located 15 miles southeast of downtown Atlanta.

News & Opinion Roundup

More Obama Lies the Media Will Ignore
Update: Video of Obama's Selma Speech
When Mitt Romney stated that he saw his father march with Martin Luther King Jr., there was wall to wall media coverage reporting how he had to start backpeddaling. Even after witnesses came forward claiming they had seen his father march with him, the media story of Mitt fabricating the story still persists.
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/john-stephenson/2008/03/30/more-obama-lies-media-will-ignore

Democrats face summer of bitter infighting
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Supporters of Barack Obama backed away on Sunday from calls for Hillary Clinton to drop out of the presidential race as Democrats faced a long summer of bitter fighting to win the party's White House nomination.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080330/pl_nm/usa_politics_dc

Will Against The Liberal World on 'This Week'
Have a look at the screencap from today's This Week, then please answer this serious question: has ABC no shame? How does the network justify a round-table consisting of four liberals against one conservative?
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/mark-finkelstein/2008/03/30/will-against-liberal-world-week

Israel tells Rice will ease some West Bank restrictions
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel announced plans on Sunday to ease some restrictions on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, responding to calls by visiting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to take steps to bolster peace talks.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080330/pl_nm/palestinians_israel_usa_dc

Fierce financial oversight debate on tap
WASHINGTON - In proposing the broadest overhaul of financial oversight since the Great Depression, the Bush administration has kicked off a fierce debate. It pits those eager to revamp an antiquated system against an industry opposed to excessive regulation.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080330/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/fed_overhaul

Obama Backs-Off From His Own Buzzwords
Barack Obama got caught.
It wasn’t a flip-flop on the order of John Kerry’s “I voted for the war before I voted against it” moment. But Obama did, for an instant, back away from his own buzz words and “hate speech“ (I‘ll explain the “hate speech“ below), and contradicted himself. This begs an important question: how far will the buzz words and hate speech propel him in a general election cycle?
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/AustinHill/2008/03/30/obama_backs-off_from_his_own_buzzwords

Phantoms of Democratic campaign saga
WASHINGTON - Behold the phantoms of the political opera. They flit in the rafters of the presidential campaign, making mischief, undead. There is Judas, the archetype of betrayal. Kenneth Starr, dark lord of the inquisition. Joseph McCarthy and David Duke. Herbert Hoover.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080330/ap_on_el_pr/campaign_phantoms

Cheney road trip: Pack the green duffel
WASHINGTON - He travels with a green duffel bag stuffed with nonfiction books about military campaigns and political affairs. He has an iPod and noise-canceling earphones to listen to oldies and some country-western.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080330/ap_on_go_pr_wh/cheney_on_the_road

Hillary’s “Sniper Fire” + Obama’s Pastor Disaster = McCain Looking McFine
Hillary tried to garner some Fifty Cent-like street credit last week by lying to us all that a sniper tried to bust a cap in her while she was chillin’ in Bosnia back in the day. Fo’ shizzle, Hillarizzle.
What the heck was Hillary thinking? Is this woman becoming so unwound that she resorts to making up easily disproved stories that are complete and utter horse dookie? LMAO folks . . . this is getting good!
http://www.townhall.com/Columnists/DougGiles/2008/03/29/hillary%e2%80%99s_%e2%80%9csniper_fire%e2%80%9d__obama%e2%80%99s_pastor_disaster_=_mccain_looking_mcfine

Uncertain economy awaits next president
WASHINGTON - Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain have diagnosed the swooning U.S. economy and have come up with rival plans to revive it. If the downturn lasts as long as some economists predict, one of the three will get a chance to try to sell his or her proposal to Congress as president
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080330/ap_on_el_pr/economy_candidates

Fierce Debate Expected Over Administration Plan to Revamp Financial Regulation
WASHINGTON — In proposing the broadest overhaul of financial oversight since the Great Depression, the Bush administration has kicked off a fierce debate. It pits those eager to revamp an antiquated system against an industry opposed to excessive regulation.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,343331,00.html

Howard Dean Slams McCain As 'Blatant Opportunist' on Vietnam
At his blog Political Punch, ABC reporter Jake Tapper noted the latest thing outraging Republicans. As the McCain campaign prepared to release an ad highlighting McCain's military service, Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean sent out an obnoxious reply: "While we honor McCain’s military service, the fact is Americans want a real leader who offers real solutions, not a blatant opportunist who doesn’t understand the economy and is promising to keep our troops in Iraq for 100 years."
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tim-graham/2008/03/30/howard-dean-slams-mccain-blatant-opportunist-vietnam

Bush facing resistance to NATO expansion
WASHINGTON - President Bush has told NATO members he wants to expand the alliance to include three Balkan countries and put Ukraine and Georgia on track for membership.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080330/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_nato

Oliver Stone to Begin Filming Movie About Bush; Brolin, Banks Expected to Star
NEW YORK — Like a bill being rapidly pushed through legislation, Oliver Stone's film about President George W. Bush is expected to begin shooting within a month with a goal toward being released before the president leaves office next January.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,343115,00.html

The Al Gore caucus?
In a campaign year full of Lazarus moments, one rebirth that American voters will not see is the second coming of Al Gore. Not as the reluctant candidate on a white horse, saving the day at the Democrats' convention in August. Probably not as a peace-maker between the two candidates beforehand, despite his Nobel Peace Prize.
http://www.townhall.com/Columnists/SalenaZito/2008/03/30/the_al_gore_caucus

Another Unconservative Moment from John McCain
John McCain's unconservativism was on display this past Wednesday in Los Angeles. Perhaps not in all ways, but in one telling way. Before a gathering of the World Affairs Council, the Arizona senator outlined his thinking on national security and foreign policy. The speech's larger elements have received plenty of coverage. One element did not.
http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/03/another_unconservative_moment.html

The Fine Italian Nose
Arise Sons and Daughters of Italy! We are mocked, insulted, and challenged to respond.
We have much of which to be proud. We are of a people who have been disproportionately in the vanguard of Western Civilization. There is scarcely an artist, musician, politician, lawyer, or architect who can walk a day in his or her profession without hearing the footsteps of an Italian who has preceded them. But let us be candid. There is one thing above all others of which we are proud. We, quite simply, as a people, have the most noble and esthetically pleasing noses ever to grace the human face.
http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/03/the_fine_italian_nose.html

With Final NATO Summit and Meeting With Putin, Bush Begins Farewell Tour
WASHINGTON — Winding down his presidency, George W. Bush is beginning his farewell tour on the world stage trailed by questions about how much clout he still wields.
Unpopular abroad, as he is at home, Bush nevertheless has been a commanding presence among world leaders for the past seven years. Now, with fewer than 300 days left in his term, other presidents and prime ministers are looking beyond Bush to see who will occupy his chair a year from now.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,343129,00.html

Whites Can't Make Blacks Happy
One of the creepy things about our "need to have a conversation about race" is the assumption that whites can somehow make blacks feel better, or be happier, or be more self-accepting. Nobody has the power to do that, except what individuals do for themselves, one person at a time.
http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/03/whites_cant_make_blacks_happy.html

The Disgrace of Liberalism
2008 marks the end of liberalism as a governing force in the same way that 1968 marked the end of liberalism as a political doctrine. American liberals spent the '60s seeing their programs and policies collapse one after the other. The War on Crime, the War on Poverty, civil rights legislation, Vietnam, all were either unmitigated disasters or textbook examples of the law of unintended consequences. The Democrats went into the 1968 presidential election as crippled as any political party in American history, choked with failure, bereft of ideas, and facing a general uprising from their own younger elements.
http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/03/the_disgrace_of_liberalism.html

Teflon John? Democrat Attacks Fall Short
If a salacious political firestorm is the media equivalent of Christmas morning, the events of the past few weeks have packed American punditry's stockings to the brim. From the appalling videos of Jeremiah Wright, to Barack Obama's cynical evasion of his pastor problem, to Hillary Clinton's Bosnia fables, the nation's televisions, radios and blogs are abuzz with the energy of scandal. Lost in the shouting, analysis and breathless reporting is an important political development: The Democrats have offered a few recent glimpses at their initial plan of attack against John McCain, and the clumsy, off-the-mark contents of their general election playbook should be encouraging to Republicans.
http://www.townhall.com/Columnists/GuyBenson/2008/03/30/teflon_john
_democrat_attacks_fall_short

The Letter “A,” Spitzer, and the Misrepresentation of Puritanism
As predictable as a college freshman telling me that the “A” sewn on Hester Prynne’s dress symbolizes Puritanical hypocrisy were the commentaries about the Puritanical hypocrisy of the prosecution of men (like Eliot Spitzer) for engaging the services of a prostitute.
http://www.townhall.com/Columnists/MaryGrabar/2008/03/30/the_letter_%e2%80%9ca,%e2%80%9d_spitzer,_and_the_misrepresentation_of_puritanism