March
9
2010
National Right to Life released an urgent Congressional Alert yesterday. Please read the following and then contact your representative.
Thank you!!
THIS IS A “CONDITION RED” CONGRESSIONAL ALERT FROM THE NATIONAL RIGHT TO LIFE COMMITTEE IN WASHINGTON, D.C., ISSUED MONDAY, MARCH 8, 2010
PLEASE ACT IMMEDIATELY ON THIS ALERT.
President Obama, Speaker Pelosi pull out all stops to pass massive pro-abortion health care bill — the days immediately ahead will decide the issue
WASHINGTON — President Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are making a final, all-out push to ram through a massive health care restructuring bill that the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) has branded “the most pro-abortion single piece of legislation that has ever come to the House floor for a vote.”
The health care bill (H.R. 3590) has already passed the Senate, on December 24, 2009. In order to enact it, however, Obama and Pelosi must convince a majority in the House of Representatives to also vote for the bill.
The Associated Press reported on March 7: “In private pitches to Democrats, President Barack Obama says he will persuade Congress to pass his health care overhaul even if it kills him and even if he has to ask deeply distrustful lawmakers to trust him on a promise the White House doesn’t have the power to keep. . . .The party’s strategy calls for House Democrats, despite many misgivings, to go along with a health care bill the Senate passed in December [HR. 3590]. Obama would sign it into law, but senators would promise to make numerous changes demanded by House Democrats.”
“House members who vote for the Senate bill will be accountable to their constituents for what the Senate bill contains, including its pro-abortion mandates and subsidies, without regard to . . solemn assurances that Congress will revisit the issue in future legislation, or any other artifice or gimmick,” said NRLC Legislative Director Douglas Johnson, in a detailed statement on the Senate bill issued by NRLC on March 5. “Any House member who votes for the Senate health bill is casting a career-defining pro-abortion vote.”
The NRLC statement describes seven separate pro-abortion components in the 2,407-page Senate bill, including provisions that would allow direct federal funding of abortion, federal subsidies to help purchase private insurance that covers abortion, and federal regulations that would expand access to abortion. NRLC noted that these problems could have been prevented only by a comprehensive pro-life amendment such as that authored by Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mi.). The House passed the Stupak Amendment on November 7, 2009, but the pro-life amendment was opposed by President Obama and later rejected by the Senate, so it will not be part of the health care bill that the House actually votes on.
TAKE ACTION NOW!
Time is short. Most political observers agree that if Speaker Pelosi does not succeed in ramming the Senate bill through the House by the time Congress goes into recess for Easter on March 26, the bill is effectively dead. Pelosi wants to force the vote by March 19. But, she does not yet have the votes. “I think we can get there, but I’m going to need help from any place I can get it,” Pelosi told one group, according to the Los Angeles Times (March 8).
Whether she succeeds or not depends on what House members hear from their constituents during the next two weeks.
Please immediately TELEPHONE the Washington, D.C. office of your U.S. House member. Any U.S. House office can be reached through the Capitol Switchboard at 202-225-3121. But better yet, enter your zip code into the “Call Now” box above, and you will be shown a direct-dial phone number for your representative in the U.S. House, along with helpful short talking points that you can use during your call. You will also be shown a “Your Feedback” form, which allows you to easily send a short e-mail report to NRLC about how your conversation went, if you wish to do so. This feedback is very helpful to NRLC’s lobbying efforts against the health care bill.
The best time to call is between 9 AM and 6 PM Eastern Time. If you call during the evening, you are likely to get a recording machine or a message asking that you call again during office hours.
Even if you previously have called your representative to oppose the health care bill — please do it again! And ask any like-minded friends and relatives to do the same. Remember, President Obama and Speaker Pelosi are putting all their muscle into this, and they are getting plenty of help from the mainstream news media. It is critical that your representative gets loud and clear guidance from the people who he or she actually represents.
March
6
2010
Today, I am testing a program for my iPhone that will let me do blog posts and updates from my phone.
Sometimes when I am at work, but on my own time, I want to do updates but for one reason or another I can have problems accessing or updating because of the security programs in place. Using my phone would let me do the updates without wrestling with the firewalls and security programs.
March
1
2010
Over at Gateway Pundit, a report on a global warming suicide pact has come out in the Argentinean press and is being reported by the New York Post. The parents shot and killed their 2-year-old son and left their 7-month-old daughter with a shell casing in her chest before committing suicide. The 7-month-old managed to stay alive for the three days it took before the neighbors noticed the smell coming from the family’s apartment. The little girl was hospitalized and is improving, according to the news report.
All human life is precious and, if news reports are accurate, it is tragic and shameful that these parents chose to take their lives and the lives of their children apparently in protest of their government’s lack of movement on the issue of global warming. Considering the controversy raging recently over the accuracy of the science involved, it seems surreal that people would even think of committing such an extreme, painful, and permanent act– especially involving their own children.
I don’t remember Jonestown, I was ten and my parents didn’t really talk about it much in front of me. I was a few years older before I had a clear understanding of the brainwashing involved in a cult and how far people are willing to go to follow a leader or a belief–no matter how unreasonable and even if it means taking the lives of their children.
When I read this story, I thought of the cultism and the blindness of irrational belief inherent in the story of Jonestown.
February
27
2010
You know, I get really annoyed when people who have no idea what they are talking about excoriate other people for trying to use a valid analogy to make a point.
Over at Stark Reports, Mike Stark posted an interview yesterday with Congressman Trent Franks (R-AZ) on health care and in the course of the interview Congressman Franks says the following:
In this country, we had slavery for God knows how long. And now we look back on it and we say, “How blind were they? What was the matter with them? I can’t believe, you know, four million slaves. This is incredible.” And we’re right, we’re right. We should look back on that with criticism. It is a crushing mark on America’s soul. Yet today, half of all black children are aborted. Far more black children, far more of the African-American community is being devastated by the policies of today than were being devasted by policies of slavery. And, I think, what does it take to get us to wake up?
Stark, who says he is conservative, calls Franks comment “a real stinker” and over at the “progressive” site Think Progress they say, “But when the conversation turned to abortion, Franks made a clearly indecent comment, claiming that African-Americans were probably better off under slavery…” [italics mine]
Wrong. In fact, quite the contrary, he NEVER says that.
Then, of course, all of the commenters come out over at Think Progress claiming all sorts of things that Franks ought to do or what he is, etc. You get the picture.
What everyone fails to note or realize is the truth of his statement– instead they want to put words in his mouth. (BTW, the transcript of his comments posted over at Think Progress is inaccurate. Franks does NOT say, “How brave they were.” Rather, “How blind they were.” Listen to the You Tube video, ignore the transcript over there.) Franks is NOT saying that blacks were better off as slaves, far from it. What would have clarified his analogy would have been actual numbers so let’s look at some. He is saying that today’s policies make things bad for the African-American community because half of all babies aborted in this country are black. How big is that number? Well, there have been over 50 million abortions in this country since 1973 and there are 1.3 million abortion’s each year. In the last ten years alone, aproximately 6 1/2 million African-American babies have been aborted and African-American women make up only 13.7 percent of the population. Half of all abortions–why is this so skewed?? Franks is saying, rightly, that this is a devasting blow to the African-American community and we need to wake up to it. He’s NOT saying let’s turn back the clock.
Who is doing this to the African-American community? Not the Republican’s, whites, hispanics, George W. Bush or Dick Cheney (or any other “bad guy” perceived as such by the “progressive community”). No, the ones doing this are the pro-abortion Democrats, Planned Parenthood (who made, BTW, over a billion dollars for the first time a few years ago), and groups like NARAL and NOW.
Also, just as a side note, a few years ago, Planned Parenthood described it’s “core clients” as “young women, low-income women and women of color.”
And those are facts.
If you want to learn from the Black community about the devastation abortion causes to the Black community, visit National Black Pro-Life Union.
February
18
2010
Conservative leaders met yesterday to sign The Mount Vernon Statement. You can sign it too by visiting the website, reading the statement and filling in the information at the bottom of the screen. At the time of access today, they had over 18, 500 signatures.
February
15
2010
The Washington Post’s “The Fix” is reporting that Indiana Democratic Senator Evan Bayh is announcing his retirement this afternoon at a press conference.
February
15
2010
For those of you who may have perused my website eons ago, you would have noticed that I was represented by the Nashville Speakers Bureau. They have apparently folded (I missed that memo) and so any requests can be sent to me directly for the moment until I find a replacement agency. Thanks for your patience with this.
February
8
2010
My friend Steven Ertelt over at LifeNews.com has a rundown of all of the abortion provisions to be found in the proposed budget from Barack Obama.
February
2
2010
Dennis Prager addressed the annual Republican retreat this weekend. During his remarks, he made the following observation about just how dedicated the left is:
I can give you an example from our side. There are many folks on our side who, if they could pass an amendment against abortion, would happily sacrifice both houses for a period of time. Understand that just as strongly as some are pro-life or religiously Christian or Jewish, that is how strongly many leftists believe in leftism. Leftism is a substitute religion. For the Left, the “health-care” bill transcends politics. You are fighting people who will go down with the ship in order to transform this country into a leftist one. And an ever expanding state is the Left’s central credo.
I wholeheartedly agree with him. Health care reform is a big picture issue for the left and I think we sometimes fail to understand just how dedicated they are. Prager is right, for many of those who believe in left-wing ideals, those beliefs are their faith and their “god.”
February
1
2010
This is a great video on the budget freeze done by a math-type, non-political-type of guy.
I love the ice cube. If you want to see more of what Shapiro did and how he came up with his calculations visit his blog Political Math.
h/t National Review
January
30
2010
I’m always tickled by the argument that we are experiencing a crisis of gargantuan proportions by not curbing greenhouse gasses, etc. because the polar ice caps will melt, more etc. Because, right now, I’m sitting next to the French doors leading to our tiny back yard that sports a blanket of snow about eight inches deep.
Snow plows have not been through so I’m thinking that we probably won’t make it to church tomorrow. We have a seven-year old Chrysler T & C van which works pretty well in the snow but we traded in our four-wheel drive vehicle two cars ago. Of course, now I wish we had replaced it with another four-wheel drive vehicle. And yes, our church will hold services regardless of the weather. We Baptists are like that but we probably won’t be able to get out of our subdivision.
Oh, well–c’est la vie.
I wonder though if they got snow at the Gore’s?
January
27
2010
FRC sent out a press release commenting on the less than stellar aspects of the President’s speech:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 27, 2010
CONTACT: J.P. Duffy, (866) FRC-NEWS
FRC Pledges to Oppose President’s Proposals to Sexualize the Military, Socialize Child Care and Penalize Married Couples
January 27, 2010
Washington, D.C. – Family Research Council President Tony Perkins released the following statement in response to President Obama’s first State of the Union Address:
“At a time of enormous economic challenge, two on-going wars in which American are fighting and increased terrorist threats to Americans at home, President Obama seems untethered from that reality as he called on Congress to force the military to allow open homosexuality. As a veteran of the Marine Corps, the timing of the President’s call in the midst of two wars shows that he is willing to jeopardize our nation’s security to advance the agenda of the radical homosexual lobby.
“The military is a warrior culture for a reason: Our service members wear the uniform to fight and win wars, not serve as liberal social policy guinea pigs. The sexual environment the President is seeking to impose upon the young men and women who serve this country is the antithesis of the successful warfighting culture and as such should be rejected.
“Tonight the President also proposed expanding the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit which would only benefit families if: both parents work, a single parent works, or one parent works and the other is in school. In other words, it completely discriminates against families with stay-at-home parents, who wouldn’t see a penny from this plan. The President’s plan further drives a wedge between parents and children as it would encourage parents to place their children in government approved day-care rather than encouraging one parent to stay home and personally care for their off-spring.
“This new socialized child care proposal comes on the heels of a proposed major marriage tax penalty included within the President’s health care bills. A tax penalty on married couples only serves to discourage couples from marrying while encouraging societal instability through cohabitation and divorce.
“If this administration cared about getting families back on their feet, it would double or triple the across-the-board child tax credit and let parents decide how to spend the money. For many, it may be all the incentive they need to stay home and care for their kids.
“We applaud Governor Bob McDonnell for calling for a land in which ‘innocent human life is protected.’ The governor’s call to protect human life is clearly in line with the American people who overwhelmingly oppose the President’s health care plan which would use our hard earned dollars to pay for abortion coverage. FRC will continue to work to ensure taxpayers are not forced to be part of the President’s pro-abortion agenda.
“Family Research Council pledges to work with our allies and the thousands of families we represent to oppose the President’s plans to socialize child care, sexualize the military, and penalize married couples through a government takeover of the U.S. health care system.”
January
26
2010
I am excited about the Focus on the Family ad featuring pro-life Heisman winner Tim Tebow. Of course, pro-abortion women’s groups like NOW are up in arms about it. But sometimes their knee-jerk-over-the-top reactions serve to remind everyone (including the media) that these groups represent only a small fraction of women. In other words, NOW does not speak for me or for any other woman I know.
Tebow’s mother is a brave woman; she faced daunting and frightening odds. From personal experience, it is very difficult to hear a doctor tell you that there may be something wrong with your child. In my case, I was encouraged to get an amnio so we would know for sure because “some couples prefer to terminate the pregnancy.” I was so angry that the perinatalogist would even argue with me about it. (Yes, argue.) Many doctor’s aren’t used to having patients argue with them and to stand up to a doctor who expects you to listen and obey him is difficult. But worth it.
Like Tebow, my son was born healthy and did not have the disability suggested (Down syndrome) but was later diagnosed with mild to moderate autism.
Was it worth it? Even with the disability? Very much so, I wouldn’t trade any moment with him. I’m certainly glad I stood up to the doctor (who apparently didn’t read on my chart where it said I worked for National Right to Life!) and refused the amnio. As I told him, Peter is my son, period.
January
25
2010
Syndicated columnist Kathryn Jean Lopez of National Review Online writes about a wonderful website for parents facing a prenatal diagnosis of anencephaly.
January
23
2010
First, I would like to apologize for being very irregular in my posts this month. Even when I am at work eating lunch, I’m usually trying to get things done for work. And when I go in early to get things done, I’m still doing things for work (for free). But I promise that, from this point forward, I will make an attempt to post something everyday.
Second, Scott Brown’s win is a victory. I know there are many who look at Brown and say, “Well, he’s not pro-life.” And that is true. However, on funding, partial-birth abortion, health care, etc. he will vote with us. We have quite a way to go before we can make the attempt to overturn Roe, which he supports. In the meantime, we have to prevent the expansion of Roe through health care reform. Contrary to what you may have heard, Barack Obama has said clearly and plainly that he supports abortion coverage in health care reform. And we have seen some rather amazing tricks coming out of the Democratic leaders in their efforts to gain passage of health care reform. (Anyone thinking, “Nebraska”?)
What I am curious about are the tricks we will see in the immediate future as the Dem leadership works to pass health care before Brown is sworn in. If I were a gambler, I would lay odds that we are going to see some very interesting and, dare I say, questionable maneuverings.
January
19
2010
AP is projecting that the Massachusetts senate seat is going to Brown. CNN projects the same. Boston Herald is showing Brown 53%, Coakley 46%.
I’m doing the Snoopy Happy Dance!!!!
January
15
2010
I haven’t had a great deal of time since Christmas but I hope to get back on schedule this weekend. Check back later for info on health care reform and the Roe v. Wade anniversary
December
31
2009
I know I don’t usually deal with issues outside of bioethics, abortion and so forth but I was really annoyed with, yet again, the unbelievable spin this White House engages in.
I don’t want to put words in anyone’s mouth but clearly statements coming out of the White House seem to indicate staff there believe that President Obama is far tougher in this war than the Bush Administration. For example, in a press briefing in Honolulu on Tuesday with Denis McDonough, the Deputy Assistant to the President and National Security Council Chief of Staff, Mr. McDonough defended the Obama White House, saying,
I think the record is splashed with examples of what this administration is doing to confront global violent extremists. I think John’s [note: I am assuming that "John" here is John Brennan who is the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism] speech at the CSIS in June, I think obviously the President’s speech — sorry, that was in late July — the President’s speech in Cairo, the President’s speech in Ankara, where I think the President made very clear that there is a hard group of violent extremists with whom you could not negotiate, that you’re going to have to take the fight to, as I think he said also in Oslo. So the fact is I think the record is pretty clear on how we intend to deal with this.
Mmmmm, wonderful defense–we’re fighting terrorism with speeches.
And Dan Pfeiffer on December 30th wrote on the White House Blog:
First, it’s important that the substantive context be clear: for seven years after 9/11, while our national security was overwhelmingly focused on Iraq – a country that had no al Qaeda presence before our invasion – Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda’s leadership was able to set up camp in the border region of Pakistan and Afghanistan, where they continued to plot attacks against the United States. Meanwhile, al Qaeda also regenerated in places like Yemen and Somalia, establishing new safe-havens that have grown over a period of years. It was President Obama who finally implemented a strategy of winding down the war in Iraq, and actually focusing our resources on the war against al Qaeda – more than doubling our troops in Afghanistan, and building partnerships to target al Qaeda’s safe-havens in Yemen and Somalia. And in less than one year, we have already seen many al Qaeda leaders taken out, our alliances strengthened, and the pressure on al Qaeda increased worldwide.
. . .
In his inaugural, the President said “our nation is at war against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred.” In a recent speech, Assistant to the President for Terrorism and Homeland Security John Brennan said “Instead, as the president has made clear, we are at war with al-Qaida, which attacked us on 9/11 and killed 3,000 people. We are at war with its violent extremist allies who seek to carry on al-Qaida’s murderous agenda. These are the terrorists we will destroy; these are the extremists we will defeat.” At West Point, the President told the nation why it was “in our vital national interest” to send an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to fight the war in Afghanistan, adding that as Commander in Chief, “I see firsthand the terrible wages of war.” And at Oslo, in accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, the President said, “We are at war, and I am responsible for the deployment of thousands of young Americans to battle in a distant land.”
Interesting strategy: this administration has wound down troops in Iraq, made speeches, stopped using the term “War on Terror,” made more speeches, initiated the process of closing Guantanomo Bay, given some more speeches, released some of the terror suspects held in Guantanomo, suggested the possibility of the prosecution of intelligence interrogators, given more speeches, sent 30,000 troops to Afghanistan (that’s a help), spent most of the time pushing a national health care plan, given even more speeches, and asserted, after all of this, that this president is tougher on terrorism and Al Qaeda.
What hubris!
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