Friday
May282010
Top Senate Democrat Leads Charge To Protect Privacy For Military Families
Friday, May 28, 2010 at 12:14PM
By Alexa Gitler
Talk Radio News Service
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) met with reporters Friday to discuss his plea to urge the Supreme Court to protect the right of military families to a peaceful private funeral. “The Synder family, as well as other military families have been robbed of the proper chance to say goodbye and that needs to end,” Reid said.
The funeral of Marine Lance Corporal Matthew Snyder, an American soldier who died in combat in Iraq in 2006, was marred with ugly, hateful protests by a Kansas church.
Reid, along Joe Davis of Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Phil Riley of the American Legion and Steve Stobridge of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), filed a brief with the Supreme Court on Friday seeking the prohibition of protesting during military funerals.
According to Riley, the brief “is not a freedom of speech issue...but a right to privacy that must be respected.” 48 U.S. state legislatures have agreed to sign on to the brief, which also has bipartisan support in the U.S. Senate.
“I have a responsibility to provide for the common defense and to take care of the military,” Reid said. “The very least we can do for the families during their time of mourning is to make sure their privacy is respected.”
Talk Radio News Service
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) met with reporters Friday to discuss his plea to urge the Supreme Court to protect the right of military families to a peaceful private funeral. “The Synder family, as well as other military families have been robbed of the proper chance to say goodbye and that needs to end,” Reid said.
The funeral of Marine Lance Corporal Matthew Snyder, an American soldier who died in combat in Iraq in 2006, was marred with ugly, hateful protests by a Kansas church.
Reid, along Joe Davis of Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Phil Riley of the American Legion and Steve Stobridge of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), filed a brief with the Supreme Court on Friday seeking the prohibition of protesting during military funerals.
According to Riley, the brief “is not a freedom of speech issue...but a right to privacy that must be respected.” 48 U.S. state legislatures have agreed to sign on to the brief, which also has bipartisan support in the U.S. Senate.
“I have a responsibility to provide for the common defense and to take care of the military,” Reid said. “The very least we can do for the families during their time of mourning is to make sure their privacy is respected.”
Senator Calls For Freedom From Foreign Oil
Talk Radio News Service
“Eliminating our dependence on foreign oil would have many, many, benefits,” said Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) Monday while speaking at the Center for American Progress. Merkley emphasized the United States' need for comprehensive energy and climate reform that would target the country's dependence on expensive and unstable foreign oil.
The Democratic Senator introduced a prospective, 20 year agenda aimed at ending America’s dependence on foreign oil. Merkely believes his plan would be politically and economically feasible, and environmentally beneficial.
“The plan centers around electric vehicle deployment, which would have a 3.2 million barrels-per-day [reducing] impact, and [reducing] truck fuel economy which would have a significant 2 million barrels-per-day impact,” said Merkley.
New electronic vehicle technology is anticipated to be released in 2011 with the introduction of the new Chevrolet “Volt”, Nissan “Leaf” and the Tesla “Model S Sedan”.
Merkley said that America must require better fuel economy for vehicles. The Senator added that he supports policies to provide consumers with more energy-efficient appliances. As a result, this would help manufacturers save money by improving the efficiency in industrial process.
The development of these new electric vehicles would allow for the creation of more jobs for Americans who are currently unemployed, Merkley said.
“It’s a choice between creating jobs here in America or exporting those jobs over seas," Merkley said. "It’s time to set the goal and it is time to adopt a plan."