The next picture is a fire rainbow, the rarest of all naturally occurring atmospheric phenomena. The picture was captured this week on the Idaho/Washington border. The event lasted about one hour. (Clouds have to be cirrus, at least 20,000 feet in the air, with just the right amount of ice crystals....and the sun has to hit the clouds at precisely 58 degrees):
Email Bethany with your Lunch Break suggestions!
[HT: Laura Loo]
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by JivinJ
If assisted suicide, or even euthanasia, are legally considered forms of "end of life care" in a particular state - as it is now in Oregon, Washington, and Montana - it seems to me that the area's community health insurance option would be required to provide "access" to it under this clause. How else can the provision be read? And because it would have been passed later in time, this clause could be construed to subsume existing federal law that prevents federal funds from being used in assisted suicide.
"We have looked at the language," Nelson told The Hill. "That language is not language that I would prefer.""I think you need to have it eminently clear that no dollars that are federal tax dollars, directly or indirectly, are used to pay for abortions and it needs to be totally clear. [It's] not clear enough, I don't think," Nelson said.
"I believe that there's plenty area for common ground," Pelosi told NPR's Renee Montagne. "We all agree that there will be no federal funding for abortion."?When asked whether she had a specific plan to bring moderate Democrats around on the abortion issue, Pelosi said: "Yes ... but if I talk about it on the radio, then I won't be able to make it happen."
[Image attribution: LATimes.com]
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Ok, where was I? Oh, yes, a story on pro-abortion Jesse Jackson's meeting Wednesday with the overwhelmingly pro-abortion Congressional Black Caucus to promote pro-abortion socialized healthcare, per The Hill:
The Rev. Jesse Jackson on Wednesday night criticized Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL) for voting against the Democrats' signature healthcare bill.
"We even have blacks voting against the healthcare bill from Alabama," Jackson said at a reception Wednesday night. "You can't vote against healthcare and call yourself a black man."
The remark stirred a murmur at the reception, held by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation....
"The poorest people need healthcare protection," Jackson said. "They have the highest infant mortality and the lowest life expectancy. They're dying from lack of access."...
If Rev. Jackson is truly interested in mortality rate and life expectancy, he should look at abortion, which not only directly kills members of his community but indirectly kills them by aftershocks.
[Photo of black preemie via BET.com; photo of African American woman via News One for Black America; graphic of African-American abortion rate via Guttmacher; photo of Jackson via CBS News]
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Two points to pull from this morning's RedState.com alert:
1) We must call senators today, because we can't tomorrow, a Saturday.
2) The message must be that a vote for cloture, to begin debate, is a vote for the bill. Members must vote "NO" tomorrow.
I'm surprised Roll Call issued this study...
]]>There is a study out today that is damaging to the Democrats efforts to pass health care in the Senate.
On Saturday, when constituents cannot contact their Senators' offices because they'll be closed, the United States Senate will vote on a cloture motion to debate the health care legislation.
]]>This is important - a vote in favor of cloture on the motion to proceed (a parliamentary issue) is, in effect, a vote for the health care legislation.
Why? Because Harry Reid has enough votes to pass the health care legislation by a simple majority, but he does not have the 60 votes necessary to proceed to debate, any Senator voting for cloture is voting for the health care plan.
Roll Call reports that according to the Congressional Research Service, "[a] study of Senate voting patterns shows the chamber has approved more than 97% of all bills subject to a cloture motion to begin debate - a finding that could undercut Democratic efforts to paint a key health care vote on Saturday as procedural."
In fact, "since 1999 the Senate has approved 97.6% of all bills when lawmakers first voted to begin debate."
Some Senators, like Blanche Lincoln of AR, want the health care legislation to pass, but know politically she would lose if she voted for it. So unless pressure is brought to bear on her and others, she may vote "yes" on cloture for the motion to proceed and then try to hide behind a no vote later.
We cannot let that happen. Call your two Senators all day today and demand they vote no on the motion to proceed. The phone number to call is 202-224-3121.
by JivinJ
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid last night unveiled a health care bill which provides for an unprecedented expansion of federally-funded abortion. The bill includes pro-abortion language and mirrors the false compromise Capps Amendment from the House debate -- it allows the public option to include abortion coverage and provides federal subsidies for private plans which cover abortion....]]>
Feldman is speaking out now because of her outrage that the notorious Stupak-Pitts amendment to the House health reform measure would extend such federal bans on abortion coverage to the millions of women who are enrolled in the private insurance market.But wait... if the Stupak amendment extends the federal ban on abortion coverage to federally-subsidized plans then isn't it keeping the status quo on federal government's policy towards funding or subsidizing abortion?]]>
On November 16, CNN published a story stating pro-life Democrat Sen. Ben Nelson was backing away from full support of the Stupak-Pitts Amendment in the Senate's socialized healthcare bill.
Subsequently, Democrats for Life president Kristen Day informed me this wasn't true.
Yesterday I requested a statement of clarification from Sen. Nelson and have received the following from his communication's office:
"To earn my support, the final bill must not use taxpayers' dollars to fund abortions. My preference is to see Stupak-like language in the final bill. Having said that, I won't rule out other solutions that could incorporate the principles of Hyde and would ensure no premium subsidies would pay for abortions," said Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska.
Key terminology is "ensure no premium subsidies would pay for abortion," which is a point about which I specifically requested clarification. Sen. Nelson was reiterating his opposition to language permitting private insurance companies to pay for abortions that would receive federal subsidies.
As yet unclear is whether Sen. Nelson will vote against cloture this weekend. I've requested an answer from his office on that.
Read National Right to Life's statement outlining just some of the problems with Reid's bill, unveiled last night.
Then keep making calls, which are having an impact. I tried calling Sen. Ben Nelson's office yesterday and simply couldn't get through to his DC office. I thought the line was out of order. My calls to 3 of his NE offices wouldn't go through either. Finally I reached someone who said they've been slammed with calls re: the healthcare bill. Like I said, keep it up.
These senators are our targets...
]]> Bayh, Byrd, Casey, Collins, Conrad, Dorgan, T. Johnson, Landrieu, Lincoln, McCaskill, Nelson, Pryor, Reid, Snowe and WarnerWe must pound them. The ideal would be to shut down Senate phone lines. Even if your senators aren't on the list, call them.
Here is the message:
Vote "No" on any health-care bill or procedure that does not include the Stupak pro-life amendment at a minimum and that will protect and preserve life both young and old.
The next vote is not on Reid's bill itself but on debating the bill ("cloture"). This is very important vote since it requires 60 ayes, and other votes only require 50. We must reiterate "or procedure," the gist of the 1st vote. If the bill doesn't include Stupak-Pitts, it must not move forward in any way.
ABC unintentionally explained my point:
Reid, who has been working to get moderate Democrats on board his plan, will need all party members to support the bill if he wants to break the first Republican attempt at a filibuster, expected to be on Saturday.
The cloture vote, expected this Saturday, on whether to even start debating the bill will be the first test of the support for Reid's health care bill. Even Reid is not sure right now if he has all the votes.
Nelson has been one of the biggest question marks for Democrats on health care and, while still undecided, he seemed inclined today to bring a Democratic bill to the floor later this week.
[Photo of Harry Reid hugging Chris Dodd after unveiling the Senate healthcare bill via the Los Angeles Times]
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It has been 2 days since Newsweek unveiled its obviously sexist cover of Sarah Palin, and, no surprise, liberal feminists remain silent.
While RH Reality Check managed to spot a pro-life website calling Palin "rogue" on the life issue, it missed Newsweek's cover pick of a photo of Palin in running shorts, originally taken for the August 2009 issue of Runner's World magazine.
Incidentally, that photo was featured on RW's back page and was used by Newsweek without permission. (Watch for a lawsuit.) Here's a photo from the same shoot Newsweek passed by. Wonder why...
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Even Daily Finance, for heaven's sake, called out Newsweek...
... but not feminists. While Ms magazine expressed concern about the shut down of prominent gay newspapers and the "fear of feminist nuns," it ignored what even Hollywood Gossip wondered: "Is Newsweek trying to sabotage her as a dope just because she's a conservative?"
Oh, Feministing did spotlight Palin, but only to "take down" her appearance on Oprah.
The Feminist Majority Foundation was also alarmed by the closure of those gay newspapers while promoting the abortion industry's attack on Baltimore's pregnancy care centers.
But liberal feminists ignore the sexist treatment of the foremost U.S. woman in politics today. If only Palin were an ugly lesbian pro-abort rather than a beautiful heterosexual pro-lifer.
Finally, here's one more photo from the RW photo shoot Newsweek could have picked but didn't, too tasteful for its purposes...
[HT: Troy Newman at Operation Rescue]
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by Kelli
Spotlighting important information gleaned from other pro-life blogs...
If we are going to say teens will be teens - they are going to have sex anyway, then I'd advocate for teaching them about marriage, making their already very serious sexual commitments permanent, and worrying less as a society about whether our kids have advanced degrees.... Enough already with engaging in adult behaviors while studiously avoiding - or glorifying - the sometimes difficult adult outcomes.
A new bill, to be voted on after Thanksgiving, "would require centers to post signs if they do not provide abortion or birth control. Failure to do so could result in a $150 daily fine."
Council President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake (pictured left) claims she introduced the bill to promote "truth in advertising" to "make sure no one is intentionally or unintentionally misled." The bill (not surprisingly) has the backing of Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice Maryland. An attempt to broaden the bill to require abortion clinics to post their services was rejected.
Pro-lifers have organized a petition drive in an attempt to prohibit the City Council from passing any such measures.
[Photo attribution: duburnsfoundation.org]
]]>by JivinJ
A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Wednesday morning indicates that 61% of the public opposes using public money for abortions for women who can not afford the procedure, with 37% in favor of allowing the use of federal funds.]]>And by a 51% to 45% margin, those questioned in the survey think that women who get abortions should pay the full costs out of their own pocket, even if they have private health insurance and no federal funds are involved. The 6-point difference is within the poll's sampling error....
The Free Press argues this amendment makes it harder for poor women to obtain abortion procedures. But under current policy, the poor receive their health care through Medicaid and cannot have taxpayer-funded abortions. Our amendment simply keeps this policy consistent.Segregating funds has never been allowed under Hyde language. For example, federal employee health plans offer private health insurance policies to federal employees. Federal employees pay a portion of their health premiums with the government paying the balance. Yet federal employees cannot put the funds they contribute in a separate account to be used to cover abortion services. The Hyde precedent is very clear.
[HT: Commenter Susan Allen]
]]>Contrary to a CNN story yesterday, pro-life Dem. Sen. Ben Nelson's position on the Stupak-Pitts pro-life amendment "has not changed," wrote Democrats for Life president Kristen Day in an email to me this morning.
In fact, "both he and Senator [Bob] Casey are committed to removing abortion funding," added Day.
Subsequent to reading the CNN report that Nelson was back pedaling on his stand to keep public funding for abortion out of any socialized healthcare bill, Day contacted both senators' offices, having personally been in close contact with them for months on this.
Day told me in a follow-up call staff did not know how the rumor got started, whether by malfeasance or sloppy journalism, but it's simply not true.
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For 6 weeks, and behind closed doors, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Democrats have been crafting their own version of a socialized health-care bill.
With the House's passage of its bill, Reid is ready to pull the trigger, now only awaiting a cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office on two new tax increases his side has proposed to help contain their behemoth.
The CBO report could come at any moment, perhaps before this column is published.
After getting the CBO report, Reid will file cloture (i.e., closure on debate) on a motion to proceed on a "shell," or empty health-care bill.
Right. There will still be no language to see. Reid will introduce a shell bill simply to get the parliamentary wheels in motion.
According to Senate rules, the cloture vote Reid wants can come no sooner than 30 hours after he has introduced his shell bill, as early as Friday. Sixty votes will be required.
This is the first and very important choke point to stop the Senate's health-care bill from proceeding....
Continue reading my column today, "Pro-life need-to-knows on health care in Senate," at WorldNetDaily.com.
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