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Posted by Joel Mathis September 26, 2006 at 9:44 a.m.

Brownback eyes connection between media, fat children

Sam Brownback[(Broadcasting and Cable) D.C. Homes in on Media and Obesity:][1] The FCC and Congress Wednesday will announce the formation of a joint task force, Media and Childhood Obesity: Today and Tomorrow, to explore the media's impact on children's health and possible legislative and/or regulatory approaches. The task force, chaired by FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate, and Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), will hold a series of meetings with programmers, marketers, health professionals and government officials about what the surgeon general has warned is a looming national health crisis. [(NBC4.com) God Prefers Republicans, 'Values Voters' Hear:][2] If Hillary Rodham Clinton is the Democrats' presidential nominee in 2008, it will motivate conservative evangelical Christians to oppose her more than if the devil himself were running, the Rev. Jerry Falwell has told pastors at a "values" conference. ... The gathering was sponsored by Dr. James Dobson's group Focus on the Family, and Family Research Council Action, two conservative Christian organizations. Dobson and Tony Perkins, of the Family research council, were speakers at the event. Sens. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., George Allen, R-Va., and conservative pundits Ann Coulter, Jerry Baur and William Bennett spoke at the event. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., and Govs. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark., and Mitt Romney, R-Mass., addressed the gathering via recorded presentations. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich gave the keynote speech.[(Free Speech Coalition) Commentary: The 'Values' Are Clear at 2006 Values Voter Summit:][3] The morning's penultimate speaker was anti-porn crusader Sen. Sam Brownback, but he never got around to mentioning the subject he's held at least three Senate hearings on. Instead, he spent most of his time talking about "the dignity of personhood," which, for him, means "honor[ing] God in the public square and not throw[ing] him out"; opposing assisted suicide and embryonic stem cell research, which he claimed had produced no results even though a quarter of a billion dollars had been spent on it already; and pushing a bill that would require that a fetus be anesthetized if it were over 20 weeks old and to be aborted, because fetuses at that age "have more pain receptors than adults." Brownback was also not without his aphorisms: "Roe v. Wade is going to be overturned in the future," he assured, and "The best way to raise a child is with a man and a woman bound together for life."[(AP) House Passes Bill on Sudan Sanctions:][4] The House on Monday approved a bill that would impose sanctions on the government of Sudan, as lawmakers warned that tougher action is needed to stem the death and suffering in that nation's Darfur region. ... Penalties under the measure include blocking assets, refusing to grant Sudanese officials entry to the United States and preventing certain ships from entering U.S. ports. The legislation encourages Bush to deny the government of Sudan oil revenues and access to military equipment. "This bill will do much to help the death and suffering in Darfur, but we, along with the international community, must do more," said Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., who has championed the measure. "Aid workers are being killed and the people they were helping are disappearing. The situation is growing worse each day and the world must continue to help in any way we can."Pat Roberts[(AP) Negroponte Says U.S. Not at Higher Risk:][5] National Intelligence Director John Negroponte said Monday the jihad in Iraq is shaping a new generation of terrorist operatives, but rejected assertions, stemming from a leaked intelligence estimate, that the United States is at a greater risk of attack than it was in 2001. ... The top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee urged the Bush administration Monday to declassify the intelligence assessment. Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., said the American people should be able to see a public version of the report and draw their own conclusions about its contents. So far, he said, the public discussion has given the "false impression" that the National Intelligence Estimate focuses exclusively on Iraq and terrorism. "That is not true," Roberts said, noting that the committee has had the report since April. "This NIE examines global terrorism in its totality."[(ABC Local) Planning to Avoid Agro-Terrorism:][6] A week-long summit meeting began Monday to discuss ways of stopping agro-terrorism from ever happening. The government believes terrorists are looking for ways to tamper with our food. Senator Pat Roberts, (R) Kansas said, "If you really stop and think about it, if you want to cause utter chaos over a long period of years, attack the nation's food supply."How to contact As always, you can find information to contact members of the Kansas congressional delegation [here.][7] [1]: http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6375092.html?display=Breaking+News [2]: http://www.nbc4.com/politics/9930784/detail.html [3]: http://www.freespeechcoalition.com/FSCView.asp?coid=908 [4]: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/25/AR2006092501202.html [5]: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/25/AR2006092500888.html [6]: http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=local&id=4593549 [7]: http://ljworld.com/extra/where_to_write.html#fed