Washington, U.S.A. — The U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress (FMC) will recognize former Congresswoman Giffords’ inspirational public service. FMC will also name Congresswoman Connie Morella as FMC’s new president.

The U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress will present Congresswoman Gabrielle “Gabby” Giffords with the organization’s 2012 “Distinguished Service Award.” The award is presented to a member of Congress who has demonstrated a record of outstanding public service, dedication to public service and improving the lives of every American.

On Tuesday, July 10, at 9:15 a.m. in the Chamber of the House of Representatives, Representative Debbie Wasserman-Schultz will accept the Distinguished Service Award on behalf of Congresswoman Giffords. The award is presented each year to a former member of Congress who has demonstrated an exemplary dedication to public service and to improving the lives of our citizenry.

Congresswoman Giffords has worked tirelessly to represent not only Arizonans, military families, and veterans, but all Americans. She has reached across party lines to forge bipartisan solutions to the nation’s problems. After the tragic events of January 8, 2011, Giffords continues to inspire Americans with her strength, courage, and bravery and perseverance.

January 8, 2011 is a day that will remain in infamy for Giffords and all Americans when a gunman shot Giffords and eighteen other people at a meeting in a supermarket parking lot. The gunman, Jared Lee Loughner killed six of his victims including a nine-year-old girl and Arizona District Court Chief Judge John Roll. Loughner was eventually found incompetent to stand trial based on two separate medical evaluations.

During the ceremony, former Congresswoman Connie Morella (R-MD, 87-03) will be named president for a two-year term, and the second woman to ever hold that office.

Past award recipients of FMC’s Distinguished Service Award include: John Warner, Bob Dole, George Mitchell, Albert Gore, Jr., Lindy Boggs, and Bill Richardson, among others. A detailed agenda of the July 10 event is available on www.usafmc.org.

Image Courtesy of  United States Congress (http://giffords.house.gov/MilitaryHiRes.jpg) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

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Washington, U.S.A. – After receiving nothing short of a landslide of support from national GOP leaders, congressional candidate Joe Kaufman returned triumphantly from Washington, DC as the apparent frontrunner to unseat Debbie Wasserman Schultz in Florida’s 23rd District.

Kaufman garnered enthusiastic support from former Presidential candidates Herman Cain, Speaker Newt Gingrich, Senator Rick Santorum and other Republican leaders.

Kaufman was invited to speak in Washington, along with Senator Marco Rubio, at the kick-off luncheon of the Faith & Freedom Coalition conference, where he received a rousing round of applause.

“I’m delighted to be supporting Joe Kaufman because he is a true patriot,” said Herman Cain. “We have a lot of people in Washington DC who are there for the wrong reasons, and I’m proud to be supporting Joe in his run to unseat Debbie Wasserman Schultz. When we have more people like Joe in Washington, DC, we would truly have a Congress for the people and not a Congress for the politicians. So good luck Joe.”

“I’m very much for Joe Kaufman beating Debbie Wasserman Schultz.  I think it would be good for America,” said Speaker Newt Gingrich.

“I can’t think of any other member of Congress that I would like to see replaced more than Debbie Wasserman Schultz, so I wish Joe the very, very best,” said Senator Rick Santorum .

Others praising and expressing strong support for Kaufman included Grover Norquist who stated, “well I think Debbie Wasserman has been a little bit of a disappointment as a congresswoman and Joe Kaufman would be certainly trading up on issues of importance…”

Kenneth Blackwell stated, “Joe is a champion of liberty and represents what will maintain American exceptionalism and I am proud to be part of this team.”

Dr. Carlos Campos said, “my feeling about Joe Kaufman is that he stands for conservative principles that really allow for freedom to exist in our country and worldwide.”

Dr. Daniel Pipes stated, “I am delighted that Joe is running against DWS and I hope that she gets her pink slip in 2012.”

Foster Friess also commented, stating, “Joe would bring items to the floor that maybe Debbie isn’t too excited about, so I heartily endorse Joe’s efforts…”

Image Courtesy of  Joe Kaufman

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Many regard the Supreme Court decision Roe vs. Wade as a significant step forward in women’s reproductive rights. The decision, handed down in 1971, affirmatively answered the question of whether women had the right to terminate their pregnancies through abortions.

However, as the case celebrates its 39^th anniversary, there are concerns that the progress made in granting women full control of their bodies will soon be for naught.

“Despite the fact that the majority of Americans believe that women have the right to make deeply personal decisions about their health care, the attacks on abortion have been unrelenting,” said Lillian Tamayo, the CEO of Planned Parenthood.

Tamayo firmly contends that this progress must not see hindrance, an opinion that she made known outside the Federal Building in Broward, Fl. on January 22 at 3 p.m.  Tamayo was one of an estimated 100 attendees at a Pro-Choice Rally held at the courthouse to not only recognize the impact of Roe v. Wade on women’s rights, but to encourage those present to not allow their leaders to take those rights away.

Other persons who turned out at the Rally included additional members of Planned Parenthood, representatives from the Pro-Choice Coalition of Broward County, as well as a group of medical students from Nova. Each of these individuals spent equal amounts of time waving their signs on the sides of the street, to appreciative honks and waves from drivers, as well as listening to individuals make their opinions known about the tenuous state of women’s reproductive rights.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a senator from Florida and Chairperson of the Democratic National Committee, also appeared at this rally, along with Patrick Murphy and Lois Frankel – two people who are aiming to join Mrs. Schultz in the Congressional halls. Frankel and Murphy are both aiming for the seat occupied by Rep. Allen West. Frankel expressed particular disgust at his obstinate attitude:

“He is uncompromising and bombastic at a time where we need to roll up our sleeves and work together,” Frankel said. Frankel chose to attend this rally to continue her fight for women’s rights. She thought it was important for women to have the tools necessary to make key life decisions concerning their pregnancies.

She was quick to point out that West has used his time in Congress to regress the rights of women. “He voted for the Ryan bill, a proposal that would have limited a woman’s access to maternity care. He has also voted to defund Planned Parenthood and has chastised women who support Planned Parenthood’s values,” she said.

Murphy also expressed revulsion at West’s actions and attitude, mentioning that voters deem his style of leadership unacceptable. “Voters want an individual who will move the country forward, as well as someone who is qualified enough to understand the issues of the day,” he said. Murphy expressed confidence that he could be that person; jobs are what voters are thinking about, and should he win, that issue will be top priority.

“The first action I would take should I be elected is to promote the President’s American Jobs Act,” he said. Wasserman Schultz also took the time to reference the President when it was time for her to address the audience; she noted his bravery in standing up to anti-choice groups by protecting the birth control coverage benefit portion of the Affordable Care Act.

“Having a president that will stand up for women and their rights is crucial,” she noted. As she continued speaking to the audience, she pointed out that legal abortion actually helps in keeping women safe, stating that in 1965, 20 percent of all reported maternal deaths were due to illegal abortions.

Moreover, she encouraged abortion detractors to find common ground with abortion supporters, rather than undermine their efforts. “Instead of working against us by voting to defund Title X Family Planning programs for women who need them most, work with us to make abortion safe, legal and rare,” she said.

Wasserman Schultz remarked on how the Republicans in the House of Representatives have addressed bills that aim to defund Planned Parenthood and redefine rape to where it only included “forcible” actions. “This is what we are up against,” she said, and used this point to emphasize the importance of speaking out to make sure that women are able to retain their reproductive rights.

The DNC Chairwoman’s speech brought cheers from the audience upon its completion. Lauren Bello, part of the Broward Youth Council, found Wasserman Schultz’s words “inspiring”. “It is a good eye opener for young people to vote on these issues, which are far more important than people give them credit for,” she said.

Estee Rosenberg Paviled, a realtor and artist, hoped that the DNC Chairwoman’s message would resonate with members of Congress and make them cease their assault on women’s rights. “I think it is terrible how they are trying to turn the clocks back on a woman’s right to choose. We need to keep government out of our bedrooms,” she said.

As a new Congressional session progresses, each of the attendees at the rally made it clear that they were going to keep a close eye on how members of Congress vote on women’s rights. “Women are going to be watching them closely and taking names,” said Tamayo.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.flickr.com/photos/us-mission/

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Real Time With Bill Maher kicks off its tenth season tonight Friday 13, exclusively on HBO, with an instant replay at 11PM following the live presentation. Allowing Maher to offer his unique perspective on contemporary issues, the show includes an opening monologue, roundtable discussions with panelists, and interviews with in-studio and satellite guests.

The roundtable guests this week are commentator David Frum, director Rob Reiner and Fla. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz; documentary filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi is an interview guest.

A favorite of subscribers since his first special on the network in 1989, Maher has starred in nine solo specials on HBO, including the hour-long presentations “Bill Maher…But I’m Not Wrong,” “The Decider” and “I’m Swiss” (both nominated for an Emmy in the Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special category), “Victory Begins at Home,” “Be More Cynical,” “The Golden Goose Special” and “Stuff That Struck Me Funny,” and two half-hour stand-up specials, plus the HBO specials “30 Seconds Over Washington” and “Comic Relief VI™.”

Maher was the creator and host of “Politically Incorrect,” which was produced by HBO Downtown Productions and debuted on Comedy Central in 1993. The series moved to ABC in 1997 and ran through 2002.

His lastest book, “The New New Rules: A Funny Look at How Everybody but Me Has Their Head Up Their Ass,” was published in November and made the New York Times bestseller list. Maher’s 2006 book, “New Rules: Polite Musings from a Timid Observer,” also made the New York Times bestseller list, as well as bestseller lists across the country.

He is also author of the books “When You Ride Alone You Ride with Bin Laden: What the Government Should Be Telling Us to Help Fight the War on Terrorism,” “Does Anybody Have a Problem with That? The Best of Politically Incorrect” and the novel “True Story.”  Maher produced and starred in the 2008 feature film “Religulous,” the seventh most successful documentary of all time.

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Republicans found a new fake controversy to jump on. Just when you thought they might actually talk about jobs and the economy, they found a new distraction-James Hoffa telling people to vote out the Tea Party.

During a Labor Day rally, Teamsters President James Hoffa called out the Tea Party. “We’ve got to keep an eye on the battle that we face — a war on workers. And you see it everywhere. It is the Tea Party, and there’s only one way to beat and win that war — the one thing about working people is we like a good fight.”

Hoffa went on. “President Obama, this is your army, we are ready to march. But everybody here’s got to vote. If we go back, and keep the eye on the prize, let’s take these sons-of-bitches out.” However, that is not the version Fox News likes to recount, over and over. Sort of like the Black Panthers thing during 2008.

Fox edits out the part about voting so it sounds like Hoffa is inciting violence. Not the kind of violence that Palin incites with a crosshair, but still…

The Republicans are demanding that President Barack Obama apologize for Hoffa’s remarks. Upon taking the microphone afterwards, did President Obama condemn this call to violence against Republicans? No. In fact, President Obama did the opposite: he praised Mr. Hoffa,” read a fundraising email by the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC).

Executive Director Rich Jesmer continued, “By failing to condemn them, President Obama once again demonstrated a failure of leadership. And President Obama knows this.” Fox and Friends host Gretchen Carlson used her show to rally against the comments as well.

Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz was a guest on Fox and Friends to discuss Obama’s job plan, but of course Carlson pounced on Wassserman Schultz about Hoffa’s comments. Wasserman Schultz declined to comment on Hoffa’s remarks but Carlson continued to press about the “violent language.”

Wasserman Schultz eventually had enough and turned on Carlson. “How many times have you called out coarse language at Tea Party rallies on this network. Almost never,” the congresswoman said. Hoffa has stood by his remarks and is refusing to apologize. “We didn’t start this war — the right wing did,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.

“My comments on Labor Day in Detroit echo the anger and frustration of American workers who are under attack by corporate-funded politicians who want to destroy the middle class. We’re tired of seeing good-paying jobs shipped overseas. This fight is about the economy, it’s about jobs and it’s about rebuilding America.

As I said yesterday in Detroit, we all have to vote in order to take these anti-worker politicians out of office.”

Image Courtesy of  http://www.facebook.com/jimhoffa

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