Until a Heavenly Reunion

At 7:00 last evening, after several years of dealing with severe dementia and various other health problems, Ionia Hartford (my Mom) passed into the presence of her Savior, Jesus Christ.

We are very grateful for all the prayers, visits and encouragement from friends.

And we are grateful too for the aggressive, skilled and compassionate care given by the staff of Immanuel Hospital here in Omaha.

Because of funeral and family activities, I won't be blogging until next week.

Today's Posts

Rick Perry and Eduardo Verastegui Team Up For Life

Planned Parenthood Is Making More of a Killing Than Ever

Putting His Way through the Presidency

Where Can We Cut $400 Billion in Government Spending -- In One Year?

What's Been Happening with Vital Signs Ministries?

What Jesse Jackson Once Believed About Abortion

Media Really Bummed: They Found Nothing But Good in Palin's E-mail Pile

Rick Perry and Eduardo Verastegui Team Up For Life

[Governor Perry] urged the crowd to keep up pressure to roll back the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion until "Roe v. Wade is nothing but a shameful footnote in our nation's history books.

Perry, a frequent critic of the federal government, also bashed President Barack Obama for his administration's policy allowing federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, saying he was deeply disturbed by studies that turn "the remains of unborn children into nothing more than raw material."

Since Roe v. Wade, Perry said, "50 million children have lost their chance at life -- a tragic legacy of judicial activism and a stark reminder that our culture and our country are still in peril."

Perry, the longest-serving governor in Texas history, has said that he will "think about" running for president. Last week, news that two of Perry's former campaign advisors had resigned from former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich's campaign fueled speculation that Perry would indeed run.

Sunday's event, where Perry received a standing ovation, was a chance for him to highlight his conservative credentials outside Texas.

He talked about state legislation he recently signed into law that requires women seeking an abortion to first obtain a sonogram. He had designated the bill an emergency, putting it on the fast track during this year's legislative session.
 "There is no such thing as an unwanted child in the eyes of God," said Perry, who has invited the nation's governors to Houston this summer for a prayer event.

Perry criticized Obama for overturning a policy that prevented U.S. funding of organizations that perform or promote abortions in foreign countries.

"With the stroke of a pen, abortion essentially became a U.S. foreign export," Perry said...

Planned Parenthood Is Making More of a Killing Than Ever

A new report the Planned Parenthood national abortion business recently released shows the embattled agency did more abortions in 2009 than it has done in any prior year. The report also shows it providing fewer pregnant women with non-abortion services.

Read the whole story here at LifeNews.

Putting His Way through the Presidency

Keith Koffler passes along this update:

I know this will be surprising to everyone, but the president has gone golfing.

Having clearly had enough of the solitude of Camp David, where he and the family were making a rare weekend sojourn, the president choppered early this morning directly to Andrews and headed straight to the Air Force base golf course. Not clear whether Michelle in the girls are still at Camp David or back at the White House...

Today makes 11 weekends in a row that Obama has gone golfing. It’s his 14th outing this year and the 72nd of his presidency.

But the media, who treated every getaway of Reagan or Bush as a shameful dereliction of duty, gives Obama a free pass on the golf, the basketball, the constant vacations, and all the lavish parties that make up so much of Obama's schedule.

Where Can We Cut $400 Billion in Government Spending -- In One Year?

Just a few days ago, Citizens Against Government Waste released the 2011 edition of its Prime Cuts database, a compendium of 691 waste-cutting recommendations that would save taxpayers $391.9 billion in the first year and $1.8 trillion over five years.

With the American economy tanking because of catastrophic overspending, the Prime Cuts should be required reading on Capitol Hill.

But, of course, most of the politicians will not read it. Nor will they get serious about cutting government spending...unless we force them to.

And that's where YOUR reading of the CAGW's Prime Cuts can help. For there's more than enough "juicy" facts there about government's gross irresponsibility to make your letters to these politicians (and to the editors of newspapers and magazines) particularly spicy. And plenty to embarass even your most Democrat of friends.

So gear up for the fight against government spending by reading through CAGW's Prime Cuts.

But you might want to take your blood pressure meds before reading.

What's Been Happening with Vital Signs Ministries?

I wrote June's LifeSharer letter (the monthly communication of Vital Signs Ministries yesterday up at Mom's hospital room). We will get it printed and sent out in the next couple of days. But I realized this morning that I had never announced the online posting of last month's letter. And it was a pretty interesting one with quick items about a lot of things...

Including a marriage ceremony in a hospital ICU room.

You can read that LifeSharer letter right here on the Vital Signs Ministries web site.

What Jesse Jackson Once Believed About Abortion

"What happens to the mind of a person, and the moral fabric of a nation, that accepts the aborting of the life of a baby without a pang of conscience? What kind of a person, and what kind of a society will we have 20 years hence if life can be taken so casually? It is that question, the question of our attitude, our value system, and our mind-set with regard to the nature and worth of life itself that is the central question confronting mankind. Failure to answer that question affirmatively may leave us with a hell right here on earth."

Reverend Jesse Jackson in 1977 -- Before abandoning personal convictions and moral traditions in order to hitch his wagon to the rising powers of the secular Left.


Sigh.

"What if a person gains the whole world and loses his own soul?"

Media Really Bummed: They Found Nothing But Good in Palin's E-mail Pile

The trove of more than 13,000 emails detailing almost every aspect of Sarah Palin’s governorship of Alaska, released late on Friday, paints a picture of her as an idealistic, conscientious, humorous and humane woman slightly bemused by the world of politics.

One can only assume that the Left-leaning editors who dispatched teams of reporters to remote Juneau, the Alaskan capital, to pore over the emails in the hope of digging up a scandal are now viewing the result as a rather poor return on their considerable investment.

If anything, Mrs Palin seems likely to emerge from the scrutiny of the 24,000 pages, contained in six boxes and weighing 275 pounds, with her reputation considerably enhanced. As a blogger at Powerline noted, the whole saga might come to be viewed as “an embarrassment for legacy media”...

It takes a British newspaper to report the obvious. Read more of Toby Harnden's story in the Telegraph.

Today's Posts

What Does WeinerGate Say About America?

Who Cares About Women? Abortion Zealots Ignore Health Standards By Pushing RU-486 Through the Mail.

Obama's Not Bothered About the Economy. Too Bad, Prez; It Bothers Voters.

It's Especially Dangerous to Be Old in Britain

The Lights of Freedom Are Getting Dim

Beach Boys, Lettermen Perform for Terri Schiavo Foundation

 

 

What Does WeinerGate Say About America?

Jeffrey T. Kuhner's column in the Washington Times presents a sad and disturbing picture of not only the Anthony Weiner affair but of the "moral rot" which has infected America's post-Christian culture.

Rep. Anthony D. Weiner has become the face of the Democratic Party. The New York congressman is embroiled in a scandal. Mr. Weiner has admitted sending sexual messages, as well as a lewd photo of his crotch, to numerous women - six so far and counting. Moreover, a picture of his naked genitals is circulating on the Internet.

Mr. Weiner, however, refuses to resign. At a news conference Monday, he admitted to exercising bad judgment and apologized repeatedly to his wife, Huma Abedin, who is pregnant. But Mr. Weiner insists he broke no laws and can still effectively represent his Queens constituents.

He is wrong. Mr. Weiner is a sexual predator who relentlessly pursued women on the Internet. By sending such graphic pictures and messages, he opened himself to potential criminal blackmail. This was shown by his weeklong campaign of manipulation and public lying. He first claimed that his computer was “hacked into” as part of a “prank.” He then denied the pictures were of him. When that didn’t work, he sought to portray the scandal as a hit job by conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart. In short, Mr. Weiner desperately tried to cover it up.

Mr. Weiner’s actions are unacceptable for a public representative. His behavior was reckless, demonstrating an appalling lack of judgment. It also showed contempt for his constituents. He disgraced his office, violated his congressional oath to uphold the highest ethical standards and deliberately lied to his constituents and the electorate. Moreover, several messages reveal that he sought to coach a woman into lying about the scandal - including possibly offering the use of his staff and office resources. This would constitute clear abuse of power and misuse of taxpayer dollars. The House Ethics Committee has rightly launched an investigation.

Leading Democrats realize that Weinergate is a cancer on their party. As the economy worsens, the last thing the Obama administration needs is a major scandal that further damages the Democrats’ credibility...

The problem is that Weinergate goes to the heart of the Democrats’ cultural liberalism. Try as they might to disown him, he embodies the party’s moral rot. Mr. Weiner is a progressive crusader. He has championed almost every secular leftist cause: socialized medicine, government day care, welfare, high taxes, abortion rights, homosexual marriage, gays in the military, sex education in schools and a European-style nanny state. In other words, he peddles sex and socialism - the twin pillars of progressivism.

Democrats are willing to sacrifice ruthlessly one of their rising stars to serve a larger objective - retaining their grip on power. Yet, for decades, it has been liberals who have pushed for condoms to be distributed to high school kids, homosexuality and bisexuality to be taught in schools, the murder of unborn infants to be tolerated, and pornography and permissiveness to be accepted as part of the mainstream. The result has been a coarsening of our culture, the breakdown of the family and the disintegration of a moral consensus. Mr. Weiner is simply a product of modern liberalism - self-absorbed narcissism combined with an obsession for sexual gratification...

The Rubicon was crossed during the Clinton years. President Clinton engaged in an extramarital affair with a young intern, Monica Lewinsky, in the White House. He committed perjury and repeatedly lied to the American people. He abused his power and degraded his office. Mr. Clinton was the sex president. He was accused of sexually assaulting Paula Jones and Kathleen Willey. Juanita Broderick even claimed she was once raped by Mr. Clinton. Rather than removing him from office, Democrats - and much of the electorate - rallied behind him. The reason was simple: His moral degeneracy increasingly mirrored secular America...

Who Cares About Women? Abortion Zealots Ignore Health Standards By Pushing RU-486 Through the Mail.

Once again we see evidence that abortion organizations are irrationally enamored with the idea of killing preborn kids -- a fixation that is as anti-woman as it is anti-child.

Mary Novick reports for LifeNews.com about an abortion organization that is getting around the laws of pro-life countries by shipping the RU-486 through the mails. These abortionists are committed by ideology as much as the profit motive to selling this deadly drug to uninformed women though physicians (and even the drug manufacturers themselves) clearly explain that using RU-486 without the direct involvement of a doctor is recklessly dangerous.

A pro-abortion website is targeting women in pro-life countries like Poland, Ireland, Malta and others for distribution of the abortion drug, RU-486. The goal of this website is to undermine pro-life laws and to reduce maternal mortality due to “unsafe abortions.”[1]

Womenonweb.org directs women through an online questionnaire, where they answer questions about gestational age etc. Then this organization will ship abortion drugs to the women in these pro-life countries, where the woman will take the drugs at home. The physician disseminating the drug does not physically examine the woman before sending her the drug, nor is he/she available should complications arise.

Whatever the goal of this site may be, distributing abortion drugs to women – especially if they have not been physically examined by the physician – is “unsafe.” The protocol for distribution of RU-486 as prescribed by the manufacturer, Danco Laboratories, requires that physicians supervise the administration of the abortion drug in order to assess potential complications and to intervene surgically if necessary. The prescriber’s agreement indicates that a physician must have the:

• Ability to assess the duration of pregnancy accurately.

• Ability to diagnose ectopic pregnancies.

• Ability to provide surgical intervention in cases of incomplete abortion or severe bleeding, or have made plans to provide such care through others, and are able to assure patient access to medical facilities equipped to provide blood transfusions and resuscitation, if necessary.[2]

A physician in another country assessing an online survey does not have the ability to make these determinations/ interventions. It is absolutely “unsafe” to distribute the abortion drug in this manner.

Furthermore, it is not uncommon for serious complications – requiring surgical intervention – to occur for women who attain the abortion pills online. A study conducted from April to December 2006, and published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology found that 13.6 %[3] of women who used the abortion pill at home reported being admitted to the hospital to undergo suction/ curettage abortion for incomplete abortion or excessive bleeding. This study provides clear evidence that serious complications are common among women who use this drug...

Here's the rest of the story.

P.S. This irresponsible (let alone, immoral) promotion of chemical abortion is also common with Planned Parenthood. Indeed, their policy of distributing RU-486 via webcam is in place in several states. It is a policy pro-life advocates and all others who desire to defend high standards of women's health need to strongly oppose. The Nebraska legislature has led the way with its recent passage of  the Stop Web Cam Abortions law, one which should become a model for other states.

Obama's Not Bothered About the Economy. Too Bad, Prez; It Sure Bothers Voters.

Cheri Jacobus cuts through Barack Obama's hopeful but specious hype in one of today's must-reads. It's published over at The Hill. Go through it slowly; memorize some of her key points to season your conversation with disappointed Democrats; and then pass it on.

Let’s get this straight — President Obama says he’s not at all worried that the nation is on a double-dip recession track, even though he admits he has no idea what the meaning of the sudden downturn in job growth foretells. He claims the nation is on a path of solid but uneven recovery and we should not “panic.” I guess in his view, cheery optimism will save the day — or perhaps he can rely on the faux security of presidential denial.

Far from calming our fears, the president’s nervous state of denial sends chills down our spines with the depth and breadth of its naiveté and dishonesty. A new CNN/Public Opinion Research poll indicates nearly half of Americans believe the United States will likely suffer another Great Depression within the year. While there are many divergent definitions and varied opinions as to what constitutes an economic depression as opposed to a recession, long-held fears, family memories, history and similarities between the Great Depression and what Americans are currently experiencing suggest a forshadowing of electoral uprising against congressional Democrats and Obama for economic woes felt nationwide. The same poll places the economy as the No. 1 issue Americans care about, while showing a sharp decline in Obama’s approval numbers — now below 50 percent.

That long-ago 8 percent unemployment Obama promised would result from his nearly $1 billion stimulus spending spree now sounds charmingly quaint compared to the harsh reality of today. Last Friday’s Labor Department jobs report and 9.1 percent unemployment were blows to hopes for economic recovery in the near future, with a disappointing 54,0000 new jobs — far below what was expected, hoped for or needed to spur the economy and keep recession at bay. Nearly half of the unemployed have been so for at least six months, and about one-third have been out of work for more than a year. It’s a safe bet they will vote next year, too...

And, with home prices falling another 4 percent, Obama seems reluctant to let it color his Pollyannaish view of the economy he leads, and for which he is largely accountable. It should not come as any surprise, then, that we learned just this week the president has eliminated his daily economic briefings, provided by his economic team, from his schedule. Instead, he now only gets daily documents from his National Economic Council. To further confuse matters, the only daily in-person economic briefing on our failing national economy Obama treats himself to appears to be with, and by, Vice President Biden. This would be the same Joe Biden who claimed the economy was recovering and “gaining traction” only six days before the poor jobs report was released. The same Joe Biden who claimed the Obama administration’s bailout “saved” the American auto industry from bankruptcy, despite the fact Chrysler filed for bankruptcy, followed by GM only a month later — both AFTER receiving the very generous wad of federal bailout cash, courtesy of the American taxpayer...

Revisionist history? Stupidity? Denial? Take your pick. One is not more attractive or less frightening than another.

But glass-as-half-full pronouncements, as nifty as they sound on the campaign trail when pandering for votes and applause lines, will not satiate voters come Election Day. Fool us once, shame on you. Fool us twice, shame on you.

(Cheri Jacobus is president of Capitol Strategies PR and an adjunct professor at George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management.)

It's Especially Dangerous to Be Old in Britain

A new study shows that the elderly in Great Britain are at much greater risk from dying from cancer than those living in other countries. Indeed, the study suggested that15,000 people over 75 die prematurely from cancer each year. They are diagnosed with the disease later and are less likely to receive surgery.

Furthermore, the study claims (and this is hardly a surprise to those who follow the devolution of medical care under nationalized health programs) that that older patients are being under-treated by Britain's National Health Service because of age bias.

Here's more from the Telegraph story by Martin Beckford.

The Lights of Freedom Are Getting Dim

...This is not how the story was supposed to go. When compact fluorescent light bulbs were new, promoters sold them as a market-oriented, win-win proposition. They were like “lite” beer: the same great illumination, for a fraction of the electric bill.

But, as with beer, not everyone was convinced. Some consumers didn’t like the high out-of-pocket cost. (A basic CFL runs about three times the initial price of the equivalent incandescent.) Some didn’t like that bulbs could take a while to build up to full intensity.

Some didn’t like the occasional flicker. And a lot didn’t like the light. Its bluish cast lacks the warmth of traditional incandescents and gives skin tones a somewhat deathly tinge. “Fluorescent is just not attractive,” a resolute restaurant designer once told me. “I don’t care what they say.”

One serious technophile, University of Tennessee law professor Glenn Reynolds, spent much of 2007 flogging compact fluorescents on his popular Instapundit blog, eventually persuading more than 1,900 readers to swap 19,871 incandescent bulbs for CFLs. To this day, the Instapundit group is by far the largest participant at OneBillionBulbs.com, a bulb-switching campaign organized by the consulting firm Symmetric Technologies. But Reynolds himself has changed his mind.

“I’m deeply, deeply disappointed with CFL bulbs,” he wrote last month on his blog. “I replaced pretty much every regular bulb in the house with CFLs, but they’ve been failing at about the same rate as ordinary long-life bulbs, despite the promises of multiyear service. And I can’t tell any difference in my electric bill. Plus, the Insta-Wife hates the light.”...

Here's more of Virginia Postrel excellent Bloomberg column.

See these previous Vital Signs Blog post also: About Those Toxic Mercury Bulbs: Will Nanny State Politicians See the Light?...Nanny State Light Bulbs -- It's a More Important Issue Than You Think...Among the Costs of Going Green -- Unemployment.

Beach Boys, Lettermen Perform for Terri Schiavo Foundation

Terri Schiavo loved music.

“She was a huge John Denver and Duran Duran fan,” says Suzanne Schindler Vitadamo about a beloved sister who died in early 2005. “We thought a concert was a great way to pay tribute to all persons with disabilities, honor Terri’s memory, and raise funds for the network.”

The second annual Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Concert will be June 12 at Fraze Pavilion in Kettering. The Beach Boys will headline the show. Guest artist
 John Stamos, opening act The Lettermen and Jim Labriola of “Home Improvement” will also be featured...

Proceeds from the concert, held in a different city each year, will go to the network established by Schiavo’s family, which advocates for the lives of vulnerable
persons by serving as a resource for families needing counsel and support. Says Vitadamo: “We believe all persons with disability deserve to live and be cared for with compassion and respect.”

What a concert, huh? And what a cause. If you're anywhere near Ohio...for that matter, if you're ready for a fun road trip to get to Ohio...please consider making this terrific party. It's this Sunday evening at 7 at the Fraze Pavilion in Kettering. Tickets are a mere $35 at the Fraze box office or through www.ticket
master.com.

Man, $35 for the Beach Boys, Lettermen and more? You gotta' love it. More information about the concert can be found right here and more information about the Terri Schiavo Foundation can be found over here.

Today's Posts

Democrat Congresswoman (And Former Abortionist) Wants A More "Ethical" Congress

The Brutality, Bullying and Injustice of Sharia Law -- And How the West Is Enabling It

$603,000 for a Taxi License? Govt. Regs Are Killing American Business.

Man Dies in Hospital Hallway, Body Lays There for 10 Hours Before Staff Notices He's Dead

Divorce Harms Kids' Academic, Social Performance

Hollywood Stars Featured in New Pro-Life Films

This Is How Democrat Bob Filner Stands Behind America's Troops?

Democrat Congresswoman (And Former Abortionist) Wants A More "Ethical" Congress

Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz of Pennsylvania is a four-term Representative who has now been handed the leadership of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. She's one of the Party's hopes, a rising star in its ranks.

But Allyson Schwartz is something else too.

She's an abortionist, a woman who co-founded an abortion clinic in Philadelphia and served as its Executive Director for 13 years. And though her abortion business eventually caved in (after killing thousands of preborn boys and girls), she continues to serve the abortion movement with a cruel zeal, compiling a full 100% on NARAL's political score sheet.

How's that for a revealing snapshot of what the modern Democrat Party represents?

Oh, by the way, Schwartz was one of the first to suggest that that Rep. Anthony Weiner resign because his "behavior was so offensive he has lost the ability to command respect from his constituents and [thus he] brought dishonor to the House."

Though I agree that Weiner should prove his long overdue apology was sincere by resigning, I find it an unconscionable irony to hear an abortionist dishing out moral criticism. Come on. Weiner's offenses were lewd, narcissistic and bizarre.

But he never killed babies for money.

If  Schwartz really wants the House to improve its moral standards, she would repent her barbaric past, apologize to the thousands of people she exploited and hurt, and follow through with her own resignation.

Don't hold your breath.

The Brutality, Bullying and Injustice of Sharia Law -- And How the West Is Enabling It

...Around the world, Muslims enforce non Muslims compliance and deliberate air-brushing of the extent and magnitude of the Islamic threat -- from holy war, or Jihad, to the treatment of women under Islam. As approved by Sharia dictates, Muslims also try to forbid non-Muslims from speaking critically about Islam.

How do they accomplish this? They name anyone who engages in an honest examination of Islamic texts as a bigot, or full of hate, or call him an "Islamophobe." Dissent brings trials for non-specific "hate-speech" crimes, as well as threats of riots, violence and boycotts. In many worst-case scenarios, Muslims kill non Muslims, as well as those brave Muslims who dare to defy mind-control and suppression.

Only a few days ago the courageous Lars Hedegaard was found guilty of so called "hate speech" for having made allegedly racist statements. Yet, Mr. Hedegaard has been telling the truth. He has been bringing to the public's attention the appalling widespread Islamic 'honor' violence, in which family members are directed kill female relatives, reportedly to "restore family honor," for "crimes" such as as being raped -- often by a family member; the woman is always declared guilty, never the rapist -- as well as for alleged adultery, even if there is no proof, but just "a feeling" the judges may have as in the recent case of Hena in Bangladesh. who was sentenced to 300 lashes, and during the lashings died.

During my thirty-two years of living in Syria, I have witnessed first hand countless acts of vicious violence and cruelty. As a practicing physician in Syria, I have seen and treated countless abused women who were severely beaten and raped with the tacit approval of Sharia and family "honor."

Those victims I treated were of the same type of victims honor violence to which Mr. Hedegaard referred, and for which he is now being penalized by those who are supposed to be championing the same values we all hold dear in the West.

By suppressing the freedom to expose atrocities and cruelty against Muslim women, however, the West undermines their status as respected and valued citizens. Is this what government leaders seek to accomplish? Are Muslim women who suffer immensely under Sharia Law, including in the West, not worthy of government protection?

As a physician, I am alarmed at the coordinated effort by Islamists and their accomplices in the West to disrupt this basic right to freely express and expose what needs to be corrected...

The full article, "The Islamists' Enablers: The Western Sellout to Sharia Law by Wafa Sultan, is here at Hudson New York. It's a long column but a very important one. It's a clarion call from an insider, one which should fuel our prayers and our political action. Pass it around.

$603,000 for a Taxi License? Govt. Regs Are Killing American Business.

Politicians care about poor people. I know because they always say that. But then why do they make it so hard for the poor to escape poverty?

Outside my office in New York City, I see yellow taxis. It's intuitive to think that government should license taxis to make sure they're safe and to limit their number. It's intuitive to believe that if anyone could just start picking up passengers, we'd have chaos. So to operate a taxi in NYC, you have to buy a license, a "medallion," from an existing cab company (or at a once-in-a-blue-moon auction). Medallions are so scarce, they now cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Licensing prices poor people out of the business.

"Compare New York City, where a license to own and operate a taxi is $603,000, to Washington, D.C.," George Mason University economist Walter Williams told me. "There are not many black-owned taxis in New York City. But in Washington, most are owned by blacks." Why? Because in Washington, "it takes $200 to get a license to own and operate one taxi. That makes the difference."

Regulation hurts the people the politicians claim to help.

People once just went into business. But now, in the name of "consumer protection," bureaucrats insist on licensing rules. Today, hundreds of occupations require expensive licenses. Tough luck for a poor person getting started...

Read more from John Stossel's "The Cancer of Regulation" right here.