January  11, 2001

Texas Eagle Forum News & Notes

EDUCATIONAL CONFERENCE WILL REVEAL WHY SOME JOHNNYS HATE AMERICA.
Missouri Eagle Forum leader Donna Hearne sends word that this year's Educational Policy Conference (January 24-26 in St. Louis) will address the question, not of "Why Johnny Can't Read," but of "Why does one Johnny hate America and another love it?" Knowing that answer could save America, she says.

The opening sessions will analyze the character of "Taliban John," with speakers Christina Hoff Sommers (author of The War Against Boys), Dr. Jonathan Wells (author of Icons of Evolution), Scott Lively (speaking about Gays and Lesbians in the classroom), Karen Holgate (speaking on Hate Crimes), Marilyn Boyer (on Communitarianism) and Senator Joan Gubbins (on Standards and Thought Control). Other outstanding speakers include Senator Michele Bachmann on the new federal education law, and Dr. Karen Effrem speaking on Baby Education. The Friday evening session will turn to examining solutions to these problems, climaxing with Summit Ministries' David Noebel speaking on Understanding the Times. Eagle Forum President Phyllis Schlafly will speak Saturday on our need for a common language, and other highlights include a talk on the Founding Fathers' Understanding of Human Nature by John Stormer.

To register for the Educational Policy Conference or to obtain more information, call 1-800-352-1175 or 314-878-2747.

SENATE TO TAKE UP CLONING ISSUE.
The Washington Times (1-7-02) reports that the U.S. Senate will take up and debate "shortly" the House-passed bill that outlaws human cloning. It calls for a jail sentence of ten years and a $1 million fine for anyone found guilty of cloning a human embryo. Advanced Cell Technology of Massachusetts recently claimed to have done just that, with much fanfare; but the Times notes, "...some of the nation's most respected geneticists and researchers dispute the supposed breakthrough. They say the organisms that Advanced Cell created, and which quickly died, were merely agglomerations of cells, not embryos." The debate over the morality of cloning human beings rages on. A Kentucky-based reproduction physiologist, Panayiotis Zavos, claims that he has been begged by some 3,000 infertile couples to help them clone a "biological child of their own," and that he intends to help them. Geneticist and University of California professor Paul R. Billings replied that those who attempt to clone humans "should be treated as what they are criminals." However, the Times points out that inasmuch as a majority of senators went on record last year supporting expanded stem-cell research, they are unlikely to pass the cloning ban.

ALAN KEYES TO HOST NIGHTLY MSNBC TV SHOW SEEKS VOLUNTEERS TO APPEAR WITH HIM.
Conservatives are thrilled to learn that former Presidential candidate and Reagan UN Ambassador Alan Keyes will soon be seen for an hour every week night on MSNBC. His program, "Alan Keyes is Making Sense" will premier on January 21, and will air at 10 PM EST. It is described as a "live one-hour talk show providing in-depth analysis and commentary on the issues of the day from politics, economics to the various cultural hot buttons." It will originate from Washington. Eagle Forum's Washington legislative director Lori Waters sends word that the second half of each program will feature conversations with "ordinary Americans" about their opinions on the topic(s) of the day. If you or someone you know would like to appear with Alan one evening, please e-mail Lori at: lori@eagleforum.org.

NO GENDER GAP ON SUPPORT FOR WAR ON TERRORISM.
Liberal Democratic pollster Celinda Lake reports that "This is the first war in which polls have shown American women to be as supportive of the hostilities as men." Internet columnist Andrew Sullivan comments, "Bush's clear defense of innocent American Muslims, his humanitarian efforts in Afghanistan, his wife's public support for Afghan women all these have helped erase the president's biggest political liability. This is big news. And the economy may be perking up as well. If I were a Democrat, I'd be worried right now." www.andrewsullivan.com

SHORTAGE OF AIRCRAFT CARRIERS CHARGED.
Rep. Jo Ann Davis (R, VA), who represents the Norfolk area, a naval and ship-building center, circulated a "Dear Colleague" letter December 17 in which she states, "Our current force of aircraft carriers are being stretched to their limit. Pilots are now flying so many sorties they must be medically cleared for their flight hours. Any argument that we need fewer carriers should now be laid to rest." She includes a Dec. 14 Associated Press article headlined "Pilots Pushed to Limits in Afghanistan," which notes that in Desert Storm, aircraft did not spend more than three hours flying, while in this war, "F-14B Tomcats and F/A-18C Hornet fighter jets have spent five to nine hours in the air pounding Taliban and al-Qaida targets."

G.O.P. CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE PREDICTS 10-SEAT GAIN FROM REDISTRICTING.
In the wake of Republican redistricting victories in Pennsylvania and New Mexico, Carl Forti, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, which raises funds and assists GOP congressional candidates, is quoted as saying "Nothing that's happened yet has been drastic enough to change that, and according to our models we're still going to net eight to ten seats."
The narrow balance in the House of Representatives today is 222 Republicans to 211 Democrats; and the party of the President is traditionally expected to lose seats in the mid-term elections. However, with more than half of the states having completed their redistricting, the Democrats say they do not expect a bonus. A spokesman for their redistricting task force, Greg Speed, says the outcome will be "a wash." Washington Times (1-7-02)

MORE BIOFRAUD EXPOSED.
The Washington Times has apparently coined a term, "biofraud," for a growing problem: unethical environmentalists' attempts to deceive our government about the existence of certain "endangered" species of animals in key locations. First it was an attempt to plant hairs from a Canadian lynx in a national forest by U.S. Forestry Service employees to trick the government into restricting recreation and use of natural resources in the area. Now another incident has surfaced. Washington legislator Bob Sump, co-chairman of the Natural Resources Committee, says that last March, a state employee a fish and a wildlife biologist asked a taxidermist for grizzly bear hair samples. The taxidermist refused, and reported the incident. If he had not, the samples could have been used to taint a grizzly habitat study encompassing 3,600 square miles, and could have affected recreation, timber, mining, road construction and other human activities in the area. Rob Gordon of the National Wilderness Institute, says, "Unfortunately, the lynx biofraud is not an isolated event but an egregious example of a serious malady that has infected environmental regulatory agencies."

PROF. VIRGINIA ARMSTRONG RETIRES.
National Chairman of Eagle Forum's Court Watch, Dr. Virginia Armstrong, Senior Professor of Political Science and Legal Studies, has taken early retirement from Hardin-Simmons University after 34 years with the University. The University granted Dr. Armstrong the special rank of "Senior Professor," which is a distinction granted for "exceptional contributions in teaching, research, and service to the University." Only 5% of the faculty can hold this honor rank at any one time, and she is the only female member in HSU's history to be named to this honor. She is also the longest-tenured female member of the current faculty. Now that she's retired, Virginia plans to expand her public speaking, writing, research, and media work with Eagle Forum's Court Watch.

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