Bella Santorum recovering from double pneumonia

From the Family Research Council:

If you've been following the Santorum campaign, then you know Rick and his wife, Karen, had quite a scare last weekend when their littlest daughter, Bella, was hospitalized. The Santorums' three-year-old suffers from a genetic disorder called Trisomy 18, and a complication like pneumonia can be deadly. Rick cancelled his campaign appearances to be with Bella, but they're happy to report that their daughter is making a miraculous recovery.

I had the opportunity to talk with Fox News's Megyn Kelly yesterday about Bella Santorum and kids like her. FRC had just finished up a special conference on the topic of prenatal disability diagnosis. Tragically, about 90% of the kids who have conditions like Bella's are aborted. Sometimes parents are misled into thinking that their baby or their family will have a poor quality of life. But a study released this fall found the opposite. It showed that adolescent children with Down Syndrome are actually very happy--off-the-charts happy compared to the average teenager. And of all those parents who followed through and had their children, 97% were proud of them. Seventy-nine percent said their outlook on life was more positive because of their Down Syndrome child. Just ask the Santorums. Rick and Karen admit that Bella has some difficulties, but she brings them more joy than anyone could imagine. Join us in praying for a complete and speedy recovery!

See Megan Kelly interview Tony Perkins about Rick and Bella Santorum here. 

Family Research Council explains value of Santorum tripling child tax deduction

from the FRC email blast;
While the press picks on Rick Santorum for his social views, the Wall Street Journal is attacking the former Senator from another angle: his pro-family economic plan. In Monday's edition, editors complain that the "most disappointing" part of the Pennsylvanian's proposal is his idea to triple the child tax credit from $1,000 today, which the WSJ claims is "social policy masquerading as economics." The paper accuses Santorum of unfairly rewarding taxpayers who have children over those who don't. But at the root of these accusations is a fundamental misunderstanding about how the economy works. The child tax credit, which was originally conceived, developed, and promoted by FRC, recognizes that the American family is the engine that drives the U.S. economy. A world with fewer children means a world with fewer taxpayers.

Sen. Santorum recognizes, as we do, that a modest tax credit now is a small investment to make in the growth of human capital, which is shrinking at an alarming rate. Who does the Wall Street Journal expect to pay down the debt, fund social security benefits, and pick up the tab for big government programs in the future? Certainly not those who aren't having children. America's tax policy should reward the families who are raising taxpayers who will carry these economic burdens in the coming years. The principle of fairness applies to the tax treatment of the family: it should get the same deductions in the tax code as business does for similar investments in human capital. It's simple: if you're interested in growing the U.S. economy, you'll support tax credits for married families raising children.

When Christina was a baby, I brought her with me to protest my liberal Congressman's 'nay' vote on the Partial Birth Abortion Ban.
I made this point at a Town Hall Meeting of Rep Tim Bishop (NY-D) when I lived on Long Island. The assembled seniors who lived in the wealthy summer colony of Westhampton, NY were concerned about the future of Social Security. I reminded them that a 30% abortion rate for over a third of a century put their checks in danger. They were dumbfounded!
. When you  lower the birth rate as dramatically as we have through abortion, failure to marry and delayed childbearing, you make Social Security a burden. It used to have 16 younger workers paying in for each retiree. Now that ratio is 3 workers for each retiree. Another factor which exacerbates this is the longer life span of older Americans, but good news or not, the Social Security System needs more workers. Santorum pointed out recently that if it had not been for an increase in legal immigration, Social Security would be in even worse trouble.
Want to help the economy? Have a baby!

The Family Scores a Victory in New York State!

WOW, this really happened in the bluest of blue states!
Someone out there has been praying. Keep it up.
Republicans now control the state Senate, after two Democrats switched their party affiliation.
Nearly 1,000 marriage advocates gathered on the Capitol steps in Albany, N.Y., today to support the state laws defining marriage as the union between one man and one woman.
The rally came one day after two Democrats in the state Senate switched their party affiliation as the debate over a same-sex "marriage" bill escalated. Republicans now control the Senate, which wraps up this legislative session in eight days.
Leading the rally were Tony Perkins, president of FRC Action; Maggie Gallagher, president of the National Organization for Marriage; and Bishop Harry Jackson Jr., founder of the High Impact Leadership Coalition.
"Yesterday, we were thinking we needed to come up here and make a strong push so gay 'marriage' would not be passed," said Valerie Case, a reporter at WMHR in Syracuse. "Today, it looks like it may not even be an issue. However, we know in New York that may not last long."
Josh Griffin, who participated in the rally, said he can see God at work.
“First of all, God ordained marriage between one man and one woman, and it's important to keep it that way," he said. "Also, I believe it (same-sex 'marriage') has ramifications for our liberties here in the United States.”