Bristol Palin, 18-year-old daughter of AK Gov. and former VP candidate Sarah Palin, gave birth to a son December 28. Weighing in at 7-7, Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston was born at 5:30a. Father is fiancé Levi Johnston.

MTV News has weighed in on the name choice in a clever piece. I'm not sure why I was mostly not offended by the article on behalf of little Tripp. Perhaps I'm just tired of being offended. Or perhaps it's because the writer took equal shots at his own....

Caroline Kennedy's run for NY senator has surprised me on a few counts.

1. I'm surprised Caroline decided to run in the first place. This would seem to go against her lifelong very private grain. In this regard, for all of her 51 years, she has behaved like her mother, not her father. Her sudden dive into very public big time politics seems out of character.

2. I'm surprised by how much of an airhead Kennedy sounds like in interviews. I know she is well educated and cultured. But she sure comes off as not.

3. I'm surprised liberals are joining in the chorus to rebuff her candidacy. I was shocked to hear Alan Colmes question her legitimacy last night, for instance. And wow, even CNN is poking fun at her?...

I received this poem yesterday via email:

the world is overpopulated
sometimes people make mistakes
sometimes people die to make the total population healthier
sometimes when a woman decides that the man she chose was a wrong choice
giving that person a child would be a travesty of life
sometimes those people are children
I wish I had never had one
my daughter has said frequently she wished she were never born
I think to my self "I do too"
she is 22 now and has no future that I can see
at least not in the world after Bush

I responded to the writer, whose name I'm omitting for the sake of his/her daughter, that it seemed they were both depressed, and had they sought counseling?

I wrote there are plenty of people who are grateful to be alive despite the fact their mothers didn't like their fathers, even if justified. It's not our call to determine intrinsic human value based on circumstances. Every person born has value endowed by our Creator, not by fellow createds.

And I wrote that placing the blame for a futureless world on President Bush is silly.

I forgot to write that "over population" is a myth.

[Graphic courtesy of overpopulationthreat.blogspot.com]

Chris La Tondresse, founder of RecoveringEvangelical.com, appeared on Fox News December 29 to promote talking points initiated during the Obama campaign that Evangelical concerns should reach beyond abortion and gay marriage.

La Tondresse's rationale...

RH Reality Check's Amanda Marcotte has listed her top 10 stories on "sexual and reproductive issues" for 2008. She wrote in her introduction:

But one thing I'm happy to report is that in a field where it seems we're always fighting an uphill battle, 2008 was actually packed full of good news.

Interesting that we also feel we're fighting an uphill battle, although we actually are. Pro-deathers have been kings of the hill since 1973. That said, 2008 was indeed a raucus year on the life issue. In general, do you think the pro-life movement moved the abortion issue forward or lost ground in 2008?

Several years ago I wrote The Embryonic Jesus Story. Andrew Tallman's Townhall.com discusses the same topic from a different angle with additional excellent observations...

A Christmas view of abortion

"The Bible says nothing directly about abortion." Have you ever heard this claim before? I know I have. And the uncomfortable truth is that, in a certain sense, it's accurate. The deliberate termination of a pregnancy is not directly addressed anywhere in scripture....

Yesterday we had a winter storm, today it's raining on the snow. It's Chicago. Need I say more?

I've been up awhile, cooking in the kitchen. Gotta go back to work, and then we're going to my Mom's house later this afternoon. Tomorrow my sons and families will join Rich, Daena (who flew in Friday during the previous winter storm - had to wait 2 hours for her luggage after a 1.5 hour flight), and I for our first Christmas Day celebration here.

Speaking of families, here's this year's Christmas photo of the grandsons...

As you can tell, the two 2-year-olds, Jack (l) and Ralph (r), weren't thrilled to sit still. Ah, memories... :)

As we set our minds on Jesus' sacrificial birth, I found this fun reminder of the reason. It's much better in HD. View it here for that (see lower right of screen)....

Most of us have spiritual hot buttons. One of mine is guarding against usurping pastoral authority. I've been through a couple of church splits in my life and am critical of bad apples complaining publicly about pastors/leaders and stirring ill will.

For that reason alone, never mind thwarting a pro-life endeavor, I just can't fathom the following letter-to-the-editor published in the Star Tribune today by Fr. Michael Tegeder, pastor of St. Edwards Parish in Bloomington, MN.

(A google search of Tegeder shows he's no stranger to controversy. He's been called "insubordinate" and "challenges... authority" previously. Not surprised. Read the 4th paragraph of this May 13, 2007, Pastor's Page by a Fr. George Welzbacher about Tegeder, who apparently bad-mouthed his new bishop. Tegeder is also big on buildlng GLBT relations, which is fine, admirable, if one doesn't condone the behavior, which it appears Tegeder does. Seems to me he's a Fr. Pfleger of the north.)

I've bolded the most instructive lines of Tegeder's letter on page 2....

[HT: reader Susie A.]

UPDATE, 1p: Reader kbhvac has submitted the following for consideration for the Thou Protesteth Too Much award:

Media Research Center has its award; I'm launching my own, the Thou Protesteth Too Much award. This year's winner, hands down, is IL Gov. Rod Blagojevich:

"Ok. Thank you very much. I'm here to tell you right off the bat that I not not guilty of any criminal wrong doing, that I intend to stay on the job, and I will fight this thing every step of the way. I will fight. I will fight. I will fight - until I take my last breath. I have done nothing wrong."

~ IL Gov. Rod Blagojevich, December 18, 2008

Retroactive award winners...

Jasper posted a link to Media Research Center's Best Notable Quotes of 2008, and I just had to peruse them for laughs.

I totally concur with the Quote of the Year by Chris Matthews:

Co-anchor Chris Matthews: "I have to tell you, you know, it's part of reporting this case, this election, the feeling most people get when they hear Barack Obama's speech. My -- I felt this thrill going up my leg. I mean, I don't have that too often."

Co-anchor Keith Olbermann: "Steady."

Matthews: "No, seriously. It's a dramatic event. He speaks about America in a way that has nothing to do with politics. It has to do with the feeling we have about our country. And that is an objective assessment."

-- Exchange during MSNBC's coverage of the VA, MD and D.C. primaries, February 12

Ah, so many great ones! Here was a runner-up for the Good Morning Morons award...

Here was a fun trivia question posed by Values Voter News:

Don't peek before guessing. Not a hard one. I'd preferred VVN had listed me in the same group as Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan, however... :)

[HT: ProLifeBlogs.com]

Got a note from Dr. Michael New this morning:

A couple weeks ago something exciting happened. The Alan Guttmacher Institute attacked my recent Family Research Council study which demonstrated the effectiveness of pro-life parental involvement laws. This means I am making all the right enemies.

Their criticisms were not exactly persuasive. In fact, they even cite a 2006 New England Journal of Medicine study which very strongly supports my position.

Read New's full response here.

My first thought: If Guttmacher and the abortion industry don't think parental notification laws work, why fight them?

Guttmacher admitted teen abortions were down but explained...

Operation Rescue has posted its top 10 abortion stories of 2008. All are good, but one caught my eye that I'd wanted to report at the time but couldn't get to, OR's #8:

Late abortions in KS decrease by 54% since Operation Rescue's arrival

Statistics for 2007, released by the KS Dept. of Health and Environment this year, show that since Operation Rescue relocated to KS in 2002, late-term post-viability abortions have dropped an amazing 54%. That includes a 28% decrease in 2007, a year in which OR hosted three major prayer events, and continued to expose Tiller wrong-doing.

A most interesting statistic to me was that late-term abortions dropped 23% in KS from 2006 to 2007, indicating Tiller is being much more cautious about committing late-term abortions with OR dogging him and the ongoing investigations that were launched 5 years ago by Phill Kline....

By Dana Summers at Townhall.com...

About Pastor Rick Warren's agreement to give the invocation at President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration I wrote the other day:

As a pro-lifer I'm glad Warren is giving the invocation. I don't care what ulterior motives Obama has for inviting Warren, such as trying to appear more of a center than left guy....

I've seen Warren take a stronger and stronger stand on abortion. Obama needs people like him in his ear. Warren says things nice, but he says them well and straight up. Read this from BeliefNet.org December 12....

And then I posted a recent example of Warren's public teaching on abortion, including what he has said to Obama himself.

The secular left has come out strongly against Obama's pick of Warren. But some in our camp have as well. Read this from a letter Human Life International's Fr. Thomas Euteneuer sent to Warren (click to enlarge)...

"Character assassin." Ouch, doesn't sound very pro-life to me.

Wednesday liberal Media Matters named Sean Hannity as its Misinformer of the Year. Congrats, Sean.

But hey, then MM went on to implicate li'l ole me?...

UPDATE, 1:55p: Shock, Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards opposes the new HHS rule.
_______________

Here's the deal.

For over 35 years the US has had civil rights laws protecting health care workers from participating in procedures they find unethical or immoral, like abortion.

Yesterday the Dept. of Health & Human Services issued a regulation to ensure compliance with those laws.

Bottom line: If a health care entity gets government funding and violates conscience laws, the funding can be terminated, even retroactively, as in the entity may have to give $ back to HHS.

That's basically it. To reword, according to the Wall Street Journal:

[The rule] says hospitals, pharmacies and other entities that be charged with discrimination and lose federal funds if they pressure employees to take part in treatments to which they object on religious or moral grounds....

I'd been blogging only 1 month back in June 2005 when my headline on the Duggar family read, "14 children and pregnant again!"

3-1/2 years later, I'm blogging that the Duggars have just welcomed its 18th baby. Per People yesterday...

Liberals are angry President-elect Barack Obama has chosen conservative evangelical pastor Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration. Here's a sample from HuffPo:

Progressive groups are decrying the choice of Rick Warren... as "disappointing" - but it is far more than that. It is an act of spiritual violence against lesbian and gay American citizens and a profound betrayal of the philosophy of inclusion and unity espoused by President-elect Obama.

Big is that Warren supported CA's Proposition 8, specifying marriage to be between one man and one woman.

As a pro-lifer I'm glad Warren is giving the invocation. I don't care what ulterior motives Obama has for inviting Warren, such as trying to appear more of a center than left guy. I'm actually surprised Obama picked Warren. Recall the terrible response Obama gave Warren for The Abortion Question of the campaign. Guess he's not holding a grudge....

My column yesterday spotlighted 2005 executive order by IL Gov. Rod Blagojevich forcing taxpayers to fund embryonic stem cell research.

Blagojevich was busy wreaking havoc on life in 2005. He also signed an "emergency rule" that year forcing IL pharmacists and pharmacies to dispense the morning-after pill even if against their religious beliefs. The MAP can stop a young embryo from embedding into the wall of the uterus, i.e., cause an abortion. Of course, you wouldn't know any of this by the tricky wording of Blagojevich's statement (click to enlarge)...

I live in IL and have always functioned as a pro-life activist on the wrong side of the politically corrupt government, and not just Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

But Blagojevich in particular has expressed not just hostility to pro-life measures but hostility to preborn life.

I hope U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald will someday expose the theres I know are there and the whys behind Blagojevich's extraordinary impositions of anti-life laws and expenditures on the state.

The list is long, but there was one in which I was involved....

All eyes are now focused on Democrats to launch impeachment proceedings; and note they are being slow about it. They really, really want Blagojevich to quit. I wanted him to at first, but I'm now laughing that he doesn't. If they're forced to impeach
him, they indict themselves. They're all guilty. They all have skeletons just like his. They all are worrying: What does Fitzgerald have on us?

But I digress....

Continue reading my column, "Blago's anti-life pay-to-play," on WorldNetDaily.com.

UPDATE, 12/19, 8a: I'm feeling better about my Twilight addiction all the time. Per People, December 17:

I just read the first book, it's ridiculous, it's like crack cocaine. I read it for 10 hours straight until I finished it," [Rosario] Dawson, who will appear in Parts Per Billion with Twilight's vampire heartthrob Robert Pattinson, told People....

"I actually made a vow to myself not to buy the second, third and fourth book until Thursday, because that's when I'll be done with all this press, and I'll be able to read over Christmas vacation."

But, she adds, the addiction will cut into some quality family time. "My dad is going to hate me, because I spend zero time with him, reading these books," she said....

[HT: proofreader Laura Loo]
_______________

UPDATE, 12/18, 9:30a: I just finished book 4! Whew! I'm free!
_______________

I quit reading fiction several years ago because I can't put books down once I start. One can get away with reading several hours at a time when one is young, but not when one acquires a family, job, etc.

I previously blogged I saw the movie Twilight with daughter Daena a couple weeks ago. Here's the trailer...

I was just a guest on the Rob Schilling Show. Pro-abort caller Mike said he had proof no one believes embryos are human because if given the choice, firefighters would save people in a burning fertility clinic and not the frozen embryos.

I said it's not true we do not consider frozen embryos human in emergency situations and told the story of the rescued embryos of Hurricane Katrina. I said I would post a YouTube video relaying the story. Love the baby's name, Noah. How appropriate! Here 'tis:

After the show I also remembered the folllowing exact anological response to Mike's contention. This is an ad that ran during the CO Personhood Amendment campaign...

As soon as I clicked "publish" on the previous post, I received an email announcing the release of the 2nd video by the Mona Lisa Project exposing a 2nd IN Planned Parenthood as a child rapist protector, this 1 in Indianapolis.

This video was shot the same day as the video at the Bloomington PP, only 90 miles away.

In both stings, Lila Rose posed as a 13-year-old girl who told PP employees she was having sex with a 31-year-old man. This is underage rape according to IN law and immediately reportable to authorities if the victim is under age 14.

IN PP may have fired the Bloomington nurse, but this 2nd video shows a pattern. In it 2 Indianapolis PP staffers also turn a blind eye to the victim's abuse.

The 1st staffer stated, "We don't really care about who, what, the age of the boyfriend." She then forwarded Rose to a counselor, who stated after hearing the "boyfriend's age, "I don't care how old he is." The counselor added, "The surrounding states don't have parental consent. I can't tell you any more."

Planned Parenthood of Indiana may soon ask us to buy gift certificates for its legal defense. WTHR reported yesterday:

The IN Attorney General says his office is also investigating PP of IN.

The development comes after a health center aide was caught on video telling a woman who claimed to be a pregnant teen to lie about the age of the father.

A pro-life group member posed as a 13-year-old and secretly shot the video at a Bloomington clinic in June. She told an aide she'd been impregnated by a 31-year-old man.

The aide told the woman she could get an abortion in IL where parental consent is not needed and to not reveal the father's age.

Carter says if the investigation leads to criminal charges, it would be handled by a prosecutor. His office would handle any medical wrongdoing.

PP has fired the aide.

Yesterday Hot Air reported, "On Friday, IN's Department of Child Services announced that it would not investigate the incident," but, "[t]he AG's move carries more potential threat, however, with criminal prosecution possible."

According to undercover film maker Lila Rose in an email update yesterday, the release of a 2nd IN sex-abuse cover-up film is imminent. IN state Rep. Jackie Walorski's website tantalized us with a link to the video, which remains private.

[HT: moderator Carder]

UPDATE, 12/15, 7a: From The Sunday Times, December 14:

Public opinion has moved sharply in favour of assisted suicide, according to a poll for The Sunday Times. The YouGov survey of more than 2,000 people shows that most would consider euthanasia for themselves and think that relatives who help with assisted suicides at foreign clinics should not be prosecuted.

The poll followed the broadcast last week by Sky TV of the assisted suicide of Craig Ewert, who was suffering from motor neurone disease. By two to one (61% to 27%), people said it was right to screen it....

It also revealed strong support for a change in the law on assisted suicide to give immunity from prosecution to those who help a relative or friend with an incurable condition to die. More than two-thirds (69%) think the law should be changed.

Most strikingly, by four to one (61% to 15%), people said they would consider assisted suicide for themselves if suffering from a terminal disease....

[HT: reader Susie A.]
_______________

On the heels of a MT judge forcing assisted suicide on her state... and on the heels of a 19-year-old committing suicide on the Internet after being goaded by commenters... and on the heels of Obama picking pro-euthanasia attorney Thomas Perrilli (who represented Michael Schiavo) for his transition team... comes this from The Sun...

by Gary Varvel at Townhall.com...

by Lisa Benson at Townhall.com...

The new poll question is up:

Atlas Sports Genetics now offers genetics testing of children to determine whether or not they have an aptitude for sports. Do you think this is a good idea?

This could have served as a weekend question. Examiner.com, December 6, explained the dilemma:

For $149, Atlas Sports Genetics [in Boulder, CO] will send a genetic sample taken from inside a child's cheek to a laboratory in Australia. There, technicians will analyze the ACTN3 gene, which has been linked to athletic performance....

In about two weeks, Atlas presents customers with a certificate indicating whether their child is a genetic fit for strength and power sports, endurance athletics or a combination of the two....

Children can work toward success in any sport they choose, [Atlas CEO Kevin Reilly] said. "But if they're better suited for something ... that's good information to have."...

Experts, parents and coaches have both praised and criticized the test. Some support it as a tool to help children excel in sports. Others reject it as irrelevant and unethical, or they say one gene doesn't provide enough information about a person to determine athletic performance.

What do you think?

Ah, lots of Hillary fans and/or PUMAs responded to last week's poll, not just from the U.S. but from around the globe. And interesting, 21% chose "Other." I wonder who Other was?...

A reader today asked syndicated columnist Miss Manners if "sex, politics and religion [are] still off-limits in polite dinner conversation?"

Miss Manners responded one was not free to speak about such topics unless among "like-minded old friends." She added, "That is not a quaint prohibition. Such subjects as gay marriage, taxes and abortion have been known to explode otherwise pleasant dinner parties."

I have certainly sensed hesitancy at dinner parties to discuss my occupation, so to speak. Do you agree with Miss Manners that abortion is a taboo topic "in polite dinner conversation"?

UPDATE, 12-12, 2p: So Lisa did make her move this morning, requesting the IL Supreme Court grant a temporary restraining order against Blagojevich from functioning as governor.

Meanwhile, we may be closer to knowing why Rahm Emanuel has been so strangely silent. Before becoming Obama's chief of staff, Emanuel was a congressman. He took Blagojevich's place, in case you didn't know. Bed partners. And they may have been caught on tape kibbitzing last month...

I don't know why people find it hard to believe Obama is a part of this corruption. It will come as a surprise if he's not.
_______________

UPDATE, 12-12, 9:15a: Rich Miller of Capitol Fax is most well-placed to hear the latest chatter on the Blagojevich saga. Miller reported this morning...

by JivinJ

I previously wrote on NARAL's esoteric free.will.power video campaign, obviously aimed at young abortion customers.

I thought I didn't 'get' the first two videos because I'm not 'cool'. But others of you had the same problem, so we are uncool together.

On December 10, NARAL released its final video, "power." Here 'tis:

I got a little more out of this one. Abstinence is bad, and birth control pills cost too much. Wanting their cake and to eat it, too. Got it. Interesting they consider inherited traits of offspring "family heirloom[s]." That doesn't fit. Nevermind. I need to focus on filling my "pink polygon."

Hey, vote for your favorite free.will.power t-shirt. Or at least peruse the options. See them on page 2.

[HT: reader Susan F.]

Alan Colmes didn't like my commentary about his rope-a-dope during Hannity & Colmes last week of Kristan Hawkins and Sarah Hardin of Students for Life for their undercover sting of a NC Planned Parenthood.

Sarah posed as a 15-year-old requesting birth control to sleep with her 30 something-year-old "boy"friend. PP should have reported this to authorities but didn't.

Colmes always tries to derail interviews with adversaries one of 2 ways, by accusing them of hypocrisy or putting them on the defensive about something off-point. Cheap and intellectually void....

I wrote in my column yesterday that part of Planned Parenthood of KS/George Tiller's strategy to beat Phill Kline's rap against them is to file nuisance lawsuits and subpoenas to persecute their prosecutor.

The ink is barely dry on the KS Supreme Court's latest decision against PP and in favor of Kline, and the Associated Press is reporting PP plans to file its SIXTH subpoena against Kline to go over the same issue: the working copies of records he has. The goal is, obviously, to trip Kline up and accuse him of perjury. From the AP article:

[PP attorney Pedro] Irigonegaray said he wants to force Kline to testify and to produce a detailed accounting of the records in his possession and who's had access to them.

I repeat, if the court allows this, it would be the SIXTH interrogration of Kline by PP on the SAME ISSUE. The premise of the subpoena is PP's concern Kline will take the records with him when he leaves office, which is absurd:

Irigonegaray acknowledged he's received no complaint or notice that Kline intends to take materials with him when he leaves office.

I understand the subpoena cites no case law or statute. It has been filed without legal precedent. A hearing is scheduled for December 18 before the very same judge, Stephen Tatum - who has yet to schedule a hearing to decide whether Kline has enough evidence against PP to go to trial!

[HT: Susie A.]

UPDATE, 12/15, 7a:The Chicago Sun-Times covered the story on December 13.

[HT: reader Susie A.]
_______________

UPDATE, 1p: Read the libelous open letter PP ran in the Daily Herald here.
_______________

I reported in September 2007 that Eric and Joe Scheidler and the Pro-Life Action League were filing a $7.5 million lawsuit against Planned Parenthood of Chicago and its CEO Steve Trombley.

Attempting to change public opinion after they lied their way into Aurora with a mega-abortion mill, PP/Trombley placed an open letter in the Chicago Daily Herald on September 7, 2007, accusing anti-abortion activists opposing PP's mill of having a history of violent behavior....

IndianaDailyStudentNews.com is reporting today the Bloomington Planned Parenthood nurse caught on tape advising a supposed 13-year-old impregnated by a 31-year-old how to avoid the law and get an out-of-state abortion is "no longer employed."

LifeNews.com is reporting she has been "fired."

I can't find the PP of IN press statement to read the wording to clarify if she indeed was terminated (a word more appropriate for PP than "fired," I think) or quit.

But there you go. "She gone," as the White Sox's Hawk Harrelson would say.

Read background posts here and here.

All right, this is creepy. From The Sun, today...

The Wall Street Journal today (complete article on page 2 for WSJ nonsubscribers who have trouble accessing it) covers pro-lifers' attempt to shut off the Planned Parenthood spigot. (Don't know the context of the photo WSJ included of pro-life Latin actor Eduardo Verastegui (of Bella fame) talking to a reporter in front of an unidentified PP, but hey, we'll take it.)...

Abortion opponents are pressing state and local governments to stop sending taxpayer dollars to Planned Parenthood, arguing that the nonprofit group has plenty of cash and shouldn't be granted scarce public funds at a time of economic crisis....

Four times in four years Wichita late-term abortionist George Tiller or Planned Parenthood of KS has sued KS Attorney General Phill Kline or Johnson Co. District Attorney Phill Kline for investigating them. They have also filed hundreds of pages of ethics complaints, which continue nonstop to this day.

But... nothing has stuck to Kline....

Despite every attempted roadblock, the criminal investigations against PP and Tiller continue....

In this latest round, PP bizarrely asked the KS Supreme Court to let it sue its prosecutor, Kline, in a secret hearing, and the Supremes more bizarrely said sure....

But PP lost its latest lawsuit last week on all merits....

The justice writing the majority opinion, Carol Beier, an appointee of pro-abort Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, was clearly angry she couldn't find a way to stop the decision....

Beier closed by warning that while they had nothing on Kline now, be ready for something, anything, to pop up in the future to cause the suspension of his license.

"I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too," Brier would have written had she not feared accusations of plagiarism....

Now all eyes are on....

Continue reading my column, "Pro-aborts lose another round to Phill Kline," on WorldNetDaily.com.

Pro-abortion Republican and former NJ Gov. and Bush EPA head Christie Todd Whitman blamed the GOP's election loses on us: "[T]he party was taken hostage by 'social fundamentalists,' the people who base their votes on such social issues as abortion."

Now the Baltimore Sun reports Republican National Committee chair prospect Michael Steele is backing away from Whitman for the opposite reason:

Last year... Steele joined two prominent Republican moderates in announcing the revival of a centrist political organization, the Republican Leadership Council.

Now, Steele's name has mysteriously disappeared from the RLC's Web site.

Until recently, he was prominently listed as one of 3 co-founders... Whitman and former MO Sen. John Danforth. The change apparently happened within the past week, according to an Internet search....

There could be a practical reason for the disappearance of Steele's footprints from the site: His link to the group, critics say, is hurting his campaign for chairman of the RNC....

Imagine that happening here to understand the magnitude of Vazquez's decision.

The article doesn't make clear that the Uruguay Congress was unable to muster the 3/5s vote needed to override Vazuez's veto, so it still stands. It would have legalized abortion in Uruguay during the 1st trimester " due to hardship on the basis of economics, family, age, health, or risk to the mother's life," according to the Feminist Daily Newswire yesterday.

Do the exceptions sound familiar? They should. They're the U.S. Supreme Court's definition of the "health" exception, in other words, legalizing abortion on demand.

The other side promises to come back. Of course. Our side should learn from them.

[HT: reader Susie A.]

by JivinJ

UPDATE, 10:20a: Forgot to mention Daena and I saw Twilight last night and really liked it. I gave it 3-1/2 stars; she gave it 4. Buying the book today.
_______________

No political cartoons on our issue this week, but here were a couple on other topics that caught my eye...

by Nate Beeler on Townhall.com...

by Lisa Benson on Townhall.com...

You wouldn't know in the immediate aftermath of the KS Supreme Court's decision yesterday that it ruled in Johnson Co. District Attorney Phill Kline's favor on all merits of a lawsuit launched against him by Planned Parenthood and the KS Attorney General's office. Here is a sampling of MSM/liberal blog headlines...

But, here is what really happened, from KansasLiberty.com...

A month has passed since the 2008 elections. Now that the dust has settled, how do you think the pro-life movement should change strategies or messaging, if you think so at all?

For instance, a pro-abortion opinion writer in the NM Daily Lobo wrote that "anti-abortion advocates need to broaden their perspectives" to care for global children.

(She also strangely wrote pro-lifers should encourage more "health dollars....go to international programs to alleviate suffering," including abortion, but I digress.)

The fact is pro-lifers and Christians sacrifice more time and money to try to alleviate the suffering of children around the world than anyone. Should one of our action items be to focus more energy on PR? Etc.

The new poll question is up:

Who did more to advance the cause of women in 2008?

Choices are Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, Sarah Palin, or the ever popular Other.

Here were the answers to last week's question...

News headlines on Life issues by Bill Beckman of the IL Right to Life Committee

November 27

One reason I think Alan Colmes is leaving Hannity & Colmes is he must be tired and disgusted with himself for the part he is forced to play as a liberal defending morally bereft liberal positions and actions....

The bad press continues for Planned Parenthood.

Tonight Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, will appear on Hannity & Colmes to discuss SFL's secret video taken in June exposing yet more PP employees, these in NC, aiding and abetting another minor rape cover-up.

SFL's sting had an adult SFL volunteer pose as a 15-year-old girl who had unprotected sex with her mother's 30-something live-in boyfriend. The girl told clinic workers he suggested she buy the morning-after pill....

The White House kicked off its 25 Christmas receptions 2 days ago, and Rich and I were invited to last night's via the WH's social policies director. Daena said they're trying to invite as many people as possible to this year's receptions since this is President Bush's last. I will get to go again December 10 as Daena's guest for her staff reception. These are so lovely. I wish all could attend.

(The photo at right, courtesy of the WH, is of the lighting of the WH Christmas tree, which immediately preceded our reception.)

Funny story about our photo with President and Mrs. Bush. We were announced as "Mr. and Mrs. Richard and Jill Stanek" as we approached them. The photo line-up was me, President Bush, Laura, and Rich....

Last night Fox News Special Report spotlighted Planned Parenthood's Christmas gift certificates.

The PP spin that gift certificates are necessary in these dire times when women may neglect their own health care to provide for their families is good. That they "allow[] you to give the gift of life to your loved ones," according to PP's press release, is so audacious it makes me laugh....

Lila did a superb job with talking points. O'Reilly latched on to her point that abortion profiteers may advance sexual abuse of minor girls by committing clandestine abortions - covering up the crime - and sending the girls back into the clutches of her sexual predator, who will not only escape prosecution for his past rape(s) but repeat the abuse.

O'Reilly tossed aside the important point that Planned Parenthood gets over $300 million a year in taxpayer funding and should be defunded.

O'Reilly also took a subliminal swipe at pro-lifers at the end. Or perhaps I'm too sensitive. "What say you?" as he would say.

Planned Parenthood is having a bad PR day.

Lila Rose will appear on The O'Reilly Factor tonight to discuss her undercover op of the Bloomington, IN PP this summer. Read about the sting here.

And Charmaine Yoest of Americans United for Life will appear on Brit Hume's show tonight on Fox after 6p EST to pan IN PP's Christmas gift certificate debacle. Charmaine was on MSNBC earlier this afternoon discussing same.

Mixing these two topics, Bryan Kemper of Stand True has crafted this fabuous Get Out of Jail Free card the IN PP may also want to offer. Click to enlarge...

Isn't that great?!

Thinking today about those PP gift certificates, it occurred to me that everyone is immediately connecting PP to abortion, which shows the brand has been damaged. I don't think people would have automatically thought "abortion" in conjunction with PP a couple of years ago.

On last night's ABC World News, Charlie Gibson spotlighted the "unusual... controvers[ial]" story of IN Planned Parenthood offering Christmas gift certificates for all services, including abortion.

IN PP, yes, where employees help sexual predators get away with raping minor girls, as Lila Rose exposed only yesterday. Since these gift certificates can be used for all services, rape felony cover-up must also be included.

Read my previous post on this here.

The story reported:

"It's about basic health care. It's about annual exams, it's about pap smears, it's about birth control," said [IN PP CEO Betty] Cockrum. "I would be amazed if a dime of it goes toward an abortion."

Why? What's wrong with using a Christmas gift certificate for abortion?

The story concluded...

Today Live Action Films released the 1st in a series of video stings of Planned Parenthoods across the U.S., conducted this summer by UCLA student Lila Rose.

Lila posed as a (blonde!) 13-year-old who had been impregnated by her 31-year-old boyfriend.

In this video a PP nurse in Bloomington, IN - a college town - not only ignores the felony, she coaches Lila how to lie about her boyfriend's age and shows Lila how to get an abortion in IL, where there is currently no enforceable parental involvement law.

In other breaking news, the PP nurse, "Diana," has now been suspended. According to Bloomington's Herald Times...

As you read through the list of Barack Obama's Cabinet and agency head picks, recall that Planned Parenthood, NARAL and EMILY's List promised to spend $30 million combined to defeat John McCain.

It's payback time, and the pro-abort chickens are coming home to roost.

Wait - bad cliché choice. Liberal feminist chicks make their living by anti-roosting.

The pro-abort chickens are coming home to loot. That's better.

There's Ellen Moran, who will be leaving her job as executive director of EMILY's List to serve as Obama's communications director.

And there's NARAL's former legal director, Dawn Johnsen, who Obama nabbed for his Department of Justice review team.

On Monday, Obama named....

Continue reading my column, "Abortion industry picks Obama's staff," on WorldNetDaily.com.

From the Clarion-Ledger, December 2:

There's a half million dollars sitting on the corner of Mississippi and President streets [in Jackson, MS], but no one could possibly steal it.

That's because the cash is in the form of pennies - 50 million of them - that collectively weigh 156 tons.

The coins, which fill a glass house on the grounds of the Mississippi Baptist Convention building, provide a visual reminder of the number of abortions performed in the United States since the Roe vs. Wade decision in 1973. [Photo above shows memorial with only 26 million pennies in 2007.]...

Notice anything missing from this ad the Dubuque Planned Parenthood ran for 3 days the end of November in the Telegraph Herald? It's called "Let's Set the Record Straight." RIght. Click to enlarge:

Well, Dubuque PP would have really set the record straight if it acknowledged it refers for abortion. According to a press release by Dubuque Co. Right to Life...

With the dysfunctional pro-life movement arguing and even countermanding one another over strategy, the one area I see where all are in agreement and working together is the 40 Days for Life campaign. Only 4 years old, it has shown phenomenal success.

The plan is simple. Once in the spring leading up to Easter and again in the fall, 40-day prayer vigils are held, some round-the-clock, at abortion mills.

With the election of Barack Obama and overwhelming Democrat seizure of congressional control, legislation and policies will become literal dead zones for the next couple years at the very least. One critical way to stop abortion despite pro-abort politicians and courts is to starve it at its source: the abortion clinic.

Here is David Bereit's video report for the Fall 2008 campaign.

The successes were great...

Reported the Chicago Sun-Times on November 2:

So what is it like to kiss a girl for the first time ever, after she has become your wife?

"It was surreal," said Claudaniel "CD" Fabien... after his marriage to Melody LaLuz Fabien on Saturday....

Claudaniel, 30, and Melody, 28, had pledged to be abstinent before marriage -- but went a little further by agreeing not to kiss each other on the lips before their union was official.

Why so strict? They didn't even want to get close to temptation, instead waiting until the minister said the magic words: "NOW, you may kiss the bride."...

Here's a bit of good news.

Republican Senate incumbent Saxby Chambliss beat Democrat challenger Jim Martin yesterday 57.5% to 42.5% in GA's run-off election.

This dashed all hopes of Democrats garnering a 60-seat, filibuster-proof Senate majority, even if MN's Al Franken out-recounts incumbent Norm Coleman.

[Photo credit: Reuters]

I received this press release today:

The United States Coalition for Life announced today it is opening up its vast pro-life archives to the public.

Established in 1972, the PA-based USCL is the oldest pro-life research organization in the United States. Its research files span more than 35 years and cover all areas of pro-life concerns, which includes population control, abortion, contraception, eugenics, sterilization, euthanasia, vital organ transplantation, homosexuality, classroom sex instruction, and fetal experimentation....

I'm a relative newbie in the pro-life activist world. Have only been involved for 9 years. So I'd never heard of USCL. But I nosed around its archives and found interesting stuff, like this rude flyer from Planned Parenthood circa 1970s...

It sure looks that way. See my previous post to read more of Barack Obama's pro-death cabinet picks.

Now behold your new Homeland Security Secretary, AZ Gov. Janet Napolitano....

Surprise, surprise, Napolitano is a big Planned Parenthood supporter. The above photo was taken in August when she "stopped by" the Denver Planned Parenthood Action Fund headquarters to "show her support" for PP's One Million Strong voter campaign.

I wonder how easily a Republican president-elect could nominate someone to his or her administration who is much pro-life as Napolitano is pro-abortion, say Phill Kline?

You'd best believe the howls of protest would be heard far and wide.

Where are the howls of protest by pro-life groups and legislators on Obama's heinously pro-death cabinet picks?

Recall PP, NARAL, and EMILY's List promised to spend $30 million to defeat John McCain. Then read through Obama's choices again.

UPDATE, 10:45a: Moderator Bethany found the following YouTube video of a young man, Daniel Drinker, with Down syndrome, who supported Barack Obama in the primary because he was a "good talker," was "black," had a "good wife," and had a "deep voice." Sounds like reasons why many Obama supporters voted for him, but I digress. Dan didn't know Barack Obama supports killing preborn babies with Down syndrome. Wonder if that would have made a difference in his vote.

This is fabulous news. Makes me want to cry just thinking about it. Here's the press release emailed to me. An attached note stated the group has invited Sarah Palin to participate. That would be wonderful....

For more information:
Eileen Haupt: 802-899-4882
Leticia Velasquez: 860-556-9116

by JivinJ