The Top 5 (August 31)

* "Solzhenitsyn Warned Us" (Gary Saul Morson, Commentary)

From the article -- Today we can ask: Why do so many cheer, or at least not object, when they witness mobs embracing the bloodthirsty and sadistic Hamas? Perhaps for the same reasons that young, pre-revolutionary Russians once celebrated terrorists who murdered innocent citizens? Having studied his country’s history, Solzhenitsyn foresaw the process that would lead to today’s chants of “globalize the intifada” and “any means necessary.” He repeatedly cautioned that Russia’s past may be America’s future.

How can it be, Solzhenitsyn asked, that so many Russians found the strength to “rise up and free themselves…while those [in the West] who soar unhindered over the peaks of freedom suddenly lose the taste for it, lose the will to defend it, and fatefully, almost [seem] to crave slavery?” Why do crudeness of thought and the repetition of ill-understood slogans pass for sophistication? “I couldn’t have imagined to what extreme degree the West desires to blind itself,” Solzhenitsyn told a London audience in 1976.

* "The Quiet Before the Storms in Ukraine, Gaza, and Taiwan?" (Victor Davis Hanson, American Greatness)

From the article -- Confusion and strategic pauses for the brief moment mark all these conflicts. In part, the hiatuses arose because of uncertainty surrounding the murky intentions and role of the United States. The latter is bogged down in an unpredictable if not bizarre election year, compounded by ambiguity about who is actually in control of the country and for how long, and who will be president after January 2025...

In conclusion, we are entering a very dangerous five-month period.

Joe Biden has been judged by the American people in the polls as too enfeebled to be reelected and declared by his own party to be too cognitively challenged to remain its nominee. That may suggest to foreign risk-takers that the U.S. president is deemed unfit by Americans themselves and thus conclude there might be a vacuum of rapid-response leadership at the White House.

The unspoken corollary is that the American people and both their political parties are certain that, while Biden is incapable of continuing as a normally engaged president through the last half-year of his tenure, he will nevertheless inevitably do so. And that conclusion is likely shared by enemies abroad, who may surmise that if there ever was a time to alter the current geostrategic map or the relative balance of power, that rare occasion is now on the horizon.

* "Germany Vows 'Knife Control' After ISIS Refugee Slashes Throats at Diversity Festival" (Daniel Greenfield, Gatestone Institute)

From the article -- There were 13,844 "knife crime" incidents in Germany in 2023, which the authorities are blaming on the existence of knives and not the perpetrators, who are reportedly mostly young Muslim men.

But locating the source of the problem is probably "not a very helpful insight," In the UK, people sharing such insights are being locked up even as Islamic terrorists are being freed.

The German government is more moderate than the Marxist lunatics at Whitehall. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Justice Minister Shabana Mahmood, a supporter of Islamic terrorism, have decided to ruthlessly suppress all British opposition to mass migration with raids and prison sentences.

Much like the American liberal obsession with gun control, literally objectifying the problem, talking about things so that they don't have to talk about people, and then talking about broader social and economic issues, is a useful distraction from seeing what is actually taking place.

* "Planned Parenthood tool Platkin hellbent on denying women true choice" (Paul Kanitra, NJ Assembly GOP)

From the article -- An open public records act request revealed that Platkin’s office worked with Planned Parenthood to create a consumer alert against pregnancy resource centers, issued in December 2022, that claims CPCs are organizations that seek to prevent people from accessing comprehensive reproductive health care. The alert urges consumers to contact Planned Parenthood for abortion providers and file complaints against the centers with the Division of Consumer Affairs for fraud.

Platkin took his attacks further and issued a subpoena to First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, a nonprofit abortion clinic alternative that does not perform or refer for termination services with five locations throughout the state. The subpoena demands records dating back more than 10 years, which center representatives say place an undue burden and detract from their mission. The Alliance Defending Freedom said Platkin “has never cited any complaint or other substantive evidence of wrongdoing to justify his demands.”

“Platkin is using the courts to cripple pregnancy resource centers into oblivion, plain and simple,” Kanitra said. “It’s a pregnancy resource center. They offer screenings and counseling just like Planned Parenthood does. They don’t offer abortion referrals and services, just like Chick-Fil-A doesn’t sell hamburgers. Sane people know this.”

“Matt Platkin belongs to an elite coalition of blue state attorneys general that prosecute undercover activists for investigating fetal tissue trafficking and persecute pregnancy resource centers for trying to help women and save babies, under the scare tactic heading of ‘misinformation,’” Kanitra said. “The state legislature or even the Feds need to come in and launch their own investigation into Platkin’s motives. If there is no factual basis for his actions against these pregnancy centers, he needs to immediately retract his consumer alert and drop his subpoena.” 

* "A Lethal Change in Language" (Denny Hartford, Vital Signs Blog)

From the article -- Once again, the science couldn’t be clearer.  And the science cannot change.  Therefore, for the progressives to fool the public, they went after the words. The population control advocates (and others who wanted to promote the sexual revolution) pressured groups like the American Medical Association to simply ignore the science and change their definition of conception, moving it somewhere “further down the line” from fertilization.

But where along the timeline of the prenatal child’s development could that new definition be placed? For claiming that conception occurs anywhere except the moment of fertilization would be completely arbitrary, completely unscientific, and completely untrue. For, once again, the scientific reality couldn’t be clearer -- a new life has already begun at fertilization and will continue until…well, until death.

The response from the population controllers? “Put the new definition of conception anywhere you want -- as long as it’s after the abortifacient action that these new drugs and devices utilize. You see, we can’t push the product in certain countries (like Catholic Mexico or Hindu India or Muslim Syria) if the people there realize they act post-conception. They don’t want abortion on their conscience. So, help us change the definition so that we can sell these ‘birth control’ drugs and devices as preventing pregnancy rather than stopping a pregnancy that’s already underway.”

That’s exactly what happened.

A Lethal Change in Language

In the passion of progressives to replace the historic and noble ideals of Western Civilization with secularism, hedonism, and statism, they understood that one of the first steps in their plan of conquest was to change the language in which the issues were framed.  For instance, the violent, immoral, and lethal act of elective abortion was eased into the social landscape by calling it a “voluntary interruption of pregnancy” or “an evacuation of uterine content” or the “restoration of normal menstrual function.”  The change in language helped progressives persuade the gullible and thus created dramatic changes in social practice.

It wasn’t rational.  It wasn’t right.  But, for passive people who had already surrendered much of their Christian heritage, their thinking, and their moral code for the self-centeredness of secularism, it worked.

Another vivid illustration of how changes in expression preceded (and thus helped to accelerate) dramatic culture shifts had taken place several years earlier and it too concerned abortion. The issue in that case was early abortions caused by chemicals and devices. You see, the proponents of the sexual revolution and its “sister cause,” the population control movement needed to overcome not only the obstacles of moral traditions, but they had to somehow get around the basic science governing human reproduction.  

For the science itself couldn’t be clearer. Indeed, any embryology textbook will lay out the fact that conception occurs when the sperm fertilizes the egg.  At that very moment a new life begins. After that, it's all about growth and development.  The scientific realities do not change. They cannot change. But distorting and denying the science, controlling social trends, and using false propaganda to change minds -- including the sinister manipulation of language? Well, those are other things altogether.

The language employed to describe human reproduction first began to change in the 1960s when population control advocates were looking to sell so-called “birth control” chemicals and devices among cultures that had a high respect for prenatal life. The problem was that the action of the pills and IUDs acted (at least some of the time) after conception. That is, they didn't always prevent conception. But they did prevent the embryonic human being from developing any further. That is abortion.

The primary techniques utilized by these misnamed drugs and devices was to prevent the developing person (already begun at conception and now growing quite rapidly as he or she made their way down the fallopian tube) from implanting in the wall of the cervix or, if implantation did occur, to forcibly dislodge the embryo from its new home in the womb. But remember, this is all after conception. These drugs and devices destroy lives that have already begun.

Once again, the science couldn’t be clearer.  And the science cannot change.  Therefore, for the progressives to fool the public, they went after the words. The population control advocates (and others who wanted to promote the sexual revolution) pressured groups like the American Medical Association to simply ignore the science and change their definition of conception, moving it somewhere “further down the line” from fertilization.

But where along the timeline of the prenatal child’s development could that new definition be placed? For claiming that conception occurs anywhere except the moment of fertilization would be completely arbitrary, completely unscientific, and completely untrue. For, once again, the scientific reality couldn’t be clearer -- a new life has already begun at fertilization and will continue until…well, until death.

The response from the population controllers? “Put the new definition of conception anywhere you want -- as long as it’s after the abortifacient action that these new drugs and devices utilize. You see, we can’t push the product in certain countries (like Catholic Mexico or Hindu India or Muslim Syria) if the people there realize they act post-conception. They don’t want abortion on their conscience. So, help us change the definition so that we can sell these ‘birth control’ drugs and devices as preventing pregnancy rather than stopping a pregnancy that’s already underway.”

That’s exactly what happened. Though it makes no scientific sense, though it’s a lie of the most arrogant and dastardly design, the definition of conception was disconnected from fertilization and linked instead to the embryo's implantation in the uterine wall. The effects of this lie have been universally damaging to life, health, family, and culture. And, of course, along the way, untold millions of preborn boys and girls have been destroyed. 

Of course, re-defining conception isn’t the only case where changing language was a sinister prelude to cataclysmic social change.  We see the tactic used everywhere in the culture wars.  Indeed, we live in an Orwellian world in which lies, distortion, omission, manipulation, and obfuscation fill the very air we breathe.  It is an atmosphere whose pollution is added to daily by politicians, academia, Hollywood, judges, Madison Avenue, the mainstream press, and the diversity classes your employer now requires you to attend.

But make no mistake, behind all these sources is the father of lies, he who has been wickedly determined (from his very first rebellion against God) to blind men’s minds, to spread lies, to hinder the proclamation of truth, to call evil good and good evil. Tragically, there have been many men and women giving the devil a lot of help in this campaign.

In stark contrast, however, the faithful Christian calls things by their right name. No snow. No spin. No shuck and jive. We are called to be truth-tellers, light-bearers, and prophets -- courageously, consistently and, as winsomely as possible, speaking the truth in love.

In this post-Christian phase of American history, there are certain lies which need to be opposed with particularly intense and concerted efforts. And among them are the ones I’ve described above. They are lies that have ushered in the silent holocaust of abortion as well as stimulating such corollary evils as physician-assisted suicide, lethal human experimentation, infanticide, and the deliberate cheapening of human life throughout all levels of society.

It was to help counter this dissembling culture of death that Claire and I formed Vital Signs Ministries more than 40 years ago. And, because the liars and cheats haven’t gone away, it is what we’re still about today. Of course, we serve in this mission alongside many, many others who haven’t given in or given up. For despite the enveloping cloud of lies in our era, the Holy Spirit reminds us that the obedient Christian can indeed overcome evil with good. Not only can we escape the tyranny of lies ourselves, but we can also even beat them back as they try to claim new victims. 

So refuse to compromise with the lies, distortions, and manipulations of language for evil purposes. Instead, shine as a light in the darkness; speak the truth in love; and call things by their right names.

Postscript -- Do the exhortations in this brief essay also apply to the Christian’s responsibility to address the lies about evolution, sexual practice, gender manipulation, the claims of false religions, and so on? No doubt about it. 

"With Warm Greetings from Jerusalem"

Dear Mr. And Mrs. Hartford, and Friends,

On behalf of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, we thank you for your recent card. We derive tremendous strength from the unwavering support of our many Christian friends around the world, and appreciate your message of encouragement and prayers.

With warm greetings from Jerusalem,

Sincerely, Rena Riger
Diaspora Affairs Advisor to the Prime Minister

This thoughtful note came in response to one I had written to the Prime Minister on one of our Colorado scene cards at the last Vital Signs letter-writing party. (That message is printed below.) I post both of these as a reminder (and an exhortation) that letters DO have a positive effect and, therefore, should be taken as a ministry responsibility way more than they are.

They also serve as a reminder (and an exhortation) regarding the Christian's duty to pray for the peace of Israel...and to be a "gospel light" to all nations.

Dear Prime Minister Netanyahu,

Just a quick word of encouragement for you to remain steadfast as you do everything possible to defend Israel from her enemies. As an American, I sincerely apologize for the lack of support you have received from the United States in the years of the Biden administration. Indeed, this callous indifference to the needs of Israel has been one of the Biden administration’s most shameful failures. Our prayer is that Republican victories in November will greatly increase military and intelligence support for your nation. However, our frequent and fervent prayers are to a much higher source of help for Israel: namely, the Lord God Almighty Who holds Israel in the palm of His hand.

However, Mr. Prime Minister, with all this said, I urge you to not neglect the critically important moral dimension necessary for Israel’s ultimate success and well-being. As God called on His people in the Old Testament to repent from their religious apathy, their following other gods, their being consumed by self-interest and pride, He certainly is calling on Israel now to reject these same sins and to get zealous for such righteous practices as sexual purity, defending the sanctity of all human lives (including preborn boys and girls), and a serious contemplation of just Who it is in history Who offers forgiveness of sins through faith in His atoning death.

Praying daily for the peace and security of Israel…and for the hearts of your people to consider the all-gracious gift of Jesus.

Talking About Kids...to Senior Citizens?

We had a wonderful time at the church service at Aksarben Village Senior Living yesterday afternoon  -- even though we were short-handed in the visitation team with only Don and Allen to help out. Unfortunately, that is a common problem in this ministry. Come to mention it, it is a common problem in a whole lot of Vital Signs activities: the prayers and public pro-life witness in front of Planned Parenthood, our letter-writing parties, involvement in our Book Brunches and other educational presentations, and the utilization of our materials and social media posts. Sigh.

However, we were delighted that yesterday’s church service went very well. The music was terrific -- as usual, we played 3 outstanding music videos -- and the fellowship afterward featured Allen’s homemade peanut butter cookies. They were a big hit. And the sermon? Well, I began with some heartwarming stories of our interaction with kids out at the Nebraska State Fair and transitioned into a brief exegesis of Psalm 137: 3-5. I concluded with a few applications regarding the Bible’s careful teachings regarding protecting children, defending their innocence and vulnerability teaching them (by precept and example) the things of God, being humble enough to learn from them, and then to appreciate the glorious fact that we have the opportunity ourselves to become the children of the almighty God. 

We had 18-19 in church yesterday which was a pretty good crowd for us but, again, that meant the four of us were kinda’ stretched in serving treats, giving everyone some personal attention in our fellowship time, and escorting Mary Ann and Emily back to their rooms. So let me again invite you to consider joining us (even if only occasionally – that would still be a huge help) for this important outreach. We start setting up at 2; the service starts at 2:30 and ends around 3:00; and then visiting goes for 30 to 45 minutes. If you are interested, please contact us. We (and they!) would love to have you join us.

Save One or Save None? Some Thoughts on the “Abolitionist” Criticism of the Pro-Life Movement

After a couple of queries regarding the “abolitionist” approach to the scourge of abortion, I’ve decided to post a slightly edited e-mail conversation I recently had with a young friend on the subject.

Hi, Denny and Claire, 
Hope you guys are doing well.
Thank you for all you do to love people and protect life! 

My wife and I recently ran into someone who is a strong abolitionist against abortion. I was taken aback because they are strongly against any kind of “incremental” pro-life legislation against abortion. They actually oppose such measures believing they are guilty of injustice -- they believe such laws acquit the guilty. I listened to a 2-hour dialogue of an abolitionist trying to convince other pro-life advocates to accept the same views.  

I certainly disagree with some of the abolitionist perspective, as it seems very all or nothing. At the same time, I admire their desire to follow the Word of God regarding how full justice should administered. I was wondering what your stance is on Abolitionism.

Don’t feel like you need to give a big response. I know you guys are busy but I really value your thoughts. 

Here’s my answer: 

Hey ----- ! 

My apologies for not replying sooner. I had planned to do so but then the storm hit us; we lost electric power (still don't have it); and we have been busy the last 3 days doing neighborhood clean-up of big limbs, smaller branches, and so on.

Anyhow – here’s the deal. I too can admire much of what “abolitionists” say. After all, the goal of protecting all innocent human lives is shared by all pro-lifers. Where I part company is when someone criticizes those pro-lifers who are trying to save lives and serve women and families right now...while yet working to create intellectual foundations, laws, and moral momentum to save more in the future.

In a fallen world, a world in which you must deal with current laws, social norms, and other unavoidable practical restraints, to insist on “all or nothing” almost always means you will get the nothing. And way too many of the “abolitionists” seem to be okay with that as long as they can feel (and tell each other) that they and they alone are the purest, the most noble, the true pro-lifers. But not content with merely patting themselves on the back, they often become extremely harsh and unfair in their criticism of other pro-lifers -- and not only in matters of methodology and strategy. Indeed, they end up castigating the sincerity, motives, and personal character of those pro-lifers they disagree with. I know; I am one of the fellows who has been roundly slandered by these folks.

So, here’s the deal. The pro-life champions of the last 60 years have always made the ideal our goal and the standard by which we measure the impact of our prayers and efforts. And that ideal is “the protection by law and social practice of all innocent lives, born and preborn.” But, the dedicated pro-life heroes are not content with ideals or long-term goals. They are intent on saving preborn kids from the wickedness of abortion right now! And as many as possible! So, they do not surrender the ideal, but they do engage in whatever lifesaving measures can be enacted in the meantime. We get what we can actually get; we save whatever lives we can right now even as we challenge the culture to more seriously consider the truths of God.

And remember, it is these same pro-life activists who are now dismissed as compromisers and cowards (and worse) who have not only led the fight in Congress and the state legislatures, they are the same people who started the pro-life pregnancy centers, do the sidewalk counseling, organize the Walks for Life and the Life Chain, put up the pro-life signs in farm fields all across the country, preach the pro-life sermons, write the pro-life books, broadcast the pro-life radio programs, and engage in frequent and fervent prayers against the evils of the anti-life mentality. Good grief.

Let me hearken back to the lifeguard training of my far distant past. Our swim coach/certifier posed this dilemma to us. “Okay, guys; a boat capsizes with 10 people on it. None of them can swim. You’re alone on the beach and it’s all-too-obvious you cannot save them all. So, what do you do?” We all knew the answer. You save someone! And, then if you have a chance, you save another! But, for goodness sakes, the one thing you do NOT do is to just stand there on the shore, bemoaning the sad fact that you can’t save them all. And, related to the present subject, neither does it help to stand there doing nothing except criticize the lifeguard who is trying to save lives!

Think about it. Have pro-life laws, even though none of them have yet outlawed all abortions, saved lives? Of course, they have -- and in untold numbers. Thank the Lord. And have such pro-life laws also enlightened, convicted, and challenged the general culture by making people more sensitive to what abortion really is? Again, of course, they have. There’s no doubt about it. So why the passionate negativity aimed at the pro-life leaders who have ministered in this way?

Here’s another way to evaluate the absolutist strategy of the abolitionists. Imagine a Christian who understands that the Old Testament decreed capital punishment be meted out for a variety of abominable sins, including males engaging in homosexual acts and dressing up as women. Would that person then believe that a Christian who supports laws designed to, say, prohibit the public practice of sodomy, deny the use of homosexual materials in government schools, or disallow drag queen “story hours” in public libraries is wrong to do so because those laws don’t go as far as Scripture directs? Would that be a cave-in, a sell-out of principle? Would Christians who tried to get some degree (indeed, whatever degree was possible) of decency and child protection into the law be condemned as hypocrites and fakers because they are not loudly (and exclusively) demanding the guilty be executed?  

Again, in a fallen world, in a darkened culture, in a society where one has to promote righteous causes within the frustrating boundaries of legislatures, judges, public opinion, and so on, you always try to get the most you can -- while always setting the foundation to go yet further towards the biblical ideals. Therefore, I repeat: “you demand all or nothing, you get the nothing every time.”

As you can perhaps tell, ---------, I have thought through these things over the years, but it hasn’t been until recently that those using the term “abolitionists" have been so unfairly critical of other pro-lifers. It is a very sad development and it couldn’t be more counterproductive to the pro-life cause.

The Top 5 (August 17)

* "The Weird, Creepy, Surreal -- and Dangerous -- 2024 Campaign" (Victor Davis Hanson, Daily Signal)

From the article --  4) After the precedents of 2020 and 2024, is the future orthodox protocol for any Democratic nominee now to avoid all interviews and extempore speaking, and stick to teleprompted speeches and scripted responses only?

6) If Democratic presidential reelection candidate Joe Biden was pronounced fit as a fiddle before June 27, but after July 21 was abruptly forced off the ticket as too debilitated to continue as his party’s nominee, what exactly is his status now? (Half-cognizant and thus able enough to continue his not-so-important task as America’s president, but also half-enfeebled and thus utterly unable to continue as the far more important Democratic nominee, it appears.)

9) If the current president canceled his reelection bid because he was too debilitated and unpopular, and is now rarely seen or heard, and if the vice president is out of Washington running a campaign in his place, but avoiding all press conferences, interviews, and unscripted addresses, who exactly, if anyone, is running the United States for the next six months of the lame-duck Biden-Harris administration?

* "Iran's Mullahs and Their Deadly Serious Plan: The Total Annihilation of Israel and the U.S." (Majid Rafizadeh, Gatestone Institute)

From the article -- * "Now, ask yourself, which country ultimately stands in the way of Iran's maniacal plans to impose radical Islam on the world? And the answer is clear: It's America, the guardian of Western civilization and the world's greatest power. That's why Iran sees America as its greatest enemy.... That's why the mobs in Tehran chant 'Death to Israel' before they chant 'Death to America.' For Iran Israel is first, America is next.... When Israel acts to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.... [that] threaten every American city.... we're not only protecting ourselves. We're protecting you." — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Address to US Congress, July 25, 2024.

* Ayatollah Ali Khamenei... has gone as far as proclaiming to the youth of Iran that they will soon witness the downfall of both Israel and American civilization.

* Has anyone noticed how Russian President Vladimir Putin's threat of using nuclear weapons succeeded in intimidating the Biden-Harris administration? Why wasn't the Biden-Harris administration intimidating Putin?

* "U.K. Free Speech Advocate Slams ‘Very Sinister’ Threat to Jail People Over Social Media Posts" (Ben Johnson, Washington Stand)

From the article -- “This far-Left government has waited 14 years to get into power. They’ve got[ten] in. Then there was a honeymoon period. Suddenly these riots kick off. There’s fear in the government that this will destabilize the government. So, they go into full lockdown, full totalitarian procedures to shut this down,” said McIlvenna on “Washington Watch” Wednesday. “They have also threatened foreign nationals,” McIlvenna noted.

London’s Metropolitan Police Service has promised an unlimited legal crusade against anyone who they believe has inflamed the situation. Police Commissioner Mark Rowley declared on Sky News, “We will throw the full force of the law at people. And whether you’re in this country committing crimes on the streets or committing crimes from further afield online, we will come after you.”

...At the same time, the British government has let bona fide criminals go free. “We have the government releasing rapists early and releasing murderers early. We had one case five or six days ago [in which] a man who committed a murder was released after six months, simply to free up prison places for all the ‘extremist,’ ‘hard Right’” protesters. “Instead of understanding the underlying concern, the government have gone in with a Stasi-like approach, a clampdown that I have certainly never seen in my time except in Northern Ireland” during the troubles, a time of rampant terrorism by the Irish Republican Army (IRA). The response has been “very, very sinister,” warned McIlvenna.

* "An encouragement to those who serve in pregnancy resource centers" (Brent Leatherwood, Ethics & Religious Commission of the Southern Baptists)

From the article -- Just as our culture is in a time of chaos, we know these years have been challenging for so many of you as well. There is much misunderstanding and misinformation about your ministry, what you seek to do, and who you seek to serve. My team and I know a little of what that feels like. But hear this: the ERLC is committed to doing everything we can to support and highlight the life-saving work of pregnancy resource centers around the country.

More than that, the Lord sees your faithfulness. He sees your good work. Do not grow weary in your service and in ministering to those in their time of need (Gal. 6:9). And maybe, just maybe, the work you do will serve as a model for the wider problem and question facing our culture: how do we stop the dehumanization of others? 

Isn’t that, at the core, exactly what you do? All of you help scared mothers realize and see the humanity of the precious preborn child in their wombs. They walk into your clinics—so many under the sway of the lies about a clump of cells, an inconvenience, a burden, and the belief that life is disposable—and you get to be the ones who offer them a lifeline, rescuing them from that darkness that has enveloped them.

But you don’t stop there, do you? You also offer them support, care, and hope. Hope is what so many of these parents need in those crucial moments. In doing so, once again, there is an echo of the Isaiah passage, uttered by an old prophet, ages ago. For, he relayed a promise that a Child would be born to a people darkened by lies, conspiracies, and death. And he said that Child would usher in the light as a Wonderful Counselor and a Prince of Peace.

* "J6 ‘Praying Grandma’ Slammed With Six-Figure Fine And Probation For Walking Around Capitol" (Tristan Justice, Federalist)

From the article -- According to the Denver Post, Lavrenz, who avoided jail time, “was sentenced Monday to 12 months of probation and six months of home detention with an internet restriction” in addition to “more than $103,000 in fines, restitution and special assessments.”

Lavrenz explained the extent of her conduct at the Capitol during a telephone interview with Newsmax on Wednesday. “I went through a door that opened in front of me, and I walked through the Capitol. I carried God’s presence into that building for about 10 minutes, walked out, did not shout, stayed within the lines, and was not stopped by any police officers and walked back out,” she said....

Lavrenz is one of hundreds aggressively prosecuted by the Justice Department, which demanded heavy fines and sentences for individuals who were present at the Capitol. In June, however, the Supreme Court ruled defendants who were charged with felonies under the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act as obstructing an official proceeding were unfairly prosecuted. The statute had been exploited to charge more than 300 defendants with additional felonies in the more than three years since the riot, allowing prosecutors to seek up to 20 years of jail time.

George Washington Gives Thanks for God's "Signal and Manifold Mercies" on America

George Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1789

By the President of the United States of America, a Proclamation.

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor -- and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be -- That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks -- for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation -- for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war -- for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed -- for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted -- for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions -- to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually -- to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed -- to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shown kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord --To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us -- and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

Nebraska Lt. Governor Addresses Pro-Life Challenges

Nebraska Lt. Governor Joe Kelly at the next BP4L Luncheon

Thursday, September 12 from 11:30 until 1

German-American Society, North Hall.

Luncheon & program $25.

(But with a $10 discount for everyone who signs up

through Vital Signs Ministries!)

 

Lt. Governor Kelly is a Nebraska native, an experienced and skilled prosecutor,

a dedicated servant to his family and community, and a longstanding defender of the sanctity of life. Writes Nebraska Family Alliance Policy Director Nate Grasz,

“As Lancaster County Attorney, U.S. Attorney for Nebraska, and now Lieutenant Governor, Joe Kelly has been a fierce advocate for justice and defending innocent life. We need strong pro-life leadership,

and Lt. Governor Kelly is helping provide that at our state capitol.”

Please plan on attending this important event and hear Joe Kelly on how we can beat back the abortion madness facing our state.

We are asking for prompt RSVPs to Denny & Claire Hartford (402) 341-8886

or email responses to  clairemariehartford@gmail.com

The Top 5 (August 10)

* "The 'Abortion to Save the Life of the Mother' Scam" (Sarah Terzo, NRL News)

From the article -- Dr. Allan Guttmacher, who would become the director of Planned Parenthood, stated in 1958: "At Mount Sinai, our rules are specific. The law says that one may abort to save the life of the mother, and therefore we insist that suicidal intent must be present in the psychiatric patient in order to validate the abortion." These women were often carefully coached on what to say.

From 1952 to 1955 there were 57 abortions committed at Mount Sinai Hospital, and 47.3% were on healthy mothers, done on grounds of averting suicide.4 From 1951 to 1953, 37.8% of abortions committed in New York City were done for this reason. This was up from only 8.2% in 1943.5 Between 1960-1962, it was 61%.6 In 1943, in Buffalo, New York, only 10% of abortions were justified by the risk of suicide. By 1963, this percentage had increased to 80%7, and the overall number of abortions increased considerably.

Sometimes, the pregnant person simply told the abortionist that she was suicidal. In other cases, the abortionist enlisted a psychiatrist accomplice who met with the woman and certified that she was suicidal. He would write a letter or fill out some paperwork, and the abortion would be done.

* "Olympic Boxing Mismatch KOs the Case for Biden’s Radical Title IX Rewrite" (Kristen Eichamer, Daily Signal)

From the article -- Philadelphia University researchers used sensors to determine the average force of a punch for male boxers weighing about 66 kilograms (145 pounds), the weight class of Carini and Khelif. They found males at that weight deliver punches with a force ranging from 932 newtons to 1,149 newtons. That’s equivalent to the force of a small motorcycle.

As if that were not reason enough to question male participation in female boxing matches, a University of Utah study found that males can deliver punches with 162% more force than females. Males have 75% more muscle mass than their female counterparts.

Allowing men to compete against women in elite sports is always unjust. But in boxing, where the differences between males and females are so vast, and the risks so high, it borders on criminal.

* "The Harris Flop Would Be Scarier Than Her Flip" (Victor Davis Hanson, American Greatness)

From the article -- No one voted for the Biden-Harris ticket to borrow trillions sparking hyperinflation, to wage war on fossil fuels, to go woke, to welcome in 10 million illegal aliens, to abandon $50 billion in weapons to the terrorist Taliban, and to find America facing existential wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and soon perhaps over Taiwan. 

But getting leftists elected requires fooling the American people into thinking their “moderate” campaign veneers will continue into their presidencies—even though they never do. So, for now, Harris and her new vice presidential candidate, Tim Walz, will smother all their cherished left-wing positions—at least until November. The two left-wing chameleons will assume the temporary identities and policies of “moderates.” That is a de facto admission that they know that the public does not want any of their true agendas. The temporary metamorphosis means that the leftist nominees superficially feign agreement with what most Americans support—energy independence, low taxes, limited government, strong defense, deterrent foreign policy, secure borders, legal-only immigration, and assimilation rather than woke/DEI tribalism.

* "If Democrats Want Proof Foreigners Are Registering To Vote, Virginia Just Found 6,303 Examples" (Shawn Fleetwood, Daily Signal)

From the article -- So-called “journalists” and their Democrat political allies regularly claim concerns about noncitizens registering ahead of and voting in the 2024 election are baseless because it’s already illegal for foreigners to cast ballots in federal contests. Of course, these self-professed “experts” on “misinformation” conveniently decline to mention that there’s no enforcement mechanism to prevent this from happening; or that numerous Democrat-run cities have granted illegal aliens the ability to vote in municipal races.

Yet, for all their hyperbolic grandstanding and opposition to ensuring only eligible Americans have a say in U.S. elections, Democrats have no legs left to stand on when it’s revealed that foreign nationals are, in fact, registering to vote.

In an executive order directing state agencies to undertake election security efforts ahead of the November election, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin revealed on Wednesday that the commonwealth’s Department of Elections (ELECT) has removed more than 6,300 noncitizens from its voter rolls since his administration took office...Virginia is one of only three states to require individuals “provide their full 9-digit Social Security number” when registering to vote, according to Youngkin.

* "Keeping the Killing of Innocents Out of Mind" (Denny Hartford, Vital Signs Blog)

From the article -- In both Christian compassion and a recognition of our common humanity, pro-life advocates still grieve for the victims of the Nazi barbarism. Yet when we read such passages as this, we also think of the abortion clinics in American neighborhoods where blasphemous brutality against preborn boys and girls (every bit as wicked as anything the Nazis did) is performed nearly every day.

And yet the citizens of American cities and towns drive, walk, and bicycle by abortion businesses without giving a single thought to what’s happening inside. Businesses -- even day care centers, doctors’ offices, and police stations -- may be located right next door. Yet their activities go on apace, very few people troubled by the unjust violence being performed so near to them.

Keeping the Killing of Innocents Out of Mind

They trudged up the street, their women in a whispering knot behind them, and now there was mud on their shining shoes. They came to the tangle of bodies and then moved closer together. The living looked at the dead and the dead stared back at them and there was no sound on the hill...

But this was not their guilt, the leading citizens of Ohrdruf explained. They had never shot a man, or used a club. Yes, they were of the same political faith as the executioners. They prospered from the work of these slaves. This camp was in their town but they had never come here before this. Therefore, the leading citizens say, they were blameless. (James Cannon, European Stars and Stripes staff writer, talking about local Germans who were forced by American military officers to march by Ohrdruf, a sub-camp of Buchenwald, after its liberation in April 1945.)

In both Christian compassion and a recognition of our common humanity, pro-life advocates still grieve for the victims of the Nazi barbarism. Yet when we read such passages as this, we also think of the abortion clinics in American neighborhoods where blasphemous brutality against preborn boys and girls (every bit as wicked as anything the Nazis did) is performed nearly every day.

And yet the citizens of American cities and towns drive, walk, and bicycle by abortion businesses without giving a single thought to what’s happening inside. Businesses -- even day care centers, doctors’ offices, and police stations -- may be located right next door. Yet their activities go on apace, very few people troubled by the unjust violence being performed so near to them.

And what about the churches and synagogues, the civic groups, the schools and the charitable organizations of the towns where abortion businesses like Planned Parenthood ply their grisly trade? Where is the protest of abortion? Where is the outcry against the barbaric injustices perpetrated therein to preborn boys and girls?

But this was not their guilt, the citizens of Ohrdruf explained to the American soldiers. Yes, this concentration camp was in their town, but they had never come here before this. They hadn’t participated themselves in the bloody deeds. Therefore, the citizens maintain that they were, in fact, quite blameless.

Shouldn’t such a conclusion alarm us, at least to cause us to honestly, humbly consider why Christians are not motivated to…say, pray at those abortion businesses, even once in awhile? To lodge principled protests of these horrors to the powers that be? To support with time and treasure the critical work of pro-life pregnancy aid centers and others who are engaged against the culture of death? To work and give what’s necessary for genuine pro-life defenders to be elected to public office? To pray fervently and frequently for a holy redress of grievances?

Make no mistake, if the Church does not do these things, Christians in the West must accept their guilt of apathy and callousness and outright disloyalty to the Lord God Who warned them, “Deliver those who are being taken away to death, and those who are staggering to slaughter, O hold them back. If you say, ‘See, we did not know this,’ does He not consider it who weighs the hearts? And does He not know it who keeps your soul? And will He not render to man according to his work?” (Proverbs 24:11-12)

And “Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.” (Isaiah 1:17) And “Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.” (Psalm 82:3) And “Thus says the Lord: Do justice and righteousness and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place.” (Jeremiah 22:3)

Of course, many, many more Scriptures are immediately relevant to this matter and you can survey those Scriptures at “Key Scripture Passages Relating to the Sanctity of Human Life” over at the website of Vital Signs Ministries. I encourage you to do so in order to best evaluate this exhortation.

Dear God, please help us to avoid the guilt of complicity, including the complicity of silence and lack of caring that has so shamefully marked the modern American church. Give us instead a new motivation to stand for righteousness. Give us courage and boldness and a deep desire to get out of our comfort zones and into Your will.

And Lord, please give us very specific directions in how we should improve our Christian service. How, for instance, should we be praying? Can we give more to Christ-honoring pregnancy centers and other pro-life ministries? How do we go about joining other Christians in prayer at an abortion business? What about those letter-writing parties that Vital Signs Ministries offers? For that matter, what about the action alerts promoted by pro-life, profamily organizations? And then there’s the annual March for Life, the Life Chain, the need to more enthusiastically support pro-life advocates running for public office, and the ongoing need to talk up pro-life issues to friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, and fellow church members.

Guys, we can do this. Unlike the people of Ohrdruf that had to be forced by foreign soldiers to look closely at the evil they had driven out of their minds, we can (by God’s ever-abounding grace) squarely face the facts…and then act wisely and winsomely to shine God’s truth abroad in our darkened culture. Indeed, the death camps are in our own cities and towns. But we can earnestly strive to be guiltless -- not by hunkering down in an illusory safety, not by ignoring what’s really happening, but by holding aloft the standards of His holiness, His truth, and His grace.

Uh, A Couple of Big Problems with Darwinian Evolution

Check out this nifty 5-minute Prager U clip, "From Bacteria to Beethoven."

Kamala Harris & Abortion: The Short Take

A few days ago, the Omaha World-Herald published a quick note I had submitted to their "letters to the editor" column. They did so after a OWH staffer called me on the phone a few days earlier to have a "fact check" discussion regarding a couple of the points I had made. I very much appreciate their willingness to print the letter.

And for all of you who, like me, do not receive the paper, I print it below. Please make use of the information (reliably "fact-checked" as it is!) in conversations with friends, family, neighbors, and your liberal Aunt Giselda.

"A recurrent charge by Republicans is that the Democrat presidential nominee Kamala Harris doesn’t stand for anything. But, to be honest, on one point, she has been most remarkably clear and consistent. 1) She has refused to name a single limitation on abortion that she would support. 2) Harris led the way for the U.S. military to begin paying for abortions. 3) She boasted that she was “the first president or vice-president in history to visit a reproductive health clinic” and subsequently did so several times. 4) Harris praised Democrat Attorneys General who were working to shut down pregnancy resource centers. 5) As a senator, Harris voted against the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. And 5) She has promised to make “abortion access” a central theme in her campaign. Oh no; Kamala Harris does stand – and stands strongly – on at least one political matter."