Congress
In Recess
President
Signs Dot.Kids Bill
William
J. Murray
Our
Staff At White House
Event
William
J.
Murray
with
President
George
W. Bush |
|
On
Wednesday of this week
members of the staff of
the Religious Freedom
Coalition including
myself were invited to
the Roosevelt Room of
the White House to
witness President George
W. Bush sign the "Dot
Kids Implementation and
Enforcement Act of 2002."
(HR- 3833)
The
bill was originally
sponsored and guided
through the House by Congressman
John Shimkus. This
bill sets up a new
Internet domain for kids
only (.kids.us). Under
the bill the new domain
will have sites screened
for violence and sexual
content before they are
allowed up. No chat
rooms, instant messaging
or hyper links will be
allowed on sites at dot
kids unless it is proven
they can be done safely.
"This
legislation establishes
an Internet domain (.kids.us)
as a kids-friendly area
on the World Wide
Web," Congressman
Shimkus said. "My
intent is simple, to
have a section of the
Internet safe for my
children and all
children.
The
legislation was passed
much earlier by the
House but only passed
the Senate on the very
last day of the session.
Like most family
friendly legislation
passed by the House, it
was held up in the
Senate by Democrats who
did not want to offend
their ultra-radical,
anti-family,
anti-Christian base.
Nicknamed
the "Dot Kids"
bill, it is one of the
many pro-family bills
the Religious Freedom
Coalition supported in
the 107th Congress which
just adjourned.
On
signing the bill President
Bush said, "Dot
Kids will be a part of
the U.S. Country domain
on the Internet. It will
function much like the
children’s section of
the Library, where
parents feel comfortable
allowing their children
to browse. It will be a
safe place for children
to go." He
continued, "Every
site designated Dot Kids
will be a safe zone for
children."
OUR
SIGNING EVENT BECOMES A
PRESS CONFERENCE
Just
after inviting Congressman
Skimkus and a few
other Members who had
supported the bill
forward to witness his
signature, the President
turned the event into a
news conference. This
was totally unexpected
by everyone. In fact the
President said to our
group, "You’re
stuck in a mini-press
conference here,"
and then laughed.
A
newsman behind me
immediately asked the
President about Iraq,
inferring that Iraq was
cooperating and that
nothing had been found.
The President responded
sharply ".... we've
just started the
process. And one of the
things that I want to
continue to remind
Americans, this is not a
game that we're playing
of hide and seek. This
is our attempt to work
with the world community
to create peace. And the
best way for peace is
for Mr. Saddam Hussein
to disarm. It's up to
him to make his
decision."
When
asked if Kofi
Annan was correct in
saying that Iraq was
cooperating, the
President became
sterner, stating,
"We've been at this
-- what -- five days.
This is after 11 years
of deceit and defiance.
And the issue, again, is
not hide and seek; the
issue is whether or not
Saddam Hussein will
disarm..."
The
strangest question came
from a reporter I could
not identify. The
question was stated in
such a pro-Palestinian
manner that I have
repeated below the
entire question and the
President’s response.
Question
by reporter named Terry:
"A 95-year-old
woman was killed on the
West Bank yesterday, and
aid groups say that
malnutrition among
Palestinian children is
reaching crisis
proportions. What are
you doing to alleviate
that suffering? And are
you concerned that the
desperation of the
Palestinian community is
driving them into the
arms of al Qaeda?"
THE
PRESIDENT: "I am
concerned that
terrorists have
disrupted the ability
for peace-loving people
to move a process
forward. I am concerned
about that. And our
country will continue to
fight terror and join
our allies in fighting
terror wherever it
exists. And so I fully
understand the Israeli
government's attempt to
stamp out terror,
because we'll never have
peace so long as
terrorists are able to
disrupt. I'm also
concerned about the
plight of the
Palestinian people. I'm
concerned about
suffering that has taken
place as a result of the
activities of
terrorists.
We're
working with the Sharon
government to allow for
tax receipts to be
redistributed amongst
the Palestinian people.
And there are a lot of
non-governmental
organizations doing work
within the Palestinian
Territory to make sure
that people don't
starve.
But
the net effect of
terrorism is to not only
stop the peace process,
but is to cause
suffering amongst all
the people of the
region. And that's why
our war against terror
must -- must remain
steadfast and strong,
wherever terror
exists."
Yes,
Terry. Oh, you just
asked a question.
Q
I'll ask another one --
THE
PRESIDENT: No, that's
fine, that's plenty.
(Laughter.) You did a
wonderful job. It was
such a great question, I
already forgot it. Next.
(Laughter.)
William
J Murray, Chairman
Religious
Freedom Coalition
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