Please help former Senator Al Melvin get on the ballot

Calling all Arizona voters!

Www.azsos.gov/equal is a website that allows all Arizona voters to sign candidate petitions and/or contribute $5 to clean elections candidates online. This is a great way to support candidates without leaving your home. All candidates need to collect a minimum number of qualified signatures and money by June 1 to get on the ballot. You can help now by signing an online petition. You simply go to WWW.AZSOS.GOV/EQUAL (the Arizona Secretary of State’s website) and click on one or both of the EQUAL buttons. That will take you to a page where you can sign and/or donate. You will need to provide a valid Arizona Driver’s license number in order for them to verify that you are a qualified voter. Candidates can get half of their required signatures and half of their required $5 contributions in this manner. If we do not help our Arizona candidates today, we cannot expect them to win an election. Please do your part today. 

Russell Pearce
Mesa

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Hillary's America

I recently gave the keynote address to 1,200 people at the Texas GOP Convention gala, and I was energized by the excitement that these people have for the future of America. I had a great time meeting so many patriots in Texas, and I'm heartened by their interest in uniting as Republicans this November with the singular goal of beating Hillary Clinton.

While I was in Dallas, Texas Governor Greg Abbott expressed to me his excitement for my upcoming film, Hillary's America, calling it a "must-see movie!"

Hillary's America will open nationwide on the weekend preceding the Democratic National Convention this July, a time when it will be needed more than ever. DRUDGE featured an announcement about the film this week from Deadline Hollywood, calling attention to the successes of some of my past films.

The trailer for Hillary's America already has over 1.5 million views on YouTube. Share it with friends you want to see this call to action for patriotic Americans everywhere!

Sincerely,

Dinesh D'Souza

P.S. What does $100 million buy? Hillary Clinton, as some Middle East sheikhs found out.

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Hillary Clinton has clearly made her point

As you can see Don, Hilliary Clinton has made her stance well-known. As a lifetime member of the NRA and a supporter of constitutional rights, this kind of irrational thinking can not be tolerated. 

Her actions are alarming. Her words are without truth. She is seeking to destroy what our founding fathers worked so hard to build. 

Americans cannot continue to allow the possibility of her empowerment. 

True conservative principles and values are at stake here, friend. Coming together is the only way that change will be able to be enacted. 

If you can contribute in any way to help in the fight against the left please consider a monetary donation. 

It's high time for politicians to stop bamboozling the American people so they can work with and for them, instead. 

Join with me to do just that. 

Best, 

Ken Bennet

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Something to smile about

I write to announce our excitement that co-authors of the Americans with Disabilities Act (Rep. Tony Coelho and Rep. Steve Bartlett), Emmy-winning TV pioneer Jonathan Murray and other top leaders recently joined our boards. I also wrote you about our joy that Jonathan’s TV show which airs on A&E Network, Born This Way, won a great TV award. The show stars seven individuals with Down Syndrome and is tearing down stigmas and barriers that are harming people with disabilities. But all of our board members are amazing. Nothing makes us stronger than the people who help us and who enable people with disabilities to have a better future through a myriad of ways. Thus, I am proud to share with you the work of one of our newest board members, Judith Creed, and her team at JCHAI. Please see below.

Best,

Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi
Co-founder/president, www.RespectAbilityUSA.org
Publisher, www.TheRespectAbilityReport.org


I am J-CHAI

They were lined up in seats. One at a time they stood up, took a microphone, introduced themselves — their name, their job—and then ended with “I am JCHAI.” It was a deeply moving series of moments, and during parts of it tears of joy were coming out of my eyes. So what was it, and why did I find it so powerful?



Fully one-in-five Americans have a disability. Disabilities come in all shapes and sizes. There are mental health differences and physical differences. There are differences in the ability to process social information, and to deal with sound and sensory issues. But for the people of JCHAI, what binds most of them is that they have an intellectual disability. Because of that, they frequently have been viewed by others through the eyes of pity or low expectations for their entire lives. But each of them is equal to all of us. They are different, but not less. So I was deeply moved when at a JCHAI gala, a group of them took to the stage to proudly introduce themselves, the terrific jobs they have, and to show solidarity with each other. Many of them have decades of proven job experience.

JCHAI is a play on words, as it has a double meaning. It actually stands for the Judith Creed Homes for Adult Independence (“JCHAI”), founded in 1987. Judith Creed is the proud mother of three amazing (now grown) children, one of whom happens to have disabilities. She and other parents of then young adult children with disabilities created JCHAI as a place for their adult children to live. But “Chai” is Hebrew for “life” and J is often an abbreviation for Jewish. And JCHAI, which started by offering supportive housing for Jews with disabilities, is indeed full of life.

Today JCHAI is a non-sectarian agency that provides independent living supports and job matching for individuals with intellectual disabilities and autism. JCHAI has a thriving supportive apartment program as well as a program providing independent living services to individuals living in their own residences throughout the greater Philadelphia area.

JCHAI now serves more than 100 people with disabilities. It is a winning example of how an existing organization that started 25 years ago providing services to adults with disabilities under the “old” model of group homes can transition to a new model of community inclusion to give its “clients” the supports they need to become more independent, happy and successful. JCHAI clients now mostly live in their own homes and apartments and still feel really like a family, and everyone involved in JCHAI treats each other as such.

“Employment First” thinking and actions are a key part of that dramatic positive transformation. JCHAI members take travel training for public transportation, computer as well as cooking, financial and time management classes; they go to swim events, share Shabbat dinners, travel to great destinations, and support each other fully. JCHAI staff maintains contact with employers so that if there are any situations that arise where the employer may need some help with the JCHAI member/employee, JCHAI staff will offer job coaching or other assistance. 70% of JCHAI clients who want employment have at least part time competitive, integrated employment. Given that the national average of employment for people with disabilities is 34%, JCHAI is maintaining a rate of employment that is double the national average.

JCHAI also has developed a number of training opportunities for its members to help them build employable skills and resumes while they seek employment. For example, they have a volunteer program with a local school where JCHAI members make and serve lunch to the elementary students; JCHAI members also go to other nonprofit organizations to help with office tasks These programs have helped to train JCHAI members in how to succeed in various workspaces.

JCHAI members are proud of their ability to get and maintain paid employment. Receiving a paycheck is a great day for all the members, and their families are thrilled by their accomplishments as well. One JCHAI member who works at Jefferson University, Jonah Selber, has been there successfully for two decades. His mother is actually Judith Creed, the dynamo who started JCHAI and chairs it today.

The more that JCHAI members are working in the community, the more that the community is aware of the success of people with disabilities in the workplace. JCHAI’s CEO, Stacy Levitan, is constantly bringing new ideas and innovations to JCHAI. Now they are even working on robotics with Lockheed Martin!

JCHAI is presently fundraising to build an educational/social facility tailored to the needs of people with disabilities. This state of the art building will provide opportunities for JCHAI clients to receive more vocational training and social opportunities.

JCHAI well deserves national recognition, as do its leaders. Many residential providers in the nation are trapped in the models of group homes and sheltered workshops. JCHAI has developed a model with a diversity of residential settings and job skill training so that people with disabilities can have choices, jobs, dignity, and independence.

Charity helps, but it's not the answer

I've been involved in benevolent projects for many years. Most of these efforts have been buying and distributing food and clothes for the very poor. In recent years I have been involved in Safe Fresh water wells for rural South Africa. As long as I live I will be involved in some type of Christian related humanitarian project at some level. I don't regret being connected to doing something to help people who are hurting. There is a tremendous blessing that comes through handing a kid a new pair of athletic shoes or a new coat. I wish I could do more.

The problem is that charity is not the answer. It helps. It's just not the answer.
I would take one small factory hiring one hundred people in a county over fifty charities in a county. A paycheck is always better than a handout. One factory or any employer hiring one hundred people at a reasonable salary is better than a bunch a little charities raking and scraping to keep a light bulb burning at their local food bank. Unfortunately, too many of these charities are visited once or more a month by low paid workers who simply cannot survive on $8 an hour. Thus, you have the unemployed and the working poor who keep the food pantries open and scurrying for funds to buy cheap food from a larger national network chain. Overall, America must have higher wages. We hear too much about sticking higher wages to a few certain corporations. However, we must bring real paying jobs back to America from coast to coast.

Sadly, I can go back to the same places where food and clothes have been disbursed and nothing has changed. The same little shacks with the same families live inside. As I have heard, give a man a fish and you'll feed him again and again. Teach him to fish and he will feed himself.

Non-profits need to focus on creating some jobs for their communities. I realize this is seldom seen as a mission of some such entities but it's way past time as our nation struggles economically. Most churches have idle space Monday through Saturday. Why not help a small business or two get on their feet? Cheap rent and a little congregational support might enable somebody to get started in a business that might eventually hire others. Years ago, one of our local churches put in a Subway restaurant as a way to help church members have employment.  Churches have to do more than just plan the next potluck dinner.  What if your church or nonprofit could help a few people out of unemployment? Surely, this would be the beginning path to a brighter life. Also think about how you might help others educationally. You could provide a free Internet Café with some weekly adult education. Please know there are lots of people out there in your community who do not know how to do anything. Some training might save them and a future generation.

If you are feeling entrepreneurial start something that hires people. When Friday comes everybody will be better off if you are handing out paychecks instead of free soup and sandwiches. Charity helps but it's not the answer. 

Glenn Mollette
American Syndicated Columnist and Author

Enjoy Books By Glenn Mollette at Amazon.com  

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America marches blindly toward single-payer

Hillary Clinton just dipped her toe a little bit further into the waters of single-payer health care, prodded by her competitor for the Democratic presidential nomination, Bernie Sanders. 

She recently called for allowing more people to join Medicare -- the government-run healthcare program for seniors -- by allowing those "55 or 50 and up" to buy into it. Sanders can no doubt take credit for pulling her further left -- his proposal to expand Medicare to all Americans has evinced cheers from his partisans.

But the record of other single-payer systems should silence those cheers. Single-payer would destroy health care quality and rob patients blind in the process.

Sanders has been agitating for single-payer for decades. The supposed price tag of his latest proposal for "Medicare-for-All?" About $14 trillion over 10 years, he's claimed.

But according to studies from the Urban Institute and the Tax Policy Center, the real cost would be about $33 trillion. Even after accounting for the revenue that Sanders's plethora of new taxes would take in, the government would still need $16 trillion.

Nevertheless, Sanders's focus on single-payer has attracted attention. A recent survey found that 63 percent of people had a positive reaction to the term "Medicare for all." Meanwhile, thousands of doctors recently signed on to a plan similar to Sanders's.

Some states could even green-light single-payer in the coming months. This November, Colorado voters will decide whether to create a state-level single-payer system. The initiative would cost $38 billion annually and require billions in new taxes.

Coloradans should take note of another state that tried to implement a single-payer system and failed -- Sanders's home state of Vermont.

The state's attempt at single-payer in 2014 was projected to cost $4.3 billion -- almost equivalent to the state's entire $4.9 billion budget. To fund the program, Vermont would have needed an extra $2 billion in revenue -- plus new taxes on businesses and residents. Officials abandoned the idea because it would have collapsed the state's economy.

The recent history of single-payer systems sponsored by the federal government isn't much more encouraging.

Take the Veterans Health Administration, which continues to subject beneficiaries to lengthy waits for care. In March, the Government Accountability Office tracked the experience of 180 newly-enrolled vets and found that 60 waited as many as 71 days to see a primary care doctor. Sixty more never even managed to get an appointment.

Patients haven't fared much better under single-payer systems abroad.

Horror stories from Britain's National Health Service emerge almost daily. Recently, a government investigation found that hospitals are discharging elderly patients without ensuring that they're fit to go home.

This spring, thousands of junior doctors went on strike. Patients had no choice but to wait for the walkout to end, as hospitals postponed more than 112,000 appointments and 12,700 operations in response.

Canada, my native land, has similar issues. Canadians must wait an average of 18.3 weeks to see a specialist after getting a referral. That wait time is 97 percent longer than it was in 1993. Almost 900,000 Canadians are waiting for treatment.

The promise of single-payer -- high-quality, universally accessible, free -- is nothing like the reality of such a system. Taxpayers pay dearly for the promise of such care.

This fall, voters must not allow themselves to fall prey to the siren song of single-payer.

Sally C. Pipes
Pacific Research Institute
Author of The Way Out of Obamacare (Encounter 2016)

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According To PVT South

Dearly Beloved--Hitler had Goebbels promoting (a lie is as good as the truth if everyone believes it). Obama had Axelrod basically doing the same thing that got him elected and unfortunately re-elected. (Remember--You can keep your doctor--now that was a real doozy.)

Queen Hillary is criticizing Trump for his treatment of women in the past. Unbelievable-- Question--Why was Hillary as First lady put in charge of bimbo eruptions? And what about Monica, the young intern who wound up in the Oval Office on several occasions. (Did the press forget that one?)

Now our Armature In Chief is seriously hurting our military and national defense with his huge budget cuts. (Russia, China, North Korea and other Rogue Nations have really been paying attention.) Obama has been full speed ahead on promoting his legacy with climate change, white privilege, and transgender bathrooms as his priority. Have you noticed Loretta Lynch lately? She is making Janet Reno look good. (Is this a great country or what?)

A short note to Trump. Please do not pick an unknown VP. We The People need someone well known and respected so as a team you can make America great again, also double down on your personal security. (No explanation necessary.)

How about the UK (from across the pond) criticizing Trump who will be President in 2017. The next time another country starts dropping bombs on London, don't call the U.S. for help. We The People saved your ass the last two times. So try and keep a stiff upper lip and try to carry on. (Where is Churchill when you need him?)

Have a nice day and keep your powder dry.

PVT South
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