[IMAGE]  GOPUSA.com Eagle - May 24, 2001 Inside this issue...   What Will Jeffords Do? Republican Study Committee Update Austin Bay... Are Californians Stupid? Linda Chavez... Do You Speak Urdu? Doug Patton... The Emerging Black Conservative Letters from the E-Mail Bag  -- For conservative news, information, and commentary... subscribe  to The Eagle today!   [IMAGE]  [IMAGE]WHAT WILL JEFFORDS DO?   As many of you know, Sen. James Jeffords (R-VT) is scheduled to hold a press conference today to announce whether he will leave the Republican party.  Current talk is that he will, indeed, leave the Republican party and become an Independent, but for organizational purposes in the Senate, he will be a Democrat.   Now, I, like many of you, cannot stand RINOs (Republicans In Name Only).  However, in this case, the name "Republican" carries much more significance.  With a 50-50 Senate, the entire leadership structure hangs in the balance.  Imagine, for a moment... Majority Leader Tom Daschle... The thought is just plain scary.   Please contact Sen. Jeffords' office and let him know what you think.  Perhaps a strong wave of feedback in the eleventh hour can make a difference.  His contact information is as follows:   Sen. Jeffords' Washington, DC Office -- 202-224-5141  Sen. Jeffords' Vermont Office -- 803-223-5273  Sen. Jeffords' E-mail Address -- vermont@jeffords.senate.gov   For some of the latest news on the possible Jeffords defection, please check out the GOPUSA.com web site at http://gopusa.com  and also these stories:   Washington Times -- Jeffords delays decision on party switch   CNSNews.com -- Will Lott Hold On As Minority Leader, and Other Questions   Fox News -- Jeffords of Vermont Will Bolt GOP, Dems to Control Senate   NewsMax.com -- Jeffords Says He'll Leave GOP    [IMAGE]  [IMAGE]REPUBLICAN STUDY COMMITTEE UPDATE   Conservative Activity in the House   The following are just some of the legislative efforts that RSC Members are making in the House:    -- Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-MI) will be offering an amendment this week during the debate of H.R. 1, the education reauthorization bill, to strike the additional annual state assessment mandated by H.R. 1 and retain current law regarding testing that was passed in 1994. To read the amendment, click here: http://www.house.gov/burton/RSC/word/Hoekstra2.PDF    -- Rep. Jim DeMint (R-SC) will also be offering an amendment to H.R. 1 this week to re-insert a "Straight A's" provision to allow seven states some flexibility in how they use federal education dollars. To read talking points on the amendment, click here: http://www.house.gov/burton/RSC/word/DeMint2.doc    -- Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) will be offering an amendment to H.R. 1 to ensure that state assessments measure "objective" knowledge and not subjective feelings and beliefs. To read the "Dear Colleague" letter promoting the amendment, click here: http://www.house.gov/burton/RSC/word/Akin.doc    -- Rep. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) will be offering a parental rights amendment to H.R. 1 that requires parental consent prior to non-emergency, medical, mental health examination, testing, or treatment on students and prior to any student being required to take any survey, analysis, or evaluation that reveals personal information or seeks responses on material inappropriate for children (such as sex behavior, political affiliation, and religious practices). The amendment also ensures that parents have the right to inspect and review instructional materials and surveys. To read the text of the amendment, click here: http://www.house.gov/rules/tiahrt_003.pdf    Read the complete RSC Update at http://gopusa.com/rsc    [IMAGE]  [IMAGE]ARE CALIFORNIANS STUPID?  By Austin Bay   Are Californian's Stupid? This Texan's reply is, "Nope, not at all." California is home turf for a high-flying slice of America's most economically and aesthetically creative people. I dig Hollywood, admire the Skunk Works and thoroughly respect Silicon Valley.   But apparently California Gov. Gray Davis has a low opinion of his constituents' mental acuity, or at least their historical memory. He seems to think Golden State residents were hatched yesterday, producing a demographic ripe for a political con job replete with fear-inciting sound bites and calculated flim-flam.   In ecology-conscious California, Davis has hired two acid-spewing generators of political pollution and cultural degradation, Clinton hit men Chris Lehane and Mark Fabiani. Expect scorched-earth press releases and sulfuric TV squawk show performances reminiscent of the Clinton administration's smoggiest, most dirt-bedeviled moments.   Read the complete article at http://gopusa.com/austinbay    [IMAGE]  [IMAGE]DO YOU SPEAK URDU?  By Linda Chavez   How's your Urdu? What about your Tagalog? No idea what I'm talking about? Well, if you do business with the federal government, it's time you took a crash course -- in languages, that is. If you don't, you may be in danger of violating federal civil rights law. That's right. If you run a sandwich shop in a government building, a newspaper stand in a hospital built, in part, with federal funds, or run a construction company that works on federal projects, you'd better employ a bevy of translators.    Why? Because it's the law, thanks to Bill Clinton. And if President Bush doesn't do something about it, we'll all be paying for it -- and not just in dollars.   Read the complete article at http://gopusa.com/lindachavez    [IMAGE]  [IMAGE]THE EMERGING BLACK CONSERVATIVE  By Doug Patton   On Tuesday, May 15th, in Omaha, Nebraska, something remarkable happened. A black man named Franklin Thompson was elected to an open seat on the Omaha City Council. What makes this victory so significant is that an overwhelmingly white constituency chose him over an attractive, wealthy, white business owner who spent four times as much money, only to receive two-thirds as many votes.   How can this be? Those who have made a career out of what is loosely called "civil rights" tell us constantly that rampant racism in America would preclude such a thing from happening. How can a black man be given such a mandate by an almost all-white constituency?   Read the complete article at http://gopusa.com/dougpatton    [IMAGE]  [IMAGE]LETTERS FROM THE E-MAIL BAG   GOPUSA.com welcomes your opinions and feedback.  We have received numerous e-mails from folks who have commented on columns posted on the web site, news articles, and their general perspectives.    Please continue to share your thoughts and commentary by posting a message on the new GOPUSA.com Forum  or by sending us an e-mail at eagle@gopusa.com    Re: Linda Chavez Column on John Ashcroft Regarding Ms. Chavez article on John Ashcroft's faith: The article quoted one critic as saying: "He would be charged with upholding and fully enforcing the constitutional rights and liberties of faith groups that he clearly judges to be wrong and in need of correction." I suppose it would be alright for a heathen to make those judgements?  It is time conservatives (and Christians) take the high ground in these debates.  I am all for Mr. Ashcroft and only wish we could have had people of his caliber in office for the last twelve years.  -- Martin Barker, Pensacola, FL   It is about time that someone, like Ashcroft, took this country back to the basics it was founded on... God. We who still rely on God in our daily living have been forced to "accept" homosexuality and every other depraved activity while we are being denied the right to pray in public. If we as a country would really "In God We Trust", we would be invincible, indivisible, one country backed by God Himself. I say hats off to someone who will FINALLY take a stand for good instead of evil... Ashcroft, keep your eyes on God and lead us back to where we belong.  -- Rebecca BarkerRe: Foot and Mouth Disease Regarding the column on "Foot and Mouth" disease. People have "feet", cows, goats, pigs, and other ruminants have "hooves". So, the disease gripping England today is "Hoof and Mouth" disease, even as British -- and American! -- politicians continually suffer the more dreaded, "Foot in Mouth" disease. Keep up the good work! Best regards,  -- Joe Ames Jr.Re: Bush Administration If W. doesn't go farther to the right I will not vote for him again.  His bipartisan, meet me in the middle is not getting it done. Now with this turn coat from Vermont we will lose the Senate. Way ta go...  -- Ben Martin   I am a registered Republican woman and have been very active in the party for 8 years. I am an ex-officer in our local Republican Women and a member of Tulare County Central Committee. I have e-mailed President Bush numerous times to let him know that I and my family are not happy with some of the things he is doing. I know now that the  Republican party is so out of touch with the American citizens. Bush said he wanted to set a new tone in Washington and all I have seen is more of Clinton's policies being put into place. Bush has done some good on the abortion issues . I am ready to resign as he keeps putting homosexuals in office and Clinton's environmental policies in place. Last year my husband lost his job due to the Sequoia National Monument. Enough is enough and we need a man who will stand up for Common sense and not a Clinton Clone. I will no longer support a man who has no backbone. Thank you.  -- Carol KnoyRe: GOPUSA.com Thank you for sending me this newsletter. Of all the things I get, this is one that I read. Thanks again.  -- State Representative Lynn Westmoreland, Georgia[IMAGE]  [IMAGE]SUBSCRIBE TODAY!  LET THE EAGLE LAND ON YOUR DESKTOP   Was this e-mail forwarded to you?  Would you like to subscribe to it yourself or subscribe a friend?  If so, click on the button to the right or fill out the form below.   Name:   E-mail:    Note: If you do not receive an e-mail confirmation of your subscription after you fill out this form, please click on the "Subscribe Today!" icon and subscribe at the web site.   If you would no longer like to receive the GOPUSA.com Eagle, simply reply to this e-mail and write "unsubscribe" in the body of the e-mail message.         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