President's Message
This weekend we will be celebrating two very special holidays. Friday, April 3, is the beginning of Passover for our Jewish friends and members. This Friday is also Good Friday, with the celebration of Easter on Sunday, April 5, for our Christian friends and members. This is a perfect example of our American Judeo-Christian values.
Judeo-Christian values have a foundational role in America, beginning with the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness..."
Our Founding Fathers separated church from state, but they wisely did not separate God from state; they acknowledged God as the source of our rights and, in fact, they were careful to place Biblical morality directly into our founding documents, laws, values and culture, precisely to help prevent a future of totalitarian or tyrannical rule in America. The combination of keeping Judeo-Christian religious morality in the state, as opposed to the church itself, and of setting up our laws based on reason and common sense has contributed to the American Character, and to what is known as "American Exceptionalism.” (www.American thinker /Judo-Christian Values)
It is unfortunate that the current occupant of the White House does not believe in American Exceptionalism and the Judeo-Christian culture and values set forth by our Founding Fathers and respected by our American Presidents, from George Washington to George W. Bush. Mr. Obama has turned his back on our allies, especially Israel, and would rather negotiate a weak treaty with Iran. We need to remind the voters about our Rich American History. We must win back the White House in 2016 so we can unleash our American Exceptionalism, by electing a Republican President and LEADER of the free world. We have seen too well over the past 7 years that without a strong American President, the world is at the mercy of tyrants and dictators. We can make a difference working together, we are Republican Federated Women!
We wish all our members and friends A Blessed Passover and A Blessed Easter.God Bless America
Thank you for all you do,
Roseann
Working Together To Make A Difference
Jerry Brown’s Mandatory Water Cuts
With California’s mountain snowpack at record lows, Jerry Brown has ordered mandatory water cutbacks, the first in the state’s history. Specifically, he hopes to reduce water consumption by state residents that would include a mandatory 25 percent cut in urban water use. Currently, California’s mountain snowpack is at just 5 percent of historic averages for this time of the year. This means that reservoirs will likely receive little, if any, additional runoff from snowmelt. Restrictions to cut back water use by 25% should come into effect mid-May. Previously, Brown had called for a 20 percent voluntary reduction of water statewide, which ultimately fell short. Thus, these new reductions would be mandatory, though enforcement measures have not yet been finalized.
Despite the passing of Prop 1 and other forms of drought relief, Brown continues to implement drought regulations, most of which have been ineffective thus far. What more can we do as Californians? One option gaining support as a long-term response to the drought is desalination, the removal of salt and other impurities from the earth’s salt water. Though desalination is pricy and requires a substantial amount of energy, it has much potential, despite environmentalist opposition. So, though Brown’s mandatory restrictions mean well, it is unlikely that they will do much in the way of pulling us out of the drought, considering the track record of previous regulations implemented. Ultimately, we need to start storing our water more efficiently and investing in alternate ways of acquiring drinkable water.
Leno's At It Again
SB 3 (Leno, D) would increase the minimum wage in California to $11 per hour beginning in January 2016, and $13 per hour in July 2017. Beginning in January 2019, the statewide minimum wage would be increased annually based on the rate of inflation. CFRW OPPOSES this bill.
Given California’s current economic crisis, it’s likely that this bill would hinder any kind of meaningful recovery by limiting the number of jobs available or even creating further job loss. It would ultimately overwhelm already struggling businesses that would be unable to afford these minimum wage hikes. SB 3 would cause California businesses to leave the state to avoid these mandatory wage increases. Further, indexing the minimum wage to inflation does not take into consideration future cumulative costs to employers, and this, coupled with an unknown economic future, is cause for concern.
The bill will be heard in room 2040 on April 8, 2015 by the Labor and Industrial Relations Committee. In this committee of five, there is only one Republican, so it is important for us to pressure the Democrats on this committee to oppose the bill!
Senator Tony Mendoza (Chair) (916) 651-4032Advocacy Workshop
Senator Jeff Stone (Vice-Chair) (916) 651-4028
Senator Hannah Beth-Jackson (916) 651-4019
Senator Mark Leno (916) 651-4911
Senator Holly J. Mitchell (916) 651-4030
Our 40th Annual Advocacy Workshop is right around the corner! Join us, April 20th & 21st in Sacramento for and exciting and educational workshop! We need our clubs to go out and sponsor as many high school students as you can, because we have an amazing opportunity for our student guests! The student’s session will have a private showing of Dinesh D’Souza’s movie, AMERICA. But it is not the movie you’ve all seen- it is a special, educational cut that Dinesh created specifically for high school students! After the movie we are working on a skype interview with Dinesh himself! Our students will also have the opportunity to participate in a legislative committee hearing at the Capitol! For our members, we have the opportunity to hear from our amazing new Republican legislators, our luncheon speaker is CRP Vice Chair Harmeet Dhillon, and afterwards an informative program on Women in Politics by GrassRoots Lab. Be sure to get your registration in by April 13th to avoid a late fee. Remember to fill out the form completely, even the lunch preference portion! Please also be sure to make your hotel reservation by April 7 to get the special room rate of $119 a night. The Holiday Inn Express is not set up to do online reservations so please call the number on the registration form in Call to Advocacy or here (877-408-0083). Be sure to tell the reservations agent you are with the California Federation of Republican Women (CFRW) to get the special rate of $119. Remember to sign up for the Hands on Workshop for the New NFRW Data Base on Tuesday, April 21st, with NFRW Membership Chair, Frederika Verhulst! We look forward to seeing you April 20 & 21 in Sacramento. ◼ CLICK HERE for the Call to Advocacy!
Club Spotlight!
This week's club spotlight is the ◼ Long Beach Republican Women Federated! CLICK HERE to read about their active club and membership promotions! "TO BE SPOTLIGHTED IN THE WEEKLY CAPITOL UPDATE"-Please contact: Gaylon Kastner at gylnkastner@gmail.com (707) 255-2815 or cell (707) 254-5946
