Obama as a modern day Herod the Great

 Veritatis the Catholic cartoon blog has made a strong case for their similarities here. Lets pray that our nation does not suffer the consequences God inflicted upon Israel for ignoring the Saviour. We have Our Lord but instead of turning to Him in our time of crisis, we voted for a false messiah and get what we deserve; a full fledged proponent of the Culture of Death. And yet we are shocked when he has a cold response to a terrorist attack.We expect a man who publicly admits he would abort his grandchildren to care about the lives of strangers? A man who is supported by NARAL to be a lover of human life?
Deacon Keith Fournier has some thoughts about what America needs to do in the new decade.

" Two years before he became Pope, Karol Cardinal Wotyla (Pope John Paul II) spoke to the Catholic Bishops of the United States. His observation was republished in the Wall Street Journal on November 9, 1978: “We are now standing in the face of the greatest historical confrontation humanity has gone through. I do not think that wide circles of the American society or wide circles of the Christian community realize this fully. We are now facing the final confrontation between the Church and the anti-Church, of the Gospel and the anti-Gospel. This confrontation lies within the plans of divine providence. It is a trial which the whole Church… must take up.”

He was so right, over 30 years ago, that the Church had no clue about this mighty confrontation, this central challenge Our Lord was handing as a mission to His Body on earth. We still don't; when Catholic hospitals side with abortion proponents on health care, and the bishops stand by wringing their hands. Our Church has a mission to be militant against the forces of evil; and YES to suffer the consequences. To take up our cross as Our Lord did. Anything less is cowardice and we are failing in our divine call.
I spent my adolescence fascinated reading true stories of righteous men and women who were imprisoned by evil empires; from Vietnam POWs and Cardinal Francois Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan to Corrie Ten Boom, Sts Maximilian Kolbe and Theresa Benedicta of the Cross  and Dietrich Bonhoffer by the Nazis, to Solzhenitsyn's  "The Gulag Archipelago" and Fr Walter Ciszek's "With God in Russia".The reason I read these books, I suspect, is that since the legalization of abortion in my early adolescence, God was strengthening my spine for this conflict. I have only begun to fight.
Are you ready to stand for justice in the face of a darkening national landscape? Against the power hungry, human rights-trampling government? Against your own neighbors and employers with darkened consciences and spiritual blindness? This may seem over the top, but when I see the president's lackluster response to a terrorist attack, his radical appointments to positions of power,  and his constant push last year for the greatest expansion of abortion in our time, I can't help but feel a sense of foreboding.This can only go on for so long with dire consequences for society.
Make this the year you take a stand in the " greatest historical confrontation of our time" to quote Venerable Pope John Paul the Great. Stay close to Our Lord and under the Mantle of Our Lady in prayer and in the sacraments. Stick your neck out, be heard, and be prepared to suffer for what is right.
May God grant us the courage to defend His truth in 2010.

Did you celebrate St Stephen's Day?

Mr Beeler at his blog The Catholic Comedy did. Go on over and celebrate the faith of the first martyr. We may be needing such strong examples of the Faith to face what is coming in this nation.

Obama administration to ignore human trafficking

First the Obama administration backed off on prosecuting pornography and drug use, and now it's hoping to ease restrictions on international sex trafficking. With barely a peep from the press, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is trying to overturn a key policy of PEPFAR-the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. Under this new rule, the countries that receive HIV/AIDS dollars under PEPFAR would no longer have to oppose prostitution and sex trafficking-which was a condition of the funding under President Bush.
Since 2003, PEPFAR has been one of the most successful initiatives launched by the U.S. government to combat HIV/AIDS in Africa. It was initially passed in 2003 with the anti-sex trafficking provision, and both were reauthorized last year. Every time this program comes before Congress, anti-prostitution organizations, including FRC, have fought to ensure that your taxpayer dollars wouldn't flow to organizations that promote the trafficking of human beings.

Apparently, the Obama administration thinks our position is too restrictive. Instead of protecting the most vulnerable, this President is trying to relax the rules for groups that exploit women and children! Not only is prostitution associated with several health, emotional, and physical risks, but it's also one of the leading causes of HIV/AIDS in these regions. Some reports estimate that close to 70% of prostitutes in certain areas are infected with this disease. Of course, this begs the question: Why would we fund the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa if our own policy is promoting it?

Venerable Pope John Paul II

Faithful Catholics needed some good news this year. The Solidarity leader, the man who saved Eastern Europe from Atheistic Communism is now declared Venerable. And the holy Fr Jerzy Popieluxzko, who died as a martyr during the Solidarity protests. Good thing, the way this nation is heading, we may need their intercession to save America from Communism soon. And the holy Fr Jerzy Popieluxzko, who died as a martyr during the Solidarity protests, pray for us.

John Paul's cause has moved ahead at record speed and his beatification could be the fastest in modern time, if the miracle is approved soon. The Vatican had only waived the five-year waiting period once before, for Mother Teresa, who died in 1997, and was beatified by John Paul in 2003.


In addition to John Paul and Pius, the pope also declared that a young Polish priest, Rev. Jerzy Popieluszko, was a martyr for the faith after he was kidnapped and killed in 1984 by Poland's communist-era secret police. The martyr designation means he can be beatified without a miracle.

Also declared Venerable was Pope Pius XII, who battled the Nazis by saving thousands of Jews from certain death, hiding some in the Vatican itself. Chief Rabbi of Rome converted to Catholicism and took the name Eugenio (Pope Pius' former name)  at his Baptism in honor of the Popes courageous example.

These strong men knew what it meant to suffer for their convictions and have much to teach us in these troubled times.

Read the entire story on Fox News.

Congratulations Prolife blog award winners!

I am especially proud of my friend Jean Heimann who won this award for the second time. She is a true pro-life warrior, and her blog Catholic Fire always has the most recent pro-life news from a truly Catholic perspective. Well done, Jean!
Congratulations also to Operation Rescue and Fr Frank Pavone.
 This time she won Best Overall Prolife Blog. See all the winners here.

Ben Nelson sold out for a sweetheart deal on healthcare premiums

from the Family Research Council:

 In what columnist Michelle Malkin has dubbed " Cash for Cloture," Senator Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) ability to sway all 60 Democratic Senators to vote for his health care bill monstrosity wasn't an exploit of legislative prowess-but taxpayer-funded bribery. On the heels of the "Louisiana Purchase," a deal that saw Senator Mary Landrieu (D-La.) pocket $300 million in pork, Senator Reid stuffed billions more into the Democrats' stockings in exchange for their crucial Sunday night vote. In the leadership's edition of "Let's Make a Deal," Senator Ben Nelson (D-Nebr.) was the biggest winner of all. While Americans in the other 49 states will have to pick up the tab for the bill's expansion in Medicaid, the Nebraska Democrat made sure his state got off scot-free. He traded in his pro-life scruples for a guarantee that the Cornhuskers will never pay a cent toward the government's plan. And for what? An abortion "compromise" that may actually be worse than the actual bill.

Under Senator Nelson's opt-out plan, states can refuse to offer abortion coverage-but their taxpayers will still be subsidizing the states that don't! Meanwhile, the senators from Vermont and Massachusetts watched the Nebraska deal unfold and decided to negotiate for something similar. All together, these statewide exemptions could cost a minimum of $1.2 billion! Pennsylvania, New York, and Florida all protected their Medicare programs from cuts, while other states will have to find ways to manage with the scaled-back program in the underlying legislation.
Also, Senators Nelson and Carl Levin (D-Mich.) have made sure that certain insurance companies in their states are off the hook from a new $7 billion dollar tax. On page 328 of Senator Reid's manager's amendment, Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), the master of illicit sweetheart deals, got his kickback-a $100 million bonus for the University of Connecticut to do with whatever they want. A staunch supporter of the public option, Senator Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) was "persuaded" to drop his concerns after Senator Reid offered his state a $10 billion grant for "community health centers"-money that could easily be funneled to facilities that perform abortions. Playing hard-to-get certainly has its advantages in this new political climate.
Yesterday, some of the Democrats who didn't get the same incentives are kicking themselves. When Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) couldn't get past the reporters swarming Ben Nelson on her way to the cloture vote, she quipped, "I know I'm not as important as Senator Nelson. I didn't get the money for my state. I was too stupid." To read more about how this bill could destroy American medicine, check out this excellent op-ed from Sunday's Wall Street Journal, " Change Nobody Believes In." We do have one quibble with the article though. Senator Nelson might think he got abortion restrictions (he didn't), but even he admits he isn't quite sure.

Keep Infants with Down syndrome is on the march again!

FAMILES WHO HAVE CHILDREN WITH DOWN SYNDROME

TO MARCH TOGETHER IN THE 2010 MARCH FOR LIFE in D.C.

TO RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT THE HIGH INCIDENCE OF ABORTING BABIES WITH DOWN SYNDROME

KIDS (Keep Infants with Down Syndrome), a group of families who have children with Down syndrome, will meet for the second year in a row and walk together in the 2010 March for Life in Washington, D.C.

KIDS wants to raise awareness about the 90% abortion rate of babies diagnosed with Down syndrome, to challenge the misinformation that often leads mothers to abort their babies with Down syndrome, and to proclaim the joy their children bring to their families and communities.

DATE & TIME: Friday, January 22, 2009, 11:00 a.m. to Noon

LOCATION: National Right to Life Committee, 512 10th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.

 Meet for refreshments prior to walking together in the 2010 March for Life

This event is open to individuals with Down syndrome and their families and friends.

For more information please contact Eileen Haupt or Leticia Velasquez.

Eileen Haupt

vteileen@comcast.net

Leticia Velasquez

marysjoys@yahoo.com

Ben Nelson caves on health care vote

Deacon Keith Fournier wonders if he had a Judas Iscariot moment over at Catholic Online.

"If Senator Ben Nelson actually sold his vote for a bag of silver for Nebraska then this has become a “Judas moment” not a “Thomas More moment” and its implications are evil.

The timing of such a vote, coming on the Eve of the great day when the entire world celebrates the birth of a baby whose saving life, death and resurrection forever changed human history, is more than profane it is blasphemous! "

How tragic this decision is, and the timing makes it cut to the quick. How many lives will be ended by this decision?

Catholic Vote Action has a new video: Casey at the Bat

Obama signed death warrant for unborn around the world

“Congress just signed millions of death warrants” says International Pro-Life Leader"

FRONT ROYAL—Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer, president of Human Life International, today responded to the U.S. Senate’s passing of a massive $447 billion omnibus spending bill, within which lies almost $700 million for abortion and other population control measures.
“The United States Congress has just signed millions of death warrants,” said Rev. Euteneuer. “They have opened up the floodgates for murderous population controllers to use every means necessary to eliminate the weakest and poorest in developing nations.”
On Sunday, December 14, the omnibus bill, which had already been approved by the House, passed the Senate by a wide margin, funding a wide variety of federal government initiatives and projects. Among the funds approved were $648.5 million for “international family planning” (including abortion and contraception) and $55 million for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which has been exposed as having collaborated with China’s destructive and coercive “one child policy”. With President Barack Obama’s January 2009 reversal of the Mexico City Policy, federal funds are again permitted to be funneled toward groups that perform and promote abortion worldwide—permission that had been denied by the previous Bush administration. The bill is expected to be signed by President Obama soon.

“Our country is broke. We keep having to increase our debt limit so we can borrow more money. And we are now borrowing money so that our government can fund the killing of unborn children. I cannot imagine a scenario more shameful than that which we are now witnessing,” said Rev. Euteneuer.

“When ours was a saner nation, we used to decry the exploitation and destruction of God’s weakest children around the world. In many cases we would even risk our own lives to defend them. Now we are collaborating with those who think that there are too many Africans, too many Asians and Latinos, too many unwanted human beings,” said Rev. Euteneuer. “May God have mercy on us as a nation and our world, and may He defend those who now stand in the crosshairs of the anti-life extremists, including those extremists in our own government.”

Visit my new site; Amazing Catechists. com

I am writing a bilingual Spanish column for Amazing Catechists.com

“To teach the Faith truthfully, it must be taught thrillingly,” says Lisa Mladinich, founder of AmazingCatechists.com, an exciting new website for Catholic catechists with an inviting format designed to encourage participation by its readers. “Our mission is to share the very best teaching methods available for transmitting pure, honest Catholicism to students of all ages. But to do that, we need help.”

AmazingCatechists.com, loyal to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church and dedicated to the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, is designed to provide a place for Catholic catechists from all over the world to share teaching tips, insights, experiences, resources, and true inspirational stories from their classrooms, whether they teach in their homes, parishes, or schools.

Volunteer catechists write monthly or bi-monthly columns on subjects from elementary education through special needs, confirmation, chastity training, teen ministry and adult programs, like RCIA and NFP. Several of the columns are translated into Spanish and the site’s forums also include a Spanish-language section. Mladinich hopes to expand bi-lingual offerings in the future.

Other features include, “Your Galleries,” a place for sharing photos, artwork, video links and sound files related to teaching faith and morals from a Catholic perspective. Catechists and parents are invited to share digital images of theirs and their children’s faith-related arts and crafts, dramatic presentations, you-tube and audio links that teach, inspire or entertain.

A point-and-click archive of teaching ideas and stories is found under “Tips & Insights,” with categories including every grade level, sacramental and adult programs. Readers are invited to submit their tips and stories through a simple online form that makes sharing easy. The “Events” page contains an automated calendar for readers to submit their program dates and descriptions in order to publicize and promote good Catholic events more effectively. The “Speakers” page features several AmazingCatechists.com volunteers who also have public ministries as speakers and workshop leaders.

Other sections include charming, original Catholic cartoons by Ellen and James Hrkach, interviews with “amazing” Catholics, links to great Catholic resources, a fundraising “Store,” “Book and Product Reviews,” “Bible Stories [retold]” and favorite prayers.

Mrs. Mladinich hopes that catechists who stop by for a visit will take a few moments to share from the treasure-houses of their own personal experiences in teaching the Faith, and by sharing, strengthen the whole Church!

Contact:

Lisa Mladinich, Founder AmazingCatechists.com

lisamladinich@optonline.net
 
Click here to see who is writing for Amazing Catechists.com

Senator/Dr Tom Coburn; healthcare bill is hazardous to your health

My 25 years as a practicing physician have shown me what happens when government attempts to practice medicine: Doctors respond to government coercion instead of patient cues, and patients die prematurely. Even if the public option is eliminated from the bill, these onerous rationing provisions will remain intact.

Dr Coburn details, point by point, the provisions in the bill which will undermine the doctor-patient relationship, and access to doctors in the first place. This is without the public option. He uses statistics and his experience as a family physician who has saved lives.
This bill must be buried once and for all, for the lives of the most fragile among us, which could be you someday.
Questions anyone?

Read the entire article in the Wall Street Journal.

Obama is the abortion president

From Citizen Link (my comments in red)

Despite his call to "reduce abortions," this White House is freeing up more taxpayer dollars for the slaughter of innocent unborn children than any President in U.S. history. Didn't pro-lifers shout this from the housetops last year? Initiatives like the "National Task Force to Reduce Abortions" and the promise that "No federal dollars will be used to fund abortions" appear to be nothing more than a facade. It masks an administration that has done nothing to reduce abortion--but everything in its power to expand it. Remember, barely 24 hours into his first term, this President immediately set to work undoing years of pro-life policy. Among President Obama's first acts was lifting a ban on taxpayer-funded abortion--overturning the Mexico City policy just one day after the 35th March for Life. Today, he's carrying on that tradition in his own backyard, forcing taxpayers to finance the procedure in a city with the highest abortion rate in the country (2005). The same will be done for the rest of the nation if the President succeeds in passing his so-called healthcare reform bill presently in the Senate. The same man who asked, "How can we reduce the number of abortions?" refuses to accept the easy answer: stop paying for them!

We told you that Obama was the most pro-abortion politician in US history. This may be his only promise kept in the first year of his presidency; to help stimulate the economy of abortion mills. As Blessed Mother Teresa says,
 "It is a poverty that a child should die, so that you may live as you wish" and "A nation who kills it's own children is a nation without hope".
Change yes, a huge increase in abortion funding but hope, NO.
Fewer African American babies than ever will be born in America, thanks to the first African American president. Obama is assisting in black genocide.

George Weigel on why the health care bill is unacceptable to Catholics

This article goes through the pending health care legislation point by point with Weigel's irrefutable logic, explaining why abortion is not the only reason why Catholics should oppose the current health care plan.
It violates many Catholics prinicples; solidarity with the elderly (whose Medicare will be substantially cut) and the principle of subsidiarity (which warns us not to place too much power in the hands of the federal government).
If you are Catholic and are not fervently fasting and praying for the defeat of this dangerous legislation, start now. Lieberman caved into pressure and only Ben Nelson is standing against this bill.

We are in iminent danger of losing our rights to health care to a panel of pro-death friends of Obama. No matter what the bill says, that's who will be running the health care program, taking away the privacy and security of the doctor-patient relationship.
Weigel has proposed some solutions to the problem of uninsured Americans;.

"For all its virtues, today’s American medical system does not afford access to needed care for some, so it fails the tests set by Catholic social doctrine. We can meet those tests and fix the system’s gravest problems by working incrementally, testing results as we go: changing the liability laws that distort insurance costs, reforming the insurance industry to mandate portability and coverage of pre-existing conditions, lifting the ban on interstate competition in health insurance, and covering the uninsured by tax credits and small business reforms. That would be health-care reform that satisfies Catholic principles across-the-board."

IF the Democrats were interested in truly reforming health care, then they would take their time, and look at some of these excellent suggestions. They have been suggested by many other before this. What is wrong with taking our time to reform the problems, one by one? What could be more important than getting health care right?
Or is health care really the issue?
 Karl Rove was right when he said on Fox News this morning, that Obama knows that 61% of the American people oppose this legislation, and that, if he wants to grab a fifth of the economy and claim triumph by passing this bill, he'd better pull out all the stops, and ram this bill through the Senate ASAP.Before the sleeping giant awakens.
 Is this bill merely a means to an end? Once we are dependent upon the government for health care, will be dare raise our voices in protest when our freedoms are stripped away? Just how much more of the economy does Obama have to control before we are considered a socialist state/
Don't miss your opportunity to make history. Call your senator now.
Pray.
Fast.
Stop this dangerous health care bill.


Read his entire article at the Denver Catholic Register on the Archdiocese of Denver.

Desecrating Christmas

No, it's not a story about a vile play called XMAS desecrating  the Most Holy Virgin Mary at Columbia University,  or even the removal of a manger from another town square by the ACLU. It's even worse than telling an eight year old boy he has 'mental problems' for drawing Jesus on a crucifix (read this story on the NC Register blog).
* You might not want to read this if you are squeamish. *
This desecration of Christmas involves the very center of Christmas; God's gift of a baby boy. Only this baby boy, born to an adulterous couple is killed, and when his body won't flush down the toilet, it is wrapped in a Christmas gift box under the tree.
In another incident, a mother shoots her newborn daughter upon birth.

"Tammy had two other daughters. However, she simply did not want this one. So, she killed her with a gun. She was charged with inducing an abortion. However, since she actually fired the gun herself, Judge James A. Moore decided that she could not be so charged because abortion is legal in America throughout all nine months under the holding of Roe v. Wade".

This is the fruit of nearly 37 years of legally killing our children in America. If this murder were done in a 'safe. legal' abortion mill, it would be business as usual. People pass abortion mills on their way to go Christmas shopping every day. Do you do something every day to stop this horror?
Do you pray for the souls of these women and men?
My Jesus, mercy!

Read the entire story on Catholic Online.

Kevin Jennings is dangerous for our children

Explicit content warning.
The Gateway Pundit's post on First Things has photos of some of the pornography which Jennnings is showing to school children. Obama has made a sexual predator his Safe Schools Czar. Still saying he's not out to destroy this nation?

Ben Nelson under threat for opposing on health care

Operation Rescue has the following update on Obama's arm twisting to secure the last votes for Obamacare before Christmas. He met with Nelson three times in nine days at the White House and he is desperate, so he is now playing hardball. Keep Senator Nelson in your prayers, and if you live in Nebraska, tell him to hang tough. He's a pro-life hero.

Fox News has reported that the White House issued the threat to Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) to put Offutt Air Force base, home of Strategic Air Command, on a closure list if he did not support the Senate health care bill, which includes taxpayer funded abortions. Fox News indicated that three independent sources confirmed the veracity of the threat.


"It is despicable that Obama would rather see thousands hard-working Nebraskans who work at Offutt in the unemployment line than see Nebraska's late-term abortionist LeRoy Carhart and his ilk there for lack of government bail-out funds," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman.
"National Security, the financial stability of Nebraska, and thousands of hardworking Americans that depend on Offutt for jobs all take a back seat to the promotion of Obama's radical abortion agenda. That is playing politics with the lives of innocent people and placing his personal ideology above the good of the country. It could very well be treasonous."
Sen. Nelson is the lone Democratic hold-out on the Senate health care bill. His vote is the crucial sixtieth vote to evoke cloture and end the debate on the controversial health care bill that Obama desperately wants passed before the end of the year. Once cloture is evoked, the debate on the bill ends and a simple majority vote is all that is required for the legislation to pass.
"A vote for cloture is a vote for abortion," said Newman. "Sen. Nelson is well aware of this and has made it clear that the voice of his constituency and his conscience preclude him from voting for cloture on health care legislation that includes tax funding of abortion. So far he is standing strong and making it known that his vote is not for sale."
Obama's health care plan is all about promoting and paying for abortion. Abortionist Carhart was an invited guest of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at a Washington, D.C. rally supporting health care, including federally mandated abortion funding. Obama promised abortion giant Planned Parenthood that abortion would be at the centerpiece of his health care plan.

Operation Rescue encourages Americans everywhere to contact Sen. Ben Nelson and give him encouragement that he is doing the right thing by not giving in to extortion methods that would force him to change is vote on abortion funding.

\.

Nomination for ALL pro-life blog award.

Thank you to whoever nominated Causa Nostrae Laetitiae for American Life League's 2010 Pro-life Blog Awards. I am honored to be among some of the best blogs out there, and to be nominated after winning the Pro-life Unity Award in 2009. It would be an honor to win again, though part of me wants someone else to have a turn, but I had a wonderful time at the ALL Conference last year and would welcome a return visit.

 I will defer to vox populi since this year the awards are won by a popular vote, rather than a panel.
 IF you think this is the best pro-life blog out there, you can vote for Causa Nostrae Laetitiae here.

Spending bill has money for abortions

Depressions and recessions can be good for the soul. We can trim down our budgets and simplify our lifestyles, finding more time for the simple things which make life worthwhile, a family dinner, walking throught the woods, talking with a friend by the fireplace. . . ABORTION!!
Yes, Obama's lapdogs in Congress talk about helping the economy, then pass an omnibus spending bill to fund abortion for the first time in 13 years. Seems the economy of Planned Parenthood and other loyal Democrat contributors must be stimulated while millions of women are victimized and their children murdered.

"The bill also provides millions of dollars for international 'family planning' that could be directed to organizations that pay for and promote abortions. A majority of Americans do not support the use of their tax dollars to pay for abortions," she said.

The bill also appropriates $648.5 million for international family planning funding, an increase of $103 million from Fiscal Year 2009, without the constraints of the Mexico City Policy to prevent these dollars from being provided to organizations that promote and perform abortions.
The bill also increases funding for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which has an admittedly pro-abortion agenda and has been criticized for working hand-in-hand with Chinese population control officials, to $55 million, a $5 million increase from FY09."

Read the entire article on Life News.

You are cordially invited to a fundraiser for Matt Daly

Peter Wolfgang of the Family Institute of Connecticut and I will be co-hosting a fundraising event for Matt Daly, a pro-life candidate for the Second Congressional District of Connectictut. in my Windham County home. It is this Wednesday, December 16 at 7PM.
RSVP by email marysjoys@yahoo.com or leaving a comment below.

I will have the fireplace blazing, the punchbowl full, and the door open for you!

$10K Marriage penalty in health care plan premiums

Citizen Link has the following observation on Obamacare; married couples will be penalized while those living in sin will reap rewards. Just the first installment in the social engineering hidden in this dangerous legisltion. A closer look at premium payments in both the House and Senate health care bills shows higher premiums that might discourage couples from tying the knot.

For instance, in the House version, an unmarried couple each making $30,000 a year would pay $1,320 combined each year for private health insurance. If that couple chose to marry, their premium would jump to $12,000 a year, a difference of $10,680.



Allen Quist, a former Minnesota State legislator and current candidate for Congress, discovered the penalty while looking at numbers from the Committees on Ways and Means, Energy & Commerce, and Education & Labor.
"This extraordinary penalty people will pay, should they marry, extends all the way from a two-person combined income of $58,280 to $86,640, a spread of $28,360," he wrote in a blog post. "A large number of people fall within this spread. As premiums for private insurance escalate, as expected, the marriage penalty will become substantially larger."

The Senate bill includes a similar penalty.
"The Senate bill stipulates that two unmarried people, 52 years of age, with private insurance and a combined income of $60,000, $30,000 each, will pay a combined cost of $2,483 for medical insurance," Quist wrote. "Should they marry, however, they will pay a combined cost of $11,666 for insurance — a penalty of $9,183 for getting married."

The numbers are based on the government's definition of "poverty level." Those above poverty level will pay higher premiums, and the excess would be redistributed to those in lower income levels.
Quist explains that the government's definitions will play a critical role in whether people will choose to get married.

"'Household' is defined in both bills as including those who can be claimed as dependents for federal income tax purposes, thereby clarifying that adults can avoid the marriage penalty by living together unmarried," he wrote. "The new system provides a huge incentive for doing so."

John Helmberger, CEO of the Minnesota Family Council and Institute, said the middle class will once again take the hit financially.
"This hidden marriage penalty," he said, "hits hardest the very people that are most suffering from the pathologies resulting from the decline of marriage in our culture."

I attended the marriage of two young Catholics Friday. It occured to me, as I listened to the sweetly sung rendition of "Panis Angelicus" that what this wonderful young couple was doing was profoundly counter-cultural, and that though it may bring them joy and eternal life, being married today may cost them a lot in the temporal world. Especially if this health care plan is passed.

US Bishops 'deeply disappointed' in failure of pro-life amendment in health care bill.

However, one wonders what will happen if the version of the bill hammered out by the House and Senate does not include a prohibition of  abortion funding and a conscience clause, will the bishops withdraw their support from the health care reform bill?
There is no health care bill I find acceptable, as long as Obama is president and the Democrats craft it. They  cannot be trusted with the lives and health of Americans. Period. Any bureaucracy they set in place will by the appointments of pro-death bureaucrats like Zeke Emmanuel and Kathleen Sibelius be dangerous to people like my Christina.
Cardinal George, president of the USCCB said,

"The Senate vote to table the Nelson-Hatch-Casey amendment is a grave mistake and a serious blow to genuine health care reform," said Cardinal Francis George, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). "The Senate is ignoring the promise made by President Obama and the will of the American people in failing to incorporate longstanding prohibitions on federal funding for abortion and plans that include abortion."

Read the entire story on Life Site News.

Nelson;' harder to support health care bill without pro-life amendment'

However this is a softening of his former stance in which he said he could not support the bill without the amendment. Senator Lieberman seems to be softening his stance against the bill as well. Yet the bill is completely unacceptable to Catholics and pro-lifers:

"Besides the lack of Hyde-amendment protections, there remain several aspects of the Senate bill that pro-life leaders have decried as unacceptable, including: an amendment allowing for abortion coverage to be mandated in insurance plans; broader funding for explicit sex education; an expanded venue for rationing of health care; and a lack of broad conscience protections for health care workers.

Conservatives are also united against the bill's massive price tag, unfunded mandates burdening state budgets, and sweeping government expansion."

National Right to Life has voiced it's opposition to the bill as well as ALL and HLI. We are still waiting for the USCCB to take a strong stand against this horrible threat to human life and distortion of human sexuality.

Please pray for the Senators to take unequivocal stands in favor of LIFE. National Right to Life says on their News and Views page,

"President Obama backs Reid's "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act." It would authorize the federal government to pay for any and all abortions through a huge new federal health insurance program, the "public option," and would also subsidize purchase of private plans that cover abortion on demand.

As we have discussed numerous times, President Obama and Senator Reid know they are on the wrong side of popular opinion. That is why, as NRLC Legislative Director Douglas Johnson has explained, "they seek to conceal the reality with layers of contorted definitions and money-laundering schemes."

Planned Parenthood lies to clients; on video

St Mary of the Immaculate Conception pray for us!

The Ben Nelson/Orrin Hatch pro-life amendment to the health care bill is being voted on in the Senate. We hope that, if that if it is adopted,  it will truly prevent abortion from being included in this bill.

 I am still hoping for a defeat of this legislation, which is dangerous in so many ways.

Blesssed Mother on your feast day, save us from this evil.

Read the entire post at the NCRegister blog.

President Obama takes Christ out of White House Christmas

from the Catholic League

OBAMAS WOULD LIKE TO NEUTER CHRISTMAS

In yesterday’s New York Times, there was an article about White House social secretary Desirée Rogers. In it, reporter Sheryl Gay Stolberg wrote: “When former social secretaries gave a luncheon to welcome Ms. Rogers earlier this year, one participant said, she surprised them by suggesting the Obamas were planning a ‘non-religious Christmas….’”
This same participant said that “the Obamas did not intend to put the manger scene on display” (this was confirmed by the White House). Indeed, as Stolberg wrote, “there had been internal discussions about making Christmas more inclusive and whether to display the crèche.”
Catholic League president Bill Donohue addressed this issue today:
Unlike almost all Americans—including atheists—the Obamas do not give their children Christmas gifts. We know this because Barack bragged about this last year to People magazine. So it should come as no big surprise that he and his wife would like to neuter Christmas in the White House. That’s their natural step—to ban the public display of Christian symbols. Have any doubts?
Last April, Georgetown University was ordered to put a drape over the name of Jesus as a condition of the president speaking there.

If the Obamas want to deprive their children of celebrating Christmas, that is their business. It is the business of the public to hold them accountable for the way they celebrate Christmas in the White House. We know one thing for sure: no other administration ever entertained internal discussions on whether to display a nativity scene in the White House.

12-10 UPDATE: This post in the NC Register blog states that though Obama considered not including a creche in the White House Christmas decorations, that he has reconsidered.

Those of you who sign petitions and write emails in support of keeping Christ in Christmas, take a bow.

 The pressure of  public opinion is felt even by the most pro-abortion politician in the nation's history. Even though he is deaf to our pleas to keep health care from the hands of government,
to allow us to follow our consciences when it comes to not participate  in the killing of the unborn,
 and to keep Planned Parenthood out of health care,
even though he is uncomfortable with the name of Christ being displayed where he speaks,
and the only type of Catholics he likes are Kennedy pro-abortion kind,
 even he listens to the public saying "keep Christ in Christmas".

Now that you have bowed, get back to work to defeat that disasterous health care bill.

Senator Ruben Diaz; the hero of traditional marriage in New York State

In the end, his advocacy for marriage prevailed. This courageous representative is a Democrat with a heart for all of the poor, including our first neighbors, children in the womb. He is Pro-Life. He is a Protestant Minister with a thriving ministry. He is a true representative of the people and understands his obligations to discharge his public office with integrity and for the common good. Because he stood up – and stood out - the effort to amend New York State's Domestic Partnership Law to force the legalization of ‘homosexual marriage’ failed by a bi-partisan vote of 38 to 24.

God bless Senator Diaz, who is also a minister with a thriving congregation. No wonder, he is truly a man of God. We need a man like him in Connecticut!
Read the entire article on Catholic Online.

Gay activists target bishops who signed Manhattan Declaration

"Same-sex marriage proponents are threatening to cause disruptions in the diocese of every bishop who signed the Manhattan Declaration, a statement calling on Christians to stand up for their belief in the sanctity of life, traditional marriage and religious liberty".
Read the entire post on Johnette Benkovic's Living His Life Abundantly blog. and on California Catholic Daily.

Gay marriage defeated in New York State!

from Brian Brown at the National Organization for Marriage (see photo)

 The New York state senate just rejected gay marriage 38 to 24.
 Praise God!

And thank you. National Organization for Marriage spent $600,000 reaching out to voters through phone calls and television and radio ads to make sure politicians heard from ordinary voters like you.

Gay marriage inevitable? Don't believe the lie!

You can make a difference and we at NOM are so proud to work with you and millions of other ordinary Americans who know in their hearts that marriage IS the union of husband and wife."

Thank you, Brian Brown for your hard work. Thank you to my  friends of Immaculate Heart of Mary homeschooling group who made phone calls and spread the word. You saved the Empire State from attacks on the family.

Mayoral candidate asks Kennedy question; gets arrested

So this is free speech in Rhode Island? This is what happens when you question Good King Teddy's heir.
Mr Young is a candidate for mayor of Providence and all he did was ask Rep Kennedy why he supported abortion in the health care bill. And he was arrested for this?

"Why would you mandate Catholics to support the funding of abortion when it goes against our religious beliefs? It forces Catholics to fund abortions or serve a five year prison sentence," said Young. "You make it a felony. This is not a free country. You are forcing people to support a bill that goes against the religious beliefs of the people of this country."


Young was referring to the provision in the House health-care plan (HR 3962) that makes the IRS the enforcer of the health-care plan. It would also make refusing to carry health-insurance or pay an increased tax of 2.5 percent tantamount to tax evasion, a felony offense. House Republicans pointed out that citizens could face a maximum $250,000 fine or a maximum five-year prison sentence for such violations.

But while Young was asking his question police officers - unhappy that moments before the mayoral candidate had tossed a DVD on Kennedy's desk - dragged Young away from the podium. When Young resisted, Police officers proceeded to arrest him.

He was later charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest

Be ready for more of this, those of you who are pro-life and courageous. The thought police are on the march. Watch the video of this travesty of justice here. and here. Be sure to leave a comment.
Read the entire story on Life Site News.

The truth about the "laughing bride"

The history of eugenics

This article summarizes the history of eugenics in Europe and cites the opinions of scientists who practice it today. That eugenics erodes the freedom of parents to give birth to disabled children and lowers the dignity of the handicapped themselves seems of small concern. Note that eugenics was outlawed by the Catholic Church in 1935, just as it was coming into vogue with the Nazis.
Source; Contact Genetique of the Institute Lejeune in Paris

Antenatal (pre-natal)diagnosis and eugenics


French daily La Croix published a special issue on eugenics on 24 November. This was the focal point of the Annual Ethics Summit in Paris, which began on Tuesday, 24 November. The issues examined were pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) and prenatal screening, which were the subject of the CCNE (French National Ethics Advisory Committee)'s recommendation no.107 released recently (cf. Synthèse de presse du 18/11/09). The purpose of both these techniques is to detect defects in the embryo. PGD is used in particular cases with IVF, before the embryo is implanted in the mother’s uterus: it aims to select a healthy embryo free of a serious genetic disease which runs in the particular family. Prenatal screening is systematically carried out in all pregnancies: these examinations enable any defects to be detected in the unborn child. "The problem is the almost automatic correlation between screening for a defect and abortion," commented Didier Sicard, former CCNE chairman. The journalist questioned whether it was “justifiable” to speak of eugenics.


Eugenics first arose at the end of the 19th century. The term was coined by Francis Galton, a cousin of Darwin, who saw it as the "science of improving heredity". For science historian André Pichot, it is "the desire to compensate for the demise of natural selection in human societies by establishing a kind of artificial selection". He notes that most 19th century biologists were in favour of this approach, distinguishing between negative eugenics (marriage restrictions, sterilisation or physical elimination of people with unwanted genes, etc.) and positive eugenics (reproduction of individuals with high genetic potential, etc.). Philosopher Jean-Paul Thomas explains: "In fact, the two positions went together. The only positive eugenics to have been implemented was the Lebensborn programme (Editor's note: nurseries for children born of Aryan parents) in Nazi Germany.”

The eugenic movement rapidly had a major influence on legislation. In 1907, the state of Indiana authorised sterilisation for particular types of criminals and sick people. Between the two world wars, its example was followed by certain countries, essentially Protestant ones as the Catholic Church officially outlawed eugenics in 1935 : Switzerland (1928), Denmark (1929), Norway, Finland and Sweden (1935). The law of 14 July 1933, enacted by the Nazi regime and which imposed mandatory sterilisation for people with 9 diseases considered to be hereditary or congenital, was accepted by almost the entire German medical corps, and was based on a Weimar Republic project drawn up in 1932.
Eugenic laws therefore preceded the Nazi period, and survived it. In 1948, Japan authorised the government to impose sterilisation for criminals “with genetic predispositions to crime”. In Sweden, handicapped people were sterilised up until the 1980s. Is it possible then to speak of eugenic policies in France today?


Bioethics laws condemn "eugenic practices that tend to organise the selection of people", which some consider include practices organised and imposed by the State. Another view is that when screening for defects is systematic, organised and leads to the elimination of the sick children in most cases, this constitutes eugenics. Eugenics can be the result of a restrictive policy or be a consensual trend on the part of an entire society. Jean-François Mattei pointed out that although there is no "collective decision to eliminate sick or handicapped unborn children, in reality, the sum of all the individual decisions … amounts to the same thing".


Opinions are divided and contradictory among the medical practitioners involved. Stéphane Viville, of the Strasbourg University Hospital reproductive biology laboratory, admitted to being "disturbed" by the "systematic aspect" of defect detection. In his view, we are ”verging” on eugenics because the social pressure is so great it leads women to have abortions almost systematically: "That’s what’s disturbing. There’s no real free will." Perrine Malzac, a geneticist at La Timone Hospital in Marseilles, also noted: "The dominant discourse from doctors and the family means that, in practice, couples have little room to manoeuvre! Only those with very strong convictions are able to stand their ground". Nonetheless, neither wishes to challenge current practices as the intention behind this selection of human beings is compassion for the couple or the unborn child. In Stéphane Viville’s words: "Eradicating a serious pathology in a family does not pose any ethical problems for me. We would be practising eugenics if we selected embryos based on a pre-established list of pathologies to be detected, and indicating those which were not supposed to live. In his view, it is even justified to go a step further and extend PGD to detect mutations that cause certain breast cancers. "These are extremely aggressive forms of cancer which carriers of the mutation are sure to develop," he said.

Biologist Jacques Testart has always strongly protested against this selection of the "best embryo" through PGD. This stance contrasts with society’s general acceptance of diagnosis practices: no one seems to view them as violating the dignity of handicapped people.