Federal ‘Anti-Hate’ Bill Introduced In House

By Rev. Ted Pike
January 11th, 2007
Rev. Pike Interview

On January 5, Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee, D-Texas, quietly introduced the Anti-Defamation League’s federal hate crimes bill into the House of Representatives. This is the same hate bill she introduced two years ago, which was passed by the House in fall 2005. Previously called The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, this freedom-stealing legislation has been repeatedly defeated, usually as a result of public outcry and Republican opposition in Conference.

ADL has dramatically changed the title. It is now The David Ray Hate Crimes Prevention Act, HR 254, in memory of a Texan adolescent brutally sodomized with a metal pipe. Ray replaces Matthew Shepard as the new poster boy of hate law propaganda. Many in Congress will be inclined to pass this legislation with their sympathy votes.

Rep. Jackson-Lee’s office told me that since the House passed this bill in 2005, it could rapidly move to the floor for a vote. If there is strong bipartisan support in Congress for a defunct bill, it can be resurrected in committee in minutes, by calling for a vote of approval.

The hate bill enjoys this kind of strong bipartisan support; it passed the House previously by a large margin. We know for sure that ADL and Pelosi plan to have it ratified during their “first 100 hours.”

Take Action Now

Here’s what all lovers of free speech must do, preferably before the weekend:

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Escalation in the Middle East

By Rep. Ron Paul
January 15th, 2007

While the president’s announcement that an additional 20,000 troops would be sent to Iraq dominated the headlines last week, the real story was the president’s sharp rhetoric towards Iran and Syria. And recent moves by the administration only serve to confirm the likelihood of a wider conflict in the Middle East.

The president stated last week that, “Succeeding in Iraq also requires defending its territorial integrity- and stabilizing the region in the face of the extremist challenge. This begins with addressing Iran and Syria.” He also announced the deployment of an additional aircraft carrier battle group to the Persian Gulf, and the deployment of Patriot air missile defense systems to countries in the Middle East. Meanwhile, US troops stormed the Iranian consulate in Iraq and detained several Iranian diplomats. Taken together, the message was clear: the administration intends to move the US closer to a dangerous and ill-advised conflict with Iran.

As I said last week on the House floor, speculation in Washington focuses on when, not if, either Israel or the U.S. will bomb Iran– possibly with nuclear weapons. The accusation sounds very familiar: namely, that Iran possesses weapons of mass destruction. Iran has never been found in violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and our own Central Intelligence Agency says Iran is more than ten years away from producing any kind of nuclear weapon. Yet we are told we must act immediately while we still can! (more…)