San Francesco d'Assisi - Not a Hippie Drop Out

For those of you who have only seen the wimpoid version of San Francesco d'Assisi, meet the real San Francesco d'Assisi, not the tree hugging hippie the New Age environmental wackos paint him to be!

Again We See What The Abortion Industry Means By Safe

As I have said many a time before, the Abortion Industry doesn't really care about women;s health or safety, just making a fortune murdering unborn babies. The latest from Minnesota is more proof of that.

KAAL-TV6 has a story about a new bill at the Capitol that would put some basic regulations on abortion clinics.

The bill "would require clinics that perform abortions to be licensed and regulated by the Minnesota Department of Health. Under the bill, health officials would inspect clinics twice a year, with one unannounced visit." The abortion industry tries to claim their clinics are no different that any other health clinic out there. So you would think they would have no problem with being subjected to the same regulations. But no, they don't. Linnea House, with the Minnesota Abortion Rights Action League, said that  "this is a veiled attempt to limit access to abortions and gives the state unprecedented authority to close abortion clinics down if they have a high enough number of violations that go uncorrected for a lengthy period of time."

As usual, the industry is screaming that any regulation is an attempt to limit abortion access. so, by their logic, regulations on dentists' offices are an attempt to limit access to dental care. Or requiring any licensing of a health clinic is an attempt to limit access to health care. I could go on & on. But you get the point, those regs aren't there to limit access, they are there to insure that basic minimal health & safety standards are met. So why are abortion "clinics' supposed to be treated any differently.

But it is the last part of House's statement that really gives things away.  She said the law "gives the state unprecedented authority to close abortion clinics down if they have a high enough number of violations that go uncorrected for a lengthy period of time."  Did you get that, if a clinic has enough safety & health violations over a long period of time, to hell with women's safety, that doesn't matter. Would she feel the same way about a veterinarian's clinic where she takes her pet getting away with the same number of longstanding violations? Could she honestly say it is OK for it to remain open? So why shouldn't an "abortion clinic" be held to the same standard as a veterinarian clinic?

It should, if they truly cared about a woman's safety. But since they don't. Again & again we have seen what standards the abortion industry operates under, Gosnell, NIWC in Rockford & many more examples can be cited of the unsanitary conditions that abortion clinics operate under. This problems came about because of a failure to regulate the industry as it should have been.

The problems of unsanitary conditions, along with the other investigations of covering up rape, incest, white slavery etc, show that when you don't respect life before birth, you don't care about it any more after birth. Yes, there are people in the industry who sincerely claim they care about women, but they either close their eyes to what is really going on arround them or they finally wake up to reality & leave the industry.

So, the next time you hear someone upset about even basic regs being put on abortion clinics, ask them why they should be treated any different than other health clinics that they claim to be a part of.

It's Official, It's As Bad As I was Afraid It Was Going to Be

The new 3 Stooges movie by the Farrelly Brothers is what I am talking about:

While it looks like the actors are doing a fairly decent attempt at immitaing Moe, Larry & Curly, beyond that, this is clearly amovie that looks like it will depend on double & triple entendres as well as mocking the Catholic Church in a blasphemous way.

Some comedies, like the original Blues Brothers, did use Catholic Nuns for a part of the humor, but in a way that exagerated the stereotypes, not turn them into Playboy models. Speaking of the Blues Brothers, it is clear this movie is a total rip off of the plot from the 1st one.

Additionally, the original 3 Stooges didn't have to depend on the below the belt humor that this one is using. & while I loved seeing Snooki getting the disrespect she so richly deserves, using the cast of Jersey Shore is another sign of how devoid of originality, or a decent script this movie is.

The only positive I can say is that at least the real Three Stooges aren't arround to see this mockery of their great comedy legacy.
You can be sure I will be avoiding this movie like the plague.
Additionally, they might as well close the nominations for the 2012 Golden Rasberry awards as every Razzie will probably go to this 1. & I do mean every category for the worst of the year.

The Devil Made Him Do It

National Curmudgeon Day 2012

Happy National Curmudgeon Day

The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because they are generally the same people.  - G.K. Chesterton

An income tax form is like a laundry list - either way you lose your shirt. - Fred Allen

If at first you don't succeed, try again. Then quit. There's no use being a damn fool about it. - WC Fields

Thbbft! - Bill the Cat

I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book. - Groucho Marx

Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much. - Oscar Wilde

The surest way to make a monkey of a man is to quote him. - Robert Benchley

Early to rise and early to bed makes a male healthy and wealthy and dead. - James Thurber

Thou Shalt Not Make a Monstance That Looks Like the Dalek Emperor

Even if the Church does look like it is modeled after Stonehenge.

A couple weeks ago TH2 put up a post about a new Catholic Church building being built in Winnipeg, Manitoba for a parish named in honor of St. Gianna Beretta Molla. The nicest thing that can be said about the building's exterior is that it has a classic design, if you consider Stonehenge classic. See if you can guess which is which.

The interior isn't much better. You can check out more details here for what is clearly the prime example of why there is an urgent need for the new Vatican Commission of Church Architecture that will hopefully prevent future infamia like this.

But for me, perhaps the worst part of it was the monstrance in the alleged Adoration Chapel.

When I saw the design my 1st thought wasn't of a serene peaceful chapel where you could spend time in the Eucharistic presence of Jesus. It was what the monstrance reminded me of, this:

For those of you who may not be familiar with Doctor Who & especially the monsters/villians that he has faced over his various regenerations what you are seeing is the Imperial Dalek Emperor. The Daleks are the oldest reoccuring emeny of the Doctor. 

The Daleks are known for their hatred (their only emotion) & desire to conquer the universe. Their usual response to anyone they see as an enemy, which is pretty much everyone is to say "Exterminate!" 

Obviously, I am all for the promotion of Eucharistic adoration. I am NOT for a chapel that is more about focusing on self than Christ. & I am even less for a chapel that has you focusing on Doctor Who villians rather than Jesus.

This whole building is a New Age mockery of everything that St. Gianna stood for & believed in. Everything in this building is clearly aimed at focusing on self while pretending to promote the truth faith. I am sure that some of those behind this will take umbrage at what I am saying. I would advise them to get over themselves & start following Jesus instead.

I Told You So, Part 2 of This Year's MSM Coverage of the March for Life

Well, I guess I should have gone a little farther & checked out CBS. If I had I would have found out just how far CBS News has sunk as well.

It turns out that CBS did do some coverage of the events on 23 January. But, as was pointed out by 2 blogs, CBS News exclusively focused on the pro-abort side, looking at the few of them that were there & initially ignoring the huge Pro-life side. (ninjas stealthy creep past media reporters at the annual March For Life… , CBS: Only abortion proponents attended the March for Life also covered by Newsbusters: CBS's DC Website: Only 'Pro-Choice Activists' Showed Up For Roe Anniversary ) The initial slide show consisted of 7 pictures, all of the small pro-abort crowd. Since then they have updated it to show 7 pictures. That must be CBS' idea of fair & balanced, eventually finding an equal number of pro-lifers & putting them up, but only later on. I will give CBS 1 bit of credit, they called the Pro-life side Pro-life instead of anti-abortion or anti-choice. But if it weren't for some of the pictures that show the few pro-abort protestors, you wouldn't know what the choice they are in favor of was.

I can see why CBS didn't want to put up pictures of the Pro-life side, they show, even without mentioning the numbers, how few pro-aborts were there, & how huge the Pro-life crowds were.

That wasn't the only example of bias I have come across. Besides the article I laready mentioned, Newsbusters also has a piece that points out how biased the Washington post coverage was as well. Ther story did make the front page of the metro section, below the fold. Given that this was a national protest, not a local one it should have been in the national news, not the metro. But even if you could justify the metro section, why wasn't it the headline since 400,000 Pro-lifers Marched? I think we all know the answer to that. It would show which side is winning. Instead, they paint the numbers as being more or less equal.

The article did much more than downplay the Pro-life side, it used the article as a forum to attack the Catholic Church. Here is how Post reporter Katherine Driessen describes what the Catholic Church is doing (emphasis mine): "The Catholic Church has increasingly focused on educating and mobilizing its youth base around its antiabortion ideology." She went on to use this quote from Cardinal Wuerl: “'The youth are at the heart of this,' said Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl, the archbishop of Washington, who spoke at the Verizon Center on Monday. 'They are just so important to us. We try to get them energized with that passion in the morning.'” Later she added: "With another presidential election looming, many antiabortion advocates at the event said educating youths in their ideology is more important than ever." Finally: "Group chaperone Karina Franco, 37, said this was the first real education in antiabortion ideology* for most of the youths, some of whom reacted strongly at a conference Sunday when they looked at images of fetuses." At best they make it sound like the young people are being indoctrinated. At worst, brainwashed. I am honestly surprized she even used the words educating & education to describe what was going on. That aside, why should the Catholic Church teach these children the truth about abortion? What the Church teaches isn't merely an ideology on a par with any other political ideology.
Next up, the anti-Catholic bias is focusing on how this indoctrination is developing extremists. (emphasis mine) "Mendoza’s brother, Jesse, 14, carried the most controversial of the signs. Not-so-jokingly referred to as the 'extremist' of the group, Jesse had drawn a fetus and gushing blood on his sign. Jesse wanted to attend the rally last year but was told he was too young. This year, he was the one who started the groups on chants such as 'Jesus' and 'Obama, your mama chose life.'” We see what Driessen's idea of an extremist is, someone who draws a picture that shows what abortion actually does to an unborn baby. But even before that he "Not-so-jokingly" comment is meant to clearly make things sound worse than they are. & chanting "Jesus" makes him an extremist. By her standards what does that make the Pope? & the quote about Obama is a pure fact. None of what he did is truly extremist. Jesse may speak out strongly on his views, but nothing he says or does is truly extremism. & she knows it. 
But the Post doesn't stop there in its efforts to paint the Pro-life side, & especially the Catholic Church as the villians. The online photo montage continues this theme. Let's start with the picture of Sister Fran of the Salesian Sisters in Newton, N.J.

It describes her as criticizing "an abortion rights advocate at the March for Life."
Then there is this picture of Sara Brook, of Missouri:

She is described as  an antiabortion advocate, showing how she "points her finger at an abortion rights advocate."
Next up is the picture of Josh Estes, that they describe as an "antiabortion advocate". The caption says that he is shouting at "abortion rights advocates in front of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C." At least they did show some "abortion rights advocates" shouting back.  & this is the most peaceful "clash" I have ever seen.
On the other hand we see this photo of Lauren Croll, abortion supporter, looking like she is in tears.

 "What did those horrible anti-aborts do to her?" is the implied question.
Additionally, almost all of the other pictures of "Antiabortion protesters" make it look like this was merely a Catholic protest only. Even though it isn't totally clear, we can recognize the Knights of Columbus logo here. Here we see a picture of Our Lady of Guadeloupe in the background.  Here & here we see people praying the Rosary.
So we see the Post not so subtlely painting the March for Life as a bunch of Catholics who have no qualms against yelling & shouting & driving their opponants to tears while doing so. It is implied that any clashes are the result of the actions of the "anti-aborts"  & if the abortion rights are shouting back, it is simply to get their voices heard.
Another thing to notice is how the pictures show that both sides are about equal in number rather than any photos that truly show the huge number of Pro-lifers. On the other hand, probably almost every pro-abort that was there was in the photos shown of them.
None of the pictures in & of themselves are bad. But how do we know the Pro-lifers were shouting at the pro-aborts? They could be responding to a chant. Or yelling at a friend. & as for the 2 pointing their fingers, anyone pointing their finger can be made to look wild eyed when they are passionate about the truth. But you can be sure that isn't what the Post wants people to think.
Instead, they are trying to implant the idea that the Catholic Church is developing a bunch of wild-eyed automatons by indoctrinating the next generation to blindly follow what it teaches about abortion.
If they were truly interested in presenting an acurate picture, we would see stories about the women & men from Silent No More sharing their stories. We would see stories about the real numbers of Pro-lifers as opposed to pro-aborts. We would see stories about how main stream, how anything but extreme, how it is not only Catholics the Pro-life movement is about. We would see the truth, that those 400,000 people there are the main stream, are the real America. But that would mean they would have to admit they are the extremists, not us.
_________________
*I want to point out that she doesn't actually quote what Karina Franco says, Driessen gives her take on it. I would suspect that the actual quote by Franco was something quite different. I say this from personal experience of how the press has twisted what I say by taking what I said out of context or summarizing it like in this case. I suspect Franco said something more on the lines about this is the 1st real education on what abortion is really about & why it is wrong.

I Don't Want to Say I Told You So But. . . .

Oh yes I do, or I wouldn't be doing this post.

On the other hand, I wish that the Main Stream Media had proved me wrong.

Saturday I put up a post talking about how I expected the MSM to cover the West Coast walk for Life & the March for Life.

I said the MSM would ignore the West Coast March & it did. I went on to say "The MSM will give its usual poor coverage of the events. They will downplay the size of the DC crowd, undercounting to ensure people don't know how big it actually is. They will also find the few pro-aborts & play up the size of their crowd. They will do so by a few key pictures that make it look like there is a huge number of pro-aborts rather than the few that actually are there."

On CNN's website I found this article about a rally @ Washington's Lafayette Park on Sunday. The story ended with the following: "Other Roe v. Wade-related events were planned elsewhere in Washington Sunday and Monday, by both anti-abortion activists and abortion rights advocates alike."  Nothing about the Monday March for Life by name, just a mention of other events making it sound like they were all on the same level & size. But why mention the huge draw that puts the size of the few pro-aborts there to shame & shows how little support for abortion there is. Even with the bad weather the March for Life again drew 400,000+ people. (Keep that number in mind for later.) Additionally, I have not found any story on their website about Monday's March.

Next we have MSNBC. They have an article about Catholic High School students going to the March. But again nothing about the March.

FoxNews was the best. Although it didn't have a count, it did have an article on the March. They also had an opinion piece by Penny Young Nance is CEO of Concerned Women for America. There were also a couple videos (here, here) The article used anti-abortion, but the video said pro-life. 1 of them included an interview with an abortion survivor, Melissa Ohden.
The AP article is another prime example of the MSM bias. 1st there is the title, Abortion foes march with eye on fall elections, used in various permutations by various papers.  Abortion foes says it all about their attitutde. Then there was the opening line: "Thousands of abortion opponents marched to the Supreme Court on Monday to mark the 39th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion,". Did you get that "thousands", talk about downplaying the 400,000 there. They make it sound like it was a few thousand, or maybe 10-20 thousand, way, way smaller. That isn't merely downplaying, that is out & out lying.

In a connected story, The Washington Post has an article about how Rand Paul was detained by the TSA at the Nashville airport. He was heading back to DC to give an speech at the March for Life. MSNBC reports the detention, but totally omits the reason he was going to DC. No surprize. CNN has 2 videos about the pat down, but nothing about why Paul was heading to DC. Ditto for the FoxNews article.
In many ways, the MSM has hit a new low in its coverage. In part I think it is because they know the tide is turning & they don't want the news to get out. The difference between the Fox & AP articles highlights that. The AP article talks about how the US is still divided on abortion & then goes on to add the following statement by Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, accusing politicians supporting the March for Life of ignoring more pressing issues."Anti-choice politicians and their allies promised to focus on creating jobs, yet they are attacking a woman's right to choose at near-record levels. This extreme agenda is out of touch with our country's values and priorities."
Sorry Nancy you are out of touch as the Fox article proves. Yes, it mentions her claim that "that our opponents would ignore the public's call to focus on immediate challenges, including the economy, and instead launch an all-out war against women." The Fox article goes on to say "According to Americans United for Life, more than 460 measures were considered in 47 states last year. The group predicts another heavy round of legislative activity this year."
Sounds to me like this is a lot of grass roots activity based on what the people want in response to all that has come out about the abortion industry covering up rape, incest, abortion mills being closed down for unsanitary conditions, abortionists charged with murder etc. No wonder Keenan wants to play the smoke & mirrors game. It isn't the politicians, it is the abortion industry that is out of touch with the country's values & priorities.  They are the ones who have launched the all out war, not the Pro-life politicians. & that war is against women as well as the unborn.
& you can bet things won't be getting better any time soon. The MSM & the abortion industry has seen a huge change in how this country views abortion & the abortion industry. The industry has Obama in its back pocket. But they know he could be out by this time next year, in part because of his huge public support for abortion. So they are falling back on the same message they have unsuccessfully used since the 2010 elections about pro-life politicians ignoring the economy. The abortion industry makes it sound like it is an either or, not an and both. Fortunately the American public is smarter than that. Something the MSM seems to be forgetting as well. & they wonder why people are going to other sources of news in droves?????

Gary Carter, Hero of '86 Mets Team - Dying of Brain Cancer

I have been a NY Mets fan since the 60s when they went from 1 of the world's worst teams to the winners of the 1969 World Series, the "Miracle Mets". (No apologies to Cubs fans who feel they was robbed that year.) Over the years I have followed their ups & downs, more downs than ups at times. In 1986 what was the almost perfect combination of players, manager & coaches came together that resulted in another World Series win. The team included Davey Johnson, Bud Harrelson, Mel Stottlemyre, Keith Hernandez, Dwight Gooden, Darryl Strawberry, Lenny "Nails" Dykstra, HoJo (Howard Johnson) etc., but IMHO the brightest star of the '86 Mets constellation was Gary Carter. He was their primary catcher that year. More than any other position, catcher is the key defensive position of a team. & Carter proved himself to be 1 of the all time greats at that position.

& with all due respect to Ray Knight, Gary Carter was just as deserving of the World Series MVP award that year as he was.

I will never forget as I watched on TV what happenned in the 10th inning of the 6th game when the Mets were 1 out from losing the series. The score was 5-3, Boston. Hernandez had just made the 2nd out. Carter came up to bat & with a single to left he brought new life to the Mets fans hopes. Then pinch-hitter Kevin Mitchell singled to center. Shea Stadium started to get loud & so did things at my place. Ray Knight came up next. He went down in the count 0-2 bringing the Mets once again to the last strike away from losing. Then he hit the next pitch into center field for a single that scored Carter & advanced Mitchell to 3rd base. This made the score 5-4. Things got louder at Shea & at home. Mookie Wilson came up to bat. The Sox replaced Calvin Schiraldi with Bob Stanley. Once again things were down to 1 strike from the Mets losing. The 7th pitch forced Mookie to his knees, the ball sailed by & hit the backstop allowing Mitchell to bring in the tying run. On the 10th pitch Mookie hit a grounder towards 1st base that should have been easy to field. Somehow the ball went under 1st Baseman  Bill Buckner's glove & between his knees. this allowed Knight to score the winning run as things errupted at shea & everywhere a Mets fan was watching the game.

Here is how

Vin Scully called the play:

"So the winning run is at second base, with two outs, three and two to Mookie Wilson. (A) little roller up along first... behind the bag! It gets through Buckner! Here comes Knight, and the Mets win it!"

Scully remained silent for more than 3 minutes, he then resumed with:

"If one picture is worth a thousand words, you have seen about a million words, but more than that, you have seen an absolutely bizarre finish to Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. The Mets are not only alive, they are well, and they will play the Red Sox in Game 7 tomorrow!"

The Mets went on to win that game & the series. Carter was awarded the Silver Slugger Award as National League Catcher that year.  Carter wrote a book about his experiences that year called A Dream Season.

Carter went on to play with the Mets until '89. He eventually ended up at Montreal where he had started out. In 2001 he was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame. In 2003 he was elected to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame as well as the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Because he spent more time with the Expos, he was inducted as an Expo.

In a lot of ways, Carter was out of tune with the direction sports was heading. While egos were growing, he was humble, while drugs were becoming more rampant, he didn't smoke & rarely drank. He is a family man. He did his best to live his Christian faith. His Gary Carter Foundation supports 8 Title I schools in Palm Beach County whose students live in poverty.

In May of 2011 Carter was  diagnosed with four malignant tumors in his brain after complaining of headaches & forgetfulness. He had a grade IV primary brain tumor glioblastoma multiforme, which is an extremely aggressive cancer. It couldn't be dealt with by surgery. But other treatments were used. Sadly, on 20 Jan 2012 his daughter Kimmy posted on her blog that an MRI had revealed he had additional tumors.  The WELL WISHES FOR GARY Official Greeting Card has been set up for fans to express their prayers & support for Carter & his family.

As I said, the Mets had many great players that year. They have also had many others before & after. But none of them ever captured my attention like Gary Carter. He is my all time favorite Met. I am saddened to see that this is how is life is ending. He is only 1-2 years older than I am. Which also makes him way too young.

My prayers are with him & his family.

Source: News of Gary Carter's inoperable brain cancer hits especially hard

If Yesterday's Movies Were Made Today

LarryD recently put up a post about Peter Stults, an artist, who took some recent films & recast them with stars from yesteryear as well as designed retro movie posters for them. (If Today’s Movies Were Made Yesterday)

These days, all to often, Hollywood has taken some classic movies & poorly remade them because of a dirth of ideas. Well, I came across 1 idea for a remake that would be great. But I highly doubt Hollywood would have the intelligence to do it since it would show how foolish the majority of them in the industry were/are for supporting Obama.

Source: Moonbattery (Open Thread)

Obama Applauds Roe v Wade the 20th Century Dred Scott Decision

Yesterday Obama issued a statement affirming his commitment to supporting the ongoing murder of millions of unborn babies a year & the ongoing promotion of Margaret Sanger's agenda to rid the world of undesirable minorities, like blacks. (Maafa 21)

Roe v Wade said that unborn babies were not citizens & had no constitutional protection. It was decided 7-2. Dred Scott v. Sandford said that blacks were not citizens & had no constitutional rights. It was decided 7-2

Justice Antonin Scalia saw a huge connection between the 2. He wrote the following in his opinion for the Supreme Court decision in Planned Parenthood of Southeastern PA. v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (1992): "[D]red Scott...rested upon the concept of "substantive due process" that the Court praises and employs today. Indeed, Dred Scott was very possibly the first application of substantive due process in the Supreme Court, the original precedent for...Roe v. Wade.  You read that right, He said that Dred Scott was the precident for Roe v Wade.

Obama's statement is unbelievable to any sane person. It is filled with his usual arrogance & hypocricy. Here is the statement. I will add my comments in blue.

As we mark the 39^th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we must remember that this Supreme Court decision not only protects a woman’s health but only after she is born, before birth is a different matter, she gets no protection and reproductive freedom, but also affirms a broader principle: that government should not intrude on private family matters. Not intrude in family matters, yeah right!!!  HOW ABOUT HIS OPPOSITION TO PARENTAL NOTIFICATION LAWS that would protect parental rights??? How about his & the Dems opposition to school vouchers? & that's only 2 examples.   I remain committed to protecting a woman’s right to choose and this fundamental constitutional right. Would he say the same about the Scott decision that ruled that owning slaves was protected by the Constitution under the fundamental right of property?  While this is a sensitive and often divisive issue- no matter what our views, we must stay united in our determination to prevent unintended pregnancies, which for Obama means free access to abortifaceant drugs, paying for abortions in ObamaCare & stopping any encouragement of chastisty while promoting promiscuity support pregnant woman and mothers, We saw the total opposite in how he opposed including pregnant women and their unborn children in the SCHIP program reduce the need for abortion, see above after unintended pregnancies encourage healthy relationships, and promote adoption. But only for gay couples. Otherwise, Obama & the Dems have done everything they can to discourage putting a child up for adoption instead of the woman having an abortion. The track record of Planned Parenthood for 2010 was 1 adoption referral for every 391 abortions. & his buddies in the abortion industry are doing all they can to shut down crisis pregnancy centers that do promote adoption. Not to mention doing all they can to drive Catholic instutuions out of adoption service.  And as we remember this historic anniversary, we must also continue our efforts to ensure that our daughters have the same rights, freedoms, and opportunities as our sons to fulfill their dreams. OK, so how does this work since men don't get pregnant, they can't have an abortion? & getting pregnant denies no one their rights, freedoms or opportunities. It may temporarily put some obstacles in the way, but so do many other things. So abortion isn't about equality, it is about inequality for the unborn, by denying them any rights, freedoms or opportunitites.

Source: Obama Celebrates Roe vs. Wade Decision, 54 Million Abortions

Project Rachel - Bringing Hope, Healing & Forgiveness to Men & Women Harmed by Abortion

The abortion industry likes to portray abortion as a surgery like any other & that once it is over then a person can go on as if nothing ever happenned. That is not true. Abortion does emotional, psycholgical & spiritual harm to the woman who has one. Over the years the evidence has mounted proving this. Project Rachel was started to "bring  the Catholic Church’s healing ministry to those who have been involved in abortion." . It was founded in 1984 in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee by Vicki Thorn. It gets its name from Jeremiah 31:15-17: "In Ramah is heard the sound of moaning, of bitter weeping!
Rachel mourns her children, she refuses to be consoled because her children are no more.

Thus says the LORD: Cease your cries of mourning,
wipe the tears from your eyes.
The sorrow you have shown shall have its reward…
There is hope for your future."

For a long time the focus was on women & the harm abortion did to them. The fathers of the aborted babies were a different story. For the longest time they were ignored. this was because it was assumed that they weren't affected emotionally by abortion. It has only been in the past few years that an awareness that abortion has the same psychological & emotional effects on the father as the mother. I 1st became aware of the damage that abortion does to men when I took a class at DBQ Co Right to Life to train people to speak on abortion. I decided to look into how it affected men. At the time, as I said, there was little research done. 1 of the few that was out there was done by a man who took his girlfriend to have an abortion & was surprized at how it affected him. Since then more research has been done. & there has been an outreach to provide men with opportuinities for the spiritual & emotional healing they need as well.

Last Thursday night on EWTN's Life on the Rock, Project Rachel founder, Vicki Thorn was a guest. With her was Jason Jones, 1 of the producers of Bella, the movie I recently posted about. In that post I mentioned that I 1st met Jason when he was going arround promoting the movie before its release. Later I got to know him better when he was working on the Brownback campaign in 2008.  What I didn't tell you the other day was the rest of his story. He is 1 of those fathers who lost his child to an abortion. He shares that story on the show. You can here it in the video of the program below so I won't go into detail. All I will say it that his story is a powerful one that brought home to me in a very real way what damage abortion does to all involved.

It has been 39 years since the Supreme Court made the horrible decision to unleash abortion on the entire USA. In the years since over 55 million unborn babies have been murdered by abortion. Untold numbers of women have died as a result of botched abortions. Additionally untold numbers of women & men have also been victims of abortion because of the spiritual, psychological & emotional harm done to them. Many organizations like Project Rachel have sprung up to help bring God's healing love into the lives of those victims.

If you have been involved in an abortion or know someone who has & are hurting, God is reaching out to you to bring you His love & healing. For those who have had an abortion, God wants you to receive His forgiveness. For you men who forced, or at the least, cooperated with the woman getting the abortion, God wants to give you His forgiveness as well. He also wants you to receive the complete psychological, emotional & spiritual healing you need. In the right hand column I have links to many resources for you to receive the Post-Abortion Healing you need. Please, I beg you, don't put it off any longer. I pray that you will be open to God's Mercy & Love.

Jane Roe - Fighting to Right a Wrong Done In Her Name

Source: The Abolitionist Society of Oklahoma (The Pawn who became Pro-Life the post includes Norma McCorvey's testimony on 23 June 2005 before the Senate Judiciary Committee.)

A Day of Prayer & Penance for the Sin of Abortion in the USA

Today the Catholic Church calls us to a "day of penance for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion, and of prayer for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life" in the USA.

Testimonies About the Harm Abortion Does

These clips are taken from Bloodmoney. I have to warn you that the story of what happenned to one woman is graphic. Some of the others are almost as bad.   1 of those you will see in this video is Norma McCorvey, Roe of Roe v Wade who has since come over to the Pro-life side. Another is a former worker at an abortion mill. These are the stories that the abortion industry don't want you to hear because they tell the true story of the ongoing damage that abortion wrecks in the lives of all those involved in an abortion, men & women.

This segment should make it clear why the documentary was called Bloodmoney. As I have so often said, the abortion industry tries to paint themselves as concerned about women & their health. They are not, they are an industry out to make money by murdering unborn babies. For the most part, they care nothing about the women they victimize.

As time goes on & more stories get out, people will see that the NIWCs & Gosnells & Tillers are the rule, not the exception. Someday abortion mills will be looked on with the same horror that the Nazi death camps are looked on. Someday they will be seen as the evil they were for how they dehumanized people & turned them into a source of profit just like the slave ships of yore did.

39 years of legal abortion in the USA, abortion being pushed worldwide as a solution not the evil it really is. Well, I say BASTA!!!!!!! Enough is enough! This infamia MUST cease.

We cannot be silent. We must not let what the Obama regime is doing scare us into silence or surrender. Our cause is just. We are on God's side in this fight. & any cost we pay will, in the end, be worth it.

Let us pray that day will soon be here.

Black Genocide, a Fruit of Roe v Wade

From Bloodmoney

2012 Dubuque Walk for Life

Saturday morning @ 10:30 am DBQ Co Right to Life held its 27th annual Walk for Life. The walks usually begin with a rally at Washington Park followed by the walk to the Court House & then to KC Hall for a Chili lunch. Because of the frigid cold the program was rearranged. The people still gathered & Washington Park. Then they walked to the Court House. Then to the KC Hall where the rally was held.

Over 100 people participated in the walk. I wasn't one of them this year due to spme knee problems & the condition of the sidewalks & streets after Friday's 6-1/2 inches of snow. I did go directly to the KC Hall for the rally.

The rally began a little after 11 am. It was MCed by Steve Fuerst. He reminded everyone of the ongoing tragedy that abortion was. The number is now over 55 million & growing.  He went on to tell the crowd that we are there to "remember not only the babies who have been lost, but the women who have been led to the abortion clinics by lies and outside pressures."

He introduced Becca Kennedy from Epworth who won the Junior High division of the March for Life Essay Contest. She read her winning essay. Here is a part of that essay:

"Just think about all of the people that we could use to make this world an even better place. Each of the 4,400 babies that are killed each day by the deadly sin of abortion could have been someone special. They could have found a cure for cancer or any other harmful disease, found life on an unknown planet or invented a new form of transportation.
By taking away each of their lives, you're taking away a bright future they could have had, but now never will." (You can read the entire essay here)

The runner up for the junior high division was also from the DBQ Co. area, Natalie Frasher of Cascade.

The Rev Dennis Schmitt of DBQ Community Church spoke next. He talked about the documentary movie 180. The message of that movie is how similar what we are doing today with abortion is to what Hitler did in Nazi Germany. Rev. Schmitt pointed out how the Jewish people were dehumanized, like unborn babies.  he also pointed out how many people who claim to be Pro-life are more concerned about voting for "what that politician offers for our pocketbook," rather than Pro-life candidates.

Next up was Fr. Michael Barry, Parochial Vicar @ St Mary's in E DBQ. Fr. barry looked at the threats to our religious liberties made by the Obama administration. he talked about how Pro-lifers are classified as potential terrorist & that with the ;aw Obama signed in December we could be arrested & detained without trial. he also talked about the final ruling Friday by HHS Secretary Sibelius forcing Catholic Institutions to pay for birth control as a part the insurance coverage provided.

Colleen Pasnic, who will be leaving as executive assistant of DBQ Co Right to Life was recognozed for her years of service.

The program ended with Steve Brody, executive director. He encouraged more people who can to volunteer to picket at the local Planned Parenthood.  The good news, they have reduced their hours on Wednesday. But they expect the new site to be open 40 hours when they start up.* He also talked about the Churches participating in Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, about the bus trip to DC & asking for our prayers for safety for those traveling to the March for Life. 

I have to give the Telegraph Herald a pat on the back for their coverage of the event. & especially for the headline "Protesting an 'ongoing tragedy'."  They also have a short video interviewing some of the people at the rally.

*  So far I have not seen much activity at the news site which is 1-1/2 blocks from where I live. & definitely no evidince of any work being done to prepare the place for openning. I pray every time I go by that the place will never open as it will almost definitely offer telemed abortions.

Just A Reminder of What the Abortion Industry Sees as Safe & Rare

"Legal, safe & rare".

That has been the mantra of the abortion industry for the last 39 years whenever anyone worked to overturn Roe v Wade & Doe v Bolton. We have seen what the abortion industry means by rare, opposing any limits, while encouraging women to have them.

Then there is safe. The abortion industry has plenty of reasons why legal abortions are safe & should remain legal. 1 of the top reasons you hear is that banning abortion will result in women going back to getting back alley abortions. & that means more women will die as a result.

While the truth is that the back alley was where the back entrance to the doctor's office was & that the death rate was reduced with the introduction of antibiotics, to hear the industry talk, every abortion mill is safe, clean & nothing ever goes wrong. Recent revelations like those about the NIWC abortion mill in Rockford & Kermit Gosnell among way too many others have proven that the average abortion mill doesn't even follow basic sanitary protocols that any health clinic must follow. (& showing why they oppose even minimum regulation as well.) There have also been many examples of botched abortions all across the USA. I have posted about  some of them in the past.

Jill Stanek posted the latest horror story on her blog Saturday. Actually I could say horror stories just as easily. The story you are about to read is about 2 botched abortions, at the same Birmingham AL abortion mill, on the same day. & what until you see the conditions of the place that once again show the real reasons why the industry is so opposed to regulations. It sure isn't about a woman's health or safety or even ready access to an abortion (a bit of irony as you wil see). It is about letting the industry make as much money as possible with as little expense & total disregard for the safety or health of women. 

Two botched abortions; no gurney access

Today pro-lifers gathered to commemorate the tragic anniversary of Roe v. Wade at the New Woman All Women abortion mill in Birmingham, Alabama, witnessed not one but two ambulance calls for botched abortions.

As if the botches weren’t dangerous enough, the abortion mill could not accommodate a gurney, forcing responders to carry the first victim out…

and bring the second victim out in a wheelchair…

Abortion proponents fight common sense abortion clinic regulations that for one thing force shoddy clinics to ensure entrances, doorways, and halls are wide enough to fit a gurney in the event of an emergency. The other side claims regulations are unnecessary.

Well, guess what? They’re necessary.

And guess what else? This mill is a dump. Surprise, surprise.

Pro-lifers pray that although their babies are dead, the moms will be ok.

[HT: Sue]

It Doesn't Take a Prophet to Make This Sure Thing Prediction

This Monday, 23 Jan 2012, will see the 39th March for Life in Washington DC. It is being held on Monday because the actual anniversary date of Roe v Wade & Doe v Bolton, 22 January, is a Sunday. Since Congressional offices are closed on Sunday it is moved to Monday so participates can go to visit their Representatives in the House & Senate.

Also, today is the 8th Annual Walk for Life West Coast in San Francisco. While not as big as the East Coast March it is growing year by year. It is held on the Saturday closest to 22 Jan. That enables speakers to appear at both events. The West Coast Walk provides an opportunity for more people to get the word out that they are Pro-life.

Both events get full coverage from EWTN. & C-SPAN covers the DC event. Beyond that the West Coast Walk gets very little attention. The Main Stream Media does pay some attention to the DC March.

Now for my non-predidiction prediction. The MSM will give its usual poor coverage of the events. They will downplay the size of the DC crowd, undercounting to ensure people don't know how big it actually is. They will also find the few pro-aborts & play up the size of their crowd. They will do so by a few key pictures that make it look like there is a huge number of pro-aborts rather than the few that actually are there.

Of course, I could be wrong. This year the MSM could have a change of heart & give the Walk & the March the proper coverage, with accurate counts of those participating & counterprotestors.

 NAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Theological Place of Eternal Damnation is likely to reach the temperature of Absolute 0 1st.

The 1% Who ARE the Real Bad Guys Out to Destroy America

& guess what, it isn't who Obama & Operation Wall Street claim it is. It is those who are behind Obama & OWS. & it isn't like we haven't been warned about them, for decades.

I recently came across this 1952 short that was produced by The Christophers. In fact it was their 1st production. It features Christophers' founder Father James Keller, M.M. & several famous Hollywood stars of the time including Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Loretta Young, Bob Hope & Jack Benny.  Fr. Keller founded the organization "to motivate men and women in all walks of life to bring Judeo-Christian principles to bear on the world around them."

In You Can Change the World he talks about the 1% who are out to undermine the United States. he also gives an accurate history lesson about our Founding Fathers & the Declaration of Indepepndence that would drive the "seperation of church & state" gang up the wall with the facts they don't want out there. But Fr. Keller's intention was much more than merely getting the truth about the 1% out. He wanted to encourage good people to get involved in their communities & government to counter the destruction they were attempting.

Sadly, things haven't changed much in the past 60 years. The same socialistic, communistic agenda to “tear the heart out of the Declaration of Independence” is being pushed by their successors. What Fr. Keller said back then is just as true today  "We're either for God or against God, and if it's the latter, we'll pay the penalty and soon." The challenge for good people (& by good he means those who are Godly) to get involved is more urgent than ever.

Is This What You Mean By Choice 2012

On 22 January 1973 the Supreme Court issued 2 rulings that will go down in history as the most horribly infamously wrong decisions the Court ever made. For the few people who have no idea what I am talking about that is the day that their rulings on Roe v Wade & Doe v Bolton allowed abortion for virtually every reason from the 1st mpment of conception to birth.

For the past 7 years NARAL Pro-Choice America has been running Blog for Choice Day as a way to celebrate a woman's right to choose abortion. However, the 1 word they carefully avoid in their celebration of abortion is abortion.  They talk about "reproductive rights" or "choice". But they almost always avoid the choice they are talking about, abortion.

That avoidance of the word abortion is a bit ironic given that NARAL began as the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws. Later they became the National Abortion Rights Action League, & then the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League. It was in 2005 when they cut out the word abortion & added Pro-Choice instead.

They stopped using the word abortion because more & more people are waking up to the fact that abortion is wrong. So they talk about choice isntead because it sounds so innocent. But make no mistake, they are talking about abortion. & not as 1 option of many, but the only option. We have seen that with their recent attempts to shut down Crisis Pregnancy Centers, prevent women from having sonograms & the like. For them, it is abortion only.

This year they are putting special emphasis on working to elect candidates who support their position. They saw what happened last year as more & more of the truth about the abortion industry got out. That truth, that the abortion industry is willing to cover up rape, incest, white slavery as well as how unsafe many abortion mills are, coming out resulted in huge losses of support as well as funding. This year they know even more than ever they have to avoid the word abortion & paint this as something other than what it is.

Last year, Pro-Life bloggers said enough. Lead by Jill Stanek the 1st annual "Ask Them What They Mean By ‘Choice’ Blog Day,” aka “Blog Against Pro-Abort Cover-Up Rhetoric for Killing Children Day,”  was held. 99 Pro-life bloggers, including me, & countless activists overwhelmed 90 pro-abortion bloggers. By midmorning NARAL had to abandon its Twitter hashtag #BlogforChoiceDay because us Pro-lifers took it over.

This year, the call has gone out to do it again. & again the charge is being led by Jill Stanek @ her blog. (Announcing 2nd Annual “Ask Them What They Mean by ‘Choice’” Blog Day, January 22 ) The process is simple.  "On January 22, any time you read pro-aborts spouting obscure “choice” rhetoric on a blog, website, Facebook, or Twitter, call them out on it. Ask them to explain what the “choice” euphemism means. Tweeters plan to use their #Tweet4Choice hashtag.

If you are a blogger, plan on posting about “choice” on January 22."

If you do participate, Email Jill the name & url of your blog. She will post you as a participant. Feel free to use the graphic above. Thanks to pro-life graphic designer Kimberly of Spectacle Graphics for creating it.

NARAL has a list of those participating in their blog day that you can choose from to respond to their posts. Do not be surprized to find out your comments get deleted later if the blog automaticly posts them. Or that they don't get approved if the comments arer moderated. As I said in a post on this last year: "The truth is, they don't want to have an honest discussion about what they mean by choice. To do so means that they would admit what it is they want to happen is that an abortion will take place." All they want to do is promote their side & lie about the Pro-life side. As I pointed out in another post, they are afraid of a fair & honest debate. All they want to do when it comes to the Pro-life side is spew out huge amounts of hate & vitreol towards us.

However, we are not to respond in kind. Ask them what they mean by choice, point out where they are misrepresenting us & challenge their claims in a peaceful, respectful way. We have truth on our side so we don't need to resort to their tactics.

1 thing that this will do, is let those who are supporting "choice" know that they are not going to go unchallenged in their attempts to sugar coat what they want.

Bella - A Great Pro-Life Movie Still Going Strong & Saving Lives of the Unborn

Before I go any further, if you have never seen the movie Bella, stop what you are doing & go out & buy a copy. No, not rent, buy. & watch it!!!! This IS a movie that belongs in your collection. I'll wait.

Welcome back for those of you who left. Seriously, if you have never seen it, please do. You will understand why this movie has been so powerful in saving the lives of unborn babies.

I was privledged to originally see it when Jason Jones, 1 of the producers, was going arround the country previewing it for various groups. The idea was to build up excitement & support for the movie when it came out. 

The story is about  the events of 1 day in New York City that changes the lives of 3 people. Jose works at his brother's Mexican restaurant. He has a secret from his past that is still affecting his life. Nina is a waitress at the restaurant. She gets some news that changes hers. It is that news that sets the day's events into motion. I don't want to give much more away other that to say that it has plenty of twists & surprizes.

The movie's message is strongly life affirming. It also gives some important lessons on the importance of famiglia. It is a love story, but that love is much more than romantic love.  

The movie won several awards, including the 2006 People's Choice Awawd at the Toronto International Film Festival. Other winners if that award have been Hotel Rwanda (2004), La vita è bella (Life is Beautiful - 1998) & Chariots of Fire (1981)

& for those of you who still aren't sold on the movie, here is the trailer: 

Like I said, I don't want to give away too much of the story for those of you who haven't seen it. But I can say that I am anything but surprized that it has saved 445 babies from abortion. As I already stated it is a powerful movie that speaks out to those women who are facing an unplanned pregnancy & gives them hope that there are other & better answers than abortion.

The same could be said about those men who are the fathers of those unplanned unborn children. Men, abortion is not the way to go to solve your problem or get out of your responsibilities. There are other alternatives.

Please support the efforts to get the movie into the hands of more women. This is 1 tool with proven success. If you can, donate to help pay the costs of getting it out there. & whether or not you can afford to donate, please spread the word to your family & friends.  

445 babies saved from abortion thanks to free ‘Bella’ movie, popcorn 

GREEN BAY, Wisconsin, January 12, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A pro-life organization has a novel strategy to reach out to a woman who is thinking of aborting her baby. The plan consists in handing out a ‘night at the movies’ that includes free popcorn, candy, and yes, a free DVD. The strategy has already saved the lives of 445 babies, says the group.

Bella HERO, a non-profit organization, views it as their mission to provide for free what they call the “powerful life-changing” film Bella to any pregnancy care centre that wants it. The program, launched in 2008 by Jason Jones, the producer of the awarding winning film Bella, has as its goal to give the pro-life movie to any woman with an unplanned pregnancy so as to help her in making what the pro-life organization calls “the most important decision in her life.”

The film Bella, released in 2007, is a story about how reaching out in a loving way to someone in a difficult situation can give them hope.

“What the movie does is touch the women where we can’t,” said Tracy Reynolds, program director of Bella HERO in an interview today with LifeSiteNews. “It really shows her what her opportunity would be either to be a ‘mom’ or to ‘choose adoption’ and give that child a home.”

Reynolds compared the film to a “mega ultrasound” which allows a troubled pregnant mother to really see the possibilities in choosing life.

Over 700 pregnancy centres across the USA, Canada, and Australia are now using the Bella film strategy to change hearts and save lives.

Counselors receive training how to use the film with pregnant women who are undecided about the fate of their baby and even considering abortion. Some centres have found that the “movie night in a bag” concept, which includes the “DVD, popcorn, candy, and other creative items,” is practically impossible for someone to turn down.

Heartwarming success stories leave no doubt that the strategy is effective.

Abortion minded 16-year-old Anna (name changed) received counseling over the phone from one centre. She was sent a packet which included Bella. Soon afterwards, Anna called the centre back saying, “Bella is the best movie I have ever seen! It helped me decide to keep my baby.”

Another woman, Tina, and her boyfriend came into one centre and discovered that she was pregnant. Not only was Tina in college at that time, but she was also far away from home. She did not think that she was ready or able to bring a child into the world. The abortion-bound couple was given a copy of Bella.

The couple surprisingly returned to the centre for an ultrasound. The staff were delighted to learn that they had decided to keep their baby and parent the child themselves. The father wanted to name his child ‘Bella’ if she was a girl. The couple’s choice did not swerve when the ultrasound revealed twin daughters. They are now the proud parents of Bella and Millie.

Cindy (name changed) visited a pregnancy centre very “confused and scared.” The 25 year-old woman was already the mother of a young son. She did not want to abort, but felt she had no choice since she “felt she loved her boyfriend too much to interrupt his college plans”. She went home with the film Bella, but not before agreeing to return for an ultrasound.

A few days later, Cindy returned to the centre crying. The staff heard that she had not slept for the last few days. The counsellor learned that Cindy had watched Bella and not only decided to keep her baby, but had broken off her relationship with her boyfriend and turned her life over to God. Just like the star in the film, Cindy chose adoption for her baby.

Peggy Hartshorn, President of Heartbeat International, a pro-life organization that works to make “abortion unwanted today and unthinkable for future generations,” endorsed the Bella HERO initiative, saying that many women who feel “pressured to abort an untimely pregnancy need someone to say that it is okay to have a baby.” She believes that the film is a lesson in “compassion, self-sacrifice and the unconditional love of family” and that it will give pregnant woman a “positive message.”

Cindy Collins, Director of a Crisis Pregnancy Center in Louisiana encourages pregnancy centres to put the film to use. “It has been received with enthusiasm at my center, and we already have 5 mothers who chose life after watching the movie,” she said.

Reynolds is convinced that all an abortion-minded woman needs to know so that they will cherish the life within them that there is that “there is hope, that they are not alone, and that somebody is out there who will help them”.

Many staff at pregnancy centres believe that the film captures the heart of their ministry. They look forward to more babies being saved as the story of Bella continues to reach troubled pregnant women with a powerful message of hope.

Click here to bring Bella HERO to a pro-life pregnancy centre near you.

Click here to financially support Bella HERO’s mission.

Contact:
HERO
P.O. Box 13094
Green Bay, WI 54307

Program Director:
Tracy Reynolds
Ph: (650) 400-0436
E-mail: tracy@BellaHERO.com