Tuesday, May 29, 2007
The Indy Star features Mrs. Pence’s op-ed about precautions to take in the sun
Karen Pence, wife of Congressman Mike Pence, has written an op-ed about the risks of sun exposure and how to reduce those risks. Check it out here.
The Arizona Republic says media shield law is necessary
The Arizona Republic urges Congress to pass the Free Flow of Information Act and mentions Congressman Pence. Read it here.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Houston Chronicle discusses the immigration bill
Houston Chronicle’s Michelle Mittelstadt writes about the immigration bill in the Senate and mentions Congressman Pence and Senator Hutchison’s approach to the bill. Read the article here.
Monica Goodling testimony
Monica Goodling testified before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. Byron York has a great article about it here.
The Family Research Council and CBN’s David Brody have some great commentary here and here on their blogs about a certain line of questioning during the House Judiciary hearing Wednesday.
Transcript of Congressman Pence's questioning below:
Rep. Mike Pence
I'm pleased now to recognize Mike Pence of Indiana.
REP. MIKE PENCE (R-IN): Thank you, Chairman.
And Ms. Goodling, appreciate very much your testimony today. I supported the granting of use immunity in this case, because I'm not afraid of facts. I think Abraham Lincoln said it best when he said, give the people the facts and the republic will be served. And grateful for your candor coming before this committee today, and grateful for your service in that testimony.
I was looking a little bit at your biography. I was piqued by a story on April the 8th in, I think, The Boston Globe that reflected on the harsh spotlight that had been drawn on the administration's tendency -- I'm quoting now -- to hire individuals from, quote, "conservative schools with sometimes marginal reputations," close- quote. You're a graduate, I think, cum laude from -- is it Regent University School of Law and Government, Virginia Beach, Virginia?
MS. GOODLING: I have a master's in public policy and a law degree from Regent, yes.
REP. PENCE: And is it also -- and you don't need to answer this. I think you may know that the attorney general of the state of Virginia is also a graduate of Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
MS. GOODLING: I've heard that.
REP. PENCE: Okay, and I would assume, you're not terribly concerned about the tendency of a conservative president to hire graduates from conservative graduate schools in this country.
MS. GOODLING: Not at all.
REP. PENCE: Nothing that would concern you about that?
MS. GOODLING: No.
REP. PENCE: Thank you. Well, this graduate of a Christian college appreciates your sentiment about that.
And it really leads me to the -- my sense of this, and I want to ask you just a couple of yes/no questions if I can. Candidly, Ms. Goodling, I still haven't heard any facts or seen any facts that show anything illegal about the U.S. attorney firings themselves. And I'm trying to focus, as I did when the attorney general was here, on the issue of wrongdoing and of illegality.
When the attorney general came before this committee, he was very candid about mismanagement and administrative errors that were made. And I understand people's harsh criticism of those things. We expected better; we didn't get better. But that's different -- it seems to me -- from wrongdoing.
And I'm listening very intently. I'm studying this case, and I want to explore this issue of illegal behavior with you. Because it seems to me, so much of this, and even something of what we've heard today in this otherwise cordial hearing, is about the criminalization of politics. In a very real sense, it seems to be about the attempted criminalization of things that are vital to our constitutional system of government, namely the taking into consideration of politics in the appointment of political officials within the government. And I want to speak to you about that.
So let me see if I can -- because you got a lot better grades, it seems to me, in law school than I did, let me see if I can plumb you here. Is there anything illegal about the president being served at his pleasure by the people he believes would be best?
MS. GOODLING: No.
REP. PENCE: Is there anything illegal about the president being able to dismiss any of his political appointees for any reason or for no reason at all?
MS. GOODLING: No.
REP. PENCE: Is there anything illegal under our system about the president taking political consideration into account in determining who his political officials will be?
MS. GOODLING: No.
REP. PENCE: Is there anything illegal about taking those considerations into account, since they're vital to the president being held accountable to the people and especially to the people who elected him?
MS. GOODLING: No.
REP. PENCE: Lastly, is there anything illegal about taking those considerations into account, since they're just as vital to the president's ability to assure that his officials are accountable to him?
MS. GOODLING: No.
REP. PENCE: With that, I appreciate those straightforward answers. I -- again, I just would say to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in this committee I am troubled about the fact that we seem to be moving ever further down the road of the criminalization of politics. And I appreciate the testimony that politics can be practiced in political appointments within an administration. And I yield back the balance of my time.
REP. CONYERS: I thank the gentleman.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Society of Professional Journalists launches media shield campaign
The Society of Professional Journalists launched a campaign to pass a federal media shield bill. Check out their homepage here.
The Detroit News columnist says a federal shield law is necessary
Christine Tatum of the The Detroit News says that a federal shield law would help protect journalists and it mentions Congressman Pence’s Free Flow of Information Act. Check it out here.
The Florida Baptist Witness discusses the hate crimes bill
The Florida Baptist Witness’s Don Walton discusses hate crime legislation and mentions Congressman Pence’s plan. Read it here.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Indianapolis’ WTHR reports on the current immigration compromise in Congress
WTHR in Indianapolis discusses the immigration debate in congress and mentions Congressman Pence’s own immigration plan. Check out the article here.
Monday, May 21, 2007
The Indianapolis Star cites Congressman Pence’s opinion on Agriculture
The Indianapolis Star discusses agriculture policy and gives Congressman Pence’s view on the debate. Check out the story here.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
WashingtonTimes on immigration compromise
Steve Dinan includes comments by Congressman Pence in his story today here.
Friday, May 18, 2007
San Francisco Chronicle on immigration compromise
San Francisco Chronicle mentions Congressman Pence’s opposition to the immigration compromise. Check out the story here.
The American Spectator on immigration deal
The American Spectator discusses the reaction to the immigration deal in the Senate yesterday and includes Congressman Pence’s comments on the deal. Click here to read the story.
The Indianapolis Star on immigration deal
The Indianapolis Star is running a front page story above the fold today about the immigration deal in the Senate yesterday. The story mentions Congressman Pence’s proposed immigration plan without giving amnesty to illegal immigrants. Read it here.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
The New York Times covers House hearing on American funding of Arabic TV
Helene Cooper of The New York Times mentioned Congressman Pence in her article about American views promoted on Arabic TV. Check it out here.
Flordia Baptist Witness view on Hate Crimes legislation
Dr. Richard Land mentions Congressman Pence in an editorial about the Hate Crimes Prevention Bill. You can read the article here.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
The Church Report touches on the Hate Crime bill
Chuck Colson discusses the Hate Crimes Prevention Act and references Congressman's Pence's Freedom of Religion amendment. Check it out here.
The Hill on immigration
The Hill's Elana Schor reports on Congressman Pence's immigration plan with Senator Hutchison. Read the story here.
Houston Chronicle on immigration
The Houston Chronicle's Michelle Mittelstadt has a great update on Congressman Pence's efforts with Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison from Texas to find a solution to the country's immigration crisis without amnesty. Click here to read her story.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Missoulian News Online says Free Flow of Information Act will protect democracy
The Missoulian News Online says Congressman Pence's federal shield bill would insure protection of the the First Amendment. Go here to read this editorial.
Monday, May 14, 2007
USA Today lauds media shield
Check out this editorial in USA Today about Congressman Pence's media shield bill. Key excerpt:
Journalists who relied on unnamed sources, and protected unpublished notes and photos, are responsible for exposing major scandals such as Watergate, Enron and the Abu Ghraib prison abuses. But when whistle-blowers have reason to fear they might risk retaliation because their names and information won't be protected, such sources will dry up and the public will be the loser.
Two weeks ago, Washington state joined 32 others that have "reporter shield laws," which allow reporters to keep their sources private. But no such law restricts the long arm of the federal government.
Bipartisan legislation introduced this month would fix that. The Free Flow of Information Act would require lawyers seeking to commandeer a reporter's or photographer's work to convince a judge first that the information being sought serves a greater public interest than maintaining the public interest in gathering the news and protecting the free flow of information. Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., one of Congress' most rigorous conservatives and one of the bill's prime sponsors, says "a free and independent press is the only agency that has complete freedom to hold government accountable."
The San Antonio Express-News says Federal Media Shield Law will help protect intentions of the Founders
The San Antonio Express-News says that Congressman Pence's Federal Media Shield Law will help protect the freedoms enshrined by our Founding Fathers. Check out the editorial here.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Congressman Pence weighs in on fuel standards in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
Congressman Pence weighed in on the increasing fuel efficiency standards in an article by Sylvia Smith in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. Read about it here.
Fort Wayne News-Sentinel advocates for Federal Shield Law
The Fort Wayne News-Sentinel featured the Miami Herald's editorial urging Congress to pass the media shield law to protect journalists from having to reveal their sources. Check it out here
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Townhall's John McCaslin mentions media shield
John McCaslin, who just so happens to be a columnist for The Washington Times as well, has a brief mention of Congressman Pence's media shield bill in his townhall column today.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Congressman Pence's opening statement during Middle East and South Asia Subcommittee Hearing
Below is Congressman Pence's opening statement from yesterday's Middle East and South Asia Subcommittee Hearing for Jewish and Palestinian refugees:
Mr. Chairman, thank you for calling this hearing and welcome to our distinguished witnesses.
These are complex and challenging issues. One element of complexity is that the number of Palestinian Refugees is hotly disputed—ranging somewhere between 520,000 and 900,000. Indeed, stating the matter as “two Sides of the Same Coin” is itself controversial.
I would argue that the historical record is clear on at least one matter: Jewish Refugees in Arab countries often faced execution, pogroms, bombings, torture, forced exile, and, nearly universally, confiscation of property, often solely for the alleged crime of “Zionism,” if not merely existing. There really is no comparison with that as to what faced Palestinian Refugees.
While I have compassion for the plight of the Palestinian people, their situation rests squarely with their leadership and, to a lesser extent, the leaders of the Arab world. The Palestinian leadership’s intransigence and unwillingness to keep its many commitments have left its people in hostility with their Jewish neighbors.
Further, the utter pittance that Arab states have contributed to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) would be laughable if it weren’t so tragic. Most Arab states have treated the Palestinians as pawns, denying them any number of rights. The Palestinians have been served so poorly by the leaders and by their ostensible allies and so an entire people have suffered for more than half a century now.
Mr. Chairman, in addition to the larger refugee question, I am gravely concerned about the protection of Palestinian Christian communities, notably in Bethlehem, Nazareth and Jerusalem. Palestinian Christians comprise 2% of the population, down from 8-10% of a few decades ago.
I am troubled by this quasi-“ethnic scouring.” According to the 2006 Religious Freedom Report from our Department of State, the Palestinian Authority failed to halt several cases of seizures of Christian-owned land in the Bethlehem area by criminal gangs, and PA security forces and judicial officials reportedly colluded with members of these gangs to seize land from Christians in recent years. One might conclude that modern militant Islam, in any number of manifestations, is a threat to a multi-confessional society.
Many of these churches and communities trace their lineage back to the time of Christ 2000 years ago. Yet, today, they are not a favored group in the least by the Hamas-led government. This is outrageous and tragic.
Mr. Chairman, complicated questions about the right of return, the final status of various groups, and the disposal of perhaps billions of dollars worth of Jewish property confiscated—these matters are complex and will probably be negotiated for the entire 21st century.
But a simple straightforward step to alleviating misery is within the grasp of the Palestinian leadership: recognizing Israel’s right to exist and renouncing violence is all that stands in the way of a two state solution and, most likely, a massive flow of aid to the Palestinian territory. Certainly its leaders can do that, if nothing else, to help their own people.
Mr. Chairman, thank you for calling this hearing. I look forward to hearing from our witnesses.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
National Catholic Registry on Hate Crimes
The National Catholic Register has an editorial by David Freddoso about the Democrat Hate Crime Bill and mentions Congressman's Pence's Amendment. Be sure to check it here.
Richmond Palladium-Item on hate crimes
The Richmond Palladium-Item had an editorial in yesterday's edition about the Democrat hate crimes bill that Congressman Pence tried to amend before it passed the House last week. Make sure you check it out here.
Monday, May 07, 2007
Indy Star opines on immigration over weekend
The Indy Star had a number of pieces on their editorial page this weekend on immigration. Click here to see the paper's editorial Saturday. They also ran syndicated columnist Ruben Navarrette's column Sunday along with a column by Star columnist Dan Carpenter.Labels: Dan Carpenter, immigration, Indy Star, Ruben Navarrette
Friday, May 04, 2007
More media shield coverage
More coverage of Congressman Pence's media shield bill today:
The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette is running part of Congressman Pence's statement at this week's press conference here.
Christine Tatum, who is the president of the Society of Professional Journalists, wrote a column that's running in the Hawaii Reporter today.
The Billings Gazette has an editorial here.
The Contra Costa Times has an editorial on the issue today.Labels: Billings Gazette, Christine Tatum, Contra Costa Time, Fort Wayne Journal Gzette, Media shield, Society of Professional Journalists
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Media shield creating media buzz
The introduction of the media shield bill yesterday is creating a lot of buzz throughout the media. Below are article and editorials that talk about the bill from today's papers.
The Indiana media has been covering the story very well. Here is a sample:
Indy Star has a very comprehensive story here and a Q&A here. The Muncie Star Press has a story here, the Northwest Indiana Times reports here and the Lafayette Courier and Journal is running an AP story here.
In addition, there is plenty of national press coverage as well:
Austin American Statesman story
Buffalo News editorial
Houston Chronicle story
New York Times editorial
San Francisco Chronicle editorial
Washington Post storyLabels: Austin American Statesman, Buffalo News, Houston Chronicle, Indianapolis Star, Media shield, Muncie Star Press, New York Times, Northwest Indiana Times, Washington Post
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Media shield introduced today
Congressman Pence is introducing his media shield bill today with Congressman Rick Boucher (D-VA). Senators Dick Lugar (R-IN) and Chris Dodd (D-CT) introduced the same legislation in the Senate today as well.
Here are some background materials on the bill:
One-page summary
Section-by-section analysis of the bill
Bill text
Editorials:
Boston Globe
Daytona Beach News-Journal
San Francisco Chronicle
Also be sure to read this excellent piece by the Columbia Journalism Review below regarding the bill.Labels: Boston Globe, Columbia Journalism Review, Congressman Rick Boucher, Daytona Beach News-Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, Senator Chris Dodd, Senator Dick Lugar
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Columbia Journalism Review on Media Shield
The Columbia Journalism Review has an excellent piece on Congressman Pence and the media shield bill he will be introducing tomorrow with Congressman Boucher.
Here is an excerpt:
...Conservatives these days are generally not considered champions of the national press, but a little more than two years ago, after reading an editorial in The New York Times about Judith Miller’s jailing and the need for a federal reporter’s privilege, Pence took it upon himself to champion the legislative effort for a federal media shield law, which would protect journalists from being forced to reveal confidential sources. Pence, a forty-seven-year-old lawyer and former talk-show host, may not like what he sees as “bad news bias” in the mainstream media, but he’s far more troubled by the “rising tide of cases where federal prosecutors have used the threat of jail time or outright jail time to coerce reporters to reveal confidential sources.” For the last two years, Pence has been the primary legislative force behind the shield-law effort, making it one of his signature issues. “Our founders did not put the freedom of the press in the First Amendment because they got good press—quite the opposite was true,” he says. For Pence, the shield law represents a good-government provision, one that would ultimately help citizens “make informed decisions” about their leadership.
Though Indiana has had a reporter’s privilege statute on the books since 1941, Pence admits he had been unfamiliar with the issue. After reading the Times editorial, he spent two months researching the topic. In late 2004, he and his staff reached out to members of the media and the legal community and began crafting a bill, which he and Representative Rick Boucher, a Virginia Democrat, introduced in the House in February 2005. And unlike previous attempts to pass a shield law, this one would have legs....Labels: Congressman Rick Boucher, Media shield
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