David Frye - Helping Us Laugh Our Way Through President Nixon's Administration

Much as I love Rich Little, there was 1 impersonator that made surviving the late 60s & early 70s a lot more fun-ier David Frye. His comedy albums are classics with his playing almost all the characters.

He started out in the LBJ administration, but he reached his peak under Nixon. He was nonpartisan in his humor. Nixon & LBJ, Humphrey & Bill Buckley, Truman Capote & Billy Graham, Muhammed Ali & Howard Cossell, & many many others were skillfully captured by his talents.

In his 1st album that came out in 69 he dealt with the transition from LBJ to Nixon. 1 of my favorite bits on the album was this (all the male voices were done by Frye) scene set shortly after the 68 election. The White House doorbell rings & JBJ answers.

JOHNSON [doorbell] "I'll get it,

Lady Bird! Who's there?"

NIXON "It's Dick and Pat."

JOHNSON [shouting back information] "It's Pick 'n Pat!"

NIXON "No, it's Dick and Pat: The President Elect...and Mrs. Elect."

Nixon goes on to explain he is there to tour the White House. We find out that Nixon never went above the 1st floor & that VP Humphrey runs the White House elevator. (Listen to whole bit & the rest of his 1st 2 albums here.)

Probably my favorite album was Richard Nixon: a Fantasy. Unlike most of his albums that were collections of bits, this 1 was a 30s crime movie style narative of the Watergate saga in the days before Nixon actually resigned. I won't give the entire storyline away. It included Nixon going to the Godfather for help, Nixon being tried & convicted by some evidence that was uniquely Nixonesque in its source. Nixon ends up in prison & eventually attempts an escape. You can listen to the entire album here. IMHO it still holds up after all these years.

While he did continue after Nixon left office he was never able to reach the same heights. But his humor more than anything will define that era for me.
David Frye passed away last week in Las Vegas on 24 January at age 76.

Asking For Your 4th Amendment Rights Is Now a Terrorist Act

Apparently the Obama administration thinks that even letting people know what it says (albeit in this case in a slightly unique way) is now a terrorist act. So are they saying the Constitution is a terrorist document? I can just imagine what they would do to John & Sam Adams, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington etc for their actions before & during the War for Independence if they were arround today..

I like the idea of him exercising his 1st Amendment right to free speech & letting people know that much (most?) of what the TSA is doing these days in the name of security is neither improving our security or Constitutional for that matter. Granted I would have worn at least 1 piece of the 4th Amendment undewear out there instead of the method he opted for. But the point remains the same.

& if they got upset about the 4th Amendment being brought up, what would they say if Ben Franklin suddenly came back to life & tried to go through airport security wearing a shirt with the text of the 1st & $th Amendments & 1 of his most famous quotes "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."* on it?

First and Fourth Amendments arrested
By Nat Hentoff

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/ At the command of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, I have often written about the need for students to understand why they are Americans -- so they can act as informed citizens. This is the inspirational story of 21-year-old architecture student Aaron Tobey, who was outraged at the violation of his civil liberties by the Transportation Security Authority's imposition of whole-body imaging scanning and patdowns of our private parts at airports.
On Dec. 30, waiting in line at Richmond (Virginia) International Airport, Tobey, determined "to start a dialogue" about the crucial importance of the First and Fourth Amendments to our constitutional liberties, removed his shirt as the screening began in order to show that he had written on his chest the core of the Fourth Amendment: "The right of the people to be secure … against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated."
Immediately arrested and handcuffed, this young, insistent constitutionalist was interrogated for 90 minutes by security agencies, including, of course, the FBI's Joint Task Force on Terrorism.
Although at no time did this disciple of James Madison interfere with or resist security procedures, he was charged with disorderly conduct, a class one misdemeanor that brings with it up to 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine. Following his grim interview with the FBI and a federal marshal, Tobey told his father, Robert Tobey, also a constitutionalist, "They accused me of being a terrorist!"
Startled at being stripped of the First and Fourth Amendment, and brought to court for "disorderly conduct," he wondered whether this official "logic will be applied beyond airports."
As I have been asking during the administrations of George W. Bush and Barack Obama, there follows a logical further question: "Is this still America?"
I first heard that the First and Fourth Amendments had been busted from John Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute (Charlottesville, Va.), whom I have called the Tom Paine of our time as he continually discloses violations of our founding document in weekly commentaries carried by daily and weekly newspapers, as well as on the web and on radio stations around the country. There are also Whitehead weekly video blogs, distributed through YouTube.
I have known -- and learned from -- John Whitehead for many years and have reported on the abundant legal assistance he has provided at no charge to Americans whose constitutional rights have been ambushed. I have a collection of these cases, which ought to be in law school libraries. In immediately coming to the defense of this college student who dared to wear the Fourth Amendment on his chest, the Rutherford Institute was joined by criminal defense attorney Steve Benjamin in Richmond, who has been appearing in court for the allegedly disorderly protestor Aaron Tobey.
As reported in "The Rutherford Institute News" (Rutherford.org), Steve Benjamin makes the penetrating point that "it was ironic that officials arrested a person they wanted to strip search for taking off his clothes."
If this had had happened years ago, I would have asked for a comment from a professor of constitutional law at the University of Chicago, about whom I'd heard good things when I was in that city speaking before the Society of Professional Journalists. His name, Barack Obama, was new to me. I'd sure like to hear what he has to say now from the White House about this out-of-step student. To encourage the return of badly needed civics classes to our public schools, do you think the president might award Aaron Tobey the Liberty Medal?
Sorry, I was only dreaming.
As Aaron Tobey and his attorney, Steve Benjamin, came into Henrico County General Court on Monday, Jan. 11, they found that the prosecutor, Wade Kiser, was telling Judge Archer Yeatts III that he was dropping the disorderly conduct charges against Aaron Tobey.
As reporter Frank Green of the Richmond-Times Dispatch reported (Jan. 11, 2001): Prosecutor Kizer "said outside the courtroom that he did not believe Tobey's behavior rose to that required to be in violation of the disorderly conduct law. 'He was looking for attention, and he got it.'"
Tobey says he will actively display the Fourth Amendment again.
There are prosecutors, as I've found in covering other court cases, who actually are committed to doing justice more than racking up convictions. And one of the hopeful elements of this case is the discovery of one of them. Elsewhere, as I've also learned on the justice beat, there are other prosecutors who would have heartily pursued the charges against this strange character who wore the Constitution not only in his heart but also on his chest.
In John Whitehead's new paperback book, "The Freedom Wars: What You Can Do To Preserve Your Rights" (TRI press.www. Rutherford.org), copies of which I've ordered for my children and grandchildren, he quotes actor and civics education activist Richard Dreyfuss ("The Bill Maher Show," Nov. 26, 2006):
"Unless we teach our kids the ideas that make America a miracle of government, it will go away in their lifetimes, and we will be a fable. We must find the time and creativity to teach civics in school. If we don't, we will lose it to fundamentalists of every stripe and to stupidity and the darkness."
In the interest of full disclosure, I was stunned to see "The Freedom Wars" dedicated to me ("freedom fighter and warrior journalist"). But I suggest that in future editions, John should place a dedication to Aaron Tobey on the front page, right after the subhead: "What You Can Do To Preserve Your Rights." Adam personifies what Samuel Adams meant: "It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds."

____________
* OK, I know there is some debate about where it actually originated. But that is besides the point for this discussion. Franklin did use the quote.

Abortion Video Shows Reality Behind Abortion Mill Claims

CAUTION: THE VIDEO BELOW CONTAINS VERY GRAPHIC IMAGES OF ABORTION

A couple of years ago Northland Family Planning Centers, a late-term abortion chain of 3 mills in Michigan came up with this video that tried to make it sound like they were on the side of the angels. IMHO the speaker was very scary & fights the description of Satan appearing as an angel of light. Recently The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform took the video & juxtaposed it with graphic pictures of what really happens during an abortion. In this case a picture is worth way more than the thousands of words pro-aborts use to justify their claims.

CBR has titles this video “The Most Shocking (graphic imagery), Four-Minute, Abortion Debate You Will Ever See". They are absolutely right. As I pointed out above, the pictures of an abortion are very graphic. & very disturbing. If you are easily disturbed, do not watch.

H/T: Jill Stanek (Video: The most shocking 4-minute abortion debate you will ever see)

Muslim Scholars To Papa Benedetto: "Butt Out"

In a recent address to diplomats, Papa Benedetto brought up the 31 December 2010 bomb attack on the Coptic church in Alexandria. He said the bombing was a sign of “the urgent need for the governments of the region to adopt, in spite of difficulties and dangers, effective measures for the protection of religious minorities”. Sounds to me like the Pope was simply doing what he should as the head of the Catholic Church to speak out in defense of fellow Christians.

The next day the Egyptian government recalled its ambassador to the Vatican, bringing her back to Cairo “for consultation”. Then Sheik Ahmad el-Tayeb, president of al-Azhar University in Cairo, & members of the Islamic Research Academy announced they are suspending all dialogue with the Vatican to protest those remarks about anti-Christian violence in Egypt. Sheik el-Tayeb had previously criticised the Pope’s remarks as “unacceptable interference in Egypt’s affairs.”

This reaction by Egypt & the scholors raises some questions. Like "Why should they be upset that Papa Benedetto said what he did?"

& "Aren't they being a bit hypocritical since anything that happens to any Muslim anywhere in the world is open to be criticised by Muslim scholars?" "They can do it, but the Pope can't?"

Are these scholars saying that they really don't want an honest dialogue? That, as Dr. William Oddie says in the article linked to below, dialogue with them is a waste of time?

That article mentions a recent fatwa that may answer what is really going on. Dr Imad Mustafa, a colleague of Sheik Ahmad el-Tayeb at the al-Azhar University, said “Two schools [of Islamic jurisprudence] have ruled that offensive jihad is permissible in order to secure Islam’s border, to extend God’s religion to people in cases where the governments do not allow it, such as the Pharaoh did with the children of Israel, and to remove every religion but Islam from the Arabian peninsula.”

Is Sheik Ahmad el-Tayeb saying he agrees with this fatwa & approves of the violence done against the Coptic Church? That they should be driven out along with all other Christians & Jews? It sure seems to me that it could be taken that way.

Never mind that the Coptic Orthodox Church traces its roots back to the Church of Alexandria established by St Mark the evangelist in the middle of the 1st century (approximately AD 42). The Catholic Coptic Church & the Melkite Greek Catholic Church also trace their roots back to St. Mark's work as well. Mustafa is saying that fact doesn't matter. Islam trumps all, including human rights & history.

What is scary is another part of that same fatwa. Mustafa said “Then there is another type of fighting against the non- Muslims known as offensive jihad... which is to pursue the infidels into their own land without any aggression [on their part]..." Basicly, what a supposed mainline cleric has said, is that the actions of groups like al-Qaida is main stream Muslim behavior not out there on the fringe. It doesn't mean that most Muslims will act on this stance. What it does mean is that radical groups now have mainstream support for their most extreme, aggressive behavior. & that doesn't bode well for a reduction of violence in the near future. & not just in the Middle East.

This can be taken to be the OK to see a return to the 7th Century style wars of conquest by the Muslims as well.

It also means that many of those who are saying the violent faction is on the fringe have to face the fact that they are wrong. Mustafa is anything but a part of the fringe. Ditto with el-Tayeb.

Sources: Top Muslim scholars announce boycott of dialogue with Vatican
‘Top Muslim scholars’ seem to be telling us that dialogue with them is a waste of time

Rep. James Lankford: "The Right to Life is Self-Evident"

He asks some questions the pro-aborts don't want asked.

I May Not Agree With Many of Freud's Theories But He Did Get a Few Things Right

Source: Liberal Hostility to Second Amendment Explained

Planned Parenthood, Making It Easier for Minority Women to Be Lured Into Their Abortion Web

IMHO this is another example of how Planned Parenthood is operating as a business that is selling 1 product, abortions. & doing what it can to reach its target group, poor minority women. The fact that over 50% of the abortions they do involve blacks & hispanics is more evidence that they are targeting minorities. Eliminating minority children & poor children, fullfilling Margaret Sanger's evil eugenics dream in a way that would make her proud.

Planned Parenthood testing national call center; screening funding to abort babies of poor women

Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington (PPMW) has found a better way to lure women and teens into its abortion facility. It is the first Planned Parenthood affiliate to join a call center operated by Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA). The call center schedules appointments for abortions and other Planned Parenthood fare, and has reportedly increased business while decreasing no-show rates by 20 percent, through its "compassionate" and efficient handling of inquiries.

Facilitating its agenda of targeting poor minorities, a recent newsletter from PPMW says, "The call center specialists can handle calls in English and Spanish, make appointments for both abortion and family planning visits, and screen patients for Justice Funds (funds used to support low-income women seeking abortion services)."

Illustrating the effectiveness of Planned Parenthood's targeting of poor minorities, a recent report from Planned Parenthood's Guttmacher Institute entitled "Facts on Induced Abortion in the United States" says Hispanic women now account for 25 percent of all abortions, while black women account for 30 percent of all abortions. The report also says that 42 percent of all women falling victim to abortion "have incomes below 100% of the federal poverty level ($10,830 for a single woman with no children)." These women who feel so trapped by their financial situation are being sold abortions rather than being given the help they need.

PPFA continues to find more ways to exploit internet technology to drive more women and teens to their abortion centers. "Online chats and live text messaging are two promising new means by which they can ask questions of health care professionals and make appointments," the PPMW newsletter said.

Our tax dollars should not be used to help Planned Parenthood lure poor minority women into its web of deception and abortion. Please contact your legislators today and insist that Planned Parenthood be defunded!

You can visit the Stop Planned Parenthood website (source of this article) for details on defeating public funding of Planned Parenthood. In addition, read your local newspaper and watch Planned Parenthood's website to see which local businesses are sponsoring its events. Contact the owners of those companies and let them know in a very polite way that you are extremely offended that they aid and abet the nation's largest abortion chain, and that you and your friends will no longer be doing business with them unless they withdraw that support.

The 7 Sorrows & 7 Joys of San Giuseppe Devotion

Today marks the traditional start of the 7 Sorrows & 7 Joys of St. Joseph devotion. Like I said last year in my post about the devotion, it can be done any time of year, but traditionally it is done on the 7 Sundays before the Feast of St. Joseph on 19 March every year. In addition, on each of these 7 Sundays it is customary to receive Holy Communion in honor of San Giueseppe as well.

1 of the earliest mentions of San Giuseppe's sorrows & joys is found in the writings of St. John Chrysostom. St. Teresa of Avila helped spread devotion to St. Joseph. The devotion was actually started by 2 Franciscan priests. The ship they were on was wrecked off the coast of Flanders. Clinging to a plank, St. Joseph appeared & rescued them. When they got to shore they asked him who he was. San Giuseppe replied '"I am Joseph, and I desire you to honor my seven sorrows and seven joys." He went on to ask them to daily to recite the Our Father and Hail Mary seven times. The traditional form of the devotion as it is now practiced was composed by Ven. Januarius Sarnelli in the 1st half of the 1700s.

1 of the beauties of this devotion is its Scriptural basis. It starts with the Scripture that each sorrow & coresponding joy is based on. It goes on to include a prayer based on each pair & ends with an Our Father, Hail Mary & Glory Be.

Last year I talked about praying this devotion in part as a way of asking St. Joseph's intercession for an end to abortion. Also to ask that he would bless the efforts of those Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers that provide an alternative to abortion. Finally, that he would help those fathers who lost a child to abortion to find repentance & forgiveness (if they willingly participated) & healing from the emotional damage (whether the father willingly participated or not).

I firmly believe that San Giuseppe's role in protecting Jesus from Herod shows us how God wants to continue working through him to help us as we battle the "culture of death" & build the "Culture of Life". San Giuseppe is often known as the silent saint because Scripture doesn't record a single word he said. But as the old saying goes, actions speak louder than words. & his actions we read about in Scripture speak loud & clear about what God sees as the ideal of fatherhood. Let us not ignore that lesson.

You can find the devotion here or here.

More On DBQ Planned Parenthood's Cut in Hours

The more I watch how Planned Parenthood, the more I am convinced that the can only tell the truth when they absolutely have to. & even then, you can be sure it will be surrounded by lies & half truths.

On 18 January 2011 I put up a post celebrating the cut back in hours of the local PP site. I also pointed out my concerns about this making it all the more certain they would bring in telemed abortions because they were definitely losing money.

The new hours went ino effect on 17 January. However there wasn't an article about the reduced hours in the DBQ paper until last Saturday. & with all the March for Life coverage, etc, I haven't been able to get to it until now.

Interestingly enough the TH article had them cutting back to 17 hours rather than the 16 the sign they put up at the site said. The TH had them open 9-5 on Wednesdays instead of the 10-5 the sign they put up said. I have to wonder who slipped up. Rhetorical question of course, since it was PP that did since they put the sign up & an e-mail sent out by PPH CEO Jill June was mentioned in the article. So PP's communications dropped the ball one way or another. In the e-mail she gave the following explanation for the changes: "Any changes that are made or will be made to the Dubuque Health Center schedule are due to the needs of our clients and the management practices of Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, not in response to anything done by political organizations who oppose access to birth control."

The honest part of this statement is that the changes are due to management practices & not just those of PPH. Planned Parenthood has made it more than clear that their affiliates are to up the bottom line, & increase the number of abortions being done to do so. & in Iowa that means expanding the locations that offer telemed abortions. So, she may not say it, but it is clear that the direction they are heading is adding that "service" to what the DBQ site offers.

Notice how she tries to label DBQ Co Right to Life as a political organization. She knows full well DCRTL isn't. & she very carefully avoids the word abortion as well.

As for the needs of the clients? Well, despite her claims to the contrary, it isn't their needs, but the lack of them that brought about this cutback in hours. She talks about expanding the number of hours commited to exams has been expanded: "Here in Iowa, only 50 percent of women who need family planning are able to access care. Planned Parenthood recognizes their need. We are increasing our exam hours to better serve women, men and families in Dubuque."

1st of all, you notice that she doesn't tell us exactly how many hours were committed to exams in the past or how many more were added. She just makes a nice vague claim that has nothing to back it up.

Then there is the way she defines family planning as health care. It is as if it were simply a sickness or an illness to be treated. As for the 50% claim, well, that raises more than a few questions that they don't want to be asked.

PP is always talking about how rural areas are especially lacking in this & that women can't get to big cities for the care needed. Yet most of their sites are in the larger communities. So why aren't they opening more sites in rural areas? But when the Monticello site didn't make a go, they closed it claiming these same women were going to the CR or DBQ sites. Talk about trying to have it both ways.

That Monticello site was originally openned because a "University of Iowa study that showed Jones County in great need of reproductive healthcare". Then, when the so-called need didn't materialize they closed the site using the excuse I already mentioned. I am left questioning the accuracy of that study in the 1st place. Or at least the accuracy of PP's claims about what was in the study. Speaking of studies, in their 2010 annual report Jill June & PPH bragged about a study done by Iowa for them in order "to estimate the prevalence of intimate partner violence among women seeking elective abortions and ascertain their baseline characteristics, needs and resources." Interestingly enough, they make no mention of the results of that study in the report, just that it was published online in the American Journal of Public Health. True, it is found in the August 2010 issue. But what they fail to mention is that to access the info you have to be a subscriber to the American Journal of Public Health Online. So the average person is unable to get any real info, just the abstract.

1 line in that abstract is very interesting. It says "Abortion patients experience high intimate partner violence rates, indicating the need for targeted screening and community-based referral." Hmmm!!!!! Maybe PP doesn't want the results to get out because it will show that high rate is because the men are using violence to force women to have an abortion when, if left to themselves, those women would NOT choose to have an abortion. & we can have anything undermine the myth that abortion is simply a woman's choice.

So, maybe the original study done by PPECI to open the Monticello clinic in the 1st place didn't say what PP claims it said either. Gee, another lie from PP??? Probably! & when they start telemed abortions here, you can be sure they will say that their research showed a need for that as well.

TH article: Planned Parenthood cuts hours

Charlie Callas - RIP - 27 January 2011

Not so well known these days by the younger generation. But in the 60s & 70s he was all over the TV with Dean Martin, Andy Williams & on the Tonite Show.



He also was in many movies, including several Mel Brooks movies. His ability to parody is well captured in this take off on The Godfather.

Then there is this roast of Frank Sinatra:



Not all his bits were impersonating Italianos. He did plenty of other routines, He often made fun of the acts that appeared on shows like Ed Sullivan.



His big break came when he did this hunting routine on Merv Griffin that left Jerry Lewis hysterical & almost falling out of his chair.

But what most people don't realize is that he got his start as a drummer playing in groups with Tommy Dorsey, Claude Thornhill, & Buddy Rich. Here he is playing drums in the Grand Canyon Suite Finale with the Hamilton Symphony Orchestra, Canada.

In Memoriam - Challenger Shuttle Crew

25 years ago today @ 10:39 a.m. CST that the unthinkable happenned. As the result of an O-ring failure Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, leading to the deaths of its seven crew members.

CAPCOM Richard Covey telling Challenger that they were "go at throttle up", & Commander Dick Scobee's response, "Roger, go at throttle up," followed by this are indellibly etched on my mind.

I knew the shuttle was due to be launched this day after several delays. But like everyone else, I had come to take the launches for granted, like a plane taking off for its flight. Yes, 3 men died in the Apollo 1(Apollo/Saturn-204) fire, but that was during a pre-launch test on the launch pad. & the Apollo XIII explosion had a happy ending. So, like everyone else, I pretty much thought this would be another routine launch. Unfortunately, things didn't turn out that way.

Plenty was said back then about the mistakes made that could have avoided this disaster. & I don't think that things have been completely learned even now. They never do. What we need to do is remember them as the brave explorers they were. Space exploration still isn't as routine as travel arround the Earth has become. It probably won't be in our lifetimes. & even now, we can't eliminate all the dangers of travel on Earth. Nor will we be able to when space flight truly is routine. The best way to honor their memory is to continue to encourage the private sector to step in as has always been the case in the past & encourage them to take the lead.

STS-51-L crew:

(front row) Michael J. Smith, Dick Scobee, Ronald McNair;

(back row) Ellison Onizuka, Christa McAuliffe, Gregory Jarvis, Judith Resnik.

"We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and 'slipped the surly bonds of Earth' to 'touch the face of God'" - President Ronald Reagan quoting from the poem "High Flight" by John Gillespie Magee, Jr.

MARIE STOPES INTERNATIONAL: EXPOSED

by Brian Clowes
Published by Human Life International

Caution: This review includes some items from the book about Maries Stopes International that is not suitable for youngsters let alone anyone else, but you need to be aware of what MSI is up to. As the book says, the material is truly disgusting & will scandalize the easily offended. I will have a 2nd warning at the point I get to that section of the book.

Earlier this week I received a package from Human Life International (HLI) that contained a newly published book about Marie Stopes International (MSI). In 2008 I 1st learned of MSI from reading some articles put out by HLI. At the time I wrote a post about MSI called "Meet Margaret Sanger's British Doppelgänger, Marie Stopes". I looked at the parallels between Sanger & Stopes as well as how Planned Parenthood & MSI work to carry out their agendas. The two groups could well be called twins. What I have seen since has convinced me I was right. Until now. After reading this book I am about to say something I never thought I would say. Some of what MSI is doing makes PP look like they are saintly in comparison. Yup. PP is the good twin in comparison. In comparison. So if PP is evil, & it is, what does that say about MSI?

Well, that is where this 36 page book comes in as a valuable resource to learn more about Marie Carmichael Stopes & the organization that came out of her work.

The 1st part of the book gives a short biography of Stopes. (Anyone who knows Sanger's life story will recognize quite a few similarities.) She was 1 of the early leaders in the British Eugenics movement. In 1921 she founded the Society for Constructive Birth and Racial Progress (CBC). She was a big fan of Adolph Hitler & his eugenics program. In 1952 she helped found the International Planned Parent Federation. & this is only a part of her pedegree mentioned in the book.

MSI was started in 1976 & operates out of London. It is the 2nd largest provider of "reproductive health services" in the UK. The National Health Service is #1. & like PP it makes big bucks from abortions. MSI charges £440 ($699.768) for an RU-486 abortion & up to £1,720 ($2,735.46) for a surgical abortion which is allowed up to 24 weeks in the UK. Note: these are the 2010 rates in the book, according to the MS website, the 2011 pricers have gone up. These are for private clients. MSI abortions are also covered by the National Health Service when refered by a GP. (I wonder if they follow PP's example & overbill the government?)

There is a push in the UK to lower the late term abortion limit to 20 weeks. Naturally MSI is opposed. Their reason: “We must recognise that there will always be a need for later terminations, as a proportion of women, through no fault of their own, either do not recognise symptoms of pregnancy or have no reason to suspect that they could possibly be pregnant at all if, for example, they are regularly using a modern form of contraception.” (Liz Davies, Director of UK & Western Europe Operations) 24 weeks means the woman is 5-1/2 months along. While there are a few women that may not realize they are pregnant until that far along, I doubt it is the problem they claim it is. Also not how they use the term "symptoms" to make it sound like pregnancy is a disease or illness.

MSI pushes for abortions at any time during the 9 months of pregnancy. & of course they fight to undermine parental rights as well. Naturally MSI has not met a form of sex, gay or straight, it doesn't like.

MSI is required by law to provide counseling before abortions. As the book points out, they don't exactly give accurate info, just what is needed to push women to have an abortion. & it charges £80 ($127.23) whether the consultation is by phone or face to face.

& this is just what they do in the UK.

Naturally, like the IPPF, they are pushing for making abortion available at any time any place in the world. In 2007 they had 477 sitew world wide. Not surprizing, about 90% of their clinics are found in developing countries. These include 25 in Kenya, 48 in Pakistan & over 100 in Bangladesh. They are also big proponants of medical abortions using RU-486. As of 2007 they were dispensing the drug in 28 Asian & African countries. As the book points out, since this drug can be dispensed without a clinic, they can use it to get arround pro-life governments.

Of course they like to say they are just giving the people what they want. But the truth is, these "elites" are promoting their own agenda. In 2007 MSI launched an on-line petition drive. At the end of the drive in 2008 they had a total of 650 signatures. Compare this to a drive launched at the same time by C-FAM. In 2 weeks they had 26,000 signatures. & on the same day MSI presented its petition to the UN, petions signed by 54 million families called for extending the Universal Declaration on Human Rights to the preborn.

MSI talks about legal abortions. But the book documents how they provide illegal abortions all over the world.

The book looks in depth at how MSI is working hand in hand with the Chinese government to impliment their 1 child policy. & profit from it as well.

& of course, MSI sees the Catholic Church as its #1 foe.

OK, here is where I have to talk about some of the most DISGUSTING things MSI is doing.

& they are disgusting. In fact, as the book says, "MSI makes Planned Parenthood look like a bunch of blushing virgins." Or like I said above, saintly. Anyone who is familiar with PP knows that they have set the bar pretty high on promoting things that are sick & twisted.

I join Brian Clowes in taking the lead from Dave Barry when I say "I swear I am not making any of this up!" & I will limit myself to just a couple of the activities promoted by MSI.

I have to start by saying that never in my wildest teen-aged fantasies could I have come up with the activities I read in the next few pages.

I won't go into all the gory details about the 2006 UK "Masturbate-a-Thon" that was a fund raiser of which MSI was 1 of the 2 benificiaries (an HIV & sexual health charity was the other). 1 of the prizes was for the "Most Orgasms". They had monitors to determine this was well as to keep track of the time the men spent at it. The Brit who won went for 6-1/2 hours. I don't know who was sicker, the participants or the people (or should I say voyeurs?) that did the timekeeping & counting.

Then there are the various ways they promote their Vixen condoms. You will have to read the book to find out about the puppet shows.

But what probably got me the most is the animated commercial described. Even the title is pure porn. "Pinky Bits the Sex Fairy Meets the Big 'O'" The title alone should give you an idea of the story line. Once more I must precede what lies ahead with a caution of the adult content. The story is about how Pinky can't get her "box" to work properly until she meets up with the Big O, who "brought her box to life". The moral of the mini-porn movie is "With Vixen, Women Always Come First." When I read the descrition of the "ad" I couldn't help but think of the porn movie "Deep Throat" (& no I never saw it even though I am familiar with the story line) in that Pinky & Linda Lovelace had a similar problem.

I suspect that nothing I read in the 1986 Attorney General's Commission on Pornography (aka The Meese Report) could compete with what MSI is doing to sell their depraved lifestyle agenda. By the time I got done reading about the various things they aimed at "liberated women" to help them with their sex life, I asked myself, wasn't thought the goal of the feminist movement was to ensure women were treated with respect & not as sex objects? Well, MSI has done their part to ensure that that is all women are seen as.

Like I said, what I shared was only a part of the activities aimed at women documented in the book. Of course they promote vasectomies for men. In 2007 they offered men a Valentine's vasectomy special.

The book does end with some ways to battle MSI as well with other organizations promoting the "culture of death". (Supporting pro-life groups like HLI is 1 of them.)

If you made it this far, congratulations. I can tell you I was in shock for a quite a while after reading the book. I admit that I wasn't a saint in my younger days, but as I said, never in my wildest teenaged fantasies could I come up with some of the things MSI did. Even now as I reviewed the book & reread some of the things so I could share them, I feel like I could go for a long, long shower to get cleaned up. & I thought I felt dirty after going on PP's website to do research about them.

No the book is not for everyone. Some people cannot handle even the edited details found in it. That having been said, if you have the stomach for it, I highly reccomend you get the book. It is a valuable resource that will help you to battle MSI, PP & the rest of the "culture of death". The book is available at HLI for $5 a copy plus shipping.

I received my copy because of past support to help with the production of the book. They also included a pamphlet on the teachings of the Catholic Church as well as many common prayers. The 2nd enclosure was a small aid to help you make a good confession. Those items are also available from HLI.

I have to conclude by saying I applaud Brian Clowes & those who helped with his research for wading through the cesspool that is MSI. I know from experience that it is not an easy job to research subjects like this. Given the size of the book, I realize this is only an overview of MSI. I dread to think what else there is that they weren't able to fit it. May God bless them for their efforts in doing the research.

Philosophical thought for the Day - 28 January 2011

EAT BEEF

The West Wasn’t Won on Salad

Saw this on a bumper sticker the other day. It originated in a 1990 promotional campaign by the North Dakota Beef Commission. & it is just as true today as then.

More Pictures From The DC March

These are from the blog Domestic Vocation by catholicsoccermom. She had plenty of great pictures but these 3 were my favorites. Follow the link below for more.

Source: Wordless Wednesday: 250,000 Plus & No One Reported It

Tales From The March for Life Frontlines - Pt. 2

Here is the 2nd article written by Jenna Michel with the picture of the rally the TH included in the paper. I will credit the TH for using a picture that gives a more accurate idea of the Pro-life crowd. (Note: The crowd picture was much larger in the print edition.)

Jenna Michel (l), age 17, senior at Bellevue Marquette H.S., one of 7 kids in her family from Bellevue, Iowa traveling with the Tri-State Area Pro-Life delegation.

March for Life impresses area youths

Bellevue teen is amazed to see so many people her age at pro-life rally

A crowd listens to speakers during the March for Life rally on the National Mall in Washington on Monday, which marked the anniversary of the 1973 Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade that cleared the way for legalized abortion.

Attending the March for Life in Washington, D.C., made a strong impression on Jenna Michel, a senior at Bellevue (Iowa) Marquette High School.
Michel said she has always felt strongly about her pro-life beliefs, but she wasn't sure how many people her age felt the same way. She has been reluctant to advertise her beliefs in her hometown.
She said she was surprised to see the number of people at the March for Life, with crowds estimated in the hundreds of thousands. Michel, who is 17 and one of seven children, also was surprised at how many people her age took part in the march.
She said she didn't realize how many young people actively participated in the pro-life movement. Meeting people from all over the country was impressive and very moving, Michel said.
The large contingent from Iowa wears red at the March for Life, so the Iowans stood out strongly in the crowd.
"As we walked, there were people praying the rosary, thousands and thousands of people carrying banners and signs proclaiming their beliefs.
"Two of my favorite signs that I read along the way were, 'You could be killing Superman!' carried by an 8-year-old little boy. Another captivating sign read 'If it's not a baby, then you're not pregnant!'"
There were people of all ages, from babies in strollers to the elderly struggling to make the six-block trek up Constitution Avenue. Equally impressive were the delegations from many different countries and from a wide array of religions all supporting the value of life from conception to natural death, Michel said.
The March for Life was preceded by a rally that lasted about 2 1/2 hours. The March lasted about 1 1/2 hours, ending at the steps of the Supreme Court, where women spoke to the massive crowd proclaiming their loss and sadness for having had an abortion.
"Being a young woman myself, I feel it is important to represent this cause very openly," Michel said. "I feel I have to set an example for other young women my age to realize how precious life is."

Source: March for Life impresses area youths

Tales From The March for Life Frontlines - Pt.1

Yesterday, to the chagrin of the Pro-aborts*, the DBQ TH had 2 articles by students who went to this year's March for Life. This is the 1st article by Dietz Meyer.

8th-grader: Presiding priest praises youth presence

Sunday, Jan. 23, 2011
We left on Saturday evening from Theisen's parking lot with 365 people from the tri-state area traveling on seven buses. I was traveling in a caravan with two buses, a mixture of people ages 8 to 76, including two seminarians, a large group of eighth-graders from Mazzuchelli Catholic Middle School, elementary students, high school students, retired persons, farmers, married couples, parents and chaperones.
The bus ride took 20 hours to arrive in D.C. It was exhausting but pretty fun.
The highlight for today was attending the opening Mass for the National Prayer Vigil for Life. The Mass was at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, a very large and ornate church in D.C. Thousands of Catholics and others from a wide array of faiths attended this Mass -- roughly 10,000 people.
The 2 1/2-hour liturgy began with an impressive procession of more than 1,000 clergy including bishops, cardinals, priests, seminarians, deacons and sisters from all throughout the United States and around the world.
It took 41 minutes for all the clergy to process into the front of the church. The church was filled beyond capacity, and my group found a seat on the floor in a side chapel. The room was filled with many young people who appeared to be college students. There were backpacks everywhere. We sat next to about 25 students from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., in full dress uniform.
I saw several women wearing black or white lace veils over their heads. The crowd was very diverse, but there seemed to be a large amount of young people. In fact, the presiding priest, at one point, stopped his homily and made note of how impressed he was at the large number of young people. He thanked them, and received a long round of applause.
The Mass was long but very interesting. At times the Mass was spoken in different languages, including English, Latin, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese and Swahili. People traveled from all over the country to attend this Mass, many driving through the night and going on very little sleep.
Many were planning on sleeping on the basement floor of the Basilica tonight in preparation for Monday's March for Life in downtown D.C. Iowans stand out in the crowd, as most wear red throughout their pilgrimage. The eighth-graders from Mazzuchelli and all the youth from the tri-state area are wearing purple rubber wristbands that say "Abolish Abortion."
It has been a very long day, and I am looking forward to our day tomorrow, which will include the March For Life, the National Pro-Life Youth Rally and a night tour of the monuments in D.C.
Meyer, 13, is an eighth-grader at Mazzuchelli Catholic Middle School.

* In my 1 post on Blog for Choice day mentioned the other day how I saw vitriol dripping from the pro-aborts comments. Some of the local pro-aborts are on the same page. Their reaction seems to be almost visceral (see definitions 2 & 3). It is like they are on autopilot & will attack no matter what. & never mind the truth. & their hatred shines through.

1 of the pro-aborts had this to say about Meyers piece: ""Another piece of propoganda from the DCRL newlsetter posing as a newspaper. Nice." "DCRL newsletter" is the pro-abort commentators sarcastic nickname for the TH this week because it has had some Pro-life articles. They claim that Planned Parenthood should be getting equal attention despite the fact there was a PP story Saturday & a letter attacking the DBQ pro-lifers. The truth is that they are upset because Right to Life is getting any attention. & their automatic reaction is to attack, put down & spread lies. & to try & stop us from getting any coverage by trying to intimidate the messenger. Never mind that, even locally, the media has been more in their corner, the pro-aborts don't want anyone to even get a glimpse of our side or the truth.

I am sure that the fact that this article was written from the heart of a 13 year old, that is is very positively Catholic, & by the mention of the various languages used to represent those in attendance, anything but a bunch of whites, didn't help the pro-aborts reaction. Esp since the various minority groups reminds people that abortion is disproportionally aimed at minorities & that the real racists are the pro-aborts.

National Abortion Federation - Not So Pure As They Claim

As I mentioned in a couple of posts last week (here & here) I was not at all surprized that the National Abortion Federation didn't turn in Kermit Gosnell. I mentioned the book Lime 5 as a reason why I had the reaction I did. I knew that NAF was mentioned quite a bit in it. Chapter 3 takes a good look at them. However what is important for my purposes is the 25 NAF members mentioned in Chapters 1 & 2. (As an aside Planned Parenthood gets mentioned 8 times & the rest of the stories involve independant abortionist &/or clinics.) Chapter 1 (Safe & Legal) looks at case histories of malpractice by abortionists. Chapter 2 (The Canned Hunt) looks at rape & sexcual assauit in the abortion industry.

Like I said, the book shows the real face of the industry. The book focused mostly on the 70s & 80s because of various factors that made more recent events harder to document. But in the 15 years since the book came out, many of the cases that were just starting to work their way through the system have done so. Hopefully they will be able to do an update sometime now that more is available from the 90s & ealy part of this century.

When the book came out there was an attempt to debunk it. The article mocks Mark Crutcher for claiming that there is a huge cover-up that is "a conspiracy between the abortion industry, state and local governments, doctors, the Center for Disease Control, and of course, the ever popular villains, the media." Given what has come out in the Gosnell case about how NAF & various state & local regulators over the last 30 years did exactly that thing, it sure looks like Crutcher eas right after all. I wonder if Anne Bower who wrote the article would like to retract her attack now that there is all this evidence out there that Crutcher was right & she was wrong?

I suspect that (assuming she is still arround) that she would still deny the facts. Or, like I pointed out in the other posts, she would try & spin the facts like NAF is to cover up the truth once more.

& let's not forget all I have shown over the past few days how the media is aiding & abetting in the cover-up as well.

Of course she doesn't try & deny any of the cases in the book. she knows they are too well documented for her to do so. So she takes another tact. She tries to make it sound like he still didn't prove a thing, despite the facts.

We find her attempt to undermine him in the last paragraph where she says "Mr. Crutcher obviously thinks he has proved this assertion in the pages of Lime 5, but he is sadly deluded. If, after sending out scores of operatives researching for over two years, all he could find to indite the practice of legal abortion is contained in this book, then the real conclusion is, Mr. Crutcher has not made a mountain out of a pebble, but a grain of sand." Of course she conveniently ignores what Crutcher actually says about the case histories in the book. On page 19 he points out that the book is not all inclusive of the cases the research found. As he says "these are only a fraction of the cases we found." & she should have known that is usually how books like this deal with the research. they rarely give all the examples but include a variety of incidents that represent the entire body of them.

Sorry Anne Bower, but the facts will out. & they are proving Mark Crutcher was right all along. You tried, & failed, to make a grain of sand out of a mountain. Your article was nothing but another attempt to spin things to aid & abet in the cover-up of the real face of the abortion industry. It didn't work then. & it is working even less now.

A View From the March

Here are a few more of the pictures Matt K Cassens took at Monday's March for Life. Go the his post 2011 March For Life in Washington DC for more.

1st we see a true patriot:

The next 2 pictures I included because of some comments made in December on a post I put up about Planned Parenthood called This Is Definitely No Mitzvah!!!!! I suspect they would agree with what I said in the post & not the person who made the comments.

Next up is a picture of the few "pro-choice" counterprotestors. I think the person in the middle with the '"Keep Abortion Legal" sign is the same person in the picture from the TH I had in my post on the March. (2011 March for Life & West Coast March)

Yesterday I put up a picture of the Italiano Pro-life group that came over to participate (Voglio Vivere*). Next to them was a group from France. Since I am also 1/4 German & he had a picture of a group from Germany, I am including that as well. The March was truly international in scope.

Like I said, these are only a few of the pictures he put up. Follow the link above to see more.

Voglio Vivere*

* I Want to Live

This is 1 of the pictures that Matt K Cassens took at yesterday's March for Life in DC & put up on his blog. I'll be posting a few more tommorrow. But this 1 was especially dear to my heart because of the representatives of La campagna Voglio Vivere from Italia that was there.

Source: 2011 March For Life in Washington DC

Abortion & Contraception - The Connection

2011 March for Life & West Coast March

With little or no coverage by the Main Stream Media, including FoxNews, the 2 main Pro-life events took place over the past few days. Thank God for EWTN as they provided full coverage of both events. At 1 point Teresa Tomeo interviewed a student from Dyersville. So EWTN even outshined the DBQ TH in their coverage of the event. They buried the story on 6C of today's paper. But they did mention it on the front page under today's TH. The AP picture with it shows the clear bias of the AP It shows a person holding a NOW "Keep Abortion Legal" Sign in front of the pro-lifers. The sign takes up over half of the picture. & the caption says "Anti-abortion and abortion activists stand side by side in front of the U.S. Supreme Court." I am willing to bet that, like always, there were very few pro-aborts there & the picture was taken at the angle it was to cover that up. On the other hand, I am sure they were not happy about the Pro-life signs they had to include as the 3 that are clearly readable all say "FACE IT . . . ABORTION KILLS A PERSON". The ALL signs also have the face of a baby on them.

The Walk for Life West Coast took place in San Francisco on Saturday. The people in charge estimated 40,000 people. On of the local stations, KTVU, put the crowd at an estimated 50,000. The police confirmed tothat it was the largest Walk for Life yet.

The DC March for Life took place on Monday with an estimated 250,000 participants. Like the West Coast event, this is 1 of the largest crowds ever. As always, the DC March was opened & MCed by March for Life organizer Nellie Gray who, at 85, is not slowing down 1 bit in her fight for the unborn.

As for the media coverage, like I said, it was very much lacking. I have searched the websites of the cable & network news organizations. My results are as follows:

ABC News had nothing anywhere that I could find.

CBS News had nothing on the main page. Oprah's newfound sister, yes, the March no. I had to go to the US news page to find this in the list: Abortion Opponents Rally, Target Roe V. Wade. (This is the article the TH buried on 6C) & while it doesn't mention the size of the turnout it does include comments form NARAL head honcho Nancy Keenan. She crtitcized the pro-life politicians for being there (Bet she didn't say the same about Obama's pro-abort statement Monday being wrong.) She called them out of touch & repeated the claim that last year's election was not about abortion, just the economy, despite evidence to the contrary. CBS backed up her claim with a poll CBS took last year. But CBS ignored a 2010 Gallup Poll & recent Fox News Poll that say the USA is now Pro-life (here). & the article clearly shows the pro-abort bias of the AP just like the picture I talked about above did. Terms like "abortion opponants, abortion foes, attacking choice" were used. & the article over all talked very little about the actual rally or the wide variety of groups that were a part of it. Mostly it was about what was going on in Congress & NARAL's comments.

NBC News & MSNBC had nothing either. But it did have link to a story about Planned Parenthood that attacked Live Action as a part of it.

CNN, NADA, NOTHING, ZERO, ZIP But then this should be no surprize given Ted Turner's big pro-abort push lately.

Fox News had nothing about the March, just an article about the abortion debate & an opinion piece about Roe v Wade & Gosnell.

C-SPAN did have some coverage. Since the House was in session it didn't cover it live however it did run it later. & it does have a video of the Rally on its website.

Fox is the 1 that puzzles me. I would have expected them to have had a story. Esp with the fact that their poll showed Pro-life is the direction this country is heading. & the growing numbers at both marches is proof of it.

Beyond that, the rest was as expected. The main stream media is in bed with the abortion industry so it isn't going to do any real coverage that would show the pro-aborts are losing the battle.

As I said at the start, Thank God for EWTN & their willingness to do what the others fail to do in covering these events.

Added 25 January 2011 @ 7:58 pm Here is the picture from the TH I talked about:

Picture source: Groups mark 38th anniversary of Roe v. Wade (As I said, the same story as CBS had a link to.)

Sources & further reading: Record-breaking 50,000 attend Walk for Life West Coast

Walk for Life West Coast Has 50,000 Pro-Life People Oppose Abortion

GOP House Leader at March for Life: permanent ban on taxpayer funding of abortion top priority

5 Cardinals, 39 Bishops, 10,000 faithful pack basilica for Vigil for Life Mass

March for Life Hits Obama, Stopping Tax-Funded Abortions

Mike Pence Blasts Abortion Truce in March for Life Remarks

The False Magesterium of the Theologians

The Wall Street Journal recently published an article that looks at the growing battle between the authentic Magesterium & "an alternative magisterium" to the teaching authority of the bishops that many theologians have been pushing for decades. The article focuses in on the recent battle between Bishop Olmsted & Catholic Health Care West. But it also mentions a little noticed action by Rev. Robert Vasa, bishop of the Diocese of Baker, OR. Last year he ended the church's sponsorship of St. Charles Medical Center in Bend over the hospital's performance of tubal ligations. (Note: It was announced by the Vatican on Monday that Bishop Vasa was named co-adjutor Bishop for the Diocese of Santa Rosa, CA by Papa Benedetto.)

The article (link below) can be effectively summarized in the subtitle used "Administrators shop for theologians to support practices that conflict with church teachings." & that is exactly what many of them have done. The author says that the response of Lloyd H. Dean, president of Catholic Healthcare West to Bishop Olmsted "appeared to suggest that the teaching authority of the Phoenix Bishop was just one more "opinion" on a 'complex matter.'"

Later the article says "in cases like the one at St. Joseph's, the alternative magisterium often trumps the true Magisterium of the church. Catholic colleges and hospital administrators now 'shop' for theologians who will support their decisions."

That is a pretty accurate description of how things are across the nation. I have seen that same thing arround here where the authentic teaching of the Church is just 1 more opinion. & often, not the right 1 either.

Bishop Olmsted has basicly said that cannot stand. "Concluding that 'there can be no tie so to speak in this debate,' Bishop Olmsted said, 'it is my duty as the chief shepherd in the diocese to interpret whether the actions at St. Joseph's meet the criteria of fulfilling the parameters of the moral law as seen in the Ethical and Religious Directives.'"

Bishop Olmsted has, like Bishop Vasa last year & like retired Bishop Martino did a couple years ago in the 2008 election, made it clear that there is only 1 final authority in the diocese, the Bishop. & that the Bishop has a duty to see that the teaching of the authentic Magesterium is taught & upheld in his diocese.

Now, how many more Bishops will follow their lead & start demanding the same of the colleges, hospitals & other institutions in their dioceses that call themselves Catholic? & that also extends to the priests & staff at the parish & diocesan level as well. & lest we forget, the dissident religious as well.

Catholic Hospitals vs. the Bishops

Admitting the Truth About How the Media Covers Abortion

I 1st heard about this article in Fr. Parker's sermon at Mass last Saturday evening at St. Mary's Catholic Church in E DBQ. The theme of the sermon was respect life & he brought up Gosnell & what he did as an example of the evils of abortion. He shared 1 paragraph from the article about the media & how they are covering it. That paragraph said:

"Yet this is not an isolated incident. In fact, it is only the tip of the abortion iceberg. The media is deliberately downplaying the story for one simple reason: There are hundreds of similar abortion clinics across the country. Exposing what takes place in facilities run by the likes of Dr. Gosnell would shock voters into taking decisive action to make abortion illegal. This is why the killing of innocent unborn children is done largely away from public view. It is a creeping, hidden genocide that can continue only if the fiction of abortion being a "medical procedure" is maintained."

Fr. Parker also talked about the book Lime 5 that I have mentioned before. He made it clear that the book wasn't for everyone. He brought the book up to show Gosnell wasn't an exception, just as the article he quoted said.

Fr. Parker started out by pointing out that his sermon was part of his responsibility as a priest to proclaim what the Church taught. That included calling abortion what it was, an intrinsic evil. It also included calling us to speak out for the unborn.

I mention part of what Fr. Parker said because I feel it is important to hilite that there are some priests out there who are not pulling punches.

But my main reason is to talk about the article the quote came from. The article is a commentary by Jeffrey T. Kuhner. The fetal solution looks at the media coverage as well as as the real horror that abortion is. I recomend reading the entire article. he takes a good look at the truth about abortion, modern liberalism & its attempts to destroy modern culture.

I want to point out that he is saying what has been said by me as well as many others about how the media is aiding & abetting the abortion industry. & he pulls no punches about why they do so, telling the truth "would shock voters into taking decisive action to make abortion illegal." & that is something the liberals don't want to happen.

I will mention few other gems I found in the article, again with the recomendation you read the entire article. I have rarely seen an article by a member of the print media that takes this honest of look at his profession as well as the culture that has resulted.

Kuhner rightly calls Gosnell "the Josef Mengele of our time." Later he talks about how liberalism "champions the degradation of the individual, forging what the late Pope John Paul II called the "culture of death." Abortion, birth control and euthanasia - they are the holy trinity of the secular post-Christian left." (emphasis mine) & later he also has a very comment about how abortion clinics "constitute the "gulag archipelago" of liberalism." He doesn't let conservatives off easy either. He makes it clear conservatives "have ceded the culture to the enemy." He does so clearly to urge us on to more action. As he says at the end of the piece "Conscientious Americans must work tirelessly to end this abortion abomination."

Bishop Athanasius Schneider - The Rupture

Link to the talk: THE CHALLENGE OF OPPOSING INTERPRETATIONS

IMHO Bishop Schneider is following in the footsteps of the saintly Bishop who he is named after.

70 Years Old & Still Shining

Today marks the 70th birthday of 1 of my all time favorite musicians, Neil Diamond. His influence on music ranges from the Monkees (I'm A Believer) to Deep Purple (Kentucky Woman) to UB40 (Red, Red Wine). In 1984 he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. & while his 1st record came out in 1962 (w/ Jack Packer as "Neil & Jack") & he released his 1st solo record in 1963, it is only this year that he will finally be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. (Obviously I think he should have been admitted years ago ahead of some that did deserve it but not before him &, IMHO, instead of some that don't belong.) While much of what he has recorded has been his own compositions at times, like He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother, he has covered songs made famous by others. & made them his own. The Movie Album: As Time Goes By is probably exhibit A to back up my claim.

Happily he is still recording & he recently released his latest album Dreams (again mostly covers making my point that he can make anything his own). Here is a video about the making of it:



There is no way I could put all my favorites in this post. He has way too many for me to be able to. So here is a cross section of his work:

















There are so many others I wish I could include, I have left way too many out. But there are 2 I absoulutely must include. The 1st is America, from the remake of The Jazz Singer that he starred in. It is my # 2 all time favorite because of its immigrant theme that ties in to my Italiano heritage. that Here is his performance of it in 2009 with the Boston Pops:



However, my all time favorite Neil Diamond song is 1 that was never released as a single. I Am The Lion was part of the African Trilogy on the 2nd side of his Tap Root Manuscript LP. OK, I can here some people asking "Perché questa canzone?" Well the answer is simple. Back in 1973 I performed this song. I had the complete African Trilogy score with me in choir 1 day & the director saw it. he decided to do it for our concert. & I got the part of the storyteller for this song.

Happy 70th Neil! Time to break out the Crackling Rosé & raise a toast in your honor.

Notice What Cecile Richards Omits to Mention

There are several thing she fails to mention & several things she either twists or totally lies about:




1: Notice that she doesn't tell the whole story about Roe v Wade or Doe v Bolton. 1st she fails to mention that Norma McCorvey, the Jane Roe, has since admitted that she was a pawn used by Sarah Weddington & Linda Coffee (not mentioned by Richards) who were looking for a plaintiff whom they could use to challenge the Texas state law prohibiting abortion. Nor does she mention that Norma McCorvey has also since changed her stance & now opposes abortions. She also leaves out how McCorvey is now a Catholic & regularly protesting & working to overturn the original decision. In February 2005, McCorvey petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the 1973 decision with McCorvey v. Hill. The petition argued that the case should be heard again in light of evidence that the procedure harms women. Unfortunately that petition was denied. She was with those protesting Obama's speech at Notre Dame. She was arrested during the first day of the confirmation hearing of Judge Sonia Sotomayor after she & another protester started yelling during the opening statement of Senator Al Franken (D-Minn.). McCorvey never did have an abortion & gave the baby up for adoption.

Then there was the other case that Richards didn't mention that virtually allowed abortion for any reason up to birth. The Mary Doe was actually Sandra Cano. & Cano was NOT looking for an abortion. She had gone to legal aid to find a lawyer so she could get a divorce from an abusive husband & regain custody of her children. Cano says that her attorney, Margie Pitts Hames, lied to her in order to have a plaintiff. It was her lawyer that tried to arrange an abortion. In order to avoid being forced into it she fled to Oklahoma to Georgia. She too had a child, a daughter, that she gave up for adoption. In 2003, Cano filed a motion to re-open the case based on the fact that she had not been aware that the case had been filed on her behalf. & if she had known what was going on she would not have supported the litigation. The motion went to the Supreme Court & it too was denied.

So we have Cecile Richards celebrating a right that she knows was fabricated based on a tissue of lies & doesn't have any real basis in the Constitution.

2: Speaking of lies, she also makes the claim that, despite evidence to the contrary, the USA is a pro-choice country. The reality is totally different. She knows the tide is turning as more people realize the truth about abortion. & even many "pro-choiceers" are in favor of at least some limitations that PP opposes. (Added 25 January 2011 @ 5:24 am) LifeNews reports on recent polls that prove Richards claims are wrong & USA is Pro-life. Poll: Majority of Americans Say They’re Pro-Life on Abortion.

3: She talks about advances in medical care that are expanding access to safe abortions. For those of you who may not get the gist of her statement, she is rerefing to "telemed abortions" which are not as "safe" as she claims. But again, why let the truth get in the way?

4: Yes, PP does push sex ed. & birth control that is more often that not an abortafaceant. But what she fails to mention is that the sex ed they provide is not simply the facts. It is propaganda that serves to push young children into being sexually active & using the birth control they supplythat she knows will eventually fail so they have to turn to PP for abortions. & without parental permission if they can get away with it.

5: Then there is the no co-pay for prescription birth control fight. Why does PP want that exempted but not other medicines that save lives? Only because they know they will be able to milk the system by filling them with overpriced birth control meds to add to the bottom line profit of PP.

Richards may think abortion is something worth celebrating. However, I highly doubt the 52 million + unborn babies who have been murdered by abortion would say so, nor would all the men & women who have been harmed emotionally as well as physically harmed by abortion.

This is just another PR attempt by PP to put a positive spin on what they know is wrong & that they are making a huge profit from abortion & want that cash cow to continue, esp at the taxpayers expense.