Faux Celebrity Katie Hopkins Calls for "Euthanasia Vans"

Katie Hopkins, a British television “personality” whose fame comes from appearing on reality TV shows, recently opined that society needs to get cracking on killing off senior citizens.

I’m not kidding.

Hopkins told the Radio Times, “We just have far too many old people….It's ridiculous to be living in a country where we can put dogs to sleep but not people.”

Her solution? “Easy. Euthanasia vans - just like ice-cream vans that would come to your home. It would all be perfectly charming. They might even have a nice little tune they'd play. I mean this genuinely. I'm super-keen on euthanasia vans.”

Sigh.

The world just got a little bit more chilling.

"Planned Parenthood Is In Trouble"

John Hinderaker of Power Line writes…

Planned Parenthood is in trouble. While Democratic politicians continue to stand behind the organization, corporate sponsors reportedly are dropping by the wayside. Planned Parenthood has tried to go on the attack, claiming that the first two videos were “deceptively edited”–an absurd assertion, given that the raw footage was released in its entirety at the same time as the shorter, edited highlights versions–and falsely claiming that the people involved in the Center for Medical Progress have “been behind the bombing of clinics, the murder of doctors in their homes, and in their churches.” Someone call the U.S. Attorney!

What makes Planned Parenthood’s position so difficult is that it has never really been a secret that the organization sells babies’ organs. What Planned Parenthood wants to say (and does say, although with a certain lack of conviction) is that selling babies’ organs is a great thing because they are used in scientific research. The problem is that no one who watches the videos has that reaction. The sale of body parts is obviously a dirty business–that’s what you will think if you watch the videos, anyway–and it’s hard not to feel that abortion is a dirty business too.

Press reaction to video number three has been muted. The New York Times, for example, doesn’t appear to have mentioned it. Most “mainstream” outlets wish the whole thing would go away, and are focusing their coverage on side issues, like Republicans’ efforts to defund Planned Parenthood. The less said about the actual content of the videos the better, for obvious reasons.

But press reaction is also probably cautious because everyone knows there are more videos where these came from. At this point, no one knows what those videos will show or how much worse the situation could get for Planned Parenthood. So for now, liberal news organizations are trying to keep their heads down and pretend that the news story is all about politics.

Okay, Just How Does Planned Parenthood Do Its Thing?

The Decline in Reading

Studies show that Americans, including American Christians, are reading considerably less than the last few generations. It’s just one more illustration of how we’re becoming dumber, lazier, more superficial, less discerning, and more easily led.

Of course, beginning to read books again isn’t the solution to all our messes.  But it can be an important part of our defense against the ever-encroaching, post-modern culture. That’s why I’m reading more than ever, why I started a book club that is now in its 24th year, why Vital Signs hosts book discussions, and why I organize book reading in my church. Oh yeah, if Americans put down the computer games, videos, and smart phones – and more frequently picked up a book? That would be step in the right direction.

Interested in more about reading, in book clubs, in effecting the culture? Step over to TheBook Den, Vital Signs blog dedicated to literature.

(The above post is the transcript of today's Vital Signs commentary broadcast at 7:59 on KLCV, 88.5 FM, Lincoln and Omaha)

Is Planned Parenthood Selling Aborted Baby Parts? Go to the Video Tape.

A shocking new expose’ video has caught Planned Parenthood’s top doctor describing how the abortion business sells the body parts of aborted babies.

New undercover footage shows Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s Senior Director of Medical Services, Dr. Deborah Nucatola, describing how Planned Parenthood sells the body parts of aborted unborn children and admitting she uses partial-birth abortions to supply intact body parts...

That video is right below and the rest of Steven Ertelt's LifeNews story is right here.

Reasons for a Public Pro-life Witness

Why do I continue to give a public witness to the sanctity of life outside abortion businesses?  Well, in an article available on the Vital Signs Ministries website, I describe five reasons. And number five in that list is this: a pro-life witness outside an abortion business insures that men and women – even those who ultimately decide to commit the abortion – will forever remember that someone was there to plead with them, “no, don’t do this.” 

They will retain in the memory of their abortion experience that someone was standing up for their child…and for the mother’s spiritual, physical, and emotional well-being. That provides a tremendous incentive for repentance, a motivation to seek forgiveness and healing from the God Who delivered His Son to die for all of mankind’s sins.

To check out the four other reasons, please zip on over to the website of Vital Signs Ministries.

(The above post is the transcript of today's Vital Signs commentary broadcast at 7:59 on KLCV, 88.5 FM, Lincoln and Omaha)

Enemies of Marriage

Lest you think that modern liberals were the first to attack the sanctity of marriage, I’d like you to note this particularly pernicious precursor.

“My personal opinion is that it would be a natural development for us to break with monogamy…Marriage laws are in themselves immoral…With bigamy, each wife would act as a stimulus to the other so that both would try to be their husband’s dream woman -- no more untidy hair, no more slovenliness.”

Sounds like something you’d hear from one of the free-thinkers of the press, academia, or Hollywood, right? However, the quotation actually comes from Heinrich Himmler, the Nazi Reichsführer of the SS -- the murderer, adulterer, and right hand thug of Adolf Hitler? You see, declaring yourself an enemy of natural marriage doesn’t make you part of the progressive future. It makes you part of the pagan past.  

(The above post is the transcript of today's Vital Signs commentary broadcast at 7:59 on KLCV, 88.5 FM, Lincoln and Omaha)

How (and Why) the Police Are Taking American's Property

Thanks Alex Anderson, Melissa Quinn, and the Heritage Foundation’s Daily Signal.

Public Schools: At War with Conservative Values

...Catholic, evangelical and other private schools -- even home-schooling -- are the best educational options for families who adhere to traditional values. If there were an exodus from public schools by people who are sick of political correctness, not to mention the government school system's inability to bring students up to the levels of other nations, perhaps the politicians and those responsible for these propaganda camps might wake up and offer parents school choice.

As long as parents willingly put their children in a school system that not only undermines their values, but in many cases openly opposes them, and then makes children who hold to a different worldview feel odd, even bigoted and behind the times, public schools will continue to do so.

This is what happens when standards are abandoned and truth becomes subjective…

Better get your children out now before it's too late and you and the nation have lost them to an alien intellectual philosophy and a hostile moral power.

Read the rest of Cal Thomas' provocative column "Time to pull your kids out of public school?" right here.

Providential Snowflakes

There is no doubt that things look very bleak for the cause of freedom and justice nowadays. But please don’t let that keep you from bold actions of advocacy or from bold prayers for God to act as well. Remember, for instance, that in the autumn of 1941, Hitler’s Nazis had blitzkrieged all across Europe, held England in a stranglehold, were confidently drafting 5 and 25 year plans for their Third Reich utopia, and were planning to rid the entire world of Jews and other people they deemed inferior.

But that same autumn, snowflakes begin to fall on the Russian steppes. And in those tiny, delicate snowflakes lived the providence of a holy God, a just and merciful God Who stood in opposition to the Nazi’s evil schemes. That winter in Russia was the beginning of the end for Hitler and his murdering thugs.

Yes, things are dark and decadent now, but I do urge you to let those little snowflakes remind you to keep acting in faith…and to keep praying for divine intervention to rescue our culture.

Did These Get By You?

For those of you doing duty in the culture wars, here's a few of the best articles from recent days.

* “Stephanopoulos’s Long, Long Record of Loyal Service to the Clintons” (John Fund, National Review)

* “Teacher assails practice of giving passing grades to failing students” (Jay Mathews, Washington Post)

* “The Death of the Green Energy Movement” (Stephen Moore, Daily Signal)

* “House of the Stacked Deck of Cards: The privilege of being Hillary Clinton” (Noemie Emery, Weekly Standard)

* “Al Sharpton’s daughter sues city for $5M after spraining ankle” (Kathianne Boniello, New York Post)

* “Germany’s Green-Power Program Crushes the Poor” (Robert Zubrin, National Review)

* “The US Lost 1,335 Soldiers in Anbar. ISIS Just Took it Back…Thanks Obama” (Jim Hoft, Gateway Pundit)

* “What if the World’s Most Expensive Fighter Planes Can’t Defeat Our Enemies?” (Mike Fredenburg, National Review)

A Case in Point of "Real" Racism

1) Incoming Boston University professor Saida Grundy calls "white college males" a "problem population” in angry tweets. And in other recent Twitter messages she says that "white masculinity is THE problem for America's colleges." And "Deal with your white (%*#*@), white people; slavery is a ‘YALL’ thing.” And "Every MLK week I commit myself to not spending a dime in white-owned businesses. And every year I find it nearly impossible."

2) Is she fired? No. Boston University Robert Brown acknowledged that her messages could be “hurtful” but then gave her plenty of understanding.  "I do not say this lightly or without a great deal of consultation and soul-searching," Brown's letter reads. "I understand there is a broader context to Dr. Grundy's tweets and that, as a scholar, she has the right to pursue her research, formulate her views, and challenge the rest of us to think differently about race relations. But we also must recognize that words have power and the words in her Twitter feed were powerful in the way they stereotyped and condemned other people."

3) Saida Grundy apologizes...in her way."I regret that my personal passion about issues surrounding these events led me to speak about them indelicately. I deprived them of the nuance and complexity that such subjects always deserve."

4) And the response of other liberals? Hey, Saida ain’t racist! You are! A hashtag campaign ensued and a petition of support which read, “Racism extends to virtually every institution in American society - including higher education. Calling Professor Grundy's tweets racist minimizes the very real effects of racism for people of color in the United States."

5) So calling white people names; smearing all white people by making them responsible for slave ownership; insisting that white males are the primary, if not sole, problem in American colleges; and bragging about race-oriented discrimination in consumer decisions — that’s not racism. Real racism is thinking that Professor Grundy is out of line.

6) Saida Grundy starts her job in July.

Don't Miss These "Must Reads"

* “How Obama’s Made Sure to Leave Every Part of the World More Dangerous than He Found It” (Robert Ehrlich, National Review)

* “Catholic University Investigated for Offending Muslims by Having Too Many Crosses” (John Hayward, Breitbart)

* “US to award Iran $11.9 billion through end of nuke talks” (Adam Kredo, Fox News)

* “The 7 Steps the Next President Should Take to Boost Our Economy” (James Carafano, The Daily Signal)

* “Christian schools will have no choice about gay marriage” (Michael Farris, USA Today)

* “Conservative Nebraska Legislature tackles liberal issues” (Anna Gronewold, Associated Press)

* “Stay Quiet and You'll Be Okay” (Mark Steyn, Steyn Online)

* “Bigot Peter Singer: Don’t Pay to Treat Disabled Babies” (Wesley J. Smith, National Review)

What Happened to Jefferson's Plea for Freedom of Conscience?

In addition to its own immensely lucrative profits from surgical and chemical abortion, our government gives Planned Parenthood yet more money...as in more than $540 million every year! And, of course, most of those citizens are profoundly grieved and offended at the barbaric destruction of human lives the wicked business commits.

Jefferson (and the rest of our nation’s founders) would be dumbfounded and aghast at how the American dream has turned out.

The Lasting Impressions of a Pro-Life Witness

We received an encouraging note today from a veteran sidewalk counselor and pro-life leader who serves the cause in another part of the country. We have known and appreciated her friendship for many years.

We thought you might find her message of interest as well.

An overdue response to your March letter:

Hi Denny,

[You wrote] in your March letter — “A pro-life witness outside an abortion business insures that men and women – even those who ultimately decide to commit the abortion – will forever remember that someone was there to plead with them, “no, don’t do this.”  They will retain in the memory of their abortion experience that someone was standing up for their child…and for the mother’s spiritual, physical, and emotional well-being. That provides a tremendous incentive for repentance, a motivation to seek forgiveness and healing from the God Who delivered His Son to die for mankind’s sins.”

So true!  And here’s another thought:  I’ve wondered exactly what sort of feelings the woman will have as she remembers us, but I recently received an answer in one case at least:  I was told by the leader of a local post-abortion group that one of the women in the group said that she remembers me (her description was amazingly accurate after more than a decade) and the memory of my presence there is actually comforting  to her now.  She views it as God, in His love for her, reaching out to her even at that last minute.  That was comforting to ME, that she wasn’t allowing the memory solely to “beat her up” even more…  

Please say hi to Claire for me. 

May God continue to bless your work!

Did You Know You're Giving Planned Parenthood $540 Million? Every Year?

Just a quick reminder:

According to Planned Parenthood’s own accounting, the mega-abortion business scored $58.2 million in excess revenue for the year, making their net assets more than $1.3 billion. That’s right, B as in billion (not to mention base, blasphemous, and barbaric). And Planned Parenthood rakes in a big chunk of that cash from American taxpayers, like over $540 million every year now.

Remember also that Planned Parenthood’s abortion numbers remain consistently high (nearly 900 abortions every single day) despite the fact that its overall clients have substantially decreased. That doesn’t square very well with the business’ constant claims of providing health care to men and women. Indeed, under Cecile  Richards’ leadership, Planned Parenthood’s cancer screening and prevention services have been cut by more than half. And their other services, never serious enough to give much attention to, are falling off almost completely.

For instance, in that latest annual report, Planned Parenthood boasts of committing 327,166 abortion procedures in one year while only making 2,197 adoption referrals. Do the math yourself.  It works out to about 149 abortions for each single adoption referral.

No, behind all the slogans, Planned Parenthood is all about abortion. And it is being helped along substantially with your tax dollars.

Infuriating? It sure ougta’ be. So write yourCongressman and Senators. And tell your co-workers and your Sunday School class and your sweet Aunt Gertrude. It’s way past time that Planned Parenthood is denied a place at the public trough.

"Best Reads" From the Weekend

* “The Disgraceful Republican Cave-in on Loretta Lynch” (Andrew C. NRO)
McCarthy,

* “The liberation of President Obama” (Washington Times editors)

* “Our Mean-Spirited President Cuts Loose” (John Hinderaker, Power Line)

* “Over 75? Sign here if you're ready for death” (Sophie Borland, Daily Mail)

* “How Christianity invented children” (Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry, The Week)

* “Hillary Thinks She Is Bigger Than God” (Ed Driscoll, PJ Media)

* “The Clintons' Little Tin Box” (Clarice Feldman, American Thinker)

* “Feds Play the Race Card to Crush Parents’ Revolt Against Common Core” (David French, NRO)

Living Unplugged

Obama's Mess in the Middle East

Michael Doran, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense, and a former senior director of the National Security Council has written a very lucid, very important article for Mosaic. "Tectonic Shift in Obama's Iran Policy" details how Barack Obama's shameful nuclear deal with Iran is just the beginning of a whole lot of trouble. The president’s goal, at the expense of America’s allies, is full-fledged détente with Iran.

I print a few paragraphs below but, believe me, you'll find the full article very helpful in understanding the mess our president is creating.

Exaggerating the successes of Lausanne may have been a savvy maneuver against the president’s domestic critics, but it weakened his hand against the Iranians by telegraphing his deep personal investment in the negotiations. Failure to get a deal would now be a major embarrassment. Knowledge of this fact gave Khamenei an opening, which he exploited with his defiant speech. Not so fast, the speech signaled to Obama. In order to get the agreement that you’re already celebrating, you must pay—in the form of more concessions to me. 

If past behavior is anything to go by, Obama will give Khamenei what he wants. Indeed, American concessions have propelled the negotiations forward at every stage…

One of Obama’s greatest diplomatic successes is to have persuaded much of the world, including many of his critics, that the primary goal of his Iran diplomacy is to negotiate a nuclear arms-control agreement. In fact, the primary goal is détente with Iran.

In the president’s thinking, détente will restrain Iranian behavior more effectively than any formal agreement. In addition, it will also open the way to greater cooperation with Iran on regional security. Détente will permit the United States to pull back from the Middle East and focus more on its domestic priorities. Finally, it will vindicate Obama’s ethos of “engagement,” which he sees as a superior alternative to the military-driven concepts of American leadership championed by his Republican opponents. In short, détente will secure Obama’s legacy.

By contrast, Khamenei is pursuing highly specific goals. Three stand out above all others. He is seeking, first, to preserve Iran’s entire nuclear infrastructure; second, to repeal the sanctions on the Iranian economy; and third, to abolish the international legal regime that brands Iran a rogue state. In all three areas, Obama has already satisfied his core demands…

The disarray and atomization among the anti-Iranian states in the Middle East means that they (like the American Congress) will likely prove incapable of mounting a decisive opposition to Obama’s détente. But their inability to stop it does not mean they will ever accept it. They will remain dedicated to contesting Obama’s policy, and they will continue to fight back against Iran and its proxies in Yemen, Syria, and Iraq—not to mention new venues that will appear over time.

Détente, therefore, will deliver disequilibrium, the exact opposite of the effect intended. By negotiating an arms-control agreement, the president has shifted the tectonic plates of the Middle East order. And for tectonic plates, it takes a move of just inches to level whole cities.

Did I Miss Anything Important?

Maybe. How about these articles?

* “Free Speech in Peril” (Myron Magnet, City Journal)

* “The Abortion Industry and Human Traffickers: Partners in Crime” (Becky Yeh, Live Action)

* “California Committee Passes Bill to to Force Pregnancy Centers to Promote Abortions” (Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com)

* “Hillary's Terrible First Week Is A Bad Omen For Democrats” (Editorial, Investors Business Daily)

* “Former Sen. Coburn on what's 'disgusting' about Washington” (Paige Winfield Cunningham, Washington Examiner)

* “Canadian bioethicist attacks conscientious objection” (Michael Cook, BioEdge)

* “An education is a terrible thing to waste: Too many Americans are wasting precious years and vast amounts of cash acquiring a college education.” (Kevin Ryan, Mercator)

* "A Traitor Comes Home: A Look at the Zaccheus Narrative" (Denny Hartford)