The Friday Faxline
Issue 371, August 27, 2004
Judge Rules Partial-Birth Abortion Law Unconstitutional
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Richard C. Casey ruled that the law prohibiting the horrific procedure known as partial birth abortion must include provisions for preserving the health of the mother exemption. Unfortunately, activist judges continue to overrule the will of the people. In April 2004, a Zogby International survey found that 65 percent of the American public believes abortions should not occur when fetal brainwaves are detected, which occurs during early pregnancy.
Progress in Iraq Continues
Iraqis worked together on a peace deal to end three weeks of fighting in Najaf. At the direction of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, rebel cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his rebel fighters have agreed to withdraw from the holy city. U.S. and coalition forces have agreed to do the same at the direction of Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.
New Overtime Pay Regulations Benefit Employees
The Department of Labor's FairPay Overtime initiative changes the 50-year old Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to actually strengthen overtime pay protections and benefit American workers; that's why I supported these changes when they passed the House in H.R. 2673 on December 8, 2003, by a vote of 242 to 176. The final rule clarifies and updates the FLSA's old regulations that were written in 1949, which referenced outdated jobs, such as keypunch operators. The new rule now guarantees for the first time ever that "blue collar" workers have a right to overtime pay.
Justice Department Cracks Down on Peer-to-Peer Networks
On Wednesday, the Department of Justice carried out its first action in its criminal investigation into file sharing over peer-to-peer (P2P) networks when it seized computers, software and equipment from a network under investigation for illegal file sharing of copyrighted material. Attorney General John Ashcroft said the execution of Wednesday's warrants "disrupted an extensive peer-to-peer network suspected of enabling users to traffic illegally in music, films, software and published works." P2P programs are becoming an ever more dangerous platform used by child predators - some convicted child molesters - to attack our children. That is why I introduced H.R. 2885, the Protecting Children from Peer-to-Peer Pornography Act, to combat the growing dangers of child pornography traded over P2P file sharing networks.
Bush Denounces Ads by 527 Groups
This week President Bush called for an end to all ads from 527 groups. President Bush called on Sen. John Kerry to join him in condemning advertising activities of the 527s, and said that they are "bad for the system." President Bush, whose own military service has been attacked by these groups, and Sen. John McCain went a step further today speaking of plans to file a lawsuit seeking to prohibit the operation of 527s. MSNBC reported that the top 10 individual donors to these independent groups, and 34 out of the 50 largest groups, are allied with Democrats or anti-Bush groups.
Quote of the Week
"We each have our own reasons for rallying behind the President-whether it is the leadership he has provided in the War on Terror, reducing the tax burden for families and businesses, or standing firm to strengthen American families. We are all Democrats and we all agree these times demand a President that provides steady, consistent leadership in changing and challenging times and that man is President George W. Bush."
Sen. Zell Miller (D-GA), Democrats for Bush Chairman announcing growing grassroots team of Democrats for President Bush