Arizona Supreme Court allows school choice program to stand

Arizona Supreme Court allows school choice program to stand
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By Mary Tillotson | Watchdog.org

Arizona’s highest court has effectively ruled in favor of the state’s innovative education savings account program, allowing hundreds of students access to a flexible, tailored education.

“This is really exciting news for families in Arizona,” said Jonathan Butcher, education director for the Goldwater Institute, which had intervened in the lawsuit on behalf of Arizona families.

Last fall, the state’s appeals court ruled in favor of the program, distinguishing it from a voucher program that was ruled unconstitutional in 2009. Opponents of the ESA program appealed, and the Supreme Court on Friday denied the appeal, allowing the lower court’s decision — and the program — to stand.

“What’s tremendous is that the appeals ruling was so strong,” Butcher said. “The language in there really confirmed everything that we said about education savings accounts from the beginning. We’ve made the case that they are distinct from vouchers and the provision in the law makes them unique, and parents are not compelled to spend their money on any one thing.”

When the state Supreme Court struck down the voucher program in 2009, it found legal footing in the state’s Blaine Amendment, which prohibits public funds from aiding private schools, whether or not they’re faith-based. Families using vouchers were required to spend voucher money on private schools.

Families using ESAs receive a limited-use debit card and permission to spend that money on private school tuition, textbooks, tutoring, education therapy and other educational expenses. The money rolls over year to year and can be saved for college.

When the appeals court upheld the ESA program, it noted that parents don’t have to spend the money on private school tuition — and therefore, the program doesn’t violate the state’s constitution.

“The specified object of the ESA is the beneficiary families, not private or sectarian schools,” the appeals court’s opinion stated. “Depending on how the parents choose to educate their children, this may or may not include paying tuition at a private school.”

Butcher said he hopes other states will take the court’s decision as a cue to enact their own ESA programs.

“The life cycle of school choice programs is almost predictable,” he said. “It gets passed in the law, the union sues, the court decides, and if they decide favorably, other states start doing it.”

About 700 students are currently using Arizona’s ESA program, and state lawmakers are considering several bills that would expand the program to allow more students to participate. Currently, students with special needs, children adopted from the state foster system, children assigned to failing schools and children of active-duty military families are eligible.

Several states have considered enacting ESA programs, but so far none has passed.

1. Arizona mom won’t give up on special needs kids, no matter what state says


2. Reviving a 1970s lawsuit, DOJ would keep black students in failing schools


3. Relocating sexually abusive teachers would be more difficult under Pennsylvania bill


4. DOJ backpedals on Louisiana voucher lawsuit


5. Court says charter schools won’t pay for Atlanta’s pension debts


6. Biggest education impact from shutdown? Furloughed bureaucrats


7. Appeals court upholds Arizona school choice program


8. Indiana’s voucher program expands; diversity a factor in one family’s choice of school


9. ‘Vouchers don’t do much good for students’ claim is false


10. NYC mayor’s race could affect school choice


11. Vermont public school goes independent, raises ire from state bureaucracy


12. Arizona education savings accounts aren’t vouchers, study says


13. Legal institute fights Alabama union’s attempt to repeal school tax credit


14. Experts: School choice improves education in public schools


15. SC school-choice program helps special needs kids, could expand


16. DOJ wants Louisiana parents out of voucher lawsuit


17. U.S. House passes bill to prevent ‘passing the trash’


18. ‘Non-traditional’ journalists barred from viewing tax-funded test results early


19. New center hopes to help charter schools help kids with special needs


20. Charter school advocate to Philadelphia schools: Listen to parents


21. $ 45 million not enough for Philadelphia teachers’ union


22. Study: Rhode Islanders support school choice


23. Study: Choice would help failing Chicago schools


24. Scholarships could lift SC school dedicated to real-life, hands-on learning


25. Parents make good school choices, study says


26. Divisive charter school reform bill headed toward vote in PA


27. In Louisiana school voucher lawsuit, DOJ changes gears


28. Opponents sue Washington to overturn charter school law


29. School choice proponents’ challenge? Educating parents


30. Judge: Federal oversight may not hamper school voucher program


31. PA lawmakers push to amend tight teacher furlough policies


32. College ready: A Milwaukee inner-city school success story


33. Proposed economic furloughs could slay sacred cow of seniority in Pennsylvania schools


34. What is Massachusetts doing right?


35. Goldwater to appeal Louisiana school voucher decision


36. Want to end poverty? Educate the kids


37. Breakdown in Philly schools not only about the money


38. North Carolina scholarship program on firm legal footing, attorney argues


39. Philadelphia school district threatens charters


40. Belief in student ability key to success at Milwaukee charter school


41. Three things to know about Philadelphia’s school budget: Debt, pensions and safety


42. Choosing to sue: Here’s a look at some 2013 lawsuits involving school choice


43. Philly charter schools outperform district counterparts


44. California students sue state over ineffective teachers


45. Study: Public supports parent choice in education


46. Under new management, Philly Renaissance Schools show growth


47. New Orleans tops school choice index


48. AZ to consider four school-choice expansion bills


49. Florida family ‘blessed’ to be apart of scholarship program


50. PA lawmakers put education at top of agenda in election year


51. Louisiana: Feds ‘more interested in skin color than … education’


52. Charter school for Philadelphia foster children will not be renewed


53. Governor ties proposed PA education funding to targeted grants


54. Vermont attempts to take independence from independent schools


55. WA’s first charter school serves children, families of ‘extreme poverty’


56. Philly stumbles on way to simplifying enrollment system


57. Plan for Philly schools keeps charters in check


58. Missouri ballot initiative would increase funding for public, private schools


59. New York charter school focuses on family, community


60. NC school vouchers on hold


61. WI voucher bill would help special needs students denied open enrollment


62. Philadelphia schools will end another year in red


63. PA universities expect state, students to pick up tab on rising tuition


64. Two ESA bills get House support in AZ


65. Thousands rally to support New York charter schools


66. California’s defense begins in Vergara trial


67. Accountability or overregulation? Charter supporters split over Minnesota bill


68. PA considers empowering universities to authorize charter schools


69. Bill would make Florida students eligible for scholarships


70. To test or not to test? Florida school choice proponents split


71. Philly school district broke, but the pay is good


72. Philadelphia charter school sues public school district


73. Colorado Supreme Court to hear school voucher case


74. Vermont to reconsider education funding formula


75. Arizona Supreme Court allows school choice program to stand

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Read more about Arizona Supreme Court allows school choice program to stand and other interesting subjects concerning NSA at TheDailyNewsReport.com

Judge allows clinic to evade consequences of dangerous health violations

CHICAGO, Feb. 11, 2014 /Christian Newswire/ – Today, Thomas More Society attorneys along with Illinois Right to Life issued a women’s public health memorandum demanding the Illinois Attorney General’s office appeal Judge Alexander White’s decision to permit a $ 77 payment to satisfy the Illinois Department of Public Health’s $ 36,000 fine against Women’s Aid Clinic.

According to the women’s public health memo, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) conducted its first health inspection in 15 years of Women’s Aid Clinic on September 9, 2011. Following the inspection, the IDPH shut down the women’s clinic on an emergency basis, assessing countless sanitary violations. Some of these violations included storing frozen tv dinners in the same biohazard refrigerator as eight containers of fetal tissue. All five recovery rooms contained rust and nearly twenty medication cups with Motrin and Tylenol also had crumbs in them. A technician was observed by inspectors as “retrieving a paper towel from a garbage receptacle and using the same paper towel to cover a tray that would serve food items to patients.” The IDPH inspection report also cited the women’s clinic for failing to perform CPR on a girl who died following an abortion.

“The women of Illinois deserve well-kept and sanitary health centers, not substandard ones,” said Emily Zender, executive director of Illinois Right to Life. “We demand the Illinois Attorney General’s office treat women better by holding this women’s health center fully accountable for abusing their female patients. Failure to appeal the ruling effectively creates get-out-of-jail-free cards that allow health centers to skirt fines by playing Chicago-style politics with women’s health.”

According to the memo, after the IDPH inspection and assessment of fines, Women’s Aid Clinic owner Larisa Rozansky informed the IDPH that “…Women’s Aid Clinic, IDPH LIC. NO. 7001647 will be closing as of November 10, 2011.” However, the memo details evidence that Rozansky closed Women’s Aid Clinic only to promptly open Women’s Aid Center in its place — at the same address, with the same phone number, and using the same website.

“Compelling evidence makes it clear that Women’s Aid Clinic is attempting to duck responsibility for their flagrant disregard for women’s safety simply by making a minor, technical change to their name,” said Jocelyn Floyd, an attorney for the Thomas More Society. “How can the women of this state trust the Illinois Department of Public Health to protect female patients if the consequences for not meeting Illinois’ medical standards are just brushed aside?”

According to the public health memorandum, strongly persuasive evidence was produced to Judge Alexander White that Women’s Aid Clinic changed its name and filed a new business registration to avoid paying the sanitary violation fines. However, the women’s health center’s attempt to skirt the law was ignored and its fine was reduced to $ 77, which was the amount claimed to be remaining in the bank account on the entity.

The Illinois Attorney General has until February 13, 2014, to appeal Judge Alexander’s January 14 ruling that allows a $ 77 payment to suffice for $ 36,000 worth of violations.

Conservative Daily News

Judge allows clinic to evade consequences of dangerous health violations

Utah Gay Marriage: Court Allows Same-Sex Marriages To Continue, Denying State"s Request To Halt Weddings

(Credit: USA Today)

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Utah Gay Marriage: Court Allows Same-Sex Marriages To Continue, Denying State"s Request To Halt Weddings

Censored: After Skipping the IRS Scandal for Five Months, ABC Allows a Scant 22 Seconds

Five months after dropping coverage of the Internal Revenue Service scandal, ABC’s Good Morning America on Wednesday finally found time to allow a few seconds to mention the targeting of conservatives. CBS and NBC on Tuesday and Wednesday both ignored the fact that the Obama administration is doubling down and now attempting to rein in non-profit groups.

GMA‘s Josh Elliott blandly noted, “In the wake of the IRS targeting scandal, the Obama administration wants to limit the political influence of tax-exempt groups.” He added that the White House is seeking to create new “donation standards to curb the explosive growth in political spending.” Elliott added, “The IRS has been accused of unfairly scrutinizing groups affiliated with the Tea Party.” [MP3 audio here.]

Instead of covering this development, CBS This Morning donated five minutes and 27 seconds to the latest episode of Person of Interest (which airs on the same network).

NBC’s Today spent four minutes informing viewers how to deal with being a perfectionist.

Although ABC’s GMA covered the move by the Obama administration, it was only for 22 seconds. In comparison, the morning show obsessed over the season finale of Dancing With the Stars for 12 and half minutes. (Naturally, Dancing With the Stars is on ABC.)

Before Wednesday, it was way back on June 26, 2013 that ABC explained any of the scandals swirling around the IRS and its targeting of the Tea Party. It’s not as though there haven’t been new developments. The MRC’s Geoff Dickens in September highlighted the latest, such as this report from the Washington Times:

IRS employees were ‘acutely’ aware in 2010 that President Obama wanted to crack down on conservative organizations and were egged into targeting tea party groups by press reports mocking the emerging movement, according to an interim report being circulated Tuesday by House investigators.

On Wednesday, Washington Post writers Matea Gold and Tom Hamburger explained, “The Obama administration moved Tuesday to limit the expansive role that nonprofit groups play in politics, proposing a regulation that would rein in ­certain tax-exempt organizations that have been able to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in recent elections without revealing their donors.”

The Post journalists recounted:

This comes in the wake of the revelations earlier this year that IRS employees were using political terms such as “tea party” and “patriot” to screen for 501(c)(4) groups that were potentially engaging in excessive election-related activity.

The scandal led to congressional hearings and the departure of senior IRS officials, as well as charges by Republicans that the Obama administration was targeting groups based on their political leanings. In the aftermath, Treasury and IRS officials pledged to review the current “facts and circumstances” test used to ensure that 501(c)(4) groups are staying within the bounds of their “social welfare” mandate, saying there was a need for clearer guidance.

In July, over a mere three days, the network morning shows hyped the birth of the royal baby, offering more coverage in 72 hours than to all of the IRS scandal, up until that point.

A transcript of the November 27 GMA news brief is below:

7:11

JOSH ELLIOTT: In the wake of the IRS targeting scandal, the Obama administration wants to limit the political influence of tax-exempt groups. And thus, it is proposing new rules and donation standards to curb the explosive growth in political spending by non-profits. The IRS has been accused of unfairly scrutinizing groups affiliated with the Tea Party.

— Scott Whitlock is Senior News Analyst at the Media Research Center. Follow Scott Whitlock on Twitter.

BiasAlerts

Censored: After Skipping the IRS Scandal for Five Months, ABC Allows a Scant 22 Seconds

Commercially available NSA-style surveillance software allows everyday people to spy on smartphones

By Madison Ruppert

Editor of End the Lie

(Image credit: MLazarevski/Flickr)

Everyday people can now use surveillance software to spy on the phone calls and text messages of others, somewhat like a crude version of the National Security Agency (NSA) spy programs.

However, the commercially produced software can’t really hold a candle to the U.S. government’s custom malware including software enabling the remote activation of cameras and microphones, ability to track cell phones even when they’re off and massive metadata collection and analysis programs.

Let’s not forget, the software also doesn’t have the world’s largest surveillance network backing it up either.

The use of spy software made available to the public is apparently quite widespread. A new study examined data traffic of mobile devices on a European carrier’s Middle Eastern network and found that hundreds of people had surveillance software installed on their phones, according to Bloomberg.

The software isn’t the product of malicious applications users unknowingly download. Instead, they’re spyware placed by people with physical access to the device.

Mobile surveillance software is capable of everything from secretly logging all text messages, phone calls and contacts to even live eavesdropping on phone calls.

The study, conducted by Lacoon Mobile Security, a San Francisco-based startup, found that over 600 phones on the particular network had spyware.

Lacoon does research and development in Israel, according to Bloomberg, and sells mobile security software to detect malicious mobile apps and defend corporate networks. The company was founded by former members of the Israel Defense Forces.

Most of the installations were likely done by either spouse or private investigators, according to Michael Shaulov, CEO of Lacoon.

Shaulov told Bloomberg that he expects the number of infected phones to grow as the awareness of surveillance technology increases.

While spouses and private investigators are one major source of this type of spyware, corporate espionage is another driving factor behind installation of spyware, according to Bloomberg.

Shaulov would not identify what carrier the study analyzed, but he did say that they got permission to conduct the study from the carrier.

The study analyzed wireless traffic to see the number of devices sending data to servers associated with spyware companies in order to determine how many phones were infected.

Almost half of the infected phones were linked to SpyToMobile, a product marketed directly to consumers.

SpyToMobile boasts of  its ability to “intercept incoming and outgoing SMS messages, call history and contacts.”

The app collects data even when the phone doesn’t have an internet connection, then sends the information to SpyToMobile servers when the phone is reconnected to the internet.

It is also apparently able to track phones via GPS, as indicated by their frequently asked questions.

The SpyToMobile terms of service state that users can only install the software on phones that they own or obtain written authorization from the person being spied on, according to Bloomberg.

The company told Bloomberg via email that all users must accept their terms of service and that they have suspended accounts if they discovered the app was being used without the permission of the device’s owner.

Interestingly, Bloomberg noted that SpyToMobile is actually using the NSA spy scandal in their sales pitch.

SpyToMobile “said it does not share data with the NSA. At least, not knowingly,” Jordan Robertson wrote for Bloomberg.

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Commercially available NSA-style surveillance software allows everyday people to spy on smartphones

Warning: Enrolling in Obamacare allows government to link your IP address with your name, social security number, bank accounts and web surfing habits

(NaturalNews) We have already established that Healthcare.gov is not a functioning database application that allows people to shop for competing health plans. It is actually a government-run Trojan Horse that suckers people into creating accounts where they hand over:

• Name and address
• Email address and password
• Social security number
• Private bank account details
• Employer details and other information

During the enrollment process, your computer also hands over your IP address which is then tied to your social security number.

This IP address is then handed over to the NSA thanks to its new mega-black-hole data center in Utah, where your IP is cross-referenced with all website visits, including:

• “Anti-government” websites
• Porn sites
• Gambling sites
• File sharing sites
• “Terrorism” support sites
• Encryption service sites like Hushmail
• Chat rooms, message boards and more

Armed with this information, the NSA can then link your seemingly-anonymous online chats, comments and posts with your social security number. Linguistic algorithms can “score” your online posts to create red flags that call for additional investigations of anyone using words like “liberty” or “patriot.”

This information can then be turned over to law enforcement, as is found in the fine print of the Maryland Obamacare exchange, which states:

…we may share information provided in your application with the appropriate authorities for law enforcement and audit activities.

Thus, by enrolling in Obamacare, you are voluntarily surveilling yourself and handing over the data to the government while also AGREEING to terms of self-incrimination.

Ponder the implications of this for a moment…

Obamacare is the meta-level con of tricking Americans into thinking they’re signing up for free health insurance when, in reality, the website primarily exists to scrape personal financial details, passwords, emails and social security numbers from Americans who will later be targeted by the government itself.

All the emails registered with Healthcare.gov, for example, will likely be used by the Obama administration to spam people with political propaganda or contrived “terror alerts” that use fear to concentrate more power in the hands of government.

All the financial data will be turned over to the IRS for criminal investigations of Americans who are suspected of under-reporting their incomes (or supporting “patriot” groups with financial donations).

All the passwords used on Healthcare.gov will be turned over to the NSA and matched up with individual IP addresses so that NSA operatives can hack into private bank accounts, encrypted email accounts and other private data, based on the assumption that most users use identical passwords across all the websites they commonly access. (A person’s password under Obamacare probably has a 50% chance of also working for their online banking. And since the NSA has your social security number, it’s a no-brainer to match up your online surfing habits with your phone number, home address, investment holdings, tax returns, international travel history and so on.)

In essence, Obamacare allows the government to gather a goldmine of private data that can be exploited to target, punish, incriminate, blackmail or steal from any desired target.

As this is a federal government that believes it now has total power to do anything it wants without limit, there are no boundaries of what it might do with this data. Remember, Obama is the president who literally maintains “kill lists” of Americans to have terminated. This is openly admitted and confirmed. The Obama administration also believes it can bypass Congress and simply create new law by executive order, concentrating all power into its own hands with no regard for the separation of power upon which this nation was founded.

As is common with tyrants, the Obama administration truly believes the People have no right to privacy, no right to due process, no right to representation in government and no right to determine your own engagement in commerce. This is why Obama is playing such hardball to shove Obamacare down everybody’s throats: the government desperately needs to gather all this surveillance data so that it can leverage it to blackmail members of the U.S. Supreme Court, the Senate, the House, and even federal judges. Blackmail is essential to maintaining power in a corrupt society. And Healthcare.gov is the portal for scraping passwords, IP addresses and even financial details from anyone gullible enough to actually hand this over to government (i.e. democrats).

As far as I’m concerned, the IRS can fine me all they want. I’m never voluntarily enrolling in Obamacare, even if you put a gun to my head like Obama is doing to the entire nation right now with this insane, contrived government shutdown that treats our own veterans like dirt.

All dignity is now gone from the Obama administration. Zero credibility remains. The government has all but openly declared war on the People and is actively using tricks like Healthcare.gov to coerce people into incriminating themselves. The Obama administration is out of control and a grave danger to society. It must be lawfully stopped from damaging America any further.

Now is the time to seriously discuss impeachment, not just of the President but of every U.S. Senator and House member who voted for this unconstitutional, “Trojan Horse” health care system that’s destroying America’s economy and wasting an unprecedented amount of time, money and effort. End Obamacare now and restore dignity and justice to America.

About the author:
Mike Adams (aka the “Health Ranger“) is the founding editor of NaturalNews.com, the internet’s No. 1 natural health news website, now reaching 7 million unique readers a month.

With a background in science and software technology, Adams is the original founder of the email newsletter technology company known as Arial Software. Using his technical experience combined with his love for natural health, Adams developed and deployed the content management system currently driving NaturalNews.com. He also engineered the high-level statistical algorithms that power SCIENCE.naturalnews.com, a massive research resource now featuring over 10 million scientific studies.

In addition to being the co-star of the popular GAIAM TV series called Secrets to Health, Adams is also the (non-paid) executive director of the non-profit Consumer Wellness Center (CWC), an organization that redirects 100% of its donations receipts to grant programs that teach children and women how to grow their own food or vastly improve their nutrition. Click here to see some of the CWC success stories.

In 2013, Adams created the Natural News Forensic Food Laboratory, a research lab that analyzes common foods and supplements, reporting the results to the public. He is well known for his incredibly popular consumer activism video blowing the lid on fake blueberries used throughout the food supply. He has also exposed “strange fibers” found in Chicken McNuggets, fake academic credentials of so-called health “gurus,” dangerous “detox” products imported as battery acid and sold for oral consumption, fake acai berry scams, the California raw milk raids, the vaccine research fraud revealed by industry whistleblowers and many other topics.

Adams has also helped defend the rights of home gardeners and protect the medical freedom rights of parents. Adams is widely recognized to have made a remarkable global impact on issues like GMOs, vaccines, nutrition therapies, human consciousness.

In addition to his activism, Adams is an accomplished musician who has released ten popular songs covering a variety of activism topics.

Click here to read a more detailed bio on Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, at HealthRanger.com.

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Warning: Enrolling in Obamacare allows government to link your IP address with your name, social security number, bank accounts and web surfing habits

U.S. judge allows lawsuit against Google over email ads

Dan Levine
Reuters
Sept. 27, 2013

A federal judge on Thursday refused to dismiss most of a lawsuit against Google Inc over allegations the company improperly scanned the content of customers’ emails in order to place ads.

U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California ruled that the proposed class action lawsuit against Google can proceed. She rejected Google’s argument that its users had consented to having their email read for the purposes of targeted advertising.

“We’re disappointed in this decision and are considering our options,” Google spokesman Matt Kallman said in an email.

Read More

This article was posted: Friday, September 27, 2013 at 9:31 am

Tags: big brother, business, domestic spying, internet

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U.S. judge allows lawsuit against Google over email ads

California Bill Allows Nurses, Others to Perform Abortions

California’s liberal Gov. Jerry Brown now has a bill on his desk allowing nurses, certified midwives, and other specially trained clinicians to perform early-term vacuum aspiration and medicine-induced abortions.

AB 154, whose main sponsor is Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California and is supported by numerous pro-choice groups, passed both legislative chambers this past week and is now on Brown’s desk, reports Breitbart News.

If Brown signs the bill, it will allow non-physician staff at Planned Parenthood’s clinics, among others, to obtain licenses to perform the abortion procedures.

Planned Parenthood says the legislation is necessary because a shortage of doctors in some parts of the state means that women often have to wait until later in their pregnancies to terminate them, which is a riskier procedure.

“Early abortion access is a critical public health issue,” Planned Parenthood says on its legislative page.

“An estimated one in three women will decide to terminate a pregnancy by age 45, yet many women often do not have sufficient access to early abortions because of the limited number of physicians providing the services in their communities. Almost half of the counties in California have no accessible abortion provider, requiring women to travel significant distances to terminate a pregnancy or wait for an appointment for services.”

The bill is co-sponsored by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACCESS Women’s Health Justice, Black Women for Wellness, California Latinas for Reproductive Justice, and NARAL Pro-Choice California.

Pro-life groups are lobbying Brown to veto the bill, saying it will multiply the number of abortions performed in California.

“This bill is not about helping women, it is specifically designed to trivialize what an abortion is, and its risks,” Brian Johnston

Executive Director, California Pro-Life Council, told LifeNews.com.

“The founder of National Abortion Rights Action League, Dr. Bernard Nathanson, who subsequently became pro-life, says that vacuum aspiration abortion is inherently dangerous to the mother, as the physician must blindly probe for the baby.”

And in California, Johnston said, “the California Business and Professions Code prohibits abortions being done on animals unless the abortionist is a trained and certified veterinary surgeon. If 154 is made law, a mother dog will have more dignity in the eyes of California law than a vulnerable young mother talked into an abortion by a Planned Parenthood staffer.”

The legislation was introduced by Assemblywomen Toni Adkins, the former administrator of a health clinic in San Diego.

Adkins told KQED Public Radio that In nearly half of California’s 58 counties, the only abortion providers are in hospitals, which provide urgent care in case of emergencies. However, women from rural areas who want a first trimester abortion often must travel long distances to obtain one at an unfamiliar clinic, Adkins said, and that geographic disparity is unjustified.

“Women need access to this procedure,” said Atkins. “And they should be able to get it in their own home communities, from providers they already know and trust.”

Atkins said abortions are medically a straightforward, simple procedure that can be performed safely in an outpatient setting by trained nurse practitioners, midwives or physician assistants.

Bill May, of Catholics for the Common Good, said that lawmakers passed the bill even though polls show Californians oppose allowing nurses to perform abortions.

“In a recent poll of California voters, across all demographics—men, women, African-Americans, Asians, Hispanics, Democrats, Republican, Independents—by a 65-29 margin, the idea of allowing nurse practitioners and physician assistants to conduct abortions is rejected,” said May, referring to a April survey by Smith-Johnson Research of Sacramento.

A doctor who identified himself as being pro-choice told Breitbart News called the bill a “disaster” because it “sends us back 100 years to the problems of the complications from back-street abortions.”

Critics also say the training for non-physician staff is weak and that doctors’ supervision will be minimal, creating a risk of injuring or killing women.

But the California Medical Association endorses the bill because of “provisions for training in the bill and the amendments that clarify physician supervision.”

The training will be provided by the Board of Registered Nursing and not by physicians, however, and the legislation does not require a doctor to be present at the abortions or even on site.

In addition to the aspiration method, the non-physician abortions can be done by medication. Many doctors agree that the non-physicians can provide medications without much risk, but the aspiration method causes more risks to the patient.

Opponents also complain that the bill is an effort by Planned Parenthood and other groups to profit from Obamacare, which expands the number of patients eligible for state-funded health insurance, Medi-Cal, which funds abortions.

© 2013 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

Newsmax – America

California Bill Allows Nurses, Others to Perform Abortions

CBO: Senate bill still allows illegal immigration

People shout out against the Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act in the hall outside the House Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 18, 2013. The committee in the Republican-led House is preparing to cast its first votes on immigration this year, on a tough enforcement-focused measure that Democrats and immigrant groups are protesting loudly. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

People shout out against the Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act in the hall outside the House Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 18, 2013. The committee in the Republican-led House is preparing to cast its first votes on immigration this year, on a tough enforcement-focused measure that Democrats and immigrant groups are protesting loudly. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

House Judiciary Committee members Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., sponsor of the Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act, left, talks with Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 18, 2013, prior to the start of the committee’s hearing to discuss the Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act. The committee in the Republican-led House is preparing to cast its first votes on immigration this year, on a tough enforcement-focused measure that Democrats and immigrant groups are protesting loudly. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

House Judiciary Committee member Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill. speak on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 18, 2013, during the committee’s hearing to discuss the Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act. The committee in the Republican-led House is preparing to cast its first votes on immigration this year, on a tough enforcement-focused measure that Democrats and immigrant groups are protesting loudly. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

The House Judiciary Committee ranking Democrat, Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich. speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 18, 2013, during the committee’s hearing to discuss the Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act. The committee in the Republican-led House is preparing to cast its first votes on immigration this year, on a tough enforcement-focused measure that Democrats and immigrant groups are protesting loudly. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Jackelin Alfaro, 4, in a t-shirt that reads “Don’t Depart my Dad” sits in the hall with family members outside the House Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 18, 2013. The committee hearing will discuss the Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act. The committee in the Republican-led House is preparing to cast its first votes on immigration this year, on a tough enforcement-focused measure that Democrats and immigrant groups are protesting loudly. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Illegal immigration into the United States would decrease by only 25 percent under a far-reaching Senate immigration bill, according to an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office that also finds the measure reduces federal deficits by billions.

Supporters of the legislation moving toward a vote on the Senate floor seized on the deficit-reduction findings by Congress’ nonpartisan scorekeeping agency, along with the agency’s forecast that the immigration measure would boost economic growth as millions of workers join the workforce and begin to pay taxes.

But the CBO report also found that the bill, which takes steps to prevent people coming to the U.S. illegally while offering the hope of citizenship to some 11 million people already here without authorization, does not come close to ending illegal immigration. Indeed some aspects of the bill would make the problem worse, the report said.

“Unauthorized residents would find it harder both to enter the country and to find employment while unauthorized. However, other aspects of the bill would probably increase the number of unauthorized residents — in particular, people overstaying their visas issued under the new programs for temporary workers,” the CBO report said, adding that the net annual flow of unauthorized residents would decrease by about 25 percent compared to current law.

Conservative activists were circulating the finding Wednesday morning.

But a spokesman for Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., a lead author of the immigration bill, questioned that CBO conclusion.

“The report does not question the toughness of the bill’s border security reforms, it just assumes that some immigrants who enter the country legally will overstay their visas,” said Schumer spokesman Brian Fallon. “But the bill creates a system to track people who overstay their visas and prevents employers from hiring them, so the number is likely to be much lower than CBO projects.”

The issue arose as senators were jockeying over amendments to the legislation, which would allow tens of thousands of new legal workers into the country for jobs in everything from high-tech companies to hotels to agriculture. The bill also sets out a 13-year process whereby millions could ultimately obtain citizenship, as long as certain goals on border security are met first.

Republicans have contended those “triggers” aren’t strict enough and have been offering amendments to strengthen these. Authors of the legislation say some of these efforts go too far and would delay the path to citizenship.

But Republican Sens. John Hoeven of North Dakota and Bob Corker of Tennessee were working on what they hoped could be a compromise measure that would lay out numerous specific steps for the government to take in order to secure the border, and potentially call for the government to demonstrate an ability to apprehend the vast majority of those attempting to enter the country illegally before anyone already present can obtain a permanent resident green card.

Hoeven and Corker were looking at packaging their amendment with others on enforcement issues by other Republican senators in hopes of building a bipartisan consensus for the bill.

“We have some people on our side of the aisle that just are not going to support the immigration bill, period,” Corker said Tuesday. “But I think there are a number of people on our side of the aisle that, if we could just get it tailored a little bit with a few other amendments, might be willing to send it over to the House. And there are a lot of people who think it might come back over here in a little better form than it leaves.”

The GOP-led House was confronting its own obstacles on immigration. Late Tuesday, the House Judiciary Committee agreed on a party-line 20-15 vote to approve a tough enforcement-focused immigration bill, over objections from Democrats and chants of “Shame, shame” from protesters. The measure would make being in the U.S. illegally a federal crime punishable by prison time, instead of a civil offense as it is now. It also would empower state and local law enforcement officials to enforce federal immigration laws.

On Wednesday, the committee was to take up a bill creating a temporary agriculture worker program.

The opposition among many House Republicans to sweeping action on immigration was on display Wednesday as Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, an immigration hardliner, convened a six-hour press conference outside the Capitol to highlight opposition to the Senate bill. People in the crowd held signs opposing “illegal aliens” and criticizing Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a conservative author of the Senate bill, as “Obama’s Idiot.”

Opposition in his conference to any immigration bill with a path to citizenship put House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, into a difficult position. On Wednesday, a day after trying to reassure House Republicans that he wouldn’t bring immigration legislation to the floor without majority support from Republicans, Boehner was to meet with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, which includes many liberal Democrats who are eager to see the House act on far-reaching legislation.

In the Senate, the bipartisan bill that President Barack Obama supports appeared on track for a final vote as early as July 4.

The CBO said in its report and accompanying economic analysis that the Senate legislation would raise economic activity in each of the next two decades, in part because of the legal immigration fostered by the measure and also because millions of workers currently in the country illegally would join the legal workforce and pay taxes.

The CBO said the bill would increase gross domestic product by 3.3 percent over the next 10 years compared with current law and by 5.4 percent over the following decade.

CBO also said that the immigration bill would decrease federal red ink by $ 197 billion over a decade and $ 700 billion in the following 10 years as increased taxes paid to the government offset the cost of benefits for newly legal residents. The legislation would cost about $ 2 billion annually to implement over the next 20 years.

CBO also said that average wages would decline through 2025 as a result of the bill and that unemployment would go up slightly.

___

Associated Press writer Andrew Taylor contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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CBO: Senate bill still allows illegal immigration

CBO: Senate bill still allows illegal immigration

People shout out against the Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act in the hall outside the House Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 18, 2013. The committee in the Republican-led House is preparing to cast its first votes on immigration this year, on a tough enforcement-focused measure that Democrats and immigrant groups are protesting loudly. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

People shout out against the Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act in the hall outside the House Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 18, 2013. The committee in the Republican-led House is preparing to cast its first votes on immigration this year, on a tough enforcement-focused measure that Democrats and immigrant groups are protesting loudly. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

House Judiciary Committee members Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., sponsor of the Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act, left, talks with Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 18, 2013, prior to the start of the committee’s hearing to discuss the Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act. The committee in the Republican-led House is preparing to cast its first votes on immigration this year, on a tough enforcement-focused measure that Democrats and immigrant groups are protesting loudly. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

House Judiciary Committee member Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill. speak on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 18, 2013, during the committee’s hearing to discuss the Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act. The committee in the Republican-led House is preparing to cast its first votes on immigration this year, on a tough enforcement-focused measure that Democrats and immigrant groups are protesting loudly. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

The House Judiciary Committee ranking Democrat, Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich. speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 18, 2013, during the committee’s hearing to discuss the Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act. The committee in the Republican-led House is preparing to cast its first votes on immigration this year, on a tough enforcement-focused measure that Democrats and immigrant groups are protesting loudly. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Jackelin Alfaro, 4, in a t-shirt that reads “Don’t Depart my Dad” sits in the hall with family members outside the House Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 18, 2013. The committee hearing will discuss the Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act. The committee in the Republican-led House is preparing to cast its first votes on immigration this year, on a tough enforcement-focused measure that Democrats and immigrant groups are protesting loudly. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Illegal immigration into the United States would decrease by only 25 percent under a far-reaching Senate immigration bill, according to an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office that also finds the measure reduces federal deficits by billions.

Supporters of the legislation moving toward a vote on the Senate floor seized on the deficit-reduction findings by Congress’ nonpartisan scorekeeping agency, along with the agency’s forecast that the immigration measure would boost economic growth as millions of workers join the workforce and begin to pay taxes.

But the CBO report also found that the bill, which takes steps to prevent people coming to the U.S. illegally while offering the hope of citizenship to some 11 million people already here without authorization, does not come close to ending illegal immigration. Indeed some aspects of the bill would make the problem worse, the report said.

“Unauthorized residents would find it harder both to enter the country and to find employment while unauthorized. However, other aspects of the bill would probably increase the number of unauthorized residents — in particular, people overstaying their visas issued under the new programs for temporary workers,” the CBO report said, adding that the net annual flow of unauthorized residents would decrease by about 25 percent compared to current law.

Conservative activists were circulating the finding Wednesday morning.

But a spokesman for Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., a lead author of the immigration bill, questioned that CBO conclusion.

“The report does not question the toughness of the bill’s border security reforms, it just assumes that some immigrants who enter the country legally will overstay their visas,” said Schumer spokesman Brian Fallon. “But the bill creates a system to track people who overstay their visas and prevents employers from hiring them, so the number is likely to be much lower than CBO projects.”

The issue arose as senators were jockeying over amendments to the legislation, which would allow tens of thousands of new legal workers into the country for jobs in everything from high-tech companies to hotels to agriculture. The bill also sets out a 13-year process whereby millions could ultimately obtain citizenship, as long as certain goals on border security are met first.

Republicans have contended those “triggers” aren’t strict enough and have been offering amendments to strengthen these. Authors of the legislation say some of these efforts go too far and would delay the path to citizenship.

But Republican Sens. John Hoeven of North Dakota and Bob Corker of Tennessee were working on what they hoped could be a compromise measure that would lay out numerous specific steps for the government to take in order to secure the border, and potentially call for the government to demonstrate an ability to apprehend the vast majority of those attempting to enter the country illegally before anyone already present can obtain a permanent resident green card.

Hoeven and Corker were looking at packaging their amendment with others on enforcement issues by other Republican senators in hopes of building a bipartisan consensus for the bill.

“We have some people on our side of the aisle that just are not going to support the immigration bill, period,” Corker said Tuesday. “But I think there are a number of people on our side of the aisle that, if we could just get it tailored a little bit with a few other amendments, might be willing to send it over to the House. And there are a lot of people who think it might come back over here in a little better form than it leaves.”

The GOP-led House was confronting its own obstacles on immigration. Late Tuesday, the House Judiciary Committee agreed on a party-line 20-15 vote to approve a tough enforcement-focused immigration bill, over objections from Democrats and chants of “Shame, shame” from protesters. The measure would make being in the U.S. illegally a federal crime punishable by prison time, instead of a civil offense as it is now. It also would empower state and local law enforcement officials to enforce federal immigration laws.

On Wednesday, the committee was to take up a bill creating a temporary agriculture worker program.

The opposition among many House Republicans to sweeping action on immigration was on display Wednesday as Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, an immigration hardliner, convened a six-hour press conference outside the Capitol to highlight opposition to the Senate bill. People in the crowd held signs opposing “illegal aliens” and criticizing Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a conservative author of the Senate bill, as “Obama’s Idiot.”

Opposition in his conference to any immigration bill with a path to citizenship put House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, into a difficult position. On Wednesday, a day after trying to reassure House Republicans that he wouldn’t bring immigration legislation to the floor without majority support from Republicans, Boehner was to meet with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, which includes many liberal Democrats who are eager to see the House act on far-reaching legislation.

In the Senate, the bipartisan bill that President Barack Obama supports appeared on track for a final vote as early as July 4.

The CBO said in its report and accompanying economic analysis that the Senate legislation would raise economic activity in each of the next two decades, in part because of the legal immigration fostered by the measure and also because millions of workers currently in the country illegally would join the legal workforce and pay taxes.

The CBO said the bill would increase gross domestic product by 3.3 percent over the next 10 years compared with current law and by 5.4 percent over the following decade.

CBO also said that the immigration bill would decrease federal red ink by $ 197 billion over a decade and $ 700 billion in the following 10 years as increased taxes paid to the government offset the cost of benefits for newly legal residents. The legislation would cost about $ 2 billion annually to implement over the next 20 years.

CBO also said that average wages would decline through 2025 as a result of the bill and that unemployment would go up slightly.

___

Associated Press writer Andrew Taylor contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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CBO: Senate bill still allows illegal immigration