T HE R EDWOOD A LERT

E UREKA R EPUBLICAN W OMEN F EDERATED , SINCE 1938

Serving the Republican Women of Humboldt County

V OLUME 33, I SSUE 10 N OVEMBER 2008

Joy Finley, President · Margaret Stafford, Program Chair

P RESIDENT ’ S
M ESSAGE
Eureka Republican Women Federated BY J OY F INLEY
Welcomes This is the last message of my two year
tenure and there are so many people I
Jerry Partain need to thank for helping me. It has
been a privilege to serve again. I want to
thank Margaret Stafford, Barbara
Hecathorn, Terry Roberts, Lynda Pozel,
Chris Wennerholm, Vee Sorenson,
Cindy Lewis and the entire executive
board who worked tirelessly to make
this club a success. Without their
direction and dedication, I could not
have survived. As you know this
election cycle has taken a toll on our
entire group. Thanks to all who
volunteered at headquarters, walked
precincts, and phone-banked. We had a
great time even though we didn’t win
every race.

November 20, 2008 I want to thank all the speakers,

members, and guests that supported our
Red Lion, Eureka club simply by coming to the meetings
every month. Our bulletin was awarded
a medal at the California Federation of
Republican Women Convention.
Buffet Lunch-$14.50 Beverage Only-$6.00 Thanks to Sondra Kirtley at Scapper’s
Edge for all her efforts to improve the
quality of the Redwood Alert. And
The Buffet lunch begins at 11:30 and the meeting opens at noon. If you are lastly, I’d like to thank all the
advertisers, vendors, and donors who
not contacted by our Telephone Committee, please call Joy at 845-2575 for have supported us every year. Good
your reservation. Members' guests and interested community members will luck to the new board and the new
be welcomed. president, Colleen Hedrick. And, one
more time, When Women Work We
Win!!

Eureka Republican Women Federated

70th Anniversary
1938-2008
P AGE 2
A N O INK H ERE
BY C OLLEEN H EDRICK
It has not been often for quite
some time that there was
something positive to say about
Members of the House and
Senate. That has been
particularly true in regard to
their spending in ways to distress
any self respecting drunken
sailor.
The remarkable happy news is
that in 2007 there was a large
increase in the numbers of
amendments offered in opposing
pork barrel spending. It is
common knowledge that those
who have stepped up in the past
advocating such a change have
sometimes been penalized by
fellow congressional
members. Among the penalties
they paid were losing spots on
coveted committees assorted
threats, and a lack of support for
their legislation.
In 2006 Congressional Ratings,
19 amendments were offered in
the House and five were offered
in the Senate in relation to pork
barrel spending (often referred
to as earmarks). In the House in
C HAPLAIN ’ S C ORNER
When I think of the many strong
leaders we have all read about in
the bible, there is a familiar
thread that seems to be woven
through most of their lives. It a
time of discouragement. Most
seemed to have experienced
deep depression and
overwhelming disappointment at
one time or the other.
Though the author of Psalm
102 is anonymous we see that he
turned to God in his distress and
AND AN O INK O INK T HERE
2007, there were 50 such
amendments offered by
Representatives John Campbell
(R-CA), Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Scott
Garrett(R-NJ) And Jeb
Hensarling (R-Texas). In the
Senate, Senators tom Coburn
(R-Ok) and Jim DeMint (R-
S.C.) led the effort on earmark-
related amendments.
Most Members of Congress still
don’t grasp the public’s strong
dissenting opinion in regard to
the extent of congressional
spending and earmarking. A June
2008 Survey conducted by the
Club for Growth found that 54
percent of likely voters want
their elected officials in
Washington to cut overall
spending. And that includes
cutting some money that would
go to their districts. Only 29-
percent wanted their member of
congress to increase the overall
spending on federal programs.
The Council for Citizens Against
Government Waste (CCAGW)
2007 ratings show some positive
trends. In the House 89-
BY V EE S ORENSON
prayed the prayer of the afflicted
who has nowhere else to
go. After laying his troubles
before the God he served, he
suddenly remembered God’s
immutable nature. His
relief came...not from a change
in his situation...but from the
realization that God cannot
change and that His compassion
will provide a refuge even in
life’s most grievous trials.
As Republicans, this month
T HE R EDWOOD A LERT
members voted for earmark
related amendments, In fact one
amendment passed that removed
$129,000 for the “Home
of the Perfect Christmas Tree”
project in Mitchell County,
N.C., from the House Financial
Service Appropriations Act. In
2005 congressional members
offered an average of 68
amendments, none of which
passed.
Way too often citizens hear their
officials say “the federal
government can pay for
this program. “It’s only two-
million,” is a common rationale.
This of course makes no
recognition that it is all taxpayer
money.
CCAGW is an excellent
organization that publishes an
annual Pig Book that gives
listings of earmarks and does a
fine job of nailing offending
congressional members’ shoes to
the floors of their respective
offices. And that seems to be a
very good thing.
has been a very discouraging
time. We look at challenges
ahead politically in our effort to
keep a strong America, a God-
fearing America. This may be
the time we realize how
important prayer for our nation
really is.
Join me in praying for our
nation daily.
 V OLUME 33, I SSUE 10 P AGE 3

2008 B OARD OF D IRECTORS

POSITION NAME PHONE EMAIL

President Joy Finley 845-2575 joyfinley@suddenlink.net

1st V- President Margaret Stafford 822-3255 tom-marg@suddenlink.net
2nd V-President Barbara Hecathorn 442-7124 hecathorn@aol.com
T REASURER ’ S
Rec. Secretary Terry Roberts 599-3255 terryroberts@coldwellbanker.com R EPORT
Treasurer Cindy Lewis 442-1187 liberty741776@sbcglobal.net BY C INDY L EWIS
Director-at Large Margaret Stafford 822-3255 tom-marg@suddenlink.net Balance 9/30/2008 $3556.18
Auditor JoAnn Stanhope 822-4776 jstanhope@suddenlink.net Income +728.50
Parliamentarian Lynda Pozel 443-1283 lyndahopkins@portraits.com
Expenses --1035.43
Americanism Chris Wennerholm 725-2020 chrisw500@suddenlink.net
Balance 10/31/08 =$3249.25
Bulletin-Notices Scrappers Edge 445-9686 scrappersedge@sbcglobal.net
Advertising Joy Finley 845-2575 joyfinley@suddenlink.net
Mailing Haline Sundet 442-2623
Chaplain Vee Sorenson 822-2359 veesign@aol.com
Commentary Colleen Hedrick 268-0101 colleen1516@sbcglobal.net
Education Sheryl Fearrien 725-6200 schoolmarm50@sbcglobal.net
Hospitality Haline Sundet 442-2623
Legislation Barbara /Vee 442-7124 hecathorn@aol.com
Luncheons Joy Finley 845-2575 joyfinley@suddenlink.net
Membership Barbara Hecathorn 442-7124 hecathorn@aol.com W AYS & M EANS
Name Tags Delores Theuerkauf 822-5090 erniet@suddenlink.net BY C OLLEEN H EDRICK
Program Margaret Stafford 822-3522 tom-marg@suddenlink.net
It's reported by Margaret Stafford that
Publicity Paula Cunningham 443-9685 nooage@pacbell.net Eureka Republican Women, their
Telephone Chair Bernice Huston 822-0997 bhuston21@att.net guests, and community members can
Committee Jeannette Cruz 442-1852 jeannettelcruz@yahoo.com look forward to a chance to take home a
bundle of first-rate, top choice,
Connie Mortenson 725-5837 precision cut Douglas Fir kindling to
Terry Roberts 599-3255 terryroberts@coldwellbanker.com start fires in their fireplaces or stoves.
Ruth Schnell 444-8579 eurekaruthe@sbcglobal.net Margaret said that this Kadillac of
Kindling is through the generous efforts
Irene Schultz 822-9056 ischultz@suddenlink.net
of Gordie Amos (Eileen's other half).
Pat Stolte 725-4031 patstolte@prodigy.net She added that this fire starter's treasure
Haline Sundet 442-2623 will be well worth some extra chances
on the courtesy drawing at the
Debbie Walker 441-1126 walktalk@suddenlink.net
Thursday, Novemeber 20 meeting.
Ways & Means Joy Finley 845-2575 joyfinley@suddenlink.net
Website Master Bill Odonnell 442-4117 ERWF@odonnell.ws

The Redwood Alert is designed by Sondra Kirtley of Scrapper’s Edge.

To assist Sondra, please submit newsletter contributions as Word documents, typed with Times Roman 10-point font and
single-spaced. Send as attachments to: ScrappersEdge@sbcglobal.net

Does anyone want to help? It would be helpful if one member could gather all the articles and submit them as one Word
document to Sondra. If you’re interested, please contact Sondra or Joy.
P AGE 4 T HE R EDWOOD A LERT

F ROM NFRW
(National Federation of Republican Women) Nov 6, 2008

Let's remember to celebrate these bright spots:

• Despite the outcome of the presidential race, Gov. Sarah Palin has emerged as a star in
the Republican Party. Palin made history as the Party's first female vice presidential candidate.
With a direct approach and dynamic personality, she was a powerful force on the campaign trail.
Sarah, as she is often affectionately called, is energetic, enthusiastic, intelligent, courageous, a
strong leader who still is "one of us." I truly believe we haven't seen the last of this amazing
Republican woman on the national stage.
• During the final weeks of the campaign, Senate Democrats began playing up the
possibility of achieving a filibuster-proof 60 seats. Thankfully, it doesn't look like this will
materialize. The Democrats needed nine additional seats to get to that magic number. So far,
they have added five seats, but will need to sweep the remaining four undecided races in Alaska,
Georgia, Minnesota and Oregon - a very unlikely scenario. If the filibuster is preserved, our
Republican senators are going to play a critical role in the upcoming legislative session, and they
will need all of the support we can give them, so be prepared for action.
• Two Republicans are newly-elected to the U.S. Senate. Former Nebraska Gov. Mike
Johanns has won the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), while Idaho Lt.
Gov. James Risch has won the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID).
• Although results are still being tabulated, so far, four state legislative chambers have
switched from Democrat to Republican. They are the Tennessee House and the Tennessee
Senate (the first time since Reconstruction that Republicans have controlled both legislative
chambers), the Oklahoma Senate (the first time in state history), and the Montana Senate.
• All incumbent Republican governors running for reelection won their races. They are:
Mitch Daniels of Indiana, John Hoeven of North Dakota, Jon Huntsman Jr. of Utah, and
Jim Douglas of Vermont. Also, Republicans picked up the governorship in Puerto Rico for the
first time since 1969, with Luis Fortuño winning in a landslide election.
• How did Republican women candidates fare? In Kansas, state Treasurer Lynn
Jenkins unseated Democrat incumbent Nancy Boyda in the second congressional district race.
In Oklahoma, Dana Murphy soundly defeated Democrat incumbent Jim Roth in the
Corporation Commission race. In Wyoming, former state Treasurer Cynthia Lummis won the
at-large congressional seat being vacated by retiring U.S. Rep. Barbara Cubin (R-WY). All three
are members of the NFRW.

While I hesitate to end on a sad note, I would be remiss if I didn't recognize three outstanding
Republican women leaders who unfortunately lost their bids for reelection: U.S. Sen.
Elizabeth Dole (R-NC), U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO) and U.S. Rep. Thelma
Drake (R-VA). We are grateful for their distinguished service to our nation, and wish them all
the best.

Thank you again for everything you have done to help our Republican candidates and for
making the National Federation of Republican Women an organization committed to excellence
and accomplishment. I am so proud of each one of you!

If you think health care is expensive now, wait until

you see what it costs when it's free!
-P.J. O'Rourke
V OLUME 33, I SSUE 10 P AGE 5

H EALTHCARE S HOULDN ’ T BE L INKED TO E MPLOYMENT

B Y J EF F J ACOBY , G LOBE C OLUMIST SUBMITTED BY E ILEEN A MOS
THE CHOICE you'll have," said Barack Obama during last week's debate, as he told voters
what to expect if John McCain's health-insurance proposal becomes law, "is having your
employer no longer provide you healthcare.
"Don't take my word for it," he added. "The US Chamber of Commerce, which
generally doesn't support a lot of Democrats, said that this plan could lead to the unraveling
of the employer-based healthcare system."
If only.
An end to employer-based health insurance is exactly what the American healthcare
market needs. Far from being a calamity, it would represent a giant step toward ending the
current system's worst distortions: skyrocketing premiums, lack of insurance portability,
widespread ignorance of medical prices, and overconsumption of health services.
With more than 90 percent of private healthcare plans in the United States obtained through
employers, it might seem unnatural to get health insurance any other way. But what's unnatural is the
link between healthcare and employment. After all, we don't rely on employers for auto, homeowners,
or life insurance. Those policies we buy in an open market, where numerous insurers and agents
compete for our business. Health insurance is different only because of an idiosyncrasy in the tax code
dating back 60 years - a good example, to quote Milton Friedman, of how one bad government policy
leads to another.
During World War II, federal wage controls barred employers from raising their workers'
salaries, but said nothing about fringe benefits. So firms competing for employees at government-
restricted wages began offering medical insurance to sweeten employment offers. Even sweeter was that
employers could deduct those benefits as business expenses, yet employees didn't have to report them
as taxable income. For a while the IRS resisted that interpretation, but Congress eventually enshrined
the tax-exempt status of employer-based medical insurance in law.
Result: a radical shift in the way Americans paid for medical care. With health benefits tax-free
if they were employer-supplied, tens of millions of Americans were soon signing up for medical
insurance through work. As tax rates rose, so did the incentive to keep expanding health benefits. No
longer was medical insurance reserved for major expenditures like surgery or hospitalization.
Americans who would never think of using auto insurance to cover tune-ups and oil changes grew
accustomed to having their medical insurer pay for yearly physicals, prescriptions, and other routine
expenses.
We thus ended up with a healthcare system in which the vast majority of bills are covered by a
third party. With someone else picking up the tab, Americans got used to consuming medical care
without regard to price or value. After all, if it was covered by insurance, why not go to the emergency
room for a simple sore throat? Why not get the name-brand drug instead of a generic?
Unconstrained by consumer cost-consciousness, healthcare spending has soared, even as
overall inflation has remained fairly low. Nevertheless, Americans know almost nothing about the costs
of their medical care. (Quick quiz: What does your local hospital charge for an MRI scan? To deliver a
baby? To set a broken arm?) When patients think someone else is paying most of their healthcare costs,
they feel little pressure to learn what those costs actually are - and providers feel little pressure to
compete on price. So prices keep rising, which makes insurance more expensive, which makes
Americans ever-more worried about losing their insurance - and ever-more dependent on the benefits
provided by their employer.
De-linking medical insurance from employment is the key to reforming healthcare in the
United States. McCain proposes to accomplish that by taking the tax deduction away from employers
and giving it to employees. With a $5,000 refundable healthcare tax credit, Americans would have a
strong inducement to buy their own, more affordable, insurance, rather than relying on their employer's
plan. As millions of empowered consumers began focusing on price, price competition would flourish.
And as employers' healthcare costs declined, most of the savings would return to employees as higher
wages.
For 60-plus years, a misguided tax preference for employer-sponsored health insurance has
distorted America's healthcare market. The price of that distortion has been paid in higher costs, fewer
choices, and mounting anxiety. The solution is to restore market forces by fixing the tax code, and
liberating Americans from an employer-based system that has made everything worse.
P AGE 6 T HE R EDWOOD A LERT

M ARK Y OUR C ALENDAR

November 14 NFRW Regional Meeting
Las Vegas

November 20 EFRW Luncheon

Red Lion, Eureka

November 21-23 Northern Division Fall Conference, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Foster City
January 17 Northern Division Leadership Seminar, Fairfield
Feb. 6-8 CFRW Winter Conference, San LuisObispo
Mar. 13-14 Northern Division Spring Conference, Redding
May 3-5 CFRW 34th Advocacy Workshop and Spring 2009 Board Meeting
Hyatt Regency at Capitol Park, Sacramento

N OMINATING C OMMITTEE R EPORT

The Nominating Committee has chosen the people below for 2009:
President: Colleen Hedrick
1st Vice President: Debbie Walker
2nd Vice President: Joy Finley
Recording. Secretary: Terry Roberts
Treasurer: Cindy Lewis
Director at Large: Jeannette Cruz

M EMBERSHIP BY B ARBARA H ECATHORN

I want to give a big “thank you” to Joy Finley and Mike Harvey along with everyone that
supported my successful campaign for re-election to the Water District. Mike and Joy really
made it happen, many good people were not as fortunate.
A special acknowledgement to Carolyn Eisner, she has been a member of ERWF for 50
years. She must have some great stories to tell. Thank you Carolyn.

We ended October with 224 members. Membership dues for 2009 can be paid at any time
now and can be sent to my address shown on the Bulletin.

In general, the art of government consists of

taking as much money as possible from one
party of the citizens to give to the other.

-Voltaire (1764)
V OLUME 33, I SSUE 10 P AGE 7

Jack R. MacDonald

Bella Baskets
Gourmet Gifts & More
412 2nd St. Eureka, CA 95501
707-444-2823 or 877-445-0152
ordergifts@bella-baskets.com
www.bella-baskets.com

Bernice Huston, artist/weaver

P.O. Box 785
Blue Lake, CA 95525
707-822-0997

Studio: 29 Glendale Road

THE REDWOOD ALERT 2008 Advertising Rates

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Space is currently available for advertising joyfinley@suddenlink.net
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