March 10, 2015
Please take a few minutes to both pray and take action on these important issues.
Sunday, March 1- Wednesday, March 4
Israel
State Director Bev Ehlen attended the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Policy Conference in Washington, D.C. Tuesday was the day they lobbied on Capitol Hill regarding support for Israel. The only topic covered this year was the situation with Iran. It is so important that the United States does not accept a bad deal regarding Iran and its path to nuclear arms. Bev was a group leader for those who met with Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer. All ten Missouri members of Congress were visited by Missouri AIPAC members.
Take Action: Read CWA’s recent article on the subject, Iran Agreement Needs Congressional Approval.
Tuesday, March 3
Education
Legislative Liaisons Linda Laird and Sherry Kuttenkuler attended the Families for Home Education (FHE) Homeschool Rally. Sherry has three home school students in her own home. They accompanied their mother that day. The morning and early afternoon hearings were cancelled to allow the members of the Missouri General Assembly to attend the funeral service for State Auditor Tom Schweich.
They attended some hearings that were scheduled for late afternoon.
Wednesday, March 4
Truth Project
Missouri Alliance for Freedom (MAF) and CWA of Missouri have teamed up to sponsor breakfast and the showing of the weekly DVD study The Truth Project. The Truth Project is a twelve-subject world view study and is held on Wednesday mornings at 7:00 a.m. in Hearing Room 4. Our topic on Wednesday, March 4, was Lesson 5/Part 1 – Science: What is True? Sherry Kuttenkuler and Linda Laird along with Jeremy Cady of MAF graciously set up and cleaned up from the breakfast.
Convention of the States
The remainder of the day was spent visiting with representatives and attending the hearings that were scheduled on the bills regarding the Convention of the States or Article V Convention.
In the Emerging Issues Committee, HB 376 sponsored by Mike Moon (R-157) was heard. HB376 establishes the Article V Convention Act. CWA of Missouri opposes HB 376.
HCR 14, sponsored by Mike Moon (R-157), was heard. HCR 14 “Applies to Congress for the calling of an Article V Convention amendment to the United States Constitution which place limits on the federal government.” CWA of Missouri opposes HB 14.
HCR 19, sponsored by Eric Burlison (R-133), was also heard. “Applies to Congress for the calling of a convention to propose certain amendments to the United States Constitution which place limits on the federal government.” CWA of Missouri opposes SCR 19.
The Senate Rules, Joint Rules, Resolutions and Ethics Committee heard SCR 19 sponsored by Sen. Kurk Schaefer (R-19). SCR 19. “Applies to Congress for the calling of an Article V convention of the states to propose certain amendments to the U.S. Constitution which place limits on the federal government.” This resolution is identical to HCR 14 (2015).
There was testimony on both sides of these bills calling for an Article V Convention.
You may be asking why calling for such a convention would be such a bad idea. Phyllis Schlafly of Eagle Forum states, “We already have a U.S. Constitution that has withstood the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune for more than two centuries, and we don’t need a new constitution. There is nothing wrong with the one we have except that politicians are not obeying it and judges are indulging in too much activism—” Tom DeWeese of the American Policy Center states, “—As I have reported many times, this is a very dangerous thing to do. But proponents simply reject our arguments that a Convention of the States cannot be controlled. There are powerful forces with lots of money who are telling these officials that it can be controlled simply by passing a resolution saying so. And they argue that even if bad things come out of a Convention of the States they still have to be ratified by a majority of states and so that is the safe-guard. They are wrong on all counts.”
Under Article V of the U.S. Constitution, Congress “shall call” a Constitutional Convention to propose “Amendments” (s) if two-thirds (34) of the states request one. The U.S. Constitution which George Washington and James Madison called a “miracle” would be subjected to not just the will of the people, but to powerful groups who have their own agenda and to the media hype that has not only prevailed in influencing elections but in persuading the culture to change through cleverly crafted media campaigns.
This Week’s Activities and More
This week will be the Pro-Life Action Day on Tuesday sponsored by Missouri Right to Life. Registration begins at 10:30 a.m. in the first floor rotunda. Carol Tobias, President of National Right to Life will be the keynote speaker. This will be an excellent opportunity for you to “lobby” your state representative and state senator on behalf of the sanctity of human life. Be sure to stop by our table!
On Tuesday evening, CWA of Missouri is sponsoring a movie night for the members of the Missouri General Assembly and staff. We will be showing Sophie Scholl, The Final Days. Sophie Scholl and her brother Hans were students at University of Munich who were executed by guillotine 72 years ago for actively opposing the Third Reich during World War II. As members of The White Rose, this brother and sister knew the risks of their leaflet campaign to inform their fellow Germans about the atrocities against Jews, Gypsies, and people in their country who had the courage to stand for what was right, no matter what the cost.
CWA of Missouri will be sponsoring another Liberty First 2015 Tour featuring teaching by KrisAnne Hall. We scheduled this tour to coincide with the Missouri General Assembly’s Spring Break.
Take Action: We urge our members who live within thirty minutes of each seminar to make plans to attend and then contact their state representative and state senator and ask them to attend the three-hour seminar. This seminar will be very helpful to those state and local office holders in understanding the history of our republic and their role as a public office holder. Click here to find out who your state representative and state senators are as well as their contact information.
We ask for your prayers, financial support and participation. We are an all-volunteer organization. Each of the ladies travel to the Capitol, pay for gas for their cars and overnight stays, food away from home, etc. It would be great to have some individuals step up and “Sponsor a Legislative Liaison.” This money could go directly to reimburse a Legislative Liaison for some of her expenses. Think about it, pray about it and contact us should the Lord move you to “Sponsor a Legislative Liaison.”