Sadly the Obama Administration has joined Castro and Chavez in attacking Honduran Supreme Court and Congress for defending their Constitution.

Having Fidel Castro call for defending democracy should convince any reasonable person that Honduras was on the edge of a leftish dictatorship.

Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen expressed her opinion on the matter by saying “Honduras: President overstepped in his power grab by going against constitution”.

If you want to read about the issue, AEI has two good articles explaining the issue and discussing whether we should be for or against the coup in Honduras, you can read them here - http://blog.american.com/?p=2619, http://www.aei.org/article/100693

By Emily Renwick
 
Today, in a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court reversed a decision set by Supreme Court nominee Sonya Sotomayor, and ruled that the City of New Haven, Connecticut discriminated against 17 white and Hispanic fire fighters. 
 
In reversing Sotomayor’s enjoined appellate decision, Justice Kennedy’s Majority Opinion stated plainly that the City’s move constituted discrimination:

Over the weekend, the Wall Street Journal published a terrific article that echoed many of themes Newt has been talking about for some time. Entitled The Albany-Trenton-Sacramento Disease, they note the destructive progessive policies each state has embarked upon and how President Obama is trying to continue on this same destructive path.

Newt has talked similarly on this topic:

Michigan has lost more jobs than any state in the United States except the impact of Katrina on Louisiana. And nobody stops and says, "What is the systemic reason for this collapse?"...(I'm relaying) the systemic failure of the American system, Democrat and Republican, systemic in Sacramento, systemic in Detroit, systemic in Albany, systemic in Washington, D.C., and the fact that neither political party is producing the kind of campaign and the kind of candidates not just for president but across the system.

We are not coming to grips with how big our problems are. -- FNS 07/29/07

and he has used this example in a recent newsletter as well:

...politicians and lobbyists in Sacramento are ignoring or rejecting the voters' will, just as they are in Albany and Trenton. The states with huge government machines have basically moved beyond the control of the people. They have become castles of corruption, favoritism and wastefulness...the political machines in California and New York are wrecking the states' economies and driving out successful residents. But the machines don't care because all they want to do is own the wreckage.

Now President Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid want to impose on the nation this style of politics in which interest groups, politicians and bureaucracies dominate. Look at their record: a $787 billion stimulus no elected official had read, 8,000 earmarks, an Environmental Protection Agency plan to control the economy through carbon regulations, the government threatening retaliation against those who would protect their property rights against theft in the Chrysler bailout -- again and again, this team is moving toward a government that owns the country rather than a government that is owned by the people.

To find out what more you can do to stop this systemic corruption, visit American Solutions today.

Everyone should call their congressman this morning and demand a no vote on the unread energy tax increase The vote is very close. Use this link to call: http://www.americansolutions.com/take-action/call.php

Newt joined former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, HHS National Coordinator for Health Information Technology David Blumenthal, CCHIT Chairman Mike Leavitt, GE Director of Global Healthcare Robert Galvin, and Microsoft Health Solutions Group Vice President Peter Neupert join other governement and industry leaders in presenting their perspectives on health reform at CHT's June member meeting today.

Learn more at the Center for Health Transformation.

The Constitution reflects the principles set forth in the Declaration of Independence, and thus it is the Declaration that serves as the ultimate foundational text.

This video from Union Facts is interesting.

The Truth about Teachers Unions from Union Facts on Vimeo.

Last week, the Obama administration announced that the remaining Chinese Uighurs held at Guantanamo will be accepted by the island nation of Palau. 
 
The announcement has brought Newt Gingrich’s May 15 op-ed “Let’s NOT Meet the Uighurs” back into focus.  You can read it here. 
 
A lot of disinformation and spin is being hurled about regarding the refusal to release these soon to be former detainees into the United States.  including the notion that the decision to not release any of the Uighur detainees into the United States is somehow the result of a Chinese propaganda and counterintelligence campaign.  Some have even questioned the source of the information Newt was using when he wrote the op-ed above.
 
There is no question that the human rights record of China is deplorable.  However, the question at hand is not China’s treatment of the Uighur population at large.  The question is whether the United States should release any of these Uighur detainees into the United States.  

(click below to read more) 

Emily Renwick—financial reform researcher at AEI for Newt – outlines policy proposals following today’s hearing House Financial Services Committee on prudential insurance regulation.

Click here for the Op-Ed

I have received a number of thoughtful emails and tweets from those concerned that trying to remain inclusive in the Republican Party will come at the expense of our conservative principles.

I agree that expanding our majority should never come at the expense of our principles. However, standing firm on our principles does not mean we should not allow those who only partially agree with those principles to feel welcome in our party.

On this, I think Ronald Reagan provides an important illustration.

Most will agree that President Reagan remained true to his conservative principles.

However, Reagan also always reached out to Democrats and independents. And he always tried to keep moderate Republicans in the Party.

If you go back to his two gubernatorial races in 1966 and 1970 you will see a conscious effort to attract Democrats and independents.

If you look at his 1976 speech to the Republican National Convention he begins by saying "my fellow Republicans in this hall...and those Democrats and independents around the country who are looking for a better future."

In 1979 only 21% of Americans called themselves Republicans. Reagan knew he had to grow his appeal far beyond the base

I first met with Reagan in October 1974.

I campaigned with him in the late 1970s.

As chair of the Planning Committing of the House Republican campaign committee (NRCC) I worked with RNC chair Bill Brock to study the Thatcher 1979 victory and apply the lessons to the 1980 campaign.

I helped design the first Capitol steps event in history in the fall of 1980 (the Contract with America was actually the second, in 1994).

From 1981 to 1988 I worked with resident Reagan as a member of Congress.

This year, my wife Calllista and I released a movie called Ronald Reagan: Rendezvous with Destiny which is a documentary about his career and achievements.

Stick to first principles—yes.

Be inclusive and encourage others to side with you even if they only agree with part of your platform – yes.

That would have been the Reagan formula.