Creative Minority Report: Rosie The Republican 2008 - A Catholic Blog: Religion, Politics, Current Events, Humor, and more.

Creative Minority Report: Rosie The Republican 2008 - A Catholic Blog: Religion, Politics, Current Events, Humor, and more.

is responsible for this image which has pinpointed the spirit of Sarah Palin and the life she has breathed into the lackluster McCain campaign.

YES WE CAN DEFEAT OBAMA!!!!

The new face of feminism: Governor Sarah Palin

I celebrated with Governor Palin in April of this year when she gave birth to Trig, her son with Down syndrome (see link). I hoped that McCain had the class and common sense to choose here as his VP running mate. Now, I'm speechless with joy. Sarah Palin is perfect in every way, pro-life, pro-family, great mom to five children including a special needs child, a moral beacon in corrupt Alaska politics, an avid outdoors woman who knows how important oil is, and just an outstanding role model for women in power. And she's beautiful too, better looking at 44 after 5 births than she was as second runner up to Miss Alaska!
This is the new face of feminism, folks. No more angry women who fear their own femininity, and try to out-man the men. True feminists embrace the beauty of femininity without shying away from positions of power.
Sarah Palin for Vice President!!!!

The future of choice

John Francis Borra(veritatis@eaglecom.net)

Used with permission

Biden's bishop bans his speaking at Catholic schools

Senator Joe Biden won't be able to address Catholic schools in Bishop Saltarelli's diocese of Wilmington, DE even if he wins the election and becomes Vice President.

In that document Bishop Saltarelli notes that, in line with the US Bishops Conference policy, "Our Catholic institutions will not honor Catholic politicians who take pro-abortion legislative positions or invite them to speak at our functions or schools."

Read the entire story at Life Site News.

Pro-life Counter Demonstration near DNC

from Family Research Council
Despite the strong pro-abortion positions of the Democratic platform and the party's imminent nominee, Sen. Barack Obama, pro-life voices are anything but silent in Denver during this week's Democratic convention. Last night, FRC Action's own Peter Sprigg joined several thousand people in Denver's Martin Luther King Park for a pro-life rally, followed by a peaceful prayer march around a new Planned Parenthood abortion facility that targets minorities.

Featured speakers included Dr. Alveda King, niece of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who declared that life is "the civil rights issue of our day." Also featured was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Denver, Charles Chaput, author of a just-published book on the relationship between religion and politics titled Render unto Caesar. Young people in the crowd-those born after the 1973 Supreme Court decision-wore t-shirts declaring, "I Survived Roe v. Wade." At the Democrats' official interfaith prayer gathering on Sunday, the crowd reportedly went silent when the keynote speaker, Bishop Charles E. Blake of the Church of God in Christ, expressed the "moral and spiritual pain so many of us feel because of this disregard for the lives of the unborn." Sen. Robert Casey (D-Penn.), who speaks at the convention tonight, calls himself pro-life-we hope that his message tonight will be strongly and comprehensively pro-life one.

Cardinal Egan stands up to Nancy Pelosi

This is like the good old days; a New York City Cardinal telling a CINO (Catholic in Name Only) she must recant her pro-abortion position! It reminds me of Cardinal John O'Connor and Geraldine Ferraro and Mario Cuomo. Well done, Cardinal Egan!
The Cardinal went on to strongly denounce Pelosi's pro-abortion position: "No one with the slightest measure of integrity or honor could fail to know what these marvelous beings manifestly, clearly, and obviously are, as they smile and wave into the world outside the womb.""Anyone who dares to defend that they may be legitimately killed because another human being 'chooses' to do so or for any other equally ridiculous reason should not be providing leadership in a civilized democracy worthy of the name," concluded Cardinal Egan.

Read the entire story at Life Site News.
More bishops rebuke Pelosi, read the story on Catholic Culture.

Huckabee for McCain's VP?

There's no indication that Huckabee is being considered, so consider this idle speculation like the Hillary chatter prior to Obama's pick. But wouldn't Huckabee make a lot of sense given the things we've learned the last two weeks?
Huckabee would be an excellent choice of Vice President, it would show conservatives that McCain is seriously pro-life.
Read the entire story at the National Review.

Don't miss this film: Henry Poole is here

If you're tired of the fantasy world of the Democrat Convention, get away from your TV, into a movie theatre, and see "Henry Poole is Here" for a dose of inspiration which is guaranteed to cure the convention blues.

For those of you who admired Chinese society during the Olympics

Yes, Obama, I mean you! A Chinese bishop was detained just before the end of the Olympics. I suppose he posed a threat to the organized, unified image of Chinese society so admired by our gullible Presidential Candidate. Bet this won't be on his radar.
Security agents detained an elderly bishop of an underground Catholic church in northern China hours before the closing of the Olympic Games, a U.S.-based group said Monday.
Bishop Julius Jia Zhiguo, 73, of Zhengding, a city in northern Hebei province, was taken by six government officials from his cathedral on Sunday morning, the Cardinal Kung Foundation said in a statement.
Read the entire story here.
HT NOR

Archbishop Chaput: Deny Biden Communion

On Monday morning in Denver, where the Democratic National Convention is underway, Archbishop Charles Chaput told the Associated Press that because of support for abortion, Biden should refrain from taking Communion. During his tenure in the senate, Joe Biden has voted numerous times in support of abortion and has characterized himself as a strong supporter of Roe v. Wade.
He is joined in his opinion by Fr. Frank Pavone, George Weigel, Austin Ruse, and any other Catholic of conscience.
We must not take this slap in the face quietly!
Read the entire story on Catholic Online.

What YOU can do about fake Catholic Biden running for office

Assuming that you're frustrated about so called Catholic Biden running for VP trying to glean the Catholic vote, and you live in a blue state, like me.
What can you do about the election?
You can pray publicly and show Catholics, and others what, or rather who is at stake.
50 million Americans have been killed by abortion since Roe v Wade, and it's time for it to end.
40 Days for Life is coming to a city near you, just in time to pray for a Godly man to be elected President. Commit yourself to a certain time each week, so you can make a difference.

Fr Frank Pavone on the elections: Let us pray

Click here to participate in Priests for Life 9 week election novena.
Please consider making a committment to prayer and fasting to spare us from the moral poverty of an Obama-Biden regime. I shudder to think of what damage can be done to our nation if these men are given power.

Predsident Bush provides freedom of conscience for health care workers

The Bush administration proposed stronger job protections Thursday for doctors and other health care workers who refuse to participate in abortions because of religious or moral objections.
Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt says the new rules are not meant to end services.
Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt said health care professionals should not face retaliation from employers or from medical societies because they object to abortion.
"Freedom of conscience is not to be surrendered upon issuance of a medical degree," Leavitt said. "This nation was built on a foundation of free speech. The first principle of free speech is protected conscience."
This is a perfectly reasonable protection of Americans freedom of conscience. Naturally, Planned Parenthood Federation, who is not only America's largest provider of abortions but funded by your tax dollars, is suing.
Read the entire story at CNN.com who, by the title, doesn't sound at all pleased.
Oh, yeah, they're NOT the "we report you decide" channel, you can tell by their ratings!

Biden not denied Holy Communion in his home parish

We know that the Church is in severe disarray when a Catholic politician like Biden or my own Catholic pro-abort Cong. Tim Bishop can receive the Body and Blood of Christ in public mortal sin. May God have mercy on their misguided souls!
Read the entire story here at msnbc.com.

For Nancy Pelosi: A Primer on the Church Teaching on Abortion

By Judie Brown
Judie received the following question in her email:
Why have the Catholic bishops not instructed the appropriate dioceses and parishes to refuse to administer the Holy Eucharist to politicians and candidates who openly espouse a woman's right to receive an abortion? I find this refusal to act very cowardly and hypocritical. I don't believe that the church [sic] can hide behind the excuse that their tax free status prohibits them from acting because this is a matter of morals and is independent of politics. The failure to act causes me to question the validity of the church of which I have been a member for 70 years.
This is perhaps the $64-million-dollar question of the decade, if not the century. And I wish I had a simple answer to provide, but I don’t. So I would like to start with some basic Church teaching that might help us agree that there are some Catholic bishops who simply don’t see things as clearly as people like me.
The Catholic Church teaches that the act of abortion is an intrinsically evil act, a direct attack on God and, therefore, a mortal sin. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states,
Since the first century, the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law:
You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish.
God, the Lord of life, has entrusted to men the noble mission of safeguarding life, and men must carry it out in a manner worthy of themselves. Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes.
A mortal sin is to be judged as mortal according to the following criteria set forth in the Catechism:
For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must together be met: "Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent."
Further, the Catechism states,
Mortal sin requires full knowledge and complete consent. It presupposes knowledge of the sinful character of the act, of its opposition to God's law. It also implies a consent sufficiently deliberate to be a personal choice. Feigned ignorance and hardness of heart do not diminish, but rather increase, the voluntary character of a sin.
By deductive reasoning, we can therefore know that those who are intentionally supporting the grave sin of abortion either politically, financially or otherwise in the public sphere, while claiming to be Catholic, can be guilty not only of scandal but also in serious danger of so gravely offending God that, unless they repent, they will be damned. That is not a personal opinion of mine; it happens to be a truth taught by the Catholic Church. Why else would the sacrament of penance exist?
Therefore, the Catholic bishops have a moral responsibility to be loving and charitable toward those errant souls by not only refusing them the body and blood of Christ, but explaining the reasons why they have no other choice. To deny Holy Communion to such people is act of love toward the public sinner and an act of protection for Christ’s body and blood. Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) made that point perfectly clear in his 2004 memo entitled "Worthiness to Receive Holy Communion: General Principles". Archbishop Raymond Burke recently made the same statement, explaining that it is proper to deny Communion to such people "until they have reformed their lives."
Therefore, I have to answer the fellow who wrote to me by suggesting to him the following:
If a bishop knowingly avoids the obvious and does not teach his flock these facts from the Catechism and acts as if he does not believe in them by failing to explain
how we are evaluate political candidates and
why he is obligated to enforce Church law and deny Holy Communion to public advocates of abortion who claim to be Catholic,
then that bishop is at fault. We need to pray for him, exhort him to teach the truth and ask the Lord to make him bold in these tragic and treacherous times. If lay people like us fail to do so, then we too are too timid to defend the truths of the Catholic faith.
Whether or not a person is going to hell is not for any of us to decide. But it is for each of us to know and understand the truth and spread it to all those with whom we have influence. In the case of a bishop, this responsibility is enormous, but it is also part of his job description.
As far as questioning the validity of the Catholic Church is concerned, I would ask you to join me in praying for the man who wrote to me. He does not see the difference between the Church, which is the bride of Christ, and the mortal human beings who are bishops in need of guts. Let us not question Christ; rather let us question those who for whatever reason offend Him by their silence and acquiescence.
Let us not judge those bishops, but encourage them to be bold. The hour is late, and Catholics need leadership, not political pandering. Abortion is an act of murder, and the bishops have the obligation to tell it like it is. That’s a fact!
Judie Brown is president of American Life League and a member of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

Catholic University of San Diego nixes pro-abortion Professor Ruether

I spend a lot of time on this blog complaining, but I always try to give my readers work to do to redress the wrongs. Feeling helpless in the face of outrage is terrible, it makes you do crazy things, like start a blog!
Brian McDaniel at Ora et Labora has a post on how the president of Catholic University of San Diego terminated the positon of a radical Catholic professor, amid much protest.
Rosemary Radford Ruether is a well-known feminist theologian who made news this week because the University of San Diego rescinded Ruether’s appointment to the Portman Chair in Roman Catholic Theology. The appointment would be counter to its namesake’s intention to promote “distinguished theologians who think from within the Roman Catholic tradition.”
Ruether advocates gay marriage, ordination for women, and other anti-Catholic causes.
Almost on cue, two national women’s groups have put together a petition with more than 2,000 signatures demanding that the University of San Diego give Ruether the post.
I think Catholics can do better.
The radical feminists had 2,000 signatures on a petition to protest, McDaniel is attempting to collect double that number, or 4,000 signatures saying "Well done!"
It's the least we can do to support a valaint Catholic in academia, they are so rare, they must be lonely.
Read the blog post here, and follow the links to the petition.

Fr Joe Jenkins has a fitting tribute to a worthy Nobel Laureate

Read his commentary here.
We both had Aleksander Solzeniztyn and Ronald Reagan as our heroes in our formative years. How fortunate we were! Who do the teens look up to now; AL Gore?

Archbishop Chaput not welcome at Democrat Convention in his city

Isn't that funny, Obama picks a Catholic running mate, Joe Biden (D-DE) but doesn't invite the Archbishop of Denver to the Deomocrat Convention in that city. There is only one reason for that; Archbishop Chaput's outspokenness about Catholic politicians like Biden who support abortion.
"But we can’t build a healthy society while ignoring the routine and very profitable legalized homicide that goes on every day against America’s unborn children. The right to life is foundational. Every other right depends on it. Efforts to reduce abortions, or to create alternatives to abortion, or to foster an environment where more women will choose to keep their unborn child, can have great merit—but not if they serve to cover over or distract from the brutality and fundamental injustice of abortion itself. We should remember that one of the crucial things that set early Christians apart from the pagan culture around them was their rejection of abortion and infanticide. Yet for thirty-five years I’ve watched prominent “pro-choice” Catholics justify themselves with the kind of moral and verbal gymnastics that should qualify as an Olympic event. All they’ve really done is capitulate to Roe v. Wade."
HT First Things

The Archbishop will be there at the Convention anyway, outside protesting Barack Obama and Joe Biden's pro-abortion voting records, with niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Dr. Alveda King.
You're not fooling this Catholic with that ploy to lure the Catholic voter, and I pledge to do as much as possible before November to inform the Catholic electorate on how inappropriate Joe Biden is as a Catholic candidate.
Read the entire story at Catholic Culture. com

President Bush protecting freedom of conscience for Medical Profession

The release of the new regulations on Thursday offering more protection for doctors, medical personnel, and medical centers that refuse to participate in abortions received hearty applause from pro-life groups nationwide. They noted how pro-abortion groups have moved from "choice" to forcing abortions.
The U.S. Catholic bishops’ spokesperson on abortion, Deirdre McQuade, welcomed the proposed regulations as a way to protect medical personnel from being coerced to violate their consciences in federally funded programs.
“Doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel face pressure to participate in abortion – a practice that many find abhorrent in good conscience,” McQuade said. “The enforcement of federal laws designed to protect their freedom of conscience is long overdue.”
Read the entire story on Life News.

39% of Americans say abortion is important to their vote

You won't hear it on the news, but Americans care very much about life issues, and it may be what decides the election.
The number is down from the figure Pew found in 2004, when 47 percent of Americans said abortion played a role in determining their presidential vote.
The Pew survey also found that "Voters who are strongly opposed to abortion are much more likely than other voters to say that these are very important voting issues."
That confirms other polls showing that pro-life voters have a much higher voting intensity than voters who support abortions. That intensity has been responsible for giving pro-life candidates like John McCain an edge over pro-abortion candidates like Barack Obama.
Read the entire story at Life News.

The courage of Chinese Catholics

. . .enabled them to defy the authorities and attend Holy Mass with their imprisoned Bishop.
More than a thousand underground Catholics defied police controls to meet in a church in Wuqiu (Hebei) to celebrate mass on the feast day of the Assumption of Mary with their bishop, Julius Jia Zhiguo, who has been under house arrest and police surveillance around the clock. Sources told AsiaNews however that the bishop is isolated and that priests and seminarians cannot see him in person. Monsignor Jia is bishop of the underground diocese of Zhengding (Hebei), which has more than 110,000 Catholics with 80 priests and more than 90 nuns. For the Olympics public security officers warned Catholics in the diocese not to celebrate the feast in Wuqiu cathedral. Prelates and priests were placed instead under house arrest.
THIS is why I was against holding the Olympics in China, it inflicted additional suffering on an already persecuted Church. We would do well to imitate the Catholics there who are willing to die for their faith. We don't even want to be embarrassed for ours.
Read the entire story at Catholic Online.

Be a pro-life witness for the Presidential Election!

John Zogby polled Catholics right after the revelations of Barack Obama's support for infanticide became public, and support for him dropped 11% among Catholics, a key demographic for the election. Obama is courting Catholics and Evangelicals, but he won't fool us if we become Pro-Life Witnesses by downloading the fliers on Ruben Obregon's website Pro-Life Witness for distribution at churches nationwide.
I want to remind you that I distributed thousands of pro-life fliers in two states during the Bush-Kerry election of 2004 with a broken toe. President Bush has been the most pro-life president we have had in office. I am not crazy about McCain, but he has a 100% pro-life voting record, and clearly promised at Saddleback Church that he'd be a "pro-life President".
He even knew the answer to Pastor Warren's trick question:
"When does human life begin?" McCain answered immediately, "At conception".

Obama is still working on an answer to that one, which will sound, but not be pro-life, fool the Christians, and pacify the radical pro-aborts who fund his campaign.
That is why we must educate believers about the truth: Barack Obama supported infanticide every chance he got. He is the most extreme candidate ever to run for office in the USA.

HT CNA, Jill Stanek

The power of good bishops was felt in Ecuador!

The governements of South America are under tremendous pressure from NGOs like Planned Parenthood to change their consitutions to include abortion. This might have happened, in fact, practically speaking it was a 'done deal' in Ecuador, until the nation's bishops showed them what shepherds are for, to save the sheep from the wolves. Well done!
Life Site News says:
In response to the proposed document, the leader of the Ecuadorian Episcopal Conference, Archbishop Antonio Arregui of Guayaquil, issued a bold and unequivocal statement denouncing the document's pro-abortion language, as well as other passages recognizing homosexual "rights", "transgenderism" (the notion that gender is all in one's head), and other anti-family provisions. Succinct and to the point, Arregui called the issues "non-negotiable".

The response of the Catholic hierarchy and its allies in Ecuador, in the face of political and physical intimidation, offers an embarrassing contrast to the muted voices, silence, and even connivance of religious leaders in the United States, Canada, and Europe, who seem to fear the derision of the cultural pseudo-elites more than their counterparts in South America fear death.

What would be the outcome if all the Catholic bishops of the United States were to make a firm and unequivocal stand against the "culture of death", excommunicating pro-abortion politicians, and ensuring that all Catholics are adequately informed about the Church's doctrine in such matters? If politicians knew that they were likely to lose one quarter of the voting population over such issues (in addition to the many non-Catholic votes), it is hard to imagine the continuing viability of pro-abortion, anti-family politics at the national level.
Read the entire story on Life Site News

Jill Stanek may be The One to bring down Barack Obama

Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh have been doing an outstanding job proclaiming the truth about Obama's opposition to the Born Alive Infant Protection Act, which came to light in the Saddleback Forum last Saturday.
Of course, Jill Stanek, the proponent of the bill has been shouting it from the rooftops all along, but tonight she will have the opportunity to speak to the nation on Hannity and Colmes. This is big, America will not vote for a man who would kill infants already born.
This may be the beginning of the end for Barack Obama, don't miss it!

Citizen Link has taken note of the mainstream media's coverage:
Nine years ago, Chicago nurse Jill Stanek discovered babies who survived botched abortions at Christ Hospital were left to die in a soiled-utility room.
Since then, she has worked to protect those babies and educate the public about the horrific practice.
This week, the mainstream media are taking notice of her efforts. Why? Because at the center of the controversy stands Sen. Barack Obama.
Consider recent headlines:
The New York Times: "Obama’s 2003 Stand on Abortion Draws New Criticism in 2008."
The Washington Post: "Candidates' Abortion Views Not So Simple."
Chicago Tribune: "Obama's record on abortion hit."
The Associated Press: "Obama faces new criticism on abortion."
As chairman of the Health and Human Services Committee in the Illinois Legislature in 2003, Obama blocked the Born Alive Infant Protection Act. The bill, which followed Stanek's gruesome discovery, would have protected babies who survive an abortion.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue speaks to the growing interest in Sen. Barack Obama's abortion record:
"The pro-life community has been tracking Obama's support for selective infanticide for quite a while, but only recently has there been a national discussion on this issue. On May 15, I said on "Fox and Friends" that 'There's been a media cover-up on this [issue].' But now the cat's out of the bag.

"Last night on "Hannity and Colmes" Bob Beckel tried to argue that neither Obama nor NARAL supports the selective killing of infants. Yet the bill that would offer protection to children who survived abortions is precisely what Obama opposed when he was in the Illinois state senate. As for NARAL, it initially opposed the bill when it was introduced in 2000 and then lied about it; in 2002, after it became clear that NARAL had no support from pro-abortion congressmen and senators, it changed its position.

"On July 20, 2000, NARAL issued a news release, Roe v. Wade Faces Renewed Assault in House: Anti-Choice Lawmakers Hold Hearing On So-Called "Born Alive Infants Protection Act." The news release stated that NARAL was opposed to the bill introduced by Rep. Charles Canady. Yet on October 29, 2000, NARAL's New York executive director Kelli Conlin told WNBC-TV's Gabe Pressman that NARAL was not opposed to the bill. I told her on the show that she was 'an out-and-out liar' and mailed her and Pressman the evidence following the show. Neither replied.

"It's quite clear what's going on: the radical pro-abortionists, and no one is more radical than Obama and NARAL, will even defend selective infanticide if there is one chance in a million that it will chip away at Roe v. Wade. Incredibly, even NARAL eventually dropped its opposition to the bill, something Obama never did (his campaign now admits that the wording of the Illinois bill and the federal bill were virtually identical). Which means that when it comes to abortion, Obama wins the Gold."
UPDATE:
I just saw Jill Stanek's segment with Sean, her testimony was accurate, well stated and explosive! Just watch the Obama campaign try to keep the lid on this powder keg!
Here's a blog which explains the various lies which Obama told to obscure his radical position on killing babies born during abortion.
Here's a new website dedicated to telling the truth about Obama's extremism on abortion. Obama wants You!

Let the APA that abortion hurts women!

It has been said by many in the pro-life movement that abortion will be ended when the millions of women it has wounded speak out. Now is their chance.
The American Psychological Association needs help with it's case of denial. It's so wedded to the secular humanist mentality which prohibits any kind of moral code, that it adopts unscientific doctrinaire positions like this one. Women who love the women hurt by abortion; now's your chance to speak out.
Because, as Feminists for Life says,
Women deserve better than abortion.

Last week the American Psychological Association (APA) released a heavily biased report with a sweeping pro-abortion conclusion based upon one solitary study -- to the detriment of American women's health. In recklessly dismissing a body of scientific research which establishes the negative mental health effects associated with abortion, the APA has shown itself to be blind to the scientific evidence and callous towards the well-being of women.
The APA needs to hear from you that a new, more-scientifically based report is needed. Any research needs to be broader in scope and include studies that this report ignored; for example, studies that have highlighted the high prevalence of women affected by repeat abortions or studies that have shown an equally high number of women in the U.S. who have felt "coerced" into their abortions.
There is a growing body of testimony from real women who have suffered from abortion, as cited by last year's Supreme Court decision in Gonzales v. Carhart which upheld the federal ban on partial-birth abortion.
Please contact Dr. Alan E. Kazdin, the current President of the American Psychological Association, and let him know that this biased report does further harm to women by covering up the truth!Thank you for taking action today.
Let the APA Know Abortion Harms Women
Sincerely,
Tony Perkins
Family Research Council

Teenage Prolife protesters arrested en masse in Maryland

FIRST AMENDMENT VIOLATIONS
From American Life League
On Aug. 1, 18 pro-lifers were falsely, brutally arrested on bogus charges by Maryland state police officers. Most were scared, crying teenage kids. They weren't told the charges for which they were being arrested and they weren't read their Miranda Rights. The girls were humiliatingly searched, and all were locked up. Most weren't allowed to see their lawyers and were denied their phone calls.
This is one of the largest mass arrests of pro-lifers since the days of the clinic rescue movement which ended in the early 1990s. It's a clear violation of First and Fourth Amendment rights.It's being ignored in a massive media blackout.
"This type of harassment has been used against peaceful protestors in the past and never have these tyrannical methods been acceptable," said Jen Catelli, director of media relations at American Life League. "The pro-life community needs to stand up and demand media attention for these heinous abuses."
Defend Life's Maryland Face the Truth Tour had one final stop to make in Hagerstown, Maryland. They peacefully set up their signs along a stretch of highway and began to pray. State police officers soon showed up and demanded they take down their signs. The pro-lifers complied and moved to a different area.
State police followed and began making arrests.
"They violated all our rights," said Jack Ames, president and founder of Defend Life. Ames spent the night locked in a cell with the other pro-lifers. Ames and his fellow pro-lifers spent the night praying and singing the Lord's Prayer, the Ave Maria and Tantum Ergo. The next morning officials released the pro-lifers. Charges have since been dropped.
"American Life League is committed to making sure these people get the attention they deserve," Catelli said. "This kind of blatant disregard for pro-lifers' rights on the part of Governor Martin O'Malley's state police won't be tolerated. If these pro-lifers were pro-abortion activists or PETA protesters, this would have been on the front page of every newspaper on the East Coast."
"As more information surfaces about this mass arrest, ALL will ensure that everyone in the pro-life movement hears about these heroes," Catelli continued.

Rewards go to NY Legislators who voted pro-gay

Gay Activist Tim Gill Rewards N.Y. Lawmakers Who Voted to Gut Marriage
from Citizen Link
Republicans in the New York Assembly who voted last year to legalize same-sex "marriage" in the state have received thousands of dollars from homosexual activists across the nation.
The (New York) Sun reported that the four lawmakers, who rarely raise money from outside their districts, have benefited from a fund-raising network stretching to at least nine states.
Not surprisingly, the Gill Action Fund is behind many of those donations.
The gay-activist group, founded by computer software mogul Tim Gill, solicited donations at a conference in Miami in the spring.
The Republican-led Senate hopes to keep the Empire State from becoming the third state to allow same-sex "marriage."
"It's a strong belief among many Republicans that it's not the way to go," Sen. Martin Golden, R-Brooklyn, told The Sun. "It's a core belief that we have. We stick with our core beliefs."
In May, New York Gov. David Paterson changed up to 1,300 state policies and regulations to include same-sex couples who were "married" elsewhere.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Read previous CitizenLink reports on Tim Gill.
Watch Turn Signal's report on Tim Gill.

Austin Ruse on Saddleback

CNA also spoke with Austin Ruse, president of the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute. He explained that he was "amazed by the performance of both Obama and McCain. Obama was almost aloof, cerebral; certain to excite the hearts of liberals from Cambridge to Berkley. McCain was forceful, engaging, direct, everything we look for in a leader. Obama had a flip answer on the life issues saying it was “above his pay-grade” to know when children should have human rights. Obama made it clear that embryo destructive research is fine by him and McCain, who has not been good on this issue, has shown that he is coming our way."

"McCain also made it clear that as soon as a federal judge imposes homosexual marriage on the states, he would support a change in the Constitution. The difference between the candidates could not have been starker. McCain did himself a world of good at Saddleback."
Read the entire story here.
HT CNA

The Cross in the Dirt

As a teenager, I read "The Passing of the Night" by Colonel Robinson Reisner, and was profoundly affected by the moral stength of the men in the Hanoi Hilton. Particularly moving was the story of how one of the POWs provided a church service by whistling the "Ave Maria" while the guards were away one day.
So, imagine my outrage when John McCain's story about drawing a cross in the dirt with a Christian Vietcong prison guard is questioned by the Obama camp.It's the tactic of a campaign which fears it's in decline.
Creative Minority Report has the story.

Rush Limbaugh's finest hour

I have been listening to Rush Limbaugh since the mid-nineties when the extreme moral poverty of the Clinton Administration, had me so discouraged, that I saw no hope for America. He gave me hope. Many times since then, he has gotten me frustrated, by being an uber-capitalist(yes, Rush, the poor DO need a safety net) or wasting airtime talking about cigars, but he's always interesting, and has a way of expressing himself which despite the 24 cable news cycle, has never lost it's freshness.
Yesterday, however, was, as far as this blogger is concerned was Rush's finest hour. He spoke with brilliant clarity about Obama's position on infanticide of babies born during an abortion procedure. He feels that this issue so clearly highlighted at the Saddleback Church through Pastor Rick Warren's exceptional moderation, will decide the election. Once this issue has been so clearly defined that the Obama campaign had to admit that Obama lied about why he opposed the Born Alive Infant Protection Act, that his extreme pro-death views will turn of the American voter. I hope that the he is right, he usually is.
This positive outcome of the election is only true IF John McCain isn't foolish enough to choice a pro-abortion running mate. I hope that the McCain camp takes Rush seriously, and if he gets elected by pro-lifers, like President Bush did, that he is truly the pro-life president he promises to be.

Obamanation

This is why Barack Obama should never be president. He doesn't have the slightest regard for human life which is already born. He voted to kill babies accidently born alive during abortion procedures. Can we trust him with the lives of our children and elderly/
Read the entire story here.

HT National Review

John McCain and Pastor Warren knock it out of the park

Senator Barack Obama miserably failed the test concerning the foundational world view issue. Without the right to life, there are no other rights. Rights attach to persons and abortion kills little persons. Without the freedom to be born, there are no other freedoms. When Senator Obama was asked about the humanity of the child in the womb, he said that such a question was “above his pay grade”. Oh, he then blathered on about their being a “moral and ethical” dimension to the issue. However, he then stated unequivocally “I am pro-choice, I believe in Roe v Wade”. He mouthed something about reducing abortions but the utter clarity of the moment was the highlight of the evening.
The pastor, this man of purpose, followed through with this question, ”Have you ever voted to limit abortions”? Barack Obama was, for the first time in my viewing, at a loss for words. Because the truth is now out there and he knew he could not lie about it. Senator John McCain on the other hand, hit a home run in the eyes of people like me who insist that the issue of respecting the dignity of every human life from the womb to the tomb is not a “single issue” but rather a “World View” issue in Pastor Warren’s terminology.
My sentiments exactly, Deacon Fournier, McCain hit a home run.

Read the entire story here.

HT Catholic Online

I Invented the Internet (Episode 4: Kill and Destroy)

Barack Obama supports the killing of children that have been born. No one should vote for a man who supports infanticide, least of all believing Catholics.

Don't say "it's impossible"

from the Family Research Council
Polygamy: Next Stop, New York State
For a case study in where same-sex "marriage" can lead, look no further than the Netherlands. New reports are circulating that the Scandinavian country, which already recognizes counterfeit marriage, has opened its official registers to polygamists. Although the Dutch officially ban the practice of polygamy, they've agreed to make concessions for the country's immigrants. If Muslims or others move to the Netherlands with multiple wives, a new policy calls for the local leaders to register those marriages. Local registrars are recognizing polygamous marriages every week.
This is exactly what social conservatives have argued all along. When a government redefines marriage, there's no limit to the perversity that will follow. While liberals insist that same-sex "marriage" is the ultimate goal, their demands only lay the groundwork for other relationships to demand the same entitlements. Of course, now that leaders like Gov. David Paterson (D-N.Y.) have agreed to open their borders to out-of-state marriages, what's to keep polygamists from petitioning for recognition in New York?
If marriage means everything, then we are helpless to prohibit anything. Additional Resources Netherlands Recognises Polygamous Marriages of Muslims reports Dutch Newspaper

APA mistrusts the opinon of post-abortive women

It's bad enough to have suffered the trauma of an abortion. It adds salt to the wound when the American Psychological Association tells you that you don't know what you're talking about.
Leaders of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign told LifeNews.com they take issue with the APA report claiming abortion is "not a threat to women's mental health."
"The American Psychological Association's so-called study is nothing more than a conclusion supported by opinions screened to match that predetermined outcome," says Georgette Forney, a co-founder of the group.
Forney knows from personal experience about the negative effects of an abortion as she had one as a teenager. She has dealt with her own emotions and those of friends and family and says the APA should have put more stock in people like her.
"The APA ignored or downplayed large, peer-reviewed studies showing a clear link between abortion and subsequent problems such as depression," she said. "Professionalism and intellectual honesty are not concepts I would associate with this report."
Sounds like the APA has an agenda.
Read the entire story here.
HT Life News

A peek into the sick world of abortion policy planners

Secret Meeting to Plot Global Abortion Strategy Exposed
/UN Personnel Present
By Samantha Singson
(NEW YORK— C-FAM) A group calling itself the "brain trust" met in secret recently to plot how to take advantage of conflict situations to advance the abortion and radical feminist agenda. A new group called the Global Justice Center (GJC) hosted the New York meeting on June 9 of this year. The Friday Fax was given the chance to listen to a recording of the inaugural meeting of the "brain trust” which details the GJC's plan to exploit ceasefire and peace talks to gain leverage in newly-formed governments.
The GJC meeting brought together academics, lawyers, practitioners with ties to radical groups as the George Soros’ Open Society Institute, Equality Now, Center for Reproductive Rights, Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO) and Amnesty International. Jeremy Sarkin, the current UN Special Rapporteur for Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances was also at the meeting.
Participants at the meeting lamented the lack of international political will to enforce “gender justice” around the world and agreed that “shock treatment” was needed to change “the entrenched political and cultural norms that perpetuate male-dominated decision-making bodies and constrain women.”
Janet Benshoof, former president of the Center for Reproductive Rights and current president and founder of the GJC, asserted that conflict situations could be used as an “access point” to change the culture and the players. Benshoof argued that the prime opportunities for advancing their cause lay in the “transitioning government structures which afford particular opportunity for repositioning women's role in public life and decision-making.”
Meeting participants deliberated on how human rights law precedents could be made in conflict situations to “reshape power structures,” ensure gender equality, create “judicial entrepreneurs” and change norms. Some ideas included: increasing the number of women judges, increasing the number of female legislators by getting political parties to actively recruit women, and implementing affirmative action policies.
One participant mused, “A lot of laws have not been interpreted or defined in a new country and you can assume that whatever you want the law to be, it is – unless it is proven otherwise. So of course we put the most progressive spin on it.”
Apart from getting involved in conflict situations, the group discussed other possible opportunities and entry points to change norms and advance the agenda. The group expressed hope in being able to take advantage of the new human rights bodies that are being created by the Association of South East Asian Nations and the Arab League.
One member of the group boasted, “The more we say it, the more people get to believing it. We’re changing the norm. First they laugh and then they start repeating it.”
The Global Justice Center started as a project of Women’s Link Worldwide, which was founded by the pro-abortion advocacy group The Center for Reproductive Rights, an organization that seeks to create an international human right to abortion on demand through litigation. By the end of the day-long meeting, participants said they were looking forward to coming together again to discuss monitoring and implementation and “to think of creative mechanisms for enforcing laws.” Future meetings of the "brain trust" have not yet been announced.
For more news, visit us at www.c-fam.org

David Tolleson updates us on "Tropic Thunder" Protest

Two weeks ago, the National Down Syndrome Congress joined with other national disability rights organizations to address the new DreamWorks Studios film, "Tropic Thunder". In conversations with studio executives, our coalition was led to believe that the offending portions of the film were minor and obviously satirical, and would have little impact.

However, last Friday, NDSC Resource Specialist Sue Joe and I were able to see an advanced screening of the film. Journalist Pat Bauer was also in attendance and gives an excellent overview of the film on her blog (www.patriciaebauer.com).

The offending parts comprise a major plot line and, as feared, are already leading to the sale of such items as t-shirts screaming, "You Never Go Full Retard!" On Monday, other national leaders saw the film. The coalition has called for a nationwide boycott. The first one was held last night at the Hollywood premiere. You can see CNN coverage at Pat Bauer's website and view the Washington Post article.

In addition, this story has also been picked up by

ABC News

The New York Times

National Public Radio Access Hollywood, and press in Australia, Great Britain, and elsewhere.

What can you do to help?

Contact your local affiliate. Over the past week, we have been in touch with leaders from across the country. Many groups are coordinating their efforts with groups such as The Arc and Special Olympics, and protests are planned for today, when the film opens across the country, through next Sunday.

Write an Op-Ed piece for your local newspaper, or a letter to the editor regarding discrimination against individuals with disabilities. I did this, it's up at Catholic Exchange.

Reading all of the hurtful and hateful comments posted on blogs in response to the boycott can be hard to take. But you could respon, tell your side of the story. Freedom of speech works in our favor, too. I did this too, ouch!

Consider contacting your local school principal and ask them to be on the lookout for disruptive "Tropic Thunder" merchandise or bullying behavior. A sample letter, provided by the Connecticut Down Syndrome Congress, is attached. Here is the article about their protest today.

Does your local theatre employ self advocates? We heard of one theatre who has decided to pull the movie after speaking with an employee. Another theatre is allowing a self advocate employee to distribute literature to those attending the show.

Share this excellent video, produced by 2008 NDSC Media Award winner Will Schermerhorn for The Arc of Northern Virginia.

Visit Special Olympics' new site . Take the pledge to support the elimination of the word, and pass the link on to your friends so they can take the pledge, too.

If you have a middle or high school age sibling returning to school, or off to band camp, football practice, etc., urge them to share with their friends why words hurt and why they should not patronize "Tropic Thunder". This age group will be a key battleground.

Sign the online petition

Though we're in a busy time of year, with the end of summer vacation and the beginning of school, I believe this is a watershed moment in the disability rights movement. It has been a long time, if ever, that so many national and local organizations have banded together to say, "enough is enough". ANYTHING you can do is better than doing nothing. Please make every effort to lend your aid, and spread the news right away. It's time to put the nation on notice that we will not sit quietly by while our fellow self advocates, friends, children, siblings and co-workers are attacked. People with disabilities have rights and value, and deserve respect.

Thank you for your advocacy.

David Tolleson
Executive Director

The Courting of the Catholic Vote

Anita Crane sounds off on the candidates courting the unreliable Catholic Vote and the problems with each side at Spero News.
"We Catholics find ourselves at a very interesting point in history. Once again, presidential elections are upon us and we represent the largest bloc of religious voters at an estimated 25% of America ’s registered voting population. Therefore, Senators Obama and McCain are out to get our votes."
Read the entire article here.
No truly prolife candidate is running except the faithful Catholic, ever articulate, and maddenly unelectable Alan Keyes, who says we have two evil choices. He's right of course. Don't you wish McCain would select him as a running mate, and well, retire while in office?
Sadly we have Alan Keyes to thank for Obama winning his Senate seat in the first place. Maybe McCain can give him a Cabinet Post. . .

A Traitor to his Father's Legacy: Bob Casey Jr. to Speak at Dem Convention

from the Catholic League
BOB CASEY, JR. TO SPEAK AT CONVENTION; MEDIA MISLABEL HIM PRO-LIFE

Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey, Jr. will speak at the Democratic National Convention on August 26. His father, Bob Casey, was barred from speaking at the 1992 Democratic National Convention because he was pro-life.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue responded as follows:

"If a Democrat voted with the National Rifle Association two out of every three times, no one in his right mind would call that person an advocate of gun control. Yet Bob Casey, Jr., who has a NARAL voting record of 65 percent (click here) meaning that he votes with the radical pro-abortion group two out of every three times, is somehow considered pro-life. Casey can mouth the virtues of pro-life all he wants, but at the end of the day what matters is his voting record.

"Casey's father, contrary to the latest spin, was not denied the right to speak at the 1992 convention because he didn't endorse Bill Clinton. As Bob Casey said at the time, California Treasurer Kathleen Brown (sister of Jerry Brown), was allowed to speak even though she endorsed her brother over Clinton. The difference was that Brown was pro-abortion.

"The Democrats, with the help of their friends in the media, will now use the Pennsylvania pro-abortion senator to sell the message that they have gotten beyond their anti-Catholic reputation. That reputation, which was played out in 1992 by delegates who wore anti-papal buttons at the convention, still sticks. If they are serious about reaching out to Catholics and jettisoning their anti-Catholic baggage once and for all, they can allow a prominent Catholic to speak in Denver who is truly pro-life. That should be an easy choice to make given the small pool of eligible candidates."

ACT NOW to protect freedom of conscience for health care workers!

This is an alert from The Population Research Institute, please call the HHS Secretary today, I did and it took one minute, and they were very polite.
INFO BELOW

New Conscience Regulations Under Active Consideration at HHS

Earlier this week we sent out a Weekly Briefing explaining how the Department of Health and Human Services has come under fire for even considering strengthening their conscience regulations. These regulations would refuse HHS funding to health care providers who discriminate against employees on the basis of their pro-life beliefs. If an employee, or potential employee, says that he will not provide contraceptives or abortions, the bill states that the provider cannot fire them, or refuse to hire them, on that basis.HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt is giving every signal that he wants to do the right thing. Mr. Leavitt is a friend to the pro-life cause on this issue, and he is in a position to do what we want. We need to back him up as much as possible, especially since the opposition is increasing the pressure against him.
How do we know this? On August 12 Secretary Leavitt wrote this in the HHS blog: "I want to reiterate. If the Department of Health and Human Services issues a regulation on this matter, it will aim at one thing, protecting the right of conscience of those who practice medicine. From what I've read the last few days, there's a serious need for it."
Earlier, on August 8, Secretary Leavitt wrote this in the HHS blog: http://secretarysblog.hhs.gov/my_weblog/2008/08/physician-con-2.html "Several months ago, I became aware that certain medical specialty certification groups were adopting requirements which potentially violate a physician's right to choose whether he or she performs abortion. I wrote to the organizations in question, protesting their actions. Frankly, I found their response to be dodgy and unsatisfying. I sent another letter, more of the same.Not only are there clear provisions in three separate laws protecting federally-funded health care providers' right of conscience, but doing otherwise undermines the most fundamental moral underpinning of freedom of expression and action. I asked that regulations be drafted which would enforce these long-standing laws protecting a medical practitioner's conscience rights.An early draft of the regulations found its way into public circulation before it had reached my review. It contained words that lead some to conclude my intent is to deal with the subject of contraceptives, somehow defining them as abortion. Not true.
The Bush Administration has consistently supported the unborn. However, the issue I asked to be addressed in this regulation is not abortion or contraceptives, but the legal right medical practitioners have to practice according to their conscience and patients should be able to choose a doctor who has beliefs like his or hers.The Department is still contemplating if it will issue a regulation or not. If it does, it will be directly focused on the protection of practitioner conscience.Many have provided comments on this subject and they will all be included under this posting."
Please contact Secretary Leavitt at his office and urge him to prepare regulations to guarantee freedom of conscience for medical providers. As I mentioned above, you can calling his office and leave this message with his staff at 202-690-7000.
Or you can fax your letters directly to his office at 202-690-7203.

My take on the "R word" controversy

Is in a piece entitled, "It's Just a Word" up on Catholic Exchange. Despite all our protests, "Tropic Thunder" opens today and DreamWorks doesn't care who is wounded by the word RETARD.

But I do!

Catholic hospital to merge with abortion provider in NY

The new abortion center that will be located in this southeastern New York city will see construction begin next week. The Foxhall Ambulatory Surgery Center abortion facility was slated to be open by the end of the year but likely won't begin doing abortions until early 2009.
The Kingston and Benedictine hospitals are completing a merger and that will result in the building of a center doing abortions and legitimate medical services.
Michael Kaminski, the chief executive officer of Kingston Hospital, said a groundbreaking ceremony will be held at the construction site on Monday morning at 8:00 a.m.
SO in effect, Benedictine Hospital will open a death camp. Is that what the religious who founded that hospital envision? Here are the USCCB guideines for Catholic hospitals:
Issues in Care for the Beginning of Life
Introduction
The Church's commitment to human dignity inspires an abiding concern for the sanctity of human life from its very beginning, and with the dignity of marriage and of the marriage act by which human life is transmitted. The Church cannot approve medical practices that undermine the biological, psychological, and moral bonds on which the strength of marriage and the family depends.
Read the entire story here.
HT Life News

Protest at premiere of "Tropic Thunder"

My West Coast friends, organized 50 protestors from twenty disabitity groups to protest at yesterday's Hollywood premiere of "Tropic Thunder". Groups around the nation are planning similar protests tomorrow as the film opens nationwide.
Read the entire story here.

"We are asking people not to go to the movie and hope to bring a consciousness to people about using derogatory words about this population," said Peter Wheeler, spokesman for Special Olympics, one of 22 disability groups nationwide protesting the satire."That will be the start of a nationwide protest," said Wheeler. "We will continue to be vocal about the destructive effect of this film."

HT Reuters UK

Note from Gail Williamson on her protest of "Tropic Thunder"

Gail Williamson is the foremost advocate for the disabled in Hollywood. I was privileged to meet here at the premiere of "Mr Blue Sky" in April of 2007. Among her many accomplishments, Gail is responsible for getting individuals with Down syndrome prominent roles in TV and film, including Eddie Barbarell in "The Ringer", and helped with the casting of babies with Down syndrome in the recent Lifetime film, "The Memory Keeper's Daughter". Gail has a handsome son, Blair with Down syndrome who has acted in several movies, including one with Jim Caveziel. She is organizing a protest at today's premiere of "Tropic Thunder".
Here is her account of the meeting she organized with disability groups and Dreamworks Studios.

President Bush to China: "Don't be afraid of religion"

I'm not above changing my opinion on something. When Rep. Chris Smith, a true Catholic politician, introduced a motion to boycott the Olympics in China, I was incensed that President Bush would be attending the games in a country with such an abominable record on human rights.
Now I see that perhaps his gentle but persistent efforts towards encouraging greater freedom of religion in China may be more effective when spoken directly versus through a boycott.
We'll know by the fruits if this approach was effective. There's such a long way to go.
"Sunday morning in Beijing, President Bush attended the Beijing Kuanjie Protestant Christian Church. After the government-established church service, the U.S. president gently encouraged the Chinese government to consider granting religious freedom to its citizens, telling them not to fear Christianity.
The president expressed that he and his wife experienced “great joy and privilege of worshiping here in Beijing, China.” Bush explained that the service showed “that God is universal, and God is love, and no state, man or woman should fear the influence of loving religion.”
Read the entire story here.
HT CNA

1968 the year that we are still recovering from

On the fortieth anniversary of Humanae Vitae, I have been asked to reflect on one event of that year, the doctrinal dissent among some priests and theologians in an American archdiocese on the occasion of its publication. It is not an easy or welcome task. But since it may help some followers of Jesus to live what Pope Paul VI called a more “disciplined” life (HV 21), I will explore that event.
The summer of 1968 is a record of God’s hottest hour. The memories are not forgotten; they are painful. They remain vivid like a tornado in the plains of Colorado. They inhabit the whirlwind where God’s wrath dwells. In 1968, something terrible happened in the Church. Within the ministerial priesthood, ruptures developed everywhere among friends which never healed. And the wounds continue to affect the whole Church. The dissent, together with the leaders’ manipulation of the anger they fomented, became a supreme test. It changed fundamental relationships within the Church. It was a Peirasmòs for many.
Read the entire article here. This is a long, but fascinating and important read in order to understand how the Church suffered since the 60's.
HT California Catholic Daily and NOR

Please Boycott "Tropic Thunder"

a word from David Tolleson of the National Down Syndrome Congress
I am taking the unusual step of contacting you over the weekend, because we have a lot of work to do and a short time in which to do it. On Friday, our Resource Specialist, Sue Joe, and I attended a special screening of DreamWorks new film, "Tropic Thunder". Journalist Pat Bauer also attended the screening and reports on the contents of the film on her blog, www.patriciaebauer.com. So far, we are the only members of the nationwide disability community who have seen the film, though more screenings are planned for Monday for leaders in other cities.
To say this film is offensive is an understatement. For me, watching this film felt like sitting through an assault.
The National Down Syndrome Congress is a founding member of a coalition of disability-rights organizations who have been in discussion together -- and with DreamWorks -- about this film. Now that we have seen this movie, there is no doubt but that we must come together to fight what has been characterized as damaging and hurtful hate speech.
Members of the Down Syndrome Association of Los Angeles, led by Gail Williamson, will be among the local and national representatives providing informational leafleting and picketing at the Hollywood premiere of this film on Monday. However, we need your help.
If you are in Southern California and can get to Los Angeles on Monday, please contact Gail at gail@dsala.org.
If you cannot make it on Monday, please start planning for Wednesday's nationwide premiere by polling your members for those who might be able to show up at one or more theatres in your area that day to share our message that movies like "Tropic Thunder" do cause harm, both emotionally and by giving insensitive individuals new ways to taunt children and adults with intellectual disabilities. It would be best to have a large turnout at one theatre than to have one or two people at many, and it is important to involve self advocates.
Lest you think the movie is so ridiculous that no one will take it seriously, Josh Tyler, Editor-in-Chief of CinemaBlend, has already given the film a glowing review, noting that his "current favorite" quote, "You never go full retard," comes from the film.
On Monday morning, we will provide information gathered from various coalition members, to use in your efforts.
In Solidarity, David Tolleson
National Down Syndrome Congress
UPDATE:
Liz Ditz has a comprehenisive list of posts on this offensive film.
Jess at Raising Joey has the New York Times article on the upcoming protests.

Pharmacists for Life supporting conscience on ABC News

See the video clip here (after the commercial). ABC News is right, this is a growing movement, of pharmacists who feel the need to open their own pharmacies to avoid being forced to dispense contraceptives and aboritifacients like the pill and Plan B. This is a great idea whose time has come, and I will support this noble effort to resist the Culture of Death.
Beware of the backlash, however, as states pass laws outlawing freedom of conscience, as California, New Jersey and Illinois have done.
Here is the website for Pharmacists for Life. You can look up a pro-life pharmacy in your area.

Unauthorized priest expelled from Rockville Centre diocese

Fr. Matthew Brockley was at Our Lady of Lourdes, Massapequa Park without the bishop's knowlege or approval. Thank you Bishop Murpy for protecting us from unvetted priests such as Fr. Brockley whose bishop in the Mariana Islands was looking for him.
Read the entire story here.
HT Newsday

Fitting tribute to A Great Prophet

Michael Cook's article at MercatorNet on my college hero, Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn explains the complexities the rise and fall of the prophet of the West. He told us just before Pope John Paul did, about the path to moral suicide the US was on, and was summarily rejected.
Unfortunately, he has been proven right. We are too preoccupied with our personal comfort to see how our spiritual and moral senses have been dulled into oblivion, like the helpless humans in Wall-E. This nation needs some suffering to wake it up to just how grave this problem is. God did it many times for His beloved people of Israel, He may just do it for us; send us a crisis to build our character. Fr Corapi sees it coming. It's no accident that the "Greatest Generation" emerged from a decade long Depression to fight a World War.
Read this excerpt from his Harvard address:
"Six decades for our people and three decades for the people of Eastern Europe; during that time we have been through a spiritual training far in advance of Western experience. Life's complexity and mortal weight have produced stronger, deeper and more interesting characters than those produced by standardized Western well-being... It is true, no doubt, that a society cannot remain in an abyss of lawlessness, as is the case in our country. But it is also demeaning for it to elect such mechanical legalistic smoothness as you have. After the suffering of decades of violence and oppression, the human soul longs for things higher, warmer and purer than those offered by today's mass living habits, introduced by the revolting invasion of publicity, by TV stupor and by intolerable music."

Conscience Clause for Pharmacists in Jeopardy

from Pharmacists for Life
A U.S. Department Health and Human Services proposed regulation that would protect freedom of conscience for pro-life physicians and pharmacists will be rewritten to reflect pro-abortion demands."Why is Secretary Mike Leavitt kowtowing to birth control companies and abortion activists?" asked Jen Catelli, American Life League director of media relations. "If he is seeking to protect conscience rights of those who want nothing to do with abortion, he needs to recognize that contraceptives can cause abortions."
A widely circulated draft of the HHS proposal would have defined abortion to include the birth control pill, thus protecting pro-life pharmacists from dispensing abortion-causing drugs like the pill.
The proposed regulation defined abortion as "any of the various procedures -- including the prescription, dispensing and administration of any drug or the performance of any procedure or any other action -- that results in the termination of the life of a human being in utero between conception and natural birth, whether before or after implantation."Upon release of the proposal, pro-abortion activists, including Planned Parenthood Federation of America, NARAL Pro-Choice America and drug companies that produce birth control collaborated in an organized lobbying campaign against the proposal.
Three weeks later Leavitt, who says he wants to protect conscience rights of physicians, is backing down: "An early draft of the regulations found its way into public circulation before it had reached my review," Leavitt said on his blog. "It contained words that lead some to conclude my intent is to deal with the subject of contraceptives, somehow defining them as abortion. Not true.""The truth is that life begins at creation, and anything that destroys that life is an abortion," Catelli said. "We hope Mr. Leavitt will have the courage to stand for truth against abortion advocates."The final draft of the proposal has not yet
been issued.
IF the pill and the morning after pill are defined as abortifacients, then pro-life Pharmacists will be able to refuse to fill such prescriptions, otherwise, if they are simply birth control it will be nearly impossible to be a conscientious objector.

My article in "Canticle" magazine

. . .is about Catholic politicians with spines; former Senator Rick Santorum, Representative Chris Smith, former presidential candidate, Senator Sam Brownback and the late Rep. Henry Hyde, who passed away last November after a stellar career defending the unborn in the House.
I appreciate the fact that Our Lady of Sorrows is on the cover, her heart is re-pierced with a sword every time babies die because Catholics deny their faith in the public square.
Sell out Catholics (Bob Casey Jr, and Tim Bishop are you listening?) read this artcle (maybe I'll sned you both copies)and learn what it means to stand up for the helpless unborn, disabled,poor, and elderly.
Learn what it means to be a Catholic politician!
Catholic electorate, learn from the examples of these fine public servants what we must demand of our fellow Catholics when they ask for our vote!
There is also a link to the Catholic Answers Voter's Guide, to help those who may be confused by some of the ambiguous guides out there.

Video of the Girard Family

Thom and Marc Girard died in a tragic drowning accident. Thom, a father if five, was a leader in the Knights of Lepanto Encampment, and Marc, 18, a recent HS grad was about to enter the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate Friary in Maine, NY.
Here is a video of their tragic story.

They are survived by Thom's wife Carol, and four children, Adam, 17, Jacqueline, 15, Lucas, 11, and Hannah 7. There have been several fundraisers for the Girard family including a Chicken Barbecue at the Voluntown Firehouse, and an a concert starring Eric Genius at the Norwich Free Academy where Marc graduated this year, on September 21.
A fund to help the family is set up at:
Bank of America
590 West Main St (Rt 82)
Norwich, CT 06360

Guys for Life

I got into a war of words with some Chinese government officials sniping on the YouTube posting of the video of Christians arrested in Tianamenn Square, and guys for life found me. They are a YouTube site with interviews from young men who faced an unplanned pregnancy and delt with it in various ways, including acting like a man and giving life to their child.
Fascinating viewing, and very inspirational.

Knights receive their marching orders: liberate Catholics from Pro-abort politicians

Supreme Knight Carl Anderson addressed the 126th annual convention of the Knights of Columbus, the world's largest Catholic fraternal organization, in Quebec City and pledged the Knights to fight abortion promoting politicians, who buy Catholic votes with their stand on other issues.
"We have heard a great deal this year about the need for change," said Anderson in a clear reference to the mantra of Barack Obama, the presumptive pro-abortion nominee of the Democratic Party. "But at the same time we are told that one thing cannot change - namely, the abortion regime of Roe vs. Wade."
"It is time that we demand real change, and real change means the end of Roe vs. Wade," he said.
In contrast to other Catholic social justice issues like poverty and the death penalty, Anderson asked delegates, "What political issue could possibly outweigh this human devastation" of nearly 50 million abortion deaths in the US since 1973?
"The answer, of course, is that there is none," Anderson said.
He added, "Abortion is different. Abortion is the killing of the innocent on a massive scale."
"It is time to put away the arguments of political spin masters that only serve to justify abortion killing."
All I can say is BRAVO, BRAVO, BRAVO!!!!
Here's the resolution passed at the meeting in follow up to Carl Anderson's speech.
Read the entire story here.
HT Life Site News

Are Catholics this foolish?

Once when I was just eighteen, and about to vote in my first presidential election (I helped put Ronald Reagan in the White House) a candiate for New York State Senate knocked on our front door to introduce himself. I had just helped begin the Right to Life Party in New York State, and so I asked Jim Lack, a Republican if he was pro-life.
This was his answer, "No, but I married an ex-nun."
Needless to say, Mr Lack was in a hurry to get off my front porch, after uttering that foolish statement!!
I never forgot it's lesson. Give the dumb Catholics something to pacify them, and you can murder babies at will.
Well Obama is getting just such advice: pick a pro-life running mate, and your 100% pro-infanticide record will be overlooked by Catholics. Read the article here. . According to Pope John Paul II' s Encyclical, Evangelium Vitae.
LIFE is the primary issue, and Fr. Pavone reminds us that just as no one remembers Adolf Hitler's tax policy or cares whether Stalin made the trains run on time, no Catholic should consider electing a man who favors killing children. Period. Such a man is unfit to rule, and we must tell the world we reject him.
Jill Stanek and Alan Keyes have done so in this shocking video on the truth of the Born Alive Infant Protection Act which Obama opposed. He opposed medical care for babies born alive in abortion procedures, when they were left to die alone in waste bins. No one else in the Senate was that extreme, the BAIPA passed with 99 votes, minus Obama's vote of "Present".
Forget your wallet, forget the rapturous promises of Obamaniacs, or the equivocating of Roman Catholics for Obama. Trust our national future only to a man who values human life. Or someday the life he wants to terminate may be someone dear to you. Maybe the new Obama National Health Care Plan won't pay for your vital surgery when you are deemed a burden to society the way 50 million American children were deemed burdensome to their mothers.
HT Life News.com
UPDATE:
The New York Times confirms that Obama is seriously courting pro-life Catholics by possibly having the supposed pro-lifer Bob Casey Jr. speak at the Democratic Convention. There are a few Catholics some of which are prolife, who are on the short list for VP.
Many of them are as pro-death as you can get, like Gov Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, best friend of Tiller the baby Killer. (see photo of her with Tiller as she honored his work killing late term babies) If Obama thinks that Catholic bloggers are going to let him get away with this scheme, he's got another guess coming!
Read the entire story here.