Pro-Life Senators Stand in the Way of Ending Nearly All Ohio Abortions

The year was 1985. I was working as a store manager at a shopping mall and after years as a party girl, had begun to take my Christian faith seriously. Whenever I did paperwork in the back room, I would listen to 640 WHLO out of Akron, which at that time was a Christian station. As 20-year-old young woman who had been raised in an agnostic, union-Democrat home, I had never—not even once—considered the issue of abortion in a serious way. Of course, like most girls my age, I had been taught in public school health class that abortion was a way to get rid of an unwanted pregnancy, and as such, it carried with it approximately the same moral implications of birth control pills. That is, approximately no moral implications.


That all changed for me when I was confronted with the horrific truth that abortion snuffs out a human life. That an actual baby, created in the image of God, dies in the process. I first heard that message from Dr. Jack Willke, who in 1985 had (if I'm recalling correctly) a weekly radio program that was syndicated and broadcast on WHLO. Dr. Willke didn't have a powerful speaking voice or impressive rhetorical skills, but his message could not be clearer: abortion stopped a beating heart and killed a human being.  Dr. Willke carefully explained both the biblical and the scientific reasons that abortion is a crime against humanity. I was instantly transformed from being agnostic on the abortion issue to being pro-life.  Instantly.

All these years later,  Dr. Willke is still fighting the good fight, trying to save unborn babies. This week, he has taken to the newspapers in Ohio, fighting for the Heartbeat Bill:

"I'm now 87-years-old and thought I would never live to see the end of abortion. I have renewed hope. After 40 years in the wilderness, we are a senate vote away from the Promised Land of  protecting babies whose heartbeat can be heard—more than a school bus full of children each day, tens of thousands of Ohio babies each year. Only one thing stands in the way of the most pro-life bill in America: those who call themselves "pro-life!"

The Heartbeat Bill passed the Ohio House last June. Since then, it has been stalled in the Republican-controlled Senate. Republican senators who ran on pro-life platforms and are now refusing to bring the bill to a vote.

Unfortunately, Ohio Right to Life, a de facto wing of the GOP establishment, has been complicit in blocking this bill (see my previous diary on this topic),  preferring to regulate abortion, saying that the bill would not hold up to a Supreme Court challenge and that there would be a danger of reaffirming Roe v. Wade.

Dr. Willke, an Ohio Right to Life Board member disagrees:

“While I used to believe there was a danger of reaffirming Roe v. Wade by passing such a protective bill, after 38 years of abortion on demand, I no longer believe that would be the result. Whether Roe is affirmed or not, the results are the same: Unborn babies are killed for any reason virtually any time until their birth. We must not wait any longer to protect babies in our state."

The Heartbeat Bill has widespread support both in Ohio and across the nation. The list of supporters includes Congressmen Jim Jordan and Steve Chabot, State Treasurer (and Senate candidate) Josh Mandel, Dr. James Dobson, Janet Folger, Ken Blackwell, Frank Pavone, Rep. Newt Gingrich, Sen. Rick Santorum, Gov. Rick Perry, Rep. Michele Bachmann, Rep. Louis Gohmert, Rep. Steve King, Gov. Mike Huckabee, Jay Sekulow, Tony Perkins, Gary Bauer, Grover Norquist....on and on.  The bill's supporters say it is the most supported bill in America.

The Ohio Senate now has the opportunity to pass historic legislation to make Ohio the state that pushes the first domino that topples the 40 years of reign of terror upon unborn babies in the United States.

The current makeup of the Ohio Senate is 21-12 in favor of the Republicans.

Only 17 votes are needed to pass the most consequential, monumental law related to human life since Roe v. Wade.  Pro-life Republicans are holding up the legislation.

Dr. Willke reminds them:

"Because they told us they would end abortion, we sacrificially wrote checks, tirelessly stuffed envelopes, made calls, knocked on doors, distributed ballot cards, and voted these legislators into office. We didn’t elect them to regulate abortion, but to end it. Ohio Senate Republicans can no longer call themselves “pro- life” while refusing to pass the fully protective Heartbeat Bill!"

Dr. Willke poignantly adds:

 "At 87, I may not have long to live,  but unborn babies with beating hearts have even less time. While the Republican Senate delays bringing this to a vote, babies die. Talk is cheap and abortion regulation is woefully inadequate."

There is also a move by some in the senate to completely neuter the bill by changing it to a mere informed consent law. This would completely cut the "heart" out of the Heartbeat Bill.


Republican senators who are blocking the bill (or trying to neuter it), while claiming to be pro-life, need to be called, emailed and held to account right now. As Dr. Willke said, babies are dying while these senators are strutting around crowing about what a great job they've done at "regulating" abortion.


Now is the time for political courage.


Contact the Ohio senators below and urge them bring the bill to a floor vote immediately. If your senator is not listed, you can find the contact information here.

Senate Pres. Tom Niehaus......614-466-8082     niehaus@ohiosenate.go


Pres. pro tempore Keith Faber........614-466-7584     faber@ohiosenate.gov


Whip Shannon Jones..614-466-9737      jones@ohiosenate.gov


Floor Leader Tom Patton........614-466-8056      patton@ohiosenate.gov


Scott Oelslager...614-466-0626      oelslager@ohiosenate.gov


Peggy Lehner.....614-466-4538       lehner@ohiosenate.gov


Dave Burke........614-466-8049       burke@ohiosenate.gov


Troy Balderson...614-466-8076    balderson@ohiosenate.gov


Kris Jordan........614-466-8086     jordan@ohiosenate.gov

Komen Flap Not About the Loss of Four Kills Per Day In Funding

Last week in Komen vs. Planned Parenthood, we saw a new episode on the ongoing turf war between two teams that are competing for different turf.  One team, the pro-life side, is fighting for the lives of unborn children, whose inward parts are being knit together in their mothers' wombs (Psalm 139:13).  The other team claims they are fighting for money. But it's much deeper than that. Let's look at the numbers for a moment.


Planned Parenthood stood to lose around $680,000 in grants from the Susan G. Komen Foundation. In 2010, Planned Parenthood killed 329,445 babies through legal, surgical abortion. At an average cost of $451 per abortion, the organization raked in a stunning $148,579,694 just from abortions.  So to make up the loss of that $680,000, Planned Parenthood would only need to increase its "kills" by around 4 per day or 28 per week. How hard could it be to convince 4 more young, vulnerable, poor women per day that the blobs of tissue leeching nutrients from their bodies are going to ruin their lives?  The grant from Komen is just a drop in the bucket of Planned Parenthood's $1.04 billion dollar budget. It's not about the money.


It turns out, it's also not about breast exams. In a conference call with the media after the original decision to defund 19 Planned Parenthood affiliates was announced, Komen Chief Executive Nancy Brinker revealed that three would continue to receive funding. The L.A. Times reported that:

"[T]hree Planned Parenthood affiliates, including the one representing Orange and San Bernardino counties, will continue to receive Komen money because they provide services that cannot be replaced through grants to another organization in their area."

In other words, Komen had found other area service providers that could provide the breast exams, so Planned Parenthood's claims that women were going to go without needed exams were bogus.


What this is really about is forced conformity with the choice bullies.  They don't just want our money, they want our acceptance. They want every American to affirm that they're right and good and virtuous. They see their mission of loading up children with contraceptives (and disposing of the contents of their wombs when the contraceptives fail) as the highest form of humanitarianism. If you dare to disagree...well...as liberals often do, they redefine the terms. "Choice" means that you choose to agree with them. See how easy this is?


Anu Kumar at the Huffington Post whined that the negative stigma of abortion forced Komen's hand:

" Was it about fundraising? Women's health? Politics? I suggest it is about stigma, specifically abortion stigma that has been deliberately attached to a beloved national institution and household name, Planned Parenthood."

Moreover, they're terrified that the Supreme Court will strike down Obamacare and it's associated abortion and birth control mandates. Dr. Peggy Drexler in the Huffington Post admits that Komen is "Small Potatoes":

"When the Supreme Court hears the constitutional challenge to the ACA, these important protections and advances for women will be a passenger in the considerations. There has been considerable conjecture about the outcomes. Judging by the areas the Justices agreed to hear, they could uphold the law, strike down just the controversial coverage mandates, or go beyond that and rule on other parts of the Act, such as denial due to preexisting conditions. Women are at risk in every possibility. With Komen, klieg lights shone on an attempt to subvert an organization that has long borne the mark of the beast for the religious right. With the Supreme Court, there will be no such illumination -- just lofty discussions of constitutionality. Depending on the results of those discussions, women will win big or suffer badly. Like Komen, the debate will have little do with their needs, or the quality of their care. Unlike Komen, the stakes are universal. The Planned Parenthood flap will come and go in a couple of news cycles, instructive, but ultimately harmless. If the gains for women in the ACA go down with the ship, it may take decades to get them back, if we can get them back at all."

It all needs to go down. The ship, the potatoes, the mandates and the forced contraceptives for Catholics. Let's hope the Supreme Court doesn't collapse like a house of cards the way Komen did under pressure from Planned Parenthood.

And a Baby Boy Babbled

In the darkened banquet room, a young mother on the big screen told the story of her crisis pregnancy. How her baby's daddy had been addicted to drugs and had left her to deal with the pregnancy alone. How she didn't know if she could handle a pregnancy, let alone the burden of raising a child on her own. As she was telling her story, the voice of a precious little baby began babbling at the table next to me. He had heard his mama's voice over the speakers and was excited and animated. His mama, clutching him in her lap, was sobbing as she heard her own story replayed. As she described how her own father was helping to raise her baby boy, her father, a man probably in his late 50's who was seated next to her, removed his glasses and wiped away his tears. Several other  older gentlemen at the table blew their noses and wiped away tears as the story continued. 


When the house lights came up, the young woman and her baby took the stage and she told the audience how much Pregnancy Solutions and Services had done for her. How the staff had helped her walk through her crisis pregnancy, had loved her unconditionally, had taught her to be a mother.  And that precious baby boy babbled the entire time.


Another young mom and baby along with the grandmother took the stage to share a similar story. The grandmother was so grateful for the Christ-centered message of PSS and shared that her daughter was a wonderful mother because of the parenting classes she attended there. 


Ann Marie Kirk, an ultrasonographer who travels with PSS's mobile ultrasound units, shared some of the center's success stories and also some of the dark, depressing circumstances the girls come from and must return to. She said that the counselors can't go home with the girls, so their goal is to send Christ home with them. Ultimately, baby clothes and parenting classes will only take them so far. Only the life-giving, saving grace of Christ can truly and permanently change the hearts and lives of these girls and their families. 


We were reminded at this fundraising banquet for Pregnancy Solutions and Services that 6000 little voices are snuffed out in Summit County every year by the evil of abortion. PSS has saved 104 babies from the clutches of the abortionists this year and has saved 848 in the last six years. It doesn't' sound like very many compared to the huge massacre year after year after year, but each one is precious and each one could grow up to be a world-changer some day. 


The guest speaker for the evening was Dr. Robert Peterson, who had a horrific childhood punctuated by neglect and abuse.  He eventually ended up in the foster care system, where he suffered more neglect and abuse until he was adopted by a loving family at age twelve. He has worn many hats, including pastor and professor and he credits and thanks three women - his (abusive) mother who gave birth to him, the woman who talked his mother out of aborting him, and the woman who adopted him. It's a great reminder of how God brings beauty from ashes. 


The pro-abortion types like to say that those of us who are pro-life only care about babies in the womb. That we don't care about women and babies once the woman decides to keep her baby. Of course, that's completely untrue. Besides their mobile units that performed 755 ultrasounds this year, PSS provided counseling and pregnancy tests, pregnancy care and infant care classes, childbirth classes, relationship classes, baby clothes and equipment, formula and baby food, mentoring and Bible studies. All of this is provided free of charge to the clients and without government funding.  Call Planned Parenthood sometime and see if you can get some baby clothes or parenting classes. 

Pregnancy Solutions and Services and other local pregnancy centers are the heart and soul of  the pro-life movement. They often run on a shoe-string budget with staffs that are mostly volunteers and paid staff that are paid far less than they are worth.  If you've got a few extra bucks (or a few thousand!!) perhaps you can help them out with a donation. And pray for them workers at PSS and pregnancy centers everywhere. Every day they are in the trenches with young women who will decide if their babies will live or die. It's not for the faint of heart. 

Mitt Romney on Abortion

Here's Mitt Romney on abortion in 2002 in a gubernatorial debate against Democrat Shannon O'Brien:

"I will preserve and protect a woman's right to choose and am devoted and dedicated to honoring my word in that regard. I will not change any provisions of Massachusetts's pro-choice laws and with regards to this issue of age of consent it is currently 18-years old. If one wants to have an abortion younger than that, one must have the permission of one parent and if a parent doesn't go along one can go to a judge or justice and get that permission. And so far, in Massachusetts history when a young woman has gone to a judge, not one single time has there been a denial of that permission. And so I am in favor of retaining or current law which is the age of consent remaining at 18 and I will preserve and protect a woman's right to choose." 

Romney vehemently denied that he had accepted the endorsement of Massachusetts Citizens for Life in his 1994 senate race against Ted Kennedy. According to Romney, the group endorsed him without his knowledge and he would not own that endorsement (though O'Brien claimed his campaign spokesperson confirmed the endorsement). She quoted Ted Kennedy who said of Romney,

"He's not pro-choice, he's not anti-choice, he's multiple choice."

Toward the end to the debate his opponent, who was accusing him of not being pro-choice enough, while Romney kept insisting he was the every bit as pro-choice as she was, finally said, 

"You don't have a record, it's one of waffling." 

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Romney proves he is a masterful and convincing debater. He uses the same bullying and avoidance techniques he used against Rick Perry in the recent GOP debates. I'm certainly convinced that in this debate he's pro-abortion and would "defend a woman's right to choose." After all, the 2002 gubernatorial election was riding on it. 


Of course, Romney has since changed his position on abortion and will now just as convincingly argue for the pro-life position and any other conservative position that will win him this election. Again, he's a masterful debater. 


But that's what's troubling. With so many "waffles" and flip-flops on major policy issues - major conservative policy issues - how do we know when Romney is debating for sport to win an election and when he is debating out of heartfelt conviction? If we're seeing the former in these debates and this is merely a contest to be won, on election day Zorro will drop his mask and we'll find out if we get Romney 1.0, Romney 2.0, or some morph of the two. I fear it will be something really bad like that new Coke. (If you're under 30 you'll have to click on the link you understand the dated cultural reference.) Beware the backlash. 

Caylee's Murder: 3000 Times Every Day

The verdict is in.  A jury found Casey Anthony not guilty of murdering her daughter, 2-year-old Caylee.  People from every spectrum of life are outraged, feeling like she got away with murder. A quick glance at what's trending on Twitter shows a plethora of impassioned responses; people are shocked and incredulous:

S_Ayrelle - S A P H I R E =) Casey didn't win . She has a dead daughter , a guilt conscience , a society that hates her , and a date with the devil. 

SerenSnow Seren Snow Mike Vick can kill dogs and do time but Casey Anthony can kill a child and get away free? #caseyanthonyverdict

JustaPyt Just a PYT #caseyanthonyverdict is a prime example of why r country resorts 2 violence since US judicial system brings forth no justice 4 the innocent.

OhMyNickJay karen ❁◕‿◕❁ I'm still so frustrated. I can'


t believe Casey Anthoney was found INNOCENT. I can't even... #caseyanthonyverdict

taramedina823 Tara Medina Proof that life isn't fair... ppl get away w/ murder and innocent babies pay the price for eff'd up parents. #shameonyou 

"People get away with murder and innocent babies pay the price...

" Every single day in this country,  3000 preborn Caylees are killed at the hands of doctors, with the consent of the mothers (and sometimes fathers).  They also enjoy the approval of the State.  There are approximately 1.2 million legal abortions per year - 33,000 of them in the state of Ohio alone.  

It's ironic that people have been so fascinated with the case of Caylee Anthony, whose decomposing body was found stuffed in a trash bag and dumped in the woods. The media made a huge circus of the case, televising daily updates, live courtroom drama, and hour-long specials.  The image of the precious, beautiful baby captured the hearts of Americans and made her name a household word. 

Most of these same people who are crying out for justice for little Caylee never give a thought to the thousands of mothers in their own neighborhoods surgically murdering their babies in a sterile clinic funded by the government. 

Wayne Grudem, in his book, Politics according to the Bible,  explains the potential consequences of our country's near-unlimited legal abortion:

"The Old Testament contains sober warnings to a nation that allowed people to put their children to death. In imitation of the practices of other nations, some of the people of Israel had begun "to burn their sons and daughters in the fire (Jer. 7:31), which referred to putting their live children into a fire to sacrifice them to Molech and other pagan gods. For allowing this practice to continue, God issued a severe warning of judgment through the prophet Jeremiah: 

"For the sons of Judah have done evil in my sight, declares the Lord...And they have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, nor did it come into my mind.

Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when it will no more be called Topheth, or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter; for they will bury in Topheth, because there is no room elsewhere. And the dead bodies of this people will be food for the birds of the air, and for the beasts of the earth, and none will frighten them away. And I will silence in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, for the land shall become a waste" (Jer. 7:30-34).

God, forgive us for allowing this evil practice to continue. May we strengthen our resolve to fight for justice for babies like Caylee and for the millions of unborn children whose precious faces we'll never see on television. 

Planned Parenthood caught lying about Indiana healthcare

Those hip and brainy kids over at Live Action have released their latest sting video, exposing more lies and deception at Planned Parenthood.  Recently, Indiana, in effect, defunded Planned Parenthood, cutting off funds to abortion providers that receive state funds.  

The Obama Fed Thug Machine rolled in and threatened to defund ALL the the Medicaid clinics in the ENTIRE STATE to assure that the abortion mills wouldn't stop. 

Abortion pushers howled, whining that Planned Parenthood is the only place that women can receive well checks, birth control, mammograms, and STD testing.

Turns out, that's not even close to being slightly true.  The truth is, Planned Parenthood only accounts for 1% of Medicaid clinics. Undercover phone calls by Live Aid found time after time after time that Planned Parenthood clinics were able to refer women to nearby clinics that provide the exact, same services, sans abortion:

Don't miss that the Obama Fed Thug Machine is willing to shut down every Medicaid provider in the state of Indiana to keep the 1% that offer abortions open.  Now that's some shared sacrifice, isn't it? 

Ohio House Passes "Heartbeat Bill"

After months of dithering, the Republican-controlled Ohio House finally brought the “Heartbeat Bill,” HB 125,  to a vote on the House floor.  Introduced by Rep. Lynn Watchmann (R-Napoleon) and with 48 co-sponsors, House members approved the bill with a 54-43 vote today.   The bill, which could be the most restrictive abortion law in the nation, would ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected.  Doctors would be required to perform an ultrasound before an abortion is performed and if a fetal heartbeat is detected (usually around 6-7 weeks of gestation) the physician would be required to cancel the abortion.  The penalty for violating the law could be charged with a fifth degree felony and loss of the right to practice medicine in Ohio (no penalties for the mother).

(E)(1) Except as provided in division (E)(2) or (3) of this section, no person shall knowingly perform an abortion on a pregnant woman with the specific intent of causing or abetting the termination of the life of the unborn human individual that the pregnant woman is carrying and whose fetal heartbeat has been detected according to the requirements of division (C) of this section.

The law does not ban the use of the abortion pill and there is an exception to save the life of the mother or for abortions performed to prevent "substantial and irreversible" impairment of a major bodily function.  In a first for the Ohio legislature (and possibly any legislature), during a House sub-committee meeting in March, two unborn babies “testified.” Two pregnant mothers were given ultrasounds and committee members were able to “see” and hear the fetal heartbeats.

In addition to the heartbeat language, the bill also has a strong affirmation of the personhood of the unborn:

(10) “Unborn human individual” means an individual organism of the species homo sapiens from fertilization until live birth.

The bill faces a steeper challenge in the 23-10 GOP-controlled senate and pro-life governor John Kasich has not said if he will sign the bill if it reaches his desk.

Still, this is a significant step.  It has overcome opposition from Ohio Right To Life Executive Director Mike Gonidakis, who has opposed several members of his own board, including Julie Busby and Dr. Jack Willke (founder of National Right to Life), fearing that court challenges to the Heartbeat Bill will overturn other pro-life protections in the state.

If this becomes law in Ohio, court challenges will follow.  Of course, the appellate process could take years and no one can predict what the make up of the Supreme Court will be.  It is a worthwhile effort and a risk worth taking to protect the unborn. Time to go on the offensive.

Thank you to House Speaker William Batchelder (R-Medina) for bringing this bill to the House floor for a vote!


Updated 7/1/11

Down Syndrome in 2011

Girl with Down syndrome named prom queen at Missouri school

 

Students at Fair Oak High School in Missouri elected a 19-year-old fellow student as their prom queen.  Two other girls who were in the running for queen convinced other students to instead vote for Maisie Garoutte:

Maisie has been at the school since kindergarten, and is extremely popular among the students in her year, many of whom who have known her since she was five.

Mrs O’Dell (Maisie’s teacher and mentor) said: ‘‘They all know her really well, they all help her when she needs it. The vote was pretty much unanimous’ 

Describing her as ‘the sweetest person’, Mrs O’Dell said Maisie has won the hearts of everyone at school as the morning greeter, high-fiving the students as they walk in the door. She also volunteers at the school, rolling the teachers’ cutlery every morning and delivering the mail to staff."

A couple months ago our family was having lunch at a restaurant and a family with a Down syndrome daughter sat at a table near us.  I realized that I couldn't remember the last time I had seen a DS child.   This is probably because in our "enlightened" society, we kill 92% of these children before they take their first breath.  Little girls like Maisie are not given the opportunity to bless the lives of others because they're considered a burden - an inconvenience. 


Pornographer Larry Flynt, in a disturbing rant about Sarah Palin [warning: pornographic content alert] puts into words the implications of the deeds done in the sterile abortion clinics:

"Sarah Palin is the dumbest thing. ... She did a disservice to every woman in America. She knew from the first month of pregnancy that kid was going to be Down's Syndrome. It's brain dead. A virtual vegetable. She carries it to all these different political events against abortion, she did it just because she didn't want to say she'd had an abortion. How long is it going to live? Another 12, 15 years? Doesn't even know it's in this world. So what kind of compassionate conservative is she? I don't think anybody will want her near the White House."

Somehow, Flynt misses the irony of his own physical condition. The Independent's Johann Hari describes him as, "lolling almost lifelessly in a chair. His head is barely able to look up at mine, and his hand is barely able to reach up to shake mine. He speaks in a very slow, strangulated gargle."

Let's see...if I had the choice to spend a day with that pervert Larry Flynt or this precious boy....

No contest. 

 Props to the kids in Missouri who see value in their friend Maisie and sent a message to the vile and cynical Larry Flynt's of the world. 

April 27, 2011

The Gospel is preached on MSNBC

It's clear that MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell (who calls himself a Socialist)  was attempting to show that Franklin Graham was some kind of  GOP tool for his positive statements about Donald Trump as a presidential candidate.  While I'm certainly baffled by Graham's positive statements about Trump, who is clearly no conservative, social or otherwise, the statements certainly did not rise to the level of "semi-endorsement" as O'Donnell claimed.  

They then moved on to the subject of whether or not President Obama is a Christian.  O'Donnell surely thought he was being clever and that he would "get" Graham with his carefully chosen proof-text verse, ripped out of context.   A fascinating discussion ensued about what it means to be a Christian.  To O'Donnel, it means saying you're a Christian and making an appearance at church now and then.  To Graham, it is receiving forgiveness for your sins by trusting in the work of Christ on the cross.  

I happen to be a bit of a cable news junkie and have seen Franklin Graham do these brief interviews dozens of times.  WITHOUT EXCEPTION, the man finds a way to get a short gospel presentation into the interview.  And this interview was no exception.  In fact, I think it was exceptional - Graham, I thought, was especially earnest.  He came out swinging with the Gospel and ended the interview with this:

"God loves us and he wants us to be saved from Hell. There is a Hell and there is a punishment for those who reject God. And there is salvation in Jesus Christ and for me as a minister the most important thing is not who's going to be president, or who is trying to run for president. The most important thing is, is a person ready to stand before Almighty God? Are they ready to have that time face-to-face with God and answer to him, because God's going to ask you, "What did you do about my Son? I sent my Son to take your sins. Did you accept him or did you reject him?"

~~~~~

Speaking of Donald Trump, conservative columnist and intellectual Thomas Sowell warns the GOP about the dangers of a Trump candidacy in an excellent piece at Town Hall.  Aside from Trump's inconsistency on a number of issues, which Sowell calls his "versatility of viewpoints,"  he says this: 

"Donald Trump is dangerous in at least two senses. If, by some tragic miracle, he should become the Republicans' candidate for president in 2012, that would be the closest thing to an iron-clad guarantee of a second term in the White House for Barack Obama. 

That would be a huge setback for the Republicans-- and, far more important-- a historic catastrophe for this country. 

What seems more likely is that Donald Trump as a candidate for the Republican nomination would use his superior articulation skills-- not to mention brash irresponsibility-- to trash all the other Republican candidates for that nomination, leaving them damaged goods in the eyes of the public, and therefore less able to gather the votes needed to prevent the reelection of Obama."

We can all hope that Trump-as-Presidential-Candidate would follow Reagan's 11th Commandment and never publicly criticize another Republican, but Sowell is right, Trump will do and say anything to promote the Trump Brand.  In fact, he has already started trashing the GOP by going after Paul Ryan and his budget plan:

"I'm very concerned about doing anything that's going to tinker too much with Medicare. I protect the senior citizens. Senior citizens are protected. They are lifeblood, as far as I'm concerned. I think Paul Ryan is too far out front with this issue. I think he ought to sit back and relax."

~~~~~

I'm no libertarian, but I do agree with many of their principals.  This video clip about the influence of tax money on education makes some good points.  In particular, I agree with him when he says that "school choice" isn't really "choice" when the government is involved.  For example, charter schools are closed when they don't meet government standards even though the parents may feel that it's a good school and their children are learning and in an environment that best suits their needs.  So their "choice" becomes a victim of government accountability. 

I think at this point government involvement in education is so entrenched that it would take something cataclysmic to get the toothpaste back into the tube, but the more we can think and work outside the box and try innovative solutions, the better. 

~~~~~

Earth Day Ends Obama's 53,300 Gallon Trip - Washington Whispers (usnews.com): 

"President Obama declared today's 41st annual Earth Day proof of America's ecological and conservation spirit—then completed a three-day campaign-style trip logging 10,666 miles on Air Force One, eating up some 53,300 gallons at a cost of about $180,000. And that doesn't include the fuel consumption of his helicopter, limo, or the 29 other vehicles that travel with that car."

Meanwhile, the Green Police are coming after Google, Facebook, and other companies that rely on cloud computing:

Cloud computing and Internet use suck energy, emit CO2, says Greenpeace | Technology | Los Angeles Times:

"Computer servers in data centers account for about 2% of global energy demand, growing about 12% a year, according to the group.  The servers, Greenpeace said, can suck up as much power as 50,000 average U.S. homes.

But most of what powers the cloud comes from coal and nuclear energy rather than renewable sources such as wind and solar, according to Greenpeace. Clusters of data centers are emerging in places like the Midwest, where coal-powered electricity is cheap and plentiful, the group said.

In its report, the organization zeroed in on 10 major tech companies, including Apple, Twitter and Amazon. Recently, the group has waged a feisty fight against Facebook, which relies on coal for 53.2% of its electricity, according to Greenpeace."

But wait, electric is good, right?  These are the same people who are pushing the electric cars, aren't they?  I'm so confused.   If these people get their way, the internet of the future will be solar and wind-powered server farms.  Instead of "HTTP error 504" we're going to start seeing "NWT Error - No Wind Today."  

~~~~~

 Pro-Choice Vandals Desecrate Cemetery of the Innocents Display - Students for Life: 

"In a breathtaking public display of anti-Christian and anti-Life motivations, 350 crosses were pulled up and re-inserted in inverted fashion, a well-known anti-Christian symbol. Additionally, red paint was splattered on crosses and signs. Even eerier was the mock bloody footprints of an infant painted in front of the display...

 ...Last week was Clarion Students for Life’s annual “Life Week”. Each year the group organizes a Cemetery of the Innocents Display in the middle of campus. They have 350 crosses and two signs explaining that each cross represents 10 children aborted every day.

Every year Clarion SFL experiences some sort of vandalism – broken crosses or knocked over crosses – during their Life Week, but this year the opposition on campus has taken its vandalism to a whole new level. Members of Clarion’s Students for Life group see an anti-Life motivation to this vandalism, but also an anti-Christian motivation as well. The inverted cross has long been a symbol of anti-Christian and anti-religious sentiments."

 

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Republican Study Committee (RSC) - Ensuring Pay for Our Military Act of 2011: 

"Washington, Mar 31 - Reps. Jack Kingston and Louie Gohmert introduced the “Ensuring Pay for Our Military Act of 2011” to authorize the Secretary of Defense to continue to provide pay and allowances without interruption to members of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps who perform service during any funding gap. Without action on the measure such funds could be delayed or withheld. During the government shutdown in 1995, soldiers were paid because the Defense Department had already been funded through the year; the current funding for the Defense Department is set to expire on April 8."

Let's hope they can get this passed and take military pay off the table when it comes to these budget negotiations.  Our men and women in uniform should never be used as human shields in the budget wars.  Would any legislator dare to vote against this?

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And just for fun....

April 21, 2011

Roe v. Wade: Is it still the law of the land? - By Dahlia Lithwick - Slate Magazine:

Abortion opponents are on the offensive and the pro-abortion crowd is getting nervous:

"Opponents and supporters of abortion appear to have taken the position that Roe v. Wade is no longer the law of the land. 

Since the start of this year, 916 measures seeking to regulate reproductive health have been introduced in 49 states. According to the Guttmacher Institute, by the end of March, 15 laws had been enacted in seven states."

The strategy of chipping away at Roe v. Wade appears to be working:

"Gone are the days in which legislatures at least attempted to ensure state regulations conformed to the broadest interpretation of the Roe constraints. The new game lies in expressly violating Roe and Casey, at the state level, in the hopes of either forcing the issue at the Supreme Court or making abortion unobtainable as a matter of fact. Either way, abortion opponents believe they will win—and here pro-abortion rights groups may actually agree."

Terry O'Neill, president of the National Organization for [liberal] Women even thinks the chipping away has led to a de facto overturning of Roe:

 "[T]he fear that Justice Samuel Alito would vote to overturn Roe is so deep that reproductive rights groups may be opting to leave the state bans in place. And, as she conceded in that interview, wherever unconstitutional state abortion bans go unchallenged, they become law."

D.A. Kolodenko wrote:

 "This is a dangerous Catch-22. In order to keep in place the existing federal law protecting a woman's right to choose, pro-choice organizations are limited in what they can do about the spate of new anti-abortion laws being passed in states dominated by anti-choice conservatives. What we're witnessing is a stealth campaign to make an abortion illegal or as difficult to obtain as possible in as many states as possible, and it's working."

It's working.  This is why states must continue to enact laws to protect the unborn, including Ohio's Heartbeat Bill, which would ban abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected.  Ohio Right to Life says the bill would violate Roe v. Wade and therefore would be struck down by the Supreme Court.  Terry O'Neill from NOW disagrees. 

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The College Republicans at University of California - Mercid tried to get their fellow students to sign a petition asking the university to redistribute G.P.A.'s.  After all,  most of these students believe the government should tax the rich more, so it's only right that the top students should "share" their G.P.A.'s with students who are less fortunate...those who come from disadvantaged backgrounds or who have to work part-time to pay for school.

Not so much....

~~~~~

Costs of policing protests tops $3 million - JSOnline: 

"Madison — Law enforcement agencies ran up more than $3.27 million in pay, overtime, mileage, food and hotels while providing security during weeks of protests at the state Capitol, according to preliminary numbers compiled by the Journal Sentinel."

WI still tallying up various protest costs - JSOnline: 

"For many days on end, there were hundreds of law enforcement officers on duty inside and outside the building. The cost of policing is already in the millions of dollars....

...The spokeswoman provided some details on two contracts. One involved a contract worth as much as $2 million to provide miscellaneous services, including food, to county and municipal law enforcement and support staff.

That contract called for providing ear buds for officers' radios because of all the noise inside the Capitol. Also, a health-care provider was brought in for on-site health checks for officers who worked long periods of time.

The second contract was with a private security agency to provide security for the parking lots where police officers parked their vehicles while they were at the Capitol. That contract was worth as much as $98,784."

Protesting Teachers Cost WI Taxpayers $3 Million a Day | MacIver Institute
The chart below represents about a third of the districts that closed.

 

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Janet Napolitano: 6-Year-Old Groped Professionally | The Daily Caller: 

“Nobody likes to see those kinds of things [...] even though it was done professionally according to the protocols,” she said. “But, what TSA is doing is reexamining those protocols all the time. It’s all in relation to threat – what is the threat? And one of the things we do see is if you categorically remove a group from any type of screening, well those who seek to do us harm will then exploit that group. So you have to be very careful on how you do it.”

Napolitano said they are working on identifying frequent travelers as well as biometric cards to streamline the airport screening process.  Apparently, in Janet's world, those people would not possibly fall into her hypothetical group of "those who seek to do us harm [and] will then exploit that group." But the 6-year-old blond girl on her way to Disneyland....let's just say the parents had better not leave her unattended or allow another traveler to carry her while in the airport lest someone call the bomb squad.