Perhaps because I made a resolution last year and stuck to it, I'm high on resolutions.

I committed last January, after the Blogs4Life conference, to focusing on my blog, which I did, and thanks to all of you, traffic increased by 650%!

The blog also received nods from the Chicago Tribune and LA Times this year and more nyas than ever from pro-abort blogs.

God brought 6 invaluable moderators to help with the comment load this year - Bethany, Jacqueline, Jasper, Lauren, MK, and Valerie - and very recently brought proofreader Angela! Jasper additionally finds the quote of the day, which is a huge help....

Vote by midnight!

Results in the a.m.

My friend Denise gave me a great idea. She emailed her verse for 2008, Proverbs 4:23:

Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do.

I had never considered choosing a verse of focus for the year but thought it was a great idea and picked II Peter 1:5-9, which is actually verses....

What stands out in your mind as the biggest pro-life story of 2007?

[Graphic courtesy of SimsGamer]

2007 saw pro-lifers really begin to tap into the power of videos and YouTube to present our message. Who can forget the clips by seminarians at Institute for Priestly Formation in Omaha who spun Apple vs. Microsoft ads into witty NFP vs. contraception ads?

And who knew abortion could be satired? Well, abortiondoc did....

I asked yesterday for nominations for the Stanek blog Pro-lifer of the Year, and you provided great suggestions.

The poll question is now up:

Many pro-lifers contributed greatly to the pro-life cause in 2007. Following is but a sample. From the list, who would you choose as Pro-Lifer of the Year?

Be sure to vote, and then make comments here, not on the Vizu website.

Here are the results of the previous poll, which enjoyed a short run but with interesting results....

I reported December 23 that the pro-life group Families Against Planned Parenthood in Denver planned to picket the home of a Weitz Company official on Christmas morning. Weitz is the general contractor for PP's new mega-abortion mill.

The picket recipient was Bill Hornaday, president of Weitz's Rocky Mountain outlet.

A pro-abort commenter recently suggested that pro-aborts picket homes of pro-lifers. I responded that will never happen because pro-aborts have no drive or intestinal fortitude. You only see a sprinkling, if any, at a pro-life rally. Note, for instance, the Aurora PP protests, where pro-lifers consistently outnumber pro-aborts 1000:17 (or less). And forget it if the temperature drops below 70 or climbs above 80.

The photos below demonstrate the utmost of pro-life resolve: Picketing during a blizzard on Christmas morning. Whether or not you agreed with their strategy, you must admire their dedication.

UPDATE, 2:45p: One of the pro-life protesters informed me they protested five executives altogether: Bill Hornaday, previously noted; Gary Meggison, Weitz senior vp; Don Gendol, Weitz executive; Reid Goodman, abortionist; and Ed Kubly of Big R Construction.

See more photos on page 2.

Priests for Life was kind to send me a copy of Anthony DeStefano's book, A Travel Guide to Heaven, for Christmas. Anthony is the executive director of PFL as well as a prolific author.

But Anthony previously gave me a copy of his book.

I'm sure Anthony and PFL would want this book read rather than shelved.

So, I'll send this copy to the first person who emails me with his or her mailing address (who hasn't recently won something here... :).

They are calling this an unprecedented legal decision.

On December 21, 31-year-old Theresa Lee Hernandez was sentenced to 15 years in prison in an Oklahoma court after pleading guilty to 2nd degree murder for causing her 8-month-old baby's stillbirth in 2004 by using methamphetamine while pregnant.

It means the very same intentional killing of a preborn baby by her mother can now go one of three legal ways. The mother can be 1) escorted into an abortion mill to legally abort, sometimes having it paid for by taxpayers; 2) prosecuted for committing an illegal self-abortion; or 3) prosecuted for causing her baby's en utero death by abuse....

I will be shortly posting a new poll to vote for the Stanek blog's Pro-Lifer of the Year. Who would you nominate?

That was the title of an email I received yesterday from a 20-year-old college student I'll call Zoe who restated in her first sentence she was "coping with a miscarriage," although that wasn't what she was coping with at all. Zoe wanted to tell me her story:

My boyfriend [name removed] and I were going through some tough times. We weren't agreeing on things in life and it just seemed like we were going in different directions. In my eyes, we were meant to be together. We both valued life the same way and had similar goals in life. He studies [same major] as well and we both are doing well with our careers thus far.

He felt the same way too except he just didn't know what to do. We were sexually active with each other. We decided to have sex together because we believed we were meant to be together and that we would be together for the rest of our lives.

By the time things got rocky, I started to feel ill. Unfortunately, we couldn't hold on to each other and we separated. That next week, I found out I was 6 weeks pregnant! I had no idea because I had a very small period. The baby was not developed properly and was dying in the womb....

Tell me again feminists are pro-"choice" and not pro-abortion. Tell me again they don't push abortion.

Clearly the feminist community prefers mothers in unplanned or crisis pregnancies abort. What an odd turn of events if girls have decided to listen to only half their message: have sex like rabbits but not abort the bunnies?

If this is indeed a cultural shift, eugenicist Margaret Sanger will turn over in her grave. Her scheme will have backfired.

From The Star, December 20:

Could something as unglamorous as an unplanned pregnancy be Hollywood's latest hot trend?

Earlier this week, Jamie Lynn Spears, the 16-year-old sister of Britney Spears, said she was expecting and plans to keep the baby.

She's hardly alone. Lily Allen, Nicole Richie, Bridget Moynahan and Keisha Castle-Hughes are among the young stars who have recently announced surprise babies.

(Let's take a quiz. How many of the aforementioned were products of comprehensive sex ed vs. abstinence ed?)...

There is a fascinating incident the Bible describes near the beginning of Jesus' human life, several months prior. It is the Embryonic Jesus Story.

Luke 1 tells about the first person besides Jesus' mother and earthly father who recognized He was extraordinary - Jesus' cousin John, while John was yet a fetus, and Jesus was but an embryo.

When John was a preborn 6-month-old, his Aunt Mary came to visit John's expectant mother Elizabeth, her cousin. Mary was newly pregnant with Jesus.

Luke 1:41 says when Mary greeted Elizabeth, John kicked. Elizabeth told Mary, "The instant I heard your voice, my baby moved in me for joy!"

Elizabeth then prophesied, "You are the most blessed of all women, and blessed is the child that you will have. I feel blessed that the mother of my Lord is visiting me."

John was later known as John the Baptist. Jesus said John and his role were foreseen in Malachi 3:1: "I am sending my messenger ahead of you to prepare the way in front of you."

Amazingly, John began preparing the way for Jesus at the tender age of six fetal months....

Continue reading Stanek's archived WorldNetDaily.com column, the Embryonic Jesus Story.

Merry Christmas!

Families Against Planned Parenthood in Denver plans to picket the home of a company executive helping construct PP's new abortion mill on Christmas morning.

I think this is a proper and commendable idea.

Do you agree or disagree? Why or why not?

Earlier today I linked to a My Fox Colorado story on pro-lifers protesting at the home of Ed Kubly of Big R Construction, a subcontractor who is helping build the Denver Planned Parenthood abortion mill.

There was a little snippet in that video of a neighbor who was angry not at Kubly for helping construct an abortuary but at protesters for showing what happens in an abortuary.

Well, My Fox Colorado also posted an uncensored clip of the guy ranting, with reporter John Romero clearly egging the guy on. He encouraged the foment about the pro-life protesters by asking, "Little extreme?" Then he planted, "Ruined your Saturday..." to throw on some timber. Click on image to view the link, which contains foul language, not that pro-life activists haven't heard it all before:

by Bethany Kerr

For two months only, December 2007-January 2008, Eternal Perspective Ministries will be offering the book, Why Pro-life? by Randy Alcorn, for only $3.00!

The website description of the book says:

"Finally, a book has been written that presents the facts about abortion with grace and compassion, helping readers to root their beliefs in reality, not bumper-sticker slogans. Why ProLife?, by Randy Alcorn, is written mainly for fence-straddlers and professing pro-lifers, but also with pro-choicers in mind. Why ProLife? addresses the questions central to the abortion debate in a concise, straightforward, and non-abrasive manner.

Although many people will bring to the book their assumptions and impressions about abortion, they will not be grounded in science and logic. Many are "pro-life" because their religious leaders say they should be; many are "pro-choice" because it is the position that saturates popular media, and it sounds so positive and tolerant. In Why ProLife?, Randy Alcorn encourages all readers to reevaluate their positions and base their beliefs on factual evidence.
Why ProLife? asks and answers critical questions central to the abortion debate, including:

* Is the unborn really a human being?
* Is the unborn part of her mother's body?
* What do the new ultrasound technologies tell us?
* Is abortion necessary to ensure equal rights for women?
* Is it unfair to expect a pregnant woman to have an unwanted child?
* Does abortion affect a woman's physical and mental health?
* What about abortion in the "hard cases"?
* Is adoption really a viable alternative?

You can purchase the book at this link. If you order 24 or more, the book will be discounted to $1.00 each!

Earlier this month Planned Parenthood issued its 13th annual "Choice on Earth" anti-Christmas cards, as I reported here.

Apparently, I overlooked a couple....

Actually, these are just suggestions for PP from The Curt Jester, but I like them, I really like them. See more at Curt's site.

[HT: moderator MK]

Two weeks ago vandals spray-painted, "MY BODY MY CHOICE" on the wall of Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Osborne, Canada, behind a statue dedicated to aborted babies. Then they spray-painted a fetus on the statue.

Holy Rosary's pastor has no immediate plans to remove the graffiti, according to the Winnepeg Free Press. He wants to give people something to think about. Good for him.

"My body." Where have I heard that before?

Oh, yes....

That means, "This is How Abortions are Done in Spain," a groundbreaking program showing abortions on Spanish national television for the first time last week. If only the American media were so honest.

According to LifeSiteNews.com, a reporter posing as an abortionist seeking work at El Bosque de Madrid got the footage. The report is entirely in Spanish, a tad frustrating.

Following is the exposé. The first of 2 abortions is shown at 9:12. They are induced labor abortions, such as I witnessed at Christ Hospital. The first mother in the video appears to have had an epidural because her legs are floppy. Not sure on the 2nd. The brown tube is a catheter into the bladder, inserted because pregnant mothers with epidurals have lost the urge to urinate, and an empty bladder also makes more room for the baby to come down.

These mothers have had medication or laminaria (seaweed sticks) inserted into the birth canal to open the cervix, a process that can take 1 day to several days. The nurse has assessed they're ready to deliver. Little push, and the babies are out. The video states 1 of the babies, shown in the soiled utility room later, was 20-21 weeks old, or 5 months. LSN reported staff killed the baby beforehand by lethal injection. I wish someone would translate the video into English. LSN has done some transcribing, which I've excerpted on page 2.

(Click to enlarge)

The owner of Lucht's Concrete Pumping in Denver is a Christian.

So he was watching for any job proposals crossing his desk to help construct the new Denver Planned Parenthood abortion mill from PP's front company, Fuller 38 LLC, or PP's general contractor, Weitz Company.

But he didn't know to watch for a proposal coming from JOB Concrete, Inc., owned by John O'Brien of Bloomfield, CO, hired by Weitz to hire a concrete pumping subcontractor.

One of Lucht's workers was watching the following December 16 local Fox News broadcast about pro-life protests at the PP site as well as at the home last weekend of Ed Kubly of Big R Construction, a subcontractor who has agreed to work for PP's blood money, and realized the site at which they were working was PP's. Click on image to link:

The morning after that broadcast, December 17, Lucht's pulled its equipment and workers off the site and donated the $1800 it had been paid to Keep Peace in Stapleton, the group organizing the PP protests.

When Steve Lucht called O'Brien to ask why he didn't tell him he was being hired to build for PP, he said O'Brien's response was, "Just cover the logos on your vehicle and you should be fine."

In October, Gary Meggison, Weitz senior vp, told Rocky Mountain News, "he... has been up front with subcontractors on the project about its controversial nature."

Mr. Meggison, it appears quite the opposite. Why? Aren't you "pro-choice" on allowing your subcontractors and workers to decide whether they want to help build an abortion mill?

The new poll question is up:

Have you decided who you will vote for in the primaries?

Vote and then make your comments on this post, not on the Vizu poll site.

Here was my previous poll question and results....

Oh my, what a tear jerker! FYI, this mom and son will be interviewed on Fox & Friends tomorrow morning.

From the Grand Rapids Press, December 18:

For years, Steve Flaig, a delivery truck driver at the Lowe's store on Plainfield Avenue, had searched for his birth mother.

He found her working the cash register at the front of the store.

For several months, he and Christine Tallady had known each other casually as co-workers. Last Friday they met for the first time as mother and son....

Here is American Life League's take on Planned Parenthood's 2007 "Choice on Earth" cards, which I posted a couple of weeks ago. The ALL video also shows a blasphemous soft porn commercial by PP:

In a press statement with release of the video, ALL's vp Jim Sedlak said, "By changing the word 'peace' to 'choice', Planned Parenthood is effectively implying that Mary should have considered aborting Jesus.... King Herod sent soldiers out to slaughter babies because he wanted to kill Jesus. Two thousand years later, Planned Parenthood is still doing all it can to kill babies. That is what their motto 'Choice on Earth' really means."

[HT: moderator jasper and ALL's Michael Hichborn]

UPDATE, 1:10p: Read "release [of] some atheist angst" over my post at The Huntress' Domain.

Last week on The View, Barbara Walters was surprised to receive a Christmas card from President Bush with a Bible verse inside. "Does this also go to agnostics and atheists and Muslims?" Walters wondered. Here's Walters:

What Walters received was a birthday card. Christmas is a celebration of Jesus' birthday. I don't recall the last time I celebrated someone's birthday but was disallowed to mention the one being celebrated for fear of offending someone else who either wasn't sure the person existed, didn't believe the person existed, or didn't like the person.

In fact, although the card shows a Christmas tree in the window, it never says, "Merry Christmas." The theme of the verse and the particular watercolor chosen carry out the White House's National Parks theme for the season, which gives glory to God for creation.

The White House mixed all that into one card, for which I give it lots of credit for savvy.

We also received that Christmas card. Note the RNC paid for the card, and it was postmarked from Crawford, TX. I am so fed up with stupid people who think they're so smart, with intolerant people who consider themselves so tolerant, with mean-spirited people who think they are just the opposite. Here is that card close up (view on page 2)....

UPDATE, 1:10p: Read "release [of] some atheist angst" over my post at The Huntress' Domain.

I need to do a little decoding before you watch. Pro-lifers can add more decoding they deem necessary in the comments section....

The "federal abortion ban" Planned Parenthood mentions protesting was the Partial Birth Abortion Ban, you know, where the abortionist delivers the baby breech up to her head, sticks scissors in her neck, suctions her brains out, crushes her skull with forceps, and pulls her out, that "federal abortion ban."

And the attorney, Eve Gartner, that PP touts as its first to go before the U.S. Supreme Court? Well, she lost... the Partial Birth Abortion Ban case.

And, hey, the Aurora Planned Parenthood, with its pink barbed wire fence, made the review! I feel like giving an acceptance speech!

[HT: John Jansen at Pro-Life Action League]

I received a call this afternoon from Eileen Smith, mother of Laura Hope Smith, who was killed by abortionist Rapin Osathanondh at Women's Health Center, 68 Camp St., Hyannis, MA, on September 13, 2007.

Laura was 22 years old and 13 weeks pregnant. Her fiance, a soldier stationed in Iraq, left to her the "choice" whether their baby lived or died. Laura sadly chose death.

Osathanondh, still in business, operates a one-man mill. He's the only medical professional on his premises with two sidekicks, a receptionist and a patient "hand holder".

Incredibly, Osathanondh to this day administers general anesthesia by himself and then commits the abortion by himself. There is apparently no MA law against this.

Laura died on Osathanondh's table. Details are unknown, but her toxicology report came back normal. Apparently, the anesthesia simply overcame her. Osathanondh may or may not have been in the room at the time. When he found her or realized she wasn't breathing, he yelled for his receptionist to call 911, but she had already left for the day. So the hand holder called. I think she was confused and thought she was ordering a pizza. Hear for yourself....

Britney Spears' 16-year-old sister Jamie Lynn announced today she is just over 12 weeks pregnant by 19-year-old boyfriend (and statutory rapist - see page 57), Casey Aldridge, 19.

What we have here is a young girl who made a mistake and is responding admirably thus far. From OK! magazine:

"I can't say it was something I was planning to do right now," the 16-year-old confesses to OK!. "But now that it's in my lap and that it's something I have to deal with, I'm looking forward to being the best mom I can be."...

Last night on Hannity & Colmes Alan Keyes did a real good job explaining Barack Obama's actions as IL state senator to halt the Born Alive Infants Protection Act. Keyes brought my name into the discussion since I witnessed babies being aborted alive and testified before Obama in committee. The relevant portion of the interview comes during the first 2-1/2 minutes:

[HT: Fran from IL Review]

The movie "Juno" will be released in six days, on Christmas, and I can't wait. I previewed it a month ago and loved it.

That means pro-aborts will hate it. "Juno" is a great story that undermines almost all their talking points....

"Juno" is the third in an unplanned pregnancy movie trilogy, the others being "Waitress" and "Knocked Up," in which a girl undergoes a crisis pregnancy but heroically rejects abortion.

Don't be thrown that "Juno's" screenwriting ingenue, Diablo Cody, is a stripper turned blogger turned movie writer. She handled the topic almost like we would, only with spice....

I have to jump to my favorite part of the movie, which pro-aborts will hate most, when Juno decides to "procure a hasty abortion."...

Continue reading my column today, "'Juno': The movie pro-aborts will hate," on WorldNetDaily.com.

BONUS for Stanek readers: I received 2 free t-shirts at the Juno preview, of Juno's school logo, "Dancing Elk Condors," pictured in part on the photo, above. The t-shirts are both size Medium. The first 2 to email me with your name and address will get one free!

UPDATE, 10:05a: Contest closed! Reader Roger and moderator Bethany were the first to respond. Congrats!

A reporter from Focus on the Family's Family News in Focus called yesterday about a story she's preparing on the Abercrombie & Fitch t-shirts I reported on here and here December 14.

She said someone wondered in a production meeting yesterday morning how does Stanek find all her stuff? Her first question to me was exactly that, and I responded, "Tips, I get great tips. I hardly have time to do my own scouting anymore because I get so many good tips." The A&F tip came from John Jansen of Pro-Life Action League.

So this morning moderator Jacqueline sent me a great tip based on the A&F-tipped post! Jacque gave me the link to this t-shirt on BustedTees.com:

A week or so ago I posted as quote of the day this comment by Des Plaines, IL, Police Chief James Prandini, taken from the Chicago Tribune, on the firing of Officer Dick Lalowski for harrassing pro-life sidewalk counselors at an abortion mill:

"This was an important case for us. It sets the tone for our conduct. We can't have officers treat people like this."

I didn't put 2 and 2 together until later that our own moderator Mary Kay (MK) was one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit that drew the termination! She told me about the lawsuit awhile back, but pro-lifers around the country are so busy suing police and cities for First Amendment violations, I at first considered this "just" another victory - because we do inevitably win.

So, congrats, MK!

Here is the story in brief, from the Daily Herald....

Cartoon by John Francis Borra, used with his permission

The Associated Press, today insinuated Kansas Attorney General Paul Morrison's downfall was due to scorned pro-lifers....

In the 1995 movie Dangerous Minds, Michelle Pfeiffer played a teacher in a rough school who fought an administrator for moving one of Pfeiffer's pregnant students to another school because she was "contagious."

Do you agree unmarried pregnant teens should be withdrawn from their home high school for fear of copycatting?

I reported December 10 that KS Attorney General Paul Morrison had been accused by a former subordinate of engaging in a two-year affair that only ended in September.

Moreover, the woman, Linda Carter, alleged Morrison asked her to spy on her current boss, Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline, and provide Morrison with inside info on Kline's investigation of Planned Parenthood for illegal late-term and underage abortions, which in itself would be illegal.

Last night the Kansas City Star broke this news:

Racked by scandal, facing multiple investigations and with calls for his resignation mounting, Attorney General Paul Morrison simply couldn't hold on any longer.

Saying the scandal was damaging his office and taking a toll on his family, Morrison announced Friday that he would resign, effective Jan. 31, just over a year after he took office....

I've never known a city government to commit anarchy against itself, but now there's Aurora.

City officials have ignored their own ordinances and zoning requirements to allow liar and thug Planned Parenthood to settle in after weaseling in, creating havoc and lowering property values. That was a great idea.

So when I found out Dominick/Safeway's temporary permit for its hideous temporary chain link ghetto fence expires tomorrow, I thought not to expect Aurora officials to suddenly become law-abiding and demand they tear down that see-through wall.

Dominick's has owned a vacant lot across from the new PP mill for several years but suddenly erected the fence 9 days after PP's opening.

But wait, there's more anarchy to behold, on a grander scale....

Here's another from Abercrombie & Fitch:

I wonder what sort of cad or ho would wear that shirt. Seems to me it's simply a walking advertisement for free love.

But that's an aside.

"Make love not babies." Isn't that an acknowledgement by A&F that human life begins at conception? Otherwise the shirt would have read, "Make love not fertilized eggs," or "Make love not embryos," or "Make love not blobs of tissue," or "Make love not unwanted appendages," or "Make love not pregnancy." Hey, this is fun.

The latest from Abercrombie & Fitch:

My, does that fit handily with Scripture I pondered just this very morning, Jesus speaking in John 3:19-20:

God's light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed.

[HT: John Jansen of Pro-Life Action League]

The pro-life themed movie Juno, which opens Christmas Day and which I've favorably reviewed, was nominated this morning for a Golden Globe. According to the Associated Press:

Nominated for best comedy or musical along with Charlie Wilson's War were the Beatles musical Across the Universe, the Broadway adaptation Hairspray, the teen-pregnancy comedy Juno and the bloody musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

Star Ellen Page was also nominated for Best Actress, Musical or Comedy, and stripper turned blogger turned writer Diablo Cody for Best Screenwriter.

I previously posted about the Aurora police threatening to arrest a man for praying on a sidewalk while walking his baby across the street from Planned Parenthood.

Well, J. T. Eschbach of ChicagoProLifeActivist shot video that day and has posted it on YouTube.

The video demonstrates that the clear violation of Roger Earl's First Amendment rights was worse than thought. A female police officer actually dared to ask him what he was praying about. Incredible.

Well, well. Turns out the occupancy permits the City of Aurora issued Planned Parenthood on October 2 were only temporary, and the last of the three issued expires December 17.

What will the City do? Neighborhood property owners filed an appeal moments before PP opened, which should have stopped it but didn't. Now? "It would be blatantly improper for the City to keep issuing permits while hearings are underway," Peter Breen told me, speaking on behalf of the Thomas More Society, the legal group leading the effort to shut down PP.

Meanwhile, pro-PP (or anti-discovery of incompetence) Aurora counsel Alayne Weingartz, pictured left at last night's Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, has since November 15 been admitting without fanfare that all along PP's approval process city officials were going by the wrong ordinance. She now correctly refers to ordinance 093-124 in her written documents about PP rather than the incorrect 093-123.

So what? 093-124 states the PP property is zoned BB (business boulevard), which flat out prohibits nonprofit health facilities from being built, and 093-123 doesn't.

Aurora officials have now admitted they screwed up but are still asking the Zoning Board of Appeals to dismiss the appeal, i.e., to dismiss the rights of Aurora citizens. They are also trying to argue the ZBA has no jurisdiction anyway.

As this goes on, it is becoming clear that Aurora officials, foremost Weingartz and Mayor Tom Weisner, are either grossly incompetent or covering up a scandal.

Which leads to our side's request of the ZBA for permission to issue subpoenas. Weingartz has refused to hand over relevant documents.

The ZBA slapped Weingartz at last night's ZBA meeting and ordered her to cough up several. But she's still fighting several, including emails and phone calls made to the supposed independent investigators who stated PP and its front company, Gemini Office Development, were slimy but not crooks for hiding until the last minute that the "medical building" GOD constructed was actually a PP abortion mill.

It appears by their reports that two of the investigators made their decisions based on bad information: ordinance 093-123. So our side wants to deposition those two, along with city workers, to whom Weingartz has issued a gag order, threatening our attorneys with disbarment if they try to talk to any of them.

Stay tuned until January 7, when the ZBA will decide whether it has authority to hear the appeal and whether it will allow Thomas More Society to issue subpoenas.

Also see posts by Families Against Planned Parenthood and OpenlineBlog, and an article in today's Aurora Beacon.

I heard Matt Drudge say recently he loves the British press, and I do, too. They tell a story honestly, albeit sometimes melodramatically, but with no agenda. From the Daily Mail, December 8:

It was to be the one and only cuddle Carolyn Isbister would have with her tiny, premature daughter.

Rachael had been born minutes before - weighing a mere 20oz - and had only minutes to live. Her heart was beating once every ten seconds and she was not breathing.

As doctors gave up, Miss Isbister lifted her baby out of her hospital blanket and placed her on her chest.

She said: "I didn't want her to die being cold. So I lifted her out of her blanket and put her against my skin to warm her up. Her feet were so cold.

"It was the only cuddle I was going to have with her, so I wanted to remember the moment." Then something remarkable happened....

Just got a note from the Washington Times that it linked to my Hodari post today.

Thanks, WT!

MSNBC reported it "would be putting it mildly" to say a Dec. 4 press conference had "gone awry," one the Clinton campaign arranged for the head of the pro-abortion group EMILY's List to hype Hillary.

It seems Barack Obama's people fed reporters information beforehand about his own pro-abort credentials and Clinton's duplicity.

So reporters were armed when Ellen Malcolm finished describing Clinton's pro-abort credentials and Obama's duplicity.

Bearing in mind this was an exercise to prove which candidate most championed pre-born baby killing made the face-off (pardon the pun) crazy to begin with. But we live in a surreal world.

Reporters wondered why Clinton didn't....

Continue reading my column today, "Hillary vs. Obama: Who's the biggest baby killing champion?," on WorldNetDaily.com.

by Bethany Kerr

Sandy is a sweet woman with 4 beautiful girls.

For 2 of the 5 years I have known her via cyberspace, Sandi experienced what she thought were problems with her thyroid. She said many times her throat became so swollen it was difficult to breathe. Doctors said it was a thyroid imbalance or asthma.

Sandi emailed me in April she had just found out she was pregnant. It was a shock, unplanned, but she was excited.

Only a few weeks later, Sandy was told devastating news. Her throat problem was very serious. Sandi had cancer.

Here is what Sandi wrote the day she got the news:

It seems fairly certain that I have Hodgkin's disease. My doctor claims this is good news because it is treatable and very curable. He believes I'll make a full recovery. He worried that if it was benign a major surgery would be needed because this tumor is wrapped around major veins and other important organs. This is hard to take in. I am pregnant... and I have cancer.... I don't know what to do. I am trying to be strong. I have to be. I have to fight this and not let the sadness consume me. "

A specialist strongly recommended Sandi have a "therapeutic abortion," saying her baby might suffer side effects like cleft lip or other anomolies. The specialist said there was not enough research to know for sure, so abortion was probably a "good idea."...

This cartoon is political satire but gives credit where it's due, so I'll laugh.

And the credit goes to President Bush (in the scrubs) for withholding federal funding of human embryo experimentation based on ethical considerations. Meanwhile, 2 research groups announced independently last month they had successfully reprogrammed adult skin cells to become the equivalent of embryonic stem cells. Hence, the cartoon, by Joel Pett for the Lexington Herald-Ledger:

The New York Times wrote today that 1 of those researchers, Dr. Shinya Yamanaka, was motivated to search for an alternative to embryo dissection based on his morals....

On Saturday, University of Florida Gators QB Tim Tebow became the first sophmore in the Heisman Trophy's 73-year history to win.

Good thing his mother believed in the sanctity of life, or Tebow would have been just another abortion statistic. From the Gainesville Sun, December 7:

In 1985, [parents Pam and Bob, pictured right with Tim] moved to the Philippines, where they served as Christian missionaries.

Hoping to expand their family, they prayed for "Timmy" by name.

Just before she became pregnant, Pam fell into a coma after contracting amoebic dysentery, which is transmitted through contaminated drinking water. Her treatment required a series of strong medications. As a result of those medications, doctors told Pam the fetus had been irreversibly damaged, and they strongly advised her to have an abortion. She refused because of her faith, she said. Pam spent the last two months of her pregnancy on bed rest, and on her due date - Aug. 14, 1987 - she gave birth to a healthy baby boy, who she described as "skinny, but rather long."

Several other future Heisman contenders weren't so lucky.

[HT: friend Andrew]

Below is Mike Huckabee's inspired response to a CNN debate question on evolution.

Evolution ties in to the abortion debate because if evolved, human beings are not unique, with souls. Evolution means these words of the Declaration of Independence are false:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Huckabee's last words in this clip are:

If anybody wants to believe they are the descendants of a primate, they are certainly welcome to do it. I don't know how far they will march that back. But I believe all of us in this room are the unique creations of a God who knows us and loves us and created us for His own purpose.

"Created us for His own purpose." Amen.

{HT: friend Marilyn]

Pretty funny....

by Chip Bok of the Akron Beacon Journal, December 10

This spectacular Time magazine photo, posted November 21, is of a human embryo implanted in the wall of the uterus.

Except Time called it "[a]n implanted fertilized egg." Judging by the number of cells and placement, this human embryo was about 1 week old, far older than what Time called an "embryo" a day earlier in another article on embryonic stem cell research.

To MSM, agenda drives terminology. And when speaking of human personhood amendments, which Time was in the first article, "fertilized egg" suited the agenda.

Then there's Newsweek. An article in its December 10 issue started like this....

Typical. When a pro-abort attacks a pro-lifer, in full view of police and on videotape, the police harrass the pro-lifer.

On December 8 the group Missionaries to the Pre-born was picketing a Hillary Clinton campaign stop in Fort Madison, IA, with graphic signs.

A man later identified as Jim Mitchell got out of a pick-up truck holding a club and approached sign holder Dan Holman, yelling at him to leave his property. But Holman was on public property and refused to move. Mitchell then clobbered Holman with the club, again with police watching.

Incredibly, when an officer finally intervened, it was to tell Holman to move because he was "in a high traffice area" and "disturbing to the motoring public." The officer was interrupted by Mitchell, who continued to threaten Holman to "bust [his] head," but continued on with a threat to arrest and jail Holman!

According to an Operation Rescue press release, Holman has filed charges against Mitchell and is considering filing charges against the police. Hope he does. Their behavior was outrageous and clearly prejudiced.

Here's the video of the incident:

Yesterday the Topeka Capital Journal dropped a bombshell with lurid details of an affair KS Attorney General Paul Morrison carried on from September 2005 to September 2007 - just a couple months ago - with a woman named Linda Carter, not just a subordinate but also a staffer in nemesis Phill Kline's office.

Morrison was the Republican Johnson County District Attorney when he switched parties to run against then-AG Phill Kline last year, and won. In an ironic twist, Republicans then appointed Kline to complete Morrison's DA term. All the while, Linda Carter worked for both men at the JoCo DA's office.

Carter quit her job November 30 and has filed sexual harrassment charges against Morrison.

Carter alleges in a signed statement that Morrison tried to get her to illegally spy on Kline's activities re: his fight to charge Planned Parenthood with illegal minor and late-term abortions. According to the TC-J....

[Also see page 2 for pro-family ad Morrison's family made during the AG campaign.]

From SignOnSanDiego.com, December 6:

James Bopp Jr., general counsel for the NRLC [National Right to Life Committee], said efforts to get state laws banning abortion outright "divert our attention and resources into feudal strategies" that would languish in the courts for years.

"We don't think it is yet time to pursue efforts to prohibit abortion," said Bopp. "If a law prohibits abortion in any way, it's contrary to Roe v. Wade (and would be illegal) and if it doesn't prohibit abortion, then what's the point?"...

"Human life amendments have been bouncing around in one way or another since Roe v. Wade," said Susan Hill, president of the Raleigh, N.C.-based National Women's Health Organization, which is the sole abortion provider in Mississippi. If passed, a human life amendment would "be ruled unconstitutional at this point because it has already been tested."

We have here a pro-life organization agreeing with a pro-abortion organization that a certain pro-life strategy is futile. Do you think that 1) both sides of the abortion issue can agree on strategy, or anything; and 2) both sides in this case could be right?

A month ago I wrote a post stating Fred Thompson had disqualified as one of my presidential primary picks for opposing a human life amendment or federal intervention if need be of disabled killing.

Now Mitt Romney has disqualified himself for supporting human embryonic stem cell research.

I'm so disappointed, because I was trying hard to give this pro-life convert the benefit of the doubt. Turns out he's not completely converted. A December 5 interview with Katie Couric on CBS News went like this....

How well do you understand the implications of the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision? Take a little quiz and find out. Then share your score and what you got wrong, if anything.

[HT: mods Bethany, MK, and Valerie]

I reported Tuesday that Hillary Clinton is giving Barack Obama heat for voting "present" on certain bills as IL state senator, seven on abortion issues, according to Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun-Times. I know three of those were on the Born Alive Infant Protection Act package of bills.

Well, there has been such a rich development.

MSNBC reported yesterday on a press conference arranged by the Clinton campaign with Ellen Malcolm, head of the pro-abortion group, EMILY's List, to tout Hillary as the best credentialled pro-abort presidential candidate. EMILY's List raises funds for pro-abort female legislative candidates, and has a dismal record to show for it, btw. Continued MSNBC:

Malcolm hadn't mentioned Obama by name, but she said that those who vote "present" at tough times don't show a true commitment to leadership - referring to Obama's "present" votes on some anti-abortion measures while serving in the Illinois state Senate.

Does Malcolm really want to go there?

The fact is Hillary voted in favor of the Born Alive Infant Protection Act as U.S. Senator, one of the very bills she and EMILY are nailing Obama for voting "present" on as state senator. Was it not better to vote "present" than "yes"? Is that the kind of leadership EMILY wants?

This point is begging for someone in the MSM to pick up on, particularly since the Obama and Clinton campaigns are vying for pro-abort affections.

[HT for MSNBC story: Lifenews.com]

Here's another diversion from our topic to lighten things up a little.

All the talk at the White House last night was of Jenna Bush's phone call to her dad while taping the Ellen DeGeneres show yesterday.

But I see it's all over the news as well - 257 news articles, according to Google!

So here 'tis, very cute....

WARNING: Explicit material follows....

My daughter Daena was invited to a White House Christmas reception last night and got to bring a guest, which I'm happy to report was me!

The theme of this year's WH Christmas decorations and parties is "Holiday in the National Parks," because, as the keepsake brochure states, "From breathtaking landscapes to important historical sites, generations have marveled at God's magnificent creation and cherished memories of visits to these special places." Did you know the WH is a national park?

See more photos on page 2.

While IL state senator, Barack Obama voted "present" on a partial birth abortion ban, parental notification, and a package of 3 Born Alive Infant Protection bills, for which political heat has since forever risen, thank goodness.

Yesterday the Chicago Tribune discussed Hillary's latest jab at Obama:

She also raised a new front on the issue of Obama's use of "present" votes -- rather than "yes" and "no" votes -- on legislation when he was in the Illinois Senate, including on measures that dealt with Republican-led efforts to restrict abortion rights.

"A president can't vote present. A president can't pick and choose which challenges he or she will face," Clinton said. "Instead of looking for political cover or taking a pass, we need a president who will take a stand and stand there and do whatever is necessary for their country."

Obama has defended his "present" votes on abortion-related bills in the Illinois legislature, contending it was part of a strategy fashioned with abortion-rights advocates to help give some Illinois Senate Democrats political cover and to avoid looking harsh by casting "no" votes that would create a re-election risk....

I recently reported that pregnant parents Nicole Richie and John Madden had created the Richie Madden Children's Foundation to provide items for moms and families in need, particularly at the LA Free Clinic. In fact, Richie designated all gifts given at her November 18 baby shower to her new charity.

Well, People reported yesterday:

Not many kids have a foundation launched in their honor before they're born. But that will be one of the many privileges bestowed upon Nicole Richie and Joel Madden's baby, due in January.

The couple hosted a surprise baby shower Monday for 100 expectant and new moms at the Los Angeles Free Clinic in Hollywood, where they handed out more than $200,000 worth of gifts. "The looks on their faces were priceless," Richie told reporters after the shower. "Some of them didn't even believe us [when they saw the gifts]. They thought we were joking."...

I reported last week that Ann, Joe, and Eric Scheidler, and J. T. Eschbach were planning to travel to Denver this past weekend to rally the troops to fight Planned Parenthood building its new largest mill in the Mile High City.

Keith Mason provided me with details of the action.

The above photo is of nearly 300 people picketing outside the proposed abortuary Saturday morning. (That's Eric Scheidler speaking into the megaphone, with Joe's hat to his left.)

As planned, the rally moved to the nearby Radisson. Fortunately, the hotel was under contract, because PP tried to shut the pro-life event down by calling the hotel and saying it would be hosting America's most renown anti-abortion extremist....

(More photos on page 2.)

Since 1994 Planned Parenthood has enjoyed poking Christians with sticks at Christmas, mocking the birth of Jesus with their unique holiday greeting cards. This year PP offers the same ole same ole "Choice on Earth" options along with a lie for good measure - pretending to like children.

The creative geniuses at Planned Parenthood Golden Gate, who previously brought us "Superheroes for Choice," a cartoon depicting violence against pro-lifers that included decapitation, have designed their own Hanukkah styled card (last in row). Their festival of lights includes justice, safety, and prevention. We share the same goals but are just 180 degrees separated on how to meet them.

In 2002, then-PP president Gloria Feldt said PP's supporters were "energized by the vicious criticism of our holiday card." But I'm not seeing much attention paid to PP's cards this year. They've apparently become blase.

So as not to disappoint PP, I now present them for your vicious criticism (click to enlarge, except last):

See 6 more festive holiday abortion cards on page 2.

Thanks, Planned Parenthood, seriously.

Backdrop: The State of IL passed a parental notice bill in 1995 that laid dormant for over a decade because the then-liberal IL Supreme Court refused to enact rules so a minor girl in an abusive home could instead get permission from the courts.

In 2006 a constitutionally friendly Supreme Court wrote rules and instructed rabidly pro-abort Attorney General Lisa Madigan to enact the law, which, of course, she dragged her feet on throughout early 2007.

Finally in May 2007, Madigan completed her part, and since then the decision whether to enact the law has been in the hands of notoriously slow federal judge David Coar. The ACLU is disputing whether IL court systems are prepared.

Then Planned Parenthood Aurora reared its ugly head in late July and opened for business in early October, despite huge outcry from citizens.

With parental notice now necessary to protect Aurora families, last week by unanimous vote the Aurora City Council passed a resolution submitted by alderman Rick Lawrence calling on the state to do something....

I was given this news tip yesterday, but actually Time magazine broke the story November 21, which no one apparently picked up on, perhaps because it was only posted online:

[B]ut what's clear is that the anti-abortion movement is fractured. Colorado Right to Life has a mailing list of 10,000 and a $100,000 budget but is no longer affiliated with the National Right to Life Committee - "kicked out," says [CRTL spokesman and Denver Christian radio talk show host Bob] Enyart. He explains that the NRLC has refused to back "personhood" for decades, citing the unlikelihood that it would pass muster with the U.S. Supreme Court....

And this week in Washington, the same coalition, with representatives from 12 states, plans to announce a new national splinter group - American Right to Life - which will be headed by Brian Rohrbough, whose son Daniel died in the Columbine shootings and who has been an outspoken critic of the American "culture of death."

Here's more of the scoop, provided by Leslie Hanks of CRTL and ARTL, who I called after getting the tip....

Have you noticed that sexual freedom advocates, some on this site, are recommending two forms of "protection" these days, such as hormonal contraceptives with a condom back-up? It's no wonder. It's not just pregnancy one has to worry about.

From Concernedparents.com (click to enlarge):

[HT: mod MK]

A new Des Moines Register poll, conducted November 25-28 of 500 likely Iowa GOP Iowa caucus participants and 500 likely Iowa Democrat caucus participants, now exactly one month away, showed new presidential candidate leaders for both parties:

Democrat strategist Susan Estrich says Huckabee's rise is due to GOP weakness. I wouldn't be sure how that translates had I not read Robert Novak's column last week, which I'll excerpt next....

HT: reader Sara; cartoon credit: Chuck Asay, Townhall.com, November 28]

The Georgia Right to Life PAC released a press release yesterday afternoon endorsing Mike Huckabee for president, snubbing National Right to Life's pick, Fred Thompson.

The first paragraph is verrrry interesting....

Yesterday, Hillary Clinton's New Hampshire office was seiged and hostages taken by a man, Leeland Eisenberg, who turned out to have a history of mental illness and "severe alcohol and drug abuse," according to his former wife, as quoted by the New York Daily News.

Eisenberg said he wanted to speak to Clinton, according to Newsday, "about the shortage of mental health services in his state."

NYDN reported, "During the siege, [police] said he asked for cigarettes, alcohol and Pepsi."

Today in the papers I cannot find one article insinuating that all mentally ill people, alcoholics, smokers, or Pepsi drinkers are potentially violent.

Yet if this same man in the same condition had professed to be pro-life and wanted to speak with Hillary about her pro-abortion views, MSM, liberals, and the abortion industry would be all over that angle.

The pro-life movment is the most peaceful social justice movement in history.

People calling themselves pro-life have murdered seven abortion industry workers in the past 35 years, all between 1994-98, but as AbortionViolence.com reminds us, "[A]ccording to the U.S. government, more janitors, bartenders, secretaries, hairdressers and cosmetologists have been killed on the job than abortionists."

Meanwhile, Human Life International has documented more than 7000 acts of violence and illegal activities by pro-abortionists, aside from the 50,000,000 babies they have killed.

There could be several reasons why the abortion industry, MSM, and liberals promote pro-lifers as violent. Why do you think they do?