Catholics Need Not Apply

CATHOLICS NEED NOT APPLY

The US Senate is a place where legislation goes to die. The US House of Representatives has passed over 50 pieces of legislation with overwhelming bipartisan support and the US Senate has not acted on them.

The US Senate also has the duty to give their advise and consent on Judicial nominees.

There is a Judicial Emergency in that over 20% of the Federal Bench is vacant. The backlog of cases denies justice to everyone with cases before the Federal bench. People need to have confidence in the impartiality of the Justice System as well as speed of a solution. Some of the delays exceed two years. This means that the current judges are backed up and overworked. Justice delayed is justice denied as the saying goes.

The answer is to put more judges to work on the Federal Bench.

President Bush has done his best to get the process started. He submitted his first nominees sixteen months ago, on May 9, 2001. 122 people have been nominated by the president, 72 have been confirmed 48 have not had hearings and two have been rejected.

For comparison President Clinton's first nominees were three months later on, August 6, President Bush 41 was August 4 and President Reagan was July 9.

Each of the previous presidents had 100% of their first 11 nominees confirmed.

President Bush has had two nominees rejected, three were confirmed and 6 have not yet had a hearing. After 16 months.

Every Judicial nominee must go through extensive background checks and investigations. The American Bar Association reviews a lawyers background and makes it's recommendation as well.

During the first year of Bush ll only 43% of his nominees were confirmed. The facts are that during President Clinton's first year 57% were confirmed, Bush l had 62% President Reagan had 92% confirmed.

Only 45.3% of active judges today were named by Republican Presidents. 52.9% were named by Democrat Presidents in the past twenty years. Even though President Clinton and the Democrats only held office for eight of the past twenty years.

Last weeks vote on Justice Priscilla Owens was a classic 10-9 partisan party line vote.

Justice Priscilla Owen sits on the Texas Supreme Court. She won reelection with 84% of the vote. President Bush nominated her to the 5th Circuit Court in May of 2001, sixteen months ago. She was endorsed by the thirteen previous Texas State Bar Presidents. The American Bar Association gave her their unanimous endorsement with their highest rating of "well qualified."

The Democrat controlled Judiciary Committee and even Democrat Senator Joseph Biden - a former Judiciary Committee chairman - has called for all nominees to get a floor vote, saying that everyone nominated is entitled "to have a hearing and to have a shot to be heard on the floor and have a vote on the floor." By continuing their campaign of obstructing the confirmation of qualified judges Democrats have perpetuated the judicial crisis that is threatening the administration of justice.

Georgia Democratic US Senator Zell Miller had said that he would break the 50/50 tie and vote for Justice Owen's confirmation if her nomination made it to the floor. Typically if a nominee is going to be confirmed other Democrats would follow and she would probably have received a wider margin of support. The 10 Democrats on the Judiciary committee voted against letting her nomination go to the Senate floor.

The code words of judicial temperament, qualifications, etc., are just window dressing.

The real reason Justice Owens was rejected was not because she is not qualified. She is the first and only Judicial nominee to have a "well qualified" rating from the American Bar Association and be rejected.

Justice Owens was rejected because she decided an earlier case that said that teen age girls ought to notify their parents before they have an abortion. Texas law states that any surgery, even an ear piercing must have parental consent. Only abortions are reduced to notification. A parent in Texas can be notified that their daughter is going to have an abortion and they cannot prevent it. They are only given notice. They have no legal right to intervene.

Justice Owen was deemed to be "pro-life" and therefore, unqualified to sit on the Federal bench. US Senate members want to assure that there is no "litmus test for judges" but by their own words and actions they are saying that if you are "conservative" i.e. pro-life, you will not be allowed to sit on the Federal bench.

The irony here is that Senator Leahy who switched from Republican to Democrat and Senator Kennedy, call themselves Catholic but are ardently pro-abortion. Not just in favor of allowing a woman to "choose" to kill her baby but against any reasonable restriction and in favor of taxpayer funded abortion, on demand, right up until the moment of birth.

People reading this in New Jersey should care because if a Republican wins here in November and the Republicans take control of the Senate Justice Owens will be confirmed.

Larry Cirignano, Esq.
CatholicVote.org
PO Box 70695
Washington, DC 20024
609-781-0090 cell
202-318-0789 fax

CITIZENLINK
September 10, 2002

URGENT CALL TO ACTION

Peaceful Pro-Life Protest in Jeopardy

Your help is needed urgently to prevent a bill from
becoming law that would single out peaceful pro-life
protestors for harsh punishment.

The U.S. House of Representatives could vote as early
as Thursday on the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and
Consumer Protection Act (H.R. 333) -- a well-intentioned
bill that nevertheless contains an amendment targeting
peaceful pro-life protestors. Several pro-life
congressmen have announced they would not vote for
the bill unless the amendment is removed.

"The current bankruptcy bill would force peaceful,
otherwise law-abiding pro-life protestors to unique
punishment and financial ruin," said Rep. Rep. Joe Pitts,
R-Pa.

Pitts, who helped stall a vote on the bankruptcy bill in
July, said the amendment -- which was added by pro-
abortion Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. -- would prevent
peaceful abortion protestors who have been sued by
abortion providers from discharging the fines in
bankruptcy, while leaving other debtors unaffected.

The Pennsylvania congressman noted that current law
already provides for the punishment of violent acts
against abortion clinics or abortion doctors, so the effect
of Schumer's amendment would be to target only
peaceful protestors.

"The typical pro-life protestor, in my experience, is a
middle-aged homemaker or retired person whose
Christian beliefs compel him or her to protest the deaths
of more than a million unborn Americans each year," he
said. "Grouping them with violent pro-life protestors (of
whom there are very few) is like grouping the followers
of Martin Luther King with the Black Panthers."

Pitts, who is working on his own compromise bill, said he
could not support Schumer's provision because it "would
only punish people for standing in the wrong place and
speaking their minds."

David Varnam, issues response analyst at Focus on the
Family, said Pitts' compromise would clarify that the
Schumer provision only applies to violent protestors.

"So, if you had a 65-year-old lady who was arrested for
praying outside an abortion clinic, she wouldn't be
treated in the same way as a person who burned down
an abortion clinic," Varnam said. "While bankruptcy
reform is a pressing issue, this comes down to a
question of fairness."

Pitts concluded: "Why is it okay to have civil rights
protests ... union protests ... animal rights protests or
peace protests, and ... it (is) not okay to protest in
defense of unborn babies?"

TAKE ACTION:
A vote on this issue could come up as early as
Thursday, Sept. 12. Please take the following steps
IMMEDIATELY:

1. Call House Majority Whip Tom DeLay at 202-225-
0197 and urge him to oppose the Bankruptcy Abuse
Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (H.R. 333)
unless the Schumer amendment is either removed, or is
replaced with the legislation being offered by Rep. Joe
Pitts.

2. Contact your House representative and urge him or
her to oppose the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and
Consumer Protection Act (H.R. 333) unless the Schumer
amendment is either removed, or is replaced with the
legislation being offered by Rep. Joe Pitts. If the person
is unfamiliar with the legislation Rep. Pitts is offering,
refer him or her to Mr. Pitts' office for more details.

Call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121, or to find
out who your representative is and how to contact him or
her, see our Legislative Action Center:
http://capwiz.com/fof/dbq/officials/

3. Following is a list of key members of the House who
especially need to hear from their constituents on this
issue. If your representative is listed below, please make
a special effort to contact him or her and urge him or her
to oppose the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and
Consumer Protection Act (H.R. 333) unless the Schumer
amendment is either removed, or is replaced with the
legislation being offered by Rep. Joe Pitts. If the person
is unfamiliar with the legislation Rep. Pitts is offering,
refer him or her to Mr. Pitts' office for more details.

Call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121, or to find
out more specific contact information, including phone and
fax numbers and an e-mail address, see our Legislative
Action Center:
http://capwiz.com/fof/dbq/officials/

<Alabama>
Terry Everett (AL-2nd)
Bob Riley (AL-3rd)
Robert B. Aderholt (AL-4th)

<Arizona>
J.D. Hayworth (AZ-6th)

<California>
Wally Herger (CA-2nd)
John Doolittle (CA-4th)
Richard Pombo (CA-11th)
George Radanovich (CA-19th)
Gary B. Miller (CA-41st)
Chris Cox (CA-47th)
Duncan Hunter (CA-52nd)

<Colorado>
Scott McInnis (CO-3rd)
Joel Hefley (CO-5th)
Tom Tancredo (CO-6th)

<Florida>
Jeff Miller (FL-1st)
Cliff Stearns (FL-6th)
David Weldon (FL-15th)

<Georgia>
Bob Barr (GA-7th)
Charlie Norwood (GA-10th)

<Idaho>
C.L. "Butch" Otter (ID-1st)

<Illinois>
Bill Lipinski (IL-3rd)
Philip M. Crane (IL-8th)
Jerry Weller (IL-11th)
Jerry Costello (IL-12th)
Dennis Hastert (IL-14th)
Donald Manzullo (IL-16th)
David Phelps (IL-19th)
John Shimkus (IL-20th)

<Indiana>
Tim Roemer (IN- 3rd)
Mark Souder (IN-4th)
Steve Buyer (IN-5th)
Dan Burton (IN-6th)
John Hostettler (IN-8th)

<Kansas>
Jerry Moran (KS-1st)
Jim Ryun (KS-2nd)
Todd Tiahrt (KS-4th)

<Kentucky>
Ron Lewis (KY-2nd)
Ken Lucas (KY-4th)

<Louisiana>
David Vitter (LA-1st)
Chris John (LA-7th)

<Maryland>
Roscoe Bartlett (MD-6th)

<Michigan>
Bart Stupak (MI-1st)
Pete Hoekstra (MI-2nd)
Dave Camp (MI-4th)
Jim Barcia (MI-5th)
Nick Smith (MI-7th)
Mike Rogers (MI-8th)
Dale Kildee (MI-9th)

<Minnesota>
Gil Gutknecht (MN-1st)
Collin Peterson (MN-7th)
Jim Oberstar (MN-8th)

<Mississippi>
Chip Pickering (MS-3rd)
Ronnie Shows (MS-4th)

<Missouri>
W. Todd Akin (MO-2nd)

<Nebraska>
Lee Terry (NE-2nd)
Tom Osbourne (NE-3rd)

<New Hampshire>
John Sununu (NH-1st)

<New York>
Tom Reynolds (NY- 27th)
John LaFalce (NY-29th)

<North Carolina>
Walter B. Jones (NC-3rd)
Mike McIntyre (NC-7th)
Robin Hayes (NC-8th)
Sue Myrick (NC-9th)
Charles Taylor (NC-11th)

<Oklahoma>
John Sullivan (OK-1st)
J.C. Watts, Jr. (OK-4th)
Ernest J. Istook (OK-5th)

<Pennsylvania>
Melissa Hart (PA-4th)
Patrick Toomey (PA-15th)
Mike Doyle (PA-18th)
Phil English (PA-21st)

<Rhode Island>
Jim Langevin (RI-2nd)

<South Carolina>
Henry E. Brown, Jr. (SC-1st)
Joe Wilson (SC-2nd)
Lindsey Graham (SC-3rd)

<Tennessee>
Zach Wamp (TN-3rd)
Van Hilleary (TN-4th)
Ed Bryant (TN-7th)

<Texas>
Ralph Hall (TX-4th)
Pete Sessions (TX-5th)
Joe Barton (TX-6th)
John Culberson (TX-7th)
Kevin Brady (TX-8th)
Ron Paul (TX-14th)
Charlie Stenholm (TX-17th)
Tom DeLay (TX-22nd)
Dick Armey (TX-26th)

<Utah>
Chris Cannon (UT-3rd)

<Virginia>
J. Randy Forbes (VA-4th)
Virgil H. Goode (VA-5th)
Eric Cantor (VA-7th)

<West Virginia>
Alan Mollohan (WV-1st)
Nick Rahall (WV-3rd)

<Wisconsin>
Paul Ryan (WI-1st)
Mark Green (WI-8th)

<Wyoming>
Barbara Cubin (WY-At Large)

==================
Ben Taylor
Editor

Pete Winn
Associate Editor

Trish Amason
Editorial Coordinator

Peter Brandt
Director, Issues Response

Tom Minnery
Vice President, Public Policy

Dr. James C. Dobson
President, Focus on the Family

SORRY if this is a dupe ... glitch of some sort for a moment there.

______________________

Believe me, I understand perfectly ... I just think we're kidding ourselves when we fail to realize that it was the GOP who served as architect of our nation's population control policy, it was the GOP, beginning in 1974, who made Legal Abortion the linchpin of population control at home and abroad in US defense strategy documentsd and it's been the "I'm personally opposed, BUT ... " GOP who's cinched things for the Democrats ever since.

I too am faithful to GOP who actually vote always in accordance with the Personal Convictions for which we elect them. (They're the rarity, however. Usually you can only count on Democrats to consistently abide by their personal convictions.)

I just don't think we've got more than maybe 30 representatives all told -- both Senate and Congress -- who do that.

Additionally, party rank and file who've bought the notion that truth operates the same as lies and we can "incrementalize" objective truth are all wet, that's all.

When you've got a President who talks in terms of "excess" or "already been killed" human lives as suitable for taxpayer funded human research sans Informed Consent and you have legislators who manage to crow over their defining life as beginning at birth ... rather than just criminalizing the killing of children born live from botched abortions, it's possible your Party is Potemkin.

Sunday, October 6, 2002, is the last day to register voters. There are over One million Catholics in New Jersey who are not registered to vote.

Please ask your pastor to put a notice in the Sunday Bulletin and to have registration forms available.

People who have moved since they last voted, women who have gotten married and changed their names, students who are away at school and anyone who has become a citizen or turned eighteen need to register.

Every election is won by the person who gets the most votes and too many Catholics are not voting. Only one person in eight will vote for the winner in most elections.

Half the people are not registered and half the people who are do not vote. That means only one in 4 are voting and half of them vote for the loser.

If we can get one more person in every pew to vote and vote for the candidates who support Catholic teaching we all will win.

To download the registration form: http://www.state.nj.us/lps/elections/voter_reg_app.pdf

For the list of your County Election Commission go to:
http://www.state.nj.us/faqs/elections.html

From the US Catholic Conference of Bishops
http://www.usccb.org/ogc/guidelines.htm#drives

Nonpartisan Voter Registration/Get-Out-the-Vote Drives. Both IRS and the Federal Election Commission [11 C.F.R. §114.4(d)] permit Catholic organizations to sponsor voter registration and get-out-the-vote drives, provided that no bias for or against any candidate, political party, or voting position is evidenced. Such bias would be indicated by distribution of partisan literature or materials indicating the organization's positions in connection with the voter registration or get-out-the-vote drives, by targeting registration or get-out-the-vote drives toward individuals who support the organization's positions or a particular candidate or party, by coordinating with candidates or their committees, etc. Thus, voter registration or get-out-the vote efforts should not be conducted (1) in cooperation with any political campaign, (2) according to the identity of the candidates, (3) based upon a candidate's or party's agreement or disagreement with the sponsoring organization's positions, or (4) in a manner targeting members of a particular party. Targeting voter registration drives at historically disadvantaged groups, whether based on economic status, race, gender or language, generally should not be objectionable 8.

Please let me know if your parish is participating and how many people you register.
Larry Cirignano, Esq.
http://www.CatholicVote.org
PO Box 70695
Washington, DC 20024
609-781-0090 cell
202-318-0789 fax

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