Lewis County Republican News Articles

Highlights of The 2008 Lewis County Republican Picnic

August 8th, 2008

The annual Lewis County "Blue Ribbon" Picnic and Desert Auction was held on Monday, August 4th, at the Bolender Horse Park in Silver Creek. The special guest of honor this year was GOP gubenatorial candidate, Dino Rossi. Approximately 225 people came out to hear and meet Dino, and to enjoy the festivities.

Other GOP candidates who were in attendance included: Allan Martin, candidate for State Treasurer; Michael Delevar and Christine Webb, both candidates for U.S. Congress in the 3rd Congressional District; Dan Swecker and Neal Kirby, both candidates for the State Senate, 20th District; Lewis County Commissioner candidates Ron Averill, Lyle Hojem, Bill Schulte and John Penberth; and Jefferey Kennedy who is a candidate for Lewis County PUD, Commissioner District 1.

John Penberth also served as the auctioneer for the desert auction.

Kamile Dibble took photos throughout the evening at the picnic. Click on the following link to view the sequence of photos. To enlarge any of the photos, simply double-click on them. There are 149 photos total which are available for viewing.

http://s260.photobucket.com/albums/ii34/gldibble/LCR%20Picnic%202008/

Thank you to all who helped make this years Lewis County Republican Picnic a great success. Special thanks to Mark and Kim Bolender who hosted the event at their beautiful horse park, and to Penny Mauel, who was the principle planner and organizer of the event. And of course, thanks to Dino Rossi and his wife for coming down to Lewis County to share this special day with us.

Dino Rossi Coming to Lewis County Event

July 28th, 2008

On Monday evening, August 4^th, the Lewis County Republican Party will hold its annual âBlue Ribbonâ Republican Picnic and Desert Auction. The guest of honor will be none other than the immensely popular Republican candidate for Governor of Washington State, Dino Rossi.

Have you been wanting to meet Dino in person and perhaps even convey to him your own thoughts or questions about issues affecting Washington State? Then plan to come. This event is open to all. It is an opportunity you wonât want to miss!

The picnic will be held this year at the beautiful Bolender Horse Park in Silver Creek. The address is 131 Crater View Drive. The festivities will begin at 6:00 pm and last approximately until 8:00 pm. The cost to attend the picnic is $5.00 per person (under 3 and over 90 are free) and this includes fried chicken and beverages. Bring your own table service and if you can, bring a salad or side dish to share as well. If you have chairs and tables you can bring, this would also be helpful.

If you are âfamousâ for your pies, cakes, cookies or other baked goods (or even if you are not âfamousâ), bring your creations for the desert auction.

To get to the Bolender Horse Park, take I-5 to Hwy 12 (exit 68 ). Go East on Hwy 12 approximately 14.9 miles and turn left on Filbert Rd at mile marker 81. Go .1 mile and turn right onto Rockwood Rd. Turn left onto Crater View Rd at the Bolender Horse Park sign. Additional information about the Bolender Horse Park and a map are available at:

http://www.bolenderhorsepark.com/index.php?inc=6.

For more details or information on the event, please call Penny Mauel at (360) 740-9868 or (360) 304-8536. If you leave a message, she will get back to you.

Obstructing Justice

July 22nd, 2008

Deconstructing Harry

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) had the nerve to stand on the Senate floor and declare that no one cares about judicial confirmations. "I'm telling you, Madam President, I can't ever remember going home and somebody saying, 'Could you guys [confirm] some more judges? ...Frankly, judge[s] [aren't] a big issue."

This runs counter to what Senator Reid said after the Supreme Court upheld the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act - a decision he didn't like. The majority leader was quick to comment, "I would only say that this isn't the only decision that a lot of us wish that Alito weren't there and O'Connor were there."

His counterpart on the House side, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), had an even higher opinion of judges in 2005 after the Supreme Court Kelo ruling against land rights - which she liked. Her reply to the controversial decision was that when judges handed down a ruling it "was almost as if God has spoken."

On any issue we face today, activist judges are often literally making policy - frequently by overruling a complacent legislature.

If Senator Reid doesn't think judges matter, then perhaps he can explain why he's been so insistent on holding so many of President Bush's nominees hostage. Last week marked the one-year anniversary of Robert Conrad's nomination. Meanwhile, Mr. Peter Keisler has been waiting for more than 750 days to be treated fairly by the Democrats in Congress. A president's lasting legacy is marked by the judicial nominations he makes, and Senator Reid is making his own legacy one of obstruction.

Stripping Away Parents' Rights

June 27th, 2008

Who Has "Rights" and Who Does Not

Posted 06/26/08
From Human Events

While liberals like to talk about "rights", it is becoming ever clearer that those rights are only reserved for whomever the Democrats deem deserving. In the eyes of the Democratic leadership, men in dresses, homosexuals, and statutory rapists who bring underage children in for an abortion all deserve special rights. However, unborn children, Christians and conservative radio hosts do not.

One "special interest group" that the liberals have warred against over the years is parents. When it comes to issues like education, abortion, and medical information, today's liberals -- most of them Democrats -- have consistently supported legislation that removes any decision-making ability from a child's parents. Yesterday the House had a chance to vote on a Motion to Recommit (MTR) presented by Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) on H.R. 5876, the STOP Abuse Act. An MTR is a procedural move that returns a bill to committee to amend it. This MTR would have required parental consent before distributing any prescription medication, including contraception and Plan B. The Democratic leadership, fearing that rank-and-file Democrats would join the Republicans and protect parental rights, instead hastily pulled the bill from the House floor. House Republicans deserve praise for standing up for mothers and fathers -- it's a shame that the liberal leadership thinks they know better than parents what's best for children.

CANDIDATE SPOTLIGHT - Dino Rossi for Governor

April 25th, 2008

Candidate Spotlight - Dino Rossi for Governor
by Gary L. Dibble, Editorial Manager

The voters of Washington State will once again have the opportunity to elect an outstanding candidate - Dino Rossi - for Governor. Dino Rossi ran for Governor previously in 2004 and won, only to be deprived of victory by the voter fraud that was perpetrated in King County on a third recounting of ballots. Everyone knows Dino Rossi legitimately won that election, but neither the Democrat-controlled legislature nor the Democrat-appointed judiciary would intervene to invalidate the blatantly fraudulent King County results.

Easily one of the most likeable persons on the planet, Dino has thrown his hat in the ring again. Good thing for the people of Washinton State, because we desperately need a change in Olympia.

In the less than four years since she has been Governor, Christine Gregoire, the career bureaucrat, has increased the state budget by a whopping 33% and increased taxes by half a billion dollars. When she was running for governor she promised she would control the growth of state government and not increase taxes. As soon as she gained control of the helm of state government, she immediately set about breaking her promises. Together with the heavily Democratic-controlled state legislature, a runaway spending spree has been occurring the likes of which this state has never seen before! And she has done this despite dire predictions of massive deficits looming in the next several years.

Christine Gregoire's only answer to this is, of course, to further raise taxes on the already heavily-taxed residents of Washington State. The Cato Institute gave Gregoire an "F" grade in their 2006 Fiscal Policy Report Card on America's Governors. If Christine Gregoire is successful in winning a second term, she is committed to imposing an income tax on Washinton State wage earners - an idea the Democrats have been drooling over for years.

Dino Rossi, on the other hand, has already proven himself to be a prudent and adept steward of the state's revenues. As State Senator in 2003 he chaired the committee that wrote the state budget. Despit facing a multi-billion dollar deficit, he wrote a budget that paid for state services and protected Washington's most vulnerable citizens without raising taxes. Dino says: "I am committed to responsible state spending and efficient use of your tax dollars. I have a strong record of fiscal responsibility. It is what I stood for as state senator â and it is what I will stand for as your governor."

To learn more about Dino Rossi and his proposals to improve government in Washington State, visit his website at http://www.dinorossi.com.

A Tribute to Charton Heston

April 10th, 2008

Charlton Heston, Hollywood Rebel

by Mac Johnson

Posted: 04/08/2008

From Human Events

Charlton Heston has died. I did not know him; and so I will not endeavor to write an obituary of the private man, other than to acknowledge that those who knew him personally will feel his loss greatest. My sympathy is offered to them during the painful transition that always follows a death.

No, the obituary I want to write is that for the public man, who (in the strange but real way that is inherent in being a modern celebrity) became a part of the lives of millions who never met him.There are actors who are chameleons, who blend so seamlessly into the role they play that you cannot even recognize them at first, and this is a wonderful talent.

There are also actors who bring a powerful continuity to their roles, inserting key elements of their own personality into each character in a way that, paradoxically, increases the authenticity of the role. This too is a wonderful talent, and Charlton Heston was most definitely of this latter school of acting.

Any movie he appeared in became a âCharlton Heston movie.â He had a presence and a confidence that overwhelmed circumstances. Who else could offer up a powerful, moving and memorable performance in a movie in which he battled men riding horses in really bad monkey suits? Thatâs talent. And his same core-character was just as believable and moving when battling Romans or cowboys or meeting God and Jesus face to face.

Charlton Heston was simply cool. The source of that cool was his obvious confidence. The guy knew who he was. He was Charlton Heston -- even when he was Moses or Ben-Hur or a lost astronaut.

What he did with that confidence in the later years of his life, when most of us would be doing good just to check the mailbox regularly, was one of the most amazing things about him. He took his celebrity and presence and went into the political arena, fighting for the gun rights of millions of Americans who didnât have his access to media and power. Heston served as president of the National Rifle Association from 1998 to 2003.

Step back and consider what an act of real rebellion this was. It wasnât the plastic rebellion against traditional America that is so common and predictable in Hollywood. He could have had that safe and conformist claim to being a rebel just for the asking. Instead, Mr. Heston stood up and defended what he had been raised to believe in.

Traditional American government is about keeping power distributed in a way that supports freedom and protects against authoritarianism, including paternalistic authoritarianism. Property rights, voting rights, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and legal rights are all protected by law so as to keep a great deal of real power in the hands of individuals. This is what makes us free, to the extent that we still are.

Charlton Heston, like the founding fathers that encoded our political culture in the Constitution, understood that the distribution of power has to extend to that most direct and compelling form of power: the power of arms. Free men have a right to legitimate uses of violence -- and they have a right to the means to commit violence when necessary.

Think of the confidence it took for Heston to withstand the pressure of his peers later in life. When he stood up on a national stage as a celebrity, he could have urged us to save the whales or the ozone or Tibet or some other well-worn and unquestioned leftist clichÃ©. Instead, he lifted a patriotâs muzzleloader above his head and declared as a free man, with all the world watching, that government could take his gun only when they pried it âfrom my cold dead hands.

In Hollywood, itâs not rebellion to get stoned and drive your car into a pole anymore. Itâs not rebellion to trash your own culture or bemoan the constraints of tradition. Itâs rebellion to not do these things.

When Heston stood up on that stage that day, he was a true rebel. James Dean could have taken notes.

Even after his death, his powerful hands continue to grasp defiantly, through the rich legacy he has left us all.

Charlton Heston was 84.

Under Pelosi, House Rules Are Made to Be Broken

April 9th, 2008

Pelosi: House Rules Are Made to Be Broken

The military follows congressional orders. Unfortunately for Defense Secretary Robert Gates, the House leadership does not.

Earlier this year, the Pentagon refused a request by Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) to bring her lesbian partner on a military flight to Europe. Under House rules, only a legal spouse (or, in some instances, an adult child) is eligible to travel with members of Congress when space permits. Baldwin, who claims to have "married" Lauren Azar in 1998, insists on registering her girlfriend as a "spouse" on government forms even though her own home state doesn't recognize same-sex marriage.

Secretary Gates insisted that he was following Congress's own protocol in blocking Azar from the transport, but that didn't prevent Pelosi from contacting his office and demanding that he make an exception. According to Pelosi, former Speaker Dennis Hastert authorized similar trips. His former aides, however, disagree, saying that in at least one instance Hastert wasn't informed that Azar was on a trip "until it had already begun." Gates too was unaware of any prior exceptions but said that he would honor Pelosi's request if she issued an official letter approving it.

Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell points to the irony of the Speaker wanting to waive her own rules to create gay-friendly exceptions. "This is not an issue of DOD regulations," Morrell says. "Secretary Gates honored a request from Speaker Pelosi& but that's really as far as it goes. This should not be viewed as a precedent." Tell that to the Speaker of the House. Although the matter was temporarily resolved, the dispute is ongoing.

There is more behind this than a seat on a military plane, this is about hijacking the meaning of marriage. It is clear that the Speaker's actions are in direct conflict with the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)--a law that Congress passed and former President Bill Clinton signed.

Energy Independence - a Challenge for the 21st Century

March 12th, 2008

Energy Independence â A Challenge for the 21st Century
by Gary L. Dibble
Editorial Manager
Â
The available supplies of oil in this world are rapidly being depleted.Â That is a simple and immutable fact.Â It is estimated that we have passed the halfway point in using up the existing supplies of oil on this planet and are now heading rapidly down the backside of the supply curve.Â The discovery of new oil and gas fields has tapered off to almost nothing in recent years.Â At the same time, worldwide demand for oil is growing daily, which means that the pace of consumption of what is left of the worldâs oil reserves will increase exponentially, as will prices.

We have already seen the price of gasoline soar past $3.00 per gallon this year.Â Itâs headed for $5.00 - $8.00 per gallon in the near future.Â The associated increases in transportation and other energy-related costs are rippling through the economy and causing prices of food and other goods and services to soar as well.

At the same time, the pressure of increasingly steep energy costs are dragging down the economy and pushing us into recession.Â It wonât do any good to rail against âbig oilâ companies.Â It all boils down to supply versus demand.Â Supply is shrinking and demand is growing.Â Those trends are irreversible.

What then is the answer to this dilemma?

If there is one goal that we could pursue in this country that would come closest to being a panacea for a great many of the challenges that we as a nation face, it would be this â to achieve complete energy independence by developing clean, safe, renewable, alternative sources of energy.Â And do it as quickly as possible!

I threw in the word âsafeâ because I donât consider nuclear energy to be one of the alternative sources we should further pursue.Â What I am talking about are technologies to harness wind, solar, tidal, wave, biomass and hydrogen fuel sources of energy both on small-scale and on a large-scale commercial basis.

We are paying an enormous cost for our current dependence on fossil fuel sources of energy, particularly oil.Â These costs include:Â
Ã¼Â Â Â Â Â Massive amounts of pollutants emitted into the environment
Ã¼Â Â Â Â Â Increasingly steep prices as we see the worldwide demand for oil climb
Ã¼Â Â Â Â Â A weakening of the U.S. Dollar through inflation, as the increased cost of oil ripples through the economy driving up the cost of many goods and services
Ã¼Â Â Â Â Â Huge annual trade deficits due the large amount of oil that we need to import from foreign sources to satisfy our current level of usage in this country
Ã¼Â Â Â Â Â Political enslavement to the oil-producing countries from whom we need to import oil to satisfy our addiction â many of whom are countries who are fundamentally hostile to our interests

For example, it has been estimated that by building a single line of wind-generators running from north to south through the Great Plains states from North Dakota down through Kansas, that the entire energy needs of the country could be met from this means alone.Â In many parts of the country, particularly the Southwest, virtually every home and business could be individually powered by solar energy.Â Both ocean waves and tidal flows offer virtually unlimited sources of energy, similar to the hydro-electric technology that we have used in rivers for many decades, but of significantly larger scale.Â The technologies to commercially harness both wave and tidal energy sources are in their infancy, but are being developed primarily in other countries, such as Finland.Â Hydrogen fuel cell technology has the potential to fuel all automotive and transportation applications, providing a completely clean, unlimited source of energy.Â Biomass conversion simply means the conversion of alcohol-based fuel from organic sources. The technology can be developed to utilize any organic source, not just corn or soy beans.Â Yard waste, trash, wood chips or almost any carbon-based substance could theoretically be utilized.

The prospects of these various alternative energy technologies are exciting. But currently we are barely creeping along at a snails pace toward development and implementation, preferring instead to continue with our comfortable addiction to hydro-carbon fuels, as we watch our economy sink into the sunset and subject ourselves politically to the dictates of hostile nations who produce oil.

If we made a determined effort to drive forward in the development of clean, renewable alternative energy technologies, the benefits would be enormous.Â The environmental benefits are obvious.Â The associated costs for environmental remediation that would be saved are noteworthy.Â The U.S. balance of trade deficit could be completely erased by no longer needing to import oil.Â The major Inflationary factor of volatile and rapidly rising oil prices would be eliminated.Â The U.S. would be out from under the yoke of bondage to OPEC nations and would be free to pursue a foreign policy that was determined by what is in our own best interests without having to kowtow to the Saudis and others who are fundamentally not our friends.

As an added benefit, the large-scale development of these alternative energy sources would make the U.S. a technology leader again.Â We would become an exporter of these technologies to other countries.Â It would create jobs and usher in a new era of economic prosperity instead of the impending economic collapse that we see looming on the horizon.Â If we donât make a determined effort to drive forward in the development of clean, renewable alternative energy technologies, our economy, along with that of the rest of the developed world is going to eventually collapse as the supply of fossil fuels becomes exhausted.

Achieving energy independence by means of clean, alternative energy sources should be a primary goal of the political leaders of this nation.Â The associated benefits, that I have mentioned above, would improve the standard of living, the quality of life, and the political stability of the nation and of the world for generations to come.

The clock is ticking, as the worldâs oil reserves are rapidly disappearing.

Prince Harry The Hero Puts Europe to Shame

March 6th, 2008

Prince Harry The Hero Puts Europe to Shame

by Nile Gardiner

Posted: 02/29/2008
from Human Events

The revelation that Prince Harry has been courageously serving in Afghanistan for nearly three months (under a media blackout) should be applauded by all who believe that the war against Islamist terrorism is vital to the defense of the free world. As Chief of General Staff Sir Richard Dannatt stated, Harry is a âcredit to the nation,â and his bravery is a powerful demonstration that the British warrior spirit is still alive and well. The young prince has shown outstanding leadership and heroism, qualities so badly needed today, and his commitment is a shining example at a time when anti-war sentiment is continuing to flourish across the continent of Europe.

Spitzer Spits in the Eye of Life

February 20th, 2008

New York Governor Eliot Spitzer (D) is pushing a bill in his state's legislature that seeks to declare abortion a fundamental right for all women. The bill would make abortions virtually immune to state regulation, end conscience protections, and most likely force the numerous Christian-run hospitals in the state to close rather than be forced to violate their faith by carrying out abortions or referring women to abortuaries. The bill also would expand the field of people who can perform abortions while eliminating the possibility of passing restrictions that have wide public support, such as parental notification, informed consent laws, and waiting periods. Governor Spitzer rose to power in New York State with tremendous support from NARAL and Planned Parenthood, mainly due to his adamant support of abortion and his unbridled hostility towards pregnancy care centers. Coincidentally the two leading Democratic nominees for President, Senators Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Barak Obama (R-Ill.) are cosponsors of a similar bill in the U.S. Senate introduced by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calf.) that, if enacted, would effectively overturn most state laws on abortion. States, like Georgia, that are currently trying to reflect the pro-life majority among their population would be left with little choice but to subsidize abortions with taxpayer dollars if this legislation is passed and signed into national law.

Bill to Give Up U.S. Sovereignty - S2433 - sponsored by Barak Obama - this is the "Change" we will get

February 15th, 2008

Barak Obama's campaign for the presidency of the United States all revolves around one word: "CHANGE".Â That is all you hear at one of his rallys: "CHANGE we can believe it", "Together we can bring CHANGE", etc.Â Masses of supporters are mesmerized by his easygoing, appealing style, but never do you hear any substance.Â Very few people actually know what kind of "CHANGE" this man wants to impose on our country.Â Do you know?
There is a bill that has been quietly introduced in the U.S. Senate - S2433 - that would effect a massive forfeiture ofÂ our national sovereignty to international bodies, and require a huge payment of your tax dollars as well.Â Barak Obama is the primary sponsor of this piece of nightmare legislation.
Less than a day after the President agreed to put more money in taxpayers' pockets, the U.S. Senate is attempting to take those dollars back. The Global Poverty Act, while seemingly charitable and big-hearted, sounds nicer than the piece of Frankenstein legislation it actually is. Â Under a guise of Good Samaritanism, the bill would require our government to spend $845 billion above and beyond what America already spends on global foreign aid!Â In addition to surrendering more dollars, the U.S. would also be required to surrender some of its own sovereignty over foreign aid by putting it under UN control. Â The bill would force the U.S. to sign onto the U.N.'s Millennium Declaration, which would commit us not only to "banning small arms and light weapons," but also to ratifying a series of objectionable treaties such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the International Criminal Court Treaty, the Kyoto Protocol (global warming), the Convention on Biological Diversity, and other forms of international control.
In other words,Â thisÂ billÂ is aÂ potpourri of some of the major socialist, one-world goals of the ultra-liberals in this country rolled into one horrid piece of legislation.Â Kiss America good by!Â Here is Barak Obama's idea of "change".
Considering the magnitude of the legislation, one would think that the Senate would proceed with caution. Not so! In an effort to fast-track the bill, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has yet to hold a single hearing. Instead, S. 2433 is scheduled for a vote in the Committee as early as today. Currently, the bill has just seven sponsors, who besides Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.), include Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), Richard Durbin, (D-Ill.), Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.). Contact your senators and tell them to oppose S. 2433! Impoverishing Americans through oppressive taxation and regulation will never succeed in enriching the world.Â And subverting our rights and sovereignty under the U.S. Constitution to international organizations is not the kind of change we need.

Democrats Set to Wreck Successful African Aids Prevention Program

February 8th, 2008

Immediately following the President's remarks, Family Research Council's Government Affairs team rushed to a press conference on Capitol Hill in support of the highly successful President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Speakers at the press conference included Representative Chris Smith (R-N.J.), Pastor Rick Warren, Bishop Harry Jackson and Doctor Obielumani N. Ideh, an Ob-Gyn from Nigeria. All of these fine people are well qualified to speak on the positive effects of the PEPFAR program, and especially its emphasis on abstinence and being faithful, for they have witnessed it firsthand. Instead of seeking to continue this program of hope and life for the African continent the Democrats in Congress have drafted a bill that would hijack the PEPFAR program and turn it into a distributor of taxpayer funds to groups that support abortion. Page 11 of the current draft of the legislation being circulated reveals the Democratic Leaderships' true goal by claiming that pregnancy and sex within marriage,Â instead,Â are what constitute serious threats to women's health!! Can you imagine that? Please contact Members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee to let them know that the future of Africa should be one of life, not death.

Iraq's Progress, Safety and Blessing

January 11th, 2008

by Catherine Moy

from Human Events

Posted: 01/11/2008

Darkness surrounded her as the helicopter lifted, whipping the air around her with a reverberating thump, thump, thump. A tall blonde in a war-torn Middle Eastern land, Debbie Lee felt a familiar ache in her heart.

She stood in a Western Iraqi city where her son, Marc Alan Lee, gave his life. He was the first Navy SEAL to die while fighting terrorists in Iraq.

As she stepped onto the sand where her son was killed, Debbie Lee became the first mother to visit the city where her son died for America in the Iraq War. She walked through Camp Marc Lee and saw where her son slept and ate.

âI feel very blessed,â Lee said. âIt was a miracle to me to be where Marc was, to see what he saw and walk where he walked.â

President Challenges Congress to Advance Pro-Family Policies

January 28th, 2008

Washington, D.C. - Family Research Council (FRC) President Tony Perkins released the following statement praising the President for challenging Congress to act on issues important to families and the nation:

"President Bush, as would be expected, reflected on the last seven years. However, he also let it be known he was not accepting the lame duck status that the Democratic Leadership would unjustly paint him with.

"Among the challenges the President gave Congress included making the tax cuts passed in 2001 and 2003 permanent, curbing runaway spending and anonymous earmarks, creating educational scholarships for kids trapped in failing schools, confirming his judicial nominees and safeguarding faith-based groups and donations.

"A high mark came when the President explained how advances in science have made embryonic stem cell research obsolete and then called on Congress to pass a comprehensive cloning ban, ensuring as he put it, 'that all life is treated with the dignity it deserves.'

"The President articulated a list of pro-family policies that have the support of a majority of the American people. Now it is up to the Democratic leadership to take up the President's challenge or to ignore the will of the people."

Dino Rossi Back on the Campaign Trail

January 31st, 2008

After twice winning the 2004 governor's race in Washington State, only to be denied the governorship on the third counting of ballots in arguably the most fraudulent election in modern times, Dino Rossi is back for another try. He is now traveling throughout Washington state explaining why itâs important to hold Christine Gregoire accountable for her broken promises.

To learn more about Dino Rossi please visit his website at www.dinorossi.com.

In Case You Missed It: All Eyes On The Iraqi Army

January 7th, 2008

MAHMOUDIYA, IRAQ â The 10 rows of men stood ramrod straight, their right hands saluting in unison, their left arms stiffly at their sides, save for one in a plaster cast and sling.

Then, in a burst of collective energy, they raced out the door, crossed a vast field and hurled themselves onto an obstacle course of swinging ropes, muddy ditches, catwalks and towering walls.

Welcome to the new Iraqi army, or at least a tiny portion of it that U.S. and Iraqi officials hope will serve as a model for the rest. The mid-December event was a graduation at the new Iraqi Army Commando Course, and it provided a look at the progress being made and the challenges still facing the 160,000-strong army.