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Dear Gary,
Our next meeting will be on
Tuesday, December 4, 2007 at 7:00pm at
Galpin Ford, 15555 Roscoe Blvd (just east
of the 405), 2nd Floor Meeting Room, North
Hills. There is a $5.00 event fee, except for
first time visitors, students and guest speakers
who may attend at no cost.
The December meeting will feature
Assemblyman Cameron Smyth of the 38th
Assembly District.
Carolyn Blashek of OPERATION GRATITUDE
will also speak to us about the great work that
Operation Gratitude does in sending care
packages to our Armed Forces. Operation
Gratitude needs some volunteers to send holiday
packages to our troops.
Also, please read the section below about the
Support the Troops rally Friday night, November
16th in opposition of the showing of the
anti-American film,
"Redacted."
Read the section about contacting Senators to
get a "clean" troop funding bill passed.
I also want to remind you that the
January meeting will be on
Wednesday, January 9, 2008.
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Featured Speaker - Assemblyman Cameron Smyth
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38th Assembly District
Elected in 2006, Assemblyman Cameron Smyth is
honored to represent the 38th Assembly District,
which includes the cities of Los Angeles, Santa
Clarita, Simi Valley and Glendale.
Prior to being elected to the state legislature,
Assemblyman Smyth served on the Santa Clarita
City Council, where he was first elected in 2000
and subsequently re-elected in 2004 - he was
grateful to receive the highest number of votes
in both elections. During his time on the City
Council, Assemblyman Smyth twice served as
Mayor, first in 2003 and again in 2005.
In his first year as a Legislator, Assemblyman
Smyth was appointed as the Vice Chair of the
important Environmental Safety and Toxic
Materials Committee. The committee is charged
with oversight of issues pertaining to public
health and the environment. As Vice Chair,
Assemblyman Smyth seeks to direct the committee
towards scientifically sound policies that
promote a healthy environment and a strong
economy and oppose those that needlessly burden
the business community and drive our workforce
to other states.
Assemblyman Smyth has also been appointed to the
Utilities and Commerce Committee and the Local
Government Committee, two important committees
responsible for overseeing legislation affecting
many of California's most critical
infrastructure needs. As a member of these
committees, Assemblyman Smyth will fight to
ensure that our energy supply can meet our
growing demand, make certain that California law
is fluid and able to adapt to emerging
telecommunication technologies, and guarantee
that cities and counties maintain the authority
to make critical decisions about issues that
affect their residents.
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Operation Gratitude |
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Speaker - Carolyn Blashek
Hundreds of thousands of American troops are
deployed in hostile and remote regions of the
world, including the Middle East, Afghanistan,
Africa, Guantanamo Bay and on ships throughout
international waters. The physical conditions
they must endure are difficult and they may be
separated from loved ones for long periods of
time.
OPERATION GRATITUDE seeks to lift troops'
morale, and bring a smile to their faces by
sending care packages to service members
overseas.Operation Gratitude care packages
contain food, toiletries, entertainment items
and personal letters of appreciation, all
wrapped with good wishes of love and support.
Through Collection Drives, Letter Writing
Campaigns and Donations of requested items or
funds for shipping expenses, Oepration Gratitude
provides civilians anywhere in America a way to
express their respect and appreciation to the
men and women of the U.S. military in an active,
hands-on manner.
Operation Gratitude is a 501(c)(3) non-profit,
all-volunteer corporation,
funded entirely by private donations. For safety
and security, the assembling of all packages
occurs at the Army National Guard Armory in Van
Nuys, California. |
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Anti-American Film: "Redacted" |
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Rally to Support the Troops at the Laemmle
Theater
Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks has
funded a film produced by anti-war activist
Brian DePalma called "Redacted." The film is
about American troops in Iraq who rape an
innocent Iraqi girl and kill her family.
This is a anti-American film designed to make
the American Armed Forces look bad. It is in no
way favorable to America or its servicemen. The
danger of this film is that it will be shown on
Al-Jazeera and other Middle East venues to
Muslims who will think it is a documentary or
that it represents what American troops are
really like. It is likely to cause intense
anger against American troops in the Middle East
and may likely lead to the deaths of some of our
troops because of the anger it will engender.
In my view, producing a film like this in time
of war is not only anti-American, it is
treasonous.
In order to show our support of the troops and
our opposition to this movie, Eric Porvaznik of
the San Fernando Valley Republican Club is
organizing a Support the Troops rally at the
Laemmle Theater, 8000 Sunset Blvd. tomorrow
night, Friday, November 16th at 6:30PM.
We are encouraging everyone to come to the
theater Friday night and bring signs which say
"Support the Troops" and American flags. Look
for Eric. Let's have a great turnout to show
our displeasure at this despicable film.
Encourage people to boycott this film.
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Contact Senators about Troop Funding Bill |
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Democrats at it again
Six weeks into the fiscal year, the
Democrats finally managed to deliver for
President Bush's signature
one of the twelve appropriations bills
Congress must pass each year to fund federal
operations. (The President had to veto what
could have been the second of twelve because
Congress had overstuffed it with wasteful
spending.)
Especially disgraceful is the Democrats' refusal
to send the bill that funds veterans' health
care -- which President Bush is ready to sign.
The reason: They want to use veterans as
"leverage" to suction up more tax dollars for
their pet programs.
Of course, the biggest reason for Congress's
failure to get around to these "must-do" bills
is that
the Democrat leadership has wasted week after
week on measures aimed at securing
"defeat and
retreat" in Iraq.
Now, at a moment when the "surge" policy nearly
every Democrat opposed seems to be turning our
momentum toward victory,
our troops need Congress to act to ensure
the uninterrupted flow of vital funds.
But incredibly,
the Democrats have linked this vital funding to
a requirement that the the military abandon the
mission so many have served and sacrificed to
accomplish. Pelosi's House passed the
measure late last night, and Reid hopes to push
it through the Senate as soon as tomorrow.
Senate Republicans are pushing back--
demanding that the Senate fund the troops
without tying their hands and challenging their
Democrat colleagues to put the national interest
ahead of their endless quest to gain partisan
advantage from a defeat in Iraq.
Here's how you can help: Contact your
Senators and demand that they come through for
our troops and for our country by
1) supporting the "clean" troop funding bill
that Senators McConnell and Stevens have
introduced -- and any procedural vote aimed at
advancing that measure, and 2) opposing any
measure or procedural motion aimed at tying
troop funding to an artificial timeline.
Information about how to contact your U.S.
Senators can be found at
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
or by calling 202-224-3121.
The Democrats' defeat-at-any-cost strategy must
not be allowed to succeed.
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