Friday, December 09, 2011
Ed Meese on Reagan, Stenberg and the Election of 2012
But supporting Don Stenberg was just one of the reasons we dared go out on those icy streets; the other was the guest speaker, Edwin Meese, whose impressive career has included serving as a law professor, an Attorney General of the United States, and several high-ranking advisor positions in the gubernatorial and presidential terms of Ronald Reagan. Meese is also an author, a conservative leader involved with such groups as the Young America's Foundation and The Heritage Foundation, and a Distinguished Visiting Fellow with the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.
Ed Meese opened his remarks with a strong endorsement of Don Stenberg and a warm thank-you to Charley Thone who was the honorary chairman of last night's event. For health reasons, former Nebraska Governor Thone wasn't able to attend the meeting, but he was well remembered for being the first governor to endorse Reagan's Presidential bid back in 1979. Listening to Meese describe the context, we learned that Thone's endorsement was more of a breakthrough event than we had realized. Way to go, Charley!
Meese complemented the audience on making it through the rough weather to get to the hotel. He explained that Californians like himself disdain "involuntary snow." They prefer it up in the Sierra Nevadas where they can drive up, ski on it for awhile, and then drive back home to their warm, dry homes. Nebraskans can only dream of such pleasures -- as we were vividly reminded when we had to try and get home after the party!
Meese began his remarks by talking about the numerous events taking place honoring Ronald Reagan in this, the 100th year of his birth. Statues and other monuments honoring Reagan's courage, principle and devotion to freedom and human rights have been especially popular in eastern Europe. But here in the States too, Reagan remains a beloved hero, despite everything the mainstream press and Democrat leadership has done to diminish his reputation.
There are two reasons why Ronald Reagan stands so tall in the esteem of freedom-loving people everywhere, Mese explained: the remarkable things he accomplished and his unique and powerful example of leadership. In the first case, Meese talked about what Reagan faced when he came into the White House in 1981. There was, on the home front, economic "stagflation" and a dispirited morale among the nation's citizens that Jimmy Carter called (and, at least, partly created) "America's malaise." Beyond our borders, the Soviet Union was massively spending to upgrade their military and, thus empowered, were rattling their sabers all over the world. It looked like the tenuous truce of the Cold War was ready to break -- and in the favor of the Soviets.
Yet Reagan came with a bold new approach to government, to international relations and to the rediscovery of America's moral strengths. He initiated programs (and eliminated a bunch too) that resulted in unprecedented economic growth. He began rebuilding the military and vastly improving the morale of the troops serving their country. He made the voluntary army work...and work well.
The motivations for Reagan's devotion to the military included his own experience in the service. Meese recalled for the audience a bit of Reagan's early career as a radio announcer for WHO in Des Moines and shared how impressive it was for Reagan to leave that job (he was becoming a very popular and well known voice in the Midwest, particularly due to his broadcasts of Chicago Cub games) for the U.S. Army. His motivation to do so included his desire to learn to ride horses better so he enlisted as a private in the cavalry. But he also took the classes available to move up in the ranks. When war suddenly and savagely came to America via the attack on Pearl Harbor, Ronald Reagan was a 2nd Lieutenant.
Unknown to the public throughout his public career was the fact that Reagan had very poor eyesight. In his Hollywood days, this was covered by wearing contact lenses. But he had fooled the army doctors to his weakness by always being in the end of the line when taking eye exams. He listened carefully to the guys in front of him, memorized their answers and then acted out the part of a well-sighted soldier when his turn came! But when stricter tests for combat preparedness were given, Reagan's weak eyes were discovered. He was assigned to general duties and eventually was used in making training films, a service in which he was very effective and assumed increasing leadership duties.
Meese's reviewing these details of Ronald Reagan's career were delighting the audience as were his retelling a few of his favorites from Reagan's seemingly endless collection of jokes. But Meese had more serious points to make too. He spoke of specific qualities of Reagan's leadership -- qualities that included moral vision (developed from his mother, church, reading Harold Wright novels, dealing with Communism in Hollywood, visiting hundreds of GE plants, etc.), communication skills, courage (both moral and physical), integrity, perseverance, and an boundless optimism and cheerfulness.
Such qualities are in desperately short supply in America's leadership nowadays. Indeed, Ed Meese gave us details of the bad news that has resulted from the dearth of quality leadership. What is needed is a return to four of the basic policies Ronald Reagan instituted in his presidency. There must be (and quickly) 1) a reduction of tax rates across the board, 2) a sharp reduction in the regulations that strangle business and personal freedoms, 3) the creation of a stable monetary policy, and 4) a slowing of the rate of federal spending. These things are do-able. Ronald Reagan's administrations did them. And, Lord help us, they must be done again.
Hardly needed was an explanation of how dramatic a contrast to these are the actions of Barack Obama and the current Democrat leadership. Rather than reduce the red-tape regulations imposed on American citizens and businesses, President Obama seeks to strangle them with more. Instead of outlining a moral vision for why America must win wars, President Obama apologizes for America, demeans her, offends her allies, emboldens her enemies by appeasement, reduces military spending, and even announces to our enemies the exact schedule of our involvement!
Instead of appointing strict constructionists to the nation's courts as Reagan tried hard to do, President Obama gives us far-left activists. And instead of standing for the sanctity of life, religious freedom, marriage and other crucial moral traditions of America, President Obama serves the interests of Planned Parenthood, ACORN, Marxist-inspired liberation theology, same-sex unions, embryonic stem cell experimentation, and even the removal of basic freedoms of conscience.
This is why the election of 2012 is so critical to the future of America. The Republican victories in Congress in 2010 were a start, an important start...but only a start. So far, all of their efforts to rein in ObamaCare and the other effects of Obama's socialist makeover of the nation have been countered by the Democrat-controlled Senate. That is why Ed Meese and other conservative champions like Senator Jim DeMint are urging Nebraska to send to Washington tried and true conservative statesmen like Don Stenberg. They don't need just any Republicans. They want Don Stenberg.
With those closing comments, Ed Meese stood down and Don Stenberg took the podium for just a few minutes. He thanked the crowd, thanked the guys on his team who put the evening's program together, thanked Charley Thone and Ed Meese for their enthusiastic support. And that was it. No hard sell. No denunciations of other candidates. Just a reminder that the condition in Washington, D.C. is one of "code red" desperation. And it has come about because the powers that be believe that the American people are flat out incapable of deciding what's best for the future of their families.
Yes, modern Democrats care about people (in their way) but they truly believe that the people are ignorant and must be carefully led -- even if it takes coercive (if need be, punitive) measures. Democrats have decided that American citizens need government "experts" to tell them what kind of insurance to get, what kind of health care they need, what type of car to drive, what kind of light bulbs to buy -- and they demand more and more taxes and fees to pay for the Big Brother structure that's needed to enforce this control.
But Don Stenberg, like Thomas Jefferson, Ronald Reagan, Ed Meese and, I suspect, you and most of your friends, believes quite differently. He believes in less government, less regulation, less control. Rather, he believes in freedom, responsibility, in the proper balance of government powers, in the rule of just law, in the necessity of a strong and idealistic military, in family values, in the sanctity of human life, and in the promise which America's heritage still presents to the world.
Claire and I thoroughly enjoyed our evening. And it deepened even further our resolve to help get Don Stenberg elected to the United States Senate. I invite you to join us in that noble endeavor.
Will Yours Be a Car Wash Christmas?
I smiled at what I figured was a quirky kind of joke. But, after a few minutes, I thought again. Maybe it wasn't a joke at all. With the modern Yuletide so awash in remarkably garish, gratuitous and expensive gifts, maybe these guys have gone in a completely different direction -- opting instead for something as mundane and impersonal as car wash tokens.
Is this what Christmas has come to?
In the "olden days, happy golden days of yore" (the line comes from Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane's "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"), giving presents required some personal investment. Dad made you a little wagon; Momma knitted you a scarf; Grandma baked you a pie. Even after Christmas began to be commercialized, shopping for family and friends was a time-consuming activity -- not because there was so much to buy but because you were searching for just the right gift, something you knew the recipient needed or wanted.
That kind of Christmas shopping is almost nonexistent nowadays. It no longer involves thinking carefully about what to buy. And making something by hand? Good grief -- forget about it. We've lost the time. We've lost the talents. We've even lost the desire itself to expend our own efforts in the creation of a Christmas present. No, just give 'em a gift card to a department store or to an online company.
One of the causes for this condition is that the commercialization of Christmas I mentioned earlier just got further and further out of hand. One Christmas gift wasn't enough for little Timmy. He now had to get 2 presents, then 4 presents, then 11 presents. And the Christmas lists expanded too. No longer were parents expected to give presents to just their kids (and maybe a little tip for the milkman and the paperboy) but to practically everybody they knew.
So no longer could the gifts be very personal. How could they be? Dad can only whittle so many flutes and Mamma only sew so many dresses. Furthermore, you were coerced by advertisers, storekeepers, peer pressure, and an distorted doctrine of what true affection required (one's worth was measured in quantity of dollars spent) into a whole new system of "celebrating" Christmas. The modern holiday no longer emphasized reveling with friends and family -- and sharing gifts with those closest to you something reflective of your personal devotion to them. It emphasized instead the mania of Black Friday, excessive spending, debt, stress, and resentment. The giving of gifts became one of the banes of Christmas rather than one of its blessings.
Can we go back? Can we recover some of those warmer, truer, healthier Christmas customs? Of course. It might take some courage. It might take some explanations. And it might take some sacrifice. After all, baking cookies takes longer than buying an iTunes gift card. But if we want our lives (and those of our family members and friends) to find in Christmas some genuine affection, spiritual meaning, and moral stimulation, we need to concentrate again on quality, not quantity.
Our country can't afford anymore to keep Christmas according to Madison Avenue. The consuming spirit of consumerism (pun intended) has ruined our economy and spoiled our culture. And though it has left in its wake a false sense of entitlement, irresponsible expectations, and a secularized and commercialized Christmas ethic, we can start rebuilding. Recall for a moment the intense warmth and hope you feel when watching "It's A Wonderful Life," "White Christmas," or "Miracle on 34th Street." Those feelings have nothing to do with Christmas presents but rather with the invaluable treasures represented by romance, family, redemption, community, and festivity.
With love, reason, and inventive effort, we can indeed recapture some of that warmth and bring it into real life. Perhaps, like me, you're unable to whittle or knit. Fine. But can you bake a pie? Decorate cookies? Throw a party? Sing a song? Tell a story? Write a personal Christmas card? Or, at the very least, spend some time trying to select a personal gift for your loved one rather than take the prosaic path of the gift card -- or the car wash tokens?
Merry Christmas.
A Thinking, Caring, Blogging Couple
These things are nothing new to those who know the Maleks. But for those of you who do not, let the above paragraph serve as an encouragement for you to benefit from one of their newest ministries; namely, blogging. John blogs at "In Pursuit of Reason" where he takes a distinctly Christian perspective on politics, economics, American history, the culture wars and related topics. John was particularly motivated to start his blog as a way to stimulate more biblical-centered thinking among young believers in his church and so he writes carefully, patiently and kindly -- but without moral compromise. He does a very good job at it. His latest column, "Is Capitalism Driven By Greed," is a fine example.
Barb started her blog earlier. It's title comes from Barb's work as a director of the AAA Center for Pregnancy Counseling -- "Erase the Need," as in erase the supposed "need" for abortion. As it is designed, Barb's blog deals most with surgical and chemical abortion but she has successfully covered other life issues also. She is very experienced in these subjects and she writes with great understanding, skill and fervency. I'm sure you'll find Barb's columns very informative and provocative too. One of her latest (Barb's columns are posted almost daily) is a very important piece, "Did Planned Parenthood and RU-486 Kill Holly Patterson?"
John and Barb Malek, two intelligent, principled Christian activists who are very much at your service. Check 'em out.
Thursday, December 08, 2011
The Truce of Christmas
The Truce of Christmas
by G.K. Chesterton
Passionate peace is in the sky —
And in the snow in silver sealed
The beasts are perfect in the field,
And men seem men so suddenly —
(But take ten swords and ten times ten
And blow the bugle in praising men;
For we are for all men under the sun;
And they are against us every one;
And misers haggle and madmen clutch,
And there is peril in praising much,
And we have the terrible tongues uncurled
That praise the world to the sons of the world.)
The idle humble hill and wood
Are bowed upon the sacred birth,
And for one little hour the earth
Is lazy with the love of good—
(But ready are you, and ready am I,
If the battle blow and the guns go by;
For we are for all men under the sun,
And they are against us every one;
And the men that hate herd all together,
To pride and gold, and the great white feather,
And the thing is graven in star and stone
That the men who love are all alone.)
Hunger is hard and time is tough,
But bless the beggars and kiss the kings;
For hope has broken the heart of things,
And nothing was ever praised enough.
(But hold the shield for a sudden swing
And point the sword when you praise a thing,
For we are for all men under the sun,
And they are against us every one;
And mime and merchant, thane and thrall
Hate us because we love them all;
Only till Christmastide go by
Passionate peace is in the sky.)
Scott Wesley Brown Has a Christmas Gift For You
Scott does this kind of thing often and I encourage you to zip over to his website, click on the download button and enjoy one of Scott's enduring classics.
Oh yeah -- when you're over there, be sure and give a listen (and a viewing) of Scott's musical response to Richard Dawkins, “I Believe in God.” Very cool.
Planned Parenthood Throws Christmas Party for Democrats -- At the Abortion Clinic
At least that seems to be the view of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, the River Oaks Area Democratic Women, the Texas Democratic Women of Harris County, and the Bay Area Association of Democratic Women, all of whom are throwing a Dec. 8 Christmas Party at a huge abortion complex Planned Parenthood now runs in Houston, TX. (The facility is a 78,000-square-foot supercenter for abortionists that will eventually commit late-term abortions.)
After all, what goes together better than a cup of cheer and a pregnancy that was ended violently by one of Planned Parenthood’s doctors? This is the same organization that sent out “Choice On Earth” cards rejoicing in the killing of preborn children during the season in which we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
The actual invitation for the party is addressed to “Democratic Women…and the men who love them.” And the hosts are Texas state representatives Jessica Farrar and Carol Alvarado. The party is advertised as a pot luck, where wine and soft drinks will be provided, but attendees are encouraged to “BYOB for stronger cheer.”...
When the facility opened in June 2010, Houston Mayor Annise Parker said, “It’s not about the building; it’s about people’s lives; it is not about women, it is about families; and it’s not about what we do here today, it’s about our future.”
Never were less-true words spoken. For it is about life, it is about women, it is about families, and our future is at peril via the deaths Planned Parenthood celebrates now.
So there’s going to be a Christmas party at Planned Parenthood in Houston. It’s a safe bet the little drummer boy will not be present, nor will wise men bring frankincense and myrrh. After all, I doubt Mary and Joseph would be honored there for the great pains they took to be sure their baby could be born alive and remain that way.
(Steve Aden, "Democrats and Planned Parenthood Happy to Party at Christmas," LifeNews.com)
On Repentance & Risk -- Is Newt the Best We Can Do?
I’m much less amused by growing evangelical support for Gingrich. Yes, he’s pro-life, but so is every single Republican in the race (it may be the only issue they all agree on). But what about the three marriages? The serial affairs? The ethics reprimand? And let’s not forget about humility. Newt Gingrich may well have the most transparent self-regard of any leading politician in America. I have a serious question: If evangelicals choose to reject numerous alternatives and wrap both arms around a serial philandering, hopelessly grandiose politician, then what is our distinctive witness in this process? Do we have one?
Yes, I understand repentance. By all accounts, his conversion to Catholicism has been genuine and positive. But do we want to look at that past and nominate a man to the presidency just trusting that our nation’s highest office — the most powerful and consequential political office in the world — will be his first scandal-free government post?
American Jailed in Thailand for Defaming the Crown
He was given only 30 months in prison. But, he was right; it could have been worse. Thailand's lese majeste laws are among the worst the in the world, demanding long stretches in lousy prisons for saying anything that government thugs deem offensive to the crown. Last month, a 61-year old man was sentenced to 20 years. His crime? Sending four text messages deemed offensive to the crown.
One has to wonder in shame why Hillary Clinton and the U.S. State Department are not protesting to high heaven this outrageous injustice against an American citizen. And one has to wonder if Barack Obama will ever stop fundraising, golfing and and vacationing long enough to finally start speaking out against the egregious abuses of human rights going on around the world.
Here's more from MSNBC.
Wednesday, December 07, 2011
A Busy and Varied Day
Next on the agenda today is cleaning up and heading to Bellevue's Harmony Court independent living facility where we present Number 3 of the 5 "When Swing Was King" Christmas programs we're doing just this week. Whew. There will be 16 Christmas presentations before we're done!
Later this afternoon, I'll try to do a little work on the LifeSharer letter, but I'll also be overseeing the professionals from Terry Hughes Tree Service who are coming over to seriously trim the two Silver Maples in the front yard. Then tonight I'll be giving three presentations to AWANA kids at Country Bible Church in Blair tonight. Any and all prayers most greatly appreciated.
Despite the intense activity today, we're feeling encouraged and invigorated. Part of that is due to the terrific evening we spent with friends last night. Because last Saturday's snow canceled our first Christmas dinner party of the season, our 3-couple affair last night was actually our first. Throughout the meal and afterward were wonderful conversations about Christmas, the Faith, heaven, and the kind of true worship of God that is also beneficial to man.
An added source of inspiration around here is the splendid Christmas atmosphere that Claire creates for Christmas. The place is gorgeous and she uses decorations that mean a lot to us -- things connected to family, our early years of marriage, mission trips around the world, and dear friends. Really nice.
A Desperate Lack of Quality Nominees
The mess we're in, of course, lies in the sad condition of the American public. We are ignorant and apathetic. We're consumed by shallow and self-serving interests. Thus, we're easily led by politicians, professional educators, advertisers, journalists, Hollywood celebrities and other opinion leaders. And, let's face it, they're the ones who pretty much decides which political personages will be in the finals. The ones they are really afraid of are treated with disdain and mockery (or ignored altogether) and the public obediently fall in line.
But we keep praying and we keep lifting up our voice. For we know miracles do happen -- even in modern politics! After all, how else does one explain Ronald Reagan!
What Do Liberals, Conservatives Watch on TV?
Examples? Among Democrat favorites are late night talk shows, Saturday Night Live, The View, 30 Rock, and Modern Family. Republicans, however, sign up for things like Top Shot on the History Channel and other reality contest programs. They also like Mythbusters, American Pickers, Pawn Stars, Hawaii Five-O, NCIS, and Wheel of Fortune.
Of course, the best conservatives are the ones who limit their TV viewing in the first place, preferring to live life to the fullest rather than peeking into an electronic box to watch somebody else!
Here, by the way, is more on that EW survey.
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
News On the Run
However, I did want to quickly draw your attention to a few significant news stories and commentaries that you might otherwise lose in the Christmas shuffle. So, brew up a cup of tea and check out these noteworthy articles.
* You may have heard hopeful rumors that the Susan G. Komen Foundation was going to make sure their chapters would stop giving money to Planned Parenthood. Not true, I'm afraid. Here's word from LifeNews.com about the Orange County, California affiliate of the Komen for the Cure issuing yet another grant for the Planned Parenthood abortion business just a few days ago.
* To all of my friends across the river in Iowa -- please do the country a huge favor and refrain from voting for Newt Gingrich or Mitt Romney in the Republican primaries. But, don't just take my word for it. Here's George Will.
Romney’s main objection to contemporary Washington seems to be that he is not administering it. God has 10 commandments, Woodrow Wilson had 14 points, Heinz had 57 varieties, but Romney’s economic platform has 59 planks — 56 more than necessary if you have low taxes, free trade and fewer regulatory burdens. Still, his conservatism-as-managerialism would be a marked improvement upon today’s bewildered liberalism.
Gingrich, however, embodies the vanity and rapacity that make modern Washington repulsive. And there is his anti-conservative confidence that he has a comprehensive explanation of, and plan to perfect, everything...Gingrich, who would have made a marvelous Marxist, believes everything is related to everything else and only he understands how...
Romney might not be a Dewey. Gingrich might stop being (as Churchill said of John Foster Dulles) a bull who carries his own china shop around with him. But both are too risky to anoint today.
* Also don't miss these two pieces dealing with Newt. In the first we see that Mr. Gingrich (who is supposed to be really intelligent) proves to be, when it comes to the most evidential facts of embryology, really dumb. He's decided to posit that life begins at implantation and not at fertilization. Why such an unscientific position? It's gotta' be a political calculation -- and that makes for a dangerously unstable, untrustworthy leader.
In the second story Jonathan Bernstein over at the Washington Post writes about the deep distrust Newt creates in the hearts of Republican insiders.
Sure, Newt Gingrich is surging in the polls. But the blunt truth about Newt is that the people who know him best and have worked with him in Washington want him nowhere near the White House or the top of the GOP ticket...Check out the new National Journal “Insiders” survey out this morning, which is particularly devastating to the disgraced former Speaker. This is from a regular panel of well-connected Republican operatives. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything so savage by these folks against a same-party politician: “Bigfoot dressed as a circus clown would have a better chance of beating President Obama than Newt Gingrich, a similarly farcical character,” quipped a Republican. “Come on,” sighed another GOP Insider, “the White House is probably giving money to Gingrich as we speak.”
* Michael Walsh over at the New York Post brings us up to speed on the truly outrageous scandal that the Obama administration's Justice Department has created -- and is still desperately lying about. In any other administration than this one, so pampered by the press, the demands for resignations from the "Fast & Furious" disaster would be shouted from every corner.
* As has been frightfully revealed in many instances of late, the "socialized medicine" system developed in Great Britain has been marked by lousy service, unsanitary conditions, unjust and uncaring discrimination, and loads of lethal red tape. It is also proven to be most "unsocial" as in this tragic pattern -- failing to tell families that doctors have put their loved ones into courses of euthanasia called "death pathways."
* From the world of sports come a couple of contrasting stories, one a inspirational tale of a young football player who "luckily" broke a finger which kept him off the football field but which actually saved his life. But what happened the season after that traumatic one is what provides the inspiration. The second story is about another young football player who seems to be headed in the wrong direction. Former Nebraska standout Ndamukong Suh has not only earned a reputation as the NFL's dirtiest player, he is now earning a reputation as a man who is a sophomoric and dangerous automobile driver who lies to the cops and who cares more about covering up his own incompetence than he is about getting the passengers he has injured by his reckless driving the hospital care they need.
Friday, December 02, 2011
Christmas Gifts at the Nursing Homes
We're already underway with three Christmas showings and we've had a great time. More important, so have our audiences! Among our most treasured Christmas gifts so far?
* Meeting a U.S. Army soldier whose 4 years in World War II service included the battle for Okinawa. He was really appreciative of the program and explained how the pictures and music together reminded him of listening to Armed Forces radio when he was overseas. I thanked him for his complements and for his sacrificial service to the cause of freedom. I also said, "I thank God for bringing you home in one piece." As he walked away, a lady who had told us earlier that she had served as an Army nurse in the Pacific theater, teared up and said, "That's what we worked so hard for -- for boys like him to come home in one piece." What an honor to bring a little entertainment, a little bit of their youth to people like this.
* Meeting a 97-year old whose life as a medical professional was enhanced by also having several songwriting successes. He offered me a CD of one of his songs which I played for the whole audience before we got started with the program. He also sang another of his songs, a very moving love song, for Claire and I. He too loved the "When Swing Was King" presentation and said, "That's sure when music sounded like music, huh?" Another cool thing was that several of the residents, as they were wheeling themselves past us and thanking us for the program, made sure to thank this fellow too and complement him on his song.
* Playing with two dogs who hang out at the nursing home we visited in Fort Calhoun on Tuesday. They were both very affable and good-natured and I said as much to one of the residents. "Oh, they're always friendly to people who give them cookies. But they're friendly to strange people too." Well, I didn't have cookies on me so you know what category I fall into.
* Watching audience members wipe away tears while listening to Frank Sinatra sing "O Little Town of Bethlehem" and Donald Mills of the Mills Brothers sing "O Holy Night." It is also deeply touching to hear several of them singing "White Christmas" along with Bing Crosby in the finale. Wonderful.
* Hearing a bit of applause as I surprised Claire by grabbing her and doing a little dancing while the Glenn Miller Orchestra played in the background. We thought it a rather comic event (which it was!) but for these dear people, they thought it sweet enough to want even more!
Abortion Mills Illegally Dumping Bodies
Good news? Well, yes and no. It's always good to draw attention to how callous, heartless and sloppy abortion businesses are run. And yes, it's good that there were fines levied against these grisly abortion mills for their illegal activity.
But the big picture must include: 1) That the authorities did not uncover these crimes as a result of their own oversight. No, it was a pro-life group that did the investigative work. Only after Operation Rescue provided state officials with plenty of damning evidence did officialdom bother to act. 2) The fines represent little more than a hand slap to these lucrative abortionists. And even with that, they were given special discounts and a donkey's age to pay the fines. One of the abortion mills pays only $385 a month. That's less than what they charge for one abortion.
And 3) These violations are but a tip of the iceberg of the crime, greed and cold-blooded disrespect for human life that are the abortionists' stock in trade. Operation Rescue President Troy Newman understands this perfectly. “Our investigation only scratched the surface of what is really going on at abortion clinics in Texas. These hefty fines totaling over $83,000 show that the violations we discovered were valid and serious. We can only imagine what would be found if every abortion clinic was thoroughly investigated. Abortion clinics cannot be trusted to follow the law or tell the truth about it even if they are caught. Time and again we have seen that abortionists have the attitude that they are above the law. Abortion clinics need to be inspected and violations strictly enforced for the sake of the public’s welfare.”
Newt, You've Got to Address Marital Failures
...Over the past three years, I have conducted more than 200 informal focus groups with Southern Baptists across the land, in rural, urban, suburban and exurban settings. Mr. Speaker, I have good news and I have bad news.
The good news is, as you know Evangelicals are a forgiving people, who having experienced redemption and forgiveness in their own spiritual lives, are most often willing to extend it to others who ask for it. Consequently, a high percentage of Evangelical men are willing to cut you some slack over your turbulent marital history. The bad news is that Evangelical women are far less willing to forgive and let bygones be bygones. There is a large and significant gender gap on the issue of your two previous marriages. My research would indicate a majority of men, but less than a third of Evangelical women are currently willing to trust you as their president...
You must address this issue of your marital past directly and transparently and ask folks to forgive you and give you their trust and their vote.
Mr. Speaker, I urge you to pick a pro-family venue and give a speech (not an interview) addressing your marital history once and for all. It should be clear that this speech will be “it” and will not be repeated, only referenced.
As you prepare that speech, you should picture in your mind a 40-something Evangelical married woman whose 40-something sister just had her heart broken by an Evangelical husband who has just filed for divorce, having previously promised in church, before God, his wife and “these assembled witnesses” to “love, honor and cherish until death us do part...”
There's more. Check it out.
After Too Many Hard Left Turns, the Girl Scouts Are Lost
A quick look at the lineup of speakers for the convention makes it clear that Girl Scout leaders are promoting not the traditional values of the original Girl Scouts, but the radical, raunchy values and relativistic decision-making of the trendy left-wing Girl Scouts..
The women showcased at this year’s convention - held up as models of leadership and inspiration - reveal an agenda-driven organization. The speakers include:
* Swanee Hunt, a powerful Democratic fundraiser and philanthropist with a mission to achieve “gender parity.” She has directed huge sums to homosexual and pro-choice causes.
* Annise Parker, mayor of Houston and a lesbian who presided over the opening of a Planned Parenthood abortion center in her city.
* Marlee Matlin, an actress and supporter of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues, who is known for her portrayal of a deaf lesbian on Showtime’s “The L word.”
* Monique Coleman, a singer and actress (star of Disney’s popular “High School Musical” films) who promotes organizations such as South Africa’s Love Life - a program aimed at teaching adolescents how to assert their sexual and reproductive rights.
Parents who are trying to instill timeless values and strong morals in their daughters would never want them to idolize Monique Coleman and her trash talk, or to find inspiration in a Girl Scout “Woman of Distinction” like Ann Shoket, editor of Seventeen magazine - a publication that encourages teen sex as an “amazing experience.”
Most parents, however, don’t know the true agenda of today’s Girl Scouts...
Need more? Finish reading Hagelin's account here and then check out the links given above from previous Vital Signs Blog posts. And pass the word. The Girl Scouts have dishonored their heritage and sold out. Indeed, they are now taking an active role in promoting cultural devolution. Avoid 'em at all costs.
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