National Health Care We need Health care reform - two nearly free ways to lose hundreds of BILLIONS in cost are Medical malpractice tort reform and Individual Portable Group Rate Health Insurance. ONE -- Anyone hurt by incompetence deserves his day in court and compensation - say treble damages tops - but not hundreds of millions for attorneys. TWO -- Individual Portable Insurance at Group rates. The insurance companies customers are a group, are they not? The but not this Obamanation. This is the health care bill that is nothing less than the end of any resemblance to liberty or a people making their own decisions about their very lives. The first link is fairly easy to navigate and is the easily readable version - read for yourself - Don't take at face value what others spread for their own purposes. The second is a fully searchable pdf. Just key in anything you have heard and see if its in there! Congressman Tanner's Fairness and Independence in Redistricting Act (H.R. 2642) The Fairness and Independence in Redistricting Act, introduced by Representative John Tanner, would make important improvements to our congressional elections. The Act would require state legislatures to appoint independent commissions that would be responsible for redrawing district boundaries. These commissions would draw district boundaries in accordance with the provisions of the Voting Rights Act, and could not draw lines based on partisanship alone. As a result, the redistricting process would become independent of partisan manipulation. In addition, the Act would only allow redistricting to occur once every ten years. The United States Constitution requires congressional seats to be reapportioned among the states after each decennial census in order to ensure compliance with the one-person one-vote criteria, the federal Voting Rights Act, and traditional redistricting principles such as compact and contiguous districts. Redistricting, however, has often turned into a means to further political goals as boundaries have consistently been drawn that tend to protect incumbents and reduce competition. Generally, state legislators and governors re-draw the boundaries of the US House districts, but the process varies among states. In twelve states, the legislature does not have final authority to redistrict. Alaska, Idaho and Arizona recently became part of these twelve states as they used a redistricting commission for the first time in 2000. Only six states – Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Jersey, and Washington – give authority for congressional line drawing to a commission. Iowa uses an independent commission to develop plans which are later approved by the legislature. The Fairness and Independence in Redistricting Act would bring uniformity to the way in which districts are redrawn. Clearly some states have implemented fairer processes, while other states continue to use redistricting to solidify the governing party's grasp on power. The way in which legislative lines are drawn has a major impact on who wins and who loses. As a result, it is only logical that such authority by delegated to independent commissions. In 2001-2002, nearly every political jurisdiction in the nation adjusted its legislative district lines based on new information provided by the U.S. Census. In addition, Texas re-adjusted its districts in 2003. The Tanner bill could end such blatant partisan manipulation of the redistricting process by prohibiting mid-decade redistricting. Call all Parents and Grandparents: bring it to the attention of all School Administrations and Teachers. REGARDING THE OBAMA LESSON PLAN: SEC. 1017. PROTECTION OF PUPILS. Section 439 of the General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g) is amended to read as follows: "PROTECTION OF PUPIL RIGHTS (a) All instructional materials, including teacher's manuals, films, tapes, or other supplementary material which will be used in connection with any survey, analysis, or evaluation as part of any applicable program shall be available for inspection by the parents or guardians of the children. "(b) No student shall be required, as part of any applicable program, to submit to a survey, analysis, or evaluation that reveals information concerning-- "(1) political affiliations; "(2) mental and psychological problems potentially embarrassing to the student or his family; "(3) sex behavior and attitudes; "(4) illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating and demeaning behavior; "(5) critical appraisals of other individuals with whom respondents have close family relationships; "(6) legally recognized privileged or analogous relationships, such as those of lawyers, physicians, and ministers; or "(7) income (other than that required by law to determine eligibility for participation in a program or for receiving financial assistance under such program), without the prior consent of the student (if the student is an adult or emancipated minor), or in the case of an unemancipated minor, without the prior written consent of the parent. "(c) Educational agencies and institutions shall give parents and students effective notice of their rights under this section. "(d) ENFORCEMENT.--The Secretary shall take such action as the Secretary determines appropriate to enforce this section, except that action to terminate assistance provided under an applicable program shall be taken only if the Secretary determines that-- "(1) there has been a failure to comply with such section; and "(2) compliance with such section cannot be secured by voluntary means. "(e) OFFICE AND REVIEW BOARD.--The Secretary shall establish or designate an office and review board within the Department of Education to investigate, process, review, and adjudicate violations of the rights established under this section.". We need to get this out to all parents so they can bring it to the attention of all Schools and Teachers.