by Hans Johnson

In the book Bella’s Gift: How One Little Girl Transformed Our Family and Inspired a Nation, to be released today, former Senator Rick Santorum and his wife Karen relate the many fears and joys surrounding the birth of their youngest child, Isabella.

Told by doctors that her condition, Trisomy 18, was “incompatible with life,” Santorum, the noted staunch pro-life advocate, willfully detached himself  from her emotionally, thinking it would hurt less when he lost her. But after pulling through a crisis when she was only a few months old, he realized how wrong he had been.

“Bella is this little love sink. She loves to be loved, and it is so joyful when you give it to her, and she gives it right back, and that just turns me into mush.”

The Santorums were interviewed by George Stephanopolus for ABC’s This Week:

[youtube]http://youtu.be/bH0WqIkbaNY[/youtube]

The entire Santorum family appeared with Greta Van Susteren on FNC’s On the Record.

Email dailyvid@jillstanek.com with your video suggestions.

[HT:Kelli; photo from The Washington Post ]

by Kelli

If House Bill 124 passes, women in Missouri must watch a documentary created by the state health department with information about abortion 72 hours before they can access the procedure.

“Women already have to wait three days after a first consultation to get their procedure done,” said Rep. Stacey Newman to KOMU (Channel 8). “This is just another barrier between a woman and her ability to receive a legal medical procedure. It’s unnecessary and does nothing to help women and women’s health.”

~ Lindsay Toler, Riverfront Times, February 4

Note: “Mansplaining” is defined as “to explain something to someone, typically a man to woman, in a manner regarded as condescending or patronizing” but also refers to the idea that a man is trying to explain something a woman already knows more about than he does.

[Photo via thinkprogress.org]

by Kelli

Dads are irreplaceable. They are important. Kudos to Dove for creating an ad that celebrates the greatness of involved fathers. On their YouTube page, they write:

90% of men around the world say that their caring side is part of their masculinity and strength. Let’s acknowledge the caring side of men and celebrate their #RealStrength as a true sign of masculinity.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/QoqWo3SJ73c[/youtube]

Email dailyvid@jillstanek.com with your video suggestions.

Per Gallup, February 9:

In 2015, 34% of Americans say they are satisfied with current U.S. abortion policies. This is the lowest percentage since Gallup first asked the question in 2001.

Gallup determined Republicans were the most dissatisfied political group, and they want stricter rather than less strict laws:

One factor contributing to the drop in satisfaction with abortion policies is significantly lower satisfaction among Republicans since 2012. From January 2001 to January 2008, after the election of Republican George W. Bush… at least 39% of Republicans each year said they were satisfied with the nation’s abortion policies….

However, since 2012, with Democratic President Barack Obama in office, no more than 29% of Republicans have been satisfied with the nation’s abortion policies. And Republicans’ satisfaction is particularly low this year, at 21%, an 8% decline from a year ago.

[O]f those who are dissatisfied, twice as many prefer stricter rather than less strict laws: 24% want stricter laws, while 12% want current abortion laws to be less strict….

At the same time, no meaningful changes have occurred in Democrats’ and political independents’ views on these questions since Obama became president.

Interestingly, this poll was taken before the 20-week abortion ban debacle in the House. I expect dissatisfaction now is even higher.

[tweet_box]Gallup: Americans want stricter #abortion laws. #prolife @GOPLeader @RepReneeEllmers #theyfeelpain[/tweet_box]

Also interesting is that despite all the feminist hang-wringing, Democrats basically want the status quo, and Independents are leaning slightly toward wanting stricter laws.

How does the Democrat/feminist 2012-14 “war on women” meme fit in here? All that can be said is it certainly didn’t help them.

by Carder

But in our race to find heroes and villains, we fall victim to a common and dangerous error: treating the event as entirely a matter of free choice made by independent individuals guided only by their own moral compass. There is no need for context. And we certainly don’t want to talk about the social structures that might make the mother’s choice predictable and even understandable.

Buried in the story is the fact that the mother is a native Armenian, and the father is from New Zealand. In other words, the mother is from a country where doctors and family members routinely assume that a disabled child should not and cannot be kept at home.

Even worse: throughout the post-Soviet world, there are virtually no systems in place for providing even a minimal amount of useful information, let alone support, to a mother who has just given birth to a DS (Down Syndrome) baby.

~ Eliot Borenstein explaining the possible reason behind a mother threatening to divorce her husband if he kept their newborn Down Syndrome baby, Huffington Post, February 6

Good morning, and Happy Sunday! Here were my top five favorite political cartoons this week. Be sure to vote for your fav in the poll at the bottom of this post!

by Steve Kelley at GoComics.com…

 by Henry Payne at Townhall.com…

 a twofer by Glenn McCoy at Townhall.com…

 by Chip Bok at Townhall.com…

Then the king will say to those on his right, “Come, my Father has blessed you! Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you took me into your home. I needed clothes, and you gave me something to wear. I was sick, and you took care of me. I was in prison, and you visited me.”

Then the people who have God’s approval will reply to him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you or see you thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you as a stranger and take you into our homes or see you in need of clothes and give you something to wear? When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?”

The king will answer them, “I can guarantee this truth: Whatever you did for one of my brothers or sisters, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did for me.”

~ Matthew 25:34-40, God’s Word translation

It’s that time already. So I have a new poll question up. Good time to get an initial sense:

Which Republican would you like to see run for president in 2016?

Here were the results of my last poll regarding religious preferences in marriage partners (click to enlarge):

Apparently, there are apparently no Buddhists in the bunch – a lot of Catholics and Evangelicals, no surprise. Am a bit surprised at the percentage of atheists, “I don’t care’s,” and liberal Christians among us, all of whom I welcome.

Vote in the poll on the right side of the home page. As always, make comments to either the previous or current poll here, not on the poll site.